A/N: Thanks for the great reviews. I'm happy so many of you appreciated the situation with TJ and Eric and the way it worked out.
Now, let's see what the Cullens are up to. There's a time jump in this chapter in case it's not obvious.
SMeyer owns…I don't infringe.
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Chapter 26. New Roads
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"Dear God," I gasped. Bella was curled into my chest having ridden the life out of me. It was incredible, but I wasn't seventeen anymore, and while I loved the woman with all my heart, she had a way of leaving me incapacitated…thankfully, many times a week.
"Dear Bella," she teased. I laughed as I slipped from her body, grateful I was able to have her without a condom. Feeling her without anything was my favorite way to feel her.
"We need to get up, babe," I told her as I glanced toward the clock. It was seven-thirty, and it was a big day in our world. Spring break was upon us, and there was a lot to do.
"I know, but just a few minutes like this," she requested.
I held her tightly and closed my eyes, enjoying the closeness. It was a cool morning, so I pulled the sheet over us and held her in my arms. It was my favorite time when the two of us were together without anyone around. I loved having her to myself.
"We'll have many moments like this in the future, you know," I reminded.
She raised her head and smiled. "You know, we've always had the worst timing in the world. School will be out in a couple of months, and JC will have graduated high school, but you're just hitting your stride at the garage. Have you thought about what you'll do when Rose goes back to school in the fall?"
"Actually, Garrett McGowan is going to start in April. We have a lot of business, and I want him to come in and learn the way Rose and I do things so he'll be there when we're traveling," I reminded her.
She laughed. "This will be the first trip we've ever taken without the kids, you know," she stated as she gently kissed my lips.
"Oh, hell yeah, I know. Very long overdue," I told her as there was a pounding on the bedroom door. I knew who it was, and I wanted to strangle him, but…
"Go away," I yelled as Bella giggled while climbing off of me and heading to the bathroom.
"Aren't you supposed to be offering me advice and support?" I heard yelled through the door.
I laughed as I got up and pulled on my boxers and a t-shirt. I opened the bedroom door to see my son looking as if he was ready to jump off the roof of our house. "What's wrong?" I asked as I pulled the door closed behind me.
"I got a text from Ali. She's worried about flowers, for God's sake," he complained.
I wrapped my hand around his neck as I directed him downstairs to feed the boy breakfast before he had some sort of an attack. "What's your pleasure?" I asked as I shoved him into a kitchen chair.
"I think I'm going to puke," he complained. Of course I laughed.
"I remember feeling that way, but it's just nerves. You'll be fine. Regarding the flowers, remind her that her mother is the florist and it will be fine," I told him as I pulled down cereal and two bowls.
My son, fresh off his and Alice's eighteenth birthdays, was getting married on St. Patrick's Day in my parents' living room, just as his mother and I had done twenty years prior.
We'd tried to talk them out of it, but they were as stubborn as Bella and I had been, and well, Mark and Denise weren't in our camp, so we lost the battle. I hated to admit it, but I was a little glad. Their baby, a girl, should be born into a loving family.
"You all packed?" I asked as I grabbed the milk and placed it on the table for him.
"I've got most of it. We'll be home on Wednesday, and Alice told me she'd help me finish up. Fuck, my wife is going to help me pack my shit to move in her parents' basement. This is…"
Yeah, I knew exactly how he felt, remembering when Bella moved in at my parents' house. We'd offered for Alice and Jasper to live with us, but Mark and Denise had a better setup, so they chose to move in with her folks. I knew Bella was disappointed, but it was their decision. The first of many they'd make in their lives, I was sure.
"Look, just because you're living with the Brandons doesn't mean you two don't have a place here. You're always welcome to come here and stay if you need a break. It isn't easy living with the in-laws, but you two decided to get married now, so you'll have to make the best of it. I remember when your mom moved into Grandma and Grandpa's before I went to basic. It was hard, but we got through it." Yeah, we got through it, but not easily.
"Kids, breakfast," Mom called through the bedroom door just as I stroked into my wife. Talk about a fucking buzz kill…or boner kill!
"She hates having me here," Bella complained as I climbed off of her with my fading hard on.
She'd been singing the same mantra for two weeks since the wedding, and I had two weeks before my ass was leaving for basic, so I didn't want to get involved in family drama.
