Standard Disclaimer – I don't own Twilight or any of the characters from the story. All song selections have been provided by my amazing beta, NoWayWithWords. She is the greatest! She has set up a YouTube playlist that includes the songs chosen for the chapters. If you would like to check it out, see my profile for the link.
The song for this chapter is "Gracie" by Ben Folds
Chapter 31 – My Little Girl
I slept in a little on Tuesday and tried to relax somewhat before I headed out to find the perfect car seat. There were so many to choose from. I compared every make and model I could find and went online to look at their safety ratings and the recall history of each manufacturer. I may have gone a little overboard with it, but I was a woman on a mission. Once I found the perfect car seat, Emmett and I bought it. We also bought some more pull ups, two changes of clothes, and a sippy cup that didn't look like it was designed for a baby. I even found a diaper bag that looked like an oversized purse to carry her stuff in. I figured Lucy would approve.
I got the call from the funeral home on Wednesday around lunch time, so I swung by their office to pick up the ashes. They were in a Ziploc bag that was hidden in a cardboard box. I was surprised at how small the box was. The box was plain white with Colleen's name written on the side, a serial number, and the date. I didn't think it looked very fitting for a funeral, so I forced Emmett to take me to a place to have it gift wrapped.
I didn't tell the lady what was inside, only that it wasn't fragile and that it wasn't for a wedding, anniversary, or birthday. She found some pretty paper that was deep blue with sparkly gold designs. She wrapped the box beautifully and tied a gold ribbon around it. It was simple but elegant. There were no big fluffy bows or tags on it, it just looked nice. At a store next door, I found a porcelain angel with the same color hair that Colleen had. The angel had no distinguishing facial features, but her hair was a match, so I bought it.
Later that evening, Emmett and I arrived at the church. Clarence, Millie, and all of the kids were there, along with a few members of Clarence's church. Everyone was dressed for the funeral, even Lucy. She was fidgeting in the front pew with Millie and Clarence. When she saw me, she smiled and waved. I smiled back and carried the box and the angel figurine to the front. The Reverend sat the box on a little table and placed the figure beside it.
A few other people arrived and a young guy set up a camera at the back of the church. I had seen plenty of funerals taped, so I didn't think anything about it. I just assumed this was something that the church arranged, like inviting several of their followers to attend so it wouldn't look like no one cared about the woman.
A few minutes later the Reverend took the podium. He said a prayer and spoke about forgiveness. The twins got up and read passages from the bible that spoke of death and heaven. Lucy listened quietly, but didn't seem to understand who we were talking about. When the twins took their seats, the Reverend stood again and asked that we all bow our heads and pray in silence for all of our loved ones that might be having a hard time right now.
As we bowed our heads in silence, I could hear Lucy say, "God loves momma. Momma be an angel now?"
Clarence said, "That's right, baby. Your momma's up in heaven now."
Lucy looked up at the ceiling of the church and then over at me. She smiled and said, "Hey, guess what?" really loudly as she hopped off the pew and ran to me. As I picked her up, she said, "Momma gone to be angel. No more momma for Lu. Pwetty be momma for Lu?"
I held her tight and said, "Yes, Lucy, I'm going to be your mother now. We're meeting with the judge on Friday to make it official and then you can come live with me."
The Reverend got everyone's attention and thanked them for coming out. He said we were going to close with Amazing Grace and invited everyone to join along with me as I handed Lucy to Emmett and went up to stand with the Reverend. The place was nearly silent as I sung the words to the song with tears in my eyes. When it was over, the reverend handed me a tissue and thanked me as people stood and started mingling.
People came over and complimented my singing and wished me luck with Lucy as they left. Millie instructed me to follow them to the restaurant down the street for some home-style cooking, so I picked up the box and the angel and followed them out to the car.
Dinner was good. Emmett was in his element, goofing around with all of the kids. He helped Lucy make herself a small ice cream sundae while I talked to some of the other kids. We stayed at the restaurant until Clarence announced that they had to get home and put the kids to bed, which was ok with me because I had to get up really early the next day.
On Thursday morning I woke up at 5 am and made the seven hour drive down to Key West. I had already arranged for a deep sea fishing boat to take me out into international waters, so I could sprinkle Colleen's ashes overboard without any problems. I thought Emmett was going to get seasick while we were out on the boat, but he managed to keep it together. Once we made it back on land, he started to get his color back.
