Big thanks to my beta faite-comme-moi for basically telling me that my English has improved so much over the years that she had almost nothing to correct in this chapter. You can't even imagine how happy it makes me! :D
A big thank you to all the lovely ladies on Twitter who helped me in finding gifts for Bella's baby shower, since it's not something we do in France. Thank you to cloudcandace (wordslinger), wolfh00r, MeraNaamJokerFF, and Katiecav1989 (who also happens to be my boss on TwiFicReviews).
Disclaimer: What do I own? A cute pair of cow-boy boots, an awesome leather jacket, a blue suitcase, and a Teddy Bear named Ani after Anakin Skywalker. But I don't own Twilight or its characters. Unfortunately...
Chapter 35. My Very Own Waterfall
Bella's PoV
Saturday, 7th of March
I felt like a little girl again. I was sitting on my bed with my mother next to me and she was curling my hair. It wasn't really easy given that it was rather short but she had managed to curl some locks already and it looked good. It was better to have someone to help me because curling the hair at the back of my head was always so difficult I usually gave up before even trying. Renée always loved playing with my hair when I was younger so she literally jumped with excitement when I asked for her help. Besides, she went on by saying that it would good practice for her. She wanted the baby to come visit her a lot when it'll be older. She was also siding with Jacob on the fact that it was a girl. And she couldn't wait to play with her granddaughter's hair, too. I simply shrugged at that. I knew that I was right and that it was a boy. They would be proved wrong soon enough.
So here I was, dutifully sitting with my hands folded on my big belly, waiting for my hair to be curled. I had no doubt that Renée would want to move on to my make-up later. She looked like a little kid enjoying her new toy. It was hard not to laugh at, or even with, her as she excitedly spoke about going shopping again. She was just too happy to be up here in La Push with us. I liked it, too, except for the fact that it had led me to ask Charlie and Sue to keep Beta with them. I could tell that the dog wasn't pleased about it.
My mother had been staying with us for a week already. She came to help with the baby shower. She has been the one planning it; it was only natural that she would want to be here to buy the decorations and everything else she needed, even though I told her over and over again that she didn't have to go over the top. It was hopeless. Things with Renée always went over the top. In the end it was worth it, though. That's why I didn't complain. I actually liked having her around. At the start, I wasn't fond of the idea that she had to sleep on the couch because it was far from comfortable. Jacob agreed with me on that and on her second day, he came back home with in inflatable mattress which looked so great that I wanted to keep it for myself. Now that I could sleep all day long, I would have totally done that. But it was hard to get up from it by myself.
Having my mother around was nice because it meant that I didn't have to spend my days alone. After our somewhat catastrophic Valentine's Day weekend, I followed Carlisle's advice and went to see my doctor. First, for my wrist, and second because Jacob was afraid that with all the stress that had forced upon me, I would go into labor earlier than planned. With my pregnancy history, I had to admit that I was a bit scared, too. I'd done all I could to keep the baby in a safe and peaceful environment, only to have all these external events crashing my plans. My stupid fall at Thanksgiving, the big fight over Jacob's lie, Billy's death, and then the Cullens. I still had trouble realizing that this had really happened; that after all these years I got to talk to them all again. It seemed so surreal. Mind you, if the guys hadn't seen it through Jacob's thoughts, I don't think they would have believed it either.
The hardest thing to accept was that Edward had loved me all along. I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he had never left or if he had come back and apologized the year after. Would I have taken him back? Would have I become a vampire, too? The mere thought of it made me shudder. It was difficult for my adult self to see why I was so eager to die when I was younger. All these fears running through my mind ultimately led to new nightmares but Jacob was always beside me to soothe me and tell me that everything was okay. He would remind me that I was with him, only him, and that vampires belonged to my past, just my past. Of course, these bad dreams made him hate the Cullens even more, if it was possible.
When we went to see the doctor shortly after we got back from Oregon, I already knew that I wouldn't throw a fit if she asked me to go on my maternity leave early, which she did. It was safer for the baby, and frankly, it was the only thing that mattered now. It'd make things a bit tight in the future but we would figure a way around it. I was off of work as soon as they found me a substitute. I didn't like that I was leaving my students so suddenly. Fortunately, everyone understood and when I met the teacher who would take over my classes, I was satisfied to realize that we got along well, which reassured me. The doctor also advised me to rest as much as possible, something I was more than willing to do. I could sleep in until ten a.m. and usually, Jacob would have made me breakfast before going to work. He was turning into the perfect housewife. He wanted me off my feet almost all the time, like the doctor had ordered. He was the one doing the dishes, vacuuming and all. Even if I sometimes had to do it again after him, it was very sweet of him anyway. I didn't know if it was a temporary thing or if he would keep on helping after the baby's birth but it was nice for now to relax while he was did all the work.
Now that Renée was here, though, she was helping a lot, too. I felt useless and awkward when I watched them wash the dishes together. However, if she hadn't been around, I would have ended up watching TV all day long and honestly, it would have sucked. I was okay with resting but it could get boring pretty fast. I had my laptop and could have worked on my book. Yet, I found it hard to do so with someone constantly trying to read over my shoulder. My work wasn't good enough for anyone to see. Not until I edited it at least once or twice. As a distraction, Renée suggested that we start knitting. It was such a cliché activity for a pregnant woman to do. It turned out to be real fun because we both sucked so much at it. We had even set up a challenge. The one who would manage to make a decent scarf by the end of next week would have to take the other to lunch. At this rate, nobody was going to win.
