Chapter Seven: First Recital
Little One had passed out early, so Bella and I decided to head up to bed and enjoy the quite time tonight. Since we'd told her about Kate a few days ago, it had been question after question. I understood that she wanted to know everything, but at some point, there wouldn't be any more answers we could give her. She knew more now than I really wanted to tell her, but she begged Bella and me to explain exactly how Bella became her mom.
It was pretty fucking strange to tell her about our relationship in the beginning, but at the same time, I liked remembering it. Bella painted in such a way that I didn't seem as bad as I remembered. She told our daughter just how I was with her — little things that I'd forgotten. We even showed her the videos I'd taken of her milestones.
She fucking loved those.
All in all, telling her the truth wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. She was so young that I didn't think it was right to tell her now, but it seemed like we made the best decision. She wasn't upset about finding out that Bella wasn't her biological mom. In fact, she took the "grew in my heart" thing far, saying she was special because of it, which was the truth. Still, I feared for when the time came that she'd be upset by it. I knew it would come at some point, but for now I tried not to think about it.
We'd handle that, just like we had telling her — as a family.
"I'm trying not to feel all, 'woe is me because I'm getting fat,' but I kind of feel like that," Bella said, pouting as we lay in bed. She rubbed her stomach, tracing the few almost invisible stretch marks that had begun.
In the last week alone, her bump had grown quite a bit, making it even more prominent.
"You're sure as hell not fat, so you shouldn't feel like that," I said, turning onto my side. "I'll gladly remind you how gorgeous you are at any time."
She smiled, reaching up to caress my cheek. "Who told you to say that?"
"That is my own creation," I chuckled. "I can be smooth, you know. I'm down right Casanova-like."
"Oh yeah, you totally are." She rolled her eyes. "But thank you for saying that. My jeans don't fit anymore and I now have a zit for the first time in ten years, but I'm going to believe your lie."
"It's an adorable zit." I smirked. It wasn't, but, you know, I had to say it. Besides, it wasn't that noticeable. If she hadn't pointed it out, I wouldn't have seen it. "And I'm not lying."
I titled my head up, kissing her. My hand that bad been against her stomach moved north, testing the waters. She didn't smack my hand away, so hell yes for that.
"You're beautiful, Bella."
"I love you."
I smiled against her neck. "I love you, too. Is this okay?"
Her hand fisted in my hair, brining my lips back up to hers. "Of course it is. Lose the boxers, though."
I pulled away from her, kicking them off of me before she could change her mind. She was smiling beautifully, watching me closely. Before I could resume, though, she climbed on top of me, letting her hands roam over my chest as her lips pressed back against mine. Sure, she wasn't always in the mood for it lately, but when she was? Jesus fucking Christ, it was incredible.
And tonight, she was very clearly in the mood.
"You make me feel sexy," she said, pulling away and resting her forehead against mine. "I feel like my body isn't my own anymore, but you still make me feel like I used to. I love you for that."
"You are sexy. You're gorgeous, and nothing will change that. Those barely noticeable marks that are starting . . . they're not ugly. You're having our child, so nothing that happens because of that will ever make you any less beautiful to me."
"See?" she asked, smiling as tears filled her eyes. "You do that. You put aside your humor and say such sweet things when I need you to."
"It's the truth." I smiled, kissing her softly. "I can make a joke too, if you'd like."
"Don't ruin the moment," she giggled as I flipped her onto her back.
Soon enough, I'd gotten her tank top and panties off and just kissed her. My lips trailed along her jaw and neck as she hummed in satisfaction, pleading softly for more. I'd give this woman anything in the world and then some, so I didn't waste any time. My fingers slipped into her, moving quickly as she moaned my name.
Lately, she'd told me that the sex had been better than ever before — one of her favorite parts of the pregnancy when she was in the mood. I fucking loved that it was better. Her happiness was the most important thing to me — a complete three-sixty of how it used to be when I was with someone. Sure, I still wanted to get off, but I cared that she did, too.
And lately? It hadn't taken much. A few movements of my fingers and rubbing her clit made her cry out my name in no time. My lips pressed against hers, swallowing her cries as she came.
I pulled back, looking down at her as I grinned. Her cheeks and chest were flushed as she closed her eyes, smiling softly. She was fucking magnificent, and I was the luckiest man in the world.
"I love you," she whispered as I moved between her legs.
I caressed her cheek, dipping my head to kiss her as I moved into her slowly. "I love you, too."
