Chapter 32: Secrets, Truths and Preparation
Angela POV
Today was the day I told Quil about the pregnancy. I had so far gone almost a month without saying anything to anyone except Emily but the guilt was eating away at me. He deserved to know the truth. And then of course, there were my parents. But I thought maybe if I spoke to Quil first and came to a decision with him in regards on what we should do, then I would tell them. I knew I had been distant lately, with all of my friends. I visited Bella yesterday at her house where I was happy to see she could walk on her leg again! But then I realised what a crappy friend I had been to push her to the side when she needed my support. All because I was freaking out about something I refused to share with her! I just didn't understand why I was pregnant in the first place. Quil and I were careful to use protection! And as far as I know, it never broke!
I texted Quil to meet me at First Beach. I figured it was away from prying ears and I don't know, maybe if we decided to keep the baby, then it would be a memorable spot for both of us. The spot where Quil found out he was going to be a father.
Don't get me wrong, I wanted this baby, but I was just scared of what other people were going to think of me! I was still in high school, albeit close to graduating, but the stigma would still be there. I'd be classed as a teen mom. I always thought I'd finish high school, go to college, get my dream career and then settle down with someone I love. I do love Quil, with everything I have in me. But this pregnancy had completely destroyed my plans for the future. In saying that, maybe this was all planned. Like Quil believes, maybe the spirits do know the future and maybe they're helping us by giving us curveballs in our lives to prepare us for those futures. I don't know, it sounded crazy saying it but I needed an explanation to all of this because right now, all I felt was dread and uncertainty. I needed some sort of explanation that everything was going to be okay!
"Hey Ange" Quil's voice called out. I was already waiting for him, on the driftwood that was always dry, no matter how many times it rained. I felt my heart speed up and my breath hitch in my throat. What if this went badly? What if he thought the worst of me? What if he thought I had planned this all along to drag him down?
"Hey Quil" he sat down next to me, leaving a little space in between. I shook my head and scooted over to him and took his hand.
He laughed nervously "Sorry, I figured you'd been kinda distant lately and it must be my fault-"
"-no Quil! It's not your fault! Oh, I don't know how I'm gonna say this" I dropped my head and tried steading my breath. I could feel my hands shaking because Quil tightened his grip around mine.
"Hey, come on, whatever it is, we can work it out together. We're a team now, right?" I nodded.
I took a breath "It's just, this is big, you know? Oh God, I really don't know how to say this-"
"-you're pregnant, aren't you?" he interrupted. I looked at him in surprise, my mouth hanging open.
"I'm so sorry Quil. We were careful, right? This is all my fault, I'm so sorry-"
He turned to face me and took my face in his hands "Ange, this is not your fault. This isn't a fault, this is a blessing-"
"-but I thought you'd be mad at me" I sniffed.
He chuckled "How could I ever be mad with you baby? I love you, so much. This child is proof of that"
"Wait, so you want this baby? You want to be a father?"
"Heck yeah I do! Listen, I know it's scary and yeah, the timing isn't great, at all. But this is our blessing Ange. It's a blessing from the spirits, I know it is"
It was my turn to laugh now "That's what I thought too-"
"-you see? We're so connected with each other and the spirits, this can't be a coincidence. We did use protection and it didn't break. So, it must have been the spirits plan all along. They wanted us to create this child at this time-"
"-so, you're saying that our baby was planned by the spirits?"
"Of course! Do you have any other logical explanation for this? I don't ever want you to feel scared to tell me anything baby. I don't want anything eating away at you. I want to be there to help you through it. Your problem is my problem also, right? We figure them out together from now on, okay?" he said with a smile.
I sniffed and wiped my eyes "Yeah you're right. I'm sorry for keeping this from you, I was just shocked"
He chuckled and kissed my forehead "Of course you were shocked. I'm shocked, but not because this is a bad thing, but because it's the best surprise I've ever received. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me Ange-"
"-oh Quil, I feel the same about you too"
We kissed and held each other for the longest time, just watching the waves roll onto the sand and listened to the gulls flying overhead. Quil rested his hand against my abdomen and then leaned down and laughed loudly.
