I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone...Encore broke 1200 reviews after the last chapter. Yay!
Another massive thank you goes to my girls, my partners in crime, the incredible, lovely, and sometimes certifiably insane Katmom and Minnakoda. They take time out of their busy days to make this story make sense and look prettier. If you haven't read any of their work, you should go check them out.
I'm dedicating this chapter to the sweet Miss Mandy Pants because it's her birthday. AND because it's her birthday, you should go check out her story, "Moderately Mediocre," which is under her FF name, DreamersDaze.
Thanksgiving continues...
Edward
"Holy shit, that turkey smells good," Bella all but shouted when she entered the kitchen. "Crap, I said that really loud, didn't I? Oops." She shrugged. "Still smells good."
I watched as she made the rounds, giving everyone hugs and kisses before asking to be put to work.
Dad walked in behind me, clapping his hand on my shoulder. "Hi, Son."
"Hi, Dad. Er, could we...I mean, can I talk to you about something later? It's, er...um, personal."
He cocked his head and regarded me closely before turning to look at Bella. He raised an eyebrow when he looked back at me. I nodded.
"Just give me a couple of minutes, okay?" he asked quietly, before walking over to hug Mom and give her a hug and a kiss. The girls all sighed and batted their eyes, prompting Emmett and Jasper to cough loudly.
"We'll be...uh, out chopping wood. Come on, Jazz." Emmett grabbed Jasper's arm and dragged him toward the foyer. "Edward? Want to join us?"
"As tempting as it sounds to be around two axe-wielding men; I'll pass for now. I need to talk to Dad for a few minutes, but I'll join you after, okay?"
"Cool. Come on, Jazzy. I've even got a plaid jacket and steel-toed boots for you. We'll turn you into a north-western lumberjack yet."
I made my way over to Bella, who was ripping up bread for the stuffing. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I placed a kiss on her neck before whispering to her. "I'm going to hang out with Dad for a bit; I won't be far."
"Okay," she said, never taking her eyes off the bread. "Be good."
"Always."
Dad met me in his home office after he changed out of his hospital garb. "So, Son, what's going on? Is there something wrong with Bella?"
How do you talk to your father about sex? I mean, he knows we're all doing it, but it's never easy to bring it up. "Um, Dad, this is kind of weird but, well, Bella can't come."
"Come where?"
Oh God, shoot me now. "She's unable to reach orgasm."
"Oh...OH! Gotcha," he replied, blushing a little. "Um, well, not all women reach orgasm every time, Son. I thought you would have figured that out by now."
"It used to be that Bella could get off if I looked at her the right way. She said that after the accident she was highly sensitive and she was, trust me, I saw it. But she...uh, well, we had sex this morning and she couldn't...she was unable to...reach completion. She said that she felt it building, but it never crested.
"Should we be concerned about this? I mean, should we contact Dr. King when we get back?"
Dad sat on the edge of his desk and pondered it before answering. "Well, Son, was this your first time having intercourse since her most recent issues?"
I nodded.
"Perhaps she will be more, er, normal in this respect. Maybe something triggered the over-excited nerves to calm down."
"Maybe."
"I'd say hold off on telling Dr. King until you, um, until she...until you have more supporting evidence that this is, in fact, an issue."
I looked at my blushing father and chuckled. It was my turn to blush when he imparted a request of sorts as we left his office. "Please, um, refrain from frequent testing of this theory while you're here—I would hate for your mother to walk in on that; she had quite the scare this morning when she came upon your brother and Rosalie in a...er...very compromising position."
"Oh good lord," I groaned, "I'm surprised she didn't go blind."
"No, but she called me in a bit of a panic. She's very open-minded, hell, we both are, but it's one thing to know your kids are sexually active, and another to walk in on them when they're in reverse cowgirl."
The fact that I didn't drop dead in mortification at that very moment was a sure sign that miracles do happen. "How...what...?" Why does my father know the names of sex-positions?
"We're not prudes, Son. Now, why don't you go help the boys with the wood? I'm going to take a quick nap."
