NOTHING HAS CHANGED ABOUT THIS CHAPTER...JUST THE AUTHOR'S NOTE TRYING TO CLEAR UP A FEW THINGS.
Despite how popular online dating is these days none of you guessed that is how these two would meet. Even though they lived in separate cities in DIFFERENT states you all guessed that they would meet at daycare or want the same house and things like that. Nope. We're almost there...I promise. Though they don't actually meet in person until Chapter 13 (which is where I'm at now). They don't meet in person until chapter 13 but they start interacting in the next few chapters. I'm sorry if this deters some people from reading but I felt it important to show their lives before they become a couple. Once they start communicating things move fairly quickly. I am not typically a slow build up type of person.
EDWARD IS NOT MACI'S FATHER...sorry to say but he's irrelevant to this entire story. I'm not sure what is confusing about this statement...Edward is not Maci's father. Maci's biological father is irrelevant to this story. I have no plans of bringing him into play.
Hope you enjoy their journey. We've gotten to know them as individuals and as parents but now it's time for them to start a new journey...together.
Without further ado...a day early at that...
Chapter 5 (Bella)
Big changes, good changes?
December 2011
The weeks following Thanksgiving brought a bunch of changes for me and my girls. I found the perfect house, finally, for me and the girls. It allowed each of us our own bedrooms plus a playroom for them, a pool, and a huge yard with equally huge trees for the girls to play on. Things seemed to be falling perfectly into place when my supervisor at work asked me if I would be interested in taking the charge nurse position at the new children's clinic that was scheduled to open after the first of the year. The new job would be a set schedule of Monday thru Friday, 8 am to 4 pm. I would have to find a daycare for the girls but that would allow Maci the chance to socialize more than she does now and let Alice off the hook when she didn't feel up to watching them.
Today it was time to put purchasing a house, changing jobs, and lining up daycare aside because it was time to celebrate our family. It was Christmas. "Mama up!" I heard Maci call through the baby monitor just as I heard little feet pitter pattering out in the hall.
"Don't you girls dare touch a single present!" I called out quickly to Mia and Molly as I scrambled from the bed.
As soon as I whipped open my door I spotted them standing stock still in the living room doorway. I had been stashing their presents in the trunk of Alice's car and in Jasper's workshop for the past two months so there was an impressive pile for each girl. "Is that all for us?" Molly aske as she turned wide eyes at me.
I couldn't help but smile at the wide eyed girls. It was obvious that they had never had a huge Christmas like this and that made me sad but I would make sure it was a constant every year. "It is but I need you to wait a minute while I get your sister up and changed." I told them as I headed into Maci and Mia's room. "Morning Maci girl." I told my wide eyed baby as I caught her attempting to climb out of her crib. "Just what are you doing?" I asked her as I ran a hand through her curls.
"Maci up." She said with a beautiful smile.
Chuckling I picked her up taking her over to the changing table that she was just about to outgrow. "I think it's time to start using the big potty, don't you?" I asked her as I tugged her pajamas off to change her wet diaper.
She nodded although I don't think she quite understood what I had said. Once I had her butt changed and her pajamas fastened back I scooped her up so I could take us into the living room and begin our Christmas just right. "You know what today is Maci?"
She shook her head looking at me strangely.
"It's Christmas. Santa Claus came to visit our house last night and brought lots and lots of presents." I explained as I turned the corner into the living room where I saw the girls sitting on the floor in front of the tree they had all helped us decorate a few weeks ago. "Ali!" I called out into the kitchen because I could smell the hot cocoa she always cooked for Christmas. It was the one thing that she mastered while we were in college.
"Coming!" She sang out as she walked into the living room with a tray full of cups that were steaming while Jasper trailed behind her. They were both still in their pajamas which was a tradition that Alice and I had been doing since our first Christmas together. "Who wants cocoa?" She asked handing Maci her sippy cup.
After cocoa and presents I got myself and the girls dressed for one last present. "Why do we have to get dressed?" Molly asked as she pulled her new fuzzy boots on over her leggings.
