End of Chapter 11
You know it. Looking forward to tomorrow! Go Seattle! - E
Grrrr... see you tomorrow. -B
Chapter 12: Are You Ready For Some Football? (EPOV)
"Emmett!" I yelled toward the house. "We've got to roll, bro!"
"I'm coming," he said hopping down the front stairs. "I had trouble finding my lucky Bears shirt."
"You know no scrap of fabric is going to help your team this year, right?" I asked with a smirk.
"Just get in the car, asshole," he said.
"Emmett," my father said from where he was already seated in the drivers seat, "are you going to embarrass myself and your mother with your behavior at the Swans? I will leave you with this hen party."
"No!" Emmett yelled now from the back seat. "Please, dad, I will be good. I swear. You can take the jeep for a week if I don't. Please don't leave me here."
"You remember that," Carlisle said.
I couldn't help but laugh quietly to myself in the passenger seat. Emmett gave me a slight kick. We swung by the local barbeque joint to pick up Charlie's favorite wings and ribs. I had asked Bella what his favorite was yesterday. I ran in, and came back out with my arms full of bags. My dad hit the drive-thru for some "Vitamin R", Rainier beer, for Charlie. It didn't take us long to get over to the Swans, and when we pulled up, Rosalie's BMW was parked out front.
"What's Rose doing here?" Emmett asked from the back. "Was she invited?"
"I don't know," I said honestly. "Maybe Jasper drove it over?"
We walked up to the door carrying the bags of food and the case of beer. Carlisle knocked, being the only one with a free hand.
"Come in!" I heard Bella yell from the other side of the door.
Carlisle turned the handle, and poked his head in the house.
"Hello," Carlisle called out.
"In here," Bella called from down the hall in the kitchen.
"Hey, Dr. Cullen," Charlie said from his recliner in the living room. I could hear the pre-game announcers voices spilling out into the room.
"Please, Charlie," my dad said, "it's Carlisle."
"I'll call you anything you like if that is in fact beer and ribs I smell," Charlie said with a laugh.
"Bring the food in here," Bella called from the kitchen.
"Bellaaa," Charlie wined.
"Daaaad," she wined right back, mockingly. He laughed.
"Better do as the lady says, gentlemen," he said waiving his hand towards the kitchen. "I don't want to put you guys in the dog house with me."
Emmett and I made our way into the kitchen. When we got to the end of the hallway, both our jaws dropped not only at the huge amount of food that was laid out on every counter top and table, but by the two lovely ladies arranging it all. Emmett's eyes were glued to Rose who had on skin tight jeans and a cut-off Seahawks jersey. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail that was poking out of the Seahawk hat she was wearing. I only had eyes for the beauty in the Phoenix shirt. It hugged her little torso, and the black yoga pants she was wearing were casually sinful. Sticking out of the bottom of said pants were her bare feet. I had never given much thought to feet before, but her little toes sticking out with Phoenix red painted on the nails made me shiver. Only more hypnotic was her long creamy neck that was exposed and teasing me, due to her hair being tied up in a loose bun on top of her head.
"You can put the wings and ribs on the trays I have set up on the stove," Bella pointed. "I made room for the beer in the fridge. There is Dr. Pepper or iced tea in there. Help yourself."
"Only you would have iced tea in this sunless place, squirt," Emmett said with a laugh as he put the case of beer in the fridge.
"The only hopeless thing was if I was wishing to make sun tea, which I miss terribly," Bella said with a slight frown. "But, I am happy to see I am not the only one with hopeless dreams," she said laughing and pointing to Emmett's Bears shirt.
"Lay off my Bears, woman," Emmett said pointing a finger at Bella.
"Emmett!" my dad said turning the corner. He was about to continue to berate my brother I am sure, but he was saved by Bella's laughter at Emmett's hurt face. My dad's face softened, when he saw the smile on her face, and the one it put on Charlie's. I can't imagine the faces he had been seeing in his office. Thinking back now, I was a fool not to notice how defeated and in desperate need of a friend Bella had been since the beginning of school. I was determined to never see her face like that again.
"Everything looks great, girls," Charlie said grabbing a plate.
"Thanks, Chief Swan," Rosalie said, "but most of this is Bella's doing. My queso bribery is the only thing that I contributed."
"You bribed Bella with cheese dip?" I asked.