The captain of the boat gave me a suspicious look as I sat on the rear of the boat with the wind at my back and carefully unwrapped the package. I was a little nervous when I opened the box. I was afraid I might see some identifiable parts or something. I had heard that sometimes not all the bones turn to ash. I really didn't want to see any of Colleen's bones. Thankfully, it just looked like ash. I opened the bag, being careful not to get any on me, and said, "I obeyed your request, Colleen. You're here off the coast of Key West. It's really beautiful here. You picked a good spot for your final resting place. I don't really know any poetic or meaningful words to say, so I guess I'll just promise to love Lucy and take care of her for as long as I live. I hope that wherever you are, you will smile upon us and help me make sure she stays safe. I'm thankful I got to meet you. Goodbye."
As I sprinkled the ashes into the water, the wind blew some of it off across the waves in a small puff of grey smoke. When the bag was empty, I folded it up and tucked it back into the box. I folded the wrapping paper and placed it in my purse with the ribbon. I wasn't sure what I would use it for yet, but I was sure I would come up with something. The captain and Emmett talked for a few minutes while I stood out there looking at the clear blue water. When I turned back around, the captain asked if I wanted him to throw the box away for me. I thanked him and handed it over. I was glad for one less thing I had to deal with, even if it was simple.
Emmett and I stopped to eat in Key West. While I was there, I picked up a couple of postcards showing the beautiful water and the eclectic city. I found a bumper sticker that said, "Key West, the closest thing you can find to heaven on earth." I bought it because it inspired me to use the post cards, wrapping paper, and ribbon to do a scrapbook page for Lucy.
Key West was a beautiful place and I would have liked to have stayed a few days down there, but I had to make the 7 hour drive back to Orlando so I could get up and have my meeting with the judge the next day. Emmett drove most of the way back while I tried to relax. While we were driving, I received a call from Jasper saying that the band had all gotten together at my house and finished all of the pre-work that I needed to do before the construction could begin.
They had taped off everything, used the special stuff to cover the spray paint, and painted the walls with the primer that the contractor recommended. They even covered the counter tops and the appliances in the kitchen. They were hoping to come by the following weekend and remove the overgrown bushes that were blocking the view from my windows so that the landscaping crew could come in and fix the yard up when the construction was finished.
I couldn't believe they had done all of that for me. When I asked why, Jasper said that they didn't think I should work so hard and risk complicating my pregnancy. They were all really excited for me, but they worried that I wouldn't stick with my music after I brought home Lucy and had the baby. I tried to reassure Jasper that I was not planning on giving up my music career. I was pretty sure that I could juggle both music and motherhood. He agreed that it could be done, as long as I allowed my friends and family to help out on occasion and wasn't afraid to speak up when I needed something.
After talking with Jasper, I called my mom. She sounded out of breath when I called. "Hey, Mom, are you busy?"
"No, sugar, I was just sitting by the pool with Phil. I had to run inside to grab the phone. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing fine. I'm here in Florida, actually. Hey, do you remember me telling you about the little girl I was thinking about adopting?"
She thought a moment and said, "I think I remember you mentioning something about it, but I don't think we went into details. Why?"
"Well, her mother died and left her to me. I am going to court in the morning to finalize the papers. I just thought I would mention it before I take her with me to Seattle."
"Where are you?"
"I'm staying in Orlando. That's where I have to go to court tomorrow. Right now I'm on the road heading back to Orlando from Key West. I probably won't make it there until around midnight. I have to be in court at 9:30 in the morning to talk to the judge."
"That sounds very important. Do you have a lawyer?"
"Actually the child's mother's lawyer has been handling everything for me. She has been incredible. She's going to be there with me at the courthouse."
"Good. I'm glad you are going to have someone there to help with all of that legal stuff. Call me when it's all over. Maybe Phil and I can drive down and meet you somewhere in the middle, so we get a chance to meet our new granddaughter before she moves away."
I agreed to call mom after I was finished in court and got off the phone. The battery was almost dead anyway. I shoved it back in my purse and pulled out my iPod. Emmett and I sang along with the music the rest of the way back to keep each other awake.
