Early update, since this week is going to be hell for us

Chapter 10

Every year our company give us each two tickets to a Blue Jays' game. As it turns out, it isn't too hard to convince Alice to give me one of hers, as she and Jasper are going out of town. I figure I'll surprise Edward and Charlotte with them.

We've decided to meet up at noon and go from there. The game starts at three, so that gives us three hours to wander around, grab lunch, and go to the game. Or we can grab something to snack on and grab food at the stadium.

We meet up at Edward's normal stop. I grin widely when Charlotte comes right up to me and sits beside me, squealing, "Thanks for inviting me today, Bella!"

I smile back at her and I'm slightly shocked when she leans over and hugs me. Edward stands in his usual spot, arms on the bar above his head, tattoo visible. I still haven't figured out what it is.

"So what are we doing?" Charlotte asks Edward.

"I hadn't really thought of that yet," he replies.

I cough and produce the three tickets from my purse, fanning them out in front of me. Charlotte claps her hands and bounces a little in her seat, while Edward quirks his brow. He takes one of the tickets and, looking at the seats, lets out a puff of breath. "Bella, you shouldn't have paid this much, we could have done anything."

I laugh and tell him I didn't pay anything; explaining that as a perk for all our hard work our boss treats his employees to two of his eight season tickets once per year. Edward gets excited as he tells me they're probably the best seats in the house. I just shrug, baseball isn't really my thing, but while we were talking last night, Edward told me he and Charlotte have watched it together since she was a baby. I normally give my tickets away each year to friends of co-workers. I'm really glad I kept them this year.

I explain we won't know who else from my company is going to be there. I'm crossing my fingers it's not Rosalie's dad, or worse … Emmett. Don't get me wrong, I think Emmett's great for Rosalie, but for such a delicate flower you'd think she'd have chosen someone a little less … Neanderthal-ish. The man farts in public, for fuck's sake.

We decide to wander around downtown and window shop until it's time to go to the game. Charlotte and Edward fill me in on what it was like for them in the different places they've lived. Smaller town people were more condescending of Edward being her father than the bigger cities.

"Oh, my God, Dad, do you remember when Pop was stationed in Borden and we lived in that little town that had the high school and public school was right beside it?"

Edward snorts out a laugh. "Yeah, and you fell on the playground and broke your arm?"

I wince, remembering what that feels like myself.

"Get this, Bella." Charlotte trills a laugh. "So, they call the ambulance, and I'm crying because my arm hurts and I just want my dad. How old was I then Dad, like four?"

Edward nods. "Yeah, I was just shy of eighteen and attending the high school. We were outside for auto shop when the ambulance pulled up. The minute I saw it I just had this sinking feeling in my gut—my mom calls it parent's intuition—so I start walking toward the ambulance. My teacher's yelling at me, but I'm not paying any attention."

Charlotte butts in, "So, I can see him coming closer and I'm screaming 'Daddy, Daddy,' at the top of my lungs, and they wouldn't let him anywhere near me."

Edward practically growls. "Her teacher turns to me, nose scrunched up with disgust, and says to me, 'Listen brother, why don't you be a good little boy and call your mommy and daddy, m'kay?' I wanted to flip her off so bad but Charlotte needed me. So I run to the school office, call my mom and tell her what's going on. Oh boy; was she ever mad! She told me to tell the teacher to let me ride in the ambulance to the hospital and that she'd meet us there."

Charlotte giggles again. "I could hear Mom screaming at my teacher in the hall at the hospital, telling her off for not letting my dad near me and being so rude to him; calling him a little boy. Gave her hell; didn't she Dad?"

"Language Char," he scolds her, before laughing again. "Yeah, the parent/teacher interview was a little awkward after that one. Mom was still pissed. Dad just sat there, arms folded, and refused to speak to her. It was obvious the teacher didn't want to talk to me, either, because she saw me as nothing but a little kid." He sighs. "It kind of hit me harder then; how much different I was from other kids my age. I kind of went off the rails a little after that."

Edward looks a little sad, and I want to reach out and touch him. But Charlotte beats me to it, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a hug. "You never let me see it though, Daddy. You were still a great dad, and always there for me."

Edward leans down and presses a kiss to the top of her head, and I can see the glassiness in his eyes. I reach out my hand to grab his and give it a squeeze. He smiles back at me, and all feels right again.

…

In the middle of the second inning our date turns into a disaster. I can smell him before I see him and groan loudly when I hear a booming "Hells Bells!" rings out. I hide my face in my hands. No, no, no this can't be happening; why wouldn't she have warned me about this?

I look up as the barbarian places his hand on my arm. "Quil," I snap. "What are you doing here?"

"Alice gave me the ticket weeks ago; she said you probably wouldn't be here, though. I'm glad to see you've finally agreed to come on a date with me." He wiggles his eyebrows, and I throw up in my mouth a little. Well, a lot, actually.

I can feel Edward tense beside me and take his hand.

"I would never have come here if I knew you were coming today!" I hiss between clenched teeth, giving Quil the evil eye.

