Thursday morning Rosalie received a mail that stated their productivity bonus would be delayed by some error by the accounting area.
"Shit!"
Bella came to visit and asked why was she so worried.
"It's the bonus. I won't be getting it this week."
"Do you really need it? I have something saved I can lend to you." Bella suggested.
"No, thanks but no. Emmett got that big contract and he said he would have to invest in a few things, but he'll have to manage. I mean, when they offer the bid, they have to prove they have the requirements to pull off that contract, right?"
Bella, who wasn't completely sure of the way Emmett's construction team worked, just nodded.
"Can't you ask your boss for his help?"
"No. In my contract is stated that I'm eligible twice a year. They don't have a specific date. I guess I should be happy they pay the bonus in the first place."
The problem was that Emmett, who still wasn't the charming man she married, didn't take it well when she mentioned it that night.
"What?" Emmett was pacing in their living room. Rose never thought she would prefer to see him screaming and arguing. Suddenly he stopped and picked up his coat from the armchair where he dropped it. "I'll be back." And he left.
He wasn't back until two in the morning, stinking of cigarettes. Emmett wasn't a smoker. Rose decided lo let it go for now.
xxx
Almost a week passed by.
Jasper was still sleeping in the guest's room. He wouldn't speak to Alice unless it was something necessary. The worst part, Alice never made the effort to talk to him either. She was too busy trying to keep the kids unaware of their fight. A task that turned useless. She heard when one night Peter went crying to Jasper and asked if he was to blame for his getting angry, to which Jasper answered he wasn't. Jasper did the best he could to ease his fears. Peter never dared to touch the subject with her. Cynthia was different. She offered herself to work in of the busiest stores and never complained. She always helped with the kitchen and did her homework in silence. She also was too quiet.
Alice huffed thinking about the silent routine they established. She took care of the kids in the morning, drove them to school. Jasper picked them up, saw them eat lunch and helped with the beginning of their homework. Then he would go back to work while Alice returned and watched the kids. Cynthia never asked to come to the Zumba class again, though Friday, Saturday and Sunday she offered to work in one of the stores. Her chances to enjoy a conversation with anyone was zero. Is that how it's gonna be now? Something's gotta give.
Sadly, Alice wasn't sure how to reach the subject with Jasper. Or the kids. Maybe the girls could help her... they had a lot to say last week. All her friends admonished her. In a way, they made her realize how wrong she was with Cynthia. And Peter. But somehow she never managed to find the words to apologize and now what started as a little bump in the road turned into a family crisis.
xxx
Bella was proud of herself. Now that one of Edward's cases got big, he was cramped at his office until late so she had a lot of free time every afternoon and she got bored. So she joined Esme in her quest of the best furniture to set up her daughter's room. Of course, here and then they bought cute things for the baby. And Bella never cried, not once. Maybe she already shed all the tears she had. Maybe she finally got over it. Who knew? But for now, she was so proud of herself. Not as how proud she was of Edward. Leah called her to mention she was working with Edward on this case. A little complaint, hence Edward's team dealing with it, that turned into a class action lawsuit. It was the big shot to success for all of them. While she wanted to boast to him about her progress, she knew he was stressed and decided to help him to feel at ease in their home.
Even those calls to let her know he was going to be late got better, because now Leah or Tanya called. Leah joined the 'we hate Jessica Stanley' team after two days of close work with her. Now those calls were fun and helped the women to release a tiny bit of stress, more when they knew Jessica was in hearing distance.
The only cloud on her sunny day was that guy at the gym. She really hoped he would relent. Maybe she should ask Edward to come to pick her up one day.
Last Tuesday, despite the mirror walls being back on, the guy from the gym waited for them to arrive and then to leave. That's when they realized he was crushing on Bella. Poor woman didn't know how to show her wedding ring and shove it in his face. Apparently the guy will bother them on Tuesdays.
xxx
"But come on Alice! You're the one who let it grow." Esme almost slapped Alice's hand hoping to get some sense in her.
"I know! But now, whenever I got closer Jasper just huffs and turn to the other side. Peter just says everything is fine, but he doesn't joke around like he used to. Cyn is serious, but she always had a problem adapting to change. So I kind of expected it from her. Anyway, she's coming with me to one of the stores. I hope that gives me the chance to speak freely to her."
Rose shook her head. "Nope. You don't hope, you messed it, you fix it. Seek the chance to talk to her. Take her earlier for a coffee or something."
"I can babysit this Friday. Why don't you take Jasper out and talk." Bella offered.
Alice just sighed.
"No, you don't get the chance to play the victim. Firstly, you were the main cause of the problem. Don't forget is your family, you have to eat your pride to keep all of them together. You can't let this tiny disagreement tear your family apart." Esme reasoned. She was disappointed to find Alice acting like a spoiled brat when she was supposed to set an example for the kids. She also decided to not mention her own concerns about Carlisle. They weren't as bad as Alice's or Rose's problems. And she certainly can discuss them with Bella the next day. They planned to buy the last details like toiletries and maybe a new set of sheets.