"Thanks for the talk, Dad."
I joined Emmett and Jasper out in the woodlot behind the house and wasn't surprised in the least to find that they were having a friendly wood-chopping competition.
"It's all about the down-swing, Jazzy, the more strength behind it, the better the cut."
Jasper, dressed like a small Paul Bunyan, leaned on the handle of his axe, a study in cool, as he watched my brother splitting logs. "Hmm," Jasper mused, "I beg to differ, Big Guy. It's not so much the force behind it, but the angle at which you strike it. My PawPaw always said that if you lined up your blade to the natural grain that it'll split properly every time AND make a cleaner cut. Observe."
I stood back and watched as the plaid-clad lad eyed the log before him, rotated it slightly, then lifted his weapon above his head. After a few seconds, he allowed it to fall, and sure enough, it cut through the wood like a hot knife through butter. The cut was clean.
"Well, I'll be damned," Emmett muttered. "Hey, Edward, give this a shot."
"Why me?"
"Cuz you're not nearly as strong as I am. Test out this theory. Come on."
"I'm not that weak, brother mine. You make me sound like a pansy."
He waved off my objection. "Whatever, Eddie. Just try it."
And so it went. The three of us spent an hour coming up with more efficient methods of splitting wood. By the time we had bored with it, a huge pile of wood perfect for the fireplace had been amassed. We loaded up a couple of wheelbarrows and pushed them up to the house.
"That should keep them in wood until Christmas," I said, smiling at our neatly stacked wood in the small shed beside the house.
Mom had made some cider while we were out and the girls had prepared a light lunch to tide us over until dinner. I watched them as they worked in the kitchen and couldn't help but smile at how easily they all got along. This felt right. This felt normal. I could live with this.
"Whatcha smilin' at, baby?" Bella asked as she sat beside me.
I pulled her closer and gave her a kiss. "You."
Her nose crinkled up as she picked at her sandwich. "Why me?"
"Well, not just you, I mean, I was thinking about how happy I am at this very moment."
I watched as her cheeks reddened a little. "I am too. It feels good, it feels real this time."
My heart swelled at the joy I saw in her eyes. "I love you, Bella; so very, very much."
Snuggling into my side, she sighed. "I love you too. I don't, however, love this sandwich, but I do love you."
I laughed. "What's wrong with your sandwich, love? What did it do to you?"
"I dunno," she mumbled as she picked at it. "Yours looks better."
"Ah, the sandwich is always greener on the other plate. Want to trade?"
Her head tilted so she could look at me, her brown eyes shining mischievously as she nodded. So, I switched lunches with her and sat silently as we ate the remainders quietly.
Bella yawned when we were finished and excused herself to go take a nap. I promised to join her in a little while—Mom had requested that I make my green bean casserole and I wanted to get it ready early so she could just pop it into the oven closer to dinnertime.
Although I knew it was inevitable, I wasn't prepared to find Bella where I did when I finally went upstairs.
Bella
I felt drawn to the closed door beside our room. For the first time in five years, I felt the need to open it, to look inside. It was probably one of the last nails that needed to be pounded into the proverbial coffin.
My hand shook as it neared the knob, steadying only when I grasped the cold glass ball. I took a couple of deep breaths, turned it, and tried to prepare myself for what would be waiting on the other side.
In the darkness I saw only shapes—I recognized her bed in its final stage of transition to her first, real, big girl bed. We were waiting for her third birthday to surprise her. The bureau was a hulking piece of wood, nestled against the wall beside me, and the little bit of natural light coming into the room acted as a spotlight on the rocking chair where we would read to her and rock her to sleep. Beside the rocking chair was a well-stocked bookcase filled with all of her favourite books; from Alligator Pie to Zackary Quack.
Feeling daring, I flipped on the light and was pleasantly surprised to see that there wasn't a speck of dust in the room. Even when I opened the blinds, there were no dust particles trapped in the light or dust bunnies scampering across the brightly coloured, braided rug.
