Chapter 7
"Well, that's the last of it," Emmett said while wiping his hands on his jeans.
Rosalie looked at him disapprovingly and pointed towards the sink, which he obediently went to and washed his hands.
Rosalie and I had bonded a lot more since the first time we met. She was my biggest advocate, aside from Esme. She had convinced Emmett that him becoming an uncle wasn't the worst thing in the world. And she told me that most people come around once the baby is born.
We had spent all of this Saturday bringing in the furniture we just bought for our apartment. Esme and Alice had taken over the decorations and I was grateful for the help. They had a better eye than me when it came to this kind of stuff.
"When can we set up the nursery?" Alice asked with a pout for the hundredth time since we bought the apartment.
I threw up my hands and glared at her.
"Whenever you want! Just stop bugging me about it," I retorted hotly.
She grinned and clapped, running into the extra bedroom, already spewing ideas of what she was going to do. Esme sighed and wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Bella. I know your hormones are going crazy and it can be hard enough to deal with Alice without the mood swings."
I nodded in agreement and was glad when Carlisle walked to the extra room and brought Alice back to the living room.
"While it was fun helping you guys move in, we're beat. I think it's time to head home and let you two get settled," he explained with an again-pouting Alice in tow.
"Thank you so much for everything, guys. I promise to make that homemade chicken that you love so much," I promised.
Emmett grinned and pulled me in for a close hug.
"Shit, you know I love any of your cooking. Mom has taught you a lot."
Everyone made their goodbyes and while I appreciated the help, it was nice to be alone with Edward. We hadn't had the opportunity very often lately.
He wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed the side of my temple. I snuggled into his side and he led me over to our brown sofa, sitting me down gently.
"I'm going to order some Chinese food. I'm sure we're both pretty beat after how busy today has been," he said.
It's like he had read my mind since I was just about to offer to order Chinese food as well. We snuggled on the couch and enjoyed our meal as soon as it was delivered. Edward turned on the TV but neither of us were paying attention, lost in our own thoughts.
He absentmindedly rubbed my stomach and the baby kicked in response. He looked shocked and put his head down to my belly.
"Hi, baby. I'm your daddy," he cooed.
I smiled and ran my hands through his silky-smooth hair.
Christmas was coming up in a week and we had an appointment to find out the sex at the beginning of January. Emmett had officially started the betting pool about a week earlier. I had put fifty on it being a boy while Edward put down fifty on it being a girl.
"What are we going to name him?" I asked.
Edward scrunched his eyes and stuck his tongue out at me.
"I've always liked the name Mason, but there's no way it's a boy. It's definitely a girl, you're just afraid to admit that I'm right," he retorted.
I stuck my tongue out in return.
"Fine, if it's a boy we'll name him Mason. I've always liked the name Elizabeth for a girl. Actually, there's several names I like for a girl," I admitted.
He shrugged and went back to talking to my stomach.
"We have time to figure it out. And once we find out the sex, I'm sure our families will have plenty of names to suggest. Do you still want to do a gender reveal party?" he asked.
The gender reveal party had been Alice's idea but it's one I liked. It was a good chance for the two families to come together and bond over the baby. Charlie was still making progress, but it's been slow.
"Yeah, I'd love to. I'll let Alice and Rosalie have the fun of planning it, though. That part is not my cup of tea."
He chuckled and agreed but instead of focusing on just my stomach, he focused on me. He leaned forward and kissed me softly, moving his hands to my ever-growing hips.
One thing this pregnancy had done was put my sex drive into overdrive. Edward was only happy to appease me.
We didn't make it to the bedroom, we christened the couch instead. He threw a blanket over us once we finished and I started to giggle and couldn't stop. He quirked an eyebrow at me and smirked.
"We've always been pretty tame about where we have sex. But with our apartment…we can do it anywhere and everywhere and no one will ever know," I explained.
He chuckled and leaned in to kiss me again.
"I knew I loved you…" he trailed off before continuing his sentence.
I peeked back over at him and he was fast asleep. I got more comfortable and brushed my fingers through his hair again, earning a smile.
"Merry Christmas, Bella!" Alice squealed the second Edward and I walked in the front door of the Cullen house.
"Merry Christmas, Alice. How are you always so happy?" I murmured.
She rolled her eyes and took the presents I was holding and placed them under the Christmas tree. Edward followed suit and Charlie showed up just a few minutes after us.
"Charlie, I'm so glad you could make it," Esme said before kissing his cheek. He returned the favor and handed her a small gift.
"How could I say no to your offer, Esme?"
She smiled and thanked him for the gift and the two of them made the way to the living room.