We arrived back at the apartment just before midnight, so I went straight to bed. Getting up the next morning wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Sure, I was tired, but I was more nervous than anything. I took a shower, put on some slacks, and picked out a nice blouse. I wanted to look professional and respectable, not sexy and cute. I made sure I had everything the lawyer told me to bring, checked myself in the mirror one more time, made Emmett change into a nicer shirt, and then we headed out the door.
We arrived at the courthouse with 10 minutes to spare. As we pulled into the parking lot, I was surprised to see a few reporters and photographers standing around outside. I wondered what could possibly be going on. I looked around to see if I could find another way into the courthouse, but I didn't see any way I could go in without passing the reporters. Emmett got out of the car and said, "I'll try to stay between you and them. Just keep your head down and don't stop walking. If you want to make an announcement, I suggest you wait until it's over. We don't have that much time anyway."
He did as he said and stayed between me and the reporters as they shouted things like, "Bella Swan, is it true that you're here regarding a child custody case? How long have you known this child? How did you know her mother? The police reports say that the child's mother was a prostitute. Did you know her in a professional capacity?"
I ignored them and went inside the building. Armed guards were standing at the door keeping the reporters outside. I went through the security checkpoint and found the courtroom where I was supposed to go. As I turned the corner to get to the courtroom I found a crowd of people standing outside. As I looked closer, I saw that the crowd was made up of my friends and family.
Rosalie and the lawyer were talking about my case. Jasper and Alice were talking to my dad. Phil was talking to Clarence while my mom was busy talking to Lucy. My dad looked over and saw us coming. His face lit up with a huge smile. He said something to my mother. Mom and Lucy both looked up at the same time.
Lucy yelled, "Momma!" and came running into my arms.
I scooped her up and said, "Hey, Lucy, I missed you yesterday. Are you ready to talk to the judge and see if he will let you come live with me?"
Lucy nodded vigorously.
"You know you will have to be a good girl while you're in there, right? You have to be quiet and sit still."
"Pa say be good and get ice cream," she smiled really big and rubbed her tummy. "Lu want ice cream."
My dad came over and patted me on the shoulder. "She sure is a beauty, Bells. I can't get over how much she looks like you."
"I think so too." I squeezed Lucy a little tighter and kissed her cheek. "What are you guys doing here anyway? Don't you have to work?"
Dad shook his head and smiled, "You don't really think I wouldn't take some time off to welcome my new granddaughter to the family, do you? Besides, the guys at the station would never let me hear the end of it if I didn't come back with pictures. This is a big day for all of us."
"Thanks, Dad. I'm glad you came. This is an important day. I just hope things go well."
"I think things are going to be just fine. We're all here to show our support and to welcome this little munchkin into the family." He gave Lucy a little tickle and she giggled.
The lawyer came over and said, "It's time for us to go inside," so we all filed into the courtroom and took our seats.
The place was packed. All of my friends and family took seats in the back of the room while I followed the lawyer to the front. A lady came out and read off a list of names of people that were there to see the judge for different reasons. As she called off their names, she had them move to the very front of the room. I was the fourth name she called. As I stood up to move, people started whispering and pointing. The lady had to stop and make everyone quiet down so she could finish her list.
Not long afterward, the judge came into the room so we all had to rise. He took his seat and starting flipping through paperwork. When he was ready, he had the lady call the first guy up front. It was a simple thing that only took a couple of minutes. The second person was just there to turn in paperwork, so that went fast. The third name they called wasn't ready. He asked to be skipped and pushed to the end because someone that was supposed to be there was stuck in traffic. The judge didn't seem pleased, but agreed. Next they called on me.
The judge looked through my paperwork and then looked up at me. "Ms. Swan, I see that you are here regarding the guardianship of a Lucia Maria Santiago. According to the information in front of me this child's mother appointed you as the child's legal guardian in the event that she passed away, am I correct?"
"Yes, your honor," I said.
"I also have information here that states that the child's mother took her own life not long after making this appointment. Is that also correct?"
"Yes, your honor."
"Were you aware that this child's mother intended to take her own life?"
"No, your honor. She never spoke to me about it. We only met on a few occasions, so I had no idea that she planned to do that."
"What was the purpose of your meetings?"
"Colleen Santiago was going to spend the next 15 years in prison and was HIV positive. I was concerned about her daughter spending her entire life in foster care because she has no other surviving relatives to take her, so I went to the prison to see if she would be interested in a private adoption."