I moved over to her bookshelf and ran my fingers along the spines of the once well-loved books, laughing at the memory of reading her favourite ones over and over again. "Again, Mama," she'd demand. If you teased her and didn't comply immediately, she would pout and grumble while crossing her arms around her chest. "Bad Mama."
I pulled a couple of her favourites out and moved to sit in the rocker. I imagined my baby girl in my lap, giggling as I read Robert Munsch and Dr. Seuss to her. HER favourites were Thomas' Snowsuit, and To Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street. MY favourites were Love You Forever and Oh the Places You Will Go. Everyone teased me about loving the first one because it is essentially kind of creepy—it's a story about a mother sneaking into her grown son's bedroom at night to rock and sing him to sleep; the sentiment, however, is sweet. I loved singing it to Emma.
I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my baby you'll be.
My feet pushed the chair back and forth, back and forth, as I relived the cherished memories and sang the song quietly to myself. I didn't cry; I mean, it hurt, but it was a different pain now—it didn't feel like it would crush me, it was more of a dull thud; a reminder of an injury you once had, that never lets you forget. It's not unpleasant, it just...it just is.
Esme must come up here an awful lot to clean for this room to be in such pristine condition. I hope she doesn't feel as if she has to keep it as a shrine to our fallen angels. Having this room stuck in time like a museum, must feel uncomfortable at times. I know that I couldn't face it all the time.
Maybe it's time for us to take it down. Keep some of the stuff for future grandchildren, but change the room around so it's no longer Emma's room exclusively.
"Bella?"
I looked up and smiled when I saw Edward. "Hi, baby," I replied softly.
"What's up?" He moved closer, but did so slowly, tentatively.
"Just remembering, thinking." I laughed a little. "You can come closer; I'm okay."
I heard him exhale and watched his stance relax. He probably figured I would be a mess. I don't blame him—I've been pretty volatile in the emotion department lately.
After a brief pause, he moved over to the chair. I stood up and motioned for him to sit, then crawled onto his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. My lips found his cheek and I smiled against it and sighed. "I think it's time, Edward."
"Time for what, love?"
"I think if Esme's okay with it, I think we should dismantle the room, give away some things, and maybe put other stuff away for the next grandbaby. Your parents don't need a constant reminder; a house is no place for a shrine."
He was quiet as we rocked. I watched his eyebrows move as he worked through what I had just proposed. "Yeah," he finally whispered, "I think you're right. Maybe, if Mom agrees, we can do it while we're here this week and save her from doing it herself."
I squeezed him, and placed another kiss on his cheek. "That sounds good."
We were quiet again as we moved back and forth, back and forth; the only noise in the room was the sound of the chair creaking as we rocked. It was soothing and I soon found myself drifting off to sleep.
Edward woke me later with a kiss. "Dinner will be ready soon. Did you want to shower first?"
"Mm...yeah," I groaned, stretching out on the bed. The bed? How did I get here? "I know I didn't fall asleep here."
He smiled as he traced the worry lines on my forehead. "I carried you. My ass fell asleep after sitting in the chair for so long and I wanted to lie down too. So, about that shower...do you want to be ecological about it? Conserve some water?"
My body shivered violently as he ran his nose along my jaw until he reached my ear. "Mm...m'okay," I mumbled as I pulled his face to mine for a kiss. "For some reason, though, I think we use more water this way than if we showered so-LO!" I yelped a little on the last syllable when he tweaked my left nipple.
"Come on, we need to be quick. They'll get suspicious and poor Mom might walk in on another unsightly scene."
I moved to the edge of the bed and pulled off my shirt. "What do you mean?"
"She busted Rose and Em in a, how did Dad put it? Compromising situation?"
"Oh lord, yeah, let's hurry."
