Chapter 6 – Purchases, Acquisitions and Mergers
By Labor Day, we had finally settled into a consistent school-year routine. Mom was working more than ever, having to travel for her job now, since she had received yet another promotion to regional manager for her store's corporate office. I guessed they liked her work, and at the rate they were promoting her, she was going to end up being CEO by Christmas! Elliott was also swamped with extra work due to the loss of one of the other investigators in their department. Coupled with a hiring freeze, it left him to pick up a lot of the slack, even covering most weekends, which was hard on everyone. They were usually gone in the mornings before anyone else but me was up, and they got home late most nights. I always made sure they had breakfast and something warm to drink in the morning, a healthy packed lunch, and I left them a plate with dinner in the oven every night.
With them not being home as much, Elliott had tried to hire a housekeeper, but that hadn't ended well. Esryl had freaked out around the first woman, who had yelled at her a lot and didn't like sticky toddler hands touching anything she had cleaned, not that she had cleaned all that well. She had lasted three days. The second one had kept trying to corner Elliott alone when mom was out of the house, and she had also sucked at actually doing anything. She had lasted five days. The third woman had held no regard for personal boundaries as far as our private things were concerned. Rifling through other people's drawers and closets was just rude! I had lost one of my favorite outfits, a bottle of perfume, and a set of my good lingerie to that one. She had lasted a week.
There had been a few others, but they had also been useless and had been let go after a two-day trial. After the last one, Elliott didn't bother again. I was glad and didn't say anything to encourage him to try further, lest the next one turn out to be a serial killer, a pedophile, or something equally as horrible.
I just quietly went back to doing what I had been doing before and hoped for no more trauma. Besides, I figured since mom and Elliott were both working so hard, it was the least I could do to show my appreciation and help keep everyone sane and alive. Of course, that didn't mean I didn't completely lose it several times on my lazier siblings, namely Emmett and Alice, for not pulling their weight and helping with the chores when things got crazy. I felt a little bad afterwards for snapping and yelling at them, but I never apologized. They had it coming.
Breakfast was a bit chaotic for a while, with all the jocks vying for a spot around our table. I was having a ball, though, with all the new stuff the guys had gotten for me, and I enjoyed cooking for everyone. It was Edward who had finally set a limit of six on the number of guys invited to breakfast at any one time, and then only twice a week. He started getting up earlier every morning and helping me get everything ready, the two of us working side by side. I was thankful, because without some help, mornings were just too hectic anymore for me to get everything I needed to handle done, especially with all the additional work due to our absent parents and the extra people in the house. James seemed to be at our house more often than any of the others, but I managed to scoot away from him every time he tried to corner me. It had become like a strange dance with us. Edward smirked whenever he would see me duck away while still being cordial to James. This amused him for some reason, but he still shot death glares at James.
The morning of my actual birthday was going pretty much like any other, so I was starting to get comfortable with the idea that maybe everyone had forgotten, and that was fine by me. I already had gotten the best gift ever in Sir MANSLUT, so anything else was just gravy. Or so I'd thought.
My eighteenth birthday ended up being one of the best I could ever remember. I should have known something was up, but I'd totally missed all the signs. The SHAGNICs got me first on bowling night with a small impromptu party at the bowling alley, so I was caught totally off guard when we got back home to find yet another large surprise party waiting for me.
"Happy birthday, Bella!" everyone shouted when I came in from bowling with Esryl on my hip. Alice pranced up to me and dragged me into the kitchen, plopping a tall white chef's hat on my head, while Emmett helped me into a white chef's coat they had gotten my name embroidered on. It was funny, but I loved it.
"If you hadn't guessed, the theme of this party is Julia Child meets Rachel Ray," Emmett laughed. "I just hope you don't require a stiff glass of sherry like old Julia did to get your inner chef stoked," he teased. I poked him in the ribs, and he bear-hugged me before giving me a sound smack on the rear.
