So extra chapter today, or do you want it Monday or Tuesday?
Chapter 12
As soon as Morgan is dressed, I comb her hair and help her put on her new jacket, gloves and hat.
"I'm ready," Bella says as she walks into Morgan's room handing me a coat and gloves.
"What's this?" I ask.
"Your jacket was ripped up, so my mom threw it out. This is a replacement."
I take it from her slowly, I've never had a new—never been worn—before – coat. For that matter nearly all of my clothes are from secondhand shops or Goodwill.
"Thank you," I say and I can hear the emotion in my voice.
"You have new clothes, too. They are in the brown dresser in our room. I should've shown you before you got dressed this morning."
"They didn't need to do all of this."
"They know that, but they wanted to. Just take the stuff and enjoy it, it will show them your thanks alone."
I nod and look to the door
"Go change, we'll have some girl talk and plan our shopping trip."
I walk into the bedroom going right to the dresser. Sure enough the drawers are filled with new clothes all in my size. I take out some new boxer briefs, jeans, socks, t-shirt along with a sweater and put them on. I look into Bella's mirror and smile a little. These clothes are not filled with rips and holes, and they look nice. I put my new coat and gloves on and walk out into the hallway. I stop and look at the wall that was once filled with the pictures and I feel some of my happiness ebb away. The wall now looks so bare.
"Edward?" Bella says softly and I look at her. "Are you ready?"
"All but my shoes," I say and nod at her and go downstairs to get my shoes on. "Okay, let's go and get a tree."
We arrive at the tree farm, and I notice it's very busy.
"Stay near Bella and me," I say as Morgan gets out of the truck.
We walk around the trees.
"The best way to pick a tree is to get the one that speaks to you," Bella says touching the trees as she passes them.
Morgan copies Bella and I shake my head at them.
"This is it, Bella," Morgan says and I walk over to the tree she's standing at.
"Oh, this sure is a beauty," Bella says right away. "And you know what? I agree this is it, because it's talking to me, too."
I look to the huge tree, and notice how much it seems like all the other trees. I'm not certain what makes it so different, but if the girls are happy, so am I.
"Hi there folks," a man says behind us.
I turn around seeing a man standing there. "This is our tree," Bella says pointing to it.
"Do you want me to cut any off the bottom for you – that's about an eight footer?"
"Go around his height," Bella says pointing at me and the man nods. "We'll come back around four, if that's okay?" again the man nods.
We all get back into the truck and Bella leans forward and smiles at me.
"Can we stop off at Lakeside Park before we go shopping?"
I look to her and she just looks back. "Sure," I say and start to drive.
It's not until we get there that I see the seasonal hut is open renting skates to go out on the frozen over lake.
"Oh wow, are we going to try that?" Morgan asks clapping her hands.
Bella drags us to the hut so we can rent our skates.
"I've never skated before," I whisper to Bella.
"You'll be fine, it's just like walking."
I get up feeling very unsure about her claim, but I'd do anything to see this joy on her and Morgan's faces.
"Come on, Edward," Morgan yells.
I look up to see she is out on the ice holding onto Bella.
I place one foot on the ice and then the other, as my feet slide from under me. I go to grab the railing only missing it and end up on my ass.
"Shit that hurt," I say rubbing my ass. I turn on my knee, putting my hands on the railing and try to pull myself up. My feet slide away from each other and down I go again.
"HA, HA," someone laughs, like Neilson from the Simpsons. I shuffle my feet together and stand up straight.
I take a deep breath and let go of the railing only to start to fall again.
"Let me help you."
I look up to see Bella is holding out her hands for me. My eyes move from her as I look for Morgan who's just a little behind Bella skating by herself.
I take hold of Bella's hands and start to pull up, only to yet again lose my balance, and bring Bella crashing down on top of me. I wrap my arms around her hoping I can save her from getting hurt.
"Are you okay?" I ask, and Bella bursts out laughing so hard she is shaking. I smile and push her hair out of her face.
"I'm fine, and let's try this again," Bella says getting up. Easily, I follow her in standing, by grabbing the railing.
"Just take little steps," Bella says holding my hand and I watch her feet, trying to copy her.
We end up skating for two hours, and it took me until the last ten minutes to stop falling. I must admit it was fun, even though I never really got the full hang of it. The best part was watching the girls have fun.
"Edward, can we come back again before the ice melts?" Morgan asks me as I put her into the truck.
"Sure," I say rubbing my hip a little as I climb up into the cab.
"How about we go to the food court for some hot chocolate and have lunch?" Bella says and I look at her. I can see just how happy she looks. She has a slight red tint from the cold to her cheeks and her bright smile makes her eyes glow. Her happiness is making her look cuter than ever.
"Sounds good and I'm paying this time," I say and Bella just looks at me.
"I have my dad's card?" Bella says.
"I still would like to pay."
"You should save your money or spend it on Morgan and yourself."
"I will save some, but I would also like to spend some on you. Besides, the way I see it, I owe you a shitload of money," I say knowing that I still owe her the money she gave to my mom and Ed to take Morgan.