We ran to the en suite bathroom, leaving a trail of clothes behind us like some perverted play on the crumb trail left by Hansel and Gretel. I turned on the water while Edward peed, then we hopped in. Edward's hands slid all over my wet skin, causing me to moan like a cat in heat. His erection was sandwiched between us and I swear I could feel it trying to lead him to my wetlands like some phallic divining rod. I grabbed it and gave him a couple of quick pumps before pulling him down to sit on the bench. He stared at me hungrily and pulled my hips toward him. I straddled him and slowly lowered myself, earning a sexy groan from him. It was hard not to smile as I watched his facial reactions to my movements, but then I became overwhelmed and buried my face in his neck to muffle the embarrassing noises I was making.
I rode him slowly at first, trying to get a hip rotation in on the down stroke, but then necessity spoke up and I threw any hope of wowing him with technique out the window as I bucked on him like a bull rider. The harder I slammed myself down on him, the harder he grunted, but the further away I seemed to be from that dizzying high I was looking for.
Edward's hand moved between us as he began to rub me. "Bella, I'm going to come. Are you...shit...almost there?"
I increased my pace and tried to grasp onto the fleeting feeling of euphoria, but it wasn't there anymore. It was gone. Fuck it. "Just let go, Edward," I panted in his ear. "Come for me."
I felt his body stiffen as he thrust once, twice more, then two small grunts as he spilled in me.
"Bella? Did you?"
There was no point in lying to him. He knew my body better than anyone else. "No."
"I'm sorry," he said, sighing. Of course he'd think it was his fault.
"Not your fault, we'll figure it out." I tried to reassure him. Really though, I was worried that funtimes in Cooterville were gone for good.
Edward
Bella didn't get off, again. She put on a brave face and smiled, reassuring me that everything was fine, but it wasn't fine. This was something we'd have to discuss later, for now it was time for turkey.
We dressed and went down for dinner. The table was set with Mom's best finery: antique silverware, heirloom china, even her beloved gravy boat, which RARELY saw the light of day. There was more food than we could ever hope to consume in a month, although I had worked up an appetite and Emmett was stealing carrots as they waited for us.
"Sorry," I said, ducking down to give Mom a kiss on the cheek. "Wow, this looks amazing."
"Mm...it sure does," Bella added.
Dad walked into the dining room and smiled. "Let's sit. The food is getting cold; although I highly doubt that will be a deterrent."
We gentlemen all pulled the chairs out for our beloved women, then sat down ourselves. Dad remained standing, and taking the glass of wine before him, he held it, looking down at it as he composed his thoughts.
"Today is Thanksgiving, a day to remember and a day to give thanks for the many blessings in our lives. This year, more so than others, we actually have some truly extraordinary things to be thankful for."
He turned toward Esme. "My darling wife, I am more thankful every year for each moment you are with me. My love for you grows even greater with every passing day. I have been blessed by your patience and your loving nature."
We all raised our glasses and toasted my mom before Dad turned to Alice and Jasper. "I am thankful for you, Alice and Jasper, for looking after our precious girl all these years; for being there for her on the dark days and bringing light back into her life."
Again, we raised our glasses in their direction.
"Rosalie, I am eternally grateful that you tamed our bear and have loved him, cared for him, and lifted his soul and spirits when we didn't realize he needed it.
"Emmett, I am thankful for your tenacious spirit and your unfaltering love. You are a gentle soul and I am blessed to call you my son. Your ability to forgive and support those who need it when you're barely able to stand on your own feet is a testament to the man that you are."
We raised our glasses to the couple, most of us with tears in our eyes.
"Edward, my youngest son, I am thankful that you found your missing half, that the spark is back in your eyes and for the first time in years, your will to live has returned. I know it's been hard, but you stuck with it and I am thankful to have you back.
"Bella..." It was at this moment that Dad choked up, visibly emotional, "our dear, sweet, Bella. I am thankful, so thankful that you..." he broke down and Mom rushed to his side, holding him. "I'm sorry."
We all sat there with tears in our eyes, watching him crumble. It was really easy to see that he was struggling, so Mom spoke up. "Bella, dear, I think Carlisle is thankful that you're back. He loves you so very much, as do I. I am also thankful to have all of my babies back and am thrilled to welcome three more into the fold."
