Wow, you guys love this story, and that makes my year:) Sorry for the long delay. Real life got in the way of my writing. I know right, the nerve:)
This is a very short Author's
Note, but I wanted to give some shout outs, not that you all don't
deserve shout outs because you do but I figure you would much rather
get to reading the next chapter!
So, TwiHard24, this one's for
you, because well, you make me laugh and I love your ideas:) I used
your hat idea;) And to the new comer she's..pie, because her
words made me get my butt in gear and pound out another chapter:)
So,
without further ado…Chapter 24…Christmas at the Cullens!
BPOV
I don't think I ever woke up this excited on Christmas morning since I was seven and I asked Santa for a little brother. Yeah, it never happened but I got a new bike instead.
I was so excited, not for the part of receiving presents, but I couldn't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when they opened my presents. I love giving presents; it's one of my favorite things about the Christmas holiday. I could have cared less about getting anything, I didn't want anything. Well, ok that's not entirely true! Edward could give me another kiss for Christmas and I would die a happy woman. Get real Bella, I thought, that will never happen! He only did it because of the mistletoe!
I shook off the thought and got myself presentable. I knew I should probably get down stairs before I missed all the festivities. Considering there are kids here, I wouldn't want to be the reason they had to wait to open their presents.
I ran a comb through my hair, brushed my teeth and padded my way down the stairs.
"EJ, slow down! I don't want you throwing up because you're shoving food down your throat. Your presents will still be there when you're done." I heard Rosalie scold. "Emmett, that goes for you too! You're as bad as the kids!"
I was listening to this as I prepared myself a cup of coffee. I had to shake my head when she addressed Emmett. Always acting like a kid, that was definitely Emmett.
I joined everyone in the dining room and took my usual seat. At Esme's insistence, we left the breakfast clean up until after presents. That was all the confirmation the kids needed; they were out of their chairs and in the living room before I could blink, Emmett was right behind them.
We all were laughing when we entered the living room. Emmett was kneeling next to the tree, shaking a present next to his ear, trying to hear what was in it. We all took seats around the living room. I was sandwiched between Rosalie and Edward on the sofa. Jasper was sitting across from us in the chair and Alice was sitting on the ottoman leaning between Jasper's legs. They really were the cutest couple I have ever seen.
"WAIT!" Emmett boomed, jumping to his feet and fleeing from the room. I looked at Rosalie, she just rolled her eyes and shrugged, as to say 'don't ask me!'. Emmett came barreling back into the room holding a bag. He walked over to the kids and handed them each a hat. Then he proceeded to hand one to each of us.
The kids' hats were elf hats with ears. They were so cute with their little hats on. Rosalie, Esme, and II got hats that were Santa hats with springy 'tree' looking things on top. Emmett was wearing a jester Santa hat; Carlisle was wearing an elf hat without the ears, Edward's hat was a Santa hat that the top was long and hung down his side.
I glanced at Alice and Jasper to see what they were wearing. Alice was fuming but I couldn't figure out why. Jasper wasn't looking to happy himself but his look was more of a pout then a look of anger.
Alice jumped to her feet and got right in front of Emmett.
"What's this Emmett? Why would you give me this one?" she fumed, stomping her foot.
Emmett looked confused.
"I am NOT one of the kids! Why do I get this one?" she asked while sticking the hat in Emmett's face.
He just shrugged and gave her an innocent look. "I guess when I was counting I must of counted you as a kid because you're so short. Sorry Ali baba, my mistake."
"You're so lucky that it's Christmas and I'm in a giving mood! Plus, I came prepared" she reached down next to the chair Jasper was sitting and pulled out a shiny hat Santa hat that had fur trimming. She pulled it on her head and sat back on the ottoman crossing her arms and wearing a smug smile.
Jasper still wasn't wearing his hat and was still pouting.
"Come on Jasper, we can't open gifts until you put on your hat!" Emmett informed him.
"NO!" he scoffed.
"What's the matter Jazzy? Did he give you an eared hat too?" Alice asked.
"No" was all Jasper said.
"Come on!" we all chanted.
"Nope!"
"Please Jazzy, put it on for me" Alice pouted.
You could tell he was having an internal battle, his pride vs. Alice's pout. In the end, Alice's pout won and he slammed the hat down on his head and crossed his arms. Looking anywhere but at Jasper and his hat, I noticed that everyone was having the same reaction as I was, trying our hardest not to laugh. Shockingly enough, Esme was the first to break down. We all joined in after that because honestly if sweet, considerate Esme breaks down how are we all not supposing to also. I mean come on, really, the hat was a green little felt thing with a yellow feather sticking out of it. He looked like a cross between an elf and Peter Pan.
"Can we please just open our presents now?" whined Emmett, which of course just sent everyone into another fit of laughter. After a good minute or two, Esme wiped her eyes of the tears that had gathered there from laughing so hard and nodded her head. "Yes, we can open presents now" she informed him. He beamed and found one present for everyone.
