Chapter 11 – In the Family Way
I literally had nothing left to wear that wasn't ripped or damaged by red punch, so I would pretty much need everything. Our final stop at the mall would likely take a while. Esryl was still asleep, so we laid her out in her stroller and went in search of a new wardrobe for me.
The first department store we stopped in was one in which Esme and I had found many of my things, and I was able to replace a lot of my favorite pieces and most of my shoes. They also had lots of new stuff, and Edward insisted I try on a few outfits he liked. As I modeled them for him, he nodded encouragingly, and I found myself craving his approval of how they looked on me. It felt important to me that he liked what he saw.
I managed to drag him into the men's department as well and made him return the modeling favor. He seemed eager to show off for me, and we picked up a few things for him, too. He got a beautiful red sweater that was similar in shade to one I had found, and it made his hazel eyes sparkle. As we were passing the kid's department, they had one in the same color in Esryl's size that came with a little plaid skirt and some tights. Of course, she had to have the princess footed pajamas and underwear Edward found. He was becoming as big a pushover for her as I was. I couldn't help but think how cute it was, and so was he.
Esryl woke up as we were finishing in the department store, so we decided to take advantage of a special they were running on portraits and get a set made for mom and Elliott for Christmas. We took our new clothes into the restroom to freshen up and change, and then we headed for the portrait place. There was no waiting at that moment for pictures, so we were ushered right in, where the photographer set us up.
"What a cute little family!" the young woman said, as she was posing Esryl between us. For the second time today, someone had assumed we were a couple, a family. I was beginning to get used to the assumptions, and Edward was grinning again, like he didn't mind it, either.
Many poses later, we had the ones we wanted ordered. We especially liked the one of just us together. He was standing behind me, with his arms wrapped around me. His face was next to mine, as my head rested back on his shoulder, both of us sporting huge smiles. Maybe that one we would keep just for us.
Esryl was now riding on Edward's shoulders, since we had the stroller loaded down with shopping bags. The last stop was for lingerie and sleepwear, so we headed into Victoria's Secret. I was going around the store, picking up the things I needed, when I glanced over at Edward. His cheeks were bright red, and he was staring at a gorgeous, elegant nightgown. It was snowy white, floor-length silk, with a fitted, embroidered bodice, small fluttery sleeves, and a deep, v-cut neckline. His blushing was the cutest thing ever. I was feeling a bit mischievous, so I slipped up behind him, ready to have some fun at his expense.
"Oh, that's so pretty! Do they have it in my size?" I pretended not to notice his eyes go wide, as I flipped through and found a petite small. "Here, watch everything while I go try it on." I quickly disappeared into the dressing rooms and stripped, sliding the gown on. It was a perfect fit. The bodice held my ample chest just right, creating an impressive amount of cleavage and making my waist look tiny. I took a deep breath and stepped out of the dressing room. Edward was looking to the side and had an annoyed expression on his face, as I came through the doorway to the dressing rooms.
"Oh, my…" I heard muttered before something crashed. I looked over towards the register to see a rack of stockings lying spilled on the floor, and there stood Mr. Anderson, frozen in place, staring gape-mouthed at me. It sounded like Edward actually growled at him, snapping him out of his staring.
Mr. Anderson apologized profusely to the salesclerk, who was trying to straighten the fallen rack. "I-I'm sorry, my bad. I seem to be really clumsy today," he stammered before starting towards me, but Edward stepped between us, stopping him in his tracks and bringing him up short. "Hello, Edward. Bella, nice to see you. What brings you to the mall today?" he asked, trying to look more at Edward than me, but failing miserably.
"Shopping, you?" Edward asked curtly, still trying to block me from Mr. Anderson's view.
"I'm picking up something my mom ordered for my sister's birthday, since I was passing the mall, anyway," he held up a pink bag. "How did the party go last night, Bella?" he asked around Edward, still trying to see me, but Edward leaned to block him again.
