Chapter 43
Rosalie and Edward continued with the schooling they provided the children. One thing they encouraged, with Renesmee's assistance, above all else to all parents of the tribe, was for the children to learn to read, write and gain basic math skills. All parents agreed it would be a useful skill for their children and agreed that learning English for those that didn't speak it was an advantageous thing. However, one thing some began to insist on, and William became a rather adamant advocate of, was continuing with the written Quileute language that Renesmee had begun. Renesmee took care of that portion.
By November, Mitch had received a usual letter from Kathy following a long dry spell during which she was almost certainly fuming. In her letter, she told Mitch that he was, as usual, invited to Thanksgiving dinner. She expected to see Hailey there and made a point to advise that Leah was most certainly not permitted to be there. Mitch let Hailey read the letter while he ate his lunch.
"Your mother expects to see you," Mitch said after Hailey returned to the counter handing the letter back to Mitch, with an admittedly slightly overdone reaction of disgust.
"Well, you tell mother that if she expects to see me she had better grow accustomed to seeing Leah whether she likes it or not. And until she decides to treat Leah with respect and accept MY decision not to have children, she can just get updates from you with a black fucking rain cloud over her head."
"At least come with this one time. Maybe the two of you can get a chance to sit down and talk rationally."
"If I go, Leah's coming with. I don't care if that means her and I just go site seeing for three days and visit Leslie. We'll have our own fucking Thanksgiving thank you very much."
"At least sit down and talk with her," Mitch said.
"I'll talk to Leah," Hailey finally said. "If she's alright with going, then we will. But we're either getting a hotel or staying with Leslie."
"Do you think Joseph will let you?"
"If he doesn't, hotel it is," Hailey said. "I'm serious, Mitch. If mom's going to be this way, so will I."
"Hailey, in all fairness to your mother, you did just spring this on her. Hell, you sprang this on me!"
"Yes, but you reacted better," Hailey said. "I said I'd talk to Leah. If she wants to go, then we'll go."
"Hailey, if your mother says she doesn't want her there, than bringing her won't improve her mood or make her listen to you."
"Too bad."
Arguing was getting them nowhere, so Mitch just dropped the subject. Leah was already back home when he returned but he was surprised to see Mrs. Campbell there. She had come over to check on them and Leah invited her to have dinner with them. So the topic was put on hold until after they say Mrs. Campbell meander back to her house safe and sound. Leah realized Hailey appeared unhappy most of the night. She was just relieved Mrs. Campbell didn't notice. When they were finally alone and Hailey was helping her clean, that's when she finally brought it up.
"So what's the matter?" Leah asked.
"Mitch got a letter from mother," Hailey said. "It was about Thanksgiving."
"Are you two going?"
"Mother's letter said that she 'expected' to see me there and that I was not to bring you under any circumstance."
"That's alright," Leah said. "I can just celebrate with the Cullens. That's what we usually do anyway."
"No, Leah, it's not alright. It's the principle of the matter. I told Mitch that unless you're going, I'm not. He said I should at least go talk to her and that bringing you would make her less likely to speak rationally with me. I said too bad."
"Maybe Mitch is right, though," Leah said.
"No, no, no, don't do that, Leah. The woman screamed at me about you for twenty minutes before I even had a chance to get to the 'really bad' news. The last thing mom deserves from you is your empathy and understanding. Lord knows she's not giving you the same courtesy."
"Well, come on, Hailey, how did you think she was going to react? You already knew she wouldn't be happy. That's the whole reason we kept this to ourselves for so long. Maybe Mitch is right that she just needs a chance to talk. And you know what, if she yells and screams and gives you a hard time, you're more than welcome to come home and say, 'I told you so'." Hailey looked like he might argue, but then he started laughing.
"So you want me to go and you'll stay here?"
"Yes, Hailey, I'm telling you to go to Port Angeles and work things out with your mother. Maybe we'll even be able to go for Christmas."
Hailey chuckled after remembering something. "Maybe we should sneak into that cabin before I leave. Just for some good luck," he teased and Leah kicked his shin and laughed.
"No, Hailey," Leah said and the two of them just laughed. "When you go, make sure you tell Leslie I said Hi."
"I will," Hailey sighed.
The next morning, Hailey told Mitch that Leah had instructed him that going to see his mother would be a good idea and that she was happy to stay behind to Hailey and his mother could speak. Mitch started laughing and told Hailey that, "It's a good thing one of you has a rational head on your shoulders".
"See Hailey," Mitch had continued, "this is why we kept telling you that you needed a wife. The man may be the head, but the woman is the brains."
"Shut up," Hailey grumbled, even though he was laughing about it too.
Once it got to be near Thanksgiving, Mitch insisted that Hailey stay at the General Store so they could be sure to leave at a decent hour to go to Port Angeles. Leah said goodbye to him that morning and wished him good luck. Then she went to the tribe and ended up spending that entire time Hailey was away staying with Seth. Their Thanksgiving was rather typical. Hailey's was not quite so. When he and Mitch arrived, his mother seemed to be in a sour mood still. Although by this point, it wasn't Leah she was angry about, it was Hailey's surgery. They weren't there five minutes before Kathy sat Hailey down and began lecturing him like he was a child. By the time she'd had her fill of essentially yelling at him, it was 7 in the afternoon and everyone just wanted something for dinner. The following day was little different. Kathy continued to fume, whether really angry or just principle at this point Hailey wasn't sure. Clarice and Howard arrived with Jenny, and a short time later Leslie arrived with her husband and their children.
Howard and Joseph were intrigued by the news. It was something they'd known about since Kathy and Leslie returned to Port Angeles and they'd been fascinated ever since. They wondered how such a thing were possible, both the marriage and the surgery. Hailey continued to defend both his choice and his marriage until he was blue in the face. He'd never been so relieved to leave the city in his life. When he returned to Forks, Leah was at the house ready to welcome him. It was his only good experience that entire weekend. He made a point to remind Leah, "I told you so". Unfortunately by Christmas there was no improvement. Kathy still refused to allow Leah to come to the family function. So this time, Hailey refused to visit. He'd played his mother's game once, but once was all he'd tolerate. Poor Mitch ended up going alone and had to explain, in a much kinder way than Hailey had expressed, that as long as Kathy refused to at least allow Leah to courtesy of an invitation, she could expect no visit or even a letter from Hailey. While Leah didn't want Hailey to be in such a position, she did admittedly appreciate that he was standing up for her so adamantly.
