BPOV
I was thankful for the distraction that fixing a huge meal provided. After my . . . screaming match, if I were to be honest,with my mother the night before, I needed it desperately. I couldn't believe the words that came out of her mouth. Edward had told me what he overheard, but I had been sure that he'd been mistaken or taken something out of context.
I'd been wrong. The vitriol that spilled out of her mouth about my husband, the life I was making for myself and my own decision making shocked me. It was like nothing in my life met with her approval and she was determined to tell me about it.
Of course, I probably hadn't handled it in the most responsible way. All the frustration and anger I kept bottled up inside poured out of me in a rush. I told her that she'd been a shitty mother, more concerned with her own activities to give a damn about me. I reamed her for marrying me off in the first place without telling me why and never bothering to make sure that I settled in. She'd gotten rid of me and gotten her life back. Now that I was older, she seemed determined to meddle and insert her own opinions whether they were welcomed or not.
Needless to say, I was no longer looking forward to spending an entire weekend with her.
Esme's main job was prepping the turkey. I hated sticking my hand in and pulling out all the insides, furthering my resolve that the medical field was not the place for me. We made small talk while she gutted it and I made the cornbread stuffing to fill it with, and when the turkey was safe in the oven, she patted my arm and went to prepare the table.
My alone time for reflection was short-lived. As if she was determined to make my life as miserable as possible, Mom came into the kitchen and pulled up a chair, preparing to stay awhile.
I was torn. Should I confront her head on, or deal with the creepy feeling of being watched and the claustrophobia of our argument hanging over us? After thirty minutes of charged silence, I'd had enough.
"What do you want, Mom?" I asked with a tense sigh.
She "hmphed" and I could almost hear her pursing her lips. "I thought the whole purpose of us coming was so that we could spend some time with our only child."
"I'd buy that if you hadn't made your opinion of that child perfectly clear last night," I retorted.
"Bella," she warned. I felt like a four year getting scolded again. This time, though, I wasn't four and I didn't have to answer to her. She was my mother, but I was a grown woman in my own right.
"No, don't you 'Bella' me. I heard you loud and clear last night, Mother." I rinsed the potato I was holding and set it on the cutting board before turning around. "What exactly did you hope to accomplish by telling me what a disappointment I am?"
She seemed to shrink in front of me. "Is that what you think?" she whispered. "That you're a disappointment to me?"
I rolled my eyes and turned to check the timer on the bread. It was almost time to pull it out of the oven. This conversation was going nowhere fast and this time, I didn't have the luxury of hiding in Edward's arms for several hours.
"I just didn't want you to think that this was your only option, baby girl. You can come home, if you want to. I simply want you to be happy!" she insisted.
I sighed. "The only thing I'm unhappy with today is you. I guess I made a mistake by coming to you when Edward and I were having problems. We're working on those together. You can't tell me that your marriage has always been picture perfect."
"No marriage is, but Bella, you all are so young to be dealing with trouble," she said worriedly.
"And our marriage isn't typical either. We've had more to deal with than most people do. Most people have spent more than three hours with their spouse before they get married. And, we've had a lot of steps to make up," I admitted.
She smiled, but it was watery. "When did you get so smart?"
"Eh, it's the therapy," I said off-handedly. As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized what I'd confessed to. I braced myself, waiting for the onslaught but it never came. In fact, the only sound in the room was my knife hitting the cutting board and my hands were faltering with that.
"What can I help with, Bella?" she finally asked quietly. Her voice sounded a little sad, but there was none of the ire I was expecting.
I turned and stared at her. She was still wearing what looked like a dressing gown and was fidgeting with the coffee cup now sitting on the table. It took me a few moments to find my voice.
"Uh, you, uh, can you make the sweet potatoes?" I asked, bewildered. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but that definitely wasn't it.
She gave me a tentative smile. "Of course. I can even do the little marshmallows."
We worked together, not talking about anything but the meal for over an hour. It was strained, but that was the best I felt I could ask for. Esme breezed in to check the turkey and joined us in finishing up the side dishes. We were closing in on dinner time and Islid the homemade rolls in so that they would be hot when I served them. Then, I ran upstairs to get cleaned up and make myself presentable.
