I couldn't wait for Isabella to come home for Spring Break so she and Bella could finally meet. I'd told my daughter a lot about my girlfriend, and I knew they'd become instant friends.
I picked Isabella up from Seatac on Friday night, greeting her with a huge bear hug. I was so thrilled she was home! Grabbing her suitcases, we headed for the car.
"I hope you're hungry; we have an amazing dinner waiting for you at home."
"We?"
"Yeah, Bella and I. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and asparagus. And Bella's baking what might be the best cornbread ever. Oh, man, the house smell incredible and-"
"Sorry, Bella's at our house now?"
"Uh, yeah. Didn't I tell you she was going to be there? I'm sure I did. Anyway, she's really excited to meet you! It's too bad Jake's working tonight but maybe the four of us can spend some time together tomorrow. Go for breakfast or something?"
"Like one big, happy family."
I should learn to shut up and pay attention to the seemingly innocent comments. They speak volumes.
"Yes! Exactly! Here we are." I dropped the suitcases and fumbled with the key fob, looking for the button to pop the trunk.
"Did you get a new car?"
I laughed. "No, silly. I took Bella's because mine's in the shop until Monday." I stowed the suitcases in the trunk. "Get in, we have so much to talk about."
For most of the drive I prattled on about Bella, my excitement about my two favorite girls meeting got the best of me. Isabella was quiet, but I didn't think anything of it. Perhaps I should have.
When we got home, Bella greeted us at the front door. With an apron tied around her waist and her hair pulled back in a ponytail, she was simply beautiful. She gave me a tentative hug, then extended her hand toward my daughter.
"Isabella, I've heard so much about you. It's nice to finally meet you."
"Yeah, you too. Dad talked nonstop about you on the way here."
I chuckled. "Sorry about that. Bella, it smells amazing in here!" I planted a kiss on her cheek.
"I'm going to call Jake real quick."
"It looks like Bella has everything ready, kiddo." I gestured to the dining table already set. "Maybe call him after we eat?"
Bella squeezed my hand. "Dinner can wait, Edward. It's not going anywhere."
Isabella smiled and disappeared to her room. I took advantage of the moment and pulled my girlfriend into a hug then started kissing her but she pulled back.
"Edward, now's probably not a good time for that."
I kissed her collarbone. "It's always a good time for that."
"I'm serious. Isabella probably doesn't want to witness any PDA between her dad and his new girlfriend."
"She's on the phone with Jake. She could be hours." I wagged my eyebrows suggestively. Bella relented and let me kiss her though it was far tamer than I would have liked and my hand slipping under her shirt was swatted away.
"Ahem." Isabella loudly cleared her throat.
Bella abruptly pulled away, her face scarlet.
"Sorry to interrupt. Jake's going to call me later. Should we eat?"
Our dinner conversation was...odd. Bella asked open-ended questions and Isabella replied with mostly short answers.
"So, Isabella, your Dad tells me you're in your second year at USC."
"Uh huh."
"How do you like it?"
"It's good."
"Sweetie, tell Bella about the English literature course you're taking. I'm sure there's a lot you two girls could chat about."
My daughter shrugged. "It's okay."
"What other classes are you taking?" Bella asked.
"A bunch of stuff, you know."
Beside me, Bella tensed up. I gave her upper thigh a squeeze letting her know she was doing great despite the short responses. The rest of the evening was more of the same. Bella would probe and Isabella would shut her down. I chalked it up to her being tired from the flight and needing to decompress from the stresses of school. Maybe her first night home wasn't the ideal time to introduce the two of them. Jake called and my daughter excused herself to her room. Shortly after, Bella and I said a chaste goodnight at her car.
"Well, that was awkward." Bella laughed nervously.
"No, it was fine. You did great. Isabella's normally pretty chatty...she must be worn out from her exams." I kissed her briefly. "I should go back in. I love you. I'll call you in the morning, okay?"
"Yeah, of course. I love you, too." There was disappointment lingering in her final kiss goodnight.
I watched her drive away and shook my head. What the hell just happened? I trudged up the steps and let myself back into the apartment. Isabella was in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up as she washed the dishes. I grabbed a dish towel from the bottom drawer and fell into step beside her.
"So," I asked as casually as possible. "What did you think of Bella?"
"She's fine."
Of course that meant it wasn't fine at all. My bubble burst.
"Could you expand on fine?" I side-eyed her, trying to read her expression but she was stone-faced.
"She's nice, I guess. You know." Isabella refused to look at me.
"Um, no, I don't. Your short answers don't reveal a whole lot."
"Look, she's great." —which I interpreted to mean she was anything but— "It's just…." She paused and shrugged her shoulders. "It's...weird seeing you with a girlfriend."
"Haven't you been hounding me to date?"
She shrugged again.
"Was it weird when I was dating Carmen?"
"Carmen was different."
I asked what she meant.
"You're always touching Bella. Like during dinner, you were either holding her hand or your arm was around her shoulders. And you were all cuddled up together on the loveseat, your hand on her thigh." She rolled her eyes and continued over-meticulously scrubbing a plate.
"Does that bother you? I'm pretty sure that plate is clean." I took it from her and she went to work on another.
"Kind of, yeah. Not to mention you took a while to say goodnight."
I chuckled because she had no idea how tame our goodnight was. Normally, we were naked in bed by nine. I smiled and Isabella glared at me.
"Sorry. I didn't realize we were so touchy-feely. It's just how we are together, I guess."
