I'm really sorry for how long this took to finally get published, but I'm back! To remind you all, the last chapter was E/B's cosy night in, deciding to become a couple and we found out that Renee had turned up suddenly. Let's see what she wants, shall we?
You said you needed your space,
I wasn't where you wanted to be,
I didn't stand in your way,
I only want you to be happy,
And so how surprised am I to see you here tonight.
I Told You So – Keith Urban.
Bella
"What the hell is she doing here?"
Edward put his hands on my shoulders in attempt to calm me down. I was furious. Renee has made no attempt to get in contact with me ever since she found out I was pregnant. I haven't had birthday cards, Christmas cards, or even the occasional phone call to ask how I am. Who does that? I understand that she was angry and didn't want me to become a parent so young, but, I mean, what mother just abandons their daughter when they are in the need of some motherly comfort? Now she has the cheek to turn up, uninvited and asks to see me? It doesn't make any sense.
"I don't know. But Bella, you don't have to see her. You can ring Charlie and tell him that you don't want to. Or I could, if that would make you feel any better?"
I couldn't figure out what to do. Sixty per-cent of me feels like walking away; she's had more than enough time to sort things out, and hasn't bothered. But the remaining forty is telling me to be the better person, that I would regret it later on, and that I shouldn't over-think anything until I've allowed Renee to talk her peace. Because I don't know why she's here, and it could be something important, or maybe she or someone else has a life-threatening disease that I don't know about.
I sighed loudly, rubbing my hands down my face, trying my best to wrap my head around this mess. "I think I should see what she wants and take it from there… I don't want to jump into conclusions too quickly." Yeah, not like I've been doing that all morning…
"Sounds like the best idea. Do you want me to entertain Draco here and –"
"No! No, Edward, please accompany me. I can't do this by myself. And having Draco with me should reduce some of my anger and help me concentrate."
He put both hands on each side of my head and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead, his hands then moved to sit upon my shoulders. "Of course I'll be there, if that would make you feel more comfortable. Are you ready? We could go get Draco now?"
"Yes please; I've missed him."
"Me too."
I shoved some of Draco's clothes into a plastic bag whilst Edward rang his parents to tell them we were heading over shortly. I can't remember the last time I had been without him for so long, that feeling is far from pleasant. I didn't like it. Draco's never going to college – he's not allowed to stay away for months on end. Simple.
As soon as Edward said 'should we go?' I literally ran to the door, chanting "yes, yes, let's go!" Never let a momma bear away from her cubs.
Esme opened the front door when hearing the car drive up, she had my little man clutched to her side – said little man started to bounce and kick his feet when he saw us. Once the engine was switched off and we opened the doors, Esme let him down and he charged down the pebbled drive way, running straight into my legs.
"Hey, baby boy! Did you miss me?"
"Yea."
"Did you miss me, daddy's buddy?" Edward knelt down, becoming eye-level with Draco, who squealed and jumped into his father's arms.
"Bud-bud-d-d-d-eeeee."
Esme approached us slowly, one hand over her heart, watching her youngest son and grandson have a special moment. We asked Draco what he had done the previous evening.
"…Ampa."
"Grandpa? What did you do with Grandpa?"
"Nanny a Ampa."
"Did you have fun with Granny and Grandpa?"
"Yes."
"Good."
We used Edward's old room to change him, setting up the diaper mat and taking off his 'Cars' pyjamas. He didn't fuss with us when removing the used diaper, but when it came to putting a clean one on, he would kick his legs and moan. I cannot wait until he's potty trained and no longer needs to wear diapers. It's the same thing every day, he just hates wearing them.
"Come on, buddy. You can't walk about naked."
Draco shot his father a confused look, "yes."
Edward laughed lightly, "no."
"Daddy?"
"Yes, buddy?"
"Sat?" Draco grabbed his wiggling toes.
"Toes." Edward spoke the word slowly, so Draco could hear it better.
"Ooohs… Momma?"
"Yes, little man?"
"Sat?"
Edward snorted in his hand, smothering his laugh. Seriously? He gets toes, and I get penis. No joke, he literally grabbed onto his… little thing. Right, because of the laughing, daddy can explain this one too. "You tell him what it is – you have one, I don't."
That quickly stopped the laughing. Ha! Payback is a bitch. "Thanks, love you too." I didn't dig too deep with that one… "That's your, uh… that's your weiner, buddy. Weiner."
