Chapter 11
It was a rare indulgence that I allowed the kids to have donuts for breakfast because of all the sugar involved but that is what Sierra decided she wanted and Edward wouldn't let me tell her no. "It's the rules of the day, Bella." He said shaking his head at me as I tied shoes and checked over clothes before we all piled out of the house.
"I will agree to this on one condition." I told him as I pulled the door closed behind Beth who was reluctant to join us on this new tradition.
Edward nodded as he scooped Sierra up into his arms with a smile. "Name it." He said as I headed down off the porch towards his truck that we were taking to breakfast so we could all travel together.
I headed for my car to get Sierra's and Lucy's car seats as he opened the driver seat plopping Sierra in the seat while I got to work on getting her seat. "You go to the park while they run off all their sugary breakfast." I said with a smile as I tossed the toddler seat and the booster seat into the backseat of his truck.
"You've got yourself a deal, missy." Edward said as he helped me corral the kids into the truck with Landon in the front seat between us.
After a messy, loud, and exciting breakfast at the local bakery where I think Edward got his true first dose of my life with a disgruntled teenager, a confused pre-teen, an excited child, and a rambunctious hyper toddler. His hair showed signs of him tugging on it multiple times while he pleaded with Sierra to just eat her donuts instead of playing with them but he still had a smile on his face when we got to the park. "Never again." He mumbled to me as we sat on the picnic table while the kids ran to various playground equipment excitedly.
"I tried to warn you. She's two, Edward, she would have been just as happy going to Waffle House or IHop or somewhere to have waffles or something." I told him with a smile tucked the backpack I carried with various supplies for the kids on top of the ice chest we had brought with drinks and snacks for our morning at the park.
"Well, now I know for next year." He told me with a cheeky grin. "Who's next on the birthday list?" He asked propping his head on his bent hand.
We spent the morning alternately talking, playing with the kids, and dishing out snacks. Sierra was the first to crash from her sugar high, which I fully expected, so I spread her thick blanket under a nearby huge oak tree so she could lay down to take a nap. "Sleep tight, love bug." I told her as I lay her sleeping body down on the blanket before retreating back to the picnic table where Landon and Edward were chatting animatedly. Catching Edward's eye I silently asked him to keep an eye on Sierra while I went to check on Beth who was sulking on the swings where she had been all morning playing on her phone.
"Hey, Bethie." I said as I settled into the swing next to her.
She glared at me. "Don't call me that." She sneered at me.
Sighing I decided to cut this bullshit attitude before it could get out of control. "What is your problem, Beth? I am at my wit's end with you and this attitude you keep giving everybody. Mom and Dad would be so disappointed at your actions lately." I told her as I gripped the swing tightly in my hand.
"Don't tell me what Mom and Dad would be BECAUSE YOU AREN'T THEM!" She screamed at me viciously.
I stood up to face her straight on. "You think I don't know that, Beth? They were my parents too, you know. You aren't the only one that lost them that day. We all did." I told her with my hands on my hips. "Honey, I am trying my best here but if you are this unhappy with me then maybe you would be happier with Aunt Sheila?" I suggested throwing my hands up in the air.
She looked up at me with shock on her face. "You would send me away? Just for being difficult?" She whispered sadly.
Shaking my head at her I knelt down in front of her. "I don't want to send you away, Beth, but if it would make you happy then I would do it for you and for our parents. I never wanted to be a single mother at twenty years old, much less under the circumstances that got me here, Beth. But it's the life that was tossed into my hands and I am trying to make the best of it all."
"You take your clothes off for a living, Bella, how is that making the best of it all?" She sneered at me.
I rocked back on my heels in shock. Despite my efforts to shielf my career from all of them apparently they weren't good enough. "How did you know about that?" I asked quietly, shame filling my features.
"You left your duffle bag in the living room a few months ago and I mistook it for mine. I found your costumes. You know, Mom and Dad wouldn't be proud of your actions either." She said tossing my words back in my face.
Nodding I sat down in the sand in defeat. "You're right, they wouldn't. So how about we make a deal to change the things that would disappoint them? I will give up my job and you stop with the rebellion act. I want the sweet little girl that I knew two years ago back."
She nodded. "Please don't send me away, Bella." She said launching herself into my arms with a sob.
I wrapped my arms around her as she knocked us back onto the grass. Pressing a kiss to the top of her hair that had recently sprouted blue streaks I sighed. "Never, sweetheart, never."
Shortly after Beth's breakthrough we decided to leave the park for home. "Want to hang around for a while?" I asked Edward as he unbuckled the car seats from the back seat of his truck.
He shook his head. "Not today, baby. I think you need some family time with Beth." He told me as he sat Sierra's seat on the ground beside my feet.
I nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I just hope she sticks to her end of the bargain we struck up." I told him as I rocked on the heels of my shoes.
"Are you really going to quit your job?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Again, I nodded. "Yep, I'm gonna call Jake and Nessa in a little bit to let them know. I have to do what is best for my family. While the money was excellent I need a more family friendly job that me and my kids can all be proud of." I told him seriously.
He tugged me firmly against him as he leaned back against the side of the truck. "You know, my mom's office is looking for a secretary."