"And she's really young. Do you realize she's 11 years younger than you?" She wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"And you're 18 years younger than me. Is that the issue here - her age? Or is something else going on?" I tossed the cloth on the counter as I waited for her to answer me. Isabella finished washing a pot and set it on the drying rack. She pulled the plug then watched the water drain before drying her hands on the towel. She folded it neatly and set it on the side of the sink. Clearly, she was avoiding my question.
"Isabella?"
She shrugged. "I didn't get a good vibe from her, okay?"
I scratched my head. None of this was making any sense.
"I'm tired, I'm going to bed." She moved past me, down the hallway to the bathroom. I followed, needing to continue our conversation and find out what the hell was going on.
Isabella opened the cabinet where we kept the toothbrushes and toothpaste. Her hand froze and then she turned to look at me, eyes narrowed.
"She keeps a toothbrush here?" She asked incredulously.
"She, uh...yeah. She stays over a lot."
"Define a lot." Arms crossed over her chest.
"Almost every night." I admitted. "Look, no offense, but I'm an adult and I don't think I need to apologize for my girlfriend spending the night."
"I bet she was pissed I'm home, hey? Had to go back to her empty little apartment?" Forgoing her toothbrush, she pushed by me and to her room. I was on her heels, which was probably the only reason her door didn't slam in my face.
"Isabella, it's fine. I'm happy to have you home. More than happy, I'm thrilled we have a week together."
"Together as in you and me and her? Fun." She flopped down on her bed. I was flabbergasted my 19 year old daughter was acting like a 14 year old child.
"We can see as little or as much of Bella as you want. I'm not pushing her on you. I wanted you to meet so you could finally put a face to the name I've been telling you so much about." I sat down beside her on the bed. "I thought you'd be happy for me. You're the one who kept telling me to date; I did, and I found this amazing woman. I was excited for you to meet and…and…." My hands raked through my hair. "I'm confused by how you're acting. What's really going on here, kiddo?"
Isabella sat up. "I didn't realize I was going to have to share you with someone this week."
"Like I have to share you with Jake?" My question wasn't meant to be facetious but she obviously took it that way. Isabella crossed her arms over her chest.
"Dad, that's not fair. We're in a serious relationship."
"And you think I'm not?"
"Come on. You've been seeing each other for what, three months, tops? How serious can it be?"
"I'm in love with her, Isabella."
My statement stunned her and her mouth gaped. I immediately felt like an asshole for blindsiding her.
"Wow. I...wow."
"Shit, honey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have dropped that bomb. I forget you haven't been here to see how our relationship has progressed so quickly."
"Yeah, apparently I've missed a lot. It's just the whole day was weird. You picked me up in Bella's car and talked nonstop about her the whole way. Then I come home and this...this woman is in my house, wearing my apron, cooking in my kitchen-"
I wanted to correct her 'my' to 'our' but then Isabella said something that put it all into perspective.
"And she's making out with my dad."
Fuck. How could I have been so stupid?
"Just because I love Bella doesn't mean I stop loving you. You're my number one girl, and you always will be. Isabella, don't ever forget that." I placed my hand against her cheek.
My daughter's eyes brimmed with tears and the realization she couldn't ever be replaced.
"God, I'm such a horrible person. I'm so sorry!"
I pulled her into a hug. "You are not a horrible person. I'm sorry, I should've picked up on this earlier. Almost two decades in and I'm still not good at this dad thing."
She pulled away and shook her head. "Don't say that. You're an amazing dad. It's just...how you are with her...I've never seen you so wrapped up in someone before. I wasn't expecting that."
"You should have seen me when you were a baby." I tapped the tip of her nose. "And just an FYI, once I figured out Jake was in love with you, I also got ragey and possessive - ask Emmett. You're a chip off the old block."
"I wasn't—" I raised my eyebrows at her, daring her to disagree. "Nevermind. Seriously, though, you're in love with her?" She hugged her pillow to her chest.
"I am. Very much so. I've…." I paused. Now wasn't a good time to let her know I'd already been shopping for a ring. "Look, I'm not looking for a mom for you. Besides, that'd be weird seeing as she's only seven years older than you." I tried my hand at some humor to lighten things up.
Her shoulder bumped against mine. "Nice work on that, by the way."
I smiled. "Why, thank you."
We were silent for a moment before Isabella spoke again.
"I'm really happy for you, Dad."
"Thank you, sweetie. Are we cool?"
"Yeah, we are. Sorry I was a brat."
"We all have our moments." I kissed the top of her head and got up to leave.
"So, I guess you want me to stay at Jake's this week so you and Bella can, you know, have some time together?"
"Nice try, kiddo."
"I'm an adult, you know."
I shook my head. "Not in my eyes, you're not. Sometimes, I can still see you as a six year old. Like right now - that pout looks vaguely familiar. Goodnight, Isabella."
"Goodnight, Dad. I love you."
"To the moon and back," we said in unison.
Despite their rocky start, by the end of Spring Break Isabella had warmed up to Bella considerably. I wouldn't consider them good friends - it would be years before that would happen - but the week ended much better than it had started.
I was so thrilled to read all your reviews from last chapter. I'm so glad I was able to surprise some of you with the introduction of Bella. My apologies for not replying to your reviews yet - I've been super busy with Christmas and my little people.
As we head into the New Year, my hope is that it brings you happiness. May broken hearts from last year begin to heal, may love continue to grow, and friends, old and new, enrich your life. xo