After passing around cake and ice cream, everyone dragged me into the family room to open gifts. Dad had gotten me the same set of restaurant-quality cookware and utensils they had that I had eyed longingly, and Sue had gotten me some cake decorating stuff I had told her about wanting one day. Elliott had gotten me the commercial blender I had been drooling over, and mom had gotten me a Cuisinart food processor. Esme had gotten me a huge KitchenAid mixer, and Carlisle had gotten me some attachments for it. The SHAGNICs had gone in together and gotten me an Instant Pot and a cookbook for it. Emmett's gift was a set of professional knives and cutting boards. He'd written Rosalie's name on the card, too, but the look on her face when I opened it told me she was imagining other uses for the knives besides the intended ones. However, when I threw my arms around her neck and thanked her as enthusiastically as I did Emmett, her eyes actually softened towards me for a moment. Maybe small miracles with her would be possible eventually.
Alice had gotten me a collection of gourmet seasonings, sauces and oils, but she'd also decided I needed to learn to dance in order to show off my new look, so she'd signed me, Rose and herself up for club dance lessons. She was convinced we "sisters" would bond over some good dirty dancing. Much to my amusement, and Alice's horror, my mom, Sue and Esme decided to join us, hoping to get some exercise. I'd dreaded the idea of dance lessons, but with them joining us now, I couldn't wait, if for nothing else but to watch Alice and Rose cringing, as they watched our older counterparts grinding on each other.
The last to present me with something was Edward, whose gift took my breath away. "I think she would've liked for you to have this," Edward said quietly, as he came and sat beside me, taking my right hand in his. He had gotten permission from Elliott to give me one of his mother's rings, the band from her beautiful wedding set. He was keeping the engagement ring to give to a future fiancée. The platinum band was encircled in baguette-shaped sapphires and edged with diamonds. It was exquisite.
"Emmett got dad's wedding band, and Alice got her mother's ring. You've been really good to us, Bella, despite how we've treated you over the years. She would've loved you just as much as one of us. I hope you'll wear it well." I nodded, with tears threatening to spill over. He slipped it on the third finger of my right hand, making me take in a shuddering breath, as the same surge coursed between us. I couldn't help but throw my arms around him and pull him to me, pressing my lips gently to his cheek. It took him by surprise, but he wrapped his arms around me and held me, while I buried my face in his shoulder. I was so used to him being mean to me this time of year that the emotions overtook me.
"I'm sorry," I sniffled, "It's just…you're usually…"
He sighed sadly. "I'm usually a jerk. I'm really sorry, Bella. I've ruined too many birthdays for you in the past. We all have. This time of year, it's hard for us since our mom died. Her accident was on her birthday, the same day as your birthday, actually, and we were only seven when it happened. I remember her telling us she was just going to the store, and then the police came and told us she was gone, hit in the crosswalk by some distracted woman speeding through the store parking lot. We all took it extremely hard, and the trauma of that day has been hard to get over. I was really attached to her, we were close, and I didn't take losing her very well at all. None of us did. I hope we can start a new tradition, though, and make it a happier day for all of us. Forgive us...me?"
He looked at me hopefully, his deep hazel eyes rimmed red and begging for me to concede. I nodded, the tears finally spilling, as my heart broke for his pain and loss. He gently wiped them away and placed a soft kiss on my lips. It was quick and chaste, just a peck, but my world exploded again. I had forgotten the rest of the family was sitting there watching our interactions.
"Well, it looks like they're finally done trying to pretend the other doesn't exist," Emmett smirked. "I'd just better not catch you two getting too friendly, lest the end of the world should surely come up on us, and we're hiding two-headed babies and being booked on Jerry Springer. Once upon a time, I remember you mentioning Hell freezing over before that'd happen, Bro. Besides, incest is not best!"
Edward looked at me with a sad expression before moving away to sit beside Emmett on the floor. It was actually almost sweet what Emmett had said, as if it confirmed that he really thought of me as his true sister. However, it did nothing for my confusion where Edward was concerned.