She felt fucking incredible around me, like she did every time. As I moved my hips into her, she cried my name over and over, tossing in a "Jesus fucking Christ" at one point. She didn't curse often, but fuck, I loved it when she did.
. . . . .
"You've got to be the cutest ballerina in the world," I chuckled, kneeling down in front of Little One backstage at her first recital. "You're going to do great, so don't be nervous."
She bit her lip, looking down at her feet. "But what if I suck?"
In all of her life, I could count the times Sofia had been nervous on one hand. When she started school, her most recent set of shots, when she broke a vase at Mom's house by accident and thought she'd be in trouble, and a few days ago when we told her about Kate. She was the bravest little girl I'd ever known, but right now, she was far from it.
She was about to go on stage for the first time. Granted, there were probably only about sixty people in the audience, but to her, there were thousands. I fucking hated seeing her look so pitiful, but it was also kind of . . . cute.
My baby girl told Bella she needed me, so I ran straight to her backstage.
"You will not suck," I said, caressing her cheek. "It's normal to be nervous, baby."
"You don't get newvous, Daddy."
"Me?" I laughed, shaking my head. "I get nervous all the time, so does Mommy and everyone else. It's normal. I guess you're just a normal kid, huh?"
She cocked her head, narrowing her eyes as if I'd offended her. "I'm special."
"My apologizes, of course you are, but even special little girls get nervous. You don't want to quit."
She nodded. "Yes, I do."
"But you're not going to. You're going to go out on that stage and everyone is going to see how great you are. Because you're my little one. My little one isn't a quitter, is she?"
She huffed dramatically, causing me to have to stifle a laugh. The kid was fucking adorable, okay? Even her meltdowns were cute as hell. "Do I hafta?"
I nodded, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "Yeah, you do. I'll be right in the front row, okay? With everyone else. You're going to be amazing, and even if you stumble or forget something, you'll still be amazing. Just have fun. You have fun in class, don't you?"
"Yeah."
"Then just imagine you're back there."
She threw her arms around my neck, squeezing me as tightly as she could. I avoided her hair for fear of Bella cutting off my balls as she threatened. Apparently, getting hair into a perfect bun was not as simple as it seemed. But I mean, it seemed pretty fucking simple to me. Still, my wife was a terrifying pregnant chick and it was best to heed her warnings.
I very much liked my balls, after all.
"Are you ready now?" I asked as she relinquished her death grip on my neck.
"I guess so," she sighed. "I still get cake if I suck, right?"
I chuckled, grinning. "Of course you do. I love you."
"I love you too, Daddy."
I kissed her cheek one last time before waving her ballet instructor over and letting her know that Sofia was ready. The recital wasn't that big, so they'd waited for Little One before going on, pushing the show back about ten minutes.
Once I was sure she was all right, I walked back out to the high school auditorium they'd reserved for the show. My entire family as well as Charlie and Sue had come to see Little One, so most of the front row was them. I'd actually had Alice and Jasper arrive early to save these fuckers. There wasn't a chance in hell I was watching my baby's first recital from shitty seats.
"Is she going to do it?" Bella asked, lifting the bouquet of roses we'd gotten for Sofia from my seat, so that I could sit down.
I nodded. "Yeah, she's still nervous as hell, but I think she'll be all right."
"Finally, something the squirt is afraid of," Emmett laughed. "I guess jumping off of the jungle gym is nothing compared to performing in front of strangers."
I shook my head. "I guess not, but even if we know she fucks something up, don't tell her, all right?"
Everyone agreed easily, though I doubted the reminder was necessary. All that really mattered was that Little One tried. We all knew full well that she'd stumble — dance sure as hell wasn't her strong suit — but that didn't matter.
Once the lights dimmed in the auditorium and the stage lights flicked on brightly, I sat up a little in my seat, holding Bella's hand. All the girls came out in tutus, doing the routine they'd practice. When Little One emerged, her eyes scanned the front row before locking onto mine. She smiled, stopping dead in her tracks and waved, causing the audience to laugh.
"She's the cutest little girl in the world," Mom laughed from beside me. "Please, tell me you got that, Carlisle."
"Of course I did, dear," Dad said, holding the camera.
Over the next half hour, we watched as Little One and her classmates fucked up the routine completely. There was probably only one girl who was doing it right, and it sure as hell wasn't my kid.