"Ours, good…our siblings', not so much," Edward answered curtly for me. He then turned to me. "Bella, you should get that one," he said shyly, "but I think it'd probably be best if you go and get dressed now," he said, cutting his eyes at Mr. Anderson. I nodded and headed back to get changed.
When I returned to the front, Mr. Anderson was gone. I laid the gown on the counter, along with the pile of things Edward had gathered that he was convinced I needed. There were several more really cute pajama sets and a pile of bras and panties in every color and configuration imaginable. I didn't know that he had paid attention to my sizes. Edward grinned sheepishly and shrugged when I pointed to the pile and raised my brow in question. I would swear the boy had a lingerie fetish.
"Where's Mr. Anderson?" I asked, as the salesgirl shamelessly ogled Edward. I cleared my throat and shot her a death glare as soon as I had her attention. She finished the transaction a little quicker, ready to be rid of me.
"He had to go," Edward said flatly. He signed the receipt and took my bags, and we headed for the parking lot. Esryl and Edward were hungry, and I was suddenly starving myself, not realizing how late it had gotten.
"Do you think they have the kitchen cleaned up enough yet for me to cook dinner?" I asked through a yawn and stretch, as we waited at a light. I looked over at Edward, who was grinning at me. "What?"
"Nothing, you're just really cute when you do that," he waved his hand at me. "You looked just like Esryl then."
"I should. I am her mother after all," I laughed, referring to the elderly lady and the photographer earlier. "Although she has her daddy's pretty hair color and cute nose," I teased, as I poked his side.
"True, she does look so much like the both of us. She really could pass as ours." We drove on in silence until my cell phone rang. Seeing that it was Elliott, I quickly picked it up.
"Hey, Elliott, what's up?"
"Your mother's blood pressure, I'm afraid. I tried to keep her from coming back to the house, but she insisted she needed to get some clothes before we went to Carlisle and Esme's for the night. I offered to go get whatever she needed, but she was stubborn and demanded to come inside with me. When she walked in, she literally screamed. I wish I could say your siblings had spent the day industriously cleaning up that god-awful mess, but they spent most of it fighting and arguing over who was going to do what, so pretty much nothing got done. I'm at my wit's end here, Bella."
"Has she eaten yet?" I asked Elliott. "She's extra cranky these days if she's hungry. Your best bet is to feed her. It'll calm the inner beast."
He said they were about to head out with Esme and Carlisle to dinner and asked if we would like to join them. I relayed the directions to the restaurant from Elliott to Edward, and fifteen minutes later, we pulled up next to them at a small diner a few blocks from our neighborhood.
We were seated quickly, and I was sitting between my mom and Edward, with Esryl straddling mine and Edward's adjoining legs, since she refused to sit in a highchair. We had ordered drinks and were looking at the menus when mom looked over at me and broke into sobs. Elliott was beside himself, not knowing what to do for her.
"I can't believe the state of our house!" she wailed, "And my grandmother's pearls are missing. I can't understand why one of our kids' friends would do such a thing!"
"Great-grandma's pearls are gone?" I asked incredulously. This whole thing just kept getting worse by the minute.
"Yes!" mom sobbed. "The whole set was in a case in the drawer with all my family mementoes in my closet, and whoever took them also pulled your baby book out and poured that horrible red punch all over it. I was able to salvage most of it, but some of the pages are totally ruined. Whoever did that deserves to be severely punished. You just don't DO that to someone else's personal mementos!"
She was near inconsolable at this point, and both Edward and Elliott were seething over the violation of mom's personal space in our home. Again, I suspected Jessica and Lauren, given the destruction of something personal about me, but I had no proof. The loss of the pearl set was heartbreaking, as mom had been saving them for me to wear when I got married, just like she had done. Her grandmother had brought the silver and pearl earrings, bracelet, necklace, and ring from Italy when they had emigrated to America, so they were quite old and somewhat valuable. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, and she cried into my neck, while Esryl patted her hand. She finally calmed down enough to eat something when the appetizers came, and a somber mood settled over the table. My cell phone rang, and I noticed it was Jake. I excused myself to answer it.