Then came the New Year. Come January when Jacob and Renesmee were celebrating their anniversary, the twins were sitting up by themselves, starting to learn to walk and Renesmee would never allow them to be alone in the house. During the day, they were among the tribe where there were no stairs or sharp turns to contend with. The Cullens had begun construction on the house for Caevia and Embry further up the hill from Renesmee and Jacob. They cleared some trees so they could also have an ocean view, just from higher up. Kevin, Kyle, Embry, Aidie and any other child involved, Claire included, spent the mornings with the Cullens studying and their afternoons playing. Though still the case among the adults, English was no longer a rare language to speak among the Quileutes. The children were learning English rapidly, making communications much easier. As practice, Renesmee encouraged the children to write down Quileute stories in the written language they'd created. They started, of course, with the story of creation and the Trickster than had granted the wolves their wish to be human. They talked of Bayak the trickster Raven and his antics. But they had the most fun with writing the story of Dask'iya.
"Now, who was Dask'iya?" Rosalie asked the children when Renesmee translated what she'd told the children to write. "Can anyone tell me that story?" she asked cheerfully.
"She was an ogre," one little girl answered. "She had a big basket and she would come down from the mountain and take the children away that had been bad."
"And a Quileute girl was able to throw her in the fire and escape!" another little girl announced.
"Do we know what she looked like?" Rosalie encouraged.
"My daddy says that she was the size of two men and she was gray skinned," one little girl started.
"She was sickly and skinny with milky eyes," that little girl's brother continued. "Daddy said she had a screech like a woman's cry and she was fast and moved like a spider. And she had long sharp teeth and an angry glare."
"My goodness, she sounded scary," Rosalie said. "Does anyone know where she came from?"
"It depends on who you ask," one older boy said. "We say she appeared only when children were bad. But the Hou say she was once a human who devoured her own children and she was cursed by a trickster for her crime and she brought her anger onto children."
"Jacob showed me the cave where she supposedly lived," Renesmee said. "There was actually a pit there that looked like it had been used for a fire and tree stumps with dried sap. According to Jacob, when she kidnapped a child in her basket, she would put gum on their eyes so they couldn't see before she cooked them in the fire."
"Sounds like the witch from Hansel and Gretel," Rosalie said.
"It's around the same logic," Leah said. "But Dask'iya was different. Like he said," pointing and one of the young boy, "the Hou believe that she was human once. According to them, Dask'iya devoured her children and was punished by a trickster. But what's disputed is whether she did what she did out of desperation or cruelty. Some say she did it to get back at her husband for leaving her. Others say she did it because she was lost in the woods and was desperate for food. But here's the thing about tricksters. They aren't always as simple as 'good' or 'bad'. Sometimes a good figure can be bad as well or neutral. For example, we would argue that, since Dask'iya prayed on other people's children, she was an example of a trickster being evil."
"And she was killed by a brave Quileute girl?" Rosalie asked the children, trying to encourage them to continue writing. All the children agreed that's what happened and finished writing the story down in Quileute. Some of the children drew scary pictures of Dask'iya and what she might have looked like. As it turns out, Renesmee made a terrible mistake mentioning that Jacob had shown her Dask'iya's cave.
"Dad!" Kevin had run up to Jacob after they were released from their lessons for the day. "Mommy said you showed her the cave where Dask'iya used to live. Can we see it?!"
"Please?!" Embry Jr. reciprocated with the same excitement.
"Do you mind?" Jacob asked Renesmee.
"I suppose it couldn't hurt," Renesmee said. "But you boys behave. We wouldn't want her coming back, now would we?" Jacob chuckled at the familiar threat and the boys cheered and demanding they leave right away. Kyle and Aidie agreed they wanted to see it too. "Make sure Caevia's alright with it," Renesmee said before they left.
Embry Jr. and Aidie ran to their mother begging her to let them go. She eventually agreed and the children cheered, telling Jacob Caevia had given her permission. She did insist, however, that Embry Sr. go with them, which he was happy to do. He'd known about the place from Jacob's thoughts, but he'd never actually seen it with his own eyes. They had to go deep into the mountains to find the cave. When they arrived, the cave had looked just as it did when Jacob had brought Renesmee. It was cold and damp with a fire pit that had been abandoned for centuries and a tree stump that had been decaying for about the same length of time. The children started running further into the cave. Further than Jacob had gone with Renesmee. As they went further in, it got darker and darker and they couldn't see what was back there.
"Can we bring fire back there?" Kevin begged when Jacob dragged them out of the dark back to the entrance of the cave where they could see.
"No, Kevin. Let's not push our luck. How about instead you all tell me and Embry the story." The kids agreed and they all sat down at the entrance of the cave and told Embry Sr. and Jacob everything they talked about that morning.
"Daddy," Aidie said, "Setchi said that the Hous said Dask'iya ate her babies and that's how she became an ogre. But then he said that we said she just appeared."
"It's not that she just appeared, we just don't know where she came from."
"The problem with the Hou's argument is they're saying Dask'iya isn't an ogre, but an ice demon. And those demons aren't so smart as Dask'iya."
"Ice demons aren't smart?" Kevin asked.
"No, they're pure instinct. Dask'iya may have shared similar traits with those monsters, but she was too smart to be one. Dask'iya was picky. She only stole children. Ice demons are humans that were cannibalized and were possessed."
"You mean like a vampire?" Embry Jr. asked.
"No, no, not like a cold one. Cold ones were poisoned and they're smarter as well. They're also beautiful. Ice demons are not. Ice demons were ugly and smell like death. Cold ones are charming and able to speak with their prey. Ice demons can only mimic their victim's cries. The bite of a cold one makes you a cold one. The bite of an ice demon does nothing if you're able to escape. Both die by fire, though. They're both fast, but the cold one is faster. Cold ones remain the same forever, but Ice demons get bigger with each victim. For every victim they eat, they grow in size, yet remain withered and emaciated."
"Have you ever seen an Ice demon?" Kevin asked.
"I've not, but my grandpa did. He told me of a hideous creature that was twice his height with withered lips, milky red eyes, and sharp teeth. It's skin was paler than any cold one he'd seen and it appeared as though it might snap in half if you grabbed any part of its body. It had long, gangly fingers with claws at the end and he told me the smell was like being near a body that had been rotting in the hot sun. But the scream he told me about it what made me shutter. Dad swore to me that he remembered hearing that scream when he was a boy. It sounded like a human's scream that was hoarse. Then he told me about how this thing moved. He said when he went to attack it, it jumped away and climbed on the trees as if it were a squirrel. It didn't move as fast as a cold one, but it was far more ruthless. It had skin like a cold one, and didn't stop moving until he forced its head from its body. He said he'd set it on fire just to be safe."
"Did he ever see another one?" Embry Jr. asked.
"No," Jacob said. "That's the only one he'd ever seen."