"Because your final present isn't here so we have to go get it. Normally I wouldn't even think about getting out of our pj's but I don't think you will want to miss out on this last gift that is from Papa Charlie and Nana Sue." I explained as I slipped Maci's shoes on.
She nodded in understanding as she left the room. "Mia, you got your shoes on yet?" I called out as I sat Maci on her feet. "Go find Molly."
As Maci went in search of Molly I went in search of Mia only to find her sitting in the middle of her bedroom floor in tears. I immediately scooped the tiny girl up into my arms going to the rocker that sat in the corner of the room. "What's wrong, baby girl?" I asked as I cuddled her close.
She shrugged her shoulders as she wrapped her little arms around my neck. "If I don't know what's wrong, Mia, I don't know how to make it better."
"I don't want you to take my toys away." She whispered sadly. "When we move."
I tightened my arms around her little body. "I would never do that sweetheart, everything you have here is going to move to the new house with you."
"Daddy always said we couldn't take anything with us." She mumbled against my chest.
I had to clench my jaws tight to keep from telling her that her daddy could go fuck himself. "Your daddy doesn't make the rules anymore, Mia. I do and I say everything is going with us. Okay?"
She nodded. "Okay."
After a few more cuddles and kisses she slipped off my lap so she could get her shoes on. "Let's go girls!" I called out as I slipped my feet into my ballet flats.
Following the directions that my stepmother and Jake's biological mother had sent in the email detailing the Christmas present they had bought for the girls it took me fifteen minutes to pull up to a house a few miles outside of town. I knew what the present was and though I was skeptical on how it would all work out with me taking on another thing that would require my assistance on a daily basis I agreed to do this because I knew it would be a great experience for my little family. "Mama where are we?" Molly asked as we climbed from the car.
"To get your last present. Come on." I told them as I held out my hands for them to take. I grasped Maci and Mia's hands while Molly grabbed Maci's other one. As we stepped up on the porch of the cute little farm house I reached out to knock on the door.
After just a few seconds the door opened to reveal an elderly woman who had a kind smile. "Hi! You must be Bella." She said opening the screen door to usher us inside the house. "Come on in out of the cold." She said sweetly to the girls as I walked in with the girls trailing behind me nervously. "The babies are just in the bedroom." She said leading the way.
Molly tugged on my shirt sleeve. "Baby? We're getting another baby?" She asked curiously.
I laughed and tugged her forward as we neared the open doorway that had a baby gate blocking the bottom of it. "Yes but not a human baby." I told her as I helped all the girls to look through the doorway.
"Puppies!" Maci said as she spotted the tiny little balls of fur playing in the room beyond the gate. I had been a bit skeptical on taking home one puppy but the smiles on my girl's faces was well worth it so I called my dad and Sue so we could thank them.
"Come up with a name so we can tell it to Nana and Pop and get it put on their name tag." I told them as I handed them the little fur ball that would grow into a huge fur ball in a few months. The little German Shephard puppy was the runt of the litter so she was very tiny but the owner assured me that she was perfectly healthy.
Bubbles.
That was the name for the squirming little fur ball that the girls came up with. It was an eye opening experience in the pet store as the girls and I picked out all the necessary equipment. But it all went downhill when we had to get the pup her shots. Maci cried for the puppy who didn't even flinch as the vet stuck the needle in her back.
"Shot owie Mama." She cried into my neck as Molly took the puppy back from the vet who smiled sympathetically at me and my crying girl.
I rubbed her back soothingly. "Yes, shots hurt but Bubbles had to have her shots just like you had to have yours a few months ago." I explained as I gathered our bags and left the store.
Two hours later Alice was sitting at the kitchen table with a scowl on her face. "I thought it was supposed to be a kitten, Bella. Not a puppy that will be the size of a small horse." She said as she nibbled on a cracker.
"Sorry, Ali. The puppies and the kittens were all in the same room and after one of the kittens swatted at Mia they didn't want them anymore." I explained as I pulled the small turkey from the oven to go with the rest of the dishes I had fixed for the day.
