Chapter Thirty-Five

It's been a little tense lately. We've been trying to convince our kids about the living situation and why it needs to change. Bella's been trying with Jake and I've been trying with Rose. It's been an uphill battle so far.

To make things worse, now our family outings or dinners were awkward. It always seemed to end in a screaming match.

I've talked to my parents and Bella has talked to hers, both say we should just do what's best. And while that's certainly the last resort, we want them to be on board with this idea. Neither Bella nor I want our kids to be miserable.

Tonight Bella and I were going to take the kids out to a public place, that way there'd be no screaming matches, and we were going to try one more time to convince them about the living situation. If they didn't agree, then we were going to present a unified front and just tell them what we were doing. Hopefully, it doesn't come to that.

I finished getting ready and sat on the couch in the living room, waiting for Rosalie. We were driving separately; it would be better to drive separately, in case the night ended with bad feelings.

I was getting irritated; Rosalie was purposefully dragging her feet. She knew that we were having this conversation tonight and that, ultimately, the decision would be made by Bella and me; and we would not back down.

After a good twenty minutes, I had to get up and holler up the stairs. I wasn't playing anymore games; I was fed up with this battle and ready to end it. I never really had to put my foot down before, but now, I was done.

Another ten minutes passed, and I hollered up again. She opened her bedroom door and yelled down that she'd be done in ten minutes. I told her she had a five minutes to get down here and I was going to time her on my phone, and smartass she was, she walked down the stairs when the timer hit 4 minutes and 59 seconds.

"Come on, Bella and Jake are probably already at the restaurant." I scolded her as we got into the car.

"I was getting ready." She argued.

"You were stalling." I said.

"I was not."

I sighed heavily and headed towards the restaurant. The car ride was pretty tense. Rose and I didn't speak.

Bella and Jake were sitting in their car, both looking quite similar to Rosalie and I. I guess they had a little spat as well.

Bella

I was not looking forward to tonight. Edward and I were planning on laying down the law about the living situation. I was finally wrapping my own head around moving in with Edward and Rose, but Jake was still being as stubborn as a mule. I could say he got it from his father, but I knew he got it from me.

Edward was running a little late. Problem with Rose. That was fine, Jake and I were having our own little problem.

"It's not fair," He said, arms crossed.

"I know it's not. But I've explained several times why."

"I just don't understand why it has to be like this. Can't we wait until we find a house for all of us."

"Jake, I've explained this a million times. I'm tired of explaining it."

He rolled his eyes and huffed, looking out the window. I was so nervous about tonight. I knew that no matter what was decided, someone was going to be upset.

Edward and Rosalie arrived about ten minutes after we got there. We got out of our cars and hugged each other tightly. It was a silent 'it's going to be okay,' because tonight was going to be pure hell.

The restaurant was quiet, but busy. It was the perfect environment for talking. No one would raise their voice in this crowded place because our kids knew better. I just prayed that everything went well.

We sat down and ordered our drinks. Edward started.

"Alright guys, we're going to have a serious conversation tonight. And we are coming to a decision, no matter what anyone thinks."

"So, you guys have already decided what we're doing?" Rosalie said.

"Yes, but we want you two to be on board."

"How are we supposed to be on board with this?" Jake said, "It's not fair."

"I know it's not fair. It'll be a really big adjustment, but you have to understand we're not doing this to upset you two. We want to do this because we love each other, and we love you guys." I said.

"And we're a family. Families live together." Edward added.

The waiter came by and took our food orders. We were quiet for a few moments after the waiter left.

"You have to think of the benefits too," I said, "If we all live together, we can plan fun things. You guys like my cooking, I pretty much cook every night. We can have family nights more often. Plus, Rosalie when you dad works the overnight shifts, I'll be there. You wouldn't have to spend the night with your grandparents if you didn't want too. And I can pick up everyone from school."