"Yeah I did!" Rosalie said back. "Do you know what kind of torture I was being threatened with at your house?"
We all laughed. She explained that she had promised Alice a shopping trip next weekend in exchange for missing today's party.
"Did you send Jasper as a sacrificial lamb in your place?" I asked with a laugh. "Where is that guy?"
"Japser is a NCAA purist when it comes to football," Rosalie explained rolling her eyes. "He feels the spirit is gone from the game once the guys start getting paid to play."
Everyone filled up their plates and grabbed their drinks and headed into the living room. Charlie took his place in his recliner. Bella tossed a pillow onto the floor by the coffee table, and sat down placing her food in front of her. Rose followed suit. My dad, brother, and I sat down on the couch.
"There is still a few minutes left to back out, Bells," Charlie said.
"No way, old man," she said through her bite of food.
"Back out of what?" Emmett asked.
"Our bet on today's game," Charlie said. "You can guess who took which team."
"What's the wager?" Emmett said more interested now. He loves a good bet.
"If she wins, I follow her diet without complaint for a week," Charlie started. We all hissed at that. Bella gave a quiet 'Hey' from the floor, but was smiling through her furrowed brows, and gave me a wink.
"If _I_ win," Charlie continued, "Bella has to spend an entire weekend doing only normal teenage stuff."
"I hope you like rabbit food, Chief Swan," Rosalie snickered into her napkin.
"What are you talking about?" He defended his team. "They have been turning themselves around."
"Dad," Bella said like she was talking to a child, "Kurt Warner is the #3 quarterback in the league."
"Not to mention that is paired up with Larry Fitzgerald," Rosalie added. "What is he? Like #2 in receiving right now?"
Bella and Rosalie nodded at each other, and dug into their food. Once they realized how quiet the room had become, they looked around at the rest of us.
"What?" Bella asked through a mouthful of potato skins.
"Chief Swan, sir," I said through wide eyes, "I just might have to marry your daughter tomorrow."
Everyone laughed, and Bella smacked my leg.
"Care to make a side bet on the Bears game, Bella?" Emmett said with a wicked glint in his eye.
"They are playing Green Bay today, are you crazy?" She asked.
"My Bears can do it!" Emmett said striking his chest with his fist.
"What are the terms?" She asked.
"I win, your teenage weekend is spent with Alice and Rosalie next weekend...shopping and whatever other torture Alice prepares for you at our house." Emmett said. She looked scared. She looked to Rosalie. Carlisle snickered quietly and shook his head in a silent warning to Bella. My dad smiled down at me. I felt like I needed to throw her a life preserver, because I knew that Emmett offered her a bet that she just didn't want to take. I had to give her something to barter with that would equal the torture he was offering up. I bent down and whispered into her ear. Rosalie, hearing what I said, snorted, and Bella's eyes became alight, and she spun to face Emmett.
"If _I_ win," she said smiling at me, and then turning back to Emmett, "I get to drive your jeep for a week."
Emmett's jaw dropped open, and he whipped around and glared at me. I just shrugged and smiled stupidly at my brother. Carlisle was outright laughing now. Then Emmett turned to look Bella in the eyes, steeled himself, and held out his hand.
"Deal," they both said as they shook.
The afternoon was filled with cheering and laughter. Bella got up at half-time, and came back and handed Charlie a glass of water, and put into his hand, what I am assuming was medication. She waited for a moment when she thought no one would be looking. She was quietly protecting his pride, which I realize now is what she had been doing all along. Suffering to save her dad's dignity when he had nothing else to cling to. I was so lucky to think that this girl might want to be my friend. Her love and loyalty to those she cared about was amazing. My dad walked up to me and patted my shoulder. He gave me a look that conveyed that he was thinking the same thing.
"This, son," he said quietly nodding subtly towards the Swans," is why we moved."
"For them?" I asked though my voice caught in my throat.
"Charlie's case was interesting and challenging," he said. "It is so rare that we can catch pancreatic cancer so early. Plus, could you see us doing this with one of my patients back in Chicago?"
"No," I admitted.
"This is what I was missing from my practice," he said. "I want to go to work knowing that I am working to save neighbors...friends."
"What happens if you lose?" I asked looking at Bella and Charlie laughing and talking together.
"Son," he said putting his hand back on my shoulder, "putting yourself out there in life hurts when you fall, but when you win...you can fly. The love you receive will always out weigh the pain in the end."
