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Chapter 204

Home Again


Edward


"Sorry to leave you alone briefly," Bella commented.

"Briefly? You were in there for over fifteen minutes!" I replied. I was actually worried because she had wriggled out of my arms so strangely and had literally stormed into the bathroom in a hurry. I had feared that the dinner might have disagreed with her.

"I still had to wrap the wedding present for my husband," she smiled seductively, however, with me merely contorting my face in incomprehension.

What kind of wedding gift?

Then she dropped the bathrobe.

My wife wore a big red bow around her body. Under it flashed some places pretty underwear. So I took a lot of time to unpack my wife. However, after the bow had landed on the floor, Bella had also almost completely undressed me in the meantime, I should be wrapped up again. So to speak.

Bella took the handcuffs out of the nightstand drawer and looked rather defiant.

Challenging in a very sexy way.

"Do you think it's a good idea to try to tie up the vampire between the two of us?", I dug deeper. That embarrassing interlude with Candy in that strip bar was still very much in my memory. There I had been tied to a chair, which had not necessarily lasted long during Candy's seductive illusion of Bella. There had been no handcuffs there, but what did a vampire care about the material? Nothing would be strong enough to stop me.

"Just think they're little bells," she jingled the metal in praise.

I also immediately complied with the bell, while my hands ended up in the handcuffs. As if that wasn't enough, I was also given a blindfold.

"You are walking on very thin ice!", I warned my wife.

"I know. See you later, my darling!" she said coquettishly and pulled the hotel's sleeping mask over my eyes.

My eyesight was gone.

It only took a brief moment before I realized that my other senses were intensifying. And what they sensed was ... wow.

I wasn't tied to anything, after all, but only to myself. In this respect, my hands were also on her body from time to time, but she always let it happen only briefly and pressed my hands again and again on the handcuffs over my head back onto the bed. Bella spoiled me from head to toe. It was a very different feeling than the 'being tied up' with Candy. Maybe because this time I knew for sure it was really Bella and didn't really solely on my eyes. I smelled her, I felt her heartbeat on my body, felt her skin, her warmth, her lips, her fingers, her tongue. She intoxicated me and every fiber of my body craved her. The non-existent blood boiled up inside me more and more. I even growled with excitement. Until she finally gave me what I was almost begging for ...

When I found the sweet release, I was completely beside myself. Or rather, I was lying down. Everything seemed to spin as Bella slid the blindfold over my head and I finally saw my angel again. It was as if my senses had been completely overstimulated and my eyes were not yet able to process what was now visible again. However, my body and soul couldn't quite keep up with it either. I focused on one of the angelic faces tumbling before me and kissed my wife vigorously until the last turmoil in me was sweetly quenched. And Bella was dizzy. She lay in my arms, still chained together, reaching for nonexistent stars. With a powerful glow in her eyes, beautiful, heated cheeks, and an enchanted smile on her lips.

This was my wife. An angel who stole the senses of a vampire.

For a long time, however, we could not let this last all-consuming night fade away.

It was after midnight. We had to go home.

Bella went into the bathroom and got dressed while I packed up our things.

The now two additional large suitcases did not offer enough space, as I realized. I grinned at this.

I hadn't factored in our wedding clothes. Yes ... and neither had Edwina. That was such a mean thing for Bella to do, to name the teddy Edwina of all people. I hated any variation on my name. It just sounded wrong.

So I left our items purchased yesterday at 'Alexander McQueen' in their bulky original boxes instead of putting them in the suitcase.

Bella was ready and I called the front desk to have them prepare the bill, order a car to the airport, and send us a bellman for the luggage.

While we waited for the latter, we stood in front of the windows of our small suite, I hugged my Bella from behind, and we looked out into the city.

It was nice that we would go home. To our own four walls, to our children. But we had also been very happy during those days.

"We'll come back here," I promised. "With our children," I added.

Bella chuckled in response.

"And do we quarter them up here, too, or in a hotel across town so you don't have to listen to them?"

""If you do to me what you did earlier, they could be in bed with us and I wouldn't give a damn!", I stated to that Bella blushed a little. "Shouldn't you be getting out of the habit of blushing in front of me by now?", I teased, gently stroking her pink cheeks.

"Maybe," she mumbled heartily, embarrassed, as the bellhop arrived as well.


Within an hour we were on the plane.

Again a private jet, which again Alice had organized. But already with our outbound flight here. Jack was also there again, only this time with another colleague.

As soon as the starting phase was over, I lay down with Bella on the sofa and she immediately fell asleep.

I also pretended to be asleep, as I did on the inbound flight.

I woke her up again just before landing.

She was of course very tired and staggered more at my side. Three hours of sleep were simply too little. She also forced herself to stay awake now, but I could understand that and didn't disagree. Bella would have time later to lie down again.

Jack kindly helped me with the luggage, since I had to take care of Bella. He was now off duty and parked in the same area as me.

I stopped at our bakery on the way, but then we were finally home.