The smug bastard sits down beside me and throws his arm over my shoulder, squeezing it lightly. He leans over me toward Edward, reaching out his other hand. "I'm Quil; do you work with Bella?"

Edward takes Quil's hand, and I can literally see the bones crunching together. Quil winces as Edward says, "Edward, Bella's boyfriend."

Quil looks at me, grins, before removing his arm. Then he says the stupidest thing I think he can come up with, "Oh, so she's taken now? That's okay." Looking past Edward he continues with his idiocy, "Your sister's fucking hot. Switch seats with me, man."

Oh shit! Edward looks murderous at this point. So much so, I have to practically sit on him to keep him in his seat. Before Edward can even say something, Charlotte snorts in derision. "I'm twelve, you pervert, and that's my dad."

Quil has the decency to blush a little, but it only serves to turn his attention back to me. I'm going to kill Alice for not warning me about him coming. She's going to owe me big.

...

The bat cracks against the ball and it's a homerun. Players run across the field and another one slides on the home plate, as the crowd goes wild. The Jays have won again and we're engulfed by the cheers from the fans all around us.

Edward's smiling and hugging Charlotte, the two talking animatedly about the last few seconds of the game. I've done my best to follow it, but truthfully, I'm pretty much lost on what exactly went on, except for the fact the Jays have won.

Quil's eyeing me and trying to educate me on the merits of the game. The bastard won't give up already in spite of my being here with a date. He's driven both Edward and I crazy, flirting constantly, even Edward taking him to the bathroom "for a talk" hasn't changed his attitude. I think it's the drugs. Or maybe he's just that stupid. I'm betting on stupid.

Finally, Quil decides to leave and I couldn't be happier. I was worried he was going to try and stick with us.

When he stands from his seat, he grabs me and kisses me on the lips, and I kick him in the shin for good measure. "I had a lovely time on our date, Bella," he says, winking. "Nice meeting you, Egbert. Charlotte call me in four years, sweetie."

Edward lunges at him, and Quil giggles as he runs up the stairs. I slump back down in my chair, burying my face in my hands.

"I am so sorry, Edward," I mumble.

He grasps my hands and gently pulls them away from my face.

"How do you even know that guy, Bella?" he wonders. "He's like a walking, talking PSA for 'this is your brain on drugs'."

I snort a laugh and explain how he's Jasper's friend, and he's always trying to get in my pants. Then I realise what I said in front of Charlotte and blush beet red. Censoring what comes out of my mouth is going to have to be a priority when she's around.

Edward laughs at my slip, puts his arms around us both, and we walk up the stairs discussing where to go for dinner.

...

There's an amazing pizza joint downtown near the stadium. Thankfully, it doesn't take much arm twisting to get Edward and Charlotte onboard with having dinner there. I don't make it to this part of town often, but when I do, I like treating myself to Tony's Pizza. The man can make a mean pie.

We order our pizza and Charlotte waits patiently in her chair, playing a game on her phone, while Edward plays footsies with me under the table, his eyes dancing with mischief every time our eyes meet. I don't dare say anything about his foot playfully nudging mine, but we do progress to hand-holding over the table.

His fingers are calloused; no doubt from playing the guitar, as he softly rubs my hand. There's a large part of me, inevitably the very pervy part, which wishes he was rubbing me somewhere else.

I snap myself out of those thoughts when Charlotte suddenly looks up from her phone, her eyes zoning in on something behind me. When I turn, I see a young man, probably about her age, looking over at us.

Edward groans and rolls his eyes from his spot next to me, and I giggle at his reaction. Charlotte's a pretty girl, and apparently boys are taking notice.

"Anyone you know?" I ask, side-eyeing Edward, who's positively fuming. If he were a cartoon, he'd have steam coming out of his ears.

A soft blush covers Charlotte's cheeks as she nods. "He goes to my school."

"Christ," Edward swears under his breath and brings a hand through his hair, fingering a few strands. "Char, you know the rules."

In typical teenager style, Charlotte rolls her eyes and looks down at her lap. "I'm not you, Dad." Her voice is barely above a whisper, but the message is clear. She's old enough to have done the math and understands the ramifications of her father's actions. She's a smart girl, and I have to give Edward credit for being as open and honest as he's always been with his daughter.

Feeling like I'm intruding on some father-daughter talk about to go down, I excuse myself to the ladies' room, giving them a little privacy.

After doing my business and washing my hands twice, just to buy some time, I check with Tony to see where he's at with our pizza. He smiles and with an unmistakable Italian accent, tells me it'll be another five minutes. The pizza here is always made fresh, but takes longer than Domino's.

"Five more minutes," I say as I take a seat, noticing how Charlotte's back to being playful and Edward looks more relaxed, leaning back against his chair.

…

After a delicious and fun dinner, we take the subway back to Edward's normal stop and get off to collect Charlotte's things. She's spending the night with her friend Heidi, so we're meeting Heidi and her mother at Yorkdale Mall. To say I'm a little nervous about going to Edward's parents' house would be an understatement. But Edward assures me they aren't home tonight, and even if they were they'd love me. I'm not convinced.