I immediately started shaking my head. "I don't know, Edward. I hate special treatment and she would feel obligated to hire me because I am your girlfriend." I stammered out as I hung my head. "Besides who wants to hire an ex-stripper who is also a single mom to four kids?"
Edward lifted my head back up by a finger under my chin. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Bella, you did what you had to do to support yourself and the kids. I understand that and so does my mom. It doesn't hurt to have a little special treatment every once in a while, by the way." He said popping a quick kiss to my lips. "Plus a nice perk to working for a pediatrician is discount doctor visits and daycare. Go try, baby, that's all you can do."
Sighing a huge sigh I rested my head against his chest. "Okay, fine. Monday morning I will go to her office."
Monday morning found me dropping off the kids at daycare and school. "I like the new look, Beth." I told my little sister who had made a drastic change over the weekend after we had burned all my costumes in a huge bonfire Saturday night. Her hair was back to its normal brown with blonde highlights I had suggested would make her hair shine. She had changed the hoop that was in her nose to a very small diamond stud that I compromised on. Gone were the black nails and slathered on make-up and dark clothes. Replaced by blue fingernails, blue jeans and a lime green shirt with a glittery four leaf clover on the front, and lightened make-up.
"Thanks, Bella. Good luck on getting your new job this morning." She said before grabbing her bag from the floor board and opening the door. "Kick some butt at daycare SeeSee." She said to my daughter who was playing with her favorite doll in the back seat.
"Thanks, Beth, have a good day." I called as she slammed the door shut making her way into the school.
Pulling open the door to the esteemed Esme Cullen pediatric office was like opening the door to the next phase of my life. "Hi, can I help you?" The blonde receptionist asked as I walked to the counter.
"Yes, I am here to apply for the secretary position." I told her kindly.
She nodded pulling a clip board from beneath the counter. "Here you go, just fill this out and I will give it to Dr. Esme." She said with a sweet smile on her face handing me the clipboard with a stack of papers on it along with a pen.
I sat in an empty chair and began the dutiful task of filling in all the spaces on the blank application. When it came to the past employment history I couldn't help but cringe because this is where most people would toss my application aside without a second glance. I wrote down the strip club along with the bookstore I had worked at in Los Angeles before going to the next section. Just as I was double checking the pages again to make sure I hadn't missed anything I heard Esme's voice call my name. "Bella, what are you doing here, dear?" She asked as she stood in the receptionist window. "Is one of the kids sick?"
Smiling I stood up to take my application back up to the desk. "They were all fine when I dropped them off this morning. Lucy is trying to get more signatures on her cast while I am here at Edward's request to apply for the job opening." I told her as I handed the clipboard to the receptionist.
"Oh, good. Well I have a few minutes before my next appointment so why don't you come on back and we'll have a chat." She said taking my application before stepping over to open the door that separated the office from the waiting room.
Taking a deep breath I stepped through the door following Esme apprehensively down the cheerful hallway as she flipped through my application. "Please don't feel obligated to give me this job just because I'm dating your son." I rambled out as we stepped into her office which was filled with nick knacks and family pictures along with a bunch of unfamiliar faces.
Esme motioned for me to take a seat. "I would never do such a thing, Bella. Besides I am the one that mentioned the job to Edward last week when he mentioned you weren't happy at your current job." She said as she sat down in her chair laying my application on her desk.
"Oh." I said dumbly as I sat in the plush chair facing her. "Did he tell you what kind of job it was?" I asked nervously.
She shook her head. "No and I didn't ask. I saw how well you handled your little sister being hurt as well as a noticeably cranky toddler and was impressed. I know a little bit about your story, both from Edward and from the gossip at the hospital." She said with a kind smile.
I nodded my head because I knew that my family was gossiped about because nobody expected a twenty year old college drop-out who was pregnant and alone to be able to raise her three younger siblings while dealing with the tragic deaths of the parents. "I hate being the center of gossip but I know the social workers and stuff are waiting on the sidelines for me to fail. But my parents raised me to be a strong willed individual and that is what I intend to be for my daughter as well as my siblings. I quit my job Saturday after I made a deal of sorts with my teenage sister." I explained in a rush.
"Oh sweetheart, I don't think people are waiting for you to fail. I think we are all so in awe of what you have done despite the situation being thrust upon you." She said flipping to a page in my application that listed my college experience. I only needed 15 credit hours to complete my major but at the moment I just didn't have the spare money to complete those hours. "What were you going to college for?" She asked curiously.
"My passion was for English but I had no desire to be a teacher so I struck a deal with my parents to get a practical degree and a minor in English. With that being said my major was computer information systems with a minor in Creative Writing." I told her, happy to be talking about my college experience. The opportunities were rare these days.
She nodded. "Would you like to finish your degree?" She asked leaning back in her chair with a smile aimed my way.
"Of course I would but I just haven't had the means or the opportunity since leaving California." I told her honestly. "Being a good mother for my four kids is what's important to me right now. Maybe once I get Beth through high school I will try to go back part-time." I told her with a shrug of my shoulders.
"That's honorable, Bella, but part of my employment package is the opportunity…"