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Chapter 55

My Family 1

Edward

'Just take your time!' Jake yelled after me in his thoughts.

I shook my head, smirking.

He wanted as much time with Becky as he could have. So, I slowed my pace. A little, at least. I wanted to get to Bella as soon as possible.

On the way to the parking lot, I met some of my siblings, who were wondering where Jake and Leah were, since I seemed to want to drive without them. I just exchanged a few words with them and then quickly got to the car.

I wanted to escape Alice. She already knew what we had planned for this afternoon and was offended that we were not taking her.

As I drove out of the parking lot, I saw her in the rearview mirror pulling a face and vociferously accusing me in her thoughts.

"Hello, my angel!" I greeted Bella and took her tightly in my arms. It felt so good to have her with me again.

"Hello, Edward!" she whispered faintly, which made me immediately listen attentively.

Perhaps she was not yet better than she was this morning.

"Is everything all right, Bella? Would you rather we postpone Portland?" I asked anxiously.

"I just missed you," she replied, snuggling against my chest. I lifted her head and kissed her devotedly. "I feel much better already," she sighed contently and actually sounded less weak already.

"Me too!" I truthfully replied and kissed her yet again before we drove back to school.

Actually, I had wanted to sweet-talk Bella a bit about Jake's punishment, but since Becky didn't have time anyway, it was unnecessary for the moment.

I would make up for it this evening. Extensively.

When I drove back into the school parking lot, the twins were sitting on their usual bench and Becky was sitting on Jake. I shook my head in thoughts.

The two of them had passed the time of waiting nicely, indeed.

I briefly palpated Jake's jaw as a precaution, and he gave me a quick mental recap of the encounter.

Mike's jaw was dislocated. Very nice.

Bella watched Jake and Becky say goodbye to each other.

That's how we both looked in the morning when we parted for a few hours. As if we didn't want to let go of each other.

I took Bella's hand in mine.

"Don't you think he's done enough penance?" I asked cautiously.

"I think so," Leah also confirmed.

Bella looked over at the two of them again and then nodded.

In Portland, I was instructed to drive to one of the large malls.

It had been a few decades since I had last been to Portland, so I followed the direction indicated. I took a quick gaze at a general map and found the usual stores that you'd find in pretty much any city.

However, one lettering caught my eye: Victoria's Secret. There was also a floor for the more affluent customers: Prada, Channel, Valentino, Gucci and so on. If Alice were here, I would expect her to be there. I highly doubted I could get Bella to put even a cute little toe on that floor.

We strolled around the stores for a bit, all the while I held Bella in my arm and kissed her regularly.

No one knew us here and so Bella would not have to fear any societal consequences with me at her side. After all, I looked twenty years younger than her. We both noticed the shocked gazes on us, but ignored them. To our astonishment, they were really only very isolated gazes.

The bigger the city, the higher the tolerance level, I thought.

The kids then found what they were looking for in a large store. The store went up several floors and I even saw a staircase to the luxury floor in the back. I examined the clothing.

The quality was good, no cheap processing and decent material. And affordable. The various jeans Jake and Leah needed most because of their growth spurt averaged about seventy-five dollars.

The twins put on a big fashion show. We kept handing them new clothes in the fitting rooms and had a lot of fun.

Partially because of what we handed them afterwards. Leah in a strict and staid costume and Jake a glittering suit full of sequins.

A hilarious sight.

We took a few photos with our cell phones to record it for posterity.

Alice would quarter me when I told her that's what we bought. I was already looking forward to seeing her face.

"We still need something for Peter and Stan's wedding!" Leah then remembered.

Satisfied, I realized that she had distracted Bella with it.

She hid her face in her hands, moaned indignantly, and turned away a bit.

All the clothing items that the two basically liked were spread out over a small couch next to the fitting rooms. They wanted to decide afterwards which of them they really wanted to take with them.