It rained.

Well, that was a nice welcome. Nevertheless, our little house in Saco looked very cozy and inviting. Maybe this impression was just because we hadn't seen it for a week.

As usual, I opened the passenger door for Bella, held out a hand and placed my hand on her back as we sprinted to the porch weather-wise. I unlocked it and before Bella could take a step, I lifted her up in my arms.

"Doorstep. But this time ours," I said, and Bella smiled.

I entered our house and just then I saw Alice fleeing across the terrace.

I listened to her thoughts, because I did not understand her behavior. It was not her way to disappear without a word, it was more in her nature to question us about every minute of the past days. But I laughed when I heard the reason for her escape. I was eager to hear our children's explanation.

"Welcome home, Mrs. Black!", I said to my spouse.

"Likewise, Mr. Black!" she replied, and we kissed at length before I put Bella down and took her new coat.

We still had enough time to make coffee and set the table.

Today especially pretty, since it was the birthday of our twins.

I quickly stirred together the dough for croissants and cinnamon buns while Bella distributed cutlery and dishes.

Esmé had brought a small bag as arranged and placed it in the kitchen.

Two balloons in the shape of an eighteen floated on it.

But it also included glitter confetti, little party hats, birthday napkins, candles with their age on them, a 'Happy Birthday' garland, and other actually silly knickknacks.

In my defense: I had missed the last seventeen birthdays. I wanted to catch up on them over breakfast today. And all at once!

I called Jasper because I didn't see our birthday present for the kids lying anywhere.

He had said weeks ago that he would take care of it. Despite several requests in the last few days, he had still not heard anything about it and was already on his way to the responsible office to clarify this. In this respect, it would not become anything more before the school. Since we didn't assume that our twins would want to run on their birthday and – worse - in the rain, we let them sleep a little longer.

I used the time to bring in our luggage and decorate the dining room with Bella.

But at 6:15 sharp we were standing in our bedroom with four cups of coffee and a bottle of blood.

There our children lay peacefully together.

That was perhaps not a very apt expression. Rather, they were piling up. Becky on her stomach, Jake with his head on her back, hugging her butt, Leah's legs were over her brother, and Ced stuck somewhere in between.

We sat on the edge of the bed and woke Ced up first so he wouldn't be hurt by his siblings in the heat of the moment.

With gentle fingertips we ran left and right along his face.

He slapped his hands away with his little fingers and turned onto his stomach, kicking Leah with one foot.

We cuddled over his back, not quite so gently, but in a way that disturbed his sleep.

He sat up grumbling and rubbed his eyes. He looked at us in turn, but I could not yet tell from his gaze that he was receptive.

"Daddy?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Mommy?" he looked at his mother.

"Yes, honey. We're back," Bella whispered.

His eyes grew big.

He then began to lovingly ruthlessly jiggle his siblings. With a similar gesture, Jake lifted his arm and buried his little brother under it so that he would finally stop jiggling. With all his might, Ced pushed the arm away from him and laughed.

"Mommy, Daddy, here!" he shouted at the top of his voice.

So now the other three also woke up and looked at us with sleepy eyes indecisively.

"Good morning!" we wished cheerfully.

Indecision gave way to laughter and a 'crawling towards us'.

Awkwardly, because half lying, we hugged our children.

All of them at once.

Then my humans sat in bed with their drinks, and we talked a little bit about our honeymoon.

We skipped the birthday. Only temporarily.

"And what did you do with Alice?", I inquired. "She left the house in a hurry when we arrived."

My children grinned.

All four.

"She was here to babysit," Leah smirked.

"She pointed that out several times," Becky chuckled.

"So we kept her on the run like babies!" ended Jake.

They had gone out last night, but when they got back here, they really hadn't skipped a beat to get on Alice's nerves. And Ced had gone along with it. Not wanting to go to bed, some more candy before bed, thirst, a 'good night' story, and that separately for everyone. Then lying in bed after all, everyone thought of something other than sleeping. Ced was happily playing with his Kraken in his crib, Leah had music on way too loud, Jake supposedly still had homework to do, Becky had to go over the game plan for today with Leah. Then the game started all over again. They had driven my sister to despair. It wasn't until they heard Alice frantically talking to Jazz on the phone that they took pity on her, and all laid down peacefully here in bed together.

Bella and I had a great time with this story.

Still, we sent the teenagers to the bathroom in time while we cleaned Ced up and cuddled with him.

And my baby walked on his feet as if he had never done anything else. It looked wobbly and unsteady, but I had to admit to myself that this impression really only came from its body proportions. The movements did not match a baby. But then the stairs were too dangerous for my liking, and I took him up.

We waited with Becky behind the dining room table for our twins and the three of us had our party hats on as well.

When they reached the last steps, that was our cue.

I played the theremin and we started singing 'Happy Birthday' together.

The twins were touched. More than expected, but they had already feared that we had forgotten their special day because of all the honeymoon romance.