"What is it?" I asked, feeling slightly self-conscious.
"I can hear our baby's heartbeat! I can hear it!"
"You can?"
"Yeah! It's strong. Ange, I don't think I'll ever stop saying it. This baby is a miracle" he kissed me again and then helped carry me to my car.
I giggled when he helped me into the car "Quil, I'm only a month along. I can still walk without restriction-"
"-I don't want to take any risks" he said, buckling my seat belt in. He climbed into the passenger seat and buckled himself in, then I drove to the hospital to book in my first doctor's appointment.
"When do you think we should tell everyone else?" I asked.
"Well, it would be great to surprise everyone. Maybe we should wait until the first scan-"
"-yeah, that's what I was thinking too. Oh Quil, I'm so happy. You've made me feel so much better about myself"
He squeezed my hand "You're beautiful Ange and our baby will be beautiful too"
We booked in the appointment which was due in 2 months' time. I didn't know how long I could keep this secret without any of the Pack guessing that I was pregnant. If Quil could hear the heart beat then surely the other's would too?
"Quil, do you think it would be alright if you came with me to my parent's to tell them?" I asked nervously. Quil had only met my parents one time, and whilst they approved of him, they were sceptical about his intentions. They were just old-fashioned, church-goers.
"Of course! We're in this together now. Don't worry, it'll be fine" he reassured me. I decided to go straight there, to get it out of the way. The longer I put this off, the worst I thought about the possible outcomes. They'd be mad at me, for sure. Would my Dad try and kill Quil?
"Hey, stop that-"
"-stop what?"
"You're overthinking again. Listen, if your parents love you, they'll support you. It'll be a shock at first, but when they've had time to digest the news, they'll start getting excited about becoming Grandparents"
I chuckled nervously "Yeah, I never thought about it that way"
"Come on, they love me"
"I'm not so sure my Dad does-"
"-I can deal with Pastor Weber. I respect him and I'll show him nothing but"
I smiled at him "You're the best"
"Don't forget it baby" he winked.
The trip to my parent's house went better than I expected. There was shouting, a lot of it. But after Quil explained that he loved me and I was the only girl for him for the rest of his life, my parent's softened a little. They were still angry with me for being reckless, as they said. But they said they supported my decisions and they would be there to lean on if I ever needed help. Quil was questioned by my Dad about how he planned to support me and the baby, but Quil was quick to say he had a job at a construction site and was earning good money, which impressed my Dad.
"I didn't know you had a job at a construction site" I asked him when we were back in the car, driving back to his home to tell his Mom.
He smirked "I don't. I figured your Dad wanted to hear something like that, but truth is, I have a lot of money from inheritance. My Grandpa on my Mom's side left me a huge wad of cash that I've never touched. So it's sitting in an account waiting to be spent"
"Oh, wow, I never knew"
"Yeah, I don't usually like to tell people that I'm rich through inheritance. You know, it won't last forever, but it'll get us by for a few years at least. Then I should probably think about getting an actual job" he chuckled.
"Maybe I should get a job. You know the extra income would be a huge help-"
"-if you want to get a job, you go for it. As long as it's something safe-" he said seriously, making me chuckle "-but you really don't need to get a job Ange. We're honestly fine for a long while in terms of finances. Not only that, once my Mom finds out that she's going to be a Grandma, she'll probably buy half of the stuff babies need. She's gonna be so excited"
"Really? You think she'll be excited?"
"Heck yeah she will! She'll probably slap me for being stupid getting you pregnant in the first place, but she'll be happy about it. They all will be, especially once this little bundle comes along for cuddles, then everyone will be happy about it"
How could Quil make all of my fear disappear? He really was an amazing man.
"I'm so excited for our baby Quil" I said.