"Also, with both Bella and I there, I can sign you up for a sport," Edward said to Jake, "I can take you to practices and games."

"There's a lot of cool benefits to living together," I said, "I'm not saying it'll always be easy, but it will be worth it."

Our food came and we were quiet for a little but while we ate our food. I could tell the kids were thinking everything over. I hoped they were coming around to the idea.

"So, what happens to my mom's stuff when we move out." Rosalie finally said.

"Well, we could put it in storage, or give it to your other grandparents." Edward said, "But, we couldn't keep all of it. We'll keep the special stuff."

"Like what special stuff?" she asked.

"Well, her pictures, or the vase in the hallway. Stuff like that, anything that was special." Edward said.

"And Rosie, I have absolutely no problem with displaying your moms pictures or her stuff. When we get a new house, we'll put her pictures up and all the special stuff." I told her.

"What about my stuff?" Jake finally said, "Like my bedroom stuff. And what about Sam?"

"We can move that stuff in. We'll move the stuff out of the guest bedroom, and it can be your room." Edward said.

"All of my stuff?"

"Well, maybe not the stuff on the walls or the little stuff. But remember I said I was planning on redoing your room? A new bedroom set and everything? So maybe you can use the furniture that's already in there and when we get a new house, I can get you new stuff." I told him.

He made a face, "I don't want new stuff."

"Jake," I said, "You and I talked about that months ago. You're outgrowing your stuff."

"Yeah, we can decorate it really cool. Do a sports theme. My bedroom set was a sports theme when I was young. I even still have a signed baseball. It'd be cool." Edward said.

"I don't want a sports theme."

"Jake, please don't be difficult," I asked, "We're trying to work out a plan that works for everyone."

"I'm not being difficult. It's just not fair that I'm giving up all of my stuff."

"You're not giving up all of your stuff."

"Look, we can circle back to the room thing. That's not a big deal," Edward said, he sighed as he tried to think of how to word it, "Bella and I want to move in together. We love each other and we love you guys. We want to be a family. We're trying to make this work for everyone, but the bottom line is we're moving in together. We are going to start looking for a new house after Christmas and we're going to move."

"We want you guys to be on board with this. We don't want you two to be upset. But Edward is right; we're moving in together and we're going to look for a new house."

Rosalie sighed heavily and Jake crossed his arms. I was worried things were about to go south, but instead they just stared silently at their plates. I think they understood that we were serious, and this was happening.

"I think everyone is on the same page now," Edward said when the waiter gave us the check, "We're moving in together. This is going to be great."

"So when is all of this happening?" Rosalie asked.

"Jake and I can move out anytime. We were going to pick a day and that's when we'll move in."

"How about next weekend?" Edward asked, "It's a three-day weekend. We're all off."

"That's a good idea," I added, "Perfect actually."

Edward and I talked out the details. The kids stayed quiet. I knew they were both upset, but this was happening, and we were staying strong.

After dinner, we drove to our own homes. Jake was quiet on the way to the house. I tried to get him to talk to me, but he was just quiet.

I knew he'd come around to the idea eventually. Maybe when we got a house that works for all of us, he'd be on board.

This would also help Jake. He'd have a good father figure who cared about him and could help him with the stuff I couldn't. I knew it was all going to work out, I just wished it the kids would be happy about it.

Edward

Rosalie was very, very quiet on the way home. The quietness actually scared me. I was waiting for the inevitable blow up. Rose was famous for those.

We got home and before she walked up to her room, I stopped her.

"Hey," I said, "I know this is a lot of change. But I want you to know that I think you're handling it really well."

"Yeah. Whatever." She said before walking up the stairs.

I sighed, wanting to talk to her more about it but not wanting to push her and get into an argument.

I walked up to my room and changed into a pair of pajama pants. I had work tomorrow and I was exhausted. This weekend had been a lot, but I was excited for next weekend. Bella and Jake were finally moving in and it was going to be a good thing.