Author Note: Thank you for the great response so far! Readers still seem to be split, between those who think Bella is too pushy and those who think Edward is acting like a jerk. Bella cuts him a lot of slack due to his grief.
Thanks again to moosals for pre-reading. Stephenie Meyer owns all characters.
Chapter 8 – Winter Marches On
Just over two weeks later, Angela, Alice and I drive to Port Angeles for our annual Christmas shopping trip. It's not like there's much selection in Forks — though I do usually find some nice handmade pieces from a shop on the nearby Quileute reservation, where Sue lives. I tried to be nice and invite Leah to come with us, but she has to work all weekend.
By the time we arrive at a gourmet burger restaurant for dinner, we're all tired, but Angela especially seems to be dragging. Once we've ordered our meals and sat down, I learn why.
"So I have news," she says coyly. "I'm pregnant!"
And now I know why she insisted on a more casual restaurant as Alice and I scream loudly, jumping up to crush our friend in a hug.
"I knew it!" Alice says smugly. "You haven't touched alcohol in months."
"How far along are you?" I ask curiously, re-taking my seat.
"Twelve weeks," she smiles. "I'm due June 24."
"So you got your wish to have the baby early in our summer vacation!"
"Yep," she smiles widely. "I've only got a short cushion, but everyone says first babies are usually late."
"Are you planning to learn the sex?" Alice asks.
"Yes, but that won't be until late January, at the earliest. I think I'd probably die of curiosity if we didn't find out!"
"Of course you would," I chuckle, knowing my friend's taste for gossip. "I'm so happy for you and Ben!" I reach over to give her another hug, just as our number is called for our meals.
"You stay here and rest, Mama," Alice says with a grin. "Bella and I will get them."
After just one more week, classes let out for Winter Break. I head out to do a bit more shopping on Sunday, since I couldn't very well buy Alice's and Angela's gifts when they were right there with me. Even though I'm sure there will be a baby shower for her later, I buy a couple of things to give to Angela as Christmas gifts for the baby.
I've got so much in my truck that it takes a couple of trips to carry everything into my house. As I go back for the last load, I see Edward step off of his porch carrying Masen, followed by his parents and three other people closer to my age.
"Hello, Bella," Mrs. Cullen calls, waving to me.
"Hello," I greet her, trying not to look at Edward. "I didn't know you were back in town."
"We just arrived today," she confirms. "Oh, these are my other two sons, Emmett and Jasper." I'm not sure which is which, but they're both tall like Edward — one has short, dark curly hair and the other has longer blond wavy hair. Both are nearly as good-looking as Edward. "And this is Emmett's wife, Rosalie," she says, pointing toward a beautiful blonde woman. Well, at least one is off limits to Alice.
"Nice to meet all of you. You're a bit early for Christmas," I chuckle, with the holiday still a week away.
"Tomorrow is my only grandson's first birthday," she replies. "So we all decided to spend this week with Edward and Masen. Emmett and Rosalie will spend Christmas with her family in upstate New York, and Jasper has to work over the holidays."
"We were just heading out for dinner," the dark-haired one says. Now that he's put his hand on the woman's back, I assume he's Emmett. "Any place you'd recommend?"
"In Forks? The Lodge is the nicest restaurant in town, but I'm kind of partial to the Forks diner. I eat there every week with my best friends. Pacific Pizza is also good."
"I don't think I'm up for a big meal," Mrs. Cullen says. "It's been a long day between the early morning flight, the drive over from Seattle, and then grocery shopping. Edward never has anything in his refrigerator."
"Ma," he complains, rolling his eyes and making me smile. I haven't seen much of him since that week of Thanksgiving.
"It's true, Edward! He also didn't listen to me when I told him to order my grandson's birthday cake last week. When we stopped by the bakery today to order one, they said they couldn't have a cake ready by tomorrow. I'm going to have to bake it myself from a box mix, but it won't look as nice as a store-bought cake."
My ears perk up at that. Edward may be ignoring me, but this is about his son — not him. "I can bake Masen a cake, Mrs. Cullen. I work at the bakery during the summer months when they need extra help. I have since I was in high school."
"Really?" she asks skeptically.
"Really," I assure her. "I know all of their recipes. Which flavor do you want? I'll bake it first thing tomorrow."
"How about chocolate?" Emmett suggests, rubbing his hands together.
His mother glares at him. "It's your brother's decision."
"I'm all right with chocolate, but you really don't have to go to the trouble, Bella."
"I want to," I promise, smiling at Edward. God, he just gets better looking every time I see him. And Masen has grown so much since the last time he and his father came over for dinner. "I love baking. You know I considered going to culinary school before I decided to go into teaching. Is there any particular theme you'd like for the decorations?"
