Chapter 5: Staying Over at the Cullens'
Saturday, August 1 to Sunday, August 2, 2009
Angela's pov
The Cullens were just as nice as I remembered. When we reached the main house, Carlisle and Esme were home and they were so pleased that Edward and Bella had asked me to stay. Carlisle warned me that some of the family members were brats, and that Alice and Emmett probably wouldn't be able to resist making noise or pranking me to get some attention, and that I should just ignore them and they'd get over themselves.
I was surprised. I had forgotten how nice Edward's old room was. Of course, I had only glimpsed it once, under circumstances I would sooner forget. One whole wall was glass, and there was a big bed with iron roses all over it and a gold coverlet that matched the fabric on the walls and the rug on the floor. The wall opposite the glass one was floor-to-ceiling white shelving. It had obviously housed an elaborate stereo system at one point, as there were cutouts and speaker wires interspersed everywhere.
Alice brought me a short satin nightie and a white robe and fresh towels, and invited me to take a bath in the deep jet tub in the bathroom outside the bedroom door. She provided a new toothbrush and comb as well. Then she told me to please help myself to anything I wanted in the kitchen.
I luxuriated in the tub, then called my parents to tell them I'd be staying with Bella and I'd talk to them the next day. I told my mother that I had had a breakdown over Ben, and Edward had gone to tell him off. My mother was impressed that the Cullens were doing so much for me. She hoped that I would have a nice weekend and get a bit of rest.
I crawled into the cool bed, noticing the scented sheets and wondering what kind of detergent Esme bought. This was really nice, like going to a fancy hotel for the weekend. I hoped I'd be invited again someday. I fell asleep quickly in the comfortable bed.
In what felt like no time, however, there was a huge crash and a lot of noise from Emmett and Rosalie in the room down the hall from mine. Were they having a fight? Oh, no. That was not fighting, that was something else. I pulled the covers over my head and tried to ignore it. Suddenly, there came a bump-bump-bump from the room below mine.
"Emmett and Rose, cut it out or we are going to tell Esme!" yelled Jasper from below.
"Like you don't do it, too, Jasper! Don't interrupt! You're breaking my rhythm!" yelled Emmett from down the hall.
"Knock it off, Emmett! We have company. Let poor Angela sleep or I'll tell Bella on you!" Alice screeched.
"Okay, okay. I give. Don't tell Bella, please? I'll be good." Emmett and Rose became quiet. I wondered why telling Bella would intimidate Emmett. Maybe he just didn't want her to know he'd been a bad host to me.
The next morning was overcast. I stood looking at the view. It was neat, looking at the foggy patches lying between the trees and grassy hillocks. The fog crept around everything. Suddenly, I saw Edward and Bella run across the green space at an impossible speed with Nessie and a giant wolf. I went and sat on the bed. I had to be dreaming. I went back to the window. There was nobody outside. Weird.
I put on my robe and went down to the kitchen. The Cullens were lounging about in their robes, reading, watching the morning news, and tidying up after breakfast. Bella, Edward and Nessie were there, wearing matching white terry robes and slippers like mine. Looked like all the Cullens had matching robes, as a matter of fact. Each robe had a family crest on it. They looked like they were vacationing at a spa. And Jacob was sitting at the kitchen island, slurping down coffee. He also had a robe and slippers.
"Holy, Edward, are you taking in another stray?" Emmett asked teasingly, "First Bella, then Jake, then Nessie, and now Angela. How many people are you planning to collect?" Edward put his feet up on the living room ottoman and Bella went and sat with him. Bella put her head on Edward's shoulder and he put his hand on her leg.
"It depends how many decent strays I can find, Emmett. And Bella was not my stray. I was her stray. She collected me and I had no choice about it. Jake is pretty well housebroken now, as is Renesmee. I'm not sure whether I am collecting Angela yet. She might run screaming, knowing she might have to live next door to your bedroom. Besides, she has 14 year old brothers. Her mother might want her back to manage them." Emmett threw a cushion at Edward and he deflected it easily.
Nessie crawled up between her parents and sat on their laps. She held up an MP3 player and a screwdriver for their inspection.
"Uh-oh. What's this kiddo?" Edward said warily.
"I'm really sorry, but I think I busted it trying to get the batteries out. Can you help me, Daddy?"
"Hmm." Edward held up the player and looked at it. He tried the screwdriver. After some serious effort, something sounded like it cracked.
"I think it's a lost cause, sweetie. You burred the screws pretty badly. Don't forget, 'lefty loosie, righty tighty."
Emmett put down his paper. "What was that Edward? Loosie goosie, tighty-whities? Reminds me of a certain incident a month before your wedding."
"Emmett!" chorused Edward and Bella.
"Not in front of the kinder", admonished Renesmee. Everyone chuckled.
"Where's Carlisle this morning?" Edward enquired.
"Still upstairs with mother." Alice smirked. "He's taking a day off for once."
"About time, too. So, Ang, what would you like to do today? You won't make it to church."
Emmett and Jasper began singing I'm Getting Married in the Morning from My Fair Lady. Edward and Bella looked a little irritated. "Get me to the church, Get me to the church, so Get me to the church on time!"
Jacob walked in with coffee, and Nessie crawled off Edward's knee and onto Jake's. It didn't seem to phase Edward or Bella in the least. Everyone was so relaxed and comfortable. The day I met Bella I had joked about the Cullens adopting me. That wasn't looking too bad at the moment.