Jacob and Embry Sr. kept the children at the cave for about an hour before insisting it best they leave. Perhaps it was silly, but the two of them were superstitious and worried about what might happen if they stayed there after dark. When they returned, Kevin and Embry Jr. went right to Caevia and Renesmee and told them all about it. That night when Renesmee had put all the children to bed and she and Jacob were in their room, she just smiled and giggled. Jacob assured her it was true and Renesmee smiled and kissed Jacob before he went on patrol.
By spring, Embry's and Caevia's house was completed. High on the hill from Renesmee and Jacob, the Cullens built them a house equipped with two main floors and a large basement that was ensured to be reinforced to effectively prevent leaks from the rain. At the present time, that basement was a giant playroom where all the children would play and sometimes sleep whenever Kevin and Kyle were at the house, which they were frequently. There was the kitchen, dining, and living areas on the ground floor. Given they were surrounded by trees, it was decided that a fireplace would not be suitable, but the living area still had plenty of room and toys and books to keep all the children entertained. Embry's and Caevia's bedroom even had a balcony just like Renesmee's and Jacob's, however their home was a much different style. Their home was much more liken to homes found on the east coast. She remembered enjoying it there. There were also three huge rooms upstairs besides the one Embry and Caevia would use. Embry Jr. had one room, Aidie had another, and the third room was a nursery for the triplets. It was decided that the room Embry had would be a boy's room, Aidie's would be a girl's room and the triplet's room would remain a nursery until Embry Sr. and Caevia stopped having children.
Caevia and Embry didn't have a dinner party so to speak at their home when they moved in like Renesmee and Jacob had. But everyone was still allowed to come and go as they pleased. By summer of that year, the Cullens were devising a housing project for all tribesmen that wanted them. Some, as was to be expected, preferred to remain in their tents. However, those with families frequently requested that houses be built for them. They were generally about the same size, sometimes two floors, sometimes one ground floor and a basement depending on what the family wanted. It was also during that summer that Jacob went to the Cullen house immediately after patrol and met Edward waiting for him at the back patio.
"Certainly took you long enough," Edward said.
"Let's just get this over with before I have time to change my mind again," Jacob said. "Carlisle's here?"
"Yes, he's still here, but he'll have to leave soon."
"Whatever. He can finish me in 10 minutes can't he?"
"Yes, he can," Edward confirmed while Jacob went right up the stairs to Carlisle's office. Carlisle met him there just seconds later.
"Alright, Jacob," Carlisle got right to business. "Just try to relax. It'll make this all easier. You'll be asleep through the worst part and you'll be back to normal before the end of the day I'm quite certain. However, I must make sure it's clear that you must refrain from copulation until we're sure you're sterile."
"That means sex, right?" Jacob said, starting to get nervous again.
"Yes," Carlisle smiled. "Try to calm down, Jacob. I promise you have nothing to worry about. I can ask Jasper to-"
"No," Jacob said. "I would prefer there be as few people in the room as possible."
"I was under the impression you were not bothered by nudity and others seeing you nude," Carlisle said since Jacob had walked into the house and got straight upstairs without an ounce of clothing on. "I must be frank and say it's rather unsettling when you do."
"It's nudity, Carlisle. It's nothing anyone in this house hasn't seen before. And it's not that. I just don't want too many people in the room when you cut me open."
"Jacob, I'll hardly be cutting you open. It'll be two small puncture holes that I'm sure will begin healing before I'm even finished."
"I'd still rather not make this into some bizarre social gathering."
"No trouble at all," Carlisle said with a light chuckle and handed Jacob a glass of warm tea. "These are herbs your uncle showed me how to make."
Jacob gulped it down before Carlisle finished. "I know what it is," he said once he had it down. "I hate that stuff. It's so bitter."
"He assures me it's supposed to help one relax."
"It does once it's down," Jacob confirmed. He made himself take deep breaths and kept reminding himself that this wasn't going to be so bad as he kept making it out to be in his head. Hailey had promised as much when he'd had it done. It was nothing. At worst, he'd be sore for a brief period. And that was under normal circumstances. The way he healed, he might not even have that to worry about that.
"Alright, Jacob," Carlisle said, grabbing Jacob's attention suddenly. He saw the clothe in his hand and started getting nervous again. "I'm going to use chloroform to help you fall asleep for the procedure. Once I have this over your mouth, I need you to take deep breaths. When you wake up, it'll all be over."
"I'm ready," Jacob took another deep breath. Carlisle pressed on Jacob's shoulder instructing him to lie down and when he did, Carlisle gave Jacob one more verbal indication that he would be applying the clothe before placing it over Jacob's mouth.
Jacob took deep breaths like Carlisle had instructed and was finally starting to relax. His eyelids got heavy and then he finally fell asleep. He wasn't sure how long he was out. It couldn't have been long. When he started opening his eyes, Carlisle was cleaning his tools in rubbing alcohol that Jacob could smell from the bed. He didn't even feel sore.
"Is it done?" Jacob asked.
"Yes Jacob, you are done," Carlisle said kindly. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"I guess not," Jacob said as he sat up. "It's been a while, so refresh me on the specifics of the rules."
"Well, like I said, no sex until we're sure you're sterile. You'll need to masturbate a minimum 10 times though 20 will be preferred. That will ensure that any remaining sperm is discarded. Then, at the end of the month, we'll take a sample. If it's clear of sperm, you can resume usual sexual activity. If it's not, you'll need to masturbate a few more times and we'll check again in another month."
"Alright," Jacob said, feeling a little groggy still but no pain. He stood from the bed and stayed still a moment while he tried to regain full consciousness.
"How do you feel?"
"Tired," Jacob said.
"No worries, that'll pass in a moment. You're welcome to relax until you feel better."
"No, I'm fine," Jacob said. "I just want to go home and sleep."
"That will do you good. Go home and get some rest."
Jacob nodded and left the Cullen house feeling relieved. It really hadn't been as bad as he kept thinking. And he felt like a weight was finally off his shoulder. He'd kept putting this off and putting it off and he'd finally just gone and done it. He felt a lot better now that it was done and over with. He and Renesmee wouldn't have any more children. Once the children were grown, it would be just them. When he thought about it, it sounded kind of nice. He was beginning to understand why Hailey didn't want children. Jacob loved all his kids, but he couldn't deny that when it had been just him and Renesmee, things were a little quieter. At least until she was taken back, but he wasn't thinking about that. When he returned home, he jumped up the side of the house through their balcony hoping Renesmee might be there, but she wasn't in bed. He heard her downstairs. It sounded like the children were having breakfast. He found his pants and put them on before stepping downstairs. Renesmee was alone at the table with the twins feeding them apple puree now that they'd had their morning milk. Kevin and Kyle were with Embry Sr. and Caevia.
"Morning, Jacob," Renesmee smiled. "How was patrol?"
"Uneventful," Jacob said. "I did it."