"Wee-nee…" Draco whispered, getting used to the foreign word. Oh come on, why is it my son that picks up words like 'dick', 'piss', and now 'weiner' quicker than anything else? Draco continued to grab hold of his…wee-nee and repeated the words endlessly. It's times like these, when I'm so thankful that Emmett isn't around twenty-four-seven – knowing him as well as I do, he would make some vile comment about that gesture.
"Wee-nee! Wee-nee! Wee-nee!"
Hey, meet my son; he's pretty cool, although he has an obsession with his dick.
xxx
Charlie's cruiser was the only car seen when pulling up to the house. Either Renee took a bus from Port Angeles airport, or Charlie was made to collect her. But knowing my parents as well as I do, if they were made to sit in a car together for a decent amount of time, they'd probably end up killing each other. Or, fingers crossed, she's packed up and left? Nope, she's here. How did I know that? Well, the squealing of my name coming from an over-excited Renee on Charlie's doorstep was a dead giveaway.
"You won't leave me, will you?"
Edward laughed at my deer-in-headlights look. "Your wayward mother doesn't scare me, Bell."
"Famous last words; you haven't met my mother, Ed."
He called me Bell, I call him Ed; we're square.
"Ampa Rarlie! Ampa Rarlie!" Before we could allow Draco to leave the car, we had to have a little word with him. He was thrashing about with excitement to see his Grandpa, so I took hold of his hand and made him look at me.
"Draco, when we go inside you have to be on your best behaviour. Mummy and daddy don't want to tell you off for being naughty, okay?"
"Heh, heh, nooo…"
He grabbed a lock of my hair and pulled on it a little too hard. "Ow, ow, ow…" I unclasped his hand from the death grip. "You need to do everything that we say; can you be our good little boy?"
He turned his attention to Edward beside me. "Bud-dyyy."
"Daddy's Buddies are good boys, you can only be a Daddy's Buddy if you behave, deal?" Edward held out his hand, which Draco playfully smacked unknowingly accepting our deal.
"Let's go then!"
Renee met me at the door, she had in my in a hug before I could do anything to stop it. "Oh, Bella. How are you sweetheart? You're so grown up!"
"I'm great, thanks. How are you?"
I didn't hold nearly as much passion and joy in my voice like she did in hers. Instead of answering my question, Renee looked over my shoulder and her eyes widened slightly. "Oh… I didn't think you'd bring company."
Company? That had my blood boiling, talking to my son and Edward like they were baggage I bring around with me, and not a family.
"Draco is my son and Edward is my boyfriend, so of course I would have brought them with me. We are a family, and families stick together." Can I leave now? She's getting on my wick already. Draco wasn't sure about the strange lady looking at him; he curled up in Edward's arms in his best attempt to hide.
Charlie turned up behind Renee – probably sensing our tense atmosphere – and Draco instantly snapped out of his hiding place. "Ampa Rarlie!"
"Hey, Soldier. Gimme a hug!" Edward happily swung Draco into his Grandpa's arms. Renee watched the whole interaction with an unreadable expression on her face. I just hoped she was feeling regretful – missing all these years and having her own grandson scared to even look in her direction.
We all followed Charlie into the living room; I snagged the couch quickly before anyone else could and dragged Edward down next to me. "She's driving me insane." I whispered harshly. Edward took my hand and rubbed my knuckles.
"Just let her speak her peace, and don't feel forced to say anything if you don't want to." Not caring who saw, he reached over and kissed my forehead quickly; that simple movement worked wonders, more than I thought possible. Renee came through with a plate of simple chocolate biscuits – I wondered if she had brought them when she came over, because I can't remember Charlie buying biscuits just for the hell of it, especially when he lives here alone and wouldn't eat them.
Draco was talking animatedly in his Grandpa Rarlie's lap, saying something about Granny and Grandpa Cullen and a sock – whatever floats your boat, I guess. Draco being Draco, he soon got bored and shuffled down to play on the floor. Renee passed around the biscuits but no-one took one.
"Bella, is the little one allowed one?"
It won't hurt you to say his name, y'know.
"Yeah, that's fine."
She knelt down near to Draco and put out the plate. "Would you like a biscuit, dear?" Draco shied away and murmured in fear. I could tell he was about to cry.
"Mum, just leave it and he can take one if he wants one." The plate was placed on a small side table, at a reasonable height so Draco can snatch one if he wants to. Renee went back to her seat and the whole room fell into an uncomfortable silence. I didn't want to break it, and didn't have to, because Edward did the job for me, with the help of our son. Draco had made his way over to Edward's left leg and started playing with the bottom of his jeans. Every pair of eyes in this room was watching him.