He took my hand "Me too"
Sam POV
I knew I wasn't Alpha anymore, but I still felt like one. Jacob was doing a great job, as so far, everything was great. The Pack were working well together and finally we were getting some well-deserved peace and quiet. My child would be here in a few more months and I still had tonnes to do! I hadn't even got anything for the nursery! I had always wanted to make my first child's crib, ever since I was a kid. I wanted to surprise Emily with it, because sure, we could buy a better looking crib from a store, but there was something sentimental about making my first child's bed. It felt right.
"You should do it then. Congratulations by the way. Why is this the first I'm hearing of it?"
I rolled my eyes "Can you please get out of my head?"
"No can do Samuel, it wouldn't be right if I didn't protect people from their own minds"
"My mind doesn't need protecting. I just need to get on with making this crib. I don't even know where to start!"
"I made Har's cot. We couldn't buy things like that back in the day"
I smirked at her "Would you even remember how to build one?" I asked her.
"Of course I can remember! I built myself quite the business back in the 1500's. I can help if you want"
"Thanks, but I need to do this by myself. I just gotta work out how much the materials are gonna cost-"
She laughed "-you don't need to buy anything. You live right next to a forest!"
"Yeah I know, but I want everything to be safe. Listen, I'll talk to Carlisle another time, I gotta go and get this started or I'll keep stressing-"
"-Carlisle is going to be less than 10 minutes Sam, just wait-"
"-sorry Gyda, I'll see you soon"
I was hoping to talk to Carlisle about something I had been thinking about for a while, but then I chickened out. Technically, now that Jacob was Alpha, he made the decisions in regard to the Pack. But I still held a lot of responsibility for them. I left the Cullen's and drove straight to the hardware store in Forks. It wasn't the biggest store, but they kept the wood materials out the back. How big would I need to make the crib?
"Afternoon, what can I help you with?" the guy behind the counter asked. I approached the counter and leaned in to whisper.
"Do you happen to know how to build a crib? Like for a baby"
The man laughed "Tryna impress the wife, ey?"
"Something like that. So do you know how?"
He chuckled as he turned around and started rooting through one of the many stacks of cabinets behind the counter.
"Aha, this is what you'll need-" he handed me a book '101 Ways to Save Money' "-this helped me through a tight spot last year but it's got a chapter about building your own nursery furniture, cause you know how expensive babies can be" he chuckled.
"Uh, right, thanks. How much?" I asked, taking my wallet out of my pocket.
He pressed the book into my hand "Just take it and bring it back when you've got everything you need from it. It's a pretty handy book and you're not the first to try saving money on the baby furniture-"
I narrowed my eyes at him "I'm not doing it to save money. I want it to be special"
"Ah, you're the sentimental kinda guy, are you?" he smirked.
This guy was starting to piss me off "Yeah. Listen, thanks for the book. I'll be back if I need anything else"
I went back home to find an empty house. Well, I knew Emily was with her Mom, shopping for the baby. I only hoped they wouldn't come back with a crib. I sat at the kitchen table and flicked through the book to find the chapter.
How to save money with a new baby
Let's see. Knitting your own baby sweaters, no. Knitting your own baby hats, no. Knitting your own, God how many things could someone want to knit for a baby? I flicked through impatiently and found the page I needed. How to build your own crib. Huh, the instructions seemed pretty difficult.
But heck! I was ex-Alpha of a Pack of wolves! I was pretty sure I could handle this. I just needed to find some of those screws that were pictured. Well, I suppose I could try and save some money doing this. I certainly didn't wanna go back to that store. I took the book with me and walked into the forest next to my house, examining the trees. Yeah, I could easily build something with this wood and it would make it even more special than supplies bought from a hardware store.
With a plan forming in my head, I went back to the house and pulled my tool bag out from where I kept it under the sink. I knew I'd need an axe to bring the trees down and a bark spud. Where could I get one of those?
"Hey man, you okay to talk for a minute?" I turned to see Colin at the door.
"Yeah come on in, I'm just about to head out, actually, you wouldn't know where I could get a bark spud do you?" The look of confusion that crossed his face told me, no, he didn't have a clue what I was talking about.