I nodded to a salesman, quietly signified to him that we would take everything and asked that everything be taken to the checkout and wrapped. He nodded hesitantly, but did it.

"So do you, Mom! After all, you're the maid of honor!" Leah continued to press after Bella reluctantly shook her head.

She still hated shopping, but had to concede defeat to Leah's argument.

"Mmm ... you in an evening gown?" I took Bella in my arms and dreamily imagined it. She had looked adorable at the prom, and last Wednesday's dress looked excellent on her too. But now, as a grown woman in an elegant dress, Bella had to look scrumptious. Metaphorically speaking. Not literally!

"Well then, we'll take a look back there," Bella sounded bored.

I chuckled.

Almost any other woman would pick out a new dress with enthusiasm, but not Bella.

"Jake. You need a suit," she then stated in his direction.

Jake thought it was kind of over the top and couldn't imagine that he would last an entire evening in one. He was more the 'jeans, T-shirt and sneakers'-type.

"If you don't mind, I'll go with Jake to look for a suit. Then you can look at the dresses with Leah in peace," I suggested and she agreed.

While Bella and Leah disappeared into the evening gown section, the salesman approached us again and I explained our concern. Jake tried one on and he felt constricted.

I shook my head.

Not only could one see his discomfort, he looked dressed up to boot.

I demanded other styles and waited for the salesperson to name a brand that looked familiar from my own closet.

Armani. I knew that.

He retrieved a small selection from upstairs and Jake retreated to the fitting room.

Oh, holy shit! he cursed in the meantime in his thoughts.

I smirked.

He had just found the label with the Armani lettering. And the price tag.

"Put it on," I whispered, handing him a light blue shirt - to match his Chucks - just as he was about to very carefully hang the jacket back on the hanger.

Very careful not to damage anything, he stepped out of the small room. The suit was simple, in an elegant black. It looked fabulous.

"How does it feel?" I asked him curiously. "Better than the other?"

"Absolutely ... But Mom will never pay for this!" he muttered to himself.

He was visibly more comfortable than in the suit before. The fabric was softer, which was much more comfortable to wear, plus the cut suited such a young man as Jake better.

"I don't plan on making her pay!" I countered, straightening the collar a bit.

Jake looked at me, undecided.

He had a question burning on the tip of his tongue that he didn't dare pronounce because he knew it was none of his business.

I answered anyway. Quietly.

"I could buy the contents of the entire mall..." I smiled indulgently, undid the top two buttons of his shirt and stood behind him so he could look at himself in the mirror. "... And I wouldn't even notice!" I finished my answer without giving any concrete numbers about my bank balance.

His jaw dropped and I smirked.

I didn't want to brag. Jake's protective instinct was very strong, and I felt obligated, in a way, to give him a rough idea of what my financial situation was. That I wouldn't be a drain on his mother's pocket, so to speak, just because I was together with her.

"What's it like to be able to buy anything you want?" he asked seriously after recovering from that little shock.

"Not everything one wants can be obtained with money," I replied in the same way.

He nodded and could guess that I meant his mother.

"So, what do you think of the suit?" I then asked again.

He was intimidated by the price and hummed and hawed.

He clearly got that from Bella.

"Shall we see what Becky has to say about this?" I asked further, pulling out my cell phone.

Jake smiled mischievously at the camera and the image message was on its way. To Becky and to Bella.

"And you don't say a word about the price ... and neither do you!" I instructed Jake and the salesman when I saw Bella coming already.

Both nodded, but the salesman looked a bit stiff.

In his mind, he was already returning the suit to its place, as he strongly doubted that any of us would be willing to pay the posted price. A joke by young people or the desire to wear such a suit one time, he thought to himself, and expected that 'our mother' would go berserk right away.

Bella put her hands over her mouth, moved. She could hardly believe how handsome her son looked, and he really did. Leah was also amazed at how elegant her brother looked.

My phone beeped, I looked at the message and tossed it to Jake.