One of the other positive aspects of having Renée home was that Jacob liked her company. She had been careful around him at the start because she hadn't seen him in months and she found him sadder than she recalled. It was true but I was glad to notice that he was smiling more these days. The sadness was still there of course, but not quite as present as a month ago. It seemed that he wanted to enjoy life again. He had phased a couple of times and he was so ecstatic when he came back from it that I smiled so hard it almost hurt. I was hoping that his nightmares would disappear soon. There were nights when he didn't want to go to sleep. With my mother around, it wasn't possible for him to watch TV at night. He had to stay in bed with me, reading. It was great to see him read this much. We could finally talk about books together. He was a quick reader, like me.
As a whole, I wasn't looking forward to my mother going back to California. I knew she'd be back next month to meet her grandchild but having her with me reminded me of when we lived together in Phoenix. So I was enjoying every single minute I could spend with her. She was finally done with my hair which looked really curly. I loved it.
"Here. You look wonderful, Bella. I can't wait to take a picture! Now, how strongly would you object to pink eye shadow?" she asked, carefully setting the curling iron aside to grab the make-up box. Ugh. Pink eye shadow. Exactly what I was afraid of.
"Mom. I'm already wearing a pink dress. If you keep this up, I'm going to look like a giant candy."
"The dress isn't pink. It's raspberry. It's completely different."
"Whatever."
"So…sulky child. Pink eye shadow?" She was grinning at me because she knew that she was going to win. She always won. I was wearing the dress she chose, after all. But I'd be lying if I said that I didn't like it. I loved the way it fit my curves and how the tie wrapping enhanced my belly. It was a baby shower so the baby, or the place where he spent his little life, had to put forward.
"Keep it light, then. And no blush." She nodded before ordering me to close my eyes. She was so focused as she worked her magic on me that she even stopped talking. The room was silent and I could hear the TV playing in the living rom. Given the shooting sounds coming from it, it was likely that Jacob was playing one of his video games. It was cute that, at almost 25, he and the guys hadn't stopped playing those. Renée was a master at the art of make-up so my room didn't stay quiet for long. It didn't take her more than five minutes to be done with my face.
"Perfect. You can stand up and go admire yourself." I carefully stood up from the bed and went to the mirror to see whether or not she had listened to me. The door bell rang, followed by a muffled "shit" as Jacob stopped his game to answer the door. I'd have to talk to him about swearing. I couldn't tolerate this around our child. It may be easier for him to avoid slipping if he tried to restrain himself before the baby actually arrived. In a little over a month, we would finally be able to hold our kangaroo. It was difficult for me to realize that it was going to happen so soon. It seemed that only yesterday, I was trying to write my wedding vows when the phone rang to bring the life-changing news. But even if I couldn't believe it, seven months had passed since that August day.
"I like it, Mom. Thanks," I said, pleased with how my face looked. I wasn't sure about the lip gloss but I wasn't going to wipe it off and hurt her feelings. It'd go away by itself. I just needed Jacob's help for a little while.
"You're all set to go. How exciting! Your first baby shower! Are you excited?"
I rolled my eyes. "Of course, Mom. I'm going to get so much stuff I won't even know where to store it and there's going to be cake. You know I'm easily bribed with cake these days."
"Which is exactly why I asked your friend Emily to make her delicious chocolate cake." I looked away from the mirror at this. Renée was looking at me with a big smile. She knew me too well. This cake was the best ever. Emily had never wanted to give me the recipe, claiming that it was a family secret. I never missed a chance to eat two or three pieces of it.
"That's awesome! I can't wait!"
"Bella? Can you come here for a sec?" Jacob's booming voice interrupted our conversation. "Alone!" he added after a few seconds. Renée shrugged it off, apparently not offended at all. I hurried down the hallway to find him in the kitchen, pacing and quite angry.
"What is it, Jake?"
"Look at what the delivery guy just brought." He wouldn't look at me, which was worrying me. I grabbed the big envelope that was on the table. It wasn't heavy and in fact, there was only a glossy silver card in it. After a quick scan of it, it appeared to be a gift card from a photographer in Seattle who specialized in baby photos. I didn't understand why Jacob would be mad at such a great present.
"I don't see what the problem is."
"There's a note which came with it. Here." He tossed me a crumpled piece of paper that he had been holding in his hand. Once it was flattened and readable again, it was clear why he was in this mood.
Dear Bella,
This photographer is the best in the entire state of Washington. He will make the cutest baby pictures ever. Have an amazing day!
Alice.
"Did you tell her it was your baby shower today?"
"What? Of course, I didn't! How could I have? I don't even have her phone number. And I told you that I wasn't going to be the one instigating contact!" It hurt that Jacob had so little faith in me when it came to Alice and the Cullens. Didn't he understand that I wanted minimal contact with them? I didn't want them to become a permanent feature of my life. Not after all this time.
"But how does she know today's the shower, then?"
"Geez, Jake. I don't know. Maybe she saw it or something," I hissed. I was trying not to yell because my mother was only a few feet away from us.
"I hate them," he confessed for the hundredth time, finally looking up from the floor and to me. "I thought it was clear that I didn't want them to interfere in our lives. This isn't a welcome interference."
"I don't want it either but you don't know Alice like I do. She's hard to restrain once she has something in her mind."
"Yeah, well, she better not think that it's okay to send stuff like that all the time."
"I can tell her to stop when she calls, if you want. Besides, I'm not really looking forward to talking to her, you know. I don't see what we would talk about. We're better off without them." This earned me a smile and he crossed the room to come stand next to me. He took the gift card from my hands, frowning at it in disgust.
"I can't believe that leech did this! She's not a friend, she's merely nothing! We don't need her presents!" Jacob lowered his voice, too, not wanting Renée to hear words she wasn't supposed to.
"She's Alice," I shrugged. Alice would apparently never cease to shop and buy me things. She always did in the past but I wasn't fond of the idea that she could start doing it again. How could I stop dwelling in the past if she kept this up? I was sure that she meant well and at least she didn't get us baby clothes which could have made us guess if it was a boy or a girl. But she wasn't my friend anymore, Jacob was right. She couldn't act like one because I didn't want her to. Acting like a friend meant that she would assume she was fully welcome back and forgiven, which wasn't the case at all. I had the feeling that her first phone call would also be her last one.
