A/N: Technically, when I posted this, it was Wednesday : ). It's Christmas in April, and I hope you enjoy it.
No copyright infringement on Ms. Meyer whatsoever.
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17.
"Okay, remember, we have to keep the secret until everyone gets here," Edward announced to mostly Jax who was bouncing off the walls. The girls looked adorable in their dresses, and they'd both helped me make two lasagnas and salad. We were all excited and we'd been practicing how the girls would tell the grandparents about the engagement.
Edward and I had actually slipped upstairs while the two of them were coloring in a Christmas coloring book to give pictures to the grandparents to mark the occasion. I didn't appreciate him cupping his hand over my mouth as he fucked me against the closet wall, but he reminded me that any sound from me would bring the two of them running, so I didn't bitch too much.
Of course, Chelsea's pictures were lovely. She loved painting, coloring, and had a real flare for all things artistic. I was determined that we'd get her an art kit for Christmas, and we'd nurture her love of painting because she was quite gifted.
Jax's pictures were…uh…colorful. My daughter had her own vision, which wasn't at all a surprise to any of us as we looked at a very suntanned Santa for the picture she was going to give to Billy. She stated that it was the same color as Big Pop's skin, so we all just laughed and let her go.
When the doorbell rang, the girls began to giggle with excitement. "You two are awful at secrets," I teased as I buttered the garlic bread.
"Mom, your ring," Chelsea reminded.
"Crap. Dad said I can't take it off. What should I do?" I asked like the eight-year old would have insight that clearly I didn't in that moment.
"Oven mitt?" she offered. The child was a genius. I slipped one on and continued with what I was doing.
I heard my parents greeting Edward, and Jax did as well because she grabbed Chelsea's hand and pulled her along. "Come on. They got Big Pop," she announced. My parents had gone to Port Angeles to get Billy. He was spending the weekend at their place, and I was excited to see him.
"Be careful with her," I warned Jax as she dragged Chelsea out of the kitchen. I could only shake my head.
A minute later, Billy rolled into the kitchen with Jax on one leg and Chelsea on the other. "It seems that I have two lovely young girls who wanted to go for a ride. How are you, daughter?" he asked as he smirked at me. He knew the news we were going to share because Edward had actually called him and asked him about it, which only served to make me smile.
I walked over to him and kissed his cheek, pulling first Jax, then Chelsea, from his lap. "Ladies, give me a minute to talk to Big Pop," I instructed. They both left and I smiled at Billy. He actually looked happy, which made me happy.
"So, how's the apartment?" I asked as I went back to what I was doing.
"It's great. The little gal who cleans on Wednesdays is gorgeous," he replied with a laugh. I cackled with him, and it only brought my dad into the kitchen.
"Bells, is Jax high on candy? She's geared up more than usual," he observed as he kissed my cheek. I looked at Billy, and we both laughed.
"She's always geared up about something. So, Dad, have you seen this housekeeper of Billy's?" I teased.
"Oh, Siobhan? Yeah. She's real cute. She's what? Forty?" Dad asked. Well, considering that Billy was fifty-six, nearly fifty-seven, I supposed a forty-year old woman would be a cute little gal.
"I'm telling," I teased as I spread the cheese on the bread and discreetly pulled off the oven mitt just as the doorbell rang.
"You tell your mother I said that and I'll tell Edward about the time that you fell into the mud at the lake because you were looking for Bigfoot," Dad threatened.
I'd forgotten about it. I was all of about nine, and my dad and Billy had told Jacob and me that Bigfoot was in the woods. We were getting out of the boat and Jacob yelled, 'there he is' and I slipped and went face first into the mud, mouth open. Of course, I puked and they laughed at me. My dad actually made me get into the water at the lake to keep from getting mud inside his cruiser. I decided he was mean, and I refused to speak to him, Jacob, and Billy for three days.