Becky was thrilled and drooled to herself. Or so she said.

The suit didn't quite fit and needed a little alteration. Before the salesman was ready to call a lady from the tailor shop, I had to let him take a look at my credit card. He had briefly gasped for air and immediately disappeared on the phone to summon the seamstress. The still very young woman was enraptured by Jake, literally pined for him and took measurements for the alterations.

I heard that Jake was feeling a little silly and chuckled.

Then I accompanied Bella and Leah to the other department and took my salesman with me right away. He had understood that prices were unimportant and not worth mentioning. Again, I quietly had a few brands named until I found one that Alice preferred.

Versace.

Dresses were brought. For Leah, the choice was mainly light colors and refined and playful cuts. For Bella, the salespeople - two ladies had joined them - opted for classic elegance in dark tones.

When they disappeared into the dressing room, Jake was already standing next to me again. Still in his suit. He was getting used to it.

The first dresses were all very pretty, but none had quite fit. When Bella then stepped out of the room with the third dress, I gasped.

A dark red dream of silk, a classic cut with straps that flowed to the floor. And it fit absolutely perfectly. It emphasized every shapely curve on the perfect body of my goddess.

"Wow ..." it escaped me and I walked towards my angel, who was already blushing a bit again.

I took Bella's hand and turned it in front of me.

She looked breathtaking.

I put my hands to her waist, pulled her to me and let my hands slide to her back. The dress was backless. I ran my fingertips along her spine along and she trembled slightly.

"I think I have my dress," she mumbled, a little dazed, after I kissed her.

I nodded.

"Shoes?" I asked one of the sales clerks and they were also fetched. As well as a small selection of handbags.

Then Leah stepped out of the other fitting room looking adorable.

A dress not quite reaching the floor, made of light pastel colors with an asymmetrical cut. Blue, green and white partially merged into a fresh turquoise.

A butterfly, was my first thought.

Suitable shoes were also fetched for her. Then the two stood in front of us. Jake was just as excited as I was, but I something was still missing something about them.

I quietly conferred with my salesman, handed him one of my credit cards, my car keys, and a generous tip for him and his colleagues.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to kidnap you ladies!" I then said and stood between Bella and Leah, who were being pampered by the sales clerks and the manager.

I took them both by my hands, instructed Jake to go along, nodding my head, and left the store.

With the overview map keep in mind, I went straight to a store three doors down, entered, and stopped in the middle.

Bella's hand tightened around mine.

"Edward ... no," Bella begged me embarrassedly, but I just smiled.

"Can I help you?" immediately asked a staid middle-aged man in an expensive suit with condescending look.

I put an arm around the waist of the ladies to my right and left.

"Tell me if you can do that!" I urged him with a friendly smile.

He examined me skeptically from head to toe.

I broke away from Bella and Leah, walked up to the counter, and casually leaned against it. I looked at my three angels and had all the time in the world.

Leah and Jake looked around a little intimidated, while Bella was about to damn me with her eyes.

"Don't you have anything in your inventory that might please these lovely ladies?" I continued, honey-sweet. "Let's start with the young lady!" I suggested.

An elderly lady next to me seemed ready to take care of us.

Unlike the gentleman about whom she was mentally quite upset at the moment. She thought to herself that she had worked in this store long enough not to be biased. She had already experienced all kinds of surprises.

"To be sure!" she said kindly, giving her boss a reprimanding look.

She pulled something out of a display case, walked up to Leah and put it around her neck.

Meanwhile, the owner of the exclusive jewelry store called a security guard as a precaution.

"I think that's a bit too much!" the nice lady herself stated, looking towards me and waiting for my verdict.

I nodded and Leah was a little disappointed.

"Way too much!" said Bella too, still looking at me accusingly.

I reached out a hand to her and pulled her with the back in front of me. I put my arms around her and breathed a kiss on her shoulder.

