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Chapter 209
Family Idyll
Bella
With eight teenagers instead of the usual three to four, it was quite tumultuous at our Sunday breakfast table.
I listened to the gossip of the school from the young people.
I hadn't seen the whole troupe together for so long, so I was out of the loop on a lot of things. Not that I was really interested, but I found it nice how the young people included me in their conversations and also amusing what things were important to them.
With Edward as my significant other, they all had no problem and he kept sipping a cup as if he were drinking. He would have eaten already while preparing.
Ced, meanwhile, was sitting at the other breakfast table with Carlisle, along with all his grandparents and David's family. Edward had brought him over before the teenagers came down.
After the extensive breakfast, Brandon, Lisa, Jason, and Claire said their goodbyes, but they immediately arranged to meet tomorrow for an extended 'The Dark Eye' day.
The last appointment in this regard had fallen into the water because of our wedding and tomorrow was once again a holiday and therefore free of school.
We cleaned up the kitchen and already I was sitting with my two girls and a laptop while Edward was on his way to Rosie's workshop with Jake and Marcus.
I was really looking forward to finally sitting down with Leah and Becky.
By now it had been two weeks since we had decided to try our hand at writing. Horror short stories about our monster family. Only that the horror would probably come up a bit short. However, we considered not to stick to reality, but to resort to the classic image of werewolves and vampires. For safety reasons. On the off chance that one of our acquaintances or friends read our story and thereby got behind the secret of our loved ones.
Today we first took a look at the different characters and gave them names and a back story.
For example, Emmett we made into a big bear-like guy named Bronko, but he was very sensitive. Edward became Anthony, who was afraid of everything and everyone and was very jumpy. Little Alice, who would henceforth be called Clementine, was the toughest of the whole clan. Brave, fearless, daredevil, feisty. I would be Jane, who was just too stupid to see the danger. Well, that was pretty close to the reality of the time, but we would really build me very stupid.
Just thinking about the names and traits of our entire family was a lot of fun. We constantly smiled or even laughed when we already thought of little scenes to emphasize the characteristics.
In the afternoon we were still busy in the kitchen expanding our protagonists and in the process were baking.
Muffins and brownies that they would take to their game day at Jason and Lisa's tomorrow. After we would have tried them extensively, of course.
Leah nearly fell off the barstool laughing as we had just attributed to Carlisle a penchant for delicate needlework when our men returned.
All four of them nice and dirty from their crafting.
They just quickly washed their hands in the kitchen sink, and we put out a muffin and glass of milk for the three half/humans.
"Does Rose actually look that dirty?" I asked with a smirk. I couldn't really imagine that.
"I have no clue exactly how she does it. Because she's not," Jake said.
"She tiptoes around the body of the car in high heels, and all she has are dirty hands," Marcus marveled at this.
"After all, she's letting you do most of the work," my husband remarked.
Our mechanics then went to take a shower before Edward disappeared again with Becky and Leah.
Dance Lessons. They wanted to go to Carlisle's house for it. For one thing, they would have enough room there in the ballroom, and for another, they wouldn't feel like Jake and Marcus were watching them.
So I stood in the kitchen with Jake, Marcus, and Ced.
We chatted, played with Ced, and at some point began to slowly prepare dinner together, for which my children's grandparents would also be there. They had gone to Portland together today and wanted to take a boat trip to the many small islands.
Carlisle still had one of the vans he had rented at the Boston airport. Tomorrow he would return it there when he drove the grandparents who had traveled to their flight home. Ciara would fly with them.
Marcus and Ced stirred together a crust for the roast.
With Ced, I guess I'd have to say they mashed them together.
Jake roasted onions that needed to go in there afterwards.
And I peeled and cut potatoes for the gratin.
A lot of potatoes - for so many good eaters.
But time and work flew by as we chatted cheerfully.
About the party, Chicago, the games on Friday, that the Harley was slowly taking shape, but the bus was still very pitifully lying there in pieces. There simmered and fried everything before itself, when we already tasted the dessert cream. Fortunately, I had made the triple amount from the beginning. Otherwise, that would probably not be enough until after the meal.
It had been an amazingly long time since I had tripped or otherwise injured myself.
I then also caught up on that right away. Jake was helpful in this regard.
I was washing up a bowl while he was talking about something from school.
"Honestly, it was so big ..." he began, jerkily pulling his hands apart to gesture at the size.
I had seen the fist coming when I had turned to face them moments before, but all I could do was squint my eyes. The back of Jake's hand slammed right into my temple, there was a deafening clang in my head, and I staggered blindly.
"Mom!"
"Bella!"
"Mommy!"
I expected at any moment the impact on the floor, but there I apparently did not arrive at all.
I couldn't get my eyes open. The blow reverberated too much in my head that I just wanted to enjoy the soothing blackness. I was dazed for sure. I heard the three around me, but only quite muffled, as if they were quite far away.
"Dad! I just knocked Mom out!", I heard Jake say more clearly.
"WHAT!?", I even heard my husband clearly, albeit rather quietly and tinny.
Then I didn't notice anything more until I felt cool hands on my cheeks.
"Bella, dearest," someone whispered. No idea who, however, there were not so many possibilities now who would address me like that.
