FALL
BPOV
"So Dylan's going to have a cousin in six months," Rose says casually as we follow behind the guys and their wagon.
Edward got it in his head that he wanted pumpkins for the house, so he dragged us all to Harbes Family Farm.
He had Dylan in her sling, she was more alert and squirmy these days. She kept pulling on the sling to peek out, his coffee was in one hand the other was on Dyl. A lot of the college girls here with their friends kept staring and trying to get their attention.
Edward looked good in his beater with an orange, brown and yellow flannel over it, he left it unbuttoned. He has his usual light-worn jeans on with his black scuffed-up boots. Emmett looked a little more like a preppy lumberjack. He had his red flannel buttoned, his jeans dark and crisp with tan boots.
I look at Rose, she looks a little tired, but still glamorous in her burgundy sweater, skinny jeans, and booties. Her sweater was a little flowy hiding any signs of pregnancy, if any were there.
"Come again?" I pause in my walking.
She tugs on the front of my beige floppy hat, I smack her hands away.
"I went off my birth control over the summer," she says like it's no big deal.
"So this isn't a honeymoon baby?"
"Nope."
"Well, congratulations," I tell her, hugging her with the arm not holding my coffee.
"You're going to have to help me through it," she says seriously. "Like, I might need you in there when I give birth."
"Rose," I laugh.
"No, I'm serious, Em and I talked about it, I can't even fathom him seeing me like that, plus, he's a little horrified to even think about seeing me like that," she's serious and nervous, nothing like her usual confident self.
"I'll be there," I say without hesitation.
"We found some good ones," Emmett bellows a bit ahead of us, he's grinning so I assume our embrace signals she told me.
"Why are you two all the way over there?" Edward asks.
Dylan squawks out her two cents too.
"I'm telling Bella I'm pregnant you bonehead," Rose calls to him as we approach.
"Yeah?" he asks, looking to Em for confirmation, when he nods, Edward pats Rose on the back.
"Twins, share a womb but can't be affectionate," I say giving Em a hug, he chuckles in my ear.
When we pull away, Dylan gets her little hands out trying to reach for me. I walk over to them freeing her from her sling, she laughs cuddling close to me.
"You're such a silly girl," I tell her.
Her hair had grown out a bit and her curls were going in different directions. The color was so much like Edward's auburn with blonde strands peeking through from the summer sun. Her eyes were also her father's, green as can be.
She lifts my fishtail braid then drops it like it's a game, at least she wasn't pulling it.
"So pumpkins?" I ask Edward, who is watching us with his usual tender smile.
"I'm thinking these would be perfect," he says gesturing to the various sizes of orange and white pumpkins.
"This is your project," I told him.
The guys start to load up the wagon with their top choices.
"What's she going to be for Halloween?" Rose asks sweetly.
Edward steps in shaking his finger at her. "Not happening, it's a surprise," he tells her.
She's eyeing him with a glare.
This Halloween was definitely going to be interesting.
I went over the drink menu with the bartender one last time. We decided to throw a Halloween party at the new house this year, our neighbors were pretty chill and like us, spent time between here and the city.
Rose and Emmett were in one guest room and Jazz and Ali in the other. We had friends coming in from the city as well.
"Babe, are you ready for us?" Edward calls eagerly from the stairs.
"Yep," I say, taking a seat on the arm of the couch.
He walks down the stairs in a powder blue custom-made tuxedo complete with top hat, he was Harry from Dumb and Dumber, Dylan was Lloyd in her orange custom-made tuxedo with a mini top hat.
I cover my hand over my mouth to hold in my laughter. "What did he do to you?" I ask, pushing off the couch to take my baby from her crazy father.
Edward looks pretty proud of himself.
This makes me wonder if this is why his hair is a little longer than normal. This punk had been planning their costume for a while.
I was a variety show Cher, for Halloween, I found a few vintage pieces that were perfect for it. I guess Edward and Rose's love for Halloween had finally taken a hold of me.
"You love it," Edward says, kissing me before checking out the catering in the kitchen.
Rose comes down in a jumpsuit completely opened, her white lace bra covered in fake blood and an alien coming out of her pregnant stomach. Her bump was small, but if this didn't announce her pregnancy I don't know what would.
She takes one look at Dylan before groaning. "He's good," she says.