"But you can't say that this isn't a great present," I went on, hoping to get his mind on the baby rather than on Alice. I failed.
"Because you plan on using it?" he exclaimed, his smile disappearing and anger resurging.
"Why not? He's the best and I was going to get pictures of the baby in a few months anyway."
"It's a gift from a bloodsucker, Bella! You can't accept a gift from them! It's like telling them that it's okay for them to keep coming or even to come to visit!" I could tell that he was trying not to shout but he wasn't very successful. I had trouble doing the same. What difference did it made if the gift came from a vampire or not? It was very thoughtful.
"Oh, come one. Stop being paranoid. Of course not, they're not going to break their promise like this. They understood what we wanted. Alice simply wanted to be nice. I'm sure there's no hidden purpose behind it."
"How can you be so certain of it? You don't know them anymore! You're more than willing to accept their gift, though. And it doesn't matter if every time I'll look at the pictures I'll think of them. That's nice. Thanks." There was a pause as he looked at me and it hurt to see that he seemed angry at me as well. It was usually the other way around. Jacob was rarely mad at me. He said it had to do with imprinting or whatever. Right now, it didn't apply. Before I had time to still my boiling mind to process what he had said, he was already starting to tear the gift card in two.
"Anyway, we're not using this, that's all." This made me angry, too. He didn't have the right to make the decision by himself and to not listen to what I wanted. I reacted fast and snatched the card from his fingers.
"Excuse me? And what about what I want? The gift was addressed to me!"
"Sure, go ahead. Do whatever the hell you want since you don't care about how I feel."
"That's not what I meant, Jake. You know that." I hadn't meant to start a fight. I didn't want to fight today. Especially not over the Cullens. Jacob looked really hurt and it was apparently my fault. I didn't want this.
"Look. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I need to clear my head. I'll be at your father's to watch the game."
"But, no, Jake. Please, stay…" It was useless. He had already gotten his jacket and his keys. The front door slammed on him before I even finished my sentence. Ugh. Perfect. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to calm down.
In the sudden silence which filled the house, it was easier to organize my thoughts and as I replayed the fight in my mind, it all became obvious. I was an idiot. I hit my forehead against the wall a few times to punish myself from not having seen Jacob's point earlier. Every time I'll look at the pictures I'll think about them. He hated the Cullens, something that I witnessed last month. He hated them more than what I imagined. I resented them for what they did to me. Jacob was always reminded of the fact that they still existed somewhere. Worse, he couldn't do anything to avenge the hurt they caused me. While our reunion may have cleared some things up, it didn't mean that he would stop despising them.
I should have realized from the start that the gift was ill-fitted for him. It was going to be an eternal reminder of the Cullens and I couldn't blame him for not wanting to use it. I was stupid. If I'd seen this on time, we wouldn't even have had to fight. I should have seen it. Jacob was my husband and I was supposed to be able to understand his motives and his reluctances. Especially when it was about vampires. Alice's gift was great but my decision was made. Jacob wasn't comfortable with it so I wouldn't use it. Jacob was more important to me than hurting Alice's feelings. She didn't even have to know that we wouldn't take advantage of the gift card. We would find our own photographer who would take wonderful pictures.
"Is everything okay, Bella?" my mother asked as I heard Jacob's motorcycle leave the driveway. I didn't like that we had to spend several hours apart from each other before being able to finish our conversation, before I could apologize. He needed some fresh air yet, it wasn't a solution to leave the house altogether. I would have preferred if he could have stayed around even if I had needed the quiet which followed his exit to realize what the best thing to do was.
I turned my back on the front door because staring at it wasn't going to make Jacob come back anyway. Renée was looking at me with apprehension. She had obviously overheard some bits of our argument and knew that something wasn't quite right. I smiled at her the best that I could. I couldn't even explain what the problem was without lying to her.
"Yes. Just a little disagreement about something. It'll be all right."
"Are you sure? Jacob looked very angry."
"He has a short temper. Trust me. And it's all my fault, actually. I feel like a complete idiot."
"Oh, no. Don't say that." She hurried to my side to give me a big hug. "You're not an idiot. It's normal to fight sometimes. Do you want to go after him?" I loved my mother. I really did. She was like the female best friend that I didn't have. Seth wasn't the same since he was guy and we didn't even talk a lot these days. We were both too busy so it was hard to make time like we used to.
"Thanks, Mom, but we're going to be late for the shower if we start going to Forks. I'll be fine."
She didn't look convinced at all. She didn't add anything, though. She just gave me a big kiss on the cheek before going to the living room to get her coat. I took the opportunity to text Jacob while I was alone to tell him that I was sorry and that we needed to talk later tonight. I would have actually loved to go see him at once but Renée had invested too much of her time in this afternoon. I would have felt guilty if it was ruined because of me.
I didn't drive to the Community Center since the doctor said that I should avoid it. When you looked at it, there weren't a lot of things that I was allowed to do these days. It was only for one month and I was used to Jacob always driving when we went somewhere. The only difference was that my driver was my mother today.
It wasn't raining, which was rather surprising for early March. It was a good surprise. The Community Center wasn't extremely big and it could quickly become suffocating inside. I would be able to go get some fresh air if it was needed. It was nice of Emily to have cleared her schedule and to offer the place for the shower. True to herself, Renée had invited everyone she could think of. The list was too long for me to cram all these people in my house. At least here, we wouldn't feel like we were walking on each other's feet.