Charlotte's bouncing along down the road, and we stop in front of a beautiful two-story house. Edward's dad, after retiring from the Military, started his own security firm and they're doing rather well for themselves.

Edward points out the garage in the back, where he has his own apartment. It keeps his rent low, and gives him some space of his own. When Charlotte was younger he used to live right in the house with them, but now she's older and doesn't need as much care, his mother convinced him that a little space of his own wouldn't be a bad thing. I think it's wonderful how his parents have supported him. It makes me love them a little, even though I've never met them.

Charlotte shows me her room, and it's cute … I guess … if you're into Pepto-Bismol pink. She has pictures of Edward and herself through the years. Though I'd never say it out loud, for a while he really did look like just her brother; the age gap not typical of a father and daughter. The first picture of him awkwardly holding her as a newborn breaks my heart a little bit—his facial expression, equal parts scared and horrified. He looks broken and lost and in way over his head, as any kid would be in that same situation.

There's only one picture of Maggie. In it Charlotte looks to be about eight and the girl, while beautiful, stands at least a foot away from her daughter. Charlotte notices me looking and tells me, "That's Maggie, she's my birth mom, but I only call her Maggie," with a shrug of her shoulders. It pains me this girl's mother doesn't seem to have much to do with her life. I couldn't imagine having a child then practically ignoring it, regardless of the circumstances. But then again I've never been a teenage mother, so who am I to judge?

Charlotte doesn't seem to be damaged by the fact her birth mother isn't around much. She has a loving father and two very generous grandparents, so she's not hurting in the family department. Together they've raised a girl with a good head on her shoulders.

Once her stuff's collected, we quickly head back to the subway station and get on the train to Yorkdale. From there we will find Heidi and her mother, then take the bus to my place for a little one-on-one date time. While I've enjoyed the time I got to spend with both Charlotte and Edward, I'm thankful we'll be getting some alone time as well. Maybe tonight we'll be able to take things a step further. Or not. Probably not. I need to remind myself to take things easy. Edward has to be the instigator in this, which is something I'm not entirely used to. After all, I was the one ready to haul him up to my place on our first date.

Charlotte texts her friend to find out where they are, and we find them easily outside the Roots store. Heidi's bouncing excitedly as she spots Charlotte walking toward her. Her mother, on the other hand, is looking … well, downright bitchy if you ask me. And since I'm kind of a bitch myself, I'm a bit of an expert—you know, it takes one to know one.

She looks at Edward as if she's stepped in dog poop. The first words out of her mouth are not a pleasant hello, to the parent of the girl she's taking for the night, but rather, "Charlotte, you're looking thinner than last time I saw you. Come, we'll go get some dinner. It's past seven o'clock, after all." She then levels Edward with this look I'd like to slap right off her pinched-up face.

I tense, ready to pounce on her ass. I guess Edward can sense it as he quickly grabs my hand, squeezes it, and gives me slight shake of his head.

"Actually, Mrs. Hunter, Daddy and Bella took me to eat after the baseball game, but thank you for offering." Charlotte's the picture of a happy-go-lucky, unfazed teenager as she gives the woman, what I know to be, a condescending, fake smile. I think I love that kid.

"Well," the bitch huffs, "too much takeout isn't good for you, dear. Tomorrow morning I'll make you a nice, hearty, homemade breakfast." She levels Edward another glare before saying, "She'll call you when she's ready to come home tomorrow. Are you going to be available? Or will you be too busy with your friend?"

The fact she uses air quotes around the word friend as she gives me with the same look she's been giving Edward, makes me lunge forward a little bit. Edward wraps his arm around my waist, gently restraining me and ignoring her attitude, while I'm sure I'm baring teeth and foaming at the mouth, resembling something along the lines of Cujo. I want to fuck this lady's shit up and bad.

By the clench of his jaw, Edward just barely replies, "I'll be there when she's ready." He turns to Charlotte and says, "Text me a bit before you want picking up, okay Char?"

She grins at him and nods her head, before coming over and kissing him on the cheek. To my surprise she, again, hugs me tightly and says, "Thanks again for letting me come out with you and Dad today, Bella. It was great getting to know you better. I hope we can do it again sometime soon."

"For sure," I tell her. "And maybe one day we can ditch your dad even, go out, just us girls." And I mean every word. She's a great kid and the age difference—the fact she's older than your typical toddler—makes hanging out very easy and something to look forward to, even for a cave dweller such as myself.

She squeals at this, smiling her daddy's smile, then hurries back to Heidi and her bitchy mother.

We watch them walk away, and I can literally hear Edward's teeth grinding together. I don't blame him, but the girls look like they get along well together in spite of the mother's obvious distaste for Charlotte's upbringing.

I grab his hand and tug him slightly toward the exit. "Come on, let's go to my place."

…

Huge thank yous go out to our usual ladies: Mid and Kni… and of course you, faithful readers.