"Did what?" Renesmee asked.
"Got the surgery," Jacob clarified. Renesmee smiled an encouraging smile.
"How'd it go?"
"It wasn't so bad," Jacob said.
"I'm glad to hear it. How're you feeling?"
"Like nothing happened," Jacob said. "He said I'll need to masturbate until he can confirm I'm sterile."
"He'll check at the end of the month, right?"
"Yeah," Jacob said and walked over to Renesmee until he was right before her and kneeled down to look right at her. "I don't suppose you'd mind helping me with that would you?" Jacob asked seductively and Renesmee laughed.
"Of course I will," Renesmee answered and gave him a kiss. Jacob smiled and reciprocated the kiss. Then he stood suddenly and picked Renesmee up as if she were a feather and kept kissing her, though she stopped Jacob when he started pulling up her dress. "Let's wait until the twins are down for a nap," Renesmee said.
"When will that be?" Jacob asked as he kept kissing Renesmee's neck.
"After they eat lunch," Renesmee said as she tilted her head to the side letting Jacob continue to kiss her.
He eventually let her go, but when he did, he went upstairs and scratched one required release off the list. When afternoon finally came and the twins were down for a nap, Jacob realized this might not be quite so easy as he'd anticipated. Every time Renesmee would touch him, he kept wanting more, but, obviously, he couldn't have it for the time being and almost immediately it began wearing on his nerves and driving him mad. At the halfway point through that time, Jacob was in Embry Sr.'s basement with the children after their lesson and a few other kids. It had been raining all day, so most everyone was inside.
"Just think of it this way,"Embry said after Jacob had his fill of complaining. "It's halfway over. You'll be having sex again in no time. Although, there's just something so nice about getting more than just a hand." Jacob punched Embry's arm and he started chuckling.
"Shut up,"Jacob said. "I'll remember this when it's you and Caevia's gotten tired of being barefoot and pregnant with your little monsters."
"Another of which is on the way, by the way. Thank you for asking." Jacob looked at Embry a little surprised.
"I assume this was told to you this morning?"
"Yeah, she told me this morning. We're having another baby. It'll be a spring baby."
"Is this the last one?"
"We haven't decided yet,"Embry said.
"Jesus, you two," Jacob said. "At the rate you two are going, you'll have your very own village." Embry laughed.
"Shut up. There won't be that many. Just enough that Caevia has all the children she wants. If she decides she wants more after this one, then I'll give her more. She deserves it."
"Whatever you say,"Jacob said. "If it's a boy, name it after me."
"No,"Embry said bluntly and Jacob started laughing.
"Why the hell not?"
"Because Caevia doesn't like you. Well….never mind. She doesn't mind you. You're not her favorite person. If I suggested naming a child after you, she'd never agree to it."
"What do you mean she doesn't like me? I'm nice to her."
"Yes, Jacob, but…..you just annoy her. Like a little brother, I guess."
"She wants annoying, I'll give her annoying," Jacob said. "Don't be surprised when she screams after finding a frog in her bed or a bug in one of her potato cakes."
"Don't you dare," Embry said. "I hold no responsibility for what she does to you if you do that."
"Sure, sure," Jacob waved dismissively. "So baby number six," Jacob said. "These rooms you've got will certainly come in handy."
"Makes me feel like a proper white man," Embry said sarcastically and the two of them laughed.
"You know what's funny?"
"What's that?"
"These houses the Cullens built us are probably nicer than anything that's in Forks." The two of them were quiet a moment as they thought about that, and then they both started laughing. They laughed so hard they nearly started to cry. "There's something poetic about that," Jacob finally said.
"And to think we didn't even have to pay for it," Embry smirked.
"For now," Jacob said. "Don't be surprised when I start taxing you for all this shit." Embry punched Jacob's arm and they started laughing again.
"You're not getting a cent out of me," Embry said as he laughed more.
"Name your next son after me and we'll consider your property tax waved."
"I'll talk to Caevia," Embry laughed.
Embry told Caevia later that night what Jacob had said and, predictably, Caevia was not keen on Jacob's little joke. Her response was, "You tell Jacob that not only are we not naming our son after him, but he can take his 'tax' and shove it up his ass." Embry told Jacob that night and Jacob threatened that she, "May very well find a frog in their bed in the not so distant future." Shortly after, it was salmon season and that meant Mitch and Hailey coming to the tribe to trade. Jacob met the pair near the entrance of the main village and, when they looked around, they saw some small houses that were in the midst of being constructed or were near completed.
"I didn't realize you were taking on housing?" Mitch said when he saw the houses.
"The Cullens convinced me of the usefulness of it, so they've been assisting us with the project," Jacob said. He noticed Hailey raise an eyebrow, but he said nothing on the matter. Rather, he just asked where Leah was. "I think she's at the shore catching clams."
"I'll go look for her," Hailey said.
"Come now, Hailey, you saw her this morning and you'll see her tonight. Just help me with the meat."
"I can't come and not say hi to her," Hailey said, then stepped down from the cart and went to find Leah. She was at the shore gathering clams as Jacob had said she would be. He stopped at the shoreline and waved at Leah. She smiled and came out of the water with the basket and the two shared a quick kiss.
"How's your day been so far?"
"Rather boring," Hailey said. "So where'd all these houses come from?"
"The Cullens are building them. I told you they were, didn't I?"
"Yes, but just last year they finished that monstrosity Jacob and Renesmee live in. And yet, somehow since then they've finished another monstrosity for Caevia and Embry and now a bunch of houses for other people here? How're they getting all these houses done so fast? Something's just weird."
"Hailey, what have I told you about being a busybody?" Leah teased.
"It's not being a busybody, Leah. It's being suspicious."
"Suspicious of what?" Leah giggled.
"I don't know," Hailey said. "The Cullens are weird. I don't know what about them is weird, but something about them is weird."
"Well, shit, Hailey, we're all weird," Leah said rather offhandedly.
"Can you build lots of houses in no time flat too," Hailey smiled.
"No," Leah said and shrugged, not wanting to say more than she should again. "I'm just saying. It's rude to call someone weird."
"Unless they are," Hailey sighed and kissed Leah again. "Forget I said anything. It's just something that's been bothering me. I'll drop it."
"You'd be better off," Leah said. With a slight sigh, Hailey dropped the matter and gave Leah another kiss before telling her he'd see her when she got home and returning to the cart.
By the end of the month, Jacob went right to the Cullen house one morning after patrol and, to Jacob's relief, he was now sterile. He and Renesmee could resume their usual activities. With a thank you to Carlisle and a relieved smile, Jacob ran right home desperate to get back before the children woke up. Thankfully, Renesmee was still asleep in bed when he hopped up the side of the house through their balcony. So Jacob slipped into their bed beside her and took her into his arms with her back against his chest. He brushed her hair off her neck and started kissing her. She twitched from how it tickled and started opening her eyes and rubbing his arm.