We congratulated them from the bottom of our hearts and there were already gifts on their places.

Not from us, though. They were from Becky and Ced. Ced had tinkered with Esmé, as he had secretly told us earlier.

We ate breakfast while the twins unwrapped their packages.

Leah unwrapped a pretty jewelry box.

Until now, Leah kept her manageable jewelry in an old cell phone box. It was a white wooden box, with, of course, pink art nouveau decorations. And a pink handprint of Ced on the inside, where there was also a small mirror.

Leah was excited and asked her little brother where he got the box.

This is how he showed it through his gift.

He had found it with Esmé at a flea market and then made it pretty again at home with her.

For Jake, there was an old slate.

Also from the flea market and painted with Esmé's help. And also with his handprint.

I would love to be a superhero, but big brother is so much better!

was written on it in colorful chalk and in children's writing.

"You are so right, shorty!", Jake took him on his lap.

Envelopes from Becky were on the plates.

"A gift certificate for a 'Pole Dancing' course?" noted Jake rather questioningly.

"That's cool!" said Leah, chuckling, who got the same coupon.

"'Pole Dancing'?", I raised my eyebrows skeptically. "I don't think this is the kind of dance I want to see my kids doing!"

"It's fun!" insisted Becky, however, and Leah nodded firmly.

"And how do you know that for sure?" echoed Jake.

"I would be interested in that, too!", I said dryly.

"No comment," Becky mumbled to herself, trying quite desperately to think about school.

She did not succeed.

I looked at my wife with curiosity and suspicion.

"'Pole dancing'? Really?", I asked very matter-of-factly.

"Complain to Alice. She was responsible for that," Bella countered flippantly. "But it was really fun. And our daughters have a talent for it, too," she added.

I wasn't sure I wanted to know that exactly. For me, this 'dance' belonged only in bars of dubious reputation.

"And we even get a private lesson from Josh together," Becky now tried to make her boyfriend like it.

"Who the hell is Josh?" asked Jake jealously, however.

The answer surfaced very clearly in Leah's mind as she chuckled.

A more detailed cross-examination by Jake was held up by the doorbell.

Since I was the only one not eating, I naturally went to the door.

"Good morning, Marcus," I greeted him as usual.

I wasn't necessarily expecting him, but it didn't surprise me much to see him. That he wanted to congratulate the twins today rather than tomorrow at their party, whereby it would have been unclear to him when he could have stopped by due to Jake and Leah's games. He knew we would be going out together tonight, but not when the twins would be back here from their games and whether things would be hectic then. Therefore, he took advantage of breakfast time.

"Good morning. How was the honeymoon?" he asked immediately.

We chatted briefly while I took his jacket from him and hung it up.

He had a bag with him.

"Very pleasant," I simply replied. "Where is Jules?", however, I asked. He would have to be on his way to Portland for school soon, and because of time constraints, I couldn't imagine him going back home to pick her up.

"She has a cold, so she is staying home today," he explained.

"Would you like me to ask Carlisle to check on her?"

"No need. It's not that bad," he appeased when we reached the dining room.

"Have a sunny Valentine's Day!" he wished cheerfully.

One generally grumbled and mentally doubted Marcus' state of mind, pointing to the rain outside the window.

"Good morning, Marcus. Coffee?" asked Bella across the dining table.

"I'd be glad to, thank you," he replied.

Jake sat closest to him. He placed Ced on the floor and the two hugged briefly, with Marcus congratulating him.

He also had gifts with him and handed one to Jake.

Becky rose to hug Marcus as well.

"Happy Valentine's Day," Marcus told her, handing her a yellow chrysanthemum before giving her a welcoming hug.

"Your coffee," Bella returned to the table.

"Please … and thank you!" he handed her a flower.

For my wife he had brought a white chrysanthemum.

She thanked him with a hug.

Then he stood in front of Leah, and he pulled out another flower with a pink blossom.

This hug lasted much longer in comparison and was also much more emotional.

"Happy Birthday, Spirit Warrior!" whispered Marcus to her, handing her a small box in addition to the flower.

"Thank you," Leah murmured back.

They looked at each other, but then Ced interrupted the moment.

He had not yet been duly welcomed by his big brother. And he had received nothing, although he had apparently brought something for everyone else.

With verve Marcus lifted our baby onto his hip.

"Well, big guy! I thought of you, too, of course," Marcus said and pulled a 'Kinder Egg' out of the bag.

"These are cool. Thanks!" Jake had already unwrapped his present.

Car dice of the 'Portland Sea Dogs' baseball team.

"Please," Marcus replied and sat down.

Actually into my chair next to Leah. But no matter. After all, we didn't have a real seating arrangement. Everyone sat differently here every day.

Leah lifted the lid of the box, knowing beforehand what the contents would be made of.

Chocolate. A sticker of the local chocolate shop stuck to the side. The only question was the shape. It was a three-tier birthday cake with an eighteen painted on the top in white chocolate. It was only a good four inches high, but very detailed and ornate. And made of Leah's favorite chocolate. Caramel.