"No you don't."
"I do," I protest.
"No, you never asked for it. I chose to use my money so you don't owe me," Bella replies back and sticks her tongue out at me.
"Fine, so if I choose to buy you something then that's my choice, right?"
Bella narrows her eyes at me. "Yeah, whatever … I'll be getting you a Christmas gift anyway."
I chuckle pulling into the parking lot of the mall.
"So, I'll get you two, and if you say you'll get me two as well, then I'll just get you three." I grin stepping out of the truck helping Morgan down.
The mall is packed full of people shopping for the holidays. After lunch we go to see Santa. We stand in the line for an hour before Bella had to leave to visit the little girl's room.
"Number 2897," one of the people dressed like an elf shouts out.
"That's us," I say scanning the place for Bella.
"Hello, little girl," the man dressed as Santa says, patting his knee. Morgan moves slowly to him and he picks her up placing her on his knee.
"What would you like for Christmas this year, Morgan?"
Morgan gasps at him and I frown.
"What's with the shocked look – of course I know who you are."
Morgan bites her lip and whispers into the man's ear.
"Oh, well that last one is a big gift, but I understand and I'll try very hard to help that happen."
I look between the Santa and Morgan worried about what she could have asked for.
"Now what about you, Edward, what would you like?"
"For Morgan to have the best holiday ever," I say in shock, not understanding how he knew my name or Morgan's.
He chuckles. "What else?"
I just look at him, still shocked.
"Come on, Edward, ask me for something you really want."
I look to see Morgan is happily picking a gift with the help of one of the elves.
"A date with Bella," I say.
The Santa looks at me tilting his head.
"A date with a girl is what you're asking for?"
I nod at him. "Yeah, because I screwed up badly with her. So yeah, I'd like a date with her to show her that I'm the boy she always hoped I was."
Santa nods. "Okay, photo time," he says.
"Oh, thank God I didn't miss the photo," Bella says sounding out of breath.
"Hello, Bella," Santa says.
"Hi, Santa," Bella says giving him a kiss on his rosy cheek.
"I have almost got that gift you asked for," he says with a wink.
"I knew you would," Bella retorts.
I look between Bella and Santa trying to work out what's going on.
"Come on, Edward," Morgan says and I move to them with Bella at my side, and Morgan sitting on Santa's knee. My eyes drift down to look at Bella seeing she's smiling happily at the elf. The flash of light reminds me that we were having our photo taken.
The elf hands me the photo and I look at it seeing that we all look happy.
"Can I get another?" I ask knowing I would like to keep one for myself.
The elf nods and hands me another two. "One for each of you," she says.
Bella and Morgan head to the Hallmark shop to get a few special ornaments for the tree. Before I know it, we are heading out to the truck to go to the grocery store. Shopping with Bella was an eye opener. There are no ready-made meals going in the cart. Bella explains that everything they eat is homemade. There was also some candy, pop and snack foods, along with loads of fruit and vegetables. There was no beer or any alcohol in the cart, which for me seemed so odd. It was odd for Morgan, too, because she asked Bella if she forgot it.
Bella goes on to tell us how Renee and Charlie only drink when they have their monthly date night.
The shopping comes to just under three hundred dollars, and without shame or looking worried, Bella hands the cashier a load of coupons. I stand there open-mouthed, as the total drops down to just over a hundred dollars. I watch as Bella swipes the credit card and signs her name.
"How did you save so much?" I ask as we take the full cart of sacks to the truck.
"Easy, Renee and I always watch the ads, and today is double coupon day. We also have a member's savings card for the store, and it gives us special prices on certain things that we buy in large quantities."
"Wow," is all I can say in response.
We head back to the tree farm collecting our tree, and then head home. I carry the tree in placing it in the corner by the stand, where it will sit when we're done.
"Edward, the Christmas decorations that we have are in the basement, could you get them? They are all marked Christmas and the totes are either red or green. Morgan and I will put the groceries away and make a start on dinner."
"Yep, I'll go do that."
"After you get them up here, the tree saw is by the tool bench in the garage. Can you saw off the bottom one inch and place it into the tree stand?"
"Yeah I can do that, will you get the water ready for it?"
"Yeah, I'll fill the bottom of the stand."
As soon as I've brought the six large totes up, I set to work on the tree. It takes me about fifteen minutes to saw the tree, but I manage to easily slide the bottom into the stand filled with water. I move back and smile at the big tree. Last thing I do is cut the ties and watch the branches stretch out. I pick up my mess and throw it away, and head for the kitchen.
I walk in and smile watching Morgan and Bella working together. Washing my hands in the sink, I can't help but think about how wonderful this family time is.
"So what are we making for dinner?" I ask.
"Beef Stroganoff," Bella says.
"What can I do to help?" I ask and Bella looks at me. "I always wanted to learn how to cook."
"Okay then, you can cut the onions."
Bella takes Morgan and me through each stage showing us how to cut each vegetable, and the beef. Then she tells us how we would know when to add each thing into the pot.
"We can leave that to simmer, as we decorate the tree," Bella says putting the burner on low.
