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BPOV:

"Where'd your mom go?" I ask, running my hands down Edward's chest to rest my head on his shoulder. He's sitting on the ground in front of me between my legs, his elbows propped up on my knees.

"Probably off to do the dishes," he sighs. He's all sleepy and relaxed and cute. It's nice to see him like this. He's always so wound up from work or keyed up to get to me, but this more chill side of him is welcome, too.

"By herself? No one in your family can help?" I mean, honestly, I know the woman is headstrong, but she's also sick. Someone should be giving her a hand.

Edward looks up at me, the flickering flames making his eyes shine all the brighter and highlighting that sexy stubble along his jaw.

"Oh, we can help. We just value our fingers, and we know better."

"Fuck that," I scowl, not angry at him but angry at the situation. Damn stubborn woman thinking she has to do everything by herself.

"Don't say that in front of her, or she'll wash your mouth out with soap," Edward laughs, letting me up and taking my seat.

"Nah, I can take her."

Emmett and Rose both laugh, shaking their heads. The kids were out about an hour ago, and Alice and Jasper left shortly after. I'm glad they came; it was nice to have someone here I knew. And Cullens and Co loved them, of course.

Sure enough, Esme is standing at the counter scrubbing away at the copious amounts of dishes, humming to herself like it's nothing.

"Move over, Esme, I'm here to help," I lightly bump my hip against hers, tossing her a smile, so she knows I'm not being rude. Not intentionally, anyway.

"Oh, sweetheart, you don't have to. I enjoy doing these things."

"That may be true, but you don't have to be alone. Besides, if you wanna keep me around, you may wanna get to know me, yeah?" I wink at her, grabbing a nearby towel so I can rinse and dry after she washes.

"Well, dear, I think what's important is that my son wants to keep you around. And from what I can see, neither of you are going anywhere anytime soon. I've never seen him so happy, Bella."

The only response I can give her is a smile, and we fall into a nice flow of conversation about basic mundane things; what my family is like, my work, her work before she had kids. She was an interior designer, which doesn't surprise me considering how she was raving with Alice earlier. She shared a few silly stories about Rose and Edward when they were kids.

How they fought like cats and dogs but would defend each other with their life. How Edward cut one of her pigtails off and then pushed a little boy down that made fun of her for it. How Rose went crying to him when her first boyfriend broke her heart, not either of their parents or even her friends. How she'd catch them sneaking into each other's bedrooms and hiding under the blankets, giggling, and talking until the early hours of the morning.

"It sounds like you had a very happy home," I tell her, placing a plate up in the cupboard.

"It was the happiest. I wish Carlisle could have been around more, but we did really well making the time up when he could be." Her eyes drift out of the window above the sink, taking in her family, happy and laughing around the bonfire. "Yeah, I finally think they'll all be okay when I'm gone," she adds wistfully.