Leah thanked Marcus again in all sincerity and was in a real quandary.

The cake was so pretty, too good to eat. But it was chocolate!

"It's nice to have you all here together this morning," Bella said, while Leah was still thinking about her dilemma.

Bella gave me a look and I nodded.

"Unfortunately, our birthday present for you hasn't arrived yet, but we brought you all something from Chicago," I added.

"I thought we agreed the gifts would be off this year," Jake recalled.

I chuckled at the memory of how our twins had behaved for a good half hour like darn well-behaved/boring, demure, and frugal children. Quite seriously, when we asked about their birthday wishes, they had declared that they had everything and wanted nothing more. For Christmas the cars, the remodeling of my house and with it their new rooms including furniture, stocked closets and entertainment electronics, tonight I took my angels out, tomorrow we also paid for the complete party. Well. The latter they accepted so far at least. That had been quite enough for them, especially since I often enough fulfilled other wishes. The night in the hotel at the beach, for example, or that they were allowed to pay for the rooms during the music festival the month after next with the credit card. Costs that I didn't really care about as long as they would be happy.

"Yes, but did you really assume I would comply?", I countered.

To this my children knew nothing to say.

They actually knew me well enough to know that I didn't really take note of such statements. But then they just realized that.

Bella walked with me into the hallway where our luggage was still sitting.

We picked out the bags for the five of them.

Blue, yellow, pink, black and colorful. It was not only the colors of the T-shirts, but also those of the bags. Not that there would be any disagreements about who couldn't find their bag again. After all, we knew our children!

Marcus looked cutely at Bella as she handed him his black one.

"Thank you," he stammered, caught off guard.

Even though we kept saying that he would continue to belong to us, such things in which we expressed this still seemed somehow strange to him.

Ced very carefully examined the fish for the swimming pool, which was in his next to the T-shirt and candy. And he immediately asked when we would go swimming.

"Not today, my darling. But tomorrow, maybe," Bella said in response.

Jake wanted to start building the Lego tower right away, but he wanted to have time to do it so that he wouldn't have to interrupt his work on it. It was more or less clear to him that we wouldn't allow him to skip school today for this.

Leah was thrilled with her painting and was already thinking about where to hang it.

She had too many options to choose from. Here in the house four walls or over there, where she would then also have to decide between the floors.

From the T-shirts all four teenagers were very pleased.

The twins collected such city shirts. They already had ones from Seattle, Boston, Portland, Jacksonville, and New York. The Philadelphia one David had brought again from his last business trip, since they hadn't fit in it after their wolf-induced growth spurt. The one for Ced was still a bit big, but he was growing quite fast. Way too fast!

The children thanked us profusely before continuing with their breakfast.

"'Pole Dancing'. Interesting sport," Marcus commented as Jake indecisively showed him the voucher he had received from Becky.

Jake wasn't sure if he should be happy about it. This mentioned Josh restrained his joy at it.

"Sports?", I questioned at that.

"Yeah, sure. Sports. Nick's girlfriend ... You know Nick?" he interrupted himself, looking at Jake.

He nodded.

"She's been doing this for a while. It requires body balance and strength," he explained.

Marcus and this Nick had picked up this friend once at the dance school and got to see a little bit and also tried it out themselves. Marcus had been surprised at how effectively this could be used as fitness training.

"And trust me, Jake, it'll be fun!" he followed up meaningfully.

As I gathered from his thoughts, he was now alluding to the erotic side of the sport. That it would be very worth seeing for him if Becky could handle the pole. Jake had understood that even without explicit words.

I hit him against the back of the head so that his imagination didn't get out of hand.

But then Marcus had to go.

He was about to make the drive to Portland, which would take him a good half hour. That would be close by now. It wasn't proper of me not to remind him to leave on time, but he was just far less likely to be with all of us.

"It would be nice if you went out with me tonight," Leah said as Marcus finished his cup.

He choked.

"With all of us together," she added, somewhat delayed.

I looked at my daughter.

She had added it because of him. She wanted Marcus to be there, to have a nice evening with him, but she didn't know how he had understood the first part, which made her uncomfortable.

"You are cordially invited," I helped my princess. He belonged to us, to that extent I would be very happy if he would keep us company.

"I don't know. You do celebrate with your family, with your grandparents," Marcus reflected.

He didn't want to interrupt such a family celebration.

"And you are part of this family. Still!", Bella confirmed.

"I'd love it if you came with me!" interjected Jake.

"Oh yes ...", Becky was also pleased in advance and looked at him with a captivating look.

Likewise, as Leah batted her eyes heart-warming.

"Okay. I have to work until eight o'clock, but then I'll drop by for a bit," he finally allowed himself to be persuaded.

Leah was happy, but actually, we were all happy.

"Where do I have to go then?" he still asked, though.

He didn't know his way around the city that well yet.

I wrote down the address for him.