"What are you doing, buddy?"
"Dad…dad…"
"Bella, honey, are you going to introduce him to me?" Will I go to Hell for saying that the sound of my mother's voice drives me crazy? She has known about a grandchild for almost three years, she has known about Draco for two, yet only now does she think it's time to meet him. I'd see myself as being a bad mother if I didn't introduce my child/children to all of their grandparents, but I'd also feel like a bad mother if I allowed them to have a bond with someone who could easily tune out and walk away from them – she did with me, so she can again.
"Why don't you tell me what you're here for, first? You have made no contact since finding out about my pregnancy, so you're not getting to hear about my son before you tell me everything." I made a fleeting glance towards Charlie, I could tell from his semi-smug look that he was happy with how I'm handling this, and is going to root towards me, and not his ex-wife.
Get Charlie on your side and you're off to a good start.
"Bella, baby, I missed you. Being a mother yourself, you have to realise how hard it is to be away from your child."
Is she seriously giving me this crap? Unbelievable…
"That's a little hypocritical of you, is it not? You find it hard to be away from me, yet that is exactly what you did? You stayed away, lost contact and hurt me. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I got pregnant, only once have I felt that scared…" now was not the time to tell her about Draco's traumatic birth. "Anyway, if Draco had been a girl, or if I have a daughter in the future, there is no-way I would have walked away whilst she is in such a vulnerable state. So tell me, apart from the apparent 'missing me', what else made you travel all the way over here; it's not like you popped out to get some milk."
Draco had seemingly become fed up with his father's leg and it was almost like he could sense the tense atmosphere and did his best to climb onto my lap for comfort. "Mumma…mumma baby," he mumbled, patting my flat stomach with both hands. Thankfully for me, no-one really took in what he was suggesting. Only Edward did and he already knew not to read into it further.
Renee rubbed her forehead, hunched her shoulders and squeezed her eyes shut. "I have been a terrible mother and I'll never get over how much damage I have done to our relationship. All I can say, I guess, is that I was angry that you followed in my footsteps and had a child so young – I wanted you to go to college, meet someone, bag a decent career and then have a child. I wasn't ready to become a grandmother, Bella."
"And you think Edward and I were ready to become parents? And for the records, we are doing just fine. Edward has a full-time job, I am studying English Literature," I counted all of these out on my fingers, "we live together and have learnt to put our differences aside and work as a team because that is what you do for your children; you should be there for them (physically and/or mentally) whenever they need you and love them unconditionally no-matter what crap they get themselves into." I felt the tell-tale sign of tears start to form under my eyelids, but I did what I could to bat them away.
Edward clasped my hand with his own and squeezed it lightly to remind me that he was there for me.
"Oh, Bella, I do love you and always will – no matter what silly things you have done or will do – I know I have messed up and that is why I am here now. I wanted to salvage whatever we had left, if anything. The damage I caused was far too great and it wasn't a case of phoning up and saying I was sorry, plus I thought you would make up some excuse if you knew I was heading over, so I went with the surprise tactic; if it turned out that you had left Forks and lived somewhere totally different I would have bullied the address out of Charlie and gone there as well." There was a small hint of humour lacing those final words, but we all knew fine well she indeed would 'bully the address out of Charlie'. "And I think about Draco a lot – what he may look like, which traits of yours have been inherited, he's general likes and dislikes. He is a gorgeous little boy, Bella, and he looks so much like you! The hair, the eyes, the button nose and even his face shape is slowly forming to look like you."
I wasn't happy that Renee completely left Edward out in that, I mean, what was left for him to claim? The ears and lips? "He is the spitting image of Edward actually – put a picture of him at that age next to Draco and you'd have a struggle working out who's who. Draco is very smart, chatty and the one thing he loves more than us two are his grandparents – he shouldn't grow up without knowing who you are or what role you play in his life, which is why I am willing for you to get to know him, but the ball is in your court; you have to make the first steps, mum, and only then can we move forward."
Her face lifted and eyes shone, a relieved smile broke out across her features. "That is all I am asking for – the chance to show you and have you realise how much this means to me. I know I live far away, but that doesn't mean I can't phone him."
Funny, you struggled to phone me…no, no I can't think negatively, especially not when we are trying to make amends.
I discussed briefly in my head, the best way to tell Draco who Renee was etc. and when I gathered his attention, he looked up at me with those heart breaking wide eyes. I put one hand over my heart and the other pointing out to my mother.