Bella went to shower and I dressed and went downstairs, seeing my father at the table with the paper and a cup of coffee. Mom was at the stove, and I was completely pissed.
"Esme, that was uncalled for," I snapped…mostly from sexual frustration.
"No it wasn't. I'm making breakfast and I wanted to make sure you had a good meal before you go to work," she responded dismissively. Dad laughed, but didn't say anything, for which I was grateful.
"Mom, I love you. You and Dad, hell, you've been very gracious to allow me and my wife to move in here before I go off to basic, but Bella knows how to cook, and did it ever occur to you she might want to make breakfast for the two of us? You didn't adopt a kid. You got a daughter-in-law who has no idea how she fits in here.
"You're going to be here with her for six weeks while I'm training, and I really need you to understand Bella doesn't need you to take care of her. She's the caretaker in our relationship, Mom, and you need to back off a little," I told her.
She picked up the skillet of eggs she'd been making and took them to the garbage disposal, dumping them and tossing the pan in the sink. "Fine. She can make you breakfast."
Mom stomped off and I was at a complete loss. I turned to Dad, and he was shaking his head. "I truly wish I could offer any advice on this, but I've got nothing. Two wives in the same house is never easy. Good luck. I need to get to work, and I think you do, too." He walked to the cabinet and pulled out granola bars, handing me one.
"It's an adjustment, Edward. I'll talk to your mother tonight," he told me before he left.
That evening when I got home from work at the garage, Bella was in the kitchen making me dinner and my parents were nowhere in sight.
"Where are Mom and Dad?" I asked as I emptied my lunch box into the sink. Mom made me lunch, and I appreciated it, so I cleaned up the containers.
"Your dad got called to Seattle for a consult, and your mom went with him. They won't be back until Friday. It's just us," she informed. That was the first night I instituted the rule of sex before dinner.
"How bad was it?" JC asked.
I laughed. "It was bad because Grandma had a habit of knocking on the bedroom door in the morning to call us down for breakfast, and well, she interrupted a lot. I wish you the best of luck," I teased.
"Dad, seriously, how bad will it be?" JC asked nervously.
"I don't really know because I don't know Mark and Denise very well, but I'd guarantee you if he hears you doing his daughter, even though she's your wife, he won't be very friendly when you two surface.
"Just remember to take her out and do things when you can because after the baby gets here, it's a lot harder than you think. If you run short of money, call me. You can do shit around the garage for extra cash, JC.
"Make her feel special every time you can because it'll be a long time before it's just the two of you again. I didn't do it enough with your mom, but I intend to make up for lost time," I told him, meaning every fucking word.
"What would you have done differently if you had the chance to go back?" JC asked as he ate his Wheaties.
I thought about it, and there were a lot of answers to that question because I'd done so many things wrong, but I knew he wanted advice, and well, I was his Pop.
"I have a lot of things I'd have done differently, but the biggest one is when I told her I was being transferred to Kentucky and she asked me not to re-up, I'd have never done it. I wish I'd have moved here with the family and opened the garage five years ago.
"Ego is a hard thing to overcome, and I have a huge one. I had a goal…do my twenty in service. I lost sight of the most important thing in pursuit of it…I lost sight of how much I loved my family. Don't ever do that. Always remember how much your family means to you because I can guarantee you, if you have to be without them, you'll be a miserable son-of-a-bitch."
We finished our cereal in silence, me contemplating all the mistakes I'd made and how to make them up to Bella, and him, obviously focused on his wedding day. After we finished, I loaded our dishes into the dishwasher and turned to my son.
"Jasper, I love you, and I want you to be happy. I also want you to know I'm always here for you to talk to if you need someone. I know you have your friends, but shit's gonna happen your friends won't understand. I will. I'll drop whatever I'm doing to talk to you."
I hugged him as he rose next to me, fighting the tears. My little boy had grown into a huge man, and he was getting married. That was the most important thing in my world at that moment, and I was going to embrace it because none of our lives would ever be the same. I only hoped he saw it as well.
