Chapter Eight: "The Family" Edward's POV

Emmy and I were a bit bored the day after our big snow day with Bella and Emerson. The inevitable Washington rain had washed away all traces of the once-beautiful snow. It was still raining outside, so we had to stay indoors. Emmy played quietly in the floor with her Barbie doll and Ken doll—yes, she only had one of each—and carefully arranged the perfect wedding for them. I kicked back on the couch with a tattered copy of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It had been a favorite of mine since junior year in high school.

However, my mind kept wandering back to Bella.

"What are you reading, Daddy?" Emmy asked conversationally. As silly as it sounds, it was a bit of a relief to hear her speak. Her chatterbox had been mostly silent all day, probably from boredom and exhaustion from yesterday.

"Brave New World. It's about the future," I explained.

"Can you read it to me?"

I snorted. "Uh, it's not exactly appropriate for a five-year-old. Plus I think you would find it boring. It's about the government."

She crinkled up her nose. Politics was a frequent topic at my parents' dinner table, but Emmy wasn't particularly interested yet. Which was good—she was already filling her little brain up with scientific facts, my worries over money, and plans for a real-life Jurassic Park. She didn't need to implode her brain with the national debt and the debate on stem-cell research.

My phone rang then. Immediately hoping it was Bella, I leapt off the couch and tripped over the ottoman as I ran to retrieve it. Emmy giggled and called me "Grace"—the name my sister's boyfriend called her whenever she tripped.

But it wasn't Bella calling. It was my mom. "Hey," I answered it, a bit disappointed.

"You sound morose," she observed.

"I'm bored."

She laughed lightly. "Can I come over and use your oven? Mine quit working this morning. Carlisle is getting it fixed today so our Thanksgiving won't be ruined, but I want to get a head start with casseroles."

"Of course," I said. "I bet Emmy would love to help."

"Ooh, great idea! I'll be there in a few minutes! Love you!"

Leave it to Esme Cullen to assure me of her love when she was going to see me within fifteen minutes.

After I hung up, I went and tidied up the kitchen, clearing counter space for her. "Grandma is coming over," I told Emmy after poking my head in the living room.

"Yay!" she said happily, changing her Barbie out of a wedding dress and into a pink one. "Daddy, why doesn't my Barbie have any bridesmaids?"

I sighed quietly. "Because bridesmaids are expensive, Ems. I'll try to buy you a new Barbie for Christmas, but I can't make any promises. You still want that pair of roller skates, don't you?"

She nodded eagerly.

"I'm trying," I told her simply.

"I know you are, Daddy," she said softly. "I didn't mean to make you upset."

"I wish I could buy you more toys," I replied. "But we're doing just fine. You have a full belly and a clothed body and a daddy who loves you more than his own life. That's all you really need."
My mom entered the living room then, and Emmy immediately brightened up. "Hey, Grandma!" she exclaimed, running to hug my mother's legs.

"Hello my darling," my mom greeted her, kissing the top of her head. "Do you want to help me in the kitchen?"

"Yeah!"

"Clean up your mess," I told my daughter gently before going to the kitchen with my mom. "Oh, Mom, I have some snow day pictures for you and Dad. Some rather good ones, actually."

"Would they make cute Christmas cards?"

"I think they would. I'll be right back."

I ran and rifled through the new prints, picking out the absolute best ones. After I made copies of them, I went back to the kitchen, where Emmy was blabbering like the chatterbox everyone knew.

"And then we built a snowman!" she was saying. "Emerson wanted to name him some silly name, and I tried to name him Lillian—Lily for short—but Daddy said his name was George. Isn't that a goofy name for a snowman? Have you ever met a snowman named George, Grandma?"

"I met one named Frosty," Mom said lightly before turning to me with wide eyes. "Who is Bella, Edward?"

"Emerson's mom," Emmy explained. "Emerson is my new friend."

I cringed. "Emmy, have you been talking Grandma's ear off?"

"She has," Mom said dryly, her green eyes studying me carefully. "And I've heard a lot about a woman named Bella."

"Emmy, will you go make sure the front door is locked?" I asked my daughter.

"Sure, Daddy!" She ran down the hallway.

"Bella is a friend," I said lamely, leaning against the counter.

Mom snickered. "Darling, you're blushing. Bella is so much more than a friend! How have I not heard about this?"

"Because I've known her for two weeks," I replied, fighting the urge to roll my eyes.

My mom suddenly jumped up and down, squealing. "Invite her to Thanksgiving dinner! Please, love, please!"