"The fact that you two went to all this trouble for a house party with no incentive is a little scary," I tell her.
"Okay, Cher," she says, giving me a look.
A fake bloody Emmett comes down in a matching torn jumpsuit, the alien obviously got to him. He takes Dylan out of my arms so he can get a good look at her.
"Where's Ed at?"
At that moment Edward comes out of the kitchen and Emmett is in hysterics. He looks at Rose and I can tell he knows this is a good costume.
"The two of you realize there is no ten grand this year, right?" I try to double down on my point.
"But we know who's the best, Bella," Rose says seriously.
Jazz and Ali come down looking like surfers in boardshorts and I appreciate their lack of effort for the amount of crazy the rest of us go to.
Guests start to trickle in, they take in the décor and food and drink options. Angela arrives with Ben and Lola. She's my Sonny for the night while Ben and Lola are Rick and Morty. Our significant others had their matching buddies for the night.
I'm sitting with Angela in the living room when Jazz takes a seat next to me. "This year is vastly different from the last," he says as we watch Edward hold a sleeping Dylan against his shoulder.
He's chatting with Ben and even Lola is starting to doze.
"It definitely is, this is my kind of pace," I say honestly.
So much in our lives had changed, not only our little family but for our whole crew. Shelly left two months ago, leaving me the supervisory position, we were short-staffed because we had to backfill my old role. We hired Mary last month and she'd been a great addition to the team. She also didn't put up with Jess's bullshit.
Jess hated me more and more each day, although she had to learn to grin and bear it. She knew she could leave if she wanted to, but she liked the pay and benefits too much.
Edward found a balance between working normal daytime hours, cutting back the night ones. He still went to openings but didn't spend the whole night out like he used to.
Rose and Emmett were talking about finding a Hampton's house next to us. They spent more weekends here with us than they did in the city. They wanted more stability of a home before their baby came in June.
Jazz and Ali were growing their family too, they found a surrogate in California since they started the process before New York legalized gestational surrogacy in June.
Edward was convinced that Dylan caused baby fever amongst our group. He might be right or it was just a matter of time until they all settled down and that time was now.
The night passes in a blur, I check on Dylan before I go into our room. Edward had managed to get her out of her costume and into her pajamas without waking her. I brush her wild hair out of her eyes.
I can hear our rowdy guests settling in for the night as I cross the hall.
Edward's in bed with the T.V. on, he smiles at me then goes back to the show he's watching. I start pulling the bangles off my wrists. My hair is sleek and I pull it into a messy bun on top of my head.
I set my t-shirt and shorts on the bed and smirk when I feel Edward tug on the string holding my top together.
"Can I help you?" I ask teasing.
"You're the one clothed, can I help you?" he asks, pulling me down until I'm lying on the bed.
He hovers over me, tugging my pants down. "Did Cher not wear panties?" he ponders.
"I didn't want panty lines," I tell him while his fingers trace my skin.
"Does this go for most of the time or only for the authenticity of the costume?" he asks, breathing into my mouth.
"You know I have clothing boundaries, unlike you," I say, lifting my head up to catch his lips with mine.
His hand moves to my ribs giving them a squeeze before he moves up brushing my nipple with his thumb.
I then grab him with my hand. "Not nice," he chokes out a laugh.
"You're teasing," I playfully pout, giving him a good squeeze.
"Maybe I like the buildup of the tease," he jokes, but something else is there.
"You know what I want," I counter.
"Maybe I just want to take my time with you," he says sincerely.
I gently twist and tug him, he takes my hands pinning me to the bed. His mouth hovers while he thrusts forward rubbing against my clit. I reach up enough to capture his mouth with mine.
We're caught up in this intense push and pull until he pulls away grabbing a condom from the nightstand. I grab it from him, tearing the packet and rolling it on.
He pins me again, entering me slowly.
We groan out together.
Maybe he was right about taking it slow. His thrusts hit deeper with purpose, he holds onto my wrist but frees my other. He holds my ribs, picking up the pace.
Overwhelmed, I hold onto the forearm of his hand holding my ribs. I shift just slightly and he hits at a new angle.
"Close, babe?" he asks, his breath hitting my face.
I nodded, my hand gripping his forearm tighter.
After a few more thrusts I clench around him not too long after he follows. His weight drops down on me and I hold him close as we both catch our breaths. Before he pulls away he kisses me.