Bella walked past us then carrying empty plates, bottles, and cans into the kitchen. She stumbled over the thresh hold, and I had just enough time to steady her and the things she was carrying.
"Let me help you with that," I offered. My dad winked and went back in to join Charlie, Emmett, and Rosalie who were catching up on the other games in progress.
"Thanks, Edward, for the tip on the wager," she smiled.
"No problem," I said with a smirk. "He loves that damn Jeep. It was only fair to give you and equal playing chip. Shopping with Alice is just cruel and unusual punishment. Besides, that's what friends are for."
"It's nice to have a friend," Bella whispered as she washed off some dishes.
"I think you have more than one, Bella," I said nodding my head towards where Emmett and Rosalie were now animatedly talking about defense around the league.
"Yeah," she smiled looking at them and then back down into the soapy water, "I guess I do."
I reached over and grabbed the plate she had finished washing and started drying it. She grabbed the next, and leaned her head over so it was resting against my arm as we finished the rest. We went back and joined the rest for the second half of the game. In the end, Bella won...both bets. I thought both Charlie and Emmett were going to cry. The bet was agreed upon to start tomorrow morning, and would go Monday to Monday. Bella promised Emmett she would be by bright and early tomorrow morning to collect her spoils.
After the game, our dads, Emmett and Rosalie sat through our presentation. Even though three of them had already sat through it, they were all patient and listened, because they knew how difficult it was for Bella. You could see the pride on Charlie's face as Bella explained her portions, and she got animated just as much as she did the first time talking about her experience on the digs. They all clapped when we were done, and Charlie got up and hugged Bella and patted me on the back saying how proud he was of the two of us. He then gave Bella a mischievous look, and walked over to a small bookcase in the corner. He pulled out what looked like a photo album, and Bella groaned. He quickly turned to the back of the book, and flipped a few pages before he found what he was looking for, and handed it over to me. There standing with the mountains behind her, in the bright dessert sun, was a 14-year-old Bella grinning ear-to-ear and holding up a bone.
"I didn't know you had this picture," Bella said quietly blushing.
"Renee sent it to me," he said. "She said you couldn't stop talking about how much fun you had."
"Girl," Emmett chortled, "I didn't think you could be any skinnier. I guess I was wrong."
Carlisle opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced by the sound of Rosalie smacking Emmett on the back of the head. He whipped around to say something, but flushed, and shamefully lowered his eyes instead. My dad and I traded shocked looks, and Bella started laughing.
Bella packed up leftovers for us and Rosalie to take home. She gave Rosalie a hug and waved as Rosalie drove off in her car. Carlisle shook Charlie's hand thanking him for having us. Emmett and I followed suit. Carlisle gave Bella's arm a squeeze, and reminded her to call if she needed anything. Emmett snatched Bella up in a big bear hug and was all laughs until she reminded him that she would be picking up HER Jeep in the morning. He all but dropped her and huffed out to the car. Bella helped me carry out the leftovers and our presentation materials. Once we had them in the trunk, I turned to her.
"Thanks again, Bella," I said. "You saved us from hiding in our rooms like a bunch of bats in the belfry all day."
"Amen," Emmett said from in the car.
"Anytime," Bella said lowering her eyes and blushing. "I can't remember when I smiled and laughed so much...since I saw Charlie laugh..."
I couldn't help myself then. I pulled her into a hug, and she wrapped her little arms around me, and she breathed in a shaky breath. I let her hug me for a moment while she collected herself. She took a step back and gave me a little nod to let me know she was OK.
"See you tomorrow, partner," I said getting into the car.
"See you bright and early!" She called back looking into the back seat to wink at Emmett.
As we pulled away, my dad patted my knee and gave me a proud smile. Out of all my achievements in sports, school, and music, that my dad had praised me on over the years, I think this smile of him being proud of me, the person, would mean the most.
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A/N: I hope you enjoyed football Sunday with the Swans and Cullens. I decided at the last minute to throw Rosalie in there as well. I could just see her wanting to watch football over going to whatever "girl party" was going on at the Cullens. Plus, it was a chance for her and Bella to bond.
Special loving thoughts go out to katmom as the wildfires dance dangerously close to her home. Be safe! Everyone do a rain dance for the good people of OK and TX!