She was a mess — a complete and total disaster — but holy fucking shit was it priceless. At one point, I was pretty sure she forgot all of the moves and just started jumping and twirling. It was . . . hilariously awful.
"I'm sorry, Edward, but your kid isn't cut out for this shit," Emmett laughed, shaking his head from down the row.
I couldn't even be pissed at him. "Fuck you, she's perfect," I said, chuckling.
I heard a hush from behind me at my language, but I couldn't seem to care. I was pretty damn right about that special thing, let's just say. I mean, I loved her with all of my heart, but . . . she was awful.
Perfectly awful.
"Maybe she'd like painting?" Bella suggested. "I'd say gymnastics, but that'd be extremely dangerous."
I shrugged. "I don't know, but I think we're done with the ballet classes."
She nodded, covering her mouth to stop from laughing. I looked back at the stage, finding Little One lying down and kicking her feet. The other girls were doing it too, but not as . . . interestingly as she was.
Thankfully, it was over after that. All the girls stood up — Sofia winding up in the middle somehow — and took a bow before the curtain closed. I didn't give a shit that we'd wasted hundreds of dollars on these lessons because it was hundreds of dollars' worth of entertainment. Little One was smiling brightly when it ended, which was all that mattered.
. . . . .
Once the show was over, Little One ran out to us in the hallway of the high school with her classmates. Between all of us, she managed five different bouquets of roses. And trust me, she didn't give a shit about how well she did once she saw them.
The whole love of flowers thing from when she was a baby had stuck pretty well. It was a damn good thing that her grandmother owned a shop.
"Did you have fun, sweetpea?" Dad asked, handing Sofia a pink bouquet of roses.
She added them to her pile on her arm and nodded, grinning from ear to ear. "I didn't suck, right, Pawpaw?"
"Not even a little," he lied easily. "You looked beautiful."
"Mommy did my hair." She grinned, touching it softly. "Is it cake time now?"
"It sure is, baby," I said, lifting her up into my arms. "You were incredible, like I said you'd be. Are you glad you didn't quit?"
"Uh-huh, but I kinda messed up."
I gasped, feigning shock. "I couldn't tell. No one could, right?"
They all shook their heads, smiling as they lied through their teeth. Tomorrow, Bella and I would talk to her about other activities, but tonight I wanted her to believe that she was as amazing as she felt. There was no point in crushing her ballerina dreams just yet.
Once she'd said goodbye to her friends and teachers, we all headed to my parents' house for the party. It wasn't anything big, but Mom had decorated the dining room and living room in pink streamers and she even had a fucking banner made that said, "Congratulations on your first recital, Sofia!"
Of course my kid got a kick out of it, loving every moment of her little party — even if she didn't get gifts. Charlie and Sue had come as well, and Sofia spent a good twenty minutes explaining to Sue about the dances she learned. She even did parts of it again for us, soaking up the attention.
Eventually, she did get the cake she was promised. Rosalie had actually made it, and it looked pretty decent. I guess baking was her newest hobby or some shit. We headed into the dining room for it, and I sat Little One in my lap as Rose placed it on the table in front of her.
"Do I get to keep the ballawina?" Little One asked, grinning as she looked at the pink monstrosity of a cake with the figurine on top.
"Of course, sweetheart," Rose said. "Does it look pretty? I made it myself, you know?"
"It's so pretty!" she said. "Right, Daddy?"
I nodded. "It's beautiful, baby girl. Don't you need to say something to Nana and Auntie?"
"Oh! Thank you!"
"You're welcome, honey," Mom said, smiling. "Now, how about some cake?"
"Yes! Mommy, it's so pretty, right?"
Bella nodded from beside me with her brow creased slightly and her cheeks more pale than usual. "It is, sweet girl," she said. "I'll be right back, though, okay?"
"Are you okay?" I asked softly. She'd gone from being so happy to looking like something was wrong. "Are you going to be sick?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I just have to go to the bathroom, all right? Start eating without me."
As she stood and walked away, the back of her light grey dress caught my eye. My heart raced and, for a moment, the world seemed to just . . . stop.
"Bella, your dress," I said, eyes wide on her.
The room fell silent as she looked down, noticing the red slowly trickling down her leg. "Oh," she said softly as I moved Sofia to Rose's lap and rushed out of my seat. "I don't . . . feel right."
My arms were already around her, trying to sit her down in a chair as her eyes rolled back into her head and she began falling forward.