"First thing we need is the music," Bella says as she taps on the iPod and the room fills with Christmas music.
"We then need to put the tinsel on. Morgan, you're the bottom, I'll do the middle, and, Edward, you are the top."
"Oh, I wish it could be Christmas every day," Bella and Morgan sing out at the same time.
I shake my head at them as they seem to be doing more singing and dancing than tree decorating.
After the gold and black tinsel is up, we move on to the bows and bobbles, and then the many strands of clear and multi-colored fairy lights go up.
"That leaves the angel that goes on top. Do you want to put it up, Morgan?" Bella asks as Morgan bobs her head.
I pick Morgan up, and Bella hands the angel to her. I watch as Morgan carefully places the big white angel on the top of the tree. Once she has the angel on the tree, I bring her back down and set her feet on the floor.
"Okay, Morgan, now we have to switch on the lights," Bella says, showing Morgan the switch on the wall that controls the outlet the tree's plugged into. Morgan flips the switch and we all smile and clap.
"Okay, how about we decorate the window now?" Bella says as Morgan smiles, running to the large window in the living room. I watch as they unwrap and set up the fairly decent sized nativity scene, and I again can't help but smile.
"I'll go outside and get to work in the garden."
Charlie was right when he said there was only a little to do. By the time I'm done outside, Bella and Morgan have decorated the entire downstairs. The windows all have sprayed snow flecked on them and window clings. The front bay window holds the Nativity, and there is a bright star hanging in the center top of the window.
I find the girls in the kitchen and they're making Christmas cookies.
"Those smell so good," I say picking one up and taking a big bite.
I grab Morgan's glass of milk and chug it down, because the cookie's a lot warmer than I thought it would be.
"Shit, that was hot," I say.
"That's what you get for not waiting," Bella sings out and Morgan laughs.
I chuckle and kiss her cheek stealing another cookie as I pass by her.
"Edward," she yells as I move quickly away from her.
"You will have to show me how to make these," I say waving the cookie to cool it before putting it in my mouth. "These are so good, but God they're warm."
"Well, hello, everyone."
We all turn to see Renee standing at the door smiling. "The tree looks great."
"Did you see the windows? I did the one by the front door all by myself," Morgan says quickly.
"You did? Well, that's my favorite."
Morgan smiles broadly and I hug her, kissing the top of her head.
The rest of the night goes by with the four of us acting like a family. Just after Renee took Morgan to bed, Charlie pops in getting the dinner Bella had put in a container for him.
"Thanks for doing the yard, Edward. If you don't mind, I think tomorrow I'll have you help me put up the outside lights," he says as he eats a cookie.
"Yes, I'd be glad to help you, but I've never done that before."
"Don't worry; I'll take you through everything. Okay, I best get back to work."
I watch as he goes upstairs and stops to kiss Bella and Renee. He even looks in on Morgan before coming back downstairs.
"Night all," he calls out after patting my back on his way to the door.
I close up the house for the night, and head to bed. I find myself drifting into deep thoughts over how much Morgan and I have really lost, not being part of a family.
"Are you okay?" Bella asks me softly as she looks at me from her side of the bed.
"Yeah, it's just strange to be here seeing a family that works together. You know a family that openly shows their love for one another. I'm happy for you all, but I can't help feeling a little envious over it all."
"It's okay, I do understand. It took me almost a year to trust Charlie and Renee enough to let them in," Bella says pointing at her heart.
"I couldn't understand why they worried about me, asked about my day, or took time to listen to what I had to say." Bella swallows, "do you remember my first Christmas at the home with you?"
I think back to that time and the images fly though my head and I start to chuckle.
"You wanted to have a snowball fight like the others were having, but you were sick and Kate wouldn't let you out," I say and Bella nods.
"So you got flour and mixed in glitter?" I nod and shrug.
"I remember you chasing me around the home, and we both had flour and glitter everywhere. Was it you or me that threw the handful that hit Kate?"
"It was you, but I took the blame," I say as Bella bites her lip.
"She just stood there looking at us saying that she just got her hair and makeup done to go out that night."
I laugh as I can clearly see Kate's angry face in my mind.
"Good times," I say and Bella nods.
"You bought me this, that year," she says showing me a small teddy bear.
I take it from her and remember that I saved my pocket money for weeks so I could get this teddy and a sliver locket necklace for her. My eyes go back to Bella, and I see the necklace is around her neck.
"I never took it off," she says and I lean forward kissing her head. I feel so touched that she kept both of these things so close to her for so long.
"That's still my favorite Christmas of all. Charlie and Renee have made my Christmas' with them special, but for me, that was my first real one, and it was made more special because of you."
I feel a little choked up as the guilt creeps back over me.
"No, don't feel guilty," Bella says reading me so clearly. "I only told you, so you'll know. Just because your and Morgan's lives have been hard, I'm sure she has fond memories that make her smile. Sometimes it's the little things that we remember the most."
A/N: So things are getting better and Bella is very smart, isn't she? What did you think of the Swan's Christmas?