Chapter 11: Bella's POV
It's now a week before the BBQ that Edward has planned to welcome Emmett and I to the neighborhood. I'm not nearly as upset with Edward's brother-in-law as I was that day, two weeks ago, and I'm looking forward to meeting the whole neighborhood. I'm busy typing on the computer when the doorbell rings; so I save my work quickly and hurry down the hallway. After looking through the peep-hole, I open the door and greet Jasper Whitlock. "Hello, Jasper."
"Hi, Bella; can I speak with you for a moment?" He asks.
"Sure, c'mon in…" I say, leading him into the living-room.
Jasper and I sit facing each other. "Uhmmm, I've been trying to get in touch with your brother. I want to apologize for my behavior on the day we met. My sister won't give me the information and I was hoping you would."
"Well, do you think you could explain the situation better now than you did that day?" I ask.
He smirks. "I'll try. You see, I usually talk to Ro every night. That night she took off to pick up your brother and she was very vague to her staff about when she'd be back. Jake, the night manager of her garage, told me she went for one last pick-up and then she'd go home. I left a message on her voicemail, but she never called me. I got a text from Jake at 2 in the morning saying only that she picked up some guy and didn't give me any further info, so I started worrying. She knows I worry about her and that she should've called me, but your brother…Well, she got distracted. We came by to drop off Nessie and my son to Edward, when I noticed her tow-truck in front of your house." His face flushes with color. "I… Well, I guess the rest is history, as they say…Look, I'm really sorry about what happened that day. Please don't hold my stupidity against the rest of my family. Edward really cares about you and I'd hate to ruin that for either of you."
I sigh as the front door opens and Emmett calls out to me. "Bells, you home?"
Jasper stiffens.
"Stay here, I'll send him in so you can talk." I tell him as I go out to greet my brother.
"Hey, sis! How's it hangin'?" Em says.
"Not too bad, Em, what's going on?" I ask.
"I've got a major test on Monday, so I came here to study because your house is so quiet and it's always stocked with snacks." He says.
I chuckle. "Ok, you can study here, but someone wants to talk to you in the living-room, first. I'll be in my office so you've got the rest of the house."
"Who is it, Bells?" He asks.
"Its actually Jasper Whitlock…be polite, Emmett, please. He wants to make peace." I tell him.
He sighs and trudges into the living-room.
I go back to my office and get some more work done. I don't hear any doors open or close by the end of the next hour, so I check the house.
"Who fought the war of 1812 and how long did it last?" Jasper's voice is asking as I approach the living-room.
"It was between the US and Great Britain and it lasted almost three years, starting in June of 1812, and ending in the spring of 1815." Emmett says.
I walk in and look at them.
"That's good, Emmett." Jasper looks up. "Hi, Bella…"
"Hey, sis, guess what? Jasper here is a history teacher at the local high school. He apologized for that day and when he found out I was majoring in history like he had done, he asked if I needed help studying." Emmett explains.
"That's great, Em. Thank you, Jasper. I'm going next door to see if Edward's home, so have a good time and there are snacks and sodas, as well as beer, in the fridge." I tell them. Grabbing my purse from my room, I walk to Edward's front door. Nobody's home so I sit on the porch and dial Alice's number on my cell-phone. "Alice, hi, you'll never guess what's going on in my living-room!" I tell her all about it and we laugh for a bit until she asks to call me back, saying that Hale needs her. Just as I hang up the phone and prepare to return home, Edward and Nessie pull up.
Edward's POV
*Chicken breasts, beef patties, hot dogs, veggie-burgers, cole-slaw, macaroni salad, potato salad, buns of all shapes and sizes…Do I need anything else for the BBQ?* I think to myself and I fill out an order at the grocery store.
"Don't forget the olives and pickles, Daddy!" Nessie says. "Oh, and I think we're out of mustard."
"Condiments…of course… Mustard and catsup…mayo and… Should we get cheese sauce, Ness?" I ask my little BBQ helper.
"Yeah… and fries or tater tots, because then I can help!" She says nodding frantically.
I smile down at her. "Ok, Ness…chips and salsa too…We also need veggies and Ranch dressing." I hand the form to the owner of the shop. "I need this delivered next Friday. I'm having a BBQ on Saturday and-."
"Say no more, Mr. Cullen. I totally understand. You have my word; it'll be there on time." Greg Banner says.
The ride home from the store is uneventful, but Ness wants to talk so I stop at a small park and we sit on a bench.
"Daddy, are we still mad at Uncle Jasper?" She says as she sits on my lap.