I got a text from Jacob as we parked next to the building. It lit up my face to see his little happy smiley next to "Yup. Have fun. ILY." I was going to have fun. It was exciting to have all my friends gathering for me and the baby. I couldn't wait to see what kind of gifts I was going to get. It was like a birthday party but so much better. A few people had already arrived, including Emily and Kim who were busy putting the final touches to the tremendous amount of balloons which decorated the main room. My mother hurried to their side at once. She was actually more excited than I was. I went to say hi to the girls and to the other guests. It was nice to see the women from my writing class. I'd somewhat dropped out of it because life had been too hectic for me to concentrate on something to write and read. But I missed it, I missed the girls, and I missed their gossip.
After a while, people really started to pour in and the party was starting. It wasn't anything official. Someone just started to get plastic glasses and to hand them over to everyone who wanted one. I was glad to see everyone even if I felt a bit overwhelmed. Everyone was fussing over me. Clearly, they hadn't gotten the message that I wasn't a big fan of outsiders touching my stomach. It may have been the center of interest, it wasn't a reason to constantly want to feel the baby move. It was annoying. They meant well but I couldn't bring myself to accept their touches. I kept my bandaged hand on top of my belly, which turned out at a great protection. It gave them a distraction from the baby and they all wanted to know what had happened to me this time. I could have been rid of the bandages a few days ago if I'd wanted to except that I had anticipated today. It was uncomfortable, but at least, people were leaving my stomach in peace.
Other than this, I had to admit that my mother did an outstanding job. Everything was perfect. The children were going to give us all a headache yet, it was worth it. Emily had left little Leah home with her grandmother but the three others were running all over the place. Kim soon secured her son to her hip after he tried to follow his sister and ran head first into a wall. Tears ensued to which his mother reminded him that he was too young to keep up with the two oldest. A bottle of milk later, Mark's eyes had dried and they were quickly starting to show how tired he was. I wasn't tired but I needed a bit of quiet for a while. I'd seen Angela sneak outside a little while earlier so I decided to join her.
It turned out that she wasn't by herself but with Beth, both of them smoking. I wouldn't have believed that Angela would smoke yet, I used to do the same, too, and there were days when I would have happily gave in to my craving by lighting up a cigarette.
"Bella! Oh, sorry. Let me get rid of this!" Beth exclaimed, as they dropped their stubs to the ground before she moved her hands in the air to dissipate the smoke. "We wouldn't want to get this poor baby sick now, would we?"
"Are you abandoning your guests? Didn't they give you good presents?"
"No, I just needed some fresh air. It's suffocating in there," I said, sinking down on the iron bench on the side of the building. "What are you two doing here?"
"Well, Embry dropped me off like five minutes ago. You know about my fucked up habit of always being late? Yeah, Embry's the same. And I ran into this lovely lady who told me she's your brother's girlfriend so we were actually just meeting. It's good to know I'll have a friend to hang out with here." She gave me a pointed look, crossing her arms across her chest as if I'd done something I shouldn't have.
"Hey, I'm here!"
"Yeah, but you're obviously not going to be very available soon with the kid and all. Same goes for Emily and…what's her name again? Kim! I spent one afternoon at Emily's house because Embry wasn't there and he didn't want me to be by myself." She rolled her eyes at this. "She's nice and all but dammit! I had such a headache when I left. That child never gets tired. I'm glad there's at least one child-free girl around here." She bumped into Angela's shoulder and they both grinned.
It hadn't occurred to me before that there might be two types of wolf girls now. It probably was because we had only been three for a long time. Rachel and Paul left for Seattle when I was still in college. Claire was really only a kid and she couldn't hang out with us as we were all adults. But it made me happy that Beth seemed to like Angela even if they hadn't known each other for more than a few minutes.
Beth had moved in with Quil and Embry last week. She had tried hard to understand what had gone wrong with Tom, but after a while, it became clear that it would never be the same as before now that she no longer trusted him. She had a difficult time letting go of him. They had been together for so long and she was so used to the way things used to be that when he moved out, she kind of freaked out. She couldn't stand to be alone in their apartment. She couldn't even stand to go to work since they worked for the same newspaper. Apparently, he had been sleeping with one of their colleagues, which made the atmosphere in the office thick.
It surprised us all when she called one night to announce that she had quit her job. She couldn't concentrate anymore anyway. She needed some time off. She needed a change of scenery, as well. A few days after we got back from out little "vacation", Embry came barging into the house, looking like he had had too many ice creams and was hyper. It seemed that Beth was letting her guard down about the imprint. She was in need of someone she could trust entirely, someone who would never let her down. It was hard to think of my cousin as someone who was insecure but right now, it was the case. She may not show it but she had been badly betrayed. It wouldn't go away with one snap of her fingers. Embry was the guy she needed.
Then came the problem of where she would stay. She asked to come up here yet, available apartments weren't easily found in La Push. It was decided that she would stay with the boys until we managed to find her something acceptable. She didn't object to living with them. It would be good for Quil and Embry to have a woman with them. Their apartment was so messy it was a lost cause. And indeed, when I came to help Beth settle in, I had never seen the place so neat. There weren't clothes everywhere, the kitchen was immaculate and so was the bathroom, and there weren't empty pizza boxes and bottles of beer on the floor. I was amazed. There were only two bedrooms, though, and even if Quil had agreed to the female intrusion, he wasn't going to give up his bed. Embry happily complied and ended up sleeping on the couch.
I had to admit that I was curious to see where this cohabitation would lead. Beth and Embry were bound to see each other every day and who knew what it would do to their feelings? Beth had been holding up the imprint because she had a boyfriend. It wasn't the case anymore. I just hoped that Embry wasn't going to screw up again.
"But you can always visit even if I have a baby. You'd better, actually, or I may go insane. You know how they say you can't leave a mother alone right after the birth."
"Oh, I'll come to visit," Angela said, sitting down next to me and stretching her long legs. "Babies are cute." Beth made a gagging noise to which I replied with a stern look. My baby was definitely going to be cute.
