A Family for Alice
Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just playing with them.
Getting Alice into the car is a challenge. She's tiny, so Carlisle left the harness in the booster seat when he installed it in the car. But now that she's wearing a jacket, we're having issues.
"We're almost there, precious," I assure her. "Almost there and then we'll go get some lunch."
The buckles don't want to fasten, but Carlisle keeps trying. It's hard for both of us though because Alice is terrified. She's been frozen and gripping the armrests of the seat since Carlisle first went to buckle her in. Maybe we should have just used the regular seat belt and saved us all the trouble and trauma.
I finally hear the click we've been waiting for and sigh in relief.
"Got it!" Carlisle announces. "You're all set, Allie cat. Now we can feed the tummy bear."
She doesn't move even after he closes the door, so I stay right where I am in the backseat next to her. Carlisle knows what I'm planning so he goes right to his seat without waiting for me to move.
"Precious," I whisper as I gently take her hand in mine, "it's okay. Don't be scared. You're okay."
It takes a few seconds, but her hand finally squeezes mine as she begins to relax.
"There you go. See? Carlisle's going to find us a good place to eat lunch and then we'll be going home."
"Home?" she whispers as she turns toward me. Her eyes are more curious than afraid, thankfully.
I don't think I could live with myself if we had traumatized her just from buckling her into the car.
"Yes, sweetheart," I answer with a smile. "We're taking you home with us. We have a pretty room all ready for you."
"And toys too," Carlisle adds. "You and me are gonna have so much fun this afternoon."
This seems to assure her for the time being and the drive is calm and quiet. I expect Carlisle to drive us to our favorite diner, but soon I realize that's not where we're going. We're going somewhere completely different.
"Carlisle, did you talk to your mother today?"
He has the good sense to look uncertain as we make eye contact in the rear view mirror. I raise my eyebrow in challenge.
"Umm…yes? But, wifey…you told me to pick something good. Mom made chicken noodle soup! And she wants to meet Alice."
Well…I do love Jane Cullen's chicken noodle soup, but I'm also worried.
"I just don't want to overwhelm her," I explain softly. "Is your mother going to behave?"
He nods. "Dad isn't home today, and Mom promised to be on her best behavior. See – she's not even rushing out to the car."
He parks the car in the driveway, and I do see that he's right. The front door remains closed even as he opens his door and comes around to help me get out. I unbuckle Alice, and she practically jumps out of her seat. Carlisle takes her into his arms, offers me his hand, and locks the car.
As we walk to the front door, somehow I feel like we're walking to our death. Maybe I'm just being melodramatic, but the last few days have been full of unusual drama.
Carlisle talks softly to Alice, explaining where we are and what we're doing here. She reaches her hand out for me, and I take it with a smile. I'll gladly give her any support she needs.
Even though Jane didn't attack us when we pulled in the driveway, she opens the door within two seconds of Carlisle ringing the doorbell. I'm right in front of the door so I get grabbed first.
"Esme, I'm so happy to see you. How have you been?"
I pat her back as she hugs me. "I've been good, Jane. How are you?" We just saw her last Sunday, but that's ages to her.
"I've been just perfect, thank you for asking. And Carlisle, son, how are you?"
"Great, Mom. But I'm ready for some of your soup. We're about to starve to death." He keeps his distance from his mother and rubs Alice's back as she hides her face against him.
"Well, come in, come in," she says with a smile, undeterred by his distance. "The soup is on the table with the cornbread. Let's eat and then I can get to know this beautiful little girl in your arms."
We follow her to the kitchen table, and I'm very impressed by how she's giving Alice the space she needs. I'm also impressed by how the table is set. There are four places, but two are by one seat. Since I know how Carlisle eats chicken soup, I take Alice to sit with me. They'll both be a mess of sticky crumbs if I don't.
Lunch goes as smoothly as it possibly could. Carlisle licks his bowl clean three times while complementing his mother every three bites. Any other mother would accuse me of not feeding her son, but Jane knows better. When Carlisle and I got married, she thanked me for taking him off her hands and grocery bill. I'm pretty sure she did the same to Rosalie when she and Emmett got married. Those Cullen boys can eat.
Alice also eats surprising well. She's not a picky eater that I've observed, but with the strange environment, I expected her to be a bit more hesitant. Maybe it's because Jane's kitchen is so warm and inviting, much like Jane herself. She includes Alice in every conversation and doesn't seem offended in the least when the best response she gets is a smile.
As much as I love our extended family, I'm ready to go home once we've finished eating. I'm excited about being alone with Carlisle and Alice and figuring out how we work together. It's never been just the three of us, and while I know I love spending one-on-one time with Alice, I want to see what Carlisle adds. Probably crazy comments and giggles.
I try to use my eyes to let Carlisle know that I'm ready to leave, but he doesn't seem to understand. Alice, however, is about to fall asleep in my arms.
"Uh, Carlisle," I finally say. "I think it might be time for us to go."
"Wait just a minute, please," Jane says as she stands. "I have something I want to give Alice."
Alice perks up a little when she hears her name.
Jane holds her hand out. "Would you like to come with me, dear heart? We're just going to the counter right over there."
Alice looks up at me, and I nod. "It's okay, precious. You can go with Mrs. Jane. Carlisle and I will be right here at the table."
My mother-in-law shakes her head. "None of that 'Mrs. Jane' stuff. You call me Oma, okay?"
Carlisle snorts, and I barely contain my laughter. The Cullen's aren't even German, but Jane has had this in her head for a while. Her grandchildren will call her Oma, and that's all there is to it.
But this means that she's already considering Alice our child. I've only ever thought of her as my student…until now. Now this idea is in my head. What if Alice stays with us permanently? What if Carlisle and I adopted her? What if she starts calling us Mommy and Daddy?
The last thought puts a huge smile on my face. I'm pretty sure that's what I want. No, I'm absolutely sure that's what I want. Carlisle and I haven't talked about our plans for children in a couple months because we usually reevaluate every time I go to get my birth control shot. We've been waiting – enjoying our time with just the two of us in our house, but it's been just the two of us for five years now.
Carlisle and I need to have another serious conversation, and soon.
I shake my head slightly to break from my thoughts. Alice is still thinking about her choice to go with Jane, but she soon decides and scoots out of my lap. She takes Jane's offered hand and lets her lead her over to the kitchen counter.
Jane takes something out of a bag and kneels down. "Here you go, dear. Would you like a cookie?"
Alice looks over at us hopefully, and it breaks my heart that she thinks we'd deny her something like this.
"You go for it, Allie cat!" Carlisle says with a smile. "And bring me one too."
Now that she has permission, she takes the cookie Jane is offering along with an extra for Carlisle and rushes over to him. He lifts her into his lap and wraps an arm around her. She gets comfortable in her spot and smiles as she lifts her cookie to show me.
"I see your cookie, sweetheart. Is it good?"
She takes a bite and immediately nods. She's so happy as she and Carlisle eat their cookies, and eventually, they move to sit by me so they can feed me little pieces.
I'm beyond happy right now, and we haven't even been home yet. I want this always.
A/N: Just as a little PSA, never leave a bulky coat on a child when buckling them into a car seat. But Carlisle and Esme are still learners, so we'll forgive them. ;)
A million thanks to MelissaMargaret for making this pretty and to anhanninen for prereading and pimping.
And thanks to all of you for reading. You are all so, so lovely.
See you on Wednesday!