As promised, here is the next chapter. There's some time skips in this chapter, but nothing too drastic. It's getting a little difficult to think of things to add to the main plot line without it sounding like I'm spewing shit out (which I kinda am), so while I write things out before typing, one-shot ideas are welcome to fill the spaces and those chapters will have a title instead of the usual "Chapter #".
The few days after my father left were hard. Sophia had more tantrums than she usually did and was more defiant. But as those few days turned into a few weeks, she became a bubbly little girl again. She still asked for her grandpa but the letters and postcards he sends help to tide her over. The little toys he sends certainly help, too.
But the fact that Christmas is only a few days away, helps keep my daughter occupied
"The first to go on the tree are the pearls. You start from the back and go around the tree." I explained as I guided Sophia in wrapping the string of pearls near the bottom of the tree.
"Like dis?" She asked after she managed the next row. I nodded and praised her work.
"Just like that. You think you can do the next row while I start the top row?" I asked and she nodded eagerly. I handed her the next string and watched for a moment while she untangled them before moving on the next row from the top.
"Hey, Esme, where do you want these?" Emmett asked as he appeared with a box of ornaments. I paused and looked around.
"Put 'em on the table. We'll all go through them once Sophia and I finish with the pearls." I said and he nodded, setting the box down on the coffee table.
"Done, Mommy!" Sophia exclaimed and I looked at her work. It was a little crooked, but she did a lot better than I thought she would.
"Very good, Soph. Why don't you go through the decorations with Emmett and see which ones you want to hang." I told her and she flew up from her position on the floor to stand next to Emmett and they carefully dug through the box of ornaments, occasionally pulling out ones they favored.
"You think we have enough decorations, Esme?" Edward teased as he and Alice set down two more boxes of decorations.
"Hush, now Eddie." I teased and he pulled a face. "Only the favorites are going up." I told him and started getting the lace bows on the tree.
"Then this one is definitely going on the tree." Carlisle said as he held up a picture of Sophia, Rose, and I caked in mud after we got caught in the rain at the pond. The guys had fun chasing us to the house but somewhere along the way, Rosalie slipped and I went down with her. Then Sophia threw herself into the mix and the three of us ended up a mess.
Rose rolled her eyes and took a small metal ornament from the box. It was the small rose Emmett had given her their first Christmas together.
"Pretty." Sophia said as she gently touched the pale pink crystal rose with her finger.
"Be careful Sophia. Why don't you start putting the decorations on the tree?" I suggested and just like before, she enthusiastically hung the baubles on the pine branches. Eventually, everyone else began putting their ornaments around the already slightly clustered tree.
"Can I put the star on the tree, daddy?" Sophia asked as she held the item in question in her hands. Carlisle nodded and suddenly she was hoisted up on Emmett's shoulders. She carefully balanced the star on the top of the tree and when she was satisfied that it wasn't crooked, Emmett put her back on her feet and she ran to another part of the house.
"Someone's in a hurry." I mumbled and I felt the vibrations of Carlisle's chuckle as he pulled me back against him. Within moments, Sophia reappeared with a gold ornament.
"This is the last one, promise." She said and handed it to me before climbing onto the couch next to Edward. I looked the ornament over, noticing the swirling patterns and calligraphy in an off-white color.
Carlisle & Esme Cullen
December 15, 1975
I noticed that it only had today's date. I caught the eye roll Edward let loose. I squinted at him and he just smiled.
I ran my thumb over the smooth gold and slightly raised writing, pausing over a silver flower. I paused when I felt a slight imperfection. Turning it once again, I found the minute crack. Worried, I turned slightly and looked to Carlisle.
"It's cracked." I said, slightly upset. Carlisle shook his head.
"It's not cracked…open it." He guided my hands with his and with a small push, the ornament gave way to a soft click and his hands retook their place on my sides. Curious, I separated the two halves and almost immediately, my mind went blank and everything around me faded out.
Nestled in deep purple silk, was a ring. I don't know how long I stood there but I was snapped out of my stupor when a familiar pale hand came into my line of sight and took the ring from the silk and set the ornament on the nearby table. He turned me in his arms and we came face to face, a gentle smile played on his lips and his eyes soft.
"For so long, Esme it was just me wandering without purpose. But then I found these hooligans and my life became brighter. I was happy with my job and my little family and then I saw you..." He paused, finally looking up from the ring to meet my eyes.
"There are no words to describe how much I love you. I can spend the rest of my life trying to find the words but I know I would never find them. I look at you and you're all I see, everything else fades away. I don't want to spend a single day without you by my side. I want to come home to you and our family.
You are my home, Esme. Wherever you go, I will follow. So, Esme, will you stand by me as my wife? Will you marry me?" He asked and held up the ring between us. It was beautiful. The band was silver with a single solitaire diamond in the middle that was flanked by a silver inlay and then three more diamonds lined up vertically.
I looked up to lock with beautiful golden eyes. I felt and saw my eyes water, slightly distorting the sight before me. I couldn't find my voice for the life of me so I settled on a nod.
"Yes?" Carlisle asked, his face lighting up brighter than I had ever seen. I nodded again and found my shaky voice.
"Yes, Carlisle. Always yes." And with that, he slid the ring home on the fourth finger of my left hand before he lifted me up in a hug and claimed my lips in a passion filled kiss. When we broke apart, we were surrounded by our little family, congratulations and quips sounding off.
Soon, they backed off, eager to get a good look at the ring. Alice was the first to take my hand in hers.
"You out did yourself, Carlisle. I did not see this coming." She admitted and he smirked.
"I managed to sneak it past you and Edward but the only ones who knew besides me was Sophia." He admitted and I found myself shocked. I turned a playful glare at my daughter. She giggled and held on tighter to Edwards's neck.
