Bella's POV
The day after Adele arrived was a Sunday. Emmett and Rose, Jasper and Alice, and Carlisle and Esme all piled into me and Edward's apartment for lunch, and, for everyone except Emmett and Rose, to meet Adele for the first time.
"Adele, Baby...wake up." I leaned in the door way of her room while Edward knelt on one knee by her bed. My poor little girl had been exhausted; she'd gone to bed at 8:45 last night and it was now almost 9:00 in the morning. I watched as she slowly started to wake up, opening her eyes, and blinking a few times, then looking around the room.
"Good morning, Sunshine." Edward said, standing up. He held out his arms to her. "Let's go and get some breakfast while your mom gets dressed." Adele stood up on the bed and I inhaled sharply. She could fall! She'd gotten my clumsiness, after all. I took a step forward to grab her, but before I could do anything else, she wrapped her arms around Edward neck and he picked her up. He smiled at me as they passed, and I heard him say something about chocolate chip pancakes...
Whoa, wait a minute. Chocolate chip pancakes? Well, that cuts my getting dressed time in half...
While Edward carried Adele down to the kitchen, I walked down the hall and knocked on Phil's door, then peeked in. He was still in bed.
"Chocolate chip pancakes." I said, and he shot up. I laughed softly and went to go get dressed.
I hurried downstairs as fast as I could, now wearing jeans and sky blue tee shirt, and followed the aroma of pancakes into the kitchen. Phil had beaten me, and was sitting at the table with Adele on his lap. Adele was still in her PJs, her hair all tangled up and falling in her face, adorable as ever. She already had a mini pancake on her own little Cinderella plate. Edward had been almost as bad as Alice when he went shopping for the things that Adele would "need" with me.
He looked up from the stove and smiled, passing me a plate with three pancakes on it. I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, then went and sat down at the table, after grabbing a fork.
Breakfast was quiet, in a good way. Peaceful, after a busy week. Soon after, Phil had to leave. He hugged me goodbye, ruffled Adele's hair, and clapped Edward on the back, and promised to say hello to Renee for us. Then he left. I was a little sad. I had to admit, I'd missed Phil a little.
I took Adele upstairs to get her dressed. She sat "Criss Cross Applesauce" on her bed while I rummaged through one of her suitcases that we hadn't unpacked yet for something for her to wear.
I ended up dressing her in a cream dress, with chocolate brown flowers on the skirt. It was a little bit on the dressy side, but I wanted her to be a little dressed up her first time meeting everyone. I was going to change my shirt before people started coming anyways; I didn't want Alice to yell at me.
I found her hairbrush (It had Belle on the back of it.) and started brushing her hair. It was just like mine, except it had a few waves in it. Brandon's hair had been kind of curly when he didn't gel it, so I figured that was where she got it from.
If I closed my eyes, I could see Brandon perfectly, the way he was when we first met. It was like my mind had taken a picture of him.
Adele squealed as I accidentally yanked the brush through a knot in her hair too fast. I sighed and apologized, kissing the tender spot.
The thing was...I really had loved Brandon. I know he did terrible things to me. But...he was drunk that night. I could taste the alcohol when he kissed me. I know, if he hadn't been drunk, things would've turned out a lot differently.
And, I knew that he really had loved me, a tiny bit, in his own way.
I still couldn't stop thinking about the way things should've happened with us. I'd had the perfect little life all planned out for us. It's funny how fast things can change in your life.
I put a little white headband in Adele's hair to keep it out of her face.
"Mommy, can I go play now?" she asked me, squirming in my lap.
"Yes. Just be careful not to get dirty, please." I answered softly. She hopped out of my lap and off the bed, and started playing with the tea party set that was set out on the tiny white table in the corner. She'd always been like that. Into all the girly things, like dresses, and princesses, and tea parties. Rosalie's mother would love her.
I left her door open, and crossed the hall to me and Edward's room to find a different, nicer shirt to change into. I heard the shower running. I looked around in the closet for something semi-nice to put on, and sighed. I didn't have a clue of what to wear. I ended up grabbing a few of my dressier shirts and laying them on the bed, then I poked my head into Adele's room to check on her. She was standing by her table still, with two bears and a doll in the chairs. She was setting the dishes around the table, and talking to her "guests" in a quiet voice. I smiled at the sight. She was just too sweet! I hurried back into my room and got my camera, just as the bathroom door opened. Edward came out, wearing jeans and drying his hair with a towel. I looked at him for a minute...then shook my head to clear it. He grinned, catching me staring.
"Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer." He said, trying to sound offended. I laughed. That was just the thing Edward would do. But, I had a camera in my hands, and he'd suggested it...I snapped a picture while he was still smiling, not realizing what I was doing. I looked at it, and giggled.
"I just did." I informed him, waving the camera. "Now, come see Adele! It's so cute." Then, I scurried back across the hall. I made sure that the flash was turned off, then took a picture of Adele pouring "tea" into one of the cups. Her tongue was poking out of her mouth, and her brow was furrowed in concentration. It was the perfect picture. I felt Edward behind me. He rested his chin on the top of my head and watched Adele with me. I could tell he was smiling, even though I couldn't see his face.
We were a family. A real family. I can't even explain how that felt.
Just as I pulled the yellow sweater over my head, I heard the sound of Alice's voice downstairs. She'd let herself in with her key, of course.
"Helloooo!!" Alice yelled. I knew that Edward and Adele were down in Edward's office, so I hurried down the stairs, only tripping once on the way down. Alice was waiting for me at bottom, tapping her foot. I could hear Edward's footsteps, followed closely by Adele's.
"Hey, Alice." Edward said, reaching out to give Alice a hug with one arm. He was holding Adele's hand too. Alice didn't even acknowledge Edward. Instead, her eyes locked onto Adele, and she grinned. Alice swooped down and scooped up poor, helpless Adele in the blink of an eye.
"Hello there! You must be Adele! I'm your Aunt Alice." Alice began chattering to her as she carried her off. Jasper was in the living room already, his shoes off. He had the remote in his hand, and was watching the beginning of the Nascar race. He looked up as we entered the room.
"This is her?" he asked, sounding a little excited, his eyes on Adele, who looked perfectly content, chattering away at Alice.
"That's her." I answered, sitting down on the couch and tucking my legs underneath me. Over the past few weeks, it had become easier and easier to talk with Jasper and Alice. It hardly bothered me anymore.
I was getting over this strange fear of speaking, very quickly. Soon, I would have hardly any problems with it all.
"Bella, she's beautiful." Jasper said, turning his head and giving me a smile. Jasper was the serious one. He'd seen a lot in his life, and it showed. He didn't talk too much either.
"Thank you." I replied, smiling and looking at Adele. Jasper was right.
"Ali, don't hog the baby. I want a turn." Jasper spoke up, getting to his feet and plucking Adele out of Alice's hold. Alice's face fell, but she didn't protest like I thought she would. Edward sat down next to me and slung his arm over the back of the couch. I leaned back and his hand rested on my shoulder.
"She's a hit." He said softly, just to me. I was watching Jasper with Adele. Like I've said before, Jasper is the serious one. And yet, here he was, smiling and laughing at Adele, and tossing her up in the air.
It was Adele. She had a strange way of bringing out the best in everyone she met. People turned into someone that even they might not recognize around her. It was just the kind of person that she was.
There went the doorbell. Edward got up to get it and came back with Emmett and Rose. Emmett squealed, yes, squealed, and took Adele from Jasper. Jasper frowned, but just walked across the room to give Rose a hug. Adele screamed,
"Uncle Emmy!!" and threw her little arms around my brother's neck. Emmett only allowed two people to call him Emmy, Rose and Adele. Rose, well, because that was her nickname for him when they were little, and Adele because she couldn't say "Emmett" all that well yet.
Rose dragged me and Alice into the kitchen after a few minutes. I wasn't worried about Adele. I knew that, although my brother wasn't the most mature person in the world, he could look after Adele as well as I could, probably better, and Edward was just fine too.
Alice perched on the counter and Rose and I sat down at the table.
"Well." Rose started. "Alice, would you be my bridesmaid? Bella's going to be my maid of honor. I had just enough time to clap my hands over my ears before Alice started jumping around squealing, reminding me quite a bit of Emmett. I could still hear her tell Rose,
"Of course!" before she jumped on Rose and proceeded to hug her so tightly I was surprised Rose could still breathe. A moment later, Adele appeared in the doorway, chewing on her fingernail.
"Mommy." She said, and came over to me, and scrambled up onto my lap. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her head.
"What is it baby?" I asked her. Rose and Alice were quiet now, but Alice's expression was still ecstatic.
"Nack, please?" She meant she wanted a snack. I looked at the clock. It was going to be time for lunch soon.
"Can it wait a few minutes, Sweetie? It'll be lunch time soon." I told her. Perfectly reasonable, right? I thought so. But, Adele gave me her mad face and slid off my lap and stalked out of the room. I rolled my eyes as Alice and Rose laughed a little.