"Let me have some fun," I pleaded softly, continuing to kiss her shoulder, to the dip below her ear as I ran my fingertips over her back.

Weak-willed, her head fell against my shoulder.

I had won!

The owner, on the other hand, had understood the word 'fun' and demonstratively built himself up in front of the door.

I rolled my eyes.

No one would trust such a young man as me having my wealth. In that respect, I knew this behavior. I didn't really go shopping very often. Apart from the fact that I could spend hours in music or book stores and usually left some money there as well, the most expensive purchases of my existence were my cars and now and then a small house. There I experienced this distrustful attitude again and again. But I had never enjoyed it as much as I did today.

Jake was a boy and could naturally do nothing with jewelry. He looked respectfully at the various display cases - in which there were no price tags - and wandered haphazardly through the store.

The lady pulled other necklaces out of the display cases here and there, but I didn't like any of them on Leah so far. Leah was a young woman on whom a luscious necklace just didn't look good.

In the meantime, the man from security who had been called was there and the owner retreated into the back room, with a wrinkled nose. His employee just shook her head, criticizingly.

"How about this, then?" Jake asked, pointing to the glass box in front of him.

The lady took it out, asked herself why she hadn't thought of it, and put it on Leah.

"Perfect!" I said immediately.

It was a thin chain with a pendant. Both made of white gold. The pendant was a rather large, but filigree worked butterfly, whose wings were set with small colorful gemstones.

"We also have a bracelet that matches," the lady said and took it out.

Little butterflies that each had a little stone in colors that matched the dress, that looked like they were flying every time they moved.

The lady was now still missing a little something.

She picked up small round stud earrings that Leah was supposed to hold. Then she took a step back and let the overall picture sink in. She thought Leah looked like a princess.

In thoughts, I partially agreed with her.

She was MY Princess!

"What do you think?" I asked Bella.

I didn't need to ask Leah her opinion.

Aside from hearing her excitement through her thoughts, she was also beaming all over her face as she admired the necklace in the mirror.

Bella looked at her daughter's facial expressions with loving eyes for a moment, then began to smile herself and finally nodded.

"We take this," I therefore declared.

Leah jumped into both of our arms, gave us each a kiss on the cheek, and thanked us excitedly.

Her heartfelt joy touched me, so that my eyes began to burn slightly.

I made a slight head movement in Jake's direction.

The lady smiled. She was very attentive and had also paid attention to Jake when she was looking for the right thing for Leah. She took out a key from under the counter and opened the display case with the wristwatches.

The lady knew her job. Clearly. She pulled out the very watch Jake had been looking at in amazement for quite a long time earlier. A 'Tudor Heritage'.

He looked at me with wide and disbelieving eyes when the lady handed him the watch and I smiled back encouragingly. Carefully he put it on.

"Chic," Leah remarked. "Kind of goes with the suit in sneakers."

I agreed with her.

Jake looked elegant and casual at the same time.

Like a prince. MY Prince!

Bella also nodded with a smirk, which prompted Jake to give us a hug just as Leah did and thank me.

"Your turn!" I now whispered to Bella and she flinched briefly in my arms.

I chuckled.

It was one thing to please her children, but quite another when Bella was to have something given to her.

"Do you have a particular idea?" the lady asked amiably.

"I'm thinking of something simple. Not too ostentatious," I said charmingly.

The lady smiled understandingly and took out a pearl necklace from a drawer, framing the silver relief of a heart in the center.

She handed me the necklace and I put it around Bella's neck myself. With much more touch than necessary. The heart was just below the hollow of her throat. I straightened it and placed a gentle kiss in the hollow. Behind Bella's back, the lady handed me earrings with a pearl in a silver flower bud. Gently I inserted them and then kissed her gently on the respective ear. Then I took Bella's hand, lifted it and sought her gaze as I slipped a simple silver ring over her finger with a single small pearl sitting on it. Bella had a hair band on her wrist, which I took off and tied her hair into a high loose ponytail. Only a moderate attempt at my hairdressing skills, but her appearance virtually demanded pinned up hair. I refused the bracelet that was handed to me, instead I grabbed a few hairpins, each of which also had a pearl on it, of course. I turned Bella in the direction of the mirror that stood on the counter, put an arm around her waist, and looked at her reflection.