With my parents as guests and the Spencers not here, the seating arrangement was quite different than normal. Someone had positioned the four parents on the far end and Edward and I were about as far from them as possible. Secretly, I was relieved that I wouldn't have to put on as much of a front during the meal considering I was exhausted from my crying jag the night before and from cooking all day.
Esme brought all the food to the table and I sank into my seat gratefully.
"You okay, baby?" Edward whispered when he leaned over to me.
I nodded. "Just really tired. Have you had a good day?"
He shrugged and smiled. "Yeah. I woke up with you, then I got to watch pre-game talk with your dad, my dad and my brothers. Thanksgiving doesn't get much better than that." He threw his arm around my shoulders and brushed his lips against the side of my head. I hummed in pleasure and gave him a small smile.
Carlisle interrupted us by clearing his throat. The table fell silent and all eyes turned to him. "Shall we say grace?" He held out his arms in a supplication gesture.
After he thanked God for each of us, and for the ability to be together on this day, he raised the knife and cut into Esme's turkey. With a cheer, Emmett reached for the stuffing and dumped a huge mound on his plate. When he did the same with the mashed potatoes, I wondered if he was going to need another plate. Thankfully, there was plenty of food for the rest of us and we ate until we were fully stuffed.
Rose, Alice and Esme refused to allow me to help clean up since I had done most of the cooking and they shuffled me out the dining room door. Edward was only too happy to grasp my hand and drag me to the rec room for an afternoon of football. The Cowboys game was exciting, but Alice drew my attention away when she, Rosalie, Esme and my mom entered with arms full of decorations.
"It's time!" she called out in a sing-song voice. The guys groaned and I sank into the couch, hoping to hide for a little longer. Alice couldn't be deterred, though. "Emmett, can you go get the tree and the ornament boxes? Jasper, I need the greenery, please. Edward, can you go get the snow globes?"
She was a freaking general and the guys didn't dare disobey. One by one, they stood, grumbling, and made their way to the attic. Then, she gathered the rest of us over to the pile in the center of the room. The mantle needed lighted garland, stocking holders and stockings for each of us. The front door needed a gigantic wreath, the hanger for which was on the floor. The entertainment center needed to be topped with more garland, Santa and his sleigh, and small figurines from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. There were bows for the staircase and special placemats for the table. Each of us took an area and got to work.
Dad shuffled over to where I was working on the mantle and he grabbed the end of the garland. Together we looped it over and around the stocking holders.
Dad cleared his throat. "Uh, listen, Bells. I'm sorry about your mom last night. I just, uh" –he rubbed his neck awkwardly—"well, I'm real proud of you. You've grown up into a beautiful and smart young lady. Edward told me you were thinking about coming for Christmas, and I'd really like it if you'd still consider it. I've missed you, Bells."
I hugged him as hard as I could. "Thank you, Daddy," I whispered, trying to hold back the tears. "I've missed you, too."
We returned to the mantle to dispel some of the tension. Dad was never comfortable with shows of emotion.
"Are you happy, Bells?" Dad asked while hanging up Emmett's enormous stocking. "I mean, does he make you happy?"
I thought back over the last few months and how much things had changed for us. I knew that we still had a long way to go before things were as they should have been all along, but it also occurred to me that perhaps neither of us had been in a position to handle an adult relationship two years ago. We were both working hard at it now.
"Yes, Daddy, he does," I said positively.
"That's all that matters, then." To him, the matter was now settled. Gone were the words that made me feel like an object and I wondered if he hid behind that decision because he was afraid that I was unhappy with the life he'd given me. Now that he knew I was in a good place, he was free to be the dad I'd always known again.
The guys barged in the room, huffing and puffing while carrying the Christmas tree. Alice flitted behind them, adding details here and there and requesting that they put it together so we could all decorate it together. With an exaggerated sigh, Emmett started heaving parts of the tree out of the box.
