Bella's POV
"I'm not going daddy." Lacy tells him and he looks at me like please don't me make her.
"Baby you have too. I'll pick you up right after OK?" He tells her and she bursts into tears.
It's her first day of school.
"If you make me go I'm never going to talk to you again." She tells him determined. He looks at me again.
"Lacy what is your most favorite thing to do?" I ask her.
"Eat ice cream on the beach." She tells me without even thinking about it.
"And who takes you to eat ice cream on the beach?" I ask her.
"Daddy."
"And do you think Daddy is going to do that anymore if you stop talking to him?"
She looks at him and he shakes his head no.
"But I'm scared." She pouts to him.
"It's going to be so much fun Lacy. Everyone is scared on the first day and I promise I will pick you up and we can do anything you want this afternoon." Quil tells her.
"Anything?" She asks and I look at him warning him he better say no.
"Depends on what anything is Lacy. What do you want to do?" He asks her.
"I want to go to your store and buy new flowers for my garden, plant them, and then go see Aidan and then make popcorn for dinner and then eat ice cream on the beach." She tells him, she's smart; she's going to milk this for all it's worth. Aidan is Jake and Leah's 3 month old son.
"We can go to the shop, I will call Jake and Leah to see if we can see Aidan and you can either have popcorn for dinner or ice cream on the beach." I'm surprised he didn't just say yes.
"Pizza for dinner?" She asks and he says yes.
"Fine, tell mommy and the babies bye now, we have to go." She hugs me and Ari and Derek good bye and follows him out.
She's good; she talked him to flowers, baby seeing and pizza for dinner followed by ice cream on the beach for doing something she's been looking forward to doing for months. That's my little girl.
"Mama, out." Derek demands and points at the door. He unfortunately is just like Lacy. Always busy and completely fearless. Luckily, unlike her he does nap and he doesn't scream at bedtime.
"Out Bells." Ari agrees pointing at the door. She is nothing like my children. She's calm and quiet and extremely cautious.
I find both of their shoes and we go play in the backyard with Derek climbing everything he can climb and Ari sitting by the garden watching the butterflies.
"Da!" Derek screams after being outside for a little while.
I turn around and smile at Quil who is supposed to be at work.
Derek and Ari both run after him and he scoops them both up, kisses him and puts them both down.
"What are you doing here baby? I thought you were working until you pick up Lacy." I tell him.
"That little girl played me. She ran out of the car all excited this morning." He tells me laughing. "Anyways we figured you would be a nervous wreck today so I came home to be a nervous wreck with you. Did you eat?" I shake my head no; I'm so busy running after Derek I forget to eat most days until they are napping. "Let's take them to the diner, call Leah, and see if she wants to come."
He watches the kids while I run in and call Leah and she jumps at the chance to see people. Jake works a lot and she kind of got forced into staying home since it would cost more to have someone keep Aidan than she makes working. I feel bad that I can't keep him but between my 2 and Ari I don't have the energy.
We pack the kids up and head to the diner and it's kind of nice without having to chase both Derek and Lacy. Ari just sits in her seat and babbles at people and points at Aidan and says baby over and over.
"So how's it going Leah?" Quil asks her and she says it sucks being stuck at home all the time.
"I felt like that with Lacy at first too Leah, but you can always come hang out with me. I know it's not super exciting but it's better than being alone."
"I know but sometimes I'm too tired to even get dressed."
"Well then we will come to you, but you need to find something you like to do at home. I mean the kids keep me busy but when I can garden and paint. And once Aidan is older you'll get into a groove that works for you. And if you still really hate it then I will keep him so you can go back to work."
Aidan starts crying and I pick him up and rock him in my arms. He's cute but I don't really miss this age. I like the age Ari is at now and above. Ari is at the age where she is starting to be able about to tell me what she wants instead of just crying and letting me play a guessing game. Derek is still a guessing game.
After breakfast we all head to the beach. Quil ends up taking care of Aidan while Leah and I take Derek and Ari to the water. I think he does miss the little bitty age.
"Castle Bells." Ari demands so we sit and build castles while Leah chases Derek up and down the beach. I told her I could do the chasing but she told me she was happy to have a reason to move. She needs to snap out of this funk if she's going to be happy at home I think.
After about an hour Embry shows up and Ari runs to him.
"Hey slacker whose running the shop?" I ask him laughing as he tries to shake the sand off Ari.
"Blake for a couple of hours. Lacy starting school made me think about Lacy at this age and how it seems like it wasn't that long ago and I missed her." He tells me kissing her head before setting her down. She chases after Derek.
"I met someone Bells." He tells me watching her.
"Like a girl?" I ask just to make sure. He laughs and says yes. "Oh details please!"