"Sorry, I'm not too handy with tools-"
"-it's alright. You wanna ride with me? I gotta go looking for one and have no idea where to start"
"Yeah that'd be awesome! I can always google a place?"
So, ex-Alpha, why didn't you think to do that?
"Yeah, I don't know why I didn't think of that" I chuckled.
"Alright, got it. There's a store in Sequim that sells all kind of tools and things for building your own stuff out of trees. Hey, what are you building?"
"If I tell you, you gotta keep it a secret, okay? I want it to be a surprise for Emily-"
"-I promise I won't say anything. I'm guessing it's something for the baby?"
I smiled "Yeah. I thought I'd try my hand at building a crib, you know, it's our first baby and I want to make it special"
"That's awesome dude! Hey, can I help?" he asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Ah, what was the harm in letting the kid help me.
"Sure, you can help. But we'd better get moving if we want to get to Sequim before it gets dark. Have you let your Mom know where we're going?" I asked because God forbid I had an angry Connie on my back later.
"I'll text her now, but it's okay. She's staying with Grandma Inola today, something about crochet" he shivered. I sent a quick text to Em, letting her know I'd be home later.
"Alright, let's hit the road-"
"-hey, can we grab some snacks for the journey? I'm kinda hungry"
I rolled my eyes and chuckled "We can stop at the village store" I reassured him.
Half hour later, with an abundance of food and drink sitting on Colin's lap to keep up going, we were heading out of Forks.
"Hey, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked, suddenly remembered.
I side-eyed Colin, who had suddenly turned beet red and looked out of the window, feigning interest at the passing forest.
"Colin? It must have been important if you wanted to talk to-"
"-there's this girl at school-"
"-oh yeah? What's her name?" I asked.
"Jasmine. But I don't know, I think I might have imprinted on her Sam"
Say what!
"Why do you think you imprinted?" I asked. I wanted to know if Colin knew the difference between an imprint and a school crush.
"Well, I looked at her in Government class and she looked at me with this smile, and something weird happened to me. It was like I couldn't stop looking at her. Then it felt even more weird when she walked out of class after the bell rang"
Now, I struggled here. Not with the thought that Colin could have imprinted, but his measly teenage boy description. What was I supposed to get from that?
"When you looked at her, did you feel like nothing else mattered?"
He nodded his head enthusiastically "Sure did"
"And did your chest ache when she left the class? Does it hurt now?"
"Yeah, kinda. But it's not painful, it just feels like I've eaten too many of my Mom's sloppy joe's-"
I laughed "Well, maybe you did imprint. We'd have to talk to your Uncle Billy about this. He'd know if it were a true imprint or not"
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Ah man, I don't even know how to talk to girls and now I might be already imprinted to one?"
"Take it easy man, it'll work itself out. I need to stop for gas"
We got to the store in Sequim by 5, it was a little later than I had planned, but Colin kept asking me to stop so he could pee. Honestly, this kid was imprinted already? He was barely 14 years old. I guess I couldn't talk. I was with Leah when I was 14.
"Okay, ready to go?" I asked Colin, storing my purchases safely in the back seat. I'd managed to rent out a few tools to use, rather than buy them. I got a bark spud, an axe, the screws I needed to make the crib and sandpaper.
"Yeah, let me just pee real quick" he climbed back out of the truck. I rolled my eyes and opened up a bottle of water.
He got back in and seat belted up "Okay, ready"
"Okay, back to La Push"
We got back to La Push by 7:30. Well, after I had dropped Colin home. I took the tools out of the truck and hid them in the garage and went in to see my Em.
"Hey baby" I greeted her. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her.
"Hey you. Did you have a good day?"
"Yeah, I spent some time with Colin, poor kid thinks he's imprinted-"
"-oh, really? Has he talked to Billy?"
I chuckled "No. I think he's scared by the answer he'll get. Hungry?"
"I ate at my Mom's. So, do you think he imprinted?" she asked, settling herself down at the table with a cup of tea.
"I'm not sure. His description of it was less than accurate, but I didn't know what else I expected from a 13 year old kid" I laughed.