"That holds no power over me, old man. I'll tell Mom about the porn stash in the garage. Now, get everyone drinks since you're in here," I ordered. I heard the doorbell, and the girls squealed so I knew it was Esme and Carlisle. I slipped my hand into the pocket of my jeans and went to greet them.
"It's good to see you," I told them as I hugged the two of them with my right arm. They both hugged me back, and I could see the two girls vibrating in the background.
We ushered everyone into the living room, and Edward walked over to the keyboard that he'd set up in the corner. They'd practiced it all afternoon, and I was excited.
"Grandparents, the girls have a little song they'd like to sing before we have dinner," he announced. He ran his skilled fingers over the keys and played an intro. It was the music to "All I Want for Christmas," but the three of them had changed the words. I stood in the back with a camera because it was a sight I wanted to capture for posterity, so I stood still and watched them, ready to begin snapping pictures around the room once the sentiment sunk in.
All we want for Christmas is a mom and dad
A mom and dad
A mom and dad
All we want for Christmas is a mom and dad
And we're lucky 'cause our wish came true
As the three of them had choreographed, I walked over to the bench where Edward sat and wrapped my arms around his neck making sure that my left hand was very much in view. We both heard the gasps and he rose from the seat, pulling me into his arms and kissing me sweetly.
When we broke apart, the moms were crying and the dads were smiling, all three of them. We walked over to our family and hugged everyone, sharing tears and laughs and a lot of love, which only made me cry harder, especially when I saw that Edward was talking to Billy, and he seemed to be very happy with the news.
"I'm very, very happy about this," I heard Billy tell my father as they all hugged each other. That made me very, very happy about it because he was Jacob's father, and hell, I couldn't imagine anyone in his position being happy about it, but apparently, he and Edward had come to some sort of understanding which I'd find out about later.
We all settled into dinner, and I was grateful that no one was pressing us about wedding plans because I truly had no ideas about it. I just wanted to get through the holidays and the move. I didn't want to have to start worrying about flowers and tulle and food and guest lists. I knew there was no way that Esme Cullen would let us get by with what Jacob and I had done which was elope, but I didn't want a big production, so at the end of the night when she and Mom told me that we were going to have lunch on Friday, I knew what it was going to be about, and I wasn't looking forward to it.
The next day, we called our friends and told them about it, and I invited Rosalie and Alice to lunch on Friday, having filled them in on what I wanted for a wedding and hoping I had some cover with them. They were my friends, and I was certain that they'd help…at least I prayed they would.
##
"Jesus Christ, baby," Edward gasped as he moved off of me catching his breath. Yeah, we'd really done it up right that night. It was the middle of December, and we'd put up the tree and sent the girls to bed. Jax and I were moved in, and we were all living together. We'd had one round of sex on the couch with the lights on the tree providing the glow after we'd sent the girls to bed that Saturday night and made certain they were asleep.
Once we'd finished our wine, we went upstairs to our bedroom and went in for round two which began with me on my knees sucking his glorious cock. He stopped me and pulled me up, tossing me on the bed and jumping in next to me, wasting no time fucking me. We enjoyed our sex life just like two newly engaged people should.
"Dr. Cullen, is there a problem?" I asked as I snuggled into him, preparing myself to sleep in the wet spot. I'd sleep in the wet spot forever as long as I got to sleep next to him.
"A problem? Not at all. I'm just feeling all of my thirty-one, nearly thirty-two years. We need to talk about the fact that you're twenty-five and I'm almost thirty-two," he answered as he turned to face me, pulling my right leg up over his hip.
I'd turned twenty-five in the fall, and Jax was going to be four in February, and Chelsea would be nine in April. I wasn't sure what was on his mind, but the fact that he had just made my eyes roll back in my fucking head certainly made me give him my full attention.
"Okay, you've got the floor. I'm listening," I teased. He chuckled as he moved my hair off my face and smiled at me.