##
"Jeez, Penny, I'm not sure who cried more during the ceremony, you or Alice's mom, Denise," Charlie teased me as we stood in front of the fireplace in my parents' living room after the ceremony. I hated it that I lost my shit, but it reminded me so much of the day Bella and I got married, and instead of listening to them recite their vows, I relived every bad choice I'd made during the fifteen years Bella and I had been married. I felt worse than the day I found out our divorce was final.
Of course, Bella held my hand and tried to offer me comfort, but it only made the guilt double. After the kids were pronounced husband and wife and kissed, the small group of friends and family applauded. I did too, but when the applause stopped, I got the hell out of the living room and went to hide in the powder room for a few minutes to compose myself.
When I returned, they were taking pictures, so I walked over to the fireplace to stay out of the way but still see the happiness on my son and his wife's faces. I prayed they always looked at each other with so much love.
"Yeah, well, let's say it brought back a lot of memories all of a sudden, plus we're both worried about how they'll handle all this along with college. Since they decided to take the baby with them, Bella's been a little upset about us not taking care of her, but she swears she'll be fine, which is why I had to go ahead and get snipped," I told him.
Yes, everyone in the family knew I'd had the vasectomy because my son thought it was fucking hilarious and told anyone who would listen. At the time, I wanted to kill him, but the discussion Bella and I had the night before my appointment eased my ire with him.
"Rose was there, and she can back me up with everything I'm saying. I hope you know that regardless of whether Posy was there or not, nothing would have happened with Lauren. You trust me, right?" I asked. It was the night before my vasectomy, so Bella and I were having dinner at 'The Lodge' without the kids.
JC was going to spend the night at Charlie and Renee's to go fishing with his grandpa, and Rose was spending the night with Alice because they were working on wedding plans. I was grateful to have a night alone with Bella, especially since I was going under the knife the next morning.
"Of course I do, sweetheart. That bitch better be glad she left town because I wouldn't mind embedding this diamond in her face a few times. I love you, Edward, and I've got something else we need to discuss," she responded much calmer than I imagined.
"O-okay. Uh, am I in trouble or something?"
She giggled and took my hand across the table. "No, honey. First, I don't want to sell the house. I like the house, and since we don't need more bedrooms, I'd like us to stay put. I'd also like us to look into putting in a pool with some of the money Mom and Dad gave us. What do you think about that?" she asked.
I let out a heavy breath because it sounded like maybe she'd adjusted to the fact we weren't going to be taking care of our grandchild as we'd planned. I sure hoped that was the case. "Do you want me to cancel the surgery tomorrow? Do you want us to try? I mean, I know you wanted another baby, so if you do, then…"
She smiled tenderly. "Actually, Sarge, I don't want you to cancel it. I've been thinking about this for a while, and I know I've been bitchy and quiet lately, but I've come to a decision…or a realization, really."
I took a sip of my wine…the only thing I was going to get to drink that night due to the surgery…and I waited.
"For the first time since we were stationed in Texas before Rose came along, we'll have the house to ourselves. I think it's time Bella and Edward put themselves ahead of everyone else and gave themselves the opportunity to do all the fun things we didn't do when we were young.
"I'd like us to take a trip after Jasper's wedding. I have the week off school, and I thought we could take some of the money from Mom and Dad and go somewhere warm. March in Washington isn't exactly balmy, you know. What do you say?" she asked.
I was a bit floored, but I was completely on board with her idea. "Yeah, I'd love that, Bells. If you're sure you don't want another baby, then I'd love for us to put ourselves first. Hell, Rose is more than capable of taking care of the shop while we're gone, and McCarty can help her out since he'll be out of school. I think it's a great idea. Anything else on your mind?"
The waitress came to clear just then. "Anything else for you folks?"
"Actually, just the check? We've got the house to ourselves," Bella teased with a smile. The woman winked at her and left the check on the table. I quickly pulled out my credit card and handed it to her before she walked away laughing, and when we got home, we christened the couch, the kitchen counter, and had a very dirty bath. I'd be out of rotation for a couple of weeks, and we'd have to use condoms until I got the all clear from my doctor, but Bella going off the pill was our primary concern. The rest would follow.
"Kid, you need to let yourself off the hook a little. You and Bella are gonna be in Mexico for a week, and I'd say you need to learn to forgive yourselves and each other or this second marriage isn't gonna have a chance in hell." It was advice I expected from Carlisle. Hearing it from Charlie shocked me.