"Well, I think that maybe he should, oh!" she cried out, holding her stomach.
"What is it Em?" I rushed over and knelt down. I could hear the baby's heartbeat, phew.
"The baby just kicked, feel" she held my hand against her stomach and I felt the gentle flutters of my child's kicks. I laughed loudly, feeling so happy. This was actually happening! I was going to be a father!
"Seems more real now, doesn't it?" she said, smiling just as brightly as I was.
"Yeah, it does. I'm so ready to be a father" I kissed Emily and carried her to bed.
As I watched Em fall asleep, I thought about the crib for the baby and smiled. I'd make this the most perfect crib anyone had ever seen.
Paul POV
"Baby, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"Well, you know you'll be leaving for Sweden soon, now that Charlie gave you the go ahead-"
"-is this something to do with that? Because I can always stay behind, you know I don't mind-"
I chuckled. Always getting ahead of herself "No silly. I wanted to talk to about something I was thinking of doing whilst you were away. Something pretty serious"
Now I had her full attention "Serious? Uh-oh-"
"-it's nothing bad, don't worry. But I thought it was time I went on a journey to find myself. A lot of the warriors in the tribe used to do it back in the day and something Old Quil mentioned to me the other day, well, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it"
It was only a passing comment he had made, but when I questioned him about it, I knew this was something I had to do. For myself.
"What does this journey entail? Is it dangerous?" she asked, the concern lacing her voice.
"I'm not sure how dangerous it is, but it can't be that bad. But I think it'll be good for me to take it. I need to find myself again and I think you can agree with that"
She sighed sadly "Well, ever since you woke up from your spirit walk you have been sort of distant. Not with me or your brothers or anything like that. I mean, distant with yourself. I think that maybe it'll be a good thing to go on this journey to find yourself, if you think it'll help-"
"-I really do think it'll help me find some purpose in my life. I haven't told anyone else, but when I was in the spirit world, when Jacob had found me, I saw my father-"
"-your father? He was a spirit?"
I shook my head "No, he was alive, still in my childhood home. Anyway, I promised myself that I'd get my revenge on him for hurting my Mom and me. I'd avenge her death-"
"-Paul, please don't talk like this-"
"-I don't mean revenge by killing. I just think it's time he got what was coming to him. He deserves to spend the rest of his sorry life behind bars-"
"-you know my Dad would help with that. He's already said before he'd help track him down"
I smiled and kissed her forehead "I know. I have a feeling he'll still be at the house, but I have to check before I get the authorities involved"
"You're not thinking about spirit walking again?" she asked, shivering.
I reassured her "No way. I'll only spirit walk again if I need to. I figured I'd just go there by myself, in person. I want to talk to him anyway. I want to understand why he did what he did to us. Family doesn't treat family like that for nothing. There had to be some reason behind it-"
"-Paul, please don't do anything stupid. I know you're incredibly angry at him and I would never forgive him for what he did, but I can't lose you to prison or worse. Promise me you'll keep a clear head and be the better man"
"I promise I will. I have you to come back to, I know that. I just wanted to do this before I left for my journey. I guess get rid of anything negative in my life before I go, so when I come back, I can focus on the positives"
She smiled at me "I'm so proud of you, you know. What you've been through, well, I don't think the strongest man on earth could have dealt with it as well as you have. Do what you need to do, just be careful" she leaned up to kiss me.
A knock at the door broke our kiss apart. I groaned in frustration. I hadn't had 5 minutes alone with Bella without someone trying to interrupt. I got up and answered the door, but I wasn't expecting who was actually standing there.
"Edward, uh, what are you doing here?" I asked. I let him in and closed the door behind him.
"I need to ask Bella something. It's about Gyda"
"I'm in here Edward!" she called out. We walked into the living room and sat down.
"What about Gyda do you need to talk about?" Bella asked him.
He sighed "She thinks I don't love her. She thinks I don't truly love her. How can I make her see that I do? I'm losing it over here!"