My Audi, which he still drove, had a navigation system.

"And what's the dress code? I certainly shouldn't show up there in my work clothes, should I?"

"No. A suit would be appropriate," I said.

"Suit!?" groaned Jake in anguish.

"I like to see you in a fancy suit every now and then," Becky purred coaxingly.

"The lengths I'll go to for you," Jake grumbled playfully.

"If a suit doesn't suit you, you're welcome to opt for an evening gown. But not too short or provocative, if you please!", I offered.

Jake gave me a chuckling, yet probably disapproving look.

He knew what the dress code was for quite some time. However, only he did, which was due to his personal plans for that Valentine's evening. Leah and Becky, on the other hand, had no information about it yet.

Leah walked Marcus to the door, and they said goodbye with a sibling hug.

When it came time for my kids to go to school, I kicked them out of the house.

I was still on leave for today.

Bella then made a move behind my back to clear the table as I sat Ced down on the sofa with his surprise egg.

Marcus had helped him with the toys, but he was only allowed to eat the chocolate now. After breakfast.

"You're going to bed!" I said sternly, pointing Bella in the right direction with my index finger.

"Oh nonsense. I'm wide awake!" she said snappishly.

"So you'd rather sleep through your son's marriage proposal this evening?", I pointedly echoed.

She chewed broodingly on her lower lip, which I immediately forbade her with my lips.

"You've barely slept three hours, dearest. Even though you feel awake and rested now, you're actually not. Please lie down again," I asked her.

She nodded.

Offended.

"I'll be right there to tuck you in," I still promised.

Then she smiled and, after a kiss, went up the stairs elatedly.

She would probably fall asleep before she knew it.

I cleared the table, put the kitchen in order, and took a closer look at our general supplies.

That looked meager. As actually not otherwise expected. The children had been mostly with Esmé and Carlisle all week, as their grandfathers were still staying there. They had wanted to make the most of their time together this visit and had only been here at the house before and after school. Only yesterday they had spent the night here, knowing that on the occasion of their cradle feast we would already be here for breakfast.

"Don't you dare touch the sofa with your fingers!", I arrived at Ced's just in time.

He had wanted to climb off the sofa just now and hold on to the fabric with his chocolate-smeared fingers. I was almost too late. It was really annoying not to be able to hear my son's thoughts.

I went upstairs with him, washing the chocolate off his face and hands.

That a small chocolate egg could leave so many traces?!

Bella was already lying down, but to my astonishment was really still awake.

A little bit at least.

Ced covered her properly and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

I moved the blanket a little further and kissed my wife gently on the lips.

"Sleep well, my heart. We'll wake you when we get back from shopping."

Bella nodded, yawning, and turned on her side.

Quietly, Ced and I left the somewhat darkened bedroom.


The rain paused, but that probably wouldn't last long. Still, I took advantage of the brief dry spell to run over to our other house with Ced in my carrying shirt.

My BMW, which had a larger trunk, was still there. Ever since our game of Monopoly. In addition, Charlie, Sue, and Billy were at Carlisle's house, to whom I wanted to pay a quick visit before we would meet again later.

Ced laughed bouncy as we ran.

He always had a blast when we whizzed through the woods at vampire speed, we jumped over little rivers or down slopes.

I was jumping the high fence of our property when it started to rain again.

Esmé therefore greeted us with towels.

One sat together in the living room with a cozy open fire.

It surprised me that Carlisle was present. Actually, he was on duty at the hospital, but a colleague had asked him to switch tomorrow's shift with him. What surprised me far more, however, was the fact that Billy was standing at the window to the terrace. The emphasis here was on 'standing'. On his own legs. Next to his wheelchair.

He turned to us with a smile as we entered the room.

Ced ran up to him and Billy happily picked him up.

"You can walk?", I inquired.

"A little bit," he said, settling back into his wheelchair.

I had never asked why he could not walk, but he told me. He had once been a professional fisherman and had fallen at sea during a storm. Actually, it had not been a very serious fall, but his diabetes, which had been going on for years, prevented the wound from healing. Worse, over time, he was unable to move his legs until he was confined to a wheelchair. For years, there was no change, although the doctors always spoke of only a temporary restriction. A few years ago he finally realized that it was really not permanent, and he felt his legs a little bit more every day. But he lacked the strength to stay on his legs longer, although he built up the muscles according to his doctor's instructions. He was satisfied with this, even though it was only a small part of a recovery that he continued to work on consistently. Since he was otherwise physically and mentally in top shape for his age, he was thus not dependent on any nursing assistance.

I told a little about Chicago after general prompting.

"My daughter went shopping voluntarily?" bristled Charlie.

"Are you sure that you had the right girl with you?" asked Sue.

"I know my wife!", I assured her, but then said goodbye again. I still had to go shopping.

Ced wanted to come along, of course. He had never been in a supermarket before.

So I ran over to my house, briefly checked the supplies there, and then drove off in my BMW.