"I love you more than I ever thought myself capable, and I've got to ask you something. We've kind of joked about it and skirted around it, but I really want to hear your thoughts on the matter. We have the girls, and I love them both, but would you ever entertain the idea that we could have a baby together?" he asked. I was glad that the light was still on and the bedroom door was locked because I wanted to jump him again when he talked like that.
I took a deep breath because it was a subject I was very interested in discussing, but I didn't want to put the cart before the horse. We were just starting out and I was happy about it, but I really wanted to have another child, and I wanted it with him more than I wanted to breathe.
Our girls were wonderful and I loved them both unconditionally, and I was looking forward to a Christmas like I had when I was a child, but having a baby with Edward, a child that would be a combination of the two of us? God, I wanted it more than anything.
"Would I ever entertain the idea? You tell me when you want to start, and I'll call my gyno and get my IUD removed the next day," I answered. He laughed, and I knew why he laughed because he'd chosen his specialty and it was going to be OB/GYN.
He liked the OB part of it a lot more than the GYN part of it, but that was his choice. He loved delivering babies, and I had a very bad feeling that we wouldn't just be having one baby because, well, it turned out that Edward loved babies.
He'd confessed that he was a cuddler in the nursery at the hospital when he was on duty. He'd go into the nursery and rock babies and hold babies and cuddle babies and help feed babies, and I could most certainly tell that he had baby fever. I was pretty sure that it wouldn't go away, and I was sure we'd end up with ten kids because he loved kids, much like I did.
"You know, love, I can take it out," he announced. Okay, that was just a little creepy to me, and I pushed off of him and went to the bathroom.
When I came back out, I laid out a boundary. "I'll go to Dr. Hannigan to take care of it. I know you look at a lot of pussy every day, but we've gotta really keep that separate from our sex life. I love you, but I can't dwell on your specialty, okay?" I asked as I slipped back into bed.
"I never asked you before I chose it. Does it bother you?" he asked as he pulled me onto his chest and wrapped his arms around me. Did it bother me? Not in the big picture if I just thought about him delivering babies, but when I thought about the GYNO part of his practice, it kind of did, but I wasn't going to become the simpering, jealous wife.
He was a doctor and I was certain that he could keep his job separate from his home life, but he was a good looking guy…to say the least…and I knew women came onto him all the time. The fact that they'd be doing it naked was what bothered me.
"Well, I'm okay with the OB part of your specialty. The GYNO part bothers me a bit. I mean, you're not going to get tired of seeing…you know…pussy, right? You know what they say about a carpenter having the most rundown house on the block?" I asked sheepishly.
Hey, I thought it was a legitimate question at the time. I worked with fabrics and paint, and I didn't want to sleep with that shit so maybe he would start to feel the same way about pussy.
"Isabella, I promise you that I only chose my profession based on the fact that I love delivering babies. The gynecological part of the practice is out of necessity to provide a full-service practice with Jasper. I don't see my patients as sexual. It's clinical, I swear.
"Now, when I get you naked, that's a completely different story. You're going to be my wife, and I want children with you. Before Chels had her appendicitis attack, I'd considered Peds but I'm not strong enough to deal with sick children like Jasper can. I learned that lesson the hard way.
"I'm the guy who wants to give the good news that there's a baby on the way and sit with the new parents when they hear the heartbeat for the first time. I promise you, I can separate our love life from my profession," he explained.
Well, I could live with that. Hell, someone had to deliver babies and if it was what he wanted to do, I'd be supportive. I loved him so much and hell, if he was a gynecologist, he'd know the female anatomy better than anyone, and I knew what the man could do to me in bed so I wasn't going to complain.
"I love you, and I'm really fine about it. It just kinda freaks me out some of the time, but I'm fine. So…a baby?" I asked, changing the subject somewhat.
"Oh, yes, one of many, I hope. I know we haven't talked about how big we want our family to be, but I'd love to have more than one with you," he answered as he stroked his hand up my naked thigh.