Emmett stood, his face wet with tears. "I'm thankful to have Belly back, and I'm even more relieved to have my baby brother back." He cleared his throat before smiling at Alice and Jasper. "Now I have another brother and sister to add to that...and cool ones too. Thanks so much for taking care of Baby Girl for us.
"Most of all, I'm thankful for my Rosie." He looked down at her lovingly, tenderness in his eyes. "Rosie, babe, you are the most amazing creature on this planet and I am thankful for every fucking minute of every fucking day that you, for some ungodly reason, can find it in you to love me the way that you do."
Rose stood and kissed my brother, then whispered an I love you against his lips. "I am thankful that we found each other, Emmett--you opened my eyes and my heart to something I never expected to find. I'm thankful that my twin finally popped the question to Alice, and I am beyond grateful that I was able to see Bella find her heart, forgive him, and breathe for the first time."
She looked at my parents and smiled. "I'm so incredibly blessed that you two saw fit to fall in love and create this beautiful creature sitting beside me. Thank you for raising him to be the incredible man that he is."
Alice popped up next. "What I want to say isn't so much something I'm thankful for—it's more of an apology and if it's accepted, I'll be thankful. Does that work?"
Everyone chuckled and nodded.
"Edward," she looked at me as she spoke. "I owe you a HUGE apology. I had no right to doubt you, your love of Bella, and...well, I shouldn't have meddled the way that I did. All I ever wanted was for Bella to be happy, and it's easy to see now that you make her happier than anyone else can. So, I'm sorry for being a meddlesome pixie.
"That goes for you too, Bella. I'm sorry, and I hope that you can forgive me."
I stood and walked over to Alice and gave her a hug. "Thank you, Alice. I forgive you, although there's really nothing to forgive. You were just trying to protect our girl."
Alice wiped her eyes when I released her to Bella's awaiting arms. They whispered to each other then laughed quietly.
Jasper cleared his throat. "I am thankful that after all we've been through recently, that we are all here, safe and sound, under one roof, and right now, I can't think of any other place I'd rather be. I am thankful for each and every one of you and the role you play in my life. Even you, Esme and Carlisle."
Bella was next. "There are too many things that I am thankful for; I'm like a cornucopia, overflowing with blessings. For the first time in years, I have an overabundance of things to be happy about, and the biggest one is being here with each one of you; my family. After everything that's happened, I feel incredibly blessed that you're still here with me, still by my side."
I stood beside her, laced my fingers through hers, and raised her hand to place a kiss on her knuckles. "I am thankful for each of you and for second chances."
In my free hand, I raised my glass. "To family."
Dinner was incredible. The food was out of this world and the conversation remained light and amiable throughout; a nice change from the emotional weight of our Thanksgiving speeches.
We men cleared the table and did the clean-up as was customary in the Cullen household. The ladies retreated to the living room and by the sounds of it, Alice was trying to get a group together to go shopping in the morning. I hoped they wouldn't coerce Bella into going; it would likely be too much for her.
"Hearing anything good, Son?" Dad asked from behind me.
I hadn't realized that I was standing by the door drying the same pot over and over. "Oh, no, something about the girls going shopping tomorrow."
Jasper groaned. "I don't make enough money to survive Black Friday. I think I need a new job."
Emmett clapped him on the back. "Maybe you need to stop selling porn and start making it?"
The pot in my hand slipped and clattered to the floor, prompting my brother to roar with laughter. "Oops, sorry, Edward. I forgot about your virgin ears."
Said virgin ears were turning bright red as I bent over to pick up the pot. As I did so, I flipped him the bird.
"Oh, Eddie's mad," he taunted.
My dishtowel thwacked his ass and he yelped. "Dad! Make him stop!"
"Enough, boys. Edward, why don't you go play for the ladies while we finish up? That is, if your fingers are feeling up to it."
I nodded, setting down the pot and thanking him as I left the room. Mom smiled when she saw me walking toward the piano, prompting the others to all look in my direction. I have to say, though, as soon as I saw Bella's smile it was the only thing in the room on which I could focus.