But not to our usual supermarket, but to one in Buxton. It was much smaller, but there was no danger that we would meet someone who knew me. To whom I would then possibly have to explain this baby.

I put Ced in the front of the shopping cart and I rolled him through the aisles with huge eyes.

He found this totally exciting, touched me continuously and asked the most impossible questions through his gift. So quickly that I could hardly keep up with answering them all. What this or that was, what it was for, how it tasted, why it wasn't available at home. Much like I had done when I had accompanied Bella on her birthday. When these many aisles and the goods offered were completely new to me, even if I had been able to label things and also knew their purpose for the most part. During this shopping I found out that for relationship reasons it was an advantage to be alone with a cute baby. Provided that one wanted to make acquaintances.

"That's quite a cutie!" meanwhile the third young lady addressed.

With the first Ced had still grinned cutely, with the second smiled friendly and now only diplomatically looked. The advances were so subtle and subliminal that even Ced did not remain hidden, what the ladies actually wanted from me, and he showed me every time that I already had a wife. His mommy!

"You're a handsome boy!" the fourth lady was then there, however she really only meant Ced, which is why my son was able to smile charmingly after all.

I had left the shopping cart in an aisle and had briefly gone around the corner to push beverage packages under the cart from there. In this respect, the lady had not seen me.

"Seems to me you had no choice. With an equally handsome big brother, your parents must be really gifted," she said as I peered around the corner.

Ced peeked, confused.

"Daddy," my baby then introduced me.

Now the lady looked confused and doubted that this was the correct designation for me. I would be too young.

"He's right. I am his father, not his brother," I explained.

The lady thought it over for a moment.

"Then I was right after all," she smiled at Ced. "I bet your mommy is beautiful, too."

Ced nodded vigorously, but I quickly stopped his fingers, which I'm sure he was using to vividly prove it.

That's what he wanted, how I then saw through his gift.

The lady wished us a lot of fun while shopping and moved on smiling.

She was in a hurry, but hadn't been looking for a flirt either.

Then, in another aisle, I smirked.

I had been looking for something on the shelf while another shopping cart was parked next to Ced because the mother belonging to it was kneeling in front of the opposite shelf also looking for something. Also with a baby in the cart. A cute little girl. The two were talking very seriously about a long colorful stick of gum she was holding. They babbled unintelligibly on top of each other. Ced wanted to know through his gift, what it was, it was so pretty and colorful, but the baby didn't understand the pictures and words. That, in turn, my baby did not understand.

I pushed him along and tried to explain that he was not like other babies.

He was unique and already much further along than other babies, even if they looked like him. Because visually there was no appreciable age difference between the two of them. And I sternly reminded him that he was not allowed to talk to strangers through his gift. Actually, he knew that.

The cart was very full and the only thing missing was the candy aisle.

Unthinkingly, I rolled toward it. Ced immediately realized what it was all about and pointed in every possible direction. But I was strong enough not to buy everything my baby asked for. Much to his chagrin. He whined persistently when I consistently refused the gum.

Reminded me of the anecdote David once told. How Luces had thrown himself on the floor in a toy store screaming with defiance. Fortunately, Ced was sitting in the cart, so he couldn't come up with ideas like that so easily. Besides, I was able to show considerably more determination than David ...

With a lollipop in Ced's mouth, we drove home.


I left Ced still strapped in the car while I brought the groceries into the house, but then I briskly got him inside and put everything away.

He balanced up the stairs by my hand.

That didn't look so clumsy, yet I warned him not to go down the stairs alone.

Quietly I opened the bedroom door.

Ced giggled under his pawing-fingers, and I shook my head.

I should really sit down next to the bed one night instead of lying in it. Maybe then I would finally understand what Bella was doing alone. She was lying upside down in our bed, completely tangled in the blanket, and two of the pillows were lying on the floor. Her delicate foot was enthroned on the last remaining one.

To this foot I sat down and kissed over it to wake up my angel.

Ced preferred to sit by his mommy's head, or rather, he looked for her face under the covers at the end of the bed.

A foot fidgeted a bit and seemed to want to push me aside.

A new attempt and the toes retreated under the blanket.

But then Bella perked up really quick as Ced gradually giggled louder.

She had slept again almost four hours. With that, my angel felt very rested and went down with us.

She just threw on her bathrobe, because I had prepared lunch for her, which was already waiting for her at the dining table.

A little pasta on salad.

"Wow ...!" she groaned in surprise as she approached the dining room.

"That's proper for Valentine's Day, isn't it?", I assured myself.

Behind the plate was a rather enormous bouquet of red roses.

I had not been able to resist.

Leaning against the vase - as dessert - was a bag of hearts made of sugared wine gum that Ced had picked out.

She thanked him well-behaved.

The two of us. Ced also got some pasta. Our son liked pasta in all imaginable variations. Except with spinach.

"That's some horrible weather out there," she mused over dinner.

"Yes. The weather report says it's going to be like this all day today. Not nice birthday weather for the twins," I agreed.