All of the men fit the pieces of the almost ten foot tree together while the women dug through the boxes, pulling out our favorite ornaments. With all five of them working together, it didn't take long for the tiny white lights to glow from the depths of the tree. Esme always had the honor of placing the first ornament on, and it was the same one every year.
"I know I tell this story every year," she started, as the rest of us groaned good naturedly. "This ornament was given to Carlisle and I on the day we got married. It was the start of our family and today, I officially start our Christmas season with it." She hung it near the top and backed away as her kids raced forward with ornaments that they had made over the years. There was a yellow and purple lopsided cat that Rosalie had made in preschool when she was four, a round ball with Jasper's seven year old face glued to it, and a picture frame ornament with a baby Edward screaming on Santa's lap among others.
"Do you know what this one is?" Edward whispered into my ear. His right hand was on my hip, anchoring my body into his, and his left dangled a bell in front of me.
I knit my brows together. I'd never seen it before. I shook my head and turned to gaze into his eyes.
"I bought it right after we got married to remind me of you. Will you help me put it on?" He looked so eager and it made me smile.
I joined my hand with his and together, we chose a branch and looped the ribbon around it. I didn't even notice that the room was full of people or that they were watching us. Nothing else mattered but the two of us and that moment.
It only took an hour to get the tree fully decorated with all the family's ornaments and the requisite tinsel. Through the rec room door, I could see that the banisters were already draped with greenery and bows and that there were little touches of Christmas scattered throughout the foyer.
I knew that over the weekend, Carlisle's Victorian village would finish taking its place on the large folding table that was now set up in the hallway. All of the linens in the main area of the house would be swapped out for the remainder of the holidays; the entire main area of the house would be transformed.
It suddenly occurred to me that Carlisle's skating pond needed a Christmas tree of its own and I knew the perfect one. "Wait!" I called to Carlisle as he tried to position the skaters on the blue glass that served as the pond. I ran up the stairs and into Edward's and my room where we had stashed the pottery we'd made on our date weeks ago.
With the tree safely in hand, I ran to find Edward so he could give it to his mom. "Hey!" I called when I saw him leaning against the wall in the front hallway. "I was thinking that this would look great in your dad's village. What do you think?"
His eyes lit up and the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile. "That's a great idea. Let me go give it to Mom first." He kissed me quickly and strode back into the rec room. I watched from the doorway as he pulled her to the side and bent his head to be closer to hers. Her hand fluttered up to her mouth and her eyes pooled with tears. She glanced between Edward's face and the paper wrapped package in his hand with an expression of awe, love and shock.
Gently, he pressed it into her hands and watched as she unwrapped it gingerly. The tears fell as soon as she saw his handiwork and Esme threw her arms around her son. With pride radiating from every pore, Esme marched past me and straight the Carlisle. Carefully, she moved the pieces away from the center of the park area and placed the Christmas tree right in the middle.
Edward sidled up beside me. I saw him glance up and then he ran his hand up to my jaw. Slowly, he leaned down and placed a gentle, but passion filled kiss on my lips. Though we had gotten much more physically affectionate in private, we were both usually much more reserved in public, especially around our entire family.
All those thoughts flew out the window though as his tongue swiped across my bottom lip. We were the only ones in the world at that moment. I was lost to sensation and the overwhelming love that was coursing through me. I was on the verge of pulling away to tell him just how I felt when I dimly heard a throat clear nearby.
Reality sunk in like a bucket of ice water and my face flamed. I pulled away from Edward and stared fixedly at my shoes. I heard a little bit of soft laughter around me and then I felt the pressure of Edward's fingers underneath my chin.
"Hey," he said softly. "Look at me, please."
I glanced up through my eyelashes to see him staring intently at me. His expression seemed intense and slightly worried.
"Are you upset with me?" he asked and I could see the fear in his eyes that he was trying hard to mask.
My head shot up. "For kissing me? No! I'm just embarrassed. I mean, we just gave them all a show!"
He shrugged. "So they all get to see how I feel about you. Is that really the worst thing in the world?" His voice was gentle and sincere.