"Okay, group vote. Are we going to unwrap presents first or eat first?" Carlisle asked once he had everyone's attention.
Almost everyone spoke up at once and a heated argument between Alice and Emmett erupted. She wanted to open presents and he argued that he's a football player and shouldn't be denied food when the opportunity was right there.
I stuck a couple fingers in my mouth and whistled to get everyone's attention. The bickering stopped almost immediately.
"Show of hands, who wants to open presents first?" I asked.
Rosalie, Alice, Esme, and I raised our hands. The men each raised their hands for eating first. It's a dead tie.
"Hey, Bella is voting for two!" Alice shouted.
More arguments ensued but it was finally agreed that I was voting for two and we got started on unwrapping presents.
Alice squealed at the gift cards we had bought her. We bought some to her favorite stores to shop at in Seattle and she practically tackled us to show her thanks.
Edward chuckled and hugged his sister. He is far more used to her antics than I am.
"Carlisle, this is stunning," Esme said in amazement.
Carlisle had bought her a charm bracelet and we each got her a charm. Charlie had gotten her a house, we got her a pacifier, Carlisle a heart, and the remaining three got her a charm that said "mom."
Tears pooled in her eyes once she put all of the charms on and she hugged everyone, trying to hold back her tears.
We continued with presents and Esme got everyone's attention.
"As we all know, Bella and Edward have been stressed out about school and how we're going to make this work since they're so far away. Well, Carlisle and I have a solution."
Carlisle stood up and handed us a small box with a beautiful blue bow wrapped around it. I looked at them curiously and opened the box to find a key.
"We've had a condo in Seattle for a long time, we just don't use it very often. But you are more than welcome to stay there anytime you please. Alice, Rosalie, and I can take care of turning one of the spare bedrooms into a nursery for the two of you if you'd like," Esme explained.
With my hormones, it's been too easy for me to start crying lately. And this is one of those moments where the tears started flowing with no control from me. I bounced up and hugged the both of them, amazed that they had outdone themselves once again.
"Thank you so much. I don't know if you realize how much easier this is going to make everything, thank you," I stressed the last thank you.
Esme rubbed my back and Carlisle put his hands on my shoulders.
"We are more than happy to do anything that will help you and our son. You're part of the family, Bella. You were even before you became the mother of our grandchild," Carlisle said with a thick voice.
I hugged them again and the tears finally stopped. Carlisle clapped Edward on the back and said something so quietly that I couldn't hear him and Edward nodded in response.
After just a couple more minutes Emmett stood up and rubbed his hands together.
"We get it, my parents are awesome and we're all very supportive. But can we get to eating now?" he almost whined.
Rosalie smacked him on the back of the head but Esme acquiesced and we all made our way to the kitchen.
I had stopped by the night before to help prepare all the food for today. We made pulled pork sandwiches, cheese soup, chili, and a couple of other dishes that could cook in the crock pot overnight. Esme was very grateful when I introduced her to the beauty of crock pot liners.
We all ate and shared several laughs, sharing embarrassing stories about each other. After a couple of hours, I started yawning and Edward decided it was time for us to leave. We said our goodbyes, thanked everyone, and made the short drive to our apartment.
"I still haven't given you my present yet," Edward stated.
I quirked an eyebrow but followed him the couple flights of stairs to our apartment and gasped when we walked inside.
Christmas lights had been hung up all around the living room and kitchen along with popcorn strung on a string. Rose petals led from the front door to the Christmas tree and I knew I should follow, but I was so mesmerized by the beauty of everything.
Edward had even strung up some ornaments from the ceiling. It was like a winter wonderland. He stood beside me and I could tell he was slightly nervous.
"It's gorgeous, Edward. I can't believe you did this for me," I murmured softly.
I turned and wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him close for a kiss. He grinned against my lips and pulled away slowly.
"While I appreciate your words of encouragement, this isn't your actual present."
He took his hands off of my waist and looked towards the tree and back to me expectantly. I gazed between the two of them and followed the rose petals to the tree.
We had decorated it with some of our favorite ornaments from each of our respective homes. One of my favorite decorations was a picture of the two of us from our first Christmas together at my father's house.
Alice had snuck a picture of us gazing at each other lovingly and it was still one of my favorite pictures of us. Esme had gotten us an ornament that said "Baby Cullen due May 2019".
I looked over each ornament, trying to find what Edward was trying to show me. I stopped breathing when I saw the ornament that hadn't been there earlier today. It had wedding bells on it and when I turned around to ask Edward about it, he was down on one knee with a ring.
"Isabella Marie Swan, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"