My mom came and sat down next to me on the sofa with a sheepish look on her face. "There's something more, Bella. It's not actually a gift for you, really, but news for the whole family." She looked at Elliott, who nodded with smile. "We're going to have another baby."
We were all was stunned. "How? You two are rarely ever home at the same time!" I felt stupid after saying it, but I really was baffled.
Mom blushed bright red. "It wasn't planned, actually, it just kind of happened. I've been so busy with work and traveling that I didn't even realize I was due for an update on my implant. And you know me, I had no clue I was pregnant. Just like with your sister, I haven't had any symptoms until the last couple of weeks, and you know I barely show until much later in my pregnancies. I'm already five months along, so I'm due the first week of January." She looked up at Elliott and sighed. "I guess your birthday weekend trip we took to Vancouver will always have a special memory attached to it now, honey." Ew.
I actually could believe she didn't know. Not only was she terribly busy, but she was dreadfully unobservant much of the time. She'd never had any symptoms or even showed with Esryl until she was almost six months along. Even now, she still didn't look pregnant. "Well, I guess congratulations are in order, but Mom, you've got to start taking better care of yourself. Are you going to continue to work and travel as much?"
"Unfortunately, I have to for a while longer," she groaned. "I should've known this would happen, just when my career is finally taking off. I just have too much going on right now to up and quit, though. I want to be in good standing when I take my maternity leave, so I can go back at my same level. That means I have to stay a while longer and see to my current accounts."
Elliott wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "Everything will work out in the end, babe." I hoped he was right.
As I predicted, Performing Arts did become my favorite class. After Mr. Anderson's blowup the first day, the class sadly dwindled to only thirteen students. Edward and James both stayed, much to my surprise. I was even more surprised to find I was the only girl who had stayed, not that there had been that many to begin with, but it left me feeling a little awkward in a room full of nothing but guys. Having the class shrink so much also increased the workload on all of us to make the fundraisers successful for our causes, and it required Mr. Anderson to rework his lesson plan to cover the missing students.
I was looking forward to our first charity event for the Portland Humane Society. I was a total sucker for a cute, furry face, and I was excited we could do something to help. Mr. Anderson allowed us a week to come up with a strategy to see how creative we were. The guys seemed clueless about what to do, so I suggested we do a Halloween-themed event, since it would be happening at the end of October and actually fell on the day of Halloween. We planned a huge drive throughout the community to get things donated for the Humane Society's regularly scheduled end-of-month charity bazaar, along with refreshments, events, vendors, and giveaways, and we would provide the entertainment, turning it into huge Halloween festival.
We all got together and designed a flyer and posters, the printing being donated by a local print shop, and then an entourage of us went to the local media and got public service advertising arranged for the event. We spent several afternoons hanging posters in every business we could get to that would let us and recruiting donations. I took Esryl with us in her stroller, holding a basset hound puppy from the shelter, as we went from place to place. The two of them worked their charms on the managers, while we invited them to attend and donate. As we left the last business, Edward was laughing.
"Bella, it was a stroke of brilliance having Esryl and the puppy together. Between the three of you, no mere mortal can resist giving you anything you desire."
"The three of us?" I asked, confused.
He just looked at me and shook his head. "You really don't know how irresistible you are, do you?" he muttered, as he looked away. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I shrugged it off.
Taking the puppy around might have been a brilliant idea, but it proved impossible to get Esryl to give it back to the shelter. She had become terribly attached to it in the days we'd had her with us, so the shelter manager just gave her to Esryl for all her "hard work" and help, and Esryl named her Honey. The pup was a pudgy little thing but tiny, likely a runt, with adorable droopy eyes and long floppy ears. I wasn't sure how Elliott and mom would feel about having a dog, but I was thrilled. We started crate and potty training her immediately, and she showed potential to be highly intelligent. She also fell in love with Edward. He and Esryl took her for walks every evening, while I was working on dinner. Afterwards, she was constantly by my side, as we went through our nightly routines. It made me very happy to have another family member who loved me unconditionally.