Chapter Four
"Oh, Bella. It's so nice to see you, honey. Would you like to help me make the lasagna?" Esme asked when Edward and I walked downstairs.
"Of course, Esme. You know how good of a team we are when it comes to cooking," I replied and followed her into the kitchen.
"Hey, dad. Can we go talk in your office for a minute?" Edward asked.
Carlisle finished hanging up his coat and taking off his shoes.
"Of course. You head up, I'll be there momentarily."
Carlisle was close behind us when walking to the kitchen. He grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and kissed Esme on the cheek before making his way to his office. Esme handed me a knife and an onion and I immediately got to work.
Edward and I had decided that we'd tell the parents separately. He would talk to Carlisle and I would talk to Esme. We both knew how calm cooking made Esme so I decided that would be the best time to tell her.
"You know that I absolutely love and respect you, right? When you guys moved to Forks and I started dating Edward, you changed my life. My mom was never around much besides the occasional Skype call and visit to Florida. You've been like a mom and welcomed me into your home so easily. And I appreciate it," I articulated.
Esme wiped the flour off her hands and pulled me into a close hug.
"You've always been like a daughter to Carlisle and me, Bella. You've made a change for the better in our boy and we'll always be grateful for that," she replied lovingly.
I hesitated and said, "There's something I need to tell you."
"Of course. You know that you can tell me anything, dear," she reassured before turning back to kneading the dough.
"Please don't be too mad, Esme. It was a total accident. We didn't mean for it to happen, but…" I trailed off.
She looked at me questioningly and I pulled out one of the many copies of my blip from my back pocket and handed it to her.
She took it slowly and my heart broke when I saw the tears forming in her eyes.
"Oh, Bella. I am very disappointed in how this happened, but this is my grandchild. And a baby is a blessing, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time. You two are young but Carlisle and I will support you three through this ordeal."
I threw my arms around her again and hugged her for the second time in only minutes.
"You are planning on keeping the baby, right? You're not just telling me and then planning on giving it away, right?" She inquired almost desperately.
I wiped away a stray tear and nodded.
"We want to raise this baby together. The timing is not ideal by any means, but I'm due right before graduation. I only have to endure six months or so of looks of pity at that school."
Her eyes hardened and she picked up the knife she had handed me earlier.
"If anyone says or does anything that's not kind, you let me know. I won't have anyone talking poorly about the mother of my grand baby," she vowed.
I gulped and went back to helping make the lasagna. I had only seen Esme truly angry a couple of times and it was terrifying. She scared me more than my own father at times.
"Are you kidding me right now, Edward?!" we heard Carlisle holler from upstairs.
Esme sighed and looked at me pitifully.
"I'll give him a few minutes to get it out of his system then help him calm down. He's going to be pretty mad for a while," she warned.
After allowing Carlisle to yell a little bit longer, Esme finally sighed and made her way upstairs. I took over chopping up the last of the vegetables for the lasagna. I could understand why cooking always calmed her. It's always been a kind of escape for me as well.
I felt a presence behind me before I heard it, and I jumped when I peeked over my shoulder and saw Rosalie standing behind me.
"Ah! Gosh, Rose, are you trying to kill me?!" I screeched.
She arched one of those annoyingly-perfect eyebrows and looked over at the food.
"No. I'm just quiet. Are you making lasagna?"
I nodded slowly and turned back to what I was doing. She's definitely an odd person to talk to.
"Mind if I help? I'm not very good at cooking, honestly. But I'd like to learn."
"Well, we're done chopping the vegetables and making the dough. But you can help me layer it in the pan. After you wash your hands," I added while looking pointedly at her dirt-covered hands.
She walked into the half-bath around the corner and came back shortly with clean hands. I showed her how we layered the lasagna and let her take over while I started pre-heating the oven.
"How long is it going to take to cook?" she asked.
"Probably an hour or so. Lasagna takes a while. I'll get started on the garlic bread and breadsticks."
We worked in silence and I noticed it also got quiet upstairs. Whatever Esme was saying must be working quite well.
"I don't mean to pry, but are you pregnant?" Rosalie asked when I was lost in thought.
"Um, yeah. Did Emmett tell you?"
She shook her head and put on the final piece of dough for the lasagna.
"I just know these kinds of these," she murmured quietly to herself. I debated asking her about it and decided to just continue with the cooking lesson.
"Now we need to add the cheese. There's some extra Parmesan in the fridge if you need it."
She reached in the fridge and grabbed the block of cheese. I couldn't not laugh at the confused look she had on her face.
"Esme is pretty old-fashioned when it comes to cooking. She firmly believes that everything should be made from scratch. Here, I'll show you how to grate it."