"See, slow and steady works just as well," he says smugly, getting up to throw the condom away in our master bathroom.
"We do slow and steady," I defend.
He leans in the doorway, my eyes roam over him. "We do, but never really in bed," he says.
I sit up. "Are you complaining?"
"Not at all, but sometimes I do like to get lost in you," he says softly.
He stalks over to the bed, crawling up my body. "Say if I had a ring, would you murder me if I proposed?" he asks his fingers roaming.
My heart leaps a little. "Do you have a ring?"
"Open the nightstand on my side."
"You're not a very good hider," I say, turning to open the drawer, finding the ring box in the corner nearest me.
"You hadn't found it," he points out.
I open the box that holds a very large oval diamond on a platinum band. It's simple yet screams its value. I take it out, slipping it on my finger.
"Is this a yes?"
"You haven't asked."
"Marry me?" he asks with a grin.
"Okay," I say inspecting the ring, I peek up at him. "I can't believe you did this right after you were inside me."
He laughs. "What can I say, I'm a sucker for a good moment," he shrugs.
I roll my eyes, grab my t-shirt putting it on over my head, and shimmy into my shorts. He rolls to his side, propped up on his elbow, his eyes don't leave me or the ring.
"So you want to marry me," I say to him.
"I've wanted to marry you for a pretty long time, Bell," he confesses.
"Why ask me now?"
"Well, as you know, today is one of my favorite holidays. I didn't want to do it in front of everyone either. I know you value your privacy."
"That and you didn't want me possibly rejecting you in front of anyone," I tease.
"There is that," he says, giving me a sheepish smile.
"I wouldn't do that," I say after a minute. "A lot has changed since last year and I think we've grown more together."
If I was being honest with myself, he had become my champion and confidant. I always relied on Rose when something big was going on in my life but now, he was that person. We were different as people but the same as parents.
It was in the late of the night that he'd hold me and we'd talk about anything and everything. He was who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and soon that will be more solidified for us.
"I can't believe you wanted to host Thanksgiving this year," Rose says from the island, she has Dylan on her lap snacking on a teething wafer.
I look out the window watching the guys playing football in the yard. Edward, Jazz and Ben are on a team against Em, Ali and our neighbor's teenage son. I laugh when Em goes to tackle Edward but he's too quick for him and Em hits the ground.
"Distracted much?" Ang says, throwing a baby carrot at me.
Lola starts laughing which makes Dylan laugh, she follows her older friend in whatever she does lately.
"Whatever, they're in my line of sight," I defend.
"Uh-huh," Rose snorts.
This year we were all staying in New York for the holidays. My mother threw a fit for several reasons. The first was because we weren't coming to Florida with Dylan, the second was because I was marrying into her new enemy's family.
I had kept my distance from Renee while I was on the antidepressants and trying to get my footing with balancing the changes in my life. Edward had become a pro at running interference with her and he was fine with that task.
I have been letting her in a bit since we announced our engagement. She jumped saying she'd throw my engagement party, but I was quick to tell her we weren't doing all that.
We discussed that though we didn't want a city hall wedding like Jazz and Ali, we wanted something in the yard possibly in the spring.
As Ang and Rose chat and I check on the turkey in the oven, Dylan starts yelling for me with her babble.
"I hear you," I say, taking her from Rose.
She lays her head on my shoulder wanting a cuddle.
"I thought you said she's a daddy's girl," Rose says with a smirk.
"Depends on who's with her," I explain, squeezing her a bit. "If we're both in the same room, Dad's her preference."
"Who's a preference?" Edward asks coming through the back door with the guys.
He leans forward giving both of us a kiss.
"You are your daughter's preference," I tell him and Dylan reaches for him even furthering my point.
He scoops her up, kissing all over her face earning squeals of giggles from one of his number one fans.
"See, daddy's girl," I say to Rose, tilting my head in their direction.
Once the guys clean up dinner is almost ready. We sit around the table digging into our meal and I take in the family that I've acquired over the years. I watch our daughter with the wonder her eyes hold when she learns something new from one of her aunts or uncles, growing up as an only child of divorced parents I never had this.
The gratitude I had for every single person at this table could never truly be expressed. Over the past year, they were all there to help me in more ways than one. When I look at Edward, he's staring at me then winks. He's the one person other than our daughter that I'm most thankful for.