"So you asked her if you could have her child."
"Yes, your honor. I simply asked if it was something she would be interested in."
"Were any arrangement made? Did she ask for anything in return, such as money or goods?"
"The first time we met, she simply said she would think about it, but no stipulations were made. Later, we came to an agreement that I would write to her and send her pictures, so she could see how her daughter was doing, though she had no interest in actually having a relationship with her. I asked that she write me back and tell me about her family's medical history, her personal history, family stories that she wanted passed on to her daughter, and anything she could remember about her deceased husband and his family."
"I can see why you would need the medical history, but why did you ask for all of that other information?"
"Because family is very important to me. I wouldn't be where I am without the love and support of my parents and my friends. I know that someday she might want to know where she came from and I wanted to be able to have that information for her in the event that her mother's medical condition took a turn for the worse and she did not survive to tell the stories herself. I never expected that she would kill herself."
"Do you have any childcare experience?"
"Other than a little bit of babysitting as a teenager, and the little bit of time I have spent getting to know Lucy, not really, but I have a close group of friends that are all willing to help out and my father lives nearby. He would love to help out as much as possible. They are so eager to help that they came here today to show their support." I turned and looked back as they all stood up and smiled then sat back down.
The judge nodded his head and then glanced back down at his notes. "My assistant tells me that you are a popular musician and that you do not live in this area. Is that correct?"
"I live up near Seattle, Washington and yes, I am a musician. I don't consider myself famous yet. I guess you could say that I'm really just getting started in the music industry."
"Do you think that your career is stable enough to allow you to support yourself and a child?"
"Yes. Right now, I am doing very well. I hope that it continues this way. If it doesn't, I can always fall back on my college degree."
The judge looked at the paperwork again and asked the lawyer if she had some form. The lawyer handed some more paperwork to a bailiff who then handed it to the judge. He glanced at it and said that he was going to take a 10 minute break to review the information and then he would return with a decision.
While he was gone, my friends and family all came to the front of the room with me to give me their support. Lucy wanted to be picked up, so I was holding her while she played with my necklace and listened to everyone talking around her. She was being really good, so I whispered, "You are being such a good girl that I might even get you a grown up sized scoop of ice cream. What flavor do you like?"
Her eyes lit up and she started to tell me about her love of ice cream when the judge came back in the room. Everyone returned to their seats quickly. Clarence grabbed Lucy and took her with him to his seat. I could hear him whispering something to her, but I couldn't make it out.
Just as the judge took his seat, Lucy let out a scream that made everyone in the room turn around. She started crying and said, "No, Pa! Let me go!"
Clarence quickly got to his feet, with Lucy still in his arms and said, "Please excuse us," as he headed for the door.
Lucy had her arms stretched out toward me and yelled, "Momma! Chocolate! Momma, Lucy want chocolate!"
As the doors closed behind Clarence, all attention reverted back to the front of the room. I blushed and apologized, "I'm sorry about that. We promised her ice cream if she was good. I asked her what flavor she wanted just as you came in the room. She didn't get a chance to answer."
The judge chuckled and said, "I think she wants chocolate."
"Apparently," I responded with a smile.
Everyone settled down as the judge began to speak. "I have read through the report from the prison regarding their investigation into the death of Mrs. Santiago. It is stated in that report that she had made several comments to her fellow inmates regarding the fact that she would rather take her own life than to be sick in prison. She apparently also told her fellow inmates that she was relieved that she had found someone that she considered to be worthy of raising her child. Normally I would question the judgment of anyone that was suicidal and incarcerated for repeated crimes that are considered in general society to be immoral, but in this case, I believe that she was correct. You seem to be a caring person who in truly interested in the welfare of the child and therefore I am appointing you to be the child's legal guardian, effective immediately. Additional steps will have to be taken before you can officially adopt the child, but most of that can be done in your home state. I have looked into some of the Washington State adoption requirements and found that they are slightly different than the requirements here in Florida. I spoke with a colleague of mine who is a judge in Seattle. He has agreed to ensure that you meet the Washington state guidelines for adoption and follow up with this case there. I have included his contact information in the paperwork that you will be receiving today. I believe the child's foster parent is here with us today?"
Clarence said, "Yes, your honor, I'm right here."