"Oh dear," Mrs. Cullen laughs, "I'm afraid I'm not really up on what's popular with the younger generation."
"Well," I smile, "last summer, most of the requests for little boys were for Paw Patrol or dinosaurs."
"Dinosaurs are cool," Emmett pipes up. "Can you make a dinosaur?"
"I'm sure I could," I nod. "Is that all right with you, Edward?"
"That sounds great," he replies quietly. "Thank you."
"It's my pleasure, really."
"I guess we'll be off to dinner then," Dr. Cullen says. "Good seeing you again, Bella."
I grab my last two bags out of the truck as Edward settles Masen into his car seat. His parents climb into his SUV as well, while his brothers and Rosalie get into a large SUV that I hadn't noticed earlier, parked in front of the house. I wave to them as they back out of the driveway.
I decide to head back out later that evening to pick up all of the ingredients at the grocery store, so I don't have to worry about it in the morning. Cake decorating isn't my usual job at the bakery, but I'm happy to help them out. Masen's first birthday is obviously a special occasion for them, with the whole family here to celebrate. I kind of feel a kinship with that little boy, growing up without a mom.
I know the bakery has dinosaur-shaped cake pans, but I figure that I can just make a normal 9x13 cake and pipe an image of a dinosaur on top. While the cake is in the oven, I browse the internet looking for possible designs. Since I'm not an artist, I think I'll be better off with something more cartoon-like than a realistic image. When I find one I like, I print it out and cut out around the dinosaur to make a template.
Once the cake has cooled completely, I mix up a batch of my favorite cream cheese frosting, which just seems to go well with any cake flavor, and frost the entire cake. Next, I mix up a special decorator frosting and begin dyeing it different colors. I pipe the border in green first, then place my dinosaur picture on top and trace around it with a toothpick. Little by little, I cut the template into pieces, using my toothpick to draw in the image until I think I can handle the rest freehand.
As the dinosaur begins to take shape, I smile at my work. Not bad, if I do say so myself. Not as good as the real pastry chefs at the bakery can do, but hopefully good enough to impress the Cullens. I finish it off by piping a "Happy Birthday, Masen!" message.
Just as I've finished, I hear my phone ding with a text message.
Mom wants to know if you can be over at 5:30 with the cake.
Sure, I text back, surprised at a message from Edward after so many weeks. That gives me three hours to clean up my disaster of a kitchen and change into less grungy clothes that aren't covered in flour and powdered sugar.
When the time comes, I pick up the cake to deliver it next door. "Hi, Bella," the blond man — Jasper — greets me when the door swings open. "Come on in!" I wonder about potentially introducing him to Alice this week. He's perhaps a bit pretty and not rugged enough for her taste, but there's no denying the looks that run in this family.
Everyone seems to be gathered around in the kitchen, which smells amazing. I set the cake down on the counter, opening the box to show them.
"Oh, wow!" Emmett exclaims. "That looks way better than I expected!"
"Thanks… I think," I chuckle.
"It really does look great, Bella," Mrs. Cullen smiles at me. "Go on, have a seat."
"Have a seat?" I question, noticing that there are three extra folding chairs — for a total of seven — around Edward's small rectangular table, along with Masen's high chair.
"Of course," she smiles. "You didn't think we'd let you just drop off the cake and not ask you to stay for dinner, did you? I've made a pot roast with roasted potatoes, carrots and green beans. It should be ready shortly."
Oh shit. I can't really be rude and turn her down though. "That sounds wonderful, thank you, Mrs. Cullen."
"Oh, it's Esme, please." I smile at her, nodding.
As I take my seat, I notice Edward is not even looking at me. I assume he was aware of his mother's plans, but I can't tell how he feels about it.
"Are you a Forks native, Bella?" Jasper asks once our plates are full.
"Yes, I've lived here my entire life, except for college in Seattle."
"Don't you get bored?" Emmett asks. "Man, 24 hours in this town and I'm already bored. You could probably visit every restaurant within your first two weeks."
I laugh. "Well, it's not the right town for someone who's really into nightlife, or attending concerts and sporting events other than the local high school events. But Port Angeles is only a bit over an hour away. Maybe that seems far to you, but we're used to it. It's also nice to live a half hour from the Pacific Ocean, and so close to the mountains and forests. It's great if you like the outdoors."
"Did you say you're a teacher, Bella?" Esme asks.
"Yes, I teach first grade at Forks Elementary. One of my best friends, Angela, is a kindergarten teacher there. The other, Alice, is in the medical field like several of you — she's a nurse at Forks General Hospital."