The kids had quietly stood to one side waiting for Bella to take off her expensive jewelry again, even though they themselves thought she looked wonderful.

"You look enchanting," I said.

Devoutly she ran her sensual fingertips over the jewelry and looked at herself. Then she turned to me and took me tightly in her arms.

"Thank you so much, Edward!" she whispered.

"I'll lay the world at your feet if you let me!" I promised and kissed her.

For a long time, we stood there closely embracing.

"What am I going to do when you leave again?" Bella mumbled sadly to herself and I opened my eyes completely perplexed.

The twins were also caught off guard by this remark.

'You're not leaving her alone again, are you?' asked Jake accusingly in his thoughts.

'You can't go!' whispered in Leah's head.

Both even considered whether these were perhaps parting gifts.

Even the lady had heard Bella's words, startled silently and scowled at me.

She had thought at first what such a pretty woman wanted with a boy like me, but had since changed her opinion. Now she was angry with me.

I had thought that I had clarified the issue with Bella. I should probably drive this thought out of her for good.

I slid a hand tenderly to her cheek and lifted Bella's gaze into mine.

"Bella. Before you stumbled into my life, my life was fine. An eternal night in which I saw the stars. Everything was predictable, nothing should change it and I was satisfied with it. And then you came. As a beautiful overwhelming shooting star you rushed across the heavens and showed me what it means to live and to love. When I left, I was again a creature of the night, but there were no more stars to show me the way. Never again do I want to return to this darkness. Never again experience a day without you. I love you, Bella. Until the end of eternity ... Would you do me the honor and become my wife?" I said sincerely and with all the love and affection I felt for this great woman and knelt before my angel.

Impatiently, I looked up at her big chocolate-colored eyes.

It was quiet as a mouse in the store. Everyone in the room had held their breath, even the man from security. Even myself. The children were waiting just as tensely as I was, and together we hoped for the same answer.

This surprised me a little, but made me immensely happy. To be honest, I was even relieved about that.

And Bella did not move. She looked at me with a gaze full of love. She swallowed. She withdrew her hand from mine. But she immediately put it on my cheek, stroking it gently for a moment.

"Yes, Edward. I will. I want to be your wife!" she smiled weakly, struggling with her tears that gathered and glistened in her eyes.

I breathed a sigh of relief, felt a pulsation in me as if my heart wanted to leap towards her, rose and took my fiancée tightly in my arms, who was now finally losing the battle against tears. Everything in me danced with joy and so I twirled Bella around in my arms a few times.

"I love you, Bella!" I whispered, kissing the tears away.

The elderly lady also shed a single little tear of emotion and handed us a handkerchief.

Leah and Jake took turns embracing us and were heartily happy for us. The lady and the security guard also congratulated us on our engagement. The owner, however, remained in his back room.

"I love you, Edward!" Bella threw herself into my arms anew and I just held her tightly against me.

I eavesdropped intently while swimming in the liquid chocolate of her eyes.

The most beautiful melody that existed for me. The pulse and breathing of my fiancée. The most uneven melody in the world!

Then Leah and Jake held something out to me unnoticed. I took it from them and knelt down again. I took Bella's hand and slowly slipped a ring over her finger.

Her engagement ring. Chosen by her children. I could not have made a better choice. A white gold ring with a dark blue sapphire set in a wreath of small white brilliants. The ring of my mother was unattainable for me at the moment. There was only one woman worthy of wearing it, and I had once left it with that woman. It lay together with the photos under the floorboard in Bella's old room. When I lost Bella that time, this heirloom had also lost all meaning for me. But she would still get it. If I had to run across the country on foot and secretly break into the house.