More than one meant more than three kids. Could I handle more than three? Chelsea was going to be nine in April, Jax would be four in February, and he wanted to start a family right away. Was I ready? Hell, I believed I was.
"Okay. I'll call my doctor and get the IUD removed after the first of the year, and we can start trying if you want to. We actually need to set a wedding date, you know. We might be getting ahead of ourselves," I joked.
"Fuck it all, we can get married tomorrow if you want. If you want a big wedding since you didn't have one with Jacob, I'm fine with that," he answered.
A big wedding? Well, I wasn't the virgin bride so I didn't see white in my future, but the opportunity for my father to walk me down an aisle to the man I loved was too tempting. Jake and I had gone against our families because they thought we were too young, but I wasn't too young any longer, and I wanted a little bit of a big deal about the fact that I was tying myself to a wonderful man for the rest of my life, God willing.
"I don't want a big wedding, but I want a wedding. Maybe just our families and our friends?" I asked.
"That's fine. When?" he asked. I could feel him hard against my knee so I knew we were going in for round three, and I didn't hate the idea at all.
"We'll figure out the time and place. I'll make it work, I promise," I answered as I climbed on top of his hard body, kissing his soft lips. I moved to his jaw and down his neck, smelling his scent, which completely drove me insane. There was a lot to be said for pheromones, and he had them and they drove me crazy.
I moved down his body, sweeping my tongue around first one nipple and then the other before he pulled me up to his mouth and kissed me solidly. God, he was so fucking good at kissing. He was so good at it that I lost the ability to speak or think. That wouldn't bode well for me in the future if I couldn't hold my own against him, but at that moment, I didn't give a crap.
I plunged myself down on top him and began to move as I continued to kiss his lips, jaw and neck. "God, baby, you're so tight," Edward whispered as I moved harder on top of him, feeling my clit brush against his happy trail, providing an incredible sensation that was driving me out of my mind.
"Jesus hell, I think I'm about to come again," I whispered loudly. He pulled me down and kissed me passionately on the lips, probably to shut me up, and I felt my body explode around him. Once I'd ridden…literally…out my orgasm, he flipped us over and continued stroking in and out of me at a fast pace.
Several minutes later, he sucked my left nipple into his mouth and moaned loudly, causing me to come again. I felt him twitch inside me and knew that he, too, had enjoyed the encounter as much as I had.
After a few minutes of sweet kisses and tender caresses, he moved off of me and lied down on his side next to me, running a finger down my nose as I tried to catch my breath. "Trust me love, I will never, as long as I draw a breath, tire of showing you how much I love you. You mean everything to me," he whispered against my shoulder as he pulled the covers over us. A lifetime of love with Edward Cullen and our two girls and whatever other children we were lucky to have together? Oh, yeah, I could definitely get used to it.
##
"Jacqueline Renee! Get away from that Christmas tree or I'm going to make you sit in a time out," I yelled. It was Christmas Eve afternoon, and Edward and Chelsea had gone to the store to pick up more wrapping paper. Jax was supposed to be coloring a picture as her gift to Chelsea, but I kept hearing the little bell that I'd put on the tree as an ornament ring, which meant that she was rooting under the tree again. That little bell was ingenious, and I owed it to my mother for giving me the idea.
Chelsea and I had put together four photo albums for Esme and Carlisle for Christmas. Edward was really sweet when he asked me if it bothered me that there were pictures of him, Gianna, and Chelsea in one of them, and I explained to him that it was a part of his life that was deserving of being memorialized. He then insisted that I include pictures of Jake and me and Jax and me, turning my own words back on me.
Unbeknownst to Chelsea, I'd made copies of the photos of her with her parents when she was a baby, and I put them into a photo album for her very own. When she'd looked at the pictures the first time, my heart melted as I watched her trace Gianna's young face.