"Well. February. That's when the weather is usually lousy. But mostly they have been lucky so far that at least there was snow. But that one is really just disgusting," she pointed outside and wrapped her bathrobe more around herself.

She was right. It was dank cold-weather and the beautiful looking snow melted away.

"We could go in the bathtub together to help you forget about the rain for a bit," I suggested.

Ced picked up his fish from the living room table and raised it presentationally.

"Yes, we would have to test him for swim suitability before putting him in the big pool," I confirmed.

Actually, Ced preferred showers to baths, but with the two of us together, there was no need to convince him of the hygienic urgency. We had also taught him in the meantime that he didn't have to show everyone thoughts of his unclothed parents. However, the bathtub here in the house was quite small, so we couldn't all fit in it. At least not in such a way that Ced could then also romp in the water to the desired extent.

So I just sat next to it, but that didn't matter. So I could prevent my son putting the bathroom too much under water, while the fish was very extensively subjected to various tests.

We washed Mommy's back very carefully with a sponge, Ced also took great care of her toes, with Bella laughing adorably.

Tickled apparently.

I very gently massaged the shampoo.

We also washed our baby.

I then quickly jumped into the shower, feeling somehow watched.

By the way, Ced thought it was really funny when he sat in the tub with someone, and they stood up. The water then sloshed back and forth so wildly, and he let himself drift along.

Bella took a moment for her circulation to rise from the tub as well and went to shower off again.

As always when she was bathing.

Then we sat there wrapped in towels.

I thought about whether I still had to do something very urgently right now, which did not allow any delay. Namely, Bella held two toothbrushes out to me. Mine and Ced's. Unfortunately, I could not think of anything credible, and I took the brushes scowling. Fortunately for me, my wife also took her own. So I found the right entry.

"Look closely at what Mommy is doing," I instructed my son.

He did, but looked at me in confusion. He had seen Mommy or his siblings brushing their teeth many times before.

"Do you have any idea why she's doing this?", I asked him.

He shook his head.

Giggling. Because he thought it looked silly.

I began to explain to him that Bella, Leah and the others were just humans who had to take care of their teeth and take care of them so that they would stay healthy. I was a vampire and with those there was nothing that attacked the texture of the teeth. Ced, however, was somewhere in between us. So my son should also take care of his teeth regularly.

Ced was fine with that, but I should go with it.

Great.

Smirking, Bella handed me the toothpaste she had brought for Ced.

With skepticism, I put a little on our toothbrushes.

Bella was already finished, but continued to sit on the edge of the bathtub and didn't look like she wanted to leave the room in the short term either.

So I started demonstrating to my son how to brush his teeth.

I saw myself doing it in the mirror and it didn't look nearly as normal and natural as it did with my humans. Just how to hold this thing in your fingers and then brush properly was not so easy for me. And then all that foam in the mouth. That was disgusting. Not to mention the fruity taste - far from delicious blood. Even Ced looked more skilled than me. Bella, by the way, laughed most amusedly as foam dripped from my mouth. Or rather, flowing disproportionately in streams.

After what felt like ages, Bella held out two cups of water to us.

"Rinse it out. Don't swallow," she explained, especially to our baby.

Ced looked at me invitingly at first, so I showed it to him.

God, was I glad to get rid of all that foam. But I had to admit that it did feel somehow - in a vague way - strange and oddly fresh.

The three of us grinned at each other, all showing lots of white teeth.

"And we're going to do this every morning and night, okay?" asked Bella of our baby.

"Daddy, too!" my son determined.

Inwardly I cursed, but I nodded. What didn't one do for their children?!

"You did great, Daddy," my wife praised me with a kiss as Ced was already running to the bedroom.

We dressed only in casual clothes, since we would not be leaving the house until tonight.

I wore my first pair of sweatpants. That was already comfortable. Why had Alice never bothered with clothes like that? Or rather, we owned sportswear, for physical education at school, but none of us had ever thought of wearing it outside of class. Why?

We were playing hilariously with Ced on the rug between the living room and dining room - we had four days of catching up with our baby - when Carlisle came over.

"I thought you weren't on duty?", I inquired.

"Not that, but I want to get some paperwork done before we leave for the twins' games," he explained why he was on his way to the hospital after all.

He had brought us a laundry basket. Filled with our wedding gifts. Balloons were tied to the handles.

Carlisle drove again and I put the basket on the floor with us.

"As far as I know, Alice has told all the guests that we are perfectly happy, so we don't want any gifts," I reflected.

"No one seemed to stick to that, though," Bella commented.

"Probably no one wanted to come empty-handed. It really seems to be just small things," I said, holding up one of the gifts.

Two cups had been nicely wrapped in foil and with ribbon. One said 'Mr.' over a mustache, the other 'Mrs.' over a kissing mouth.

Ced did the unpacking for us, he liked to do that.

There came out some pretty or funny gifts.

