8/9/2012: Word Prompt: Hoop

Despite Leah's fears, and possibly even some of my own, the cards didn't change anything. Well, that's not entirely true. They did change one thing, but it was for the positive. They breathed new life into my determination not to fuck shit up anymore.

Later that September, I officially celebrated three hundred and sixty five days sober. And though it was just one small hurdle in a very long race, I was happy that I'd proved everyone wrong and stayed on track.

At one time I knew that Bella's reintroduction into my life might have derailed everything. At one time, I might have jumped right off course and went running straight back to Washington without thinking twice. But I wasn't that boy anymore.

I was a man.

A man who recognized that just because I wanted it didn't mean I could have it.

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My phone rang from the opposite side of the house and I smiled instantly. I had a feeling I knew who it was.

Emmett.

I rushed toward the kitchen, grabbing the phone from the counter as I went. Upon answering, the first words I heard were: "She's coming! She's coming!"

I laughed to myself and stared out the back door. The sun was just setting and I could already see the moon growing brighter.

"How far apart are her contractions?" I asked, enjoying the fact that for once it wasn't me who was freaking out about something. It was him.

"Only about two minutes. Doc says it shouldn't be long now," Em replied, breathing a little heavy.

"I'm so happy for you, Man."

"Thanks, E. I wish you could be here to meet her with us," he sighed.

I ran my fingers through my hair and turned, leaning against the counter and crossing my ankles.

"I wish I could be there too. But you understand why I'm not, right?"

"Yeah," he breathed. "I get it. Just seems weird to be doing this without you."

I chuckled, but he was right. It was weird for me, too. Being a part of my family and friends' lives while not actually being a part of their lives was difficult. Accepting that I wasn't the only one changing and growing up was even harder. I knew that when I did go back, everything would be different. And I knew the reason I couldn't go back yet was because the idea of that sent me to five meetings a week and had Leah kicking my ass constantly in the gym.

"You've got other friends, Em."

"Yeah, but they're not you."

We were both quiet for several seconds, until Emmett started snickering.

"Listen to us, we sound like a pair of sissies. Let's change the subject."

I shook my head at his dumb ass. "Who all's there with you?" I asked.

"My parents are here somewhere. They were hungry and went off to find some food about an hour ago. I told them I'd call as soon as something happened."

"Is…" I cleared my throat, not sure I wanted to ask, but also knowing I'd kick myself if I didn't. "Is Bella with Rose?"

Emmett hummed a negative. "No. She had to work today, but she's on her way now. I think your parents might even be coming from Forks. Your mom's supposed to call me back in a little bit."

I grinned to myself, happy that even though I couldn't be there, the new baby was going to bring all of the people I loved together.

"Tell everyone I said hello, and you better send me pictures once she's here," I urged.

"I will," he said. I could hear the smile in his voice. "Listen, I better get going, I just heard a crash and one of the nurses went running from the birthing suite. I promise to send you pictures as soon as I can!"

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Later that same night, Emmett and Rosalie welcomed their first child into the world. Little Annabelle McCarty was a seven pound, four ounce carbon copy of her daddy. Brown curls up top and dimples that were so deep it was as if god had poked each cheek and deemed her perfect before sending her down to them.

In the few days that'd passed since she was born, Em had sent so many pictures I was afraid my phone would explode at any moment. But I loved every single one.

The Saturday after, I was out with Leah having a late lunch and telling her all about my new 'niece.'

"Did you send a gift?" Leah asked around a bite of salad.

I took a bite of my own burger and shook my head. "Not yet. I was hoping you could help me with that. I have no fucking clue what a baby needs. I tried to look for something online and got so overwhelmed I had to close the page."

She giggled, loudly and drew the attention of everyone in the restaurant to our booth. I narrowed my eyes and tossed a French fry at her.

"They've got a registry, right?" she asked, still giggling. "Everything they would need is on there. How do you not know this?"

I shrugged in response and continued to enjoy my burger. I'd never done any of this shit before. How was I supposed to know?

"They probably have everything they need from there anyway, right?" I asked.

Leah rolled her eyes and shoved her hair behind her ear, looking frustrated. She'd been doing that constantly since deciding it would be a good idea to cut her hair so short. "Maybe." She took a drink from her water. "What about jewelry? You can never go wrong with something shiny and pretty when it comes to girls. Does Rose have her ears pierced?"

"I have no fucking idea." Her trucker vocabulary was wearing off on me.

"Find out." She shrugged.

I picked up my phone and sent off a quick text to Em. In less than a minute I had a response: yes.

Later that night I sat down at my computer and Googled 'baby jewelry.' It wasn't long before I found the tiniest pair of gold hoop earrings I'd ever seen and sent them off to Washington with the message:

Can't wait to meet you, little one.

Love,
Uncle Edward

I really wish I could say the delay here was because I spent all week writing ahead so I could give you all lots of updates at once, but sadly that isn't the case. All of my planned writing time sort of went out the window with some unexpected changes.

Thanks for hanging in there and understanding. I'm hoping to give you guys another update today, but I'm not making any promises. See you next time.