For not being a good cook, she was catching on to the basics easily. It was impressive and slightly annoying. I got the feeling she was good at anything she tried.
"Again, I don't mean to pry, and you can tell me to screw off if I'm being too invasive. But have you and Edward decided what you're going to do with the baby?" she inquired.
A small smile graced my face as I finished adding the garlic sauce to the breadsticks and garlic bread.
"Yeah, we're going to keep him or her. I'm only about thirteen weeks so it's still early."
A look of total relief came on her face and for the first time since I'd met her just hours before, she smiled. And that smile made her look stunning.
"I adore babies. And I'm in my final year of college; I was thinking about moving here when I graduate in May. Emmett still has a couple more years but I'd be more than happy to help anytime you guys need it."
I stared at her with my mouth hanging open. I'm sure I looked like one of those cartoons where the character's mouth hits the floor.
Then, she did something I would have never expected. She giggled a little and rested her hand on my stomach.
"You sure are an adorable little thing, aren't you? You're going to be loved and taken care of," she cooed.
I smiled and placed my hand over hers.
"Thanks, Rose. I appreciate it. So will Edward and blip."
"Blip?"
I laughed and nodded.
"Yeah, we call it blip. It's too early to know if it's a boy or girl, so blip it is."
She thought momentarily before nodding seriously.
"Blip. I like it."
We went back to working in silence and Rosalie helped me prepare the salad we were going to have for dinner as well.
After a few minutes, we heard footsteps on the stairs and I peeked around the corner to see Esme, Carlisle, and Edward walking down. Edward looked relieved, Esme looked serene, and Carlisle looked pissed but probably not as much as about ten minutes ago.
"You two do realize I'm too young to be a grandpa, right? I'm going to get premature wrinkles and it's all your fault," Carlisle ranted.
I ran over and hugged him.
"You know we didn't mean it, Carlisle. But you're going to love this grand baby no matter what."
He pursed his lips are nodded.
"How much longer until I get to eat? All the stress of today has left me starving," he stated.
"You still have about forty-five minutes before it's ready, Carlisle," Rosalie interjected.
He looked dejected and made his way back up to his office. Edward winked at me from behind Esme and joined in helping to clean up the mess we had made while cooking.
The forty-five minutes passed quickly and soon enough we were all sitting at the dining room table. The tension between Edward and Emmett was palpable. It almost made it difficult to breathe.
"So, did Eddy tell you about his little predicament?" Emmett finally asked after putting a very large helping on his plate.
"Yes, Emmett, he did. And it is our duty as a family to care for each other. Especially when the circumstances are not ideal," Esme answered.
He glared at his plate and started shoveling in food before he could say something he'd probably regret later. I could even swear I saw Rosalie kick him under the table.
"Well, one of the things the two of you need to take care of first is getting jobs. Babies are not cheap and while Carlisle and I are more than happy to help financially, we'd like you two to do as much as you can. Bella, I'd be more than happy to give you a secretary job at my office if you're interested," Esme said.
I wiped my mouth and nodded frantically. I had thought about what kind of job I could get around town where I could still make decent money while working around my school schedule.
"I'd be more than happy to work for you, Esme. Thank you so much," I replied gratefully.
She smiled and took a bite of her breadstick.
"You and Rosalie did fantastic with this dinner. I'm quite impressed," Carlisle interjected.
"I didn't do much; it was mostly Bella. She did teach me a trick or two, though," Rosalie replied.
We ate the rest of dinner in silence before everyone helped clean up and Esme put a few containers of leftovers in the refrigerator.
"These are for Charlie. I know he'd starve if it wasn't for you," she said with a laugh.
It was well-known how…lacking Charlie's cooking skills are. Before I started learning how to cook when I was about twelve or thirteen we mostly had fish and pizza. I got sick of having the same food all the time, so I taught myself how to cook. Charlie had put on a few pounds after that, thankfully.
"I appreciate it, Esme. I'll leave here soon so I can get to work on homework. Let me go say goodbye to Edward first."
I turned to walk back upstairs but Esme's hand on my shoulder stopped me.
"You're more than free to say no, Bella. But, if there's ever an appointment or anything that Edward can't make and you want someone with you…Well, I can always take time off work," she muttered slightly embarrassed.
"Oh, Esme, you're more than welcome to come to any appointment. I have another one in about a month to see how the baby is doing."
Her expression was similar to a kid that saw all their presents under the Christmas tree. She wiped away a few tears and grinned.
"Thank you so much. I'd love to be as much of a part of this pregnancy as you'll allow me. It is my first grandchild after all."
We hugged again and I made my way upstairs to Edward's room. Telling his family had been an overall success, but I had a feeling it wouldn't be the same telling my mom and dad.