"You actually have a hospital?"
"Emmett!" Edward growls.
He raises his hands in a defensive position. "Just sayin'!"
"We're not that backward!" I chuckle. "Honestly, I don't think Forks is any different from any other small town."
"Is it a safe community?" Dr. Cullen asks.
"Oh yeah, the crime rate is really low. I'm a bit biased though, since my dad is the Chief of Police."
"I'll bet that was fun when you were growing up," Rosalie chuckles.
"It did tend to keep the boys away," I reply, rolling my eyes.
"Hey, so, speaking of dates — where can you go in this town for a night out?" Emmett asks, reaching for seconds from the plate of pot roast.
"Well, most high school dates would just be at the Forks diner I mentioned yesterday. There is one bar in town. It's not large, but they've got a 30-year-old jukebox, a small dance floor, and a pretty decent craft beer selection."
His eyes light up. "That sounds interesting. I brew my own beer, so I'm always interested in trying local favorites. What day do you go out with your friends? Maybe we could all go together, to the diner and then the bar."
"Thursdays," I reply, trying not to search for the look on Edward's face at that invitation.
"Oh," he frowns. "We've gotta get up super early on Friday morning to drive back to Seattle for our flight home."
"Well, Angela and I are off all week, so we could go any time. Let me text Alice to see when she's working, and I'll check with Angela on Ben's schedule."
After taking several photos, Esme offers to cut the cake. I take the opportunity to dash off a couple of quick texts to my friends.
"Mmmm… this is really good, Bella," Rosalie gushes after Esme brings her the first piece of cake.
"Thank you," I reply, feeling my face heat up a bit. "It's the bakery's recipe."
"Delicious," Dr. Cullen agrees. "My son gets his love of chocolate cake from me," he adds with a huge grin.
Esme puts a small piece on a paper plate in front of Masen — who's decked out in a birthday bib — then gets her phone ready to start filming it. After eyeing the cake suspiciously, he reaches one of his chubby little hands out to touch it. He stares at his dirty hand for a moment, then leans forward, biting off an edge piece of the frosting to our raucous laughter.
And then he dives in again and again, his little face soon covered in green and white frosting from his nose to his chin.
"Mase, you gotta try the actual cake!" Emmett laughs.
"Maybe you should cut him a slice," Jasper suggests. Chuckling, Edward picks up his own knife, cutting a small slice out of the piece of cake. He leaves it on the tray, then takes the paper plate with the rest of the cake away.
"Uhhh!" Masen reaches for the plate but after Edward points at his tray, he finally picks up the small slice of cake and takes a bite out of it.
"Now you've got it!" Grandpa Carlisle cheers him on.
Well, not quite, as Masen soon discovers that it's more fun to crumble the piece of cake in his hand than eat it. When he again reaches for the plate, Edward relents and sets it down for his son to dive in a few more times.
By the time we've decided Masen has had enough sugar for the night and Esme has stopped recording, my sides hurt from laughing so hard.
"Man, that was great," Emmett says, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "Your son is a riot, Edward."
He smiles sadly. "I just wish his mom could've been here to see this."
"We all do, man," his brother replies.
Patting her son on the shoulder, Esme carefully removes the bib and lifts Masen from his high chair. "I'll give him his bath," she says gently.
I automatically jump up and start collecting the plates, bringing them over to the sink. While Rosalie clears the rest of the table, I wrap up the remaining cake and make space for it in the fridge. Edward's parents must've been doing his grocery shopping.
"You guys don't have to clean up," Edward says, shooing them away. The others reluctantly move into the living room, while I stay behind and begin rinsing the dishes.
Edward looks at me questioningly. "Um, I'm sorry if my presence tonight bothered you," I tell him quietly, so that the others can't overhear. "I didn't want to be rude and say no to your mother's invitation."
"It's fine," he shrugs.
"I can tell them that my friends are busy if you don't want us joining you."
"No, it's — I haven't seen your friends in a while. I'll live," he adds with a small shrug.
Nodding, I go back to my task and together we get the dishwasher loaded and started in no time at all. I pick up my phone from the table, seeing replies from both of my friends.
"Alice is working 9-to-5 shifts, so she's available any night," I report once we've joined the rest of the family in the living room. "Ben has court early on Thursday, so he can only do tomorrow night."
"Tomorrow night it is," Jasper declares with a grin.
A/N: Was that a slight warm-up at the end? What did you guys think of Edward's family?
The first 2,000 words of this chapter were written back in November, before a long break. The remaining 80% of the story was written in just over three months. Hopefully it's a seamless transition.
Next update on Monday. It's a night out on the town! Any Duranies want to guess the title?