"No," I whispered and once again, I was caught in his verdant gaze.
"Alice, do you know where the dishes are?" Esme called out as she strolled in from the kitchen. "They aren't in the box." My gaze drifted to her face just in time for her to take in our position and for a grin to break out.
Edward chuckled into my ear and turned me back into the rec room. Thankfully, Emmett and my father were the only ones still inside and they seemed determined not to mention our display in the doorway. We did finish emptying the rest of the boxes in record time though. We all hid from the rest of the family in front of the television to avoid the rest of the madness.
The next time I saw Alice, she was carrying a huge stack of newspaper. Rose, Esme and my mother followed behind her with pads of paper and eager expressions. I curled a little more deeply into Edward's side, but it didn't work. They still found me.
"Come on, Bella," Alice cajoled. "We have to make our plan for tomorrow."
I grumbled but slipped off the couch and onto the floor with the rest of the girls. For the next hour, we poured over the sale papers and decided which stores we had to be at and when. As I scanned them, I saw random things that I wanted to get and used the notepad my mother handed me to make notes.
"All right, so Renee, Bella and Alice will start at Target. The store opens at four, so you all need to be there by three," Rose instructed.
"Wait," Edward broke in. "Three A.M.?"
Rose gave him a look that clearly said, "Well, duh!" and turned back to the group of us. "Mom and I will start at Kohl's. We'll meet at the mall at five-thirty. It's ten now, so we should all probably get to bed soon."
"Demetri's okay with leaving that early?" Emmett asked, astonished.
Rose crooked her eyebrow at him. "Why would Demetri go with us? It's a girl's day."
"Uh, I don't know, the crazy ass stalker that's following her?" he retorted.
"We're going to the mall, and we're going to be with her all day. I doubt he'd follow her there anyway—there's going to be a million people there," she said.
"I don't like it," Charlie stated hesitantly.
"It'll be fine, Charlie," Renee placated. "I'll take care of her. Now, I'm going to bed."
Bed actually sounded good considering that I would have to get up in about four hours. I rose from the floor and swayed a little. I was more tired than I knew.
Edward grasped my hand, we called our goodnights to the room, and trudged up to our bedrooms. He disappeared through his door and I immediately went to my dresser and pulled out my tank top and shorts. As soon as I finished my nighttime routine, I collapsed onto the bed where Edward was already waiting. I curled next to him, into his arms, and let my eyes drift close.
"About tomorrow," he started.
My eyes opened a fraction and I looked up at him.
"Do you think one of Windemere's guys could find you in that mess?" he asked.
"That one with the dreadlocks saw us there a couple of weeks ago, so yeah," I muttered.
Edward sat up abruptly, dropping me onto the mattress. "What? What do you mean Laurent saw us? Why didn't you mention this, I don't know, then?"
"I didn't think it was important. I was with you. I was safe," I defended.
He grabbed me up and enfolded me into his arms. "You can't go tomorrow." He sounded pained and afraid.
"It's tradition!" I cried. "I have to go."
"Would it be cramping your style too much then if I decided to go with you?" Edward asked hesitantly. "I just want to keep you safe."
"You'd get up before the crack of dawn and shop with us all day?" I questioned.
He smiled at me. "Set the alarm, woman."
So, I did and we both fell asleep quickly. It wasn't quick enough, though, because I still didn't want to move when the alarm went off. It was only two in the morning and I needed coffee.
Edward provided. He met me in the foyer with two large, steaming travel mugs. His jeans were worn and he had on an old gray T-shirt underneath a blue button down. Despite his put together attire, he looked half asleep.
"Edward? What are you doing up?" Mom asked as she walked into the front hallway.
"Shopping," he answered shortly, sipping his coffee as if it was going to provide him with all the patience he would need for the day.
She gave me a confused look, but I just smiled sleepily and watched Alice and Jasper come to the front door.
"Are you heading over to the farm already?" Edward asked.
"Nope. Alice told me that I had to come shopping," he mumbled. "Is there any more of that coffee?" Even though he often got up early, he didn't look like he was ready to be awake either.