I hadn't even noticed that he had slipped back into the room. I looked around and noticed that Alice was missing. I figured that she must be out in the hall entertaining Lucy.
The judge said, "I'm turning over custody of Lucia Maria Santiago to Ms. Swan effective today. Is that going to be a problem for you?"
"No, your honor, I already have her packed and ready to go. I was just waiting on you to give me the word. Ms. Swan and I have been in contact for a while now. We won't have any problems. She also has my contact information if she needs to call me for any reason after she gets the child home, but I doubt she'll need it. I think she'll do just fine."
"Thank you, Mr. Johnson. I'll have the paperwork ready for you as well."
The judge signed a few pieces of paper and handed them to a lady who instructed us to follow her into another room. A few minutes later we came out with all of the paperwork in hand. I thanked the lawyer for everything that she had done and then went to join everyone in the hall.
Everyone was crowded around Alice, who was holding Lucy. Both of my parents were taking tons of pictures. Even Jasper and Rosalie had cameras. Lucy pointed at Emmett and said, "Dat Uncle Em." She pointed at Rosalie and asked, "Who dat?"
Rosalie answered, "I'm Aunt Rose. Remember, we talked on the phone."
Lucy laughed and pointed at my dad. "Who dat?"
Dad looked at her and smiled. "I'm your Grandpa Charlie."
She looked at him quizzically. "Papa?"
He laughed and said, "That'll work."
Everyone took turns introducing themselves and she tried to say their names. She decided that my dad was going to be Papa. She named my mom G-Ma and Phil G-Pa. She had an Aunt Rose and Uncle Em and an Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper. She liked saying Uncle Jassssperrrr.
Before we left the courthouse, we all agreed to meet for lunch at a restaurant that was closer to Clarence's house. He vouched for the food and called ahead so the owners knew to expect a large party. He said he would ask them to put us in a private dining room so we would have some privacy.
When we arrived, we found that Millie and the other kids were already there. Millie had ordered some appetizers and the kids were all digging in. Lucy ran to join them. I introduced Millie and the kids to my friends and family and before I knew it, Millie and my mom were deep in conversation.
We spent the better part of two and half hours at the restaurant just visiting. My dad and Clarence really seemed to get along great. Emmett, Phil, and the twins were in deep conversation about baseball, while Alice, Rose and I played with the other kids. When it was finally time for us all to leave the restaurant, Jasper, Alice, and my Dad said that they were going to head to the airport. They were leaving that evening. Mom and Phil had to drive back to Jacksonville. Rosalie was going to stay behind and fly back with us the following morning.
After saying goodbye to all of my friends and family, Rose followed Emmett and me over to Clarence's house to pickup Lucy's things. All she had were two pairs of shoes, some clothes, her baby doll, a toothbrush, two packs of pull ups, and a few toys. Everything she owned could fit in two grocery bags. Clarence had packed it all up in one of the suitcases that I had bought for the foster kids and there was still room for more stuff.
Clarence looked sad to see Lucy go but he was happy for her at the same time. Rosalie took some group shots of Lucy and her foster family and promised that she would email them to Clarence. I told Clarence and Millie that they were welcome to come up to Washington on vacation and visit. They thanked me and gave Lucy goodbye kisses before loading her things into my rental car and waving goodbye.
That night, at the apartment, I let Emmett and Rosalie take my bed. Lucy slept in the bed she had slept in before, and I slept on the couch. I contemplated sleeping in the bed with Lucy, especially after rolling off the couch once during the night, but I figured that she was such a light sleeper that I would wake her up and then she probably wouldn't want to go back to sleep. Our flight back to Seattle was pretty early and I didn't want her to be a cranky baby on such a long flight.
The next morning, we loaded everything up into the rental cars. We had rented them from different agencies, so we followed Rosalie to return her car and then went to return mine. The car rental place loaded all of our things on the shuttle that was taking us to the airport. Lucy got a kick out of being able to ride in the shuttle without having to be strapped into her car seat.
When we got to the airport, it was much more difficult to drag everything through the line and check it with the airline than I expected. I had my large suitcase, Emmett had a large suitcase, Lucy had a medium sized suitcase, Rose had a medium sized suitcase, I had the new diaper bag/purse, Lucy's car seat, a stroller and booster seat that my mom and Phil had given me, and a small carry-on duffle bag filled with snacks and things to entertain Lucy on the long flight.
