Chapter 16 – RPOV
Today we had decided that, as we only had one day left with Savannah, we would take her to meet Emmett's parents Carlisle and Esme. They had wanted us to keep the baby, but no-one says no to my mother; so they too watched with tears in their eyes as our baby got taken away. However, now that we had her back, we thought it was a good idea to take her to meet them.
We hadn't told any of our families we had her back yet, as we didn't want to say until it became or didn't become a permanent feature. So, they were going to have a surprise when we turned up with their long lost granddaughter in tow.
On the morning of our visit I found Savannah lying on her bed with what looked like tears running down her face. I sat down and took her into my arms.
"Hey, baby girl, what's wrong?" I soothed, smoothing her hair.
"What if they don't like me?" she sobbed.
"They aren't anything like my mother and they wanted us to keep you," I reassured her.
"But what if I'm not what they expected? Times change, and with that people," she whispered.
"Darling, Esme is most like me on one aspect of life. You mention anything to do with babies or children and she's having an aneurism! I promise you they'll adore you," I told her.
"But I'm not a baby or a child Rose," she pointed out.
"Yes, but you're a grandchild," I stated.
"Don't they have enough already? What, there must be at least ten if you count Emmett's brother and sister," she replied.
"Actually princess, the twins are the only two they know about. Emmett's sister Jane was in a serious car accident when she was seventeen and she had to have an operation which has left her unable to have children, and she lives a wild lifestyle so probably wouldn't qualify for adoption. Emmett's brother Felix, however, is a different matter. You see, he tends to lean the other way, so there is no chance of him ever getting anyone pregnant. But he's one of the funniest and genuinely happy people ever. So you see, Em and I are their only hope," I explained.
"But, what about your brothers?" she said looking me in the eye.
"Although Edward and Jasper both get along with Emmett's family like a house on fire, their children will never mean the same to Esme and Carlisle as you and the twins do. So, stop searching for irrational reasons my darling," I said smiling down at her.
"So do your brothers have children then?"
"Yes, Jasper and his wife Maria have two rather energetic boys called Theo and Harry who are five and eight respectively. They have the tendency to destroy anything in their path, make a lot of noise and generally leave Maria stressed all the time. I'm so glad I never had boys."
"But what about your other brother? Edward?" she asked.
"Well, he and Tanya have a boy and a girl: George and Ella who are eight and twelve. He's the oldest of the three of us, so mother approved of him having Ella at his age. However, Tanya is pregnant once again and in fact her baby is due in two months. They're the cousins the twins prefer for obvious reasons, but the boys can have their moments of amusement," I told her.
"Can I meet them?"
"If you stay we'll arrange it I promise, but if you don't we can still try but I can't make any promises," I said, trying not to think about tomorrow.
She nodded and slid out of my arms:
"I suppose I should get ready then."
"That would be a good idea sweetie," I said before heading toward the door, "Come down for breakfast when you're done."
I walked down the stairs in deep thought about my brothers' children and how much they would love an older cousin, especially Ella who had so long been the eldest with no female companions apart from my two (Tanya was an only child), and they weren't exactly the right age. I was drawn back into reality when I hit something solid.
"Away with the fairies were we Rosie," Emmett asked chuckling.
"I was just thinking about how much Ella would love having Karlie as an older cousin after so long," I told him.
"I can just imagine her face," he said nodding, "She'd be enthralled and probably thank us forever for giving her this gift."
"Well maybe not to that extreme, but she would love it, you're right," I agreed as the twins came bouncing down the stairs.
"Mama what are we having for breakfast?" Alice squealed.
"Just toast or cereals as we're going to Nanny and Grandpa's today and you know how much Nanny will cook," I said as a look of remembering came into their faces.
"Yay! We're going to Grandpa and Nanny's," they shouted, dancing around the hall.
"Yes, so you'd better not eat too much now," Emmett warned.
"Will Uncle Felix be there?" Jess asked us.