We all piled into Mom and Dad's SUV and we headed to Target. The line was already winding along the building when we arrived, so we bundled up in our coats and went to take our place. Within fifteen minutes, the grumbling began.
"Why are we here again?"
"Fuck, it's really cold out here. Can't we wait in the car?"
"Is it really necessary to be here so damn early?"
"What's so important that we have to freeze our nuts off to buy it?"
"This fucking sucks. James isn't going to be out here in this, dude. Even he's not this masochistic."
Mom, Alice and I just rolled our eyes at their complaints. We did this every year and it was always this cold. But they didn't know the half of it yet. As soon as the doors opened, the real craziness would begin. We were getting three of the TVs that they had on sale, a digital camera, some toys for the kids at the hospital, a few DVDs, pajamas, and some video game accessories. They had no idea what they were in for.
About three-thirty, the police officer in charge of crowd control got out of his cruiser. At a quarter til four, the line got restless. Edward and Jasper were hopping around, trying to keep themselves warm and the three of us girls were going over a map of the store that had been handed out. We needed to get at least three carts and get to the TVs first. Alice appointed her and me as the TV racers and instructed the other three to get carts "Or die trying."
As soon as the manager opened the doors, the melee began. Alice and I ran to the spot where the fifty inch televisions were stacked and we slid three of them into a pile. Seeing the size and thinking of our vehicle, I grabbed a fourth and guarded them closely. Edward sped through the bodies of people as fast as he could with his cart and single handedly loaded two of the TVs into it. When Jasper arrived, he put the other two into his cart. I called Mom's cell phone and found that she had gone straight for the movies. We decided to split up and meet in twenty minutes.
Edward and I took on the toys since we'd had the most interaction with the hospital and we carefully selected our items based upon age and ability to be kept clean. We might have gone a little overboard, because every available space in our cart was filled, but I figured that they deserved it.
Mom, Alice and Jasper had managed to scout out everything except the digital camera and I ran over to the electronics counter to pick it up. They required me to check out there, so I called the others and had them get in the electronics line. It was smaller than the main one, but it wasn't moving any faster. I watched our time closely, knowing that we were going to have to go back to the house and unload. There was no way we could leave the four televisions in the car at the mall and not expect trouble. That and there would barely be room for the five of us—and that didn't take into account all that we would buy at the mall.
Alice seemed to be thinking along the same lines as I was. "Okay, how about this? Renee, you and Edward drop us off at the mall and then take the car back to unload." They both leveled her with looks that left no doubt as to what they thought of that plan.
She backpedaled fast. "Or not. Crap."
Jasper whipped out his phone and dialed. "Emmett. Sorry, dude. We're actually out in this shit. It's worse. You have no idea. No, that's not why I called. I need a favor. Yeah. Get the keys to Dad's car and come trade vehicles with us. Just leave the shit in the back alone. Yeah, the mall. By Nordstroms? Thanks, man."
He smiled at us. "Taken care of. Now we just need to get out of here." Alice beamed at her husband.
Checking out was an ordeal. We switched stuff between carts, each claiming items for one family or the other and the check-out guy was exasperated with us as we snatched stuff back and forth. Finally, each with huge receipts in our purses, we wheeled through the doors into the still dark morning.
"What the fuck?" Edward muttered to Jasper. "It's still fucking dark!"
"I feel like I've already done half a day's work. This is insane," Jasper said back.
I grinned at my husband and his brother. "The day's only just begun, boys. We've got about sixteen hours to go."
Their faces instantly molded into twin expressions of horror as they stumbled to the truck.
"I need more coffee," Edward mumbled when he fell into the backseat of the SUV after loading up four TVs and countless bags. We couldn't even see out the back window any more.
In a gesture of goodwill, Mom wheeled through Starbucks and bought Edward a Venti coffee. Their relationship was still strained, but it seemed she was trying to make an overture. I also knew that the only thing Edward held against her was how she had upset me, and it would take time for her to prove to him that she wasn't going to do that again.