I made sure I had everything in the diaper bag and small duffle that I needed and let them put the rest with the cargo. Before the lady behind the counter took our things, she asked me if Lucy had her own seat or was going to be sitting in my lap. I told her that Lucy did have her own seat, so the lady recommended I keep the car seat so the flight attendant could mount it in the seat for me. She told me that the seatbelts would do nothing to keep a small child in their seat if there was severe turbulence. This made sense to me, so I kept the car seat with me.
As we were passing through security, a young girl walked up and said, "Oh my God! You're Bella Swan! Is that your new baby? She's so pretty. It's so sad what happened to her parents. I think it is so cool that you took her in. That's really an awesome thing to do."
Lucy hid behind my leg and clung to me like her life depended on it. "Thank you," I said. "How did you hear about it?"
"It's all over the internet. They even have the videos of the funeral and the court case on YouTube. I can't believe no one has said anything to you about it already."
I glanced at Rose, who shrugged. She knew nothing about it either. "Well, thanks for letting me know." I signed an autograph for the girl and then quickly made my way toward the gate because our flight was due to start boarding any minute.
We didn't have to wait long for before we were loaded up on the plane. Rose and Emmett were sitting directly behind me and Lucy. Lucy didn't want to get in her car seat at first, but as soon as the flight attendant started loading general seating passengers on the plane, Lucy scurried up into her seat. I guess she felt it was the safest place for her to be, so I fastened her in and handed her the sky mall magazine from the seat pocket in front of her.
I was looking though the magazine with her when the monitors dropped down for the safety video. Lucy laughed and said, "Watch a movie?"
"They will play a movie later, but not right now. We have to watch the safety program right now," I told her softly.
"Why?"
"So we know what to do it there is an emergency."
"What 'mergency?"
Emmett leaned forward and said, "Like what we are going to do if they run out of juice and cookies."
Lucy looked like she was seriously trying to figure out what we would do if such a travesty were to occur. It was too cute. She focused her attention on the video and quieted down. When the video shut off, she pointed to the emergency exit and said, "No cookies. You go out an' get from store."
Emmett laughed, "I knew she would find the solution. When they run out of juice and cookies, we just go get some more. There's the door after all. I tell you, Bella, that girl's a genius."
Lucy got a little nervous when the plane took off, but I made a big deal of laughing and pretending it was funny, so she didn't really freak out about it. Once we were airborne, she settled down and went back to looking through the magazine. She looked at every picture on every page and asked questions about it. I read the description of each item and answered her questions to the best of my ability. Her questions usually consisted of, "Dat too 'spensive?" "Lu get dat?" and "Mommy want one?"
When we finished the magazine, I pulled out a coloring book and some crayons for her to play with. She colored the Disney Princesses for a while, but eventually got bored with it. The flight attendant brought us something to drink and gave her a pack of animal crackers. That appeased her for a little while, but eventually she was getting restless and wanted out of the car seat. I went ahead and unlatched her and let her stand up for a few minutes. As soon as she stood up, she got a shocked look on her face and said, "I tee-tee in my pull-up."
I grabbed the diaper bag/purse and said, "Ok Lucy let's go get you cleaned up."
I took her into the tiny little bathroom but there was hardly any room for both of us to get in there. The bathrooms were definitely not designed with mothers in mind. It took a little constructive bending, which made me appreciate all of the yoga I had done for so long, but we finally managed to get her cleaned up and changed into a dry pull-up. Thankfully her clothes did not get wet, because I realized that I had forgot to put a change of clothes in the bag. All I had were pull-ups, wipes, a sippy cup, a spoon, and some toys.
We made it through lunch relatively well. Lucy got especially vocal about her dislike of the chicken nuggets they served her, so they managed to bring her a fruit salad instead. After lunch, Emmett and I switched places so he could play with her while Rosalie and I discussed what we should do about the information on the internet.
I was upset that someone would post that kind of personal stuff about me. Rosalie told me that there wasn't anything that I could legally do about it. I told her that I wanted to say something about it, but she pointed out that drawing attention to it would cause more people to go online and look for the videos. She recommended I make a public statement about the ordeal. She recommended I do an exclusive interview with a respectable magazine and do a general press release for the rest of the media.