"Morning," Renesmee mumbled, still slightly asleep.
"Morning," Jacob whispered in her ear while he trailed his hand down her body until he reached between her legs. Renesmee sighed when he started rubbing her sensitive nub with his finger. "I saw Carlisle this morning. He said I'm sterile."
"Did he?" Renesmee sighed and brought her hand down to his. Jacob mumbled a positive affirmation as he continued to kiss Renesmee's neck. He ran his tongue along her neck and made her shudder and move her head further allowing him more access.
Jacob licked up her neck to her ear and bit her gently. Renesmee started whimpering gently as he kept rubbing and brushing his fingers over her entrance and slipping his fingers inside. She moaned when his fingers entered her, so he stayed inside and used his thumb to continue rubbing her clitoris. Renesmee took her hand off Jacob's wrist and lifted it around so her fingers went into his short hair and clutched onto him. Jacob rubbed his erection against her lower back, and then began thrusting against her when she moaned just a little louder. Normally, this would be the farthest they'd go and he'd just thrust against her until they both climaxed. Not this time.
Jacob felt Renesmee getting closer. When he did, he removed his fingers and replaced them with his erection in one strong thrust. Renesmee moaned and tightened her grip on Jacob's hair. Jacob started sucking on Renesmee's skin and released a guttural growl at the feel of her. He continued to thrust and suck on her skin while she kept her hand on his head. Jacob kept his fingers between her legs as he thrust, touching her intimately and making her moan that much more. He started getting faster as she got closer again. She took her hand from his hair and brought it back down over Jacob's hand. Then finally, her toes curled and she climaxed with a quiet whimper that was the result of her forcing back a loud squeal. The crushing sensation of Renesmee's orgasm sent Jacob into a frenzy and he started thrusting even harder and faster, prolonging Renesmee's waves of pleasure. Then he reached his own end. He took his hand away from her center and brought it to her waist, crushing her to him in a tight hug as his own orgasm radiated throughout his body. He sucked on her shoulder as he came and moaned into her skin. He was still a moment and then relaxed, calming his hold on her and taking his lips away from her shoulder. They both sighed in contentment as they melted in one another's arms. They stayed that way until the twins began crying in the other room, starting the rest of the day.
As the year progressed, the housing project became more and more panned out. The area where the main village resided remained and, in a sense, became a small quad or town of its own where people met and continued with certain chores and weddings and funerals would be held. It was also where some families that preferred to remain in tents resided. William and Sara were among those that remained in a tent, but they were not above visiting Renesmee's and Jacob's home from time to time to have dinner and spend time with the children. And then, of course, enjoy the view from the back porch when it was raining or when whale season came along.
As Renesmee had suggested, when that time of year came, Edward and Carlisle obtained a large boat to take the children out to get a closer look. They remained a reasonable distance, but all the children that went got to see the whales closer than ever and watched them swim and get splashed with water when one leaped up high and fell back into the water. The twins and triplets were still too young for such an endeavor, but Edward promised them that when they were older, he'd take them too. Still only learning to speak, Nathan and Natalie and the triplets cheered eagerly at the idea. By this time, Caevia was beginning to show, but she wasn't very big. Within a brief period, Edward was able to verify she was only carrying one. Compared to the triplets, this pregnancy would be a breeze.
That following Christmas, Hailey and his mother were still not on speaking terms. So he spent the holidays with the Cullens while Mitch went to Port Angeles to 'face the beast' as Hailey put it. The center of the village still sported the evergreen tree that was decorated every year. Most went to the Cullen house for a Christmas party and dinner. Bella gave Claire a brand new violin and the two of them with Renesmee on the piano played Christmas music for most of the night. Kevin and Kyle sat next to Renesmee as she played and sometimes tried playing too. Embry Jr. and Aidie were in the music room with them sleeping on the loveseat.
Quil sat next to them and listened to Claire play. According to Edward's estimation, Claire would be turning 13 in the spring. In truth, he couldn't believe she'd grown so fast. It seemed like just yesterday that he'd become a wolf and imprinted on her almost immediately. Within days as he recalled. She'd not even been a few hours old at the time. He remembered how nervous he'd been when he went to her parents to tell them he'd imprinted on their daughter. They'd been thrilled when they knew. Quil became their go to babysitter whenever Claire's mother needed to be left alone. The older she got, the more she relied on him as her confidant and best friend. She still did. Whenever Yaloweih teased her or she had an argument with a friend or her parents, Quil was the one she turned to. He remembered when she and her brother had been shot by the hunter. It was, beyond any doubt, the most frightening moment of his life. The fear he might lose her never left his mind to this day. It was the reason he always came with her to the Cullen house, why he always stayed by her side when she played or was with her friends. Last time he'd left her alone, he almost lost her.
In all that time since he'd imprinted on her, she had gotten taller, her thick black hair was longer than ever and always up in a bun that Alice had shown her how to do. Her hair was always wavy when it was down because of that bun. Her nails were always short per Bella's instructions. Long nails simply were not acceptable for devoted violinists. Looking back on it, he actually remembered that being a big issue Renesmee would have. If she made a mistake, typically it was because her nails were too long. Claire had even started biting her nails because of it until Alice promptly smacked her off the habit and introduced her to proper nail clippers and nail files that Claire now used frequently. Yet despite the short nails, she still had such long fingers.
He started noticing her blush too. When he'd request a song, tell her he liked her bun that day or complimented her, she always blushed. He knew she was becoming a woman in some ways. But she just wasn't a woman yet. He knew she had feeling for him. Maybe even romantic ones. Though at this age it would only be a crush. Yet she was still just a girl. Quil just didn't feel the same way yet. He knew he would soon, though. He didn't know when it would happen or how, but he knew one day he'd see her doing nothing out of the ordinary and, suddenly, he'd be in love. Not platonically in love, but romantically. Bella, Claire and Renesmee finished playing Silent Night and stopped a moment to allow Claire a moment to rest.
"Claire," Quil said when she'd had a moment. "What's the name of that one song about the men who bring gifts to Jesus?"
"We Three Kings?" she suggested.
"Yeah, that one. Would you mind playing that next?"
"Sure," she said enthusiastically. Almost immediately, she brought up her violin and Bella and Renesmee joined in playing We Three Kings.