"No baby, I think it will just be us, so no Auntie Jane or Uncle Marcus either," I replied.
We had wanted it to be just us, so that neither set of siblings got to meet her before the grandparents or each other. Talking on the phone to my brothers was really hard to do without mentioning Savannah. It was like one of those games where you can't answer yes or no to a question. It's actually quite hard.
An hour later, we were all sat in the car with the music on, driving along the motorway on the way to Esme and Carlisle's.
"Mummy, has Karlie met Nanny and Grandpa before?" Alice asked from the backseat.
"Yes honey, once when she was born. But not for a long time, so they might not recognise her. And Alice, can you please stop kicking my chair. I know you're excited, but if you could keep your legs still for the rest of the journey it would be greatly appreciated."
"Daddy I can see their house," Jessica screamed pointing down the road we were travelling.
"Yes my lovely ladies, we have arrived."
And with that, Emmett stopped the car in the driveway. Like our house, Esme and Carlisle's was big enough for the entire family to stay in, but small enough for them to still feel like a family. The back garden was full of hills unlike ours, so ever since any of the children could speak it had been known as Teletubby land.
"Nanny!" both twins screamed as Esme appeared at the front door.
They both struggled out of their seats and ran up the drive towards her. I caught Karlie's eye in the mirror and smiled at her:
"You ready?"
"As I'll ever be," she replied as we got out of the car simultaneously.
"Rose darling, how are you?" Esme asked as we approached, "Ah and I see you've brought a friend along. She looks like... no it can't be, can it?"
I smiled at her and she put her hand to her mouth before turning around.
"Carlisle, come out here now," she shouted into the house.
"Rosalie Lillian Hale McCarty, to think that just this morning we were on the phone and you never mentioned a thing! How long have you had her back?" she exclaimed.
"Two weeks," I replied as Carlisle came into view.
"Rose, you look divine, and Esme dear why did you want me," he stopped as he saw my daughter.
"Savannah, is that you?" he asked as much to me as to her.
"Yes, I'm Savannah Karlie Rose McCarty; your granddaughter," she stated simply.
Esme pulled her into a tight embrace as she sobbed and Carlisle stood there looking dumbfounded.
"Emmett, why didn't we know about this?" he asked his son as he came out from the house.
"Rosie and I wanted it to be a surprise," he said patting his father on the back.
Carlisle gently eased his wife's arms off their granddaughter and held her at arm's length, studying her as though he couldn't quite believe it.
"Well, this was unexpected, but I'm so glad to have you back," he said hugging her to him, "Did your parents tell you that we never wanted to see you go?"
"Yes they did," my daughter replied.
"Come on Mummy! Look what we've found!"
The squeals of pleasure from the girls brought us out of our little bubble of being reunited and we all walked into the house; Savannah's hand enclosed in Esme's.
"What is it angels?" I asked.
"Nanny brought us a new Barbie each," Alice told us waving a plastic box in front of my face.
"I didn't know you'd be here or I'd have got you one too," I heard Esme tell Karlie who replied that she didn't mind.
The oven beeped then and excusing herself, Esme ran into the kitchen to see what was going on.
I followed as I could see she wanted to know all the details and Carlisle had already taken Karlie up to his office, where he kept many treasures that Ariel would probably even be jealous of.
"Would you like some help?" I asked entering the pristine kitchen.
"Yes, I would love it," Esme replied, "Would you see if the carrots are ready yet?"
"Go on, I know its killing you: ask away," I prompted.
"When did it happen?"
"Two weeks ago, I was clearing out the attic when I came across the box of her stuff we'd put up there, and the memories came flooding back. Then, when Emmett arrived home he had the ingenious idea of visiting the home we'd left her in, so we did and someone must have been looking down at us as there she was. Waiting. But, we took her home on a trial and to begin with she hated me. I mean she wouldn't look me in the eye or even speak a civil word towards me, but she came to work with me and I told her the story of my mother. Since then, her whole attitude towards me has changed but we can't be sure: tomorrow will be the decider," I told my eager audience.