"Hey, Jake, what's up?"
"Hey, Bella. Listen, Vanessa and I are out to dinner at Leonia's, and I finally got her to tell me when her birthday is. She just went to the ladies' room, so I needed to ask your advice about what to get her really quick before she comes back, since I don't know when I'll get a chance to talk to you again without her hearing. I'm also going to ask her to be my girlfriend."
"That's great, Jake. She loves crosses, so you could maybe get her a nice cross necklace. I know she's been wanting a silver one for a while," I answered quietly. Jake knew me well enough to hear the sadness in my voice.
"What's wrong, Bella? You sound like someone stole your puppy," he asked nasally, trying to get me to laugh.
"You're not too far off, Jake. Did you see the inside of the house before you guys left?"
"No, but we were all trying to avoid being accosted by anymore drunken cheerleaders, so no one went inside. What happened?" He sounded like he felt guilty for not checking up on the inside party.
"Apparently, chaos broke out after Edward and I went to bed. Emmett, Alice and Rosalie's party guests basically destroyed every room in the house. It looks like a bomb went off in there. Someone went nuts in my room with that nasty red punch they'd made, and now it looks like a scene from a grisly slasher flick." Jake sighed heavily, and I could practically hear what he was thinking. "You don't even need to be thinking about taking any of the blame for their stupidity, Jake. It wasn't your job to make sure things inside didn't get crazy; that was Emmett, Rosalie and Alice's job. You took care of what I asked you to do perfectly, and I want to thank you and the guys for doing that. It's nice to know I can at least count on my friends to have my back."
If the condition of our house was any indication of the caliber of people my siblings chose as friends and acquaintances, I was certain they needed to reevaluate their criteria for said choices. With friends like that, pig pins with slop troughs and mud wallows would be a more appropriate party venue.
Jake and I talked for another few moments before he groaned into the phone. "Speaking of disgusting messes, the skank brigade just walked into the restaurant here with a couple of older dudes," Jake huffed in disgust. "Guess they don't get enough action from the jocks at school and have to work the university circuit as well."
I knew immediately that he was referring to Jessica and Lauren. Jake despised them both, as they constantly called him "Tonto" in front of their friends, which was a racist jab at his American Indian heritage. Vanessa had returned by this time, and Jake clued her in on our conversation and held the phone between them, so they could both talk to me at the same time.
"That whore, Lauren, is on my fecal roster, too," Vanessa hissed. "She keeps calling me Pocahontas, and I'm about ready to go all Native American on her pointy head and scalp that bleached blonde hair right off her," she hissed. "That fancy strand of pearls she's wearing would look even more perfect pulled tightly enough around her scrawny neck to choke the life out of her!"
Her last comment caught my attention. "Pearls? Vanessa, can you get close to Lauren's back without her noticing?" She asked why, and I explained about the missing pearls and their significance to my family. I described the silver heart-shaped clasp, and the matching pearl earrings, bracelet, and ring.
"Lauren's wearing a ring matching that description, too, and Jessica's wearing a pair of earrings just like you described and a pearl bracelet," she relayed angrily. "Those heartless skanks! Okay, hold on and talk to Jake a minute, while I go check out Lauren. I'll take my phone and snap some pictures as evidence."
Jake gave me the play-by-play, as Vanessa slipped around the perimeter of the restaurant, dodging behind waiter stands and plants, until she was standing directly behind Lauren, concealed by a large palm tree and a half wall divider. After photographing Lauren's neck and hand, and Jessica's ears and wrist, Vanessa was back on the phone in a few minutes, and she was livid.
"The jewelry they're wearing completely matches the description you gave me. Hold on a sec, and I'll send you the pictures. Those rotten little thieves!"
I got the picture mail from Vanessa, which confirmed that they did indeed have my great-grandmother's jewelry. I went back to the table and showed the pictures to Edward, Elliott, and my mom, who broke down crying again. I put my hand on Edward's shoulder, "They're at Leonia's. Let's go."