There were also matching plates and egg cups to go with the cups. All from the Latham family, with a pretty card wishing us well.

There was a candle with the different wedding days titled. The green or white wedding on our wedding day, the paper wedding after a year, to the silver and gold, to the sky wedding after a hundred years.

A pair of bath ducks. One bride duck with veil, one groom duck with top hat.

A money box where everything put in the husband's slot slid over to the wife's side.

We leafed through a 'Marriage for Beginners' book a little.

We learned from this that we were now each other's closest relative. Not our parents or our children. Us! I had not seen it that way before.

A picture frame that had the dates of the wedding and our names on it, along with a photo of us. Emma had painted us a picture with lots of hearts on it.

David had given us something very special.

The electricity bill for the past year.

"How nice of him!" commented Bella, exaggeratedly touched by the letter from the local electricity distributors.

Since David was the owner of this house until the end of the year, the invoice had still gone to him. Thereby, however, was also a photo of a very beautiful garden bench made of white lacquered wood. In the backrest our names had been milled out. Edward, Bella, Leah, Jake, Ced. And an implied heart in the lower left corner. On the back of the photo was a note that it was to be picked up by David, Sonya, Daniel, Deacon, Luces, Emma, and Cookie.

Ced immediately wanted to leave and go over, for which he got his shoes from the hallway.

"Tomorrow," I said, though.

For one thing, it was pouring rain, and for another, David would not be back from Philadelphia yet so we could thank everyone equally. On top of that, we were waiting for our little conference call. Leah and Jake both had games coming up, but neither Bella nor I would be watching them today. We wouldn't have been able to take Ced, as we do every time, but he had already had to miss his parents for four days. We had both felt it was unfair to him to give him to Sonya and David this afternoon, when we would already be leaving him with my siblings tonight while we went out with his siblings. So we both stayed home this afternoon and would just listen to how our kids played their games.

Ced was already very excited.

Generally, he wanted to watch his siblings play their sports, but nobody knew about our baby. However, we had promised him to take him to their respective last games.

We bridged the impatient time of waiting for the calls with cookies and warm cocoa.

Then finally the call came.

Emmett reported in from the volleyball game along with Rosalie, Esmé, Billy, and Ciara, who had finally wanted to see her granddaughter at a game. Jason was even there with his Claire as well. In addition, I had Jasper on the line, sitting in the stands by the basketball court. Along with Alice, Carlisle, Charlie, Sue, and Lisa.

"Your little brother wants to hear an exciting game!", I made clear as our twins were handed the phone after, or rather during, warm-ups.

And Ced was not at all disappointed. The fact that Emmett, of all people, was one of our sports commentators didn't make it easy for me to listen, though Jasper was hardly any better and let himself be quickly bitten by Em's bug. It felt to us stay-at-home folks like they were playing the game of their lives.

We sat spellbound in front of the phone and listened to their meticulous explanations.

When Jake hit the ground hard after a foul, Ced covered his eyes so he wouldn't have to see it. Useless gesture. When a spectacular rally at Leah's was reported in detail, my hands clenched tighter and tighter with tension. Until Bella shouted, "Ouch!"

I had clawed myself into her hand.

We quieted down a bit when there happened to be a break on both fields at the same time. But our kids were seemingly in top form. Leah and Becky had won the first two sets with almost no points against them, and Jake's team was already leading by a considerable margin after two quarters. Our relaxation phase didn't last long, as Jake's team immediately went on. Point by point they took the lead.

"Bella, breathe!", I instructed my wife in the meantime, when there was another struggle for the ball, described very vividly by Jasper.

Fortunately, our kids were really that good today that it ended quickly in the end. Leah's team won after just the third set and Jake barely let his opponents catch their breath. I wouldn't have been able to take it much longer either. Bella was also relieved in a way that it was over. Much sooner than any of us had expected. In terms of time, the party for the children probably wouldn't have been a problem at all, if it would have taken place today. However, the human guests probably wouldn't last very long, since some of them were on the playing field with our twins. Moreover, it was Valentine's Day, which the many couples preferred to spend as a couple. In this respect, it was better that the party of our children would not take place until tomorrow.


Bella had already made a phone call to the school at noon so that the twins could go with my siblings after the games and not have to wait for the team buses. So they came home directly without showering or changing clothes.

Leah and Becky came home first.

They had the longer way to go, but only had to play three sets instead of five.

We congratulated our girls who had only put on athletic shorts over their jerseys. Shortly after, Jake arrived, also with only the team jogging suit over his kit.

So Ced finally saw his siblings in their sporty school uniforms. Dark red, white, and gold. These colors went very well with the rusty brown Native American skin, which Ced noticed with astonished eyes.

Since I had expected that my wolves would be very hungry, I had of course already prepared a snack for them.

The tables at 'Jezebel' weren't reserved for another two hours, which would definitely take Leah and Jake too long.

So they sat down, and we finally had the time to hear from our kids about what we had missed during our honeymoon.


Thank you for reading!