"Ok, you're right. But not this Friday. He has a dinner with a few executives, to show the final results of his project. Maybe I can drop Peter with one of his friends while Jazz and I get a chance to talk..." Alice decided to push Jasper to talk first. Then she would talk to Cyn, she would be easier than Peter.
"That's what I wanted to hear!" Esme clapped. "Now, what should we do about Mr. Muscles? Don't think we didn't notice how almost clocked Jane when she mentioned she dared to give him your name, eh, Bella."
"Urgh! I was about to slap her. At least, she mentioned I was happily married, but he was still there at the end of the class."
xxx
Rose was uneasy to come back home. While she made peace with Emmett, who swore he just wanted a few minutes to think things over, because he was under so much pressure, she felt like something shifted in their relationship. Sure, she was more affectionate when he came home, and he encouraged her to go to her class. He even offered to organize a barbecue with her friends and their husbands for Rosalie's birthday next month. Quite the change. But still something felt off.
She made the effort to be available for him, knowing sex always calmed him from the stress from work. Alas, she wasn't 'all' into it. She began to fake. But Emmett was satisfied, and she hoped whenever this projects got settled, she would get back her husband.
At home, Emmett was waiting for her with pizza and beers. Not her favorite but still.
"Honey, dinner's ready!"
While they munched on the slices of pizza, Emmett was a chatterbox explaining how he finally got the project going on.
"Sorry, I've been a mess. But you should see this guy. He is an asshole. Whenever I didn't go immediately with what he wanted, he said he could bring Walter, the team who got the second best bid. It took me hours to explain why some of the things he planned would clash with what is already built. I had to tell him that if Walter offered to follow some of his ideas, it was fine by me. But the building would collapse for lack of proper foundation. Then you remember how I told I was about to bring Robert's wife?"
Rose nodded. She met the woman once, it was Sue or Molly?
"Well, she declined because she got pregnant. Now, I really thought about it. I don't want to hire someone unknown because the boys can be irritating; they act like dogs in heat and they whine like toddlers. Molly was great because she never tolerated bullshit from the guys and they respected her because she was the wife of one of them. So I asked around and one of the guys has a cousin who may help. She worked as an assistant before moving here to take care of her ailing mother. So it's a win-win. She gets a job, they guys will stay on their toes or they may get a beating from Eric. And she has a flexible schedule because her mother isn't that sick anymore."
"So you already hired her." Rose would have offered her help, but she probably wouldn't have the time.
"Yes, her name is Lauren. She will start on Monday." Emmett said excited for finally getting his plans working.
xxx
That Saturday, Rose decided to indulge into buying herself a new dress. She just received the best news. The company would sponsor her course to get the certification. She could become a manager in less than a year! Of course, it had its challenges. The course was taken online, but the monthly tests were held at the closest branch office of the company who offered the course, they were set on weekends so it didn't clash with anyone's schedule. She would have to attend one first meeting on central office, hence the need for the dress, to fill the paperwork for her registry and an induction class. While the company would pay for the course and exams, they would refund all her expenses at the end of the course. She had to pay the monthly fee for the tests. It wasn't that much, but she wanted to save the money given that Emmett was already using their joint account. He just told her he managed, so $200 wasn't that much.
She went to the store where she knew she would find Alice. She had an excellent taste and would suggest the perfect dress for her.
When she arrived, she was welcomed by Cynthia.
"Hello, Rose!" She was glad she didn't call her Mrs. McCarty. Cynthia looked better, not as pale and she had a true smile.
"Hi, Cynthia! How are you doing?"
"Meh. Not bad. Do you want me to let my Mom know you're here?"
"Sure Cynthia."
Rose gave a look to the dresses hanging around. Alice always had the latest fashion and a few daring choices apt for all ages. Probably that was the key to her success.
"Rose! To what I deserve the pleasure?" Alice wasn't looking so fine. But in Rose opinion, she had to shove her pride in the ass and just talk to Jasper.
"I wanted to look for a dress."
That made Alice's eyes shine.
"How formal? Winter or spring?" Alice went immediately into work mode.
"Not so formal. Remember my certification course? Well, I finally got it approved!"
Alice was fast to hug her and congratulate her.
"I'd like to be able to wear it to the work, so not so revealing." Rose added. Alice had a proclivity to show off her friend's assets.
"Hmm, how about this?" She brought one burgundy piece. Really nice. then she got Rosalie walking around with to hand her a few more choices.
xxx
When the time to pay came, Rose brought her debit card. She checked the day before and they had enough on their joint account to cover for the dress and her first-course fee.
Alice passed it through the POS terminal while explaining Cynthia how to do it when the card got rejected. The three women looked around shocked. Alice passed it again and it was rejected. Rose smiled and offered her credit card, it wasn't that much so she could cover it by the end of the month. This time, the card passed without a problem.
Rose decided to check the balance in the account. The day before it had, at least, a thousand dollars if not more money. It was empty! how could? What did Emmett buy today before she got to Alice's store after they talked how he managed to cover all the project initial expenses?