"Why tomorrow?"
"Our trial ends, the blood tests come in and we make the final decision about whether we are keeping her or not as she gets fifty percent of the decision," I said.
"I hope for all our sakes, but specifically yours and Emmett's that she does say yes," Esme told me before both twins bounced into the room.
"Nanny, Daddy's eaten all the crisps," Jessica whined.
"Your father! What shall we do with him hey? Emmett McCarty come here now," she demanded, mocking annoyance.
"Yes mother," Emmett said sheepishly.
"How dare you eat all the crisps!" she exclaimed to the girls delight, "You'll just have to go into the cupboard over there and get some more out then won't you."
"Yes, he will but none for Daddy," Alice continued.
"Of course, that's right Alice. If your father eats so much as one, he won't be having any of my chocolate fudge cake for pudding," Esme told them, knowing exactly what reaction it would bring.
"Chocolate fudge cake!" the twins and Emmett shouted, their eyes growing round in wonder.
I saw Esme roll her eyes at me, and I laughed before whispering:
"Your chocolate fudge cake is delicious. I'd be screaming where I not more mature than the three children."
"I'm not a child," Emmett pouted.
"Yes you are. You're a big baby, but that's why I love you," I said wrapping my arms around his waist.
"Alright, no signs of extreme affection in my kitchen please," Esme joked.
"Esme sweetheart, is lunch nearly ready?" Carlisle called from upstairs.
"Yes, a few minutes more and we'll be done. I would appreciate the help were it on offer," she called back.
I heard the creak of the stairs as Carlisle and Karlie walked down them, still having a fully fledged conversation about something which they were both thoroughly enjoying.
"So, you're saying that: if we went far enough back on our family tree, we are related to the royal family," Savannah asked curiously.
"Yes, though it is a long process of elimination that would probably see us in line for the throne, but quite a long way down it," Carlisle explained.
"Not that again Carlisle, you're probably boring the poor girl," Esme chided softly.
"No, it's really quite fascinating. I would have said something was it not," Savannah promised.
Emmett and Carlisle chuckled as Esme started to hand out plates of food to everyone.
"Now remember girls, don't eat too much of your main course that you're so full and can't eat your pudding," I warned them and they nodded in response.
"Savannah darling, here's yours. The dining room is just through those doors there my dear," Esme said passing her a plate of food.
"Thank-you uh Nanny," Savannah said sounding unsure.
If the smile on Esme's face was anything to go by, Savannah had just made her the happiest woman on the planet. It was only right for me to be a bit envious; I mean I was her mother and it had taken more than a week for her to warm to me. Esme gets affection after about an hour.
The whole meal went splendidly, and I could see an instant grandfather to granddaughter bond between Carlisle and Savannah already forming. If she wants to stay, those two will be as thick as thieves. I don't know what it is about Carlisle, he's so bubbly and warm; all children instantaneously love him whether they're six or sixteen. They love Esme too, but she's so maternal I think her appeal is more to the younger children. I can't see Savannah wanting Little Red Riding Hood read to her before bedtime. But maybe she'll prove me wrong.
It was six o'clock when we finally bid our farewells, full of chocolate fudge cake and genuine happiness. Both twins fell asleep instantaneously, but Karlie sat there. Absorbed in her own thoughts. She had a difficult decision to make tomorrow, whereas Emmett and I knew exactly what ours was. I hope she wants to stay with us forever: it would change my life for the better.
Thank-you for reading once again! I WENT TO THE HARRY POTTER WORLD PREMIERE ON THURSDAY NIGHT! It was amazing, and we were invited to the after party where we met Rupert Grint and Helena Bonham Carter – they were absolutely lovely! Sadly, we had to leave early though as we had school and swimming the next morning, so I never got to meet Emma Watson or Daniel Radcliffe. You can PM me and ask me any questions you like about it if you want: I don't bite and would love to talk about it!
Hope you enjoyed this, nearly decision time! XxX