"You knew and you didn't say anything to me?" I feigned hurt, pouting for effect. Her giggle turned to laughter and she reached out to me. I took her from her older brother and settled her on my hip.
"I promised daddy I wouldn't tell and I kept my brain hyper. Daddy even snuck me out of school to go to the store to look at pretty rings." She admitted and began fiddling with the ring on my finger. "We went to soooo many stores and FINALLY found this one." She exaggerated and crossed her little arms over her chest.
"We only went to three stores, cricket. You're the one who found mommy's ring." Carlisle said and poked at Sophia's side.
"You picked my ring out?" I asked the child in my arms. She nodded. I smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Well, thank you, sweet pea. I absolutely love it."
The early morning light shone against the diamond on my finger, sending delicate refractions across the blankets, much like the glittering skin of the man next to me. I had curled myself into his side, watching as the sky lightened and listened on as the world around us came to life.
"Sophia's going to be up soon." Carlisle said, his fingers moving their patterns up to my shoulder.
"I know. Does it make me a bad mother for wanting to stay here all day?" I asked, my voice slightly muffled by the skin on Carlisle's neck. His chest rumbled and he turned onto his side, leaning over me on an elbow.
"Just a little bit but then it would also make me a bad father, would it not?" He asked as he placed a kiss on my collar bone.
"We are equally guilty." I caught his lips with mine for a final time before I slid from beneath the covers and into the adjoining bathroom and started the shower. I had just finished washing my hair when there was a soft knock on the bedroom door. I heard Carlisle open it and the sleepy little girl bid him good morning. I finished rinsing off and turn the shower off. I towel dried my hair before wrapping the towel under my arms.
"Hey baby girl. Good morning." I said softly as she leaned from Carlisle's hold and sought out mine. Arms now empty; he took his turn in the shower.
"Mornin'. You're warm mommy." She said and I nodded.
"I took a shower and you're going to take one too once I get dressed." I told her and settled her on the bed.
"What do you think I should wear Soph?" I asked as I pulled open the closet doors and stood in front of the space that held my clothes. I heard Sophia slide off the bed and her feet along the floor before I felt her stand next to me. Her face scrunched in concentration before she pulled a pair of jeans from a hanger and then rifled through one of the drawers before pulling out what she wanted.
"These." She said and held out the jeans and the top. I chuckled when I realized which pair of jeans she had chosen. They were dark blue and high waisted with a row of buttons. She had also chosen a dark green fitting sweater.
"I like it. Why don't you go pick out what you want to wear while I get dressed and then we'll go get you in the shower." I suggested and she nodded before running off back to her room. I went to the dressers across from the bed and pulled out a bra, underwear, and a slip. I put them on and slid into my jeans and tucked the slip into the waist. I pulled the sweater over my head and then put on some black matte flats. I quickly brushed my hair and went to check on Sophia.
"Are you ready?" I asked her and she nodded. She had laid out red and black pants and a soft grey sweater with a snowman on the front. Alice is sure to have a fit once she sees this.
"Go take a shower and we'll have breakfast. What does your tummy feel like eating?" I asked and she barely thought it over by the time she gave me her answer.
"Waffle's with strawberries!" She said an excited smile on her face. I felt myself smiling and I agreed.
"Waffle's sounds good. You go shower and I'll go get them ready. Deal?" I held out my hand.
"Deal." She shook my hand before disappearing into the hall bathroom.
I had just finished prying the last waffle from the mold when Sofia came thundering down the stairs. She pulled herself onto one of the chairs and set one of her coloring pads and crayon box next to her. I set the plate down in front of her and she immediately began eating.
Once she was half done with the waffle did she pause and open to a page in her pad and began sifting through the multitude of crayon, markers, and colored pencils. I listened to the sound of lead on paper as I straightened out the kitchen. And then there was a thump on one of the windows. I looked back to Sophia but she looked just as confused as I did. When another and another and another thumps resonated on various windows, did I pull a curtain but was met with a chunk of snow and a smug group of men.
"Your daddy and brothers are being silly, Soph." I told her and she giggled. Another snowball hit the window and all the guys were pointing at each other.
"What do you say we go and yell at them?" I asked and she agreed, eyes bright and cheerful. She quickly finished the little that was left of her breakfast and rushed to room. I gathered our gloves, hats, and scarves before pulling on my own winter boots and heavy jacket. She met me in the mudroom with her snow pants and an extra pair of thick socks.
I slipped her hat on her head as she all but jammed her feet into her boots.
"Are you ready?" I asked as I slipped my hands into my own gloves. My daughter nodded and went ahead of me into the back yard.
It was in the early morning sun and pure snow with my family that I belonged. As I met the eyes of my soon to be husband, my mate, my heart, and my best friend that I knew I didn't want to be anywhere else. As the world around us moved and continued on, we simply stood and smiled.
I'M, NOT SURE HOW MANY OF YOU WILL READ THIS BUT:
This chapter is ABSOLUTE SHIT (notice how I bolded, underlined, and italicized for emphasis). I know that I haven't updated in a while but in all honesty, I have begun to lose interest in writing A Different Life. I understand that a very, very small portion of you lovely people actually read and continue to follow this fic, and I apologize but I will be stopping here for a while. I promise you that it will not be for forever but for a while. I had originally planned on making this story around thirty to forty chapters but I find that that had been an unrealistic goal. I will continue to write for ADL (mostly one-shots and small gist's for bigger chapters and major plot points).
I just want to say thank you to those of you have been with me since the beginning - over a year ago - and just know that every time I got an email or notification telling me that one of you amazing readers had commented, added ADL to your favorites list, or followed it made me smile and my day a little bit brighter.
Thank You.
Until next time,
-SilentDaughter