"Jasper was very rude to Bella, a few weeks ago. She's a good person and…and I actually want her to be more than just my girl-friend, Ness…" I tell her. "But if our family isn't at least polite and respectful of her she might not want to become part of it."
"Does Uncle Jazz know about this?" She asks.
"I've spoken to him about it, yes, and he says he's sorry, but I'm not really the one he needs to apologize to. Rosalie and Emmett are annoyed with him too. Don't worry, Ness, he's promised to take care of it for us." I say hugging her.
"Can we go home now?" My daughter smiles at me.
"Yeah; we've already gotten the movie and lunch stuff so let's go." I say. As I drive, Nessie reads a book from school and I recall the conversation I had with my brother-in-law that night.
Alice and Jasper stood outside my door. They were there to pick up their son. I ask my daughter to sit with the baby while I talk to her aunt and uncle. They walk in and ask how the day had gone.
"Ali, you should've seen her with Hale! She was a natural and he loved Bella! He barely let me or Nessie near him." I smiled at my sister.
"I'm glad they enjoyed each other…I'll bet she looked amazing with a baby in her arms, didn't she, big brother?" Alice asked with a knowing glint in her eyes.
I nodded. "She was lovely…Ali, I know it's only been a couple of weeks, but I also know that I love her!"
Her eyes shone as she glanced at her husband. "Then, Jasper needs to make amends…soon." She winks and goes to get the baby ready to leave so I can have a moment with Jasper.
"Jazz, I thought I told you the other day how much she means to me…I realize that there were extenuating circumstances and you couldn't know which house was her's so I do forgive you, but I must ask you to do me a favor." I tell him.
"Of course, Edward…what can I do?" He asks eagerly.
"It's just one little thing, Jazz. Apologize to Bella's brother." I say calmly.
He cringes.
"He's not a bad guy, Jasper. I swear he's not, but I don't want any bad blood between our families or she might never agree to marry me one day." I say encouragingly.
He sighs. "Ok, I'll speak to Ro and see if she'll give me his number. I can't promise anything other than that I'll talk to him as soon as I can."
"That's all I can ask. Thank you." I reply, gratefully shaking his hand.
Pulling into my driveway, I see Jasper's car in front of Bella's home and my girlfriend is sitting on my porch. I get out of the car and rush over to greet her. "Are you ok? I noticed Jazz's car in front of your house."
"Oh Edward, you'll never guess…!" She beams. "Jasper came to apologize and get Em's number so they could talk, but Emmett came over to study while he was here! So now that they've talked, Jasper is helping my brother study! Isn't that great?"
Smiling softly, I kiss her cheek and say, "It is great, love. I'm glad you're happy."
She stops, frozen in mid-step.
"Daddy, did you just say what I think you said?" Nessie asks.
I just hand her the keys and ask if she can open the door so I can bring in the lunch and DVDs.
"Oh, that's right…It's Saturday! What movie did you get?" She asks.
"We bought 'Enchanted'." I tell her.
Nessie is setting out plates and drink cups as we walk into the room. "Is Bella going to watch the movie with us, Daddy?" She whispers.
I look at Bella and then back at her. "Would you like it if she did?"
She nods.
"Then you should ask if she'd like to stay…" I suggest.
"Ok…" She whispers.
I can tell that she is only pretending not to hear our whispered words but I also see the amusement in her eyes.
"Bella," Ness asks, "would you like to stay for lunch and watch the movie with us?"
She smiles and sits next to me while answering my little girl. "I'd love to, sweetie."
We eat and watch the movie and instead of resisting as I put my arm around her shoulders, she snuggles into me. Over the past two weeks, she's gotten closer and closer. I haven't let her down yet. I've been on time, if not early for all of our dates. When she needed a shoulder to cry on because of her dad, I'd been there. We haven't been intimate yet, but I'm hoping for that to happen soon. The movie ends and Nessie gets up.
"I'm going to get ready for my sleep-over at Annie's. Thanks for staying, Bella. It was fun to watch this movie with you…" She says before running from the room. We sit quietly and she lets me hold her for a few moments before Nessie peeks back in. "Bella, do you think we could do something like that?"
"Something like what, Ness?" Bella asks.
"Like what the little girl and the lady in the movie did… you know, go shopping and get our hair done and stuff…Could we?" She asks.
I try to hide my grin from Bella as she says, "Yes, sweetie, if your dad is ok with it, then we'll do that sometime soon."
Thanks to hnwhitlock for being a great Beta!