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my father-in-law?" I joked as I took the beer he offered.
He laughed a little. "Believe it or not, Penny, I'm in your corner. Always have been, and always will be. I just like giving you shit, and if you're not in my family, well, that just leaves JC, and he's got a lot on his plate right now. How are your wedding plans coming along?" he asked.
"Bella's been so wrapped up with this wedding we've only done bare bones about it…secured the church for the ceremony; the VFW for the reception, on which I got a break because I'm the newest member; and I think Bella found a dress, but she's being very tight lipped about it. I assume after we get back, she'll get on it. It's only eleven weeks until Memorial weekend, but it seems like an eternity."
Charlie laughed as Bella walked over and took my hand. "Babe, they need us for pictures. Dad, don't you wander far. JC wants one with his grandfathers and his grandmothers." Charlie nodded as we walked away.
"You okay, Sarge?" Bella asked as she led me outside on my parents back deck. With the mountains in the background and the looks on Alice and Jasper's faces, I knew the pictures were going to be incredible.
I wrapped my arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head. "You're the most beautiful mother-of-the-groom who ever graced the planet. You'll be the most beautiful bride as well."
"I love you, Edward Cullen," she whispered as she stood on her tiptoes in her high heels and wrapped her arms around my neck. I still had to lean forward to kiss her, but kiss her I did.
"Perfect!" we both heard as we kissed deeply. We pulled apart and saw Angela, the wedding photographer who worked for free, had snapped a picture of us. We both laughed at her, but when she showed me the picture, I told her I wanted several copies of it because we looked supremely happy. It was a look I wanted to see on Bella's face every day for the rest of our lives.
##
"You got everything?" I asked JC as he was changing out of his suit in my old room, just as I was. Mom was going to get them both dry cleaned for my wedding and hold onto them for us, and it was then I remembered Bella's wedding dress under the bed. I pulled it out and tossed it on the bed to take with me.
"I guess. I'll be moved out by the time you and Mom get back. She's not gonna cry and shit, is she?" he asked as he actually folded his suit and left it on the bed. Alice was already having a good influence on him.
"She'll cry because she's your mother, but she's going to be fine. I plan to make sure she doesn't dwell on it a lot while we're in Cabo. You have the directions to the cabin, right?" I asked.
My father, bless him, had a patient who had a cabin at Crescent Lake he was willing to lend to JC and Alice for a short honeymoon. I wasn't sure Dad hadn't rented it from him, but all I knew was at the rehearsal dinner, Mom and Dad had gifted them with the keys, the directions, and the number for the caretakers. They were very happy about it because the only other option they had was to stay at our place while we were gone…along with Rose. That wasn't really a honeymoon, and JC had kissed both of my parents for the gift.
I opened my duffle to grab my jeans and found the gift on top of it I was supposed to give to JC. I still smiled at the conversation Bella and I had when she explained it to me as she wrapped it in cream paper with a pink bow. Pink and cream were the colors of Alice and JC's wedding, and my wife loved it.
"What's that?" I asked as I packed my suitcase for Mexico and a separate bag for changing after the wedding. The kids were going to the cabin, and we were going to Seattle to the airport. I wasn't sure if I was more excited about the wedding or our vacation.
"Well, I wanted to talk to you about this. See, it's customary for the groom to give his bride a gift. Remember the bracelet of your grandmother's you gave me," she reminded as she jingled her wrist for affect where the bracelet rested.
I chuckled as a thought popped into my head. "I think, love, JC already gave Alice a gift." I mimicked running my hand over my stomach as if I had a swollen belly.
She threw a pillow at me with a laugh. "That aside, he needs to give her something meaningful like this bracelet, so here's my thinking. Inside this box is something that's very, very important to me, and I want JC to give it to Alice, but I need your permission," she explained.
I tossed my shorts on top of the suitcase and walked over to sit down next to her. She handed the blue velvet box to me, and when I opened it, I saw the diamond earrings I'd given to Bella for her birthday one year. I looked at them and looked at her, seeing tears in the corners of her eyes.