I knew that it was a part of her life that she didn't remember at all, but that didn't mean that it should be forgotten. I'd encouraged Edward to tell her about her mother as often as he could because I felt the child deserved to know that she was truly loved and cherished by her biological mother just as much as me.
"When will they get back?" Jax asked from the doorway of the kitchen as I finished the potato casserole I'd made for dinner. We had a pre-cooked, honey-glazed ham that I was going to heat just before dinner, but I made the remainder of the sides after a family vote.
Edward had begged for a pumpkin cheesecake, so I asked Rosalie to give me the recipe as a Christmas gift. Bless her secretive heart…she made me two cheesecakes instead of divulging her secret recipe. I didn't really mind because it was one less thing I had to make.
"They should be back soon. Did you finish the picture so we can put it in the frame? After they get back, I'll help you wrap it," I told her.
"When can we open pwesents?" she whined as she pulled the step stool over to the counter to see what I was doing.
I sighed because I'd been answering the question all day long, and I was truly exhausted. "As I've told you ten times already, you can open one gift from Daddy and me tonight, and then tomorrow morning before we go to Nana's house, we'll open the rest of the gifts and whatever Santa brings, if he even bothers to come because really, you're not being a good girl," I chastised.
"AM TOO!" Jax yelled just as I heard the garage door. I was thanking God for reinforcements, whoever the hell they were.
I heard Chelsea's laughter as the back door opened, and I wanted to hug her because I knew she'd occupy Jax so I could finish what I needed to do that afternoon. I still had to make sides to take to Esme and Carlisle's house. My parents and Billy were actually invited as well, and I was quite pleased that both sides of the family got along so well.
"What's the yelling about?" Edward asked as he stepped inside with two shopping bags which earned him a cocked eyebrow from me. There were presents hidden all over the house for the girls, and based on the bags, I assumed he'd bought more. We'd be there most of Christmas Day with all of the packages that there were to open.
"Momma says I'm a bad girl and Santa won't come. He'll come, right Daddy?" she asked with that tilt of her head that made the man melt into a puddle every time she leveled it at him. She had that man so wrapped around her finger, it was pathetic.
"Oh, of course he'll come. Have you been bothering Mom?" he asked as he took off his coat and tossed it over a chair. He walked to where she was standing on the stool and picked her up, giving her the usual smacking kiss which caused her adorable giggle to fill the room.
"I bet she was in the presents," Chelsea called from the living room, having taken one of the bags with her when she left the room. I walked to the doorway and saw that anything that didn't have Jax's name on it had been shoved over in front of the fireplace. The only packages under the tree were the ones with her name printed on the tag. I shook my head because it was the third time she'd pulled the stunt.
I turned to look at her, seeing her little hand wrapped in the back of Edward's hair with her head on his shoulder, giving me the biggest, saddest pout I'd ever seen in my life. Edward was fighting hard not to laugh. "Young lady, you know where to go. I told you not to do it again because if we happened to have a fire in the fireplace, a spark could accidentally catch the packages on fire and maybe burn the house down. I'll set the timer, and when it goes off, you will put everything back the way it was," I ordered.
Of course, the little villain turned to Edward and gave him the head tilt. Unfortunately for Jax, my head tilt was far more effective on him because it came with consequences that my horny fiancé didn't want to suffer.
"Um, sweetheart, go to the bench. I don't think Mom's in the mood to compromise today. After your punishment, you can help me wrap a gift I bought for Mom, okay? You can be my helper, but you've got to keep the secret," he conspired with her, knowing that she loved having secrets with him.
"Fine!" she humphed before she stomped off into the hallway to the time-out bench. I was thanking my lucky starts that it was still an effective means of punishment.
The first time I put her there and announced it was to be the time-out bench, Edward, the ass, sat in front of her and talked to her the whole time. It took a while for it to sink in that she was his favorite person in the world and that him keeping her company when she was in trouble wasn't exactly punishment.