While they played, Quil leaned against the wall and closed his eyes listening to the song. Kevin, Kyle, Embry Jr. and Aidie remained at the Cullen house that night falling asleep playing with their new toys. They woke up the next morning where they'd fallen and Esme even brought them breakfast in the living room, but they had to promise they wouldn't spill any food on the floor. They all spent the remainder of the year with the Cullens until New Year's Eve when people flocked to the Cullen house again for food and counting down to 1912. After everyone counted down, Bella, Renesmee and Claire all played Auld Lang Syne as they did every year. After they played, Claire ran over to Quil and hugged him tight around his neck.
"I love you,"she'd said to him. Quil patted her arm and leaned his head against hers.
"I love you too, Claire,"Quil said back. Jacob and Embry teased Quil about that for days.
In Caevia's waning months of pregnancy, she frequently requested that Renesmee look after the children for her. At least at night. Rae, Jae and Sharisa were frequent guests as well. Kevin and Embry Jr. were also frequently helping Renesmee with the babies. Renesmee laughed the first time she handed Embry his little brother and asked him to hold him for a moment while she got something. Embry had held Jae at arm's length unsure what to do. He was crying and he just stared at his little brother asking what he wanted. But when Renesmee returned, she saw Kevin holding Nathan upside down by his feet and Embry doing the same to Jae. Kyle was doing the same thing to Natalie while Aidie was patting Rae and Sharisa's bellies like little drums. Rae, Sharisa and Natalie were not the least bit amused by their siblings' activities and Renesmee rushed to Kyle and Aidie first to make them stop. Whatever Embry had done made Jae stop crying on the other hand, and Jae and Nathan were both giggling from being upside down. All the same, Renesmee demanded they gently put their brothers down immediately so they wouldn't hurt them.
"But Aunt Nessie, I can make the Jae Bird fly!" Embry had protested as he stood up and started swinging Jae around. The yelp of fear that escaped Renesmee was matched only by the suddenness that she'd grabbed Jae so that he was finally upright again and no longer being swung around. Jae was still laughing by the time Renesmee had him in her arms, but she feared it was the closest she would have to a heart attack. Both boys promptly served an hour in the corner on either side of the room to think about what they did and for scaring Renesmee nearly to death.
Having heard about the incident, Edward inflicted his own discipline later that day by making both boys, in French, repeat over and over again, "Je promets de ne pas tenir mon frère par ses pieds et tourner autour de lui," until the two of them nearly fell asleep. The two of them were hearing those words in their nightmares. They were still mumbling the words in their sleep when they fell asleep that day.
"What are they talking about?" Jacob asked Renesmee when he came home and overheard the boys mumbling.
"'I promise not to hold my brother by his feet and spin him around,'" Renesmee translated. "Embry had Jae by his feet and started spinning that boy around like he was a disc. Scared me near to death!"
"He did," Jacob laughed. "Did Kevin do that to Nathan too or something?"
"He only held him upside down," Renesmee said. Jacob looked at Nathan who was on the floor with his sister and the triplets playing. Or, more appropriately, they were chewing on their toys.
"Nathan," Jacob said and the little boy looked up at Jacob. "Did Kevin hang you upside down?"
"Yes!" Nathan yelled with a big smile.
"Why'd he do that?"
"Jae was, um, cwying, and um, Embwy pick up and big bwother said me too!" Jacob just chuckled and kneeled down to pat Nathan on the head.
"So it was fun?"
"Yes! Kevin and Embwy got in twoble!" Jae, Rae, Sharisa and Natalie giggled too.
"I heard," Jacob chuckled. He stood back up and looked at Renesmee. "Where are Kyle and Aidie?"
"They're in the back room reading," Renesmee said. "Would you mind checking on them?"
Jacob nodded and went to the back room where he found Aidie and Kyle. What he saw made him laugh out loud. They weren't reading so much as the two of them were asleep with their faces literally in their books. Jacob woke everyone for dinner of potato cakes, steamed veggies and lentils. The twins and triplets had started weaning already. Caevia and Renesmee had given them milk in the morning, but the rest of the day was solid food. The goal was to have them completely weaned by summer. Though Natalie was proving to be an exceedingly fussy eater. She loved fruit, she loved potatoes, but she didn't like many vegetables unless they were cut very small and she couldn't taste it among things she did like. She also refused to eat meat. She had watched Jacob break down a salmon and handed her some to try, but she wouldn't put it in her mouth. Renesmee suspected seeing Jacob kill the fish frightened her. Then she saw some men in the tribe bring a dead deer to the Cullen house for a Christmas feast and she wouldn't eat it. She would not budge.
"I wouldn't worry about it so much," Carlisle said to Renesmee. "We'll introduce other foods to make up for it." They did, unfortunately, discover when they introduced Natalie to peanuts that she was allergic. She and the other children had some bread and jam with some peanuts and within minutes, Edward was practically flying Natalie up to Carlisle's office because her throat had started to close and they needed to open her airways.
They tried, more cautiously this time, to see if she had the same reaction to seeds. They tried pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and flax seeds, but she did not have a negative reaction to those, so Carlisle breathed a sigh of relief and instructed Renesmee to ensure Natalie had seeds every day for one meal in one form or another. Carlisle also tested Kevin, Kyle and Nathan to see if they suffered any allergies like Natalie did. To everyone's relief, the boys were fine. Natalie was very grumpy with Nathan when she found out he wasn't allergic to anything. But she forgave him by the end of the day and gave him a big hug.
They later attempted to introduce Natalie to cheese just to check for any other intolerances. However, upon asking what it was and being told it was cow's milk cheese, she attested that was 'gross' and refused to eat it. They eventually told her to at least taste it, so she did. Within an hour, her stomach hurt so bad she was crying and she suffered painful digestive cramps until it was out of her system. Carlisle confirmed that lactose intolerance could be added to her list of allergies and promised they would never make her eat it again. Once again, they checked the boys for this as well. Kevin and Kyle were fine, but Nathan shared the same intolerance with much the same violent reaction. Just to be sure, Carlisle tested Caevia's children to check if maybe the intolerances came from either Jacob or Embry, but Embry Jr. through to the triplets were fine. When it came to be the first week in April, Caevia finally had hers and Embry's sixth baby. A little boy they named Peta. Jacob told them they could expect to see their bill for their taxes shortly and Embry punched Jacob in the shoulder and laughed.
"This is their sixth, correct?" Mitch asked Leah when she told them. It was raining that day, so she decided to come to the shop with Hailey rather than take the trip to the tribe. The walk through the rain was shorter at least.
"Yes, it's their sixth child and third little boy."
"Please tell me they're stopping now," Hailey said.
"I doubt it," Leah said.
"You'd think she'd be tired of it by now," Hailey said.
"Some people like children, Hailey," Mitch said, with, he noticed, some slight passive aggressiveness.
"What has you so upset suddenly?" Hailey asked.
"A new letter from your mother this morning demanding I tell you to write her. She's losing her patience with you."