"Bella, we kind of have a tradition while opening presents. We each take turns opening a present so that everyone can see what each other got. I know it probably sounds like a long, boring process but we like it this way. I hope you don't mind" Esme told me.
"No, I don't mind at all. That's how we do it back home" I grinned at her.
Since the kids all had a lot more gifts then the adults, they each opened a couple first instead of just one. Needless, to say the guitar and the makeup kit were a huge success with EJ and Emily but the makeup not so much with Emmett.
"Who got her that?" Emmett growled.
I immediately blushed and started shifting my eyes around the room. Someone must have silently given me away. "Bella!!"
"What?! It's so cute AND every little girl needs her first makeup" I tried to explain.
I heard Emmett grumbling under her breath and then I heard a smack.
"What Rosie! She's my baby girl, I already told her she couldn't grow up and makeup is a grown up thing!" he whined rubbing the back of his head, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout.
"I'm really sorry Em. I did ask permission before I bought it, really!" I really didn't want him to be mad at me. "Would you like to open your present from me? Would that make you feel better?"
He looked at me still pouting and nodded his head. I gave him the envelope and he ripped into it. His face lit up when he saw the gift card for their favorite restaurant and the coupon for the babysitting.
"Wow Bella! Thank you!" Rosalie said.
"No problem guys. I wanted you guys to be able to go out on a date before the baby comes. You'll have to use it in the next couple of days if you're going to cash in the babysitting voucher though, since we are leaving on Sunday" I reminded them.
"How about Thursday? Will that work?" Rosalie wondered.
"Yep, Thursday will be great" I grinned. I was glad they liked it.
She turned in her seat and gave me a hug.
"Oh, I forgot! This is for you guys too" I told her, handing her the present for the baby.
On the tag I had written Elizabeth/Ethan since they didn't know which it was yet. She narrowed her eyes at me and then proceeded to rip into the package. When she finally had it opened and saw what it was, tears formed in her eyes.
"What is it Rose?" Emmett questioned.
"It's a memory box for the baby" she told him, holding it up for everyone to see. There was a round of ohs and ahs mostly from the women.
"There is also a coupon inside for an engraving. Just take it back to the store after the baby is born and they will engrave the name and birth date on there for you" I told her.
She turned and gave me an even bigger hug. "Oh Bella!" she blubbered. "That was the most thoughtful, nicest thing! Thank you!"
"You're welcome!" I told her, patting her back. "I'm glad you like it!"
"Here Bella open ours next" Rosalie handed me an envelope too.
"Oh, you guys didn't have to get me anything" I told her and I meant it. Just them welcoming me here with open arms was more than enough.
I shyly opened the envelope and pulled out a $100.00 gift certificate to my favorite book store back home. My jaw hit the floor.
"Oh my gosh guys! This is way too much" I told them.
"Oh Bella, stop. I know it's kind of impersonal but I really didn't know what to get you because we hadn't met you when we got it. Alice told us you loved to read and what your favorite book store was, so we went with an easy out. Since I know you better, next year I can get you something better!" Rosalie said, winking at me.
Edward leaned over to me and whispered "I guess that means you're invited to Christmas next year."
I couldn't help but blush. I think it was the combination of his close proximity and his eagerness to point out that I was welcomed back here next year. I was absolutely giddy about the idea of coming back next year. I felt so welcome and like a part of the family. It brought tears to my eyes.
I blinked them away as I watched the kids open more of their presents. After awhile I asked Emmett to hand the big, long wrapped presents that were propped up against the wall to Alice and Esme. I told them they had to open them at the same time because they were essentially the same.
They opened them and both gasped. I had gotten them both collage picture frames and filled them with pictures. In Alice and Jasper's, I had put an assortment of pictures that I had taken in all of our outings together. There were pictures of our outing to the beach and ones from our trip to the amusement park. Esme and Carlisle's frame was filled with similar pictures but I made sure that all of the pictures were ones with just Jasper, Alice and Edward. After studying all the pictures, they both came over and thanked me, giving me hugs.
I was so glad they liked them. They both in turn grabbed presents from under the tree and placed them on my lap. Esme told me to open the one from Carlisle and herself first. I opened it and squealed. Was she serious? It was the black leather Gucci wallet that I had seen on one of my shopping trips with Alice. That was the same trip that I had fallen in love with this black leather Gucci purse and Alice informed me that every girl should at one time or another own a real Gucci bag.
I told her there was no way that I would ever spend $2100.00 on a purse and the conversation was dropped, or so I thought.
"Oh, this is WAY too much! You guys welcoming me into your home was enough of a present for me" I told her. I was getting ready to continue my rant when Esme held up her hand.
"Really Bella, it was the least we could do. We wanted to, really! Alice told us how much you wanted it, so after you agreed to come here, I insisted she go back and get it for us to give to you." She told me with the most genuine smile.