She suggested I use this to point out that there are a lot of great older kids out there that need homes and recommend that people consider becoming foster parents or adopting older kids if they are able. I thought this was a good idea, so we toyed with some wording for the general press release. Originally I had wanted to keep it very vague, but now that the information was out in the press, I figured that I needed to be a little more detailed than that.
We were in the middle of discussing whether or not I should mention the suicide or not when Lucy started to cry. She was standing in front of her seat looking quite pathetic. I leaned forward and asked what happened.
Emmett turned to me with a look of panic. "I don't know. One minute she was playing with the doll and the next minute she started crying. I don't know what happened."
Emmett and I switched places. I picked Lucy up and asked, "What's wrong, Lucy? Why are you crying?"
She pointed at the doll and pouted, "Rat want nap time."
I looked at my watch and found that she was 30 minutes past her own nap time. "I think Lucy needs a nap, too. Don't you?"
She nodded her head and said, "I wanna go." She pointed at the emergency exit. "Come on."
I checked my watch. We still had two more hours before we would be landing and then we had to wait for our luggage and make the drive to Alice and Jasper's house. I knew she wouldn't make it that long without a complete meltdown, so I sat her in my lap and put the doll in her lap.
"Here, Lucy, let me show you how to rock Rat so she can sleep for you."
I had no idea what I was doing, but it felt right so I went with it. I reclined her in my arms and made the baby doll do the same in her lap. I rocked her slightly and hummed softly to her. She tried to hum a little to the doll, but soon her voice trailed off and she fell asleep.
I held still as soon as I realized that she was out cold, and stayed that way for nearly an hour and a half. My arm was aching and my legs were asleep. Lucy was drooling into the crook of my elbow, but there was no way in hell I was going to move her. The flight attendant brought me something to drink and a blanket to put over her. I whispered my thanks and sipped my drink while I watched the in-flight movie.
When the pilot came on the intercom and announced that we were ahead of schedule due to a good tailwind, or something like that, I was surprised that she didn't even flinch. When they announced that everyone needed to take their seats, place their trays in the upright position, and fasten their safety belts, I looked at the sleeping angel in my arms and thought, "I hope she doesn't get all upset when I move her and wake her up."
I carefully extracted Rat from her arms and sat the doll aside. I shifted Lucy's sleeping form and managed to get her back into her car seat without her even noticing. I buckled her in and started picking up all of her things to put back in her bag. Once I had it all put away and stuffed under the seat in front of us, I buckled myself in.
We hit a little turbulence as me made our descent into Seattle. I thought for sure that the plane bouncing around would have startled her awake, but I was wrong. She slept right through it. When the plane landed and the air brakes came on, she didn't even flinch. As the plane taxied down the runway to the terminal, she finally stirred and opened her eyes.
As soon as the plane came to a stop, I unhooked her from the car seat and picked her up. I grabbed the diaper bag/purse, Rose grabbed the "Duffle bag of fun," as Emmett had named it, and Emmett grabbed the car seat. We were one of the first ones off of the plane. As we came down the runway and stepped into the terminal, we were greeted by flashes and a small crowd of fans. Some of them had signs that said, "Welcome home". One had a sign that said, "We love you."
I smiled and wondered just how bad I looked, since I didn't even think to check my hair and makeup. Lucy buried her face in my neck, to hide from the strangers and their cameras as I thanked everyone for coming and quickly made my exit before they started asking for autographs. Rose and Emmett thought it would be best if Lucy and I wait in the first class lounge while they waited on our luggage. They said they would call me when they had everything loaded up in the car and then Emmett would come back for us.
It felt like it took forever. I had enough time to brush my hair, fix my makeup, take Lucy to the bathroom, brush her hair, wipe her face, and call my dad to let him know that we made it to Seattle safely. Next I called Alice to let her know that we would be home soon. Finally, Emmett called to say that he was on his way back and would meet me in a few minutes.
He said, "Bella, you aren't going to believe the crowd waiting for you when you get past security. I think you are going to have to stop and say a few words. There are reporters with video cameras set up. The airport security has them lined up against one side of the walkway, but I'm sure that's all going to go to shit as soon as they see you and Lulu. I've already warned security that you are coming. They are going to try to help keep some sense of peace, but I don't know what good they are going to do. I'm afraid Lucy's going to freak out. You might want to warn her. I'll be there in three minutes."