"I didn't realize she had more patience to lose," Hailey said. "Has she said anything about Leah?"
"Not a word," Mitch said. "She's only demanding you write her."
"And say what? I'm not going to say anything that'll make her happy."
Mitch sighed, "Never mind. I'll write her." Mitch returned to his lunch and paper. Moments later, Edward stepped into the shop with his flock of grandchildren and Caevia's children. The twins and triplets sauntered in staying close to Edward so they had something to grab onto in case they fell. "Afternoon, Mr. Cullen," Mitch said.
"Afternoon, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Dauer, I was wondering if you might fix my watch. It's stopped ticking."
"I'm afraid all my equipment's at my house. If you're alright with waiting, I can run home and grab them."
"I'll wait, that's fine," Edward said. Hailey left the counter and put on his jacket and hat before running back to the house. "So how are you and Hailey?" Edward asked Leah.
"We're fine," she said.
"Now if only the boy would reconcile with his mother," Mitch mumbled.
"As I understand it, she's upset about Hailey's surgery is that correct?"
"That's her biggest gruff with him," Mitch said. "She's still not keen on Leah, I'm afraid, but I guarantee you Kathy would've likely cooled down by now were it not for the lack of children. And Leah here's stopped trying to talk to Hailey about all this."
"Don't be like that, Mitch," Leah sighed. "I've tried all I can to get him to write. You should know by now the man can be like talking to a brick wall."
"I know, I know," Mitch sighed. "It's not your fault, dear. In truth they're both being stubborn."
"I'm sure they'll work it out eventually," Edward said. He noticed Kevin and Embry start looking through the papers and put a nickel on Mitch's counter to pay for them.
"Grandpa," Kevin said. "The British made a ship that can't sink!" Edward, although already knowing what he was talking about, looked at Kevin strangely.
"There's no such thing, Kevin," Edward said.
"No, he's right," Mitch said. "The Titanic will apparently be having its maiden voyage come the 12th. The papers are saying it's the grandest ship ever built and that it's unsinkable."
"Well, if the papers say it, then it must be true," Leah said with light sarcasm.
"Is there anything else interesting in the paper?" Edward asked.
"No," Embry said. "Someone died."
"Yes, Henry Blakely died yesterday," Mitch said. "His funeral is Saturday."
"That is a shame," Edward said.
"He died an old man," Mitch said. "You know, boys," Mitch said, "He was a veteran. He fought in the war for the North. Damn near lost his leg from shrapnel. But he got lucky." The mere thought made Edward shudder inwardly.
"Lucky indeed," Edward said.
"Mom said it was scary," Kevin said without thinking. Thankfully, Mitch didn't seem to notice.
"Yes, boys, it was very scary," Mitch said. "It's a little before your mother's time, but I can attest it was not pleasant at all." Realizing he'd said too much, Kevin clamed up and didn't respond. Instead, he looked at Embry.
"How's Peta?" he asked, wanting to change the subject.
"He's fine, I guess," Embry said. "He's asleep most of the time, so he's really boring."
"That's the newest baby's name, right?" Mitch asked.
"Yes, his name's Peta. I asked Caevia where she got the name. She says it was her brother's name," Edward replied.
"She named her son after her brother?" Leah said, raising an eyebrow.
"Why is that so strange? I did not realize Caevia had siblings," Mitch said.
"It's a very long story," Edward said. "She didn't have a good relationship with her brother. As far as she's aware, he ran away from home and she never saw him again. That was after their parents died."
"Dreadful shame," Mitch said. "I don't think I ever asked how she came to live with your family."
"She was given to us as collateral for medical service Carlisle had provided someone. Renesmee took to her immediately so we agreed to take her. We never saw her as a slave, but I suppose some might come to that assumption about Caevia."
"How old was she when she came to your care?" Mitch asked.
"We don't know," Edward answered honestly.
"She would be around your daughter's age right?" Mitch asked. "How old is your daughter now?"
"Renesmee's 28 now," Edward lied. "We're assuming Caevia's about her age." Hailey finally returned then with all his tools. "There you are, Mr. Dauer," Edward said.
"Sorry about the wait," Hailey said. "Just come back with me and I'll get that fixed for you."
Hailey went to the back of the shop to the kitchen and sat down with his tools. Edward came in with the youngest following close behind him and handed Hailey his watch. Wanting to allow Hailey some quiet, Edward took the children back up front so he could check the shop for any other items he might need and to talk more with Mitch and Leah. A few minutes after Hailey started, though, he saw a tiny head peak up at him at the corner of his eye. He looked in that direction and saw Jae.
"Which one are you?" he asked.
"Jae," the little boy said. "Whatchyu doin mister?"
"I'm fixing a watch," Hailey said with some slight passive aggression.
"Can I help?" he asked innocently.
"No, you cannot help," Hailey said and returned to his work. Suddenly, the little face he was seeing at the corner of his eye started getting closer. Then he realized Jae was crawling onto the chair next to Hailey.
"Can I watch?" Jae asked.
"I'd prefer you didn't," Hailey said. He returned to his work, but stopped again when he realized Jae wasn't moving. "What?"
"Why are those tools small?" he asked.
"Because it's a small item I'm working on," Hailey said. "It also requires a lot of focus, so if you wouldn't mind, go back up front with the other kids."
"It's boring," Jae said.
"Well, this is very boring. So go back up front where it's less boring."
"Why fix watch if it boring?" Jae asked.
"Because grownups like to do boring things," Hailey said, beginning to get really aggravated.
"Why?" Jae asked.
"Because," Hailey answered.
"Because why?" Jae said.
"Okay," Hailey said practically slamming his tools on the table and grinding his teeth. "I'm getting closer and closer to snapping at you. If you don't want me to do that, go back up front and let me work."
"I can be quiet," Jae said.
"It's not," Hailey started, but stopped and started rubbing his face while he sighed. "Fine. Just keep quiet and you can sit there."
"Okay!" Jae said enthusiastically and quite the opposite of quietly. Hailey took a deep breath and tried to ignore him while he worked. Jae did as he was told and stayed very quiet, but he continued to stare. That alone started to annoy Hailey.
"Please go back up front," Hailey said, stopping his work suddenly.
"But I'm being quiet," Jae protested.
"And you're staring at me. It's weird." Finally, far later than Hailey wanted, Leah came to the back.
"Jae, what are you doing back here?"
"Mr. Dauer said he's fixing a watch. He said I can watch if I'm quiet."
"Leah, please take him back up front," Hailey said. Leah smiled a little and picked Jae up.
"Come on Jae, let's go back up front and leave Mr. Dauer alone."
"But I wanna stay back here," Jae complained.
"I know sweetie, but Mr. Dauer's trying to work and he needs some privacy. Fixing watches is very detail oriented and he needs peace and quiet."