"Her name is Stacy; I met her at Ari's doctor's appointment a month ago. She has a little boy who is a few months older than Ari. We've talked on the phone a lot and met at the park with the kids a couple of times but I asked her out for this weekend. Can you keep Ari?"
"Um, of course!" I tell him excitedly. I thought he would never date after Lauren since the only person he seems to have interest in is me.
"Thanks Bells."
Ari asks him to sit in the sand with her and he does even though I know he was planning on going straight back to work. He's a good dad and he would be such a good husband to someone.
Since Leah still seems to be enjoying chasing Derek I sit with Quil and Aidan.
"I miss this age. Look how cute he is." He tells me with that look in his eyes.
"If you want another one you're going to have to get it with someone else." I tell him laughing.
"Maybe she'll give us Aidan." He jokes but I'm thinking she might at least trade for a while.
"Embry met someone, their going out this weekend. Hopefully if it goes well she doesn't end up hating me."
"Lauren only hated you because she was jealous and you and Embry aren't like you used to be."
"Yeah but I do practically raise his daughter. What if she wants to take Ari and raise her like her own daughter?" I ask him.
"Bells, isn't that what you want for them?"
"I don't want to lose Ari."
"He wouldn't do that to you, he won't make the mistakes he made with Lauren. And he wouldn't do that to Ari, whether you have her most of the time or not we're still important to her."
After he sits with Ari and builds her sandcastle after sandcastle he picks her up and brings her to us.
"I have to leave now since I'm going to have to go home and change. I'll see you tonight baby girl." He tells Ari kissing her good bye.
He tells us bye and I tell Quil we should probably pack up and head home before Derek and Ari get too tried. If they get too tired they scream and fight and cry at naptime.
"Do you want us to take Aidan home today Leah? Then you could go home and do whatever, or you could come home with us." Quil asks her. I love him, he's the only man I know who would offer to take someone's kid home because they can tell how exhausted they are.
"Really? I could go home and like cook or read a book or something. You don't mind?" She asks him super excited.
"Nah, Lacy was asking to see him anyways. Have Jake pick him up tonight whenever." He tells her and she hugs him and practically runs to her car. After she leaves he thinks to ask if I mind.
"Nope that was sweet of you. I love you."
"Yeah I know you do. It's because I'm pretty much perfect."
I smack him and we pack the kids up and head home.
We manage to get all 3 of them to nap at the same time so we the next couple of hours chilling out together. It's weird in the middle of the day.
Just as Derek wakes up Quil has to leave to pick up Lacy and he demands to go.
45 minutes later Lacy bounces in talking about how much fun she had and she's ready to go get her flowers now and she's so happy Aidan is here and she'll see him when she gets back and she drags Quil out the door after so kindly agreeing Derek can come.
After they leave Ari wakes up and Aidan soon after.
"Derek at?" Ari asks me and I tell him he's with Lacy at daddy's store. "See daddy." She demands.
"Nope, not today sweetie, daddy will be here soon."
She starts crying which sets Aidan off crying.
"You're lucky I love you Ari." I tell her picking her up and setting her on the couch and putting on Lilo and Stitch, their current favorite movie and then pick Aidan up and give him his pacifier.
"Hey Bells." Jake calls as he comes in through the kitchen and takes Aidan. "Thanks for offering to keep him for the evening. Leah is exhausted."
"Actually Quil, who as you can see is not here, offered to keep him." I tell him laughing.
"Where is he? And your kids?"
"At the store picking out Lacy's first day of school flowers. They should be back soon with pizza if you want to stay and then Lacy wants ice cream on the beach. We'll probably give her a choice of with or without the babies. Aidan was part of the deal too so you cannot leave until she comes back and sees him."
"Yeah I'll stay if you really don't mind. Leah is enjoying her peace so I'll let her enjoy it a little longer."
"Of course I really don't mind. Embry will probably stay too; he usually does when Ari stays here."
"You're amazing Bells. How do you manage 3 kids every day? Leah is falling apart over just this one."
"We're different people Jake and she'll either adjust to it or she's going to have to go back to work. I told her today I would keep Aidan so her whole paycheck isn't going to daycare. I'm already exhausted and barely alive by the end of the day, one more kid can't hurt."
"Sit, watch Stitch Jake." Ari demands him and he does. She's such a sweet little girl that people pretty much does what she wants. That could be dangerous as she gets older…
Once Quil and the kids get home followed by Embry we eat pizza and listen to Lacy talk more about school. I'm glad she loves it. I always thought I would go back once she started by Derek kind of put that on hold. I guess Ari did too.
"Daddy, I really want to stay here and hang out with Aidan and the babies, can you take me to the beach tomorrow?" Lacy asks him and he tells him of course.
So we spend the rest of evening helping Lacy and the babies plant her new flowers.
I love my family.
Even on the days I'm so tired I think I might not make it through the day.