"Hush. We'll see what you'll say when you'll get one of your own."
"Yeah. It's not gonna happen anytime soon. Trust me. I'm over boys at the moment."
"Hey, girls!" a familiar voice interrupted our conversation before Angela could ask for more information. I didn't know how Beth would react if she had to talk about her recent break up with someone she only just met. We may all belong to the same small imprint club, it didn't mean you had to reveal your life to people you barely knew.
"Sorry we're late. This little lady couldn't find her present in the mess that her bedroom is," Quil added as Claire was trying to hide behind him. Even though she was ten, she was still extremely shy. She never talked to people she didn't know, no matter how many times you would tell her that they were friends and not bad guys. In fact, she didn't talk to me a lot, either. She stuck with Emily or with Quil. She was always with Quil. He was like a big, overprotective brother to her. It was adorable to watch and I refused to think that their relationship could change one day, even though I knew it was inevitable.
"Hi, Bella," she whispered timidly, taking a step forward to hand me a square package. She hovered nearby, looking from Angela to Beth, not sure of what she was supposed to do now.
"Thanks, Claire. This is my good friend, Angela. She's Seth's friend, too. And that's my cousin Beth. She's Embry's friend. They're really cool girls."
"Yep. And you'll be seeing them a lot, C. So you can say hi." I knew Quil didn't like it when he had to push her to go to people but he had to do it. It hurt to see that she had trouble making friends. Hopefully, it would change in the future. Claire said a small "hello" to the girls before retreating back to grab Quil's hand.
"Why don't you go inside?" I tried to help. "Your Aunt Emily has made her famous chocolate cake. I'm sure you want a piece of it." She smiled and it was the sign that we had won.
"Thanks for inviting her, Bella. She needs to hang out around here more often. Okay, well. I guess I'm going now. Have fun!" He ruffled the little girl's hair. She had been tugging on his hand to get him to go inside with her but she stopped dead and turned around when she heard that he was leaving.
"You're going?" Her bottom lip was quivering as she spoke and her eyes were filling with tears. "Don't go!" Quil sighed heavily and knelt to somehow be at her level.
"We've been over this in the car, Claire. I can't stay here. It's a girl party. Boys are not allowed."
"But I don't want you to leave!"
"Listen. You're a big girl, aren't you? You can stay here by yourself and have fun without me, cupcake. I swear it's gonna be fun. Right, Bella?"
"Of course it's going to be great fun. We have cake and Coke, and there's Mark. Kim always says that you love taking care of Mark."
"That's true," she said under her breath while trying not to choke on her tears. Quil brushed a tear away from her cheek. It was hard for him to see her cry. I would have agreed to him staying with us. It wasn't a big deal. It seemed that he had made up his mind, though. Claire wasn't going to win this time even if it hurt him to deny her what she wanted. "Mark likes it when I sing."
"There you go. You can go inside and take care of Mark, and after the party's over you know I'll back to get you, don't you? We'll get to hang out just the two of us. We'll go eat some tacos before I have to drive you back to your mother. How does it sound?"
"Okay." She sniffed, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. Quil leaned over to engulf her in a big hug. She was so small next to him that his arms basically covered her entire back. He mouthed a "thank you" at me. "Can you come with me inside, please? I don't want to go by myself."
"Sure thing but you know that I'm not staying at all. Are we clear?" She nodded and he stood up, grabbing her hand to lead her inside the building. Beth and Angela had been silent throughout the whole exchange. The second Quil was out of sight, they both turned in me, obviously expecting some answers to what they had just witnessed.
"I didn't know Quil had a daughter! Isn't he a bit too young to have a daughter this old?"
"I've been living with him for a week! I'm sure I'd know it if he was a dad," Beth added, frowning. I wasn't really comfortable that I was the one who had to break the news to them although it should have occurred to me that they may see Quil and Claire together today.
"That's the thing. Claire isn't Quil's daughter," I started. "She's Emily's niece. She lives up North on the Makah reservation but…well…We didn't want to tell you yet so you wouldn't freak out but he actually imprinted on her when she…"
"He what?" both girls exclaimed at the same time, shocked.
"He imprinted on a kid? That's just sick." Beth was shocked and disgusted, too. I thought it was better to not mention that Claire had only been two when Quil first saw her. It wouldn't make the situation any easier.
"He didn't want you to know until you knew more about the pack and the legends since you're both very new to this. You have to understand that it isn't the same as it would be for Seth or Jacob or for the other guys. You saw how he acted around her. He's simply a big brother to her. He's the best brother she could ask for."
"It's still sick. This imprinting stuff is weird and if it can make grown-ups claim children as their soul mates, it's even stranger than I thought. I can't believe I'm involved in this crazy business." Beth shook her head, not pleased with the news.
"It is weird. We never said it wasn't. Claire's happy. It's what matters. Aren't you happy that you have someone like Embry who you can trust entirely?"
"I guess so. Embry's pretty cool when you look at it and he makes me smile." She shrugged, taking a few steps backwards to light up another cigarette. She was being careful that the smoke wouldn't come in my direction.
"Are you okay, Angela?" I asked, realizing that she hadn't spoken since her first surprised interruption.
"I thought I'd heard the weirdest thing ever when Seth told me what he really was and what was going on. This is weird, too. She's so little and she already has someone to spend her life with? Won't she get a choice?"
"Claire doesn't know about the imprint. She thinks Quil's her godfather. And of course she'll have a choice but I doubt she'll choose someone else. He's perfect for her."
"Because fate decided for her? I never believed in soul mates before. At least it'll save her lots of trouble when she knows the truth. No need to date dozens of men to find the right one." Angela smiled at me and I had to agree with her.