"Can I put in an application to be adopted?"
Edward smirked. "I'll have to take it up with Carlisle. We'll take it under due consideration. But prepare yourself for bad news. Carlisle just finished getting us all married off. I don't know whether he's up to the stress of having another unwed young person around. Of course, that could change for you soon, if things go the way I think they will."
"I think Angela's chances are pretty good, actually," Alice chipped in.
"Excellent. Ang? Alice has excellent intuition. We never bet against her." Edward and Bella rubbed noses. Renesmee said 'ew'. I laughed a little, under my breath.
"So, nothing specific you want to do? We are not spending all day sitting by the phone, pining for Ben."
"Did you say you have a cottage here? I'd love to see it," I suggested.
"Oh, sure, if you'd like."
"It was mouldering out in the forest, and Esme brought it back to life for us. She's quite the architect, you know. She's saved all sorts of heritage buildings all over the country. I love my cottage. We'll take you over as soon as you're ready. Please go and have something to eat." Bella rolled her eyes at me and put on a funny voice, "No pining!"
"Oh, yeah, because you so listened to me when I said that to you four years ago."
"That was different. The whole family moved away. Edward says Ben is coming back, and he is never wrong about how men think. You just need to be patient."
"I was coming back, too, Bella. I guess you 're telling Angela everything she should do, that you neglected to do yourself." Edward peeked up at Bella from under his lashes, teasing.
"Well, I might as well save her before she goes cliff diving."
"Point taken Madame Danger Magnet. Next subject. Angela, if you don't go feed yourself something right now, I am going to have Emmett carry you to the kitchen."
I stood up in a hurry. There was no way I was going to give Emmett any opportunities to touch me.
When I entered the kitchen, Esme was already there, cooking pancakes. How did she get downstairs? "Don't bother making anything dear," she said, "These are for you, Jake and my granddaughter. The rest of us have eaten already.
"Wow, thanks Esme. You didn't have to do that." I pulled a stool up to the kitchen island in front of her.
"I like to cook, sweetie, and I like to entertain. You are welcome to come back at any time." Esme fetched a dish from the cupboard and added food and handed it to me. Pancakes with fresh strawberries and chocolate syrup.
" Yum. Thank you."
Just then, Jacob came in, sniffing. "Do I smell pancakes Gram?" It sounded ridiculous, Jake calling her that. She couldn't be more than 35.
"You bet, kiddo." Jacob climbed carefully onto the stool next to mine. He was so tall when sitting on it that his knees were still bent with his feet on the floor.
"Ah, you are the best. I have to babysit Nessie more often."
Esme handed Jacob a plate with about 20 huge pancakes on it. He poured on about half a bottle of syrup and started to dig in. Nessie came in then, peeking over the top of the counter at Jacob's plate. He put a forkful of food in her mouth, which over-stuffed it. She chewed, looking like a hamster with food stored in its cheeks. Jacob lifted her up on another stool. Esme handed her a dish with a big pancake and fruit and sauce.
"I think you should make them pass Nessie over to you more often. She's running them off their feet."
"Hey, Daddy and Momma say young people ought to have lots of energy!" Renesmee protested.
"I gave them a break last night. They seemed to enjoy it." Jacob leered.
"Don't be cheeky in front of Angela, Jacob. Our family hasn't corrupted her yet." Esme passed cups of steaming, fragrant coffee to me and Jake, and one of hot chocolate to Nessie.
"Thank you Gram. Angela? Can you tell me what my mother was like when she was a teenager?"
"Well, she was always kind. She never knew what to say when boys she didn't like asked her out. She never wanted to hurt anyone. She used to get embarrassed really easily, and she'd blush. Her eyes were very like yours. Expressive and warm. She didn't like attention or presents. She was clumsy, and she wouldn't let your daddy take her dancing. Um, and, she used to light up inside when he came in the room. I guess that nothing much has changed."
Renesmee grinned at me, sticky with chocolate syrup. "Except the dancing. Momma and Daddy are really good dancers now, you know. Auntie Alice has taken videos of them doing ballroom and Latin."
"Really? I'd love to see that sometime." I grabbed a clean cloth from beside Esme, who was now loading the dishwasher, and used it to wipe off Renesmee's face. "You know, your Daddy sings beautifully. When we all went on the bus trip before the wedding, he sang for us quite a bit. Does Momma sing now, too?"
"Not unless you want to clear a room," said Bella as she walked up to me and leaned against the counter., "But Edward is trying to teach me piano. He has the patience of Job. It's so annoying."
Rosalie sashayed in like she was walking down a runway. "He's only patient since he got rid of all that angst, Bella. I'm so glad you're one of us, now. Hey, I was wondering if I could borrow Nessie for the day. She's outgrowing her clothes again."
"Shopping! Yay! Is Auntie Lis coming? Oh, please, please, please, please, please Momma?" Renesmee hopped off the stool and jiggled up and down.
"When have I ever said 'no' to you going shopping, dolly? You grow so fast it makes my head spin. Don't wear your Aunties out, please."
"Okay. Thank you. Let's go, Auntie Rose!" Renesmee tore out of the kitchen and Rosalie walked after her, chuckling and shaking her head.
Bella watched them leave. "Thank God I have her. Alice hardly ever tries to turn me into Guinea Pig Barbie anymore."