"I think that's a very good idea, love. There might be another pair for you in your future, you know…if you play your cards right." I handed her the box, tossed my suitcase on the floor and made love to her…condom in place because I was waiting for a call from the doctor regarding my sperm count and I wouldn't get the results until the Monday after JC's wedding. I couldn't wait.
"Sit down for a minute," I told him as I pulled on my jeans and t-shirt. He was anxious to get the hell out of there, but I was about to hand him the keys to the kingdom, and not that I thought he wouldn't get laid on his wedding night, but after I told him the story for him to tell his bride, the kid would be golden.
I handed him the wrapped box and the blank card his mother had sent along. "Inside this box is the first diamonds I ever bought your mother. They're diamond studs I gave her when she turned twenty-five, but I'd saved and worked extra hours to buy them without impacting our family. They're not big…just half a carat, but they're very, very good quality. I always wanted the best for your mother, and so I went for quality rather than quantity.
"Your mom, hell, she cried and cried when I gave them to her, but she wore them all the time, which led me to believe I'd done something right by giving them to her.
"Your mother, in her infinite wisdom, wants you to give these to your bride tonight. You write the card with your own words, but you make sure she understands that these earrings represent the love a man had for a woman. The love I had…have for your mother, and the love you have for Alice. Like I said, they're not big, but they're flawless…just like that love."
Hell, we were both in tears at that point. "God, this whole thing has turned us into pussies. What happened to the crusty Army guy," JC commented as he took the gift and card, drying his eyes with his hand.
I grabbed tissues for us and coughed as I blew my nose. There was a knock on the door, and I was dressed, so I opened it to see Rose standing there with an impatient look. "You need to get going, Daddy. You have just enough time to get to the airport if you don't hit any snags along the way. What the hell are you two doing?" she asked, still in her pink bridesmaid dress.
"Last minute advice. Wait till you and McCarty get married. Your mom will fill your head with all kinds of shit. Give me a break," I told her. She giggled.
"Fine. Just get a move on. Emmett and I offered to help Gram clean up, but nobody's leaving until the happy couple, and we're having dinner with Big Mike tonight."
I nodded and closed the door. I turned to my son. "We clear?"
"Yeah, Pop. Thanks a lot for everything. Have fun in Mexico," he told me after he was dressed.
I walked over to him and hugged him one more time. "JC, I'm really proud of you. I have faith in you and Alice, son. Be there for your family and always put your family first, and I don't mean me and Mom. I mean Alice and your little girl. You might not see it right now, but you are a rich man because you have love in your life."
I grabbed my shit and made for the door. "Pop?"
I didn't turn around, but I nodded.
"When did you become such a sentimental bastard?"
I laughed. "I'd say the day your sister was born, but it was the day your mother walked back into my life. Don't blow it like I did. Every woman isn't willing to give you a second chance."
I opened the door and walked out blinking back the tears. I went downstairs to find Bella in jeans and a t-shirt with her little bag in her hands. She was talking to Rose, and it was then I remembered the box upstairs. "I'll be right back," I told her as I dropped my duffle next to them.
I ran upstairs, finding my bedroom empty, and I grabbed the big white box from the bed, carrying it downstairs. I grabbed Bella's hand and led her outside to the back deck. "This is for you from my mother."
She opened the lid and gasped. "Is this…"
She pulled out the airtight vinyl bag and held it up, seeing her wedding dress from our first marriage. "Oh, my God. How'd she…?"
"She kept all of the stuff. We left it here when we went to spend the night in PA, and Mom had your dress dry cleaned and sealed in that bag in case you ever wanted it or if Rose wanted it. She has my old suit, which doesn't fit me, and I meant to give that dress to you for Christmas in case you could do something with it for our wedding, but I just wanted you to know it's still around." She turned to me and smiled.
"I know just the thing." Without further elaboration, she hugged me and kissed me, setting everything right in my world. I wasn't the same man I'd been twenty years prior. I was a better man, and the woman in my arms was the reason. She'd made me a better man.
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E/N: I'm in tears and I wrote the damn thing! I know those of you who were on the baby train wanted them to have another, but seeing that they were so young when they got married and didn't have time to just be a couple, I chose to go in this direction. I can't wait to hear from you.
Thanks for reading.
Till TUESDAY (going out of town again)…xoxo.