I was relieved that Seth had finally decided to let Angela in the secret. It wasn't exactly what I'd call a great Valentine's Day present but it was out of their way now. True to form, she just laughed it off once he began to explain that the Quileute legends were real. It was hard to explain to someone that you could morph into a giant wolf without showing it to them. Explaining imprinting could have been harder yet Angela had apparently listened patiently. Seth was right when he said that although he had only felt the urgent need to be close to her all the time at the beginning, he started to feel love after a while. He had no problem confessing that he was in love with her and that he would stay with her as long as she'd want him to.
According to Seth, she'd been more than pleased to hear this. It seemed that her past relationships had been complete failures and she was more than happy to have a reliable boyfriend. I pointedly refused to listen to what happened later that night. However, I remember getting a phone call from Angela a couple of days after. She literally screeched in my ear, wanting to know why I hadn't told her from the start since I obviously knew. She needed someone else to confirm that it was real and that yes, the part about changing into wolves was true, too. And she thought it was super cool. She had been introduced to the Tribal Council and to the pack. She was thrilled about it and I was happy to have a friend who wasn't from the reservation to whom I could talk freely.
"Your mom's looking for you, Bella," Quil announced when he stepped out of the Community Center. He looked tired all of a sudden. It must be consuming to refuse to bend to the will of your imprint. He was doing it for her own good, though. He was doing the right thing. "I'll see you later!" He jogged back to his car. I assumed that I had to go back to my guests. The fresh air had made me ready to face the endless chatter once again.
They hadn't really realized that we were missing until it was time for me to sit down and exclaim how wonderful their presents were. I didn't have the time to grab a drink before I was firmly sat down on a couch with my mother on one side and Shannon on the other. She kept asking if Jacob was going to show up. You would have thought that with time passing, she would have found another man to like more than the others. You would be wrong. She was disappointed when I told her that she wasn't likely to see him today but she redirected her attention to the packages on the table and insisted on helping.
I knew I would be getting baby stuff but I hadn't expected to get so much. I always gave people baby clothes whenever I was invited to a baby shower, which wasn't often. They were all aware that we didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl so, instead, I got several gift cards which would allow me to choose the clothes I wanted later. I did get some very cute onsies. Emily remembered one of our earliest conversations because, along with her baby towels and washcloths, she gave me a very nice stuffed kangaroo, which made me smile. My colleagues from the high school gave me a baby first aid kit and a baby care book. I hoped I would never have to use those but it was true that I felt safer having them. I didn't want to be totally hopeless if something bad was to happen.
It almost made me cry when they handed me a present which was actually from my students. I didn't think they would get me anything and I laughed as I saw the yellow raincoat in the box. This would definitely come in handy. I also got a very good cookbook with recipes for small children and so many diapers that I would last for a couple of months at least. I was really happy to have all these girls around me who cared enough to get the baby everything he needed. I hadn't opened half of the presents and if they kept being this wonderful, Jacob and I weren't going to have anything left to buy.
"Here, open this one now!" Beth exclaimed, slapping my hand away from a smaller box to put a big one on my lap. She looked excited. Her smile told me that something wasn't quite right.
"What is it?"
"It's for the woman in you. Not the mother, the woman." She kept grinning at me, which was suspicious. I shook the box but no sound was heard. It wasn't heavy at all, either. It reminded me of Jacob's Christmas present. Coming from Beth, I doubted that it would be as safe as a plain dress. I lifted the lid carefully to be assaulted by many pink papers which were hiding the sexiest piece of lingerie I might have ever possessed. I wasn't a big fan of baby dolls especially since Jacob had a hard time leaving them in one piece and they were too damn expensive to go buy another one every time he ripped one in two. I held the red garment in front of me to examine it, blushing as the girls around me were laughing and clapping at my present. It was actually gorgeous. I couldn't see myself in it at the moment but in a few months, why not?
"What is it, Aunt Bella? A dress?" Shannon asked. It was rather short to be a dress.
"It's more like pajamas." It wasn't a lie in itself. You did have to wear it in bed. You didn't necessarily intend to sleep in it. Shannon didn't need to know this.
"Some really cute pajamas," a deep and warm male voice commented. I jumped slightly in surprise and turned my head to see where Jacob was. He was standing at the door, keys in hand, a grin as big as Beth's on his face. I blushed even more. I didn't know why he was here but he liked the gift. I didn't have the time to say one word that Shannon was already on her feet, slaloming between people to get to him.
"Uncle Jakey!" she exclaimed, jumping in his arms that he had opened almost immediately for her. It had become a reflex. I heard a few girls saying that it was adorable to see how he acted around the little girl. Kim just shook her head, embarrassed that her daughter had redirected all the attention on her instead of me. I was simply wondering what would happen when Jacob would be entirely focused on the baby and won't have as much time to dedicate to Shannon.
"Hey, Shannon! What's up?"
"You remember it's my birthday soon, right?"
"Of course I remember. How old are you going to be? Three, four?" She shook her head dramatically.
"No, silly! Five!" She held up her fingers right on his face to show him her age.
"Wow! Five? You're a big girl!"
"Yup. So you can marry me now!" Jacob looked surprised for a second before he laughed loudly, following suit of everyone else in the room. I kept hearing words about how wonderful he seemed to be with kids. I was proud of my husband. He was going to be the best dad ever.
"I could…but what about Aunt Bella, then?" The little girl paused to think about it, her eyebrows coming together as she frowned in concentration.
"You can keep her," she finally said. "She makes good food." Everybody burst out in laughter at this. Shannon was too cute and she seemed pretty pleased with her brilliant plan.
"That she does. I'll think about it," Jacob promised, smiling at me over her head. He kissed her soundly on the cheek and bent down so she could go back to her mother who had been asking her to leave her uncle in peace. Shannon didn't object, certainly because she had gotten what she wanted. "I'm sorry to interrupt the party and I promise it's not for long. Can I just get some tools from the craft room, Em?"