"I was being quiet," Jae continued to protest. He sounded sad, so Leah looked at Hailey.
"Hailey, do you mind just letting him sit back here with you?"
"God damn it," Hailey muttered to himself. "Fine," he finally said. Leah placed Jae back on the seat he'd been on and Jae watched intently with a little smile. Hailey glared at Jae a moment but when his little smile didn't falter, Hailey sighed and returned to his work.
Leah stayed in the back with them just in case. Jae started playing with some of Hailey's tools, but Leah instructed him not to touch those tools while Hailey was working. Hailey did his best to ignore Jae as he worked. When he finally finished the watch, he went back to the front and handed it to Edward.
"It's working now. You just had a worn out wheel."
"Thank you, Mr. Dauer. And thank you for being so patient with Jae." Edward looked down at Jae and patted his head. "Did you learn anything while watching."
"I learned that, um, watches need tiny tools and the parts are small."
"It's always good to learn new things," Edward smiled. "It was a pleasure seeing you," Edward said to Hailey, Leah and Mitch. They all said their goodbyes and Edward finally left with the children.
"That," Hailey said suddenly, pointing at the door, "is why I don't want kids." Leah smiled while Mitch just rolled his eyes.
"Just get back to work," Mitch said. Later that night, when Leah and Hailey had returned home, she started making dinner and Hailey started working on one of his other watches. While their soup cooked, Leah left the stove and went to Hailey and started watching him work.
"Stop doing that," Hailey said when he felt Leah behind him.
"Doing what?" she smiled.
"You know exactly what. You're teasing me," Hailey said. Leah laughed and wrapped her arms around Hailey's neck and kissed his cheek.
"Oh come on," Leah said. "I'm just coming over to check on you." She kept kissing his cheek and Hailey placed down the watch and tools so he could rest a hand on Leah's wrist.
"That was weird," Hailey said.
"You mean Jae?" Leah said between kisses.
"Yes," Hailey said. "Don't let him do that again."
"He was just curious," Leah said. "I'm sure he won't bother you again."
"Good," Hailey said. Leah laughed again and Hailey finally reciprocated her kiss.
At Jacob and Renesmee's house, they were all sitting for dinner when Kevin brought up that they'd gone to the General Store with grandpa that day and how Jae was staring at Mr. Dauer the whole time he worked on Edward's watch. Kevin even showed the image to Jacob and he started laughing. "I'm sure he loved that," Jacob said sarcastically. Just a few short weeks later, Edward returned to the General Store with all the children in tow yet again, but this time it was to buy pencils for the children. Hailey was getting a large number of pencils from the back of the store, then turned around to see Jae behind him.
"God damn it, don't sneak up on me!" Hailey yelled when he realized Jae was behind him.
"Nathan's gwanpa says we needs pencils," Jae said.
"Yes, he said that, now why did you follow me to the back!" Hailey yelled. Mitch came in suddenly, hearing the noise, and looked at Jae.
"Now, young man, what brings you back here?"
"I wanted to help get pencils," Jae said. "But mister started yelling at me." Jae looked like he was about to start crying and Mitch ran right to him and picked the boy up.
"Why did you have to yell at him like that?" Mitch scolded. "You scared the poor boy to death."
"Scared him?! The kid snuck up on me! He scared the shit out of me! He's lucky I didn't trip on him or step on him!"
"Stop yelling, you're making it worse," Mitch said. "Perhaps you were right to not have children after all."
"You think?!" Hailey said.
"I said stop yelling," Mitch scolded calmly and returned to the front of the store with Jae. He didn't take long to stop crying. Hailey finally returned to the front with all the pencils and handed them to Edward.
"And how much for all these?" Edward asked.
"A dollar," Hailey said and went right to the counter avoiding eye contact with Jae. Edward put the dollar on the counter.
"And I'm sorry about Jae. He was just looking."
"It's fine," Hailey said harshly and put the dollar in the register. Suddenly, Jae came around and was right next to Hailey. Then, the little boy hugged him suddenly and it made Hailey jump with surprise.
"I didn't mean to make you mad, mister," Jae said.
"It's fine," Hailey said and he started trying to get Jae to let go of him.
"Jae, come here," Edward said and the little boy ran back around the counter and went to his sisters and Nathan and Natalie. Rae started touching Jae's face to make sure he didn't look sad anymore. They all said their goodbyes, but before they left, Rae looked right at Hailey, stuck her tongue out at him, and ran out the door. Mitch started laughing, first at Rae then at Hailey when he saw the look on his face.
"You deserved that, boy," Mitch said through his laughter. Hailey just swore under his breath and got back to work. When he returned home, he was still fuming. So Leah stopped making dinner and went right to him.
"What happened?" she asked.
"That little brat snuck up on me and everyone got mad at me for yelling at him! Then, one of the other kids stuck her tongue out at me before they left!"
"Alright, Hailey, calm down," Leah said, placing a hand on Hailey's shoulder and getting him to calm down. "He didn't mean to scare you. Just try to remain calm around those kids. Jae seems to like you for some reason, so you may have to just accept that."
"No, I shouldn't have to. I shouldn't have to let the kid stare at me while I work, sneak up on me when I'm in a cramped space, and I certainly shouldn't have to let the kid hug me."
"Hug you?"
"He ran around the counter and hugged me and said he was sorry for making me mad."
"Aw," Leah said. "That was sweet."
"No, it was weird," Hailey said. Leah realized Hailey's voice was beginning to soften and she smiled a little more.
"You think he's cute," Leah said.
"What?"
"Admit it: he's started to grow on you already. I admit, Jae's a sweet kid. It's understandable that you'd start to like him."
"I never said that," Hailey said. Leah patted Hailey's shoulder reassuringly.
"Hailey, it's okay to like the kid," Leah said.
"Shut up," Hailey mumbled and went to the back room to relax. Leah smiled and laughed a little before going back to making dinner. Later during dinner, Hailey had the paper on the table he'd been reading. "So the Titanic sank," Hailey said.
"You mean the ship they said was unsinkable?" Leah said with a laugh.
"Yup, that one. It hit an ice berg. 2500 people died."
"That's not funny," Leah said, no longer laughing. "How could that many people have died? Did they not get on the lifeboats in time?"
"That's just it, there weren't enough. Supposedly, there weren't enough on the ship and mostly only the upper class got off the boat."
"Oh, well, at least they have their priorities straight," Leah said sarcastically. "So are you feeling better about earlier?"
"I'm fine," Hailey said. "So long as he doesn't stare at me, sneak up on me or hug me, we'll get along fine."
Leah giggled a little, "If you say so, Hailey."
"What?"
"Nothing," she smiled and kept eating her dinner.