"Draco, this is my mummy. This is mummy's mummy."
"Mummma mummmma." He stared at Renee, still unsure of her presence.
"Yes, well done. This is your Grandma Renee."
"WEE-NEE!"
I bit down on my lips to stop myself from laughing. Yeah, he just implied that she's a dick.
If this was some Facebook status, I would end it with 'Laughing Out Loud', although, I wasn't actually laughing out loud…it's all very confusing.
"Grand-ma Ren-ay." I sounded each word out like I did when teaching him his name.
"N'ma Wee-nee."
"Clever boy. Who is that?" I pointed to Charlie.
"Ampa Rarlie!"
"And…who is that?"
"…Daaaddyyyy."
"Who am I?"
"Mummmma."
"And…who is this?" Nothing. He went completely blank. "Grand-ma Ren-ay."
"Mmmm'aeenee."
"You're getting there, buddy. Can you say Draco Cullen?"
"Dra-dra-dra-drahcolullen."
"Can I hold him?" Asked Renee.
I didn't have a problem with that, but if Draco didn't want to I wasn't going to make him. He isn't some baby that you can pass around like a joint at a party.
"Do you want to sit with Grandma Renee?"
Like always, Draco stared at Renee and edged closer to me for comfort. I expected that, he wasn't going to be all hugs and kisses five minutes after finding out she is his grandma.
"I think we should give him a bit of time to get used to you first, mum."
xxx
Surprisingly we stayed for a good few hours. Once the awkwardness wore off, the four of us started a decent conversation, even including Draco at some points, which made us either smile or laugh. Shortly after twelve, he dozed off in Edward's lap; I took that as our chance to leave. Edward took Draco to the car to give my mother and I some space to say goodbye.
"I was thinking Bella, maybe you should come to Florida this summer. I'm sure Draco would love to go to Disneyworld, see all his favourite characters, take him to the beach, and the chance to meet Phil, of course."
Of course he would love to go to Disneyworld; which child doesn't? "It sounds like a good idea, mum, but it'll be so expensive, flights there and back, tickets for all the attractions, as well as accommodation, I just think we should hold off for now and -."
"Oh don't worry about accommodation, you can stay with us! We still have your old bed set up in a guest bedroom, and, because it's a single and not a lot of room for the two of you, I'm sure we'll find a place for Draco to sleep."
Okay, now hold up a minute. I think you're forgetting something here. "And where would Edward stay? Squashed together in the bed with me?"
"Oh…I, er, didn't think he'd come along as well, dear."
Ha! Is she serious?
"And why not? I've told you this before, mum. The three of us are a family, and there is no way we're going on a family holiday if he isn't included. When are you flying back?"
"Tomorrow afternoon."
"Right, okay, erm, I'll talk this over with Edward and will give you an answer before then, is that okay?"
"Absolutely. Thank you for giving me this chance, Bella, I really hope we can work things out."
We hugged each other briefly, I could no longer feel that buzz I used to feel when hugging my mum and that saddened me. I wanted to get that back, because no matter what, she is still my mother and that bond will never completely break.
"Me too."
xxx
Edward and I talked that evening, once Draco had been put to bed. We discussed money issues, how much everything would cost and whether it would be worth paying to stay in a hotel or camp out with Renee and Phil. We both agreed that a holiday is probably what we both needed and after searching online and getting the average costs for everything, the total seemed daunting, but not as terrible as I had thought.
"I'll get two weeks off work during the summer," Edward started, "we could spend the first week in Florida, sunning ourselves and chasing a loud-mouthed, hyped up Draco around an amusement park, and the second week could be spent here, trying to unwind, and perhaps the odd day trip somewhere."
I liked that idea more than I cared to admit. "That does sound rather appealing, and I guess it would be better than staying here all summer…oh, alright then!"
Edward's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Yeah why not. What is that new, terrible, saying? You Only Live Once. We'll cry over our bank balance when we get back."
Taking my face in his hands, Edward kissed my lips with a loud 'mwah!'. "I knew you would succumb!"
I better look out my best dress, looks like we'll be dining with Minnie and Mickey this summer.
xxx
Yay for Disneyworld! Which will be the next chapter and, yes, I am about to pee myself with excitement. Or maybe I just need the toilet…okay Rosie, enough.
What did you think about Renee and her excuse? Was she a bitch, or no bitch?
See you all next time, and don't forget to rape that review button!