"Sure, go ahead. I want them back by Monday."
"I will. Oh and…could I talk to you, too?" he asked, looking at me. It was rude to leave my guests when they were all waiting for me to finish opening their presents. I wanted to go with Jacob because it meant that whatever he wanted to talk about, I would take it as an opportunity to apologize. I was about to say no to him anyway but my mother cut me off, stating that it was fine and that it would give her a chance to clean a bit of the mess made by the wrapping paper. She had understood what was going on in my head perfectly. I stood up from the couch to follow Jacob into another room.
"So…you're a bigamist now?" I inquired as soon as the door closed on the chatter. He laughed.
"She was too cute. I couldn't say no to her. You're not jealous, are you?"
"I don't know. I don't really want to share you…" He laughed again. I couldn't help but notice that he didn't seem angry anymore, which was good. "What are you doing here, Jake?"
"I'm fixing something with your father and he was missing a tool that I knew they had here. Besides, I wanted to see you. I felt like an idiot, leaving the house like I did," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head and looking embarrassed. I closed the distance between us to grab his hand. Hugs were a little difficult for us these days.
"I'm the one who feels like an idiot. I didn't understand why you didn't want to use the gift card. I do now and I'm sorry I didn't realize right away that it would make you uncomfortable."
"Yeah. It definitely wouldn't make me happy but I mean, it's yours. If you want to use it, I can't forbid it." I loved him so much. It mustn't have been easy for him to offer this to me. I'd made up my mind, though, and I wasn't going to change my decision now that I knew how he really felt about it. It'd make me sick to look at the pictures if I was aware that he hated who they came from and I'd ignored it. I was better than this.
"No, I don't want it. We'll find our own photographer. I don't want you to be constantly reminded of the Cullens. You're the one who was right all along." He sighed with relief and smiled a sweet smile, the one that generally announced that I was going to be kissed. He didn't disappoint. Within seconds, his lips were on mine, sealing some kind of deal but also reminding me of how great it was to be kissed by Jacob, to have his tongue sneak up slowly in my mouth and to forget everything except the fact that I would be the only woman he would ever kiss like this.
"Thanks, Bells," he whispered against my lips. He pulled away to look at me from head to toe as if he'd never seen me before. "I didn't even tell you how good you looked. You're absolutely gorgeous, honey. Who would have guessed that pink suited you so well?"
"Oh, no. It's not pink. It's raspberry. It's completely different," I corrected him, using Renée's words from a few hours ago. He noticed my face, which made him laugh again. He put both hands on my waist to get me as close to him as possible. His lips grazed my ear and I shivered.
"You still look amazing but I think you'll look even sexier in this gift you just got…" His hands moved from my hips to my butt as he kissed from below my ear down to my shoulder. He stopped at the crook of my neck to gently suck on the skin there. "I can't wait to see you in it. I bet you'll look extra hot…" Was it me or was it becoming hotter in here? Jacob squeezed my butt before one of his hands moved upward until it was tangled in my hair. He tugged on it to get me to look up and his lips recaptured mine.
"Jake…there are people right outside this door…" I didn't try very hard to make him stop. He knew exactly what to do to get me to moan and forget that we weren't alone in the building. My hand grasped his arm for support and after what seemed like an eternity, our mouths eventually detached from each other so we could breathe.
"Sorry. I got distracted by the mental image." He rested his forehead against mine, his hot breath washing over my face. He smelled like beer. We didn't talk for a few minutes, both of us attempting to slow our heartbeats. I tried to tame my hair so that what had been going on in private didn't seem obvious to everybody else. Jacob had the gift of making me look like I'd had sex even if we had only shared a kiss.
"I gotta say, I really like your mom, Bells. But I can't wait for her to be gone. It sucks to know that she can hear everything at night." This was true. Even if having sex was totally not an option for me anymore, it didn't mean that we had to stop touching each other. Jacob often needed this sort of relief and I was more than willing to help. Nothing like this had happened since Renée had been staying with us. It was mortifying to think that she would be able to figure out what we were doing if we made too much noise. And I wasn't particularly quiet in bed. I couldn't wait to be alone with Jacob again.
"Only a few more days left. After this, it's me and you for one entire month."
"I know." He sighed. "Okay. I should get these tools to Charlie or he's gonna think I had an accident or something." He reluctantly moved away from me to go find whatever it was that he needed. We went back to the guests quickly after this. Jacob could have left without anyone noticing but it was forgetting about Shannon. She insisted on getting another hug from her "fiancé". I walked straight to my previous spot on the couch, checking my face in a mirror on the way. I looked fine except for my cheeks which were a shade pinker than usual.
"You look like you've been kissed really good," Beth whispered not so softly as I sat down. Of course, everyone heard her, which led to more sniggering and more blushing for me. They were simply jealous that I could kiss someone as hot as Jacob and they couldn't.
The rest of the shower passed in a blur. I opened more and more presents, each of them absolutely wonderful. I was lucky. Then, I had to thank everybody, which took some time. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. The ones who already had kids provided me with some advice to reassure me. I made it all the way without crying even if it was hard. They were too nice to me. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was truly prepared to have a baby of my own and that I would know how to take care of him. The part which was about to take place in the delivery room was still scaring me.
Too soon to my liking, the guests were leaving. In the end, I was left with Emily, Kim, and Renée who were busy cleaning the room they had so well decorated. Beth had left with Embry before she had time to offer her help. They were going to have a movie night or something like this. Angela was in the corner which had been improvised as a playground for the children. She had one asleep at her feet while Mark was babbling and Shannon was dressing up her dolls. She didn't lie when she said that she liked kids.