She was being punished for taking a Sharpie to one of his illustrated medical journals that she deemed was a coloring book. He wasn't very happy about it because it had been a gift from Carlisle and Esme when he graduated from medical school, but he didn't want to punish her because "she just didn't know."
When I explained to him that she understood that she wasn't to take other people's things and that markers and crayons were only used in coloring books or on plain paper, he finally relented that perhaps a lesson needed to be taught. Sitting with her for the three-and-a-half minutes and telling her that he was sorry she was being punished undermined the punishment a little bit.
"What's this gift? I thought we weren't exchanging gifts?" I asked. We'd made the agreement that with the wedding expenses, we weren't going to buy gifts for each other. If he'd reneged, I wouldn't have the opportunity to get anything for him, and I was pissed about it.
"It's a set of collapsible, silicone measuring cups that I saw at the store. You mentioned you wanted them, and I saw them so I was just going to give them to you, but if wrapping them up and having a secret with my partner in crime will keep her happy, I'll gladly waste a little wrapping paper and a box. I want all my girls in a good mood for our first family Christmas," he told me as he kissed my neck.
It was things like that that made me love the man even more. I'd mentioned in passing that I'd like to get a set when I ordered Esme and Carlisle a table cloth from Williams Sonoma, and he remembered it. He was truly a remarkable man.
"Well, fine. I've got everything I need right here," I told him as I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him softly on his delectable mouth. He planted his hands on my ass…like always…and kissed me passionately, giving me an indication of what I was going to really get for Christmas…thoroughly fucked.
I pulled away and smiled at him. "Save some for later," I joked. He slapped my left ass cheek and laughed.
"I've got more than enough for later. Now, is there anything I can help with?" he asked as he looked around at the mess I'd made in the kitchen.
I glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly 4:00 PM, and it was unusually quiet in the house. It was then that I remembered I hadn't set the timer on the stove for Jax's timeout. "Shit. I forgot to set the timer. Has it been three-and-a-half minutes?" I whispered.
"More than. Why isn't she yelling?" Edward asked as he pulled away from me and left the kitchen. A moment later, he came back and motioned for me to follow him.
We walked down the hallway and saw that Jax had actually lain down on the bench and fallen asleep. "See, how can you punish that adorable little girl?" he whispered as he picked her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "I'm ready, Daddy." The man was sunk.
##
"Okay, let's get our pajamas on and we can all open one gift before bed," I announced as I walked into the living room, seeing Chelsea and Jax watching a movie, but really eyeing the Christmas tree like it was made of chocolate. Edward was sitting in the winged back chair reading a book, and when I made the announcement he jumped a little.
The three of them looked at me and smiled, and then they all raced up the stairs. Edward picked the two of them up around the waist and carried them to the top, the three of them laughing the whole way. If that was what I had to look forward to with two children, I had no idea how it would be when the third one made an appearance. He was as much of a kid as Jax and Chelsea.
Ten minutes later after faces were washed and teeth were brushed, we took our pajama-clad behinds back downstairs and Edward turned on Christmas music as the girls salivated in front of the tree. I got down on the floor with them and we waited for him to join us.
He went to the mantle and picked up the camera that he'd obviously put there when I was busy in the kitchen. "First things first. A picture of my girls on our first Christmas as a family," he announced. I pulled both girls onto my lap and we all smiled at him. After he took a few shots, he and I traded places, and I took pictures of the three of them. I was sad that there wasn't anyone there to take a picture of the four of us, but I knew there'd be plenty of time for it the next day.
After I deposited the camera back on the mantle for the morning, I sat down and Edward pulled out four gifts from under the tree with each of our names on them. I knew that the ones for Edward and me were from the girls, and I was anxious because Chelsea and Jax had spent a whole day locked in Chelsea's room making something, or so I thought.
"Okay, oldest to youngest. I get to go first," Edward teased, causing a squeal from Jax. I wanted to bean him with something. It was late and I didn't want her getting wound up because the next day was going to be a long one, and I knew she'd be cranky if she didn't get some sleep.