Bella held her hand up "Woah, first of all, chill. Second, what has she said that makes you think that? She told me that she loves you, she said you two were a thing-"
"-I asked her to marry me last night. Got down on one knee and everything, and you want to know what she did? She threw the ring into the river by my house and slapped me! She slapped me Bella!"
Bella stifled a laugh. I knew this sounded funny, because it was just so Gyda, but Edward was obviously hurting.
"Do you have any idea why she reacted like that?" Bella asked calmly.
"Ugh, because I was an idiot! A week ago I said that maybe it'd be a good idea to marry me so she could go to school here. But she assumed that's all I wanted to marry her for, but it's not! She just won't listen to me when I say I love her. I don't know what to do here"
"Listen, Gyda has had a lonely existence. She told me she made a few human friends during her thousand years, but I have the feeling she'd never really let her old life go. Her human life. She showed Paul and I memories of her life before she was turned and honestly? I think Gyda has unfinished business-"
"-is this something to do with Har?" he asked.
Bella nodded "Yeah. You see, in the memories, she went through a lot of pain. Her family was being hunted because of a mistake she made, and the guy hunting her wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. Her son dead to punish her for her mistake. But of course, Gyda did everything she could with her husband, EirÃk, to save her son, but in the end the decision she chose was the most painful thing she could have done-"
"-I saw that. She showed me leaving to sail to England. But she never showed me anything else or gave me context-"
"-she had to leave for England to keep her son safe. She had made a deal with the Earl that if she and her husband sailed to England and fought for new territories for the Earl, he in return would look after her son and stop the hunt against him. I guess you know what happened in England" her voice trailed off sadly.
Edward was in shock "I didn't know it was like that-"
"-that's the exact thing I said too. She holds a lot of regret in her heart and she won't move on until she's finished what had started"
"So what do I do?" he pleaded. I felt for the guy. He was trying and that counted for a lot. But in the case of Gyda, it was hard to tell how long he'd be trying for.
"I'm still trying to figure that out for myself. But I think she misses her old life. She misses her culture, her traditions and she missed her Gods. I can tell that much-"
I interrupted "-she told me she didn't have any feelings towards her Gods. She said they let her down when she asked them for help. She feels they're responsible for her transformation-"
"-logically, it's not. The transformation was just unavoidable. Unfortunate, but if like she said there were vampires waiting to pounce on the warriors during battle, then she wouldn't have had a chance of escaping"
Edward clicked his fingers "I got it! I know exactly what I'm gonna do! Thanks Bella!" he ran out of the house and left a trail of confusion in his wake.
"I wish I could read minds" she said.
I laughed "Don't we all"
"Hey, do you think we could take a walk to the Diner? I want to surprise Charlie with dinner-"
"-I thought you were trying to steer him away from the Diner?" I raised my eyebrow.
"Yeah I was, but then I realised how much I had been going to the Diner, especially recently. I think he deserves a treat, he's been really good to me lately"
I kissed her hair "You want me to help with your shoes?" I asked, tossing them over to her.
"No I can do it"
The walk to the Diner was nice. Now that Bella could walk on her leg without pain, it was nice to just walk by each other's sides, holding hands, like couples did. Melinda was happy to see Bella and insisted we stay for some free cake.
"Can I book in a table later for three? I want to surprise Charlie with dinner tonight" she asked Melinda.
"That's real nice of you doll, I'll book it right away, what time will ya'll be here?"
"Probably around 5, is that okay?"
"Sure is! It's so good to see you again Bella, and good to see you walking! Charlie's been keeping me updated on you and all I can say is I'm real proud of you and your progress"
Bella turned red "Thanks Melinda"
"Eat your cake before I do" I warned her. She stuck her tongue out at me and started eating. We'd never say no to a slice of free carrot cake. It was just too good.
"Hey, I've just had a thought-" she said with her mouthful.
"Oh yeah?"