Just then Bubbles came skittering into the kitchen with a pitiful whine before nudging Alice's leg begging to be held. "It is pretty cute, Bella." She said as she picked the little whining thing up cuddling her in her lap as I went about slicing the turkey.
Two weeks into the New Year I showed the girls their new house for the first time so they could pick out their bedrooms. "This is our new house, girls." I told them as I parked in the driveway. "You ready to go pick out your bedroom so we can get them painted?" I asked as we piled out of the car and onto the front porch that was slightly bigger than the one on our current house. "Take your shoes off before you go exploring." I told them as I climbed from the car.
"It's blue." Molly said as she climbed from the back seat.
I laughed because it was indeed blue. All over. "It is that. Maybe we can have it repainted this summer." I told her as Maci and Mia joined us on the driveway.
Amid cheers of joy I led them through the front door of the house and into the big open space of the living room, dining room, and kitchen. "Whoa!" Mia said as she skidded on the hardwood floors that were throughout the entire house.
"This is huge!" Molly said as she began turning twirls in the large space.
I placed my purse on the island counter as I watched the girls play and dance in the open space. That was one of the things that I had loved about this house, the open floor plan that would let me be part of the girls activities while I cooked our meals. There was a beautiful floor to ceiling stone fireplace with built in bookshelves on either side that dominated the main wall in the living area, two French doors that led to a back patio and huge backyard.
"This is ours now?" Mia asked as she twirled in front of me.
"Yes ma'am. Do you like it?" I asked her as I picked her up, sitting her on the counter so we were eye to eye.
She nodded with a huge smile on her face. "Bubbles come too?"
"Yep, Bubbles gets to come too. How about we go pick our bedrooms now?" I said setting her back on the floor.
With a quick nod she took off down the hallway contained all four bedrooms and both bathrooms while the play room, half bath, and laundry room were on the other side of the house. Molly ended up choosing the slightly smaller bedroom that had the bigger closet while Mia chose the bigger room with built in shelves on the short wall beside the closet. Maci got the room closest to mine which I liked and so did she. After a quick run around out in the backyard we were on our way home so we could get homework, dinner, and baths done.
Alice and I decided on design ideas for each of the bedrooms that would hopefully bring a smile to each of the girls faces when they saw them for the first time. This was Alice's way of sweetening the girls up for when she broke the news about the baby she was still keeping hidden from them. Molly's room was going to be painted hot pink with zebra prints throughout. Mia's room would be painted a bright blue that would contrast nicely with her new lime green comforter set. Maci's room was going to be light pink and white stripes that would go with her new big girl furniture. I had decided to go ahead and put her toddler bed in her new bedroom along with her crib thinking that I could slowly break her into the toddler bed for nap times during the weekends.
Alice showing up on my doorsteps a few days before Valentine's Day wasn't as big of a shocker as the gift she came bearing. A year subscription to an online dating service. "You are insane!" I told her as I tossed my tablet onto the couch beside her before heading to the kitchen for something to drink.
She nodded somberly in agreement. "I think it's the pregnancy hormones. But this is a good idea. It is time for you to put yourself out there, Bella. How long has it been since you've went on a date?" She asked as she hopped up onto one of the barstools I had sat at the island overhang.
"I don't, Ali. A few months before I took the girls in, I guess." I told her as I pulled two bottles of water from the fridge handing her one.
"Exactly. And you've had them for over a year. It's time, Bella." She said sliding the tablet back to me as I sat on the stool next to her.
Begrudgingly I looked through the profiles on the screen. "Is this really what my life has resorted to, Alice? Scrolling the internet for a man?" I asked as I perused through countless photos of mostly topless men.
"It's nobody's fault but your own that I had to resort to this." She said as she sipped her water while rubbing her rounded stomach with the other hand. She was five months pregnant and was glowing with it.
"Yeah yeah. Just what did you put in my profile to make all these half naked men become 'good matches'?" I asked as I clicked on the 'My Profile' link to see what she had filled into the numerous spaces. "Really, Alice? Looking for a good time?"
I spent the next hour filling in the questions with my own responses instead of Alice's playful one. "Now, let's give it a week or two and see what happens."