I laughed. "Mom, calm down. We're not serious at all. Our kids just play together. And she is spending Thanksgiving with her father."

"Then invite her over for Sinterklaas!" Mom begged. "Please, Edward? This makes me so excited!"

I placed my hands on her small shoulders. "Mom, don't make a big deal out of this. Don't jinx it for me."

"Tell me everything about her," Mom begged, guiding me to the kitchen table. The casseroles were already forgotten.

I sighed, rolling my eyes. I didn't care if Mom was annoyed by that. "She's twenty-one, single, and has a five-year-old son named Emerson. She's beautiful, a fantastic mother, and she's adorable in just about every way possible. We hang out together when our kids have play dates. You're blowing things wildly out of proportion."

"How did you meet her? Is her son in Emmy's class?"

I shook my head. "No, we met at the playground, and then had a chance encounter in Wal-Mart that led to an ice cream outing."

There was something dreamy in my mother's eyes. "Can we please meet her? Soon? Sinterklaas, maybe?"

I bit my lip. "You, Dad, and Alice are only going to scare her away with your enthusiasm, nosy questions, and tendencies to over-share."

"We'll behave ourselves," Mom promised me. "I have to meet this girl. December fifth, Edward. Maybe they could spend the night since it's a Friday…it could be a lot of fun! Think of how her son would love the shoe game!"

I sighed as I considered this. Sinterklaas, also known as December 5-6, was a favorite Cullen holiday. My father's Dutch grandmother had always celebrated with him when they lived in London, and he continued the tradition with his children. Basically, on December 5, children are supposed to leave their shoes by the fireplace and Santa Claus would come and leave candy in their shoes for them to find the next morning. However, my mother and father had blown the whole holiday up into something bigger. We always had a feast on the fifth much like Christmas dinner. The whole family—Dad, Mom, me, Emmy, Alice, and her boyfriend Jasper—would spend the night and we would all "magically" have candy in our shoes. I thought that twenty-two was a bit old to play "the shoe game" but Mom and Dad even left their shoes out, even though they were the ones to fill them with the candy.

I had to admit that it sounded fun. Emerson would probably love it, and it would be a fun way for Bella to meet my family. However, my family could be extremely overbearing and nosy.

Plus I had no idea how Bella would react to spending the night in a stranger's house. We had only known each other for two weeks, after all.

"Let me think about it," I sighed to Mom. "I don't know about the spending the night thing. Maybe we should cut it short to December fifth this year."

"You're a tactful man," she said, grinning a bit wickedly. "You'll figure it out."

"Thanks."

"So have you kissed her yet?" Mom asked me, leaning forward in her chair, resting her delicate manicured hands on her knees.

"I'm not discussing this," I replied, going to the refrigerator.

"Wait, is that her?" Mom gasped, pointing to the fridge door.

I snickered and plucked the picture of us off the refrigerator. "Behold the woman you're going to scare away permanently."

Mom examined the picture carefully. "She's beautiful, Edward."

"I know," I replied quietly, a silly, goon-ish grin on my face. I couldn't quite wipe it off.

"And she looks so happy with you."

"Two weeks, Mom," I rolled my eyes. "We haven't had enough time to be 'with' each other."

"I bet you have kissed her," Mom teased me, still looking at the picture.

I felt the tops of my ears grow red.

Emmy then ran into the kitchen, her pink polka-dotted apron tied crookedly on her little body. "Who did you kiss, Daddy?" she asked, a bit horrified.

I scooped her up and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Only you," I fibbed before blowing a raspberry on her throat. "You're my little lady."

"Emmy, would you like to have Emerson and Bella over to Grandma's house for Sinterklaas?" Mom asked casually and devilishly.

My little girl suddenly started to bounce in my arms. "Yes! Oh, please, Daddy? I'll call Emerson right now!"

I laughed. "You don't have a phone, and neither does Emerson. Let me think about it, love."

Emmy suddenly widened her green eyes and started to bat her eyelashes. "Daddy," she said softly, sticking her lip out. "It could be so much fun. I never get to have friends over."

Dang that pout she had picked up from Mom and Alice. In the Cullen family, the women always got their way. Dad, Jasper, and I were putty in their capable hands.

I sighed and surrendered. Totally pleased with themselves, Mom and Emmy began to cook together.

I went in the living room and tried to figure out how to justify meeting my family to a girl I had known for half a month.

I know, it was short. Forgive me.

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