My fingers ached at the thought of playing, but I knew once I warmed up, I'd be okay. I ran a few scales before looking at Mom and playing Canon in D for her. It was one of the first pieces I learned because I knew it made her happy.
Alice asked if I would play something for her, so I played some Tori Amos, then a beautiful song that Bella had introduced me to—Down by Jason Walker.
I don't know where I'm at.
I'm standing at the back,
And I'm tired of waiting
Waiting here in line,
Hoping that I'll find
What I've been chasing
I shot for the sky
I'm stuck on the ground
So why do I try?
I know I'm gonna fall down
I thought I could fly,
So why did I drown?
You never know why
It's coming down, down, down
I was surprised at this point, when Alice began singing the female harmony; our voices melding perfectly. Everyone gathered around the grand piano while we sang.
Not ready to let go
Cause then I'll never know
What I could be missing
But I'm missing way too much
When do I give up
What I've been wishing for?
I shot for the sky
I'm stuck on the ground
So why do I try?
I know I'm gonna fall down
I thought I could fly,
So why did I drown?
You never know why
It's coming down, down, down
Oh, I'm going down, down, down
I can't find another way around
And I don't wanna hear the sound
Of losing what I've never found
I shot for the sky
I'm stuck on the ground
So why do I try?
I know I'm gonna fall down
I thought I could fly,
So why did I drown?
I'll never know why
It's coming down, down, down
After we finished singing and dealing with the gushing and applause from the others, Emmett approached me with my old guitar and smiled.
"Play Baby Girl's song?"
"I'll try. We'll see how my hand feels." I hadn't touched a guitar since before Halloween and there was a huge difference between making the piano sing and doing the same with a guitar. "You sing it, though."
He grinned and Bella squealed as she clapped her hands in anticipation.
This would likely hurt, but I knew Bella loved this song when we were kids. I tuned the guitar and began plucking the opening notes. Rose and Alice joined Bella on the squealing until Emmett began to sing.
Why are there so many
Songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side
Rainbows are visions
They're only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide
So we've been told and some chose to
Believe it
But I know they're wrong, wait and see
Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me
My brother has an incredible voice when he uses it for good instead of evil. To imagine a voice so ethereal and pure, so sweet coming from the man who prides himself on farting and burping, well, it's a bit of a contradiction.
As my stiff fingers danced across the strings, I watched Bella's eyes tear up while Emmett sang to her. He helped her to her feet and they danced around the room, just as they had when we were kids. Jasper extended a hand to Alice and they joined in. Before I knew it, they were all swirling around the room dancing and singing.
Who said that every wish
Would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star
Somebody thought of that
And someone believed it
And look what it's done so far
What's so amazing
That keeps us star gazing
What do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it
That Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me
Bella grabbed Rose's arm and encouraged her to dance with Emmett, then made her way over to me and kissed my cheek as we watched them.
Have you been half asleep
And have you heard voices
I've heard them calling my name
Are these the sweet sounds that called
The young sailors
I think they're one and the same
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
There's something that I'm supposed to be
Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me
Rose requested some Jason Mraz, so I played I'm Yours and stared at Bella while I sang it.
Mom sat on the piano bench with me and whispered that she wanted to play something and that I could join in whenever I wanted, if I wanted. I watched her slender fingers rest on the keys before she began playing a favourite of hers, The Rose. I joined in and we played a duet while everyone sang along.
I looked up, smiling at how everyone was somehow connected as they serenaded us and for a brief moment entertained the thought of us becoming the next Von Trapp family and going on tour-- until Emmett farted. It was at that unfortunate moment that all dreams of the Cullen world tour went out the window on a flatulent rush of air.
Everyone stopped singing and stared at him.
"Hey, don't blame me, it was the stuffing."
Thanksgiving dinner is over, the family is enjoying some quality family time, and Emmett is farting.
Sounds like the perfect Thanksgiving to me. :)
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Let Your Mercy Fall on Me by Robicorn
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