I had just slipped the ring over her finger, breathed a kiss on her hand and intertwined my fingers with hers, when she growled at me again. From deep inside her.

I smirked and wondered with amusement how many times her starving stomach would speak up at such precious moments.

I suggested that we should go out to eat so that Bella would not starve. The two predators were also hungry, so I asked the lady to add it all up for me.

I sat on a small bench with Bella on my lap waiting for the check, while Jake stood in front of a display case staring at a necklace.

I wasn't surprised that this piece, of all things, fascinated him. He called Becky his Star, to whom his heart belonged. The pendant consisted of the very wide outline of an asymmetrical star, decorated on one side with small diamonds, and within this relief was a bulbous heart incorporated, which in turn bore a few shards of garnet. The pendant was a total of 1.1 inches tall and would certainly look enchanting on Becky.

"Nice," I said simply, still sitting on the bench.

Bella looked at me skeptically and then went to her son after I pointed in his direction.

"I also think so. It looks really cute," Leah also confirmed.

"Ma'am. We'll take those, too. Could you please gift wrap them?" I asked kindly and the lady nodded.

I stood up and pulled out my credit card. The lady took it and grinned mischievously at me. I grinned back.

"Mr. Baker. Would you perhaps like to finish the bill for the young gentleman?" she asked turning to the office.

Still suspicious and visibly unfriendly, he came forward and immediately gave the security a prompting look.

In his employee's question, he suspected the moment had come when no one would be able to pay for the selected items and thought about how we were going to talk our way out of it.

The lady handed him my credit card.

He looked at it in disbelief and dropped it clumsily on the glass counter in shock. It clinked, but the glass remained intact.

What a shame!

Jake and Leah caught a glimpse of the card and couldn't believe their eyes.

They had heard of these cards, but had never seen one. A 'Black American Express'.

The jewelry was put down and wrapped up - except for Bella's engagement ring, of course, and Jake's watch.

We quickly went back to the clothing store, since the three of them had to change clothes again, and I also received my things back again.

Bella scolded me when she realized that everything was paid for and also already in the car.

I raised the hand with the ring up to her gaze.

"What's mine is yours!" I said dryly and she stuck her tongue out at me.

In a small Italian restaurant, I asked with a tip for a secluded table so that it would not be noticed that I did not eat anything.

While waiting for the food Jake and Leah briefly disappeared again in an electronics store. They wanted to leave us alone for a moment and Bella and I used this short time to kiss each other unabashedly. Again and again, her gaze or my hand went to the ring.

I could not believe it! Bella would become my wife.

The four of us made fun of the fact that Alice had no idea about it!

When we got back home, it was just half past nine in the evening. Leah had bought a Blu-ray, a comedy that we wanted to watch together. We spread out over the sofa with beverages and popcorn and enjoyed this family idyll.

Bella lay in my arms, Leah leaned on my shoulder, and Jake lay half on top of Leah.

The eternity could come, because with my three angels around me, I felt more alive than ever before. I was happy beyond measure with my family.

This state at least lasted until the front doorbell rang.

I immediately sought the thoughts of the late visitor - after all, it was late. Courtesy visits were no longer common at this hour. I felt threatened by the thoughts of the man standing there in front of the door. Threatened as a man!

Bella stood up and opened the door.

"David!" she cried out, drunk with joy, and I saw through his eyes as she jumped enthusiastically into his arms.

Leah and Jake sat up, looked at each other, muttered "David?" to themselves in chorus, and ran to the front door.

Quickly, I also stood up and leaned into the door frame.

A very good-looking man. The guy might be Bella's age, was about my height with an athletic build, striking masculine facial features, dark blond tousled hair and damn green eyes.

I saw how he just left Bella's lips with his and froze.

Who was allowed to kiss my fiancée so easily?

Thank you for reading!