I had offered to help clean since it was a bit because of me that the room was a mess but they didn't want to hear about it. So I was sitting at a table, organizing my newly acquired possessions with Claire. She had seemed to enjoy herself and she had blushed almost as hard as I did sometimes when I told her that I really liked the toys her mother bought for the baby. She was talking to me even though she kept throwing glances at the main door. She clearly expected Quil to show up any time soon.
I felt useless and decided to start putting all the bags in the car. It was something that I could do easily, especially as I had a great assistant. Claire was a great girl and now that I would actually see her more often than when I lived in Port Angeles, I decided to make a point of trying to help her with her shyness. After all, she was likely to be our official babysitter in a few years.
It took the three of them a little more than one hour to make the room immaculate. By the time they were done, Claire was gone, too, and I was getting bored. Finally, it was time for us to leave as well. Sue had gone home earlier to prepare the dinner since we were all eating in Forks. It was going to make for a lot of people in such a small house. I was dreading how Jacob would react to the fact that my whole family was coming together and Billy wasn't there to join us. I knew he would be in everybody's mind tonight. Jacob hadn't mentioned anything about it yet, and I wasn't going to ask if he didn't want to talk about it.
In the car, Renée was thrilled to have some time to talk to Angela. She found it absolutely awesome that we reunited years after high school. It was even greater that she was dating Seth. Small world, huh? What she didn't know was that Angela was bound to someday become my sister-in-law. She would then truly belong to my family. It was exciting.
When we arrived at Charlie's house, he was waiting for us on the porch with Sue, Seth, and Jacob. The four of them were smiling like little kids on Christmas morning. As I turned to my mother I saw that her expression matched theirs. Why did I have the feeling that everybody knew something that I didn't?
"What's going on, guys?" I asked as I greeted my father. He was the worst. If he could have jumped up and down without looking silly, I'm sure he would have done so.
"We have a surprise for you!" Seth chimed in, hurrying me inside. I barely had the time to grab Jacob's hand extended toward me that we were packed in the hallway. This house was definitely too small for seven persons in it at the same time.
"A surprise? What kind of surprise?" I'd had enough gifts today. If they kept giving me stuff I was really going to lose it. Jacob helped me out of my coat as Charlie jogged up the stairs.
"It's upstairs. I gotta carry you," Jacob explained, not caring to wait for my permission. I hadn't been allowed to walk up or down these stairs since Thanksgiving. It was embarrassing to know that he was waiting outside the door when I was in the bathroom. I secured my arms around his neck and he lifted me up ever so gently. I noticed that the others stayed behind since there was no way we would all fit on the second floor. It always amazed me that Jacob could walk up the stairs without difficulty even when he couldn't see his feet. It had been proved before that I didn't share this gift.
"My surprise's in Seth's room? Did he finally clean it up? Can you see the floor?"
"Not funny, Bella!" he shouted and I stuck my tongue out at him, leaning my head over Jacob's shoulder. He put me down as Charlie opened the door.
What I saw wasn't what I expected at all. Everything which was familiar was gone. No more rock band posters on the walls, no socks on the floor, no unmade bed, no police uniforms hanging on the closet door. The walls were spotless except for the few bunny stickers on them. The bed was gone altogether, replaced by a wooden crib I hadn't seen since I was three and was old enough to have a big girl bed. There was also a rocking chair, a changing table, and a large carpet with some toys on the floor. I was speechless.
"What…what…wow." Jacob wrapped his arms around my waist, his lips kissing the top of my head. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
"Sue and I thought that it'd be handy if the baby had its own room here, too."
"Thanks, Dad. This is fabulous. It's just…wow." I fought hard to keep the tears from rolling down my cheeks. This was the best present of the day, hands down. "Did you kick Seth out, then?"
"No," he replied, right behind me. I hadn't heard him come up. He was hesitating and his eyes wouldn't meet mine. "I'm moving in with Angela. That's why the room's free." He what? He made such a big decision without telling me? And he was moving in with her so fast? It shouldn't have been a surprise but something like this wouldn't have happened one year ago, or even six months ago. He would have told me beforehand because we used to tell each other everything. It hurt that he didn't tell me. I pushed the thought away. It was the way things were now. I couldn't change it.
"I didn't tell you because it would have spoiled the surprise." Not necessarily. I wouldn't have jumped to the immediate conclusion that if he was moving out they were going to transform the room into a nursery. Stop it. Seth's moving in with his girlfriend and you're getting an extraordinary gift. Be happy.
"It's okay," I lied. "But this is too much, guys. Really. I don't know what to say."
"Hey, your old man's going to want to spend some time with his grandkid. You can't deny him this."
"Thank you, Dad," I said again, extracting myself from Jacob's arms to go hug my father. He seemed surprised but he tapped my back clumsily as I buried my head in his chest. I wasn't going to cry.
"All right. You two can stay here and join us later," Charlie offered. Quickly, I was alone with Jacob, free to explore the new addition to the house. The room looked somehow empty but I could imagine the numerous toys which were going to fill the space. I could also imagine how the crib would be replaced by a bed and how our child would want to come here to stay with his grandparents during the vacations. Our child.
"Happy?" Jacob asked. When I looked up at him, his eyes were sparkling with joy. I leaned against his chest, taking his hand to place it on top of my belly.
"So, so much, Jake." I was blessed with so many people who loved me, who loved us, and who already loved the baby. We were very lucky.
Awwww. Isn't Bella super lucky? :)
There are links to Bella's shower dress and to her sexy lingerie on my profile page. Go take a look. I personally had a lot of fun "shopping" on the Victoria's Secret website.
I'm the non-canon wolf reviewer on TwiFicReviews. I rec fics once every two weeks. I'll also be rec'ing books once a month. Don't forget to go check it out. We're rec'ing all sorts of fabulous stories. http : / / twificreviewsa-z (.) blogspot (.) com /