"Me first," Jax yelled. Edward laughed and nodded to her, and she ripped into the paper of the package. I knew it was something she actually wanted, but I knew she wasn't going to be very happy about it because it wasn't a toy. I'd made that mistake in the past of giving her a toy on Christmas Eve, and I couldn't get her to go to sleep for hours. The box she was shaking contained the pink hat, gloves and scarf that she had put on her list. She had a new winter coat that had pink trim, so I knew that the hat, gloves and scarf would match it perfectly.
"Yay!" she called. I could see she was a little disappointed, but I knew that the next morning would erase any memory of it away. She quickly pulled them on and wrapped her scarf around her neck with a smile.
"Chels next," Jax announced. Chelsea was so excited about everything since we'd decorated the house. I was pretty sure she wouldn't care if it was a box of rocks that she was opening. It wasn't. It was a scarf, hat and gloves that matched her new coat as well, only they were in a bright red which I'd found was her favorite color.
"Thank you," she called as she crawled over to me and then Edward, hugging us and kissing us. Jax saw her and did the same, and then sat down on Edward's lap, the pompom on top of her hat causing him to laugh.
"Okay, now Mom," he announced. I held the box up and shook it gently, having absolutely no idea what was in it. I slowly peeled the paper, just to aggravate them, and when it was removed, I was left with a shirt box.
"Is it a blouse for me to wear tomorrow?" I asked. I'd noticed that Edward's box was shaped the same as mine, so I was pretty sure that whatever it was, his was the same.
"Should Dad open his at the same time?" I asked. I saw Jax crawl off his lap and over to Chelsea, the two of them whispering to each other for a scant moment.
"Yes," they both called. Edward quickly ripped his paper off, causing both of them to laugh.
"I'm not planning to save the paper like Mom. Now, on the count of three, love," he announced. The girls counted it off and we both pulled the tops off the boxes, peeling back the tissue paper and gasping.
Inside each box was an expensive silver frame with a professional photo of the girls inside. They were wearing the Christmas dresses we'd picked out for them to wear to Mass the next morning which we were all attending with Carlisle and Esme. The frames were engraved with "Christmas, 2011," and it brought tears to my eyes.
"Oh, girls, this is lovely," I gushed as I took it out of the box to study it more closely. I looked at them and saw the excitement on their faces. I was actually surprised that Jax had kept the secret, and I had to know the details.
"When were these taken and how'd you get the frames?" I asked. I had an inkling of their co-conspirator, but I wanted to hear it from them.
"Alice let us pick the frames on the computer and then she had a man come over and take our pictures in the back yard while you were both at work. We have ones for Big Pop, Gramma and Grandpa Swan, and Nana and Grandpa Cullen. Do you like them?" Chelsea asked as she looked between us. I wiped the tears from my eyes and smiled, nodding furiously as she and Jax both clapped.
I turned to look at Edward, and saw him blinking furiously. I knew exactly how he felt. "Come here, my girls," he told them as he pulled them both into a tight hug.
"It's the second best gift I ever got. The first one is all of you," he whispered to them as I saw a single tear slide down his cheek. I crawled over to join the love fest, so grateful for the trouble Alice had gone to for the surprise. I'd have to buy her something very pretty as a thank you.
After they were in bed, my framed photo found a home on our mantle alongside a picture of the girls at Halloween. Edward's found a home on his desk in his office at the back of the house. I vowed that it would be a tradition in our family because the difference between the Halloween photo and the Christmas photo reminded me that they were growing up more every day. Before we knew it, they wouldn't be our little girls anymore…they'd be young women. I knew neither of us was looking forward to that day.
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E/N: Too saccharin? Let me know.
Till next time…xoxo
P.S. I've started posting "Doors & Windows & Faith," so if you're interested, check my profile for the link. "A Friend of the Family" is there as well. I hope you'll check them out.