Emmett was waiting outside Nordstroms like promised and he took the SUV as soon as we all piled out of it. He was barely awake and mumbled something about getting back to bed on his day off before he drove away.
It was the last time we stood together for almost six hours. Edward and I wondered through the stores, occasionally shopping with the other members of our party and sometimes just waiting for them to finish up. I managed to catch Rosalie eyeing a pair of boots that I'd heard her mention on more than once, and purchased them as soon as she walked away.
"What?" I asked as Edward laughed at me. "It's how we do things. I can never figure out what to get them, so I watch them while we shop and buy the things that they point out."
"Do I have to do my own shopping this year?" he asked, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, with his hands jammed in his pockets.
"For who?" I asked blankly as I searched for the perfect pair of slippers for Esme.
"The rest of the family," he answered.
I stared at him. "Do you usually?" I hadn't really paid much attention in years past. I'd always included him on my gifts.
He nodded. "It's usually a gift card or something."
I wrinkled my nose. "I think we can do better than that. We're a team now, right?"
He gave me a crooked grin. "Right."
He gave me a quick kiss and pulled out a pair of purple, fur-lined slippers with rubber soles. "For Mom."
At eleven, we met at the food court to regroup and eat. We were all starving and the guys made a quick trip to the car to deposit our shopping. My list was relatively small, but I'd only completely crossed Rose off. I still needed to visit Cardboard Heroes for Emmett—there was a Packers lamp that I wanted to get for him. I'd planned to get Alice clothes, but with her determination to start a family, I was rethinking that idea. I slid the list over to Edward to see if he had any ideas for his mother, his father, Jasper or Alice.
He scribbled some notes down between bites of his enormous roast beef sandwich and I tried to concentrate on the conversation around me. Mom was talking needing to go to the sporting goods store for my dad and Alice was making a list of all the places she still needed to go.
"Your dad wants this new depth finder that came out recently," Edward whispered, leaning over to me. "He said it was the Elite 5x or something like that."
"Really?" I asked. "Okay, well, can you help me find it at Bass Pro?"
He shrugged. "Sure. Is that where we are going next?"
I nodded and he finished quickly. He looked around the food court and stiffened immediately. "Bella, have you seen that guy before?" Edward asked tensely. He was pointing to a refrigerator sized man in a light jacket. Far too light for the twenty degree day.
"No, I don't think so. Why?"
"He keeps looking at you. Stay close to me please," he ordered more than asked.
We walked with my mother down the mall; Edward held my hand and kept me close to his side. Gone was the carefree, albeit exhausted, attitude and in its place was a tense and watchful one. He located the depth finder for my father quickly and I stood next to him while my mother picked out a new fishing pole.
Alice was in Cardboard Heroes when we arrived, picking up a signed Cubs jersey for Jasper. I was in luck with the lamp for Emmett. They had one left. Alice stayed with us as we headed down to Macy's to rendezvous with the rest of our group. While there, I did find some pajamas, a new robe, and some workout clothing for my mother, a new suit for Esme, and a few odds and ends for Edward. I had to sneak away with the girls once or twice to do it, and it felt really strange to be buying him underwear, but I found a few pairs that I really liked and wanted to see him in. The very thought made me blush.
Rosalie was buying some scrubs for her sister-in-law and we were standing out front of the store waiting for her to finish. Dinner was next on the list and we were all getting tired. Edward's phone rang and with a look of confusion, he took a few steps away and answered.
"Edward Cullen." He listened for several minutes before shock became the most prominent emotion.
"You made the arrest already? And you're sure about this?" He paused. "Thank you, Detective. Wait, what?"
The detective on the other end must have said something to anger him because it radiated off every line of his body. "What do you mean he's already posting bail? How is that possible?"
Something else was said and he hung up without another word. I watched him pace a few feet away with wide eyes. Whatever this was had really upset him.
"You ready for dinner, Edward?" Esme called, oblivious to the scene that had just unfolded.
He snapped out of his trance and spun toward his mother. It took several seconds for her words to register. "No, Mom. No dinner. We need to go home. Now."