I tried to think of some way to explain it to Lucy in such a short time. I came up with nothing, so I decided on honesty. "Lucy, you know those people that were talking to us and taking our picture a few minutes ago?"
She nodded her head and said, "Yes. They made pictures."
"Yes, they did. Well there are a bunch more of them waiting to see us when we leave from here. We have to stop and thank them for coming to see us."
"Why?"
"Because we are being nice. They came all the way out here to tell you how happy they are that you are coming to live in Seattle with them. They love us both very much and want us to know that they are happy that we came home, so we have to be nice and thank them."
Just as I finished telling her that, Emmett walked through the door. "Ok, are you ready to go?"
I picked up Lucy and we headed out into the airport quickly. As we approached the security check point, I could see all of the people crowded around. There were at least 5 or 6 reporters with all of their equipment and close to 50 fans all gathered along the wall. As I turned the corner, they all started cheering. Lucy put her hands over her ears and yelled, "It's a party?"
I smiled and said, "Kind of like that. It's a welcome home party."
As we made our way over to the crowd, the reporters closed in. They were holding microphones in my face and asking questions all at once. Lucy turned around and shouted, "Inside voices! No yelling!"
Everyone started laughing and commenting about how cute she was. One of the reporters said, "Hello pretty girl, what's your name?"
She smiled and answered proudly, "I'm Lucy. This is Momma. Who you?"
He told her his name as Lucy beamed at him. Another reporter asked, "Bella, is there anything you would like to say to your fans who are worried that motherhood will interfere with your music career? Are you planning on retiring?"
I spoke up and said, "No, I'm not retiring. Just like any other single mother, I have to work to support my family. I can say that I am currently working in the studio recording another CD. It is still in its infancy, so I can't tell you when it will be released yet, but what we have recorded so far is pretty good. I hope everyone likes it."
The all started talking at the same time again. Lucy laughed and exclaimed, "Momma, it's like chickens. Bock-bock-bock-bock."
One of the reporters said, "What did she say?"
I laughed, "She was saying that with you all talking at the same time like that, you sound like a bunch of chickens."
Another reporter asked, "What would you like to say to all the fans that came out here today to welcome you home?"
"I would like to thank everyone for this warm welcome home. It really is a surprise. I appreciate all of your prayers and warm wishes. I am happy to see that you are all willing to welcome Lucy into your hearts. She is a great little girl. I'm so lucky to have her."
The first reporter directed his question at Lucy. "Lucy, what do you think about all of these fans coming out to see you and your new mommy?"
Lucy smiled. "Thank you for my party," then she turned to me and said, "Momma, we get cake?"
I shook my head and told her, "Sorry, baby, we can't have cake right now. It would spoil our dinner."
Lucy asked, "We gonna have carrots?"
"If you want carrots, I'll cook some carrots."
Her eyes lit up and she squealed, "Yes!" She turned to the reporter and said, "I'ma get carrots."
I told the reporters that I needed to move on and greet the fans and get Lucy home. They thanked me for stopping and continued taking our pictures as we moved on down the row of people that were staying relatively in control, thanks to the airport security guards.
We walked slowly along the row of people, shaking their hands and thanking them for coming. Lucy was giving them high fives. As we reached the end, Emmett stepped up and told them that I really had to get going. He rushed us through the airport. Rosalie was waiting outside. The car seat was already set up, so Lucy and I hopped in the back. I fastened her in the seat and we drove away.
A/N: So, it looks like Lucy is finally coming home.
I wanted to apologize for the long wait for this chapter. I also wanted to apologize that I didn't have a chance to write Edward's perspective on this one like I promised. Real life is really getting in the way right now. I'll try to have it to you next time. With everything I have going on in real life right now, I can't promise that I will be able to stick to my weekly schedule, but I will promise that I will not just stop completely. I have a lot of traveling to do over the next two months. I will try to write and post in between my trips, so please be patient.
I want to thank all of you that sent me prayers and well wishes for my recovery. My throat is finally completely healed, but now I have managed to mess up my knee somehow. I am contemplating moving into a sterile padded room. Maybe then I will have some time to write and maybe get a little sleep. Speaking of sleep… I think I need to get this posted and climb in bed. Good night everyone… Sweet dreams!