She swallowed hard "Do you think Grandma Inola would like to come to dinner as well? I keep thinking about her alone at the house and it makes me sad"
This was the thing that made me love Bella even more than I already did. She just loved Grandma Inola like she was her own Grandma. It touched me that Bella always remembered Grandma Inola in her decision making. Whether that be how a decision would affect Grandma, or if Grandma would object or accept something we both did.
"You know what? I think she'd really like that" I responded.
Bella's face lit up "Well we'd better drop round to let her know"
"Sounds perfect. Hey Melinda-" I called out. I saw her just behind the bar "-do you think you could make that table for three a table for four?" I asked.
Melinda chuckled "Of course I can doll. Someone special joining you?" she asked.
"Someone very special" Bella replied. I took her hand and squeezed it, thanking her for that.
After our cake, we headed straight over to Grandma Inola's to let her know about the dinner arrangements for tonight. She was really excited to be able to get out of the house and spend some time with Bella's dad, something she hadn't done since my last spirit walk. She promised she'd be ready for us to pick her up by 4:30, wearing her best dress that she'd been saving for this kind of thing.
"How cute was that? She was so excited" Bella gushed as we drove back to Forks to tell Charlie.
"Yeah, Grandma doesn't get out much, it'd be nice for her to have a change of scenery" I said.
Bella sighed "Well, now all that's left to do is wait for Charlie to get home from work and then start getting ready"
Charlie got back from work around 4 and Bella quickly pounced on him, telling him what was going down tonight. I'd never seen the man so excited for anything in my life, ha! As soon as the word Diner was out of Bella's mouth, he high-tailed it upstairs to put on his best shirt. I told Bella I'd meet her at the Diner with Grandma Inola and left to go pick up my other favourite girl. Grandma was looking stunning tonight. She chose to wear her 'out out' dress that'd been kept in the closet for more than 10 years. She asked me to spray her perfume in the air so she could step into it, and then we were off.
"Oh Paul, I'm very excited about tonight! Thank you for thinking of me"
"Of course Grandma. It'll be a great night" I promised.
Charlie and Bella were already there when we finally got to the Diner. I helped Grandma into a chair beside Charlie and then we were ready to order.
"Now listen, I'm not complaining about a free meal or nothing, but what's brought this on?" Charlie asked Bella.
"Well, we thought the both of you deserved a night out to relax. You've both been really supportive of Paul and I these past few months and especially after my surgery so I guess we just wanted to treat you both to dinner to say thanks" Bella said, a slight blush forming on her face.
Grandma Inola reached for Bella's hand "Thank you dear, this really is wonderful of you both"
"Now you know we don't need thanks for looking after you two. It's our job! Isn't that right Grandma Inola?"
Grandma nodded her head, agreeing with Charlie "It's a pleasure to be able to look after the both of you, and it looks like we've done a good job, isn't that right Chief?"
Charlie blushed "You bet"
The rest of the night was filled with laughter, happiness and utter contempt. It was nice to see Charlie let himself go and enjoy himself, maybe having one too many beers. Grandma also enjoyed the house cocktail, something Melinda prepared special for her. I'd never seen Grandma drunk before! She was giggling at some men wolf-whistling at her from the bar. I was more than happy to glare back at them. By the time we got them both home, Bella and I were exhausted, but much too high in happiness to sleep. Sue said she would stay with Grandma Inola tonight, something we were both thankful for. Leah and Seth were staying with Connie Littlesea for a while so Sue was free to lend a hand at keeping a drunk Grandma in check.
I turned the lights out in Bella's room and pulled her up for a cuddle in bed. Charlie didn't care that I was sleeping in his daughter's room. He figured there was no point trying to stop the inevitable.
"I think we all needed tonight" I said.
"Yeah we did. Thank you for making it extra special" she said, leaning down to kiss me. Ah man, it had been over a month since we had last made love and I didn't know if I'd be able to control myself.
I pulled back "How painful is your leg right now?" I asked, turning to I lay on top of her. I trailed wet kisses across her jawline to her throat.
"It's not painful at all. Make love to me Paul" she whispered breathlessly.
Well, tonight was great!