Alice was practically jumping up and down for me to open hers. I reluctantly opened the package and about had a heart attack. There nestled in the prettiest gold tissue paper was the Gucci purse that we had so long ago had the conversation about. I jumped out of my seat and tackled Alice in a hug.
"I told you, every girl should own a Gucci sometime in their life. Do you really think I would let you not have one?" She giggled.
I smacked her arm, "Alice I can't believe you bought this for me! You know I don't like you spending that much money on me!" I scolded her.
"Oh, shush! You know I do what I want" she informed me.
"I know, I know" is all I could say.
I made my way back over to my seat on the couch, still clutching my new treasure to my chest. I settled back into the couch next to Edward and when I looked over at him, he was holding a neatly wrapped package. He looked at me with a shy smile and held it out to me.
I reached out and took it, never breaking our eye contact and gave him the best 'you better have not gone overboard' look. He just shrugged and motioned for me to open it.
I slid my finger across the back of the package to break the tape and slid the paper off. I turned the contents over in my hand to see what it was. It was a book, a scrapbook to be exact. It was 12x12 and purple; the front picture was a tour bus. It looked exactly like the one that we had taken on our day excursion. I opened the book expecting it to be empty but I opened it out of habit. I was so very wrong.
The inside cover had an inscription written in Edward's beautiful handwriting.
Thank you for the
beautiful memories!
Love Edward
There were already tears in my eyes when I opened the book further. In fact, the book was far from empty. Edward had filled the book with beautiful pages filled with pictures of us together and little knick knacks that he had saved. On the first page, there was a picture in the middle of Edward and me taken on the airplane. It was obvious by looking at it that neither one of us knew the picture was being taken. We were looking at each other laughing and you could tell it was taken between the seats. Alice! She must have taken it. I looked up at her and she just shrugged. That page also had the napkin that we played tick tack toe on, and the beer bottle cap that I had thrown at him when he was teasing me about the 'giggle twins'. There was even a cut up section of the flight manual that we defaced by adding funny drawing to. We had added little word bubbles above some of the stick people's heads and little horns on them. I couldn't suppress my giggles when I saw that. I had no idea that he kept that stuff.
The book also contained ticket stubs from our tour bus ride and various shows we had seen together. There were pictures that I had never seen of us before, such as one of us dancing at the movie premiere party.
Needless to say, by the time I was done going through the book, there were uncontrollable tears running down my cheeks. I slowly closed the book and looked at Edward. He was looking down at his hands that he was fidgeting with in his lap. I just stared at him until he looked at me.
He reached up and wiped my tears from my face.
"Oh Edward…" was all I could choke out before I launched myself at him, engulfing him in a monster hug. I felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled.
Rosalie had removed the book from my lap and was flipping through it as Emmett stood over her shoulder looking at it as well.
"Eddie boy, who knew you were such a woman? Look at these beautiful pages you did" he mocked.
I threw a pillow at him and Rosalie stomped on his foot. He grabbed his foot and started hopping up and down.
"EMMETT CULLEN, you will NOT stand there and mock your brother! You could learn a thing or two from him. You've never done anything even close to this romantic for me!" Rosalie scolded him and turned and stormed out of the room.
"But babe, remember that one time when I…" he whined, following her out of the room.
We all were snickering at the sight of him groveling.
We all proceeded to help clean up the paper mess that we had made and then moved on to the dishes from breakfast.
Edward excused himself and went upstairs to do something.
I figured that it was the perfect time to give him his present that I hadn't gotten to give him yet. I was kind of glad that we would be alone while I gave it to him. I was really nervous that he might not like it, so having an audience wasn't the most appealing idea.
I ran up the steps, watching each step that I took, making sure I didn't fall flat on my face. I rushed past Edward's room and into my own. I walked over to the dresser that was across the room and grabbed the gold wrapped package. I was just getting ready to leave my room when something red sitting on my bed caught my eye. This was strange. I don't remember that being here a couple of hours ago when I came up here.
I walked over to the bed, and inspected the small delicate present that was perched atop my pillow. There was a small card attached that I reached out and grabbed, leaving the box sitting there. I opened the card.
To Fond Memories and
More Time Together
Love Edward
Why was he giving me another present? I couldn't figure it out. It hadn't slipped my notice that for a second time he signed something 'Love Edward'. Just rereading his words, made my heart speed up.
I very carefully un-wrapped the box and slipped the lid off; my hands were uncontrollably shaking the entire time.
A gasp slipped from my lips as my eyes settled on the object inside.
Please don't hate me for the cliff hanger. You know I love ya all (in a very healthy way of course:]) Again, sorry for the delay. Don't forget to go check out the pictures that I put up for this chapter and if you haven't yet, go vote on my poll:) It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, please review and keep the ideas coming:)