"So, Ali, Bella, would you both help me plan this thing?" Rose continued, referring to her wedding. "To tell the truth, I have no idea of what I'm doing." She admitted, smiling sheepishly. "Not that either of you need to tell that to my Mother..."
Then, Edward walked into the room, carrying Adele.
"Alright, what do you want, Munchkin?" he asked, smiling at me and opening the fridge. My jaw dropped. She was two years old and she already knew that trick. If Mom says no, go to Daddy and turn on the cute little girl charm. Works almost every time. I sighed and smacked my head with the heel of my hand as they walked out of the room.
"Well, she caught on fast." Alice commented, sounding proud. I just shook my head.
I am way too young for this! I thought.
A few minutes later, Esme and Carlisle arrived. They were the two that I was most worried about. I held Adele as they walked in, and Esme headed straight for me, while Carlisle held back and greeted Edward and Jasper, and was introduced to Emmett.
"Oh, Bella." Esme breathed, her eyes on Adele. She gave me an awkward, one armed hug, then looked back at Adele.
"Bella, she is beautiful! Oh, Sweetheart..." Esme said. Esme was only eight years older than I was, but I considered her my New York mother. It was just the way that Esme was.
"May I hold you?" Esme asked Adele, then took her out my arms. They felt strangely empty without Adele's weight.
"Hi, Esme." Edward said, coming over to us and hugging his aunt.
When Carlisle came to see Adele, we had problems. She took one look at him, and took off running in the other direction. The room went silent.
"What did you do to her?" Esme asked him, a teasing twinkle in her hazel eyes. Edward started laughing, then Alice. Adele latched on to my leg and I bent down and pried her off, and picked her up.
"What's the matter?" I asked her. It was a little weird that she was fine with everyone except Carlisle. Kids usually loved Carlisle. Adele wrinkled her nose at me and looked back at poor Carlisle, and said, very loudly I might add,
"He smells funny."
Now, everyone, including a very red Carlisle, was laughing. Emmett was the loudest, as usual.
Okay, everyone except Adele. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked rather angry.
"Why is everyone laughing at me?" she yelled above the laughter. No one could answer her though. It just made us laugh harder.
I don't know why I'd been so nervous about Adele being introduced. Everything went smoothly, Esme, Alice, and Emmett fought for her attention, and I only broke one glass.
By the time everyone left, it was 9:00, and Adele had passed out on the couch, across Jasper and Alice's laps. Edward had taken her up to bed already. I trudged up the stairs, worn out, and into our room. Edward was brushing his teeth in the bathroom.
"I'm going to get changed now, okay?" I said to him, standing in the doorway of the bathroom. He nodded, and I shut the door. Soon I had changed into a pair of shorts and a tee shirt, and I knocked to let Edward know I was finished.
He came out a minute later, wearing his usual tee shirt and pants. He smiled at me, and then wrapped his arms around my waist and bent his to kiss me. As usual, I simply stopped thinking. The next thing I knew, I was pulling Edward's shirt over his head.
"Bella." Edward breathed, breaking away to catch his breath. He'd pushed my shirt up, but hadn't taken it off all the way. I was perfectly fine...except I didn't want to stop.
"If we keep going, I don't know if I can stop." He admitted, smoothing out my shirt and resting his forehead against mine. I realized I was shaking a little, but from nervousness, not fear.
"W-what if I don't want to stop?" I asked, my voice hardly more than a whisper, and shaky. Edward blinked, and sat down on the bed.
"You want to? Are...are you sure?" he asked, sounding surprised. I sat down next to him.
"Yes." I said, more nervously than before. Did he not want me?
Then, Edward smiled my favorite smile, and pulled me closer to him.
"Don't be nervous." He said, pushing my hair out my face. "If...if you need to stop, just tell me, alright?" I nodded, trying to steady my breathing. He started kissing me again, and carefully started to take off my shirt, and I wasn't scared, or uncomfortable. Just...happy.\
There we have it! I'm sorry it took me so long to get this out...things are kinda crazy for me right now.
I think that this is the last official chapter. Think. I'm fairly certain I've tied everything up (If I've missed anything, PLEASE let me know!!), but I AM going to write an epilogue, which will probably skip time a lot, and cover things like Rose and Emmett's wedding, Adele growing up...so on. I'm not going to do a sequel though. What would it be about????
I have a new fic up. It's called "A Bow In Her Hair." It's an Alice/Jasper one shot, based off the song "Travelling Soldier" by the Dixie Chicks. Go read it, please?
In memory of Daddy's Little Cannibal. She was legend, and she will be sorely missed. Rest In Peace.