I still opened my eyes with difficulty. The clattering in my skull subsided only slowly when I saw liquid gold in front of me.
"One cannot leave you alone for a minute either!" he gently reprimanded me.
"And for this statement you needed twenty years?! You vampires aren't exactly quick thinkers," I teased him.
Edward smirked.
"Do you have a headache?" he inquired with concern, however.
"A little bit. Jake packs quite a punch." I was already feeling better, only in my head all sorts of things were probably still sorting themselves back into the right place.
Very carefully, Edward lifted me in his arms and carried me to our sofa. I snuggled up to him.
"I should get knocked out more often," I muttered.
"I've told you before that there are easier ways to get me to take you in my arms!" said Edward mockingly, but breathed a kiss on my forehead.
Ced came running and brought his 'klutz'-mommy an ice pack. We actually wanted to pull him to us on the couch, snuggle a bit as a threesome, but our baby immediately ran back to the kitchen, where our children continued to take care of dinner.
By the time the six grandparents arrived at our house, I was completely back on my feet.
It was still a little red where Jake had caught me, but by tomorrow at the latest that would be gone.
The kids had covered in the kitchen because there was more room than in our dining room.
Afterwards Edward's siblings also came, and it became a very nice and fun evening in a family atmosphere.
It was unclear when I would see my dad and Sue again. The plans for Billy and Ciara were also not quite finalized, so in that sense it was like a little farewell party. We drank some wine, played together, Edward played the piano and Becky accompanied him on the violin.
She practiced with it regularly, but it already sounded very good.
The grandparents talked about their trip.
Charlie and Sue complained that they had to work again on Tuesday. Edward had to go back to school, and I would have to show my face to Professor Stewart again. It all seemed so unreal. So banal. It was just too nice when we had time to ourselves and were all together.
"If school is so mundane after all, then I guess we don't have to go," Jake speculated.
"Forget it!" both Edward and I raged at the same time.
The evening before had been very long due to the children's party, although most of us were not at the party itself. In this respect, we went to bed relatively early tonight.
I was pleasantly dreaming when I was somehow nudged several times.
This unrhythmic thing messed up my dream.
Slightly startled, I opened my eyes, but smiled after catching on to the disturbance.
Ced looked for a comfortable lying position for himself in my arms, which was apparently not so easy. When he lay, he immediately turned again. Lifted my arm aside, pulled him back. His little legs did not find a suitable position either. The corner of the blanket also seemed to be more in the way, but it didn't seem to work without it.
"Good morning, my darling," I murmured.
I heard him chuckle sheepishly before he turned again. This time to me.
"Good morning, Mommy!" he wished cheerfully, crawling up to press a kiss to my cheek.
"Did you sleep well?" I asked, combing my fingers through his wild hair. But getting order into it was hopeless. Just like with his daddy.
"Yes," he said in response to my question and showed me what he had dreamed.
I heard the song that Edward and Becky had played together, but saw only darkness and stars shining in it. The image must have come from the lamp we had brought from the Chicago observatory. His colorful mechanical fish from the aquarium slowly passed by, albeit looking like a real one, and sought a hiding place in the jacked-up remains of an old VW bus. Where he found muffins and brownies. And then I was shown how Ced woke up and Daddy had taken him out of his crib. In a very foolhardy acrobatic way. Ced liked that, while I always got half a heart attack. Fortunately, I was still asleep and had not witnessed this live.
Together we found a cuddle position that was comfortable for both of us, where we waited for Daddy.
He did not keep us waiting long.
"What's it like for you to take four coffee cups to our kids again now?", I asked my husband as Ced, and I enjoyed our drinks.
Today was the first time he performed this ritual in this form, which had existed for so long, but in the meantime had not been used for weeks.
"I am especially happy for Leah and Marcus. They truly love each other, more than ever and no one noticed. Not even the two themselves ... Not even Jazz," he smiled.
"That doesn't answer my question," I raised my eyebrows.
"It's great!" he admitted.
We still had some time, so the three of us played hide and seek in bed before we washed. We would not need showers yet.
Edward had already cursed on Saturday.
When I had driven up from Zoey, I had brought toothbrushes for him and Ced to use in our bathroom so that the vampire would have no excuse when we were here in the house. In exchange, though, I had brought him a small selection of flavors of toothpaste. Unfortunately, there was no blood, but there was bacon. That tasted better than the fruity children's strawberry pasta to my husband in any case.
"You're supposed to brush your little teeth carefully and not chew the brush off!", I teased him.
It was used for the fourth time, and it already looked like it had been in use for years.
"You've been doing this for over thirty years, I need to get used to it again! I've been out of practice for a hundred and six years," he fretted.
I gave him a soothingly kiss.
Together we strolled through the cool morning air to our breakfast.
Ciara was already sitting. On Billy's lap.
I smiled delightedly at this.
It was nice that Billy would no longer be alone. I didn't know him as anything other than single. He had never made a particularly sad or unhappy impression on me, but with Ciara he seemed to have fresh energy.
Henry, Eliza, and their son Bryan were also invited to breakfast and arrived shortly after us.
To Ced we explained that we were just babysitting a friend. We had already explained this to Ced earlier.
It was the farewell breakfast for Charlie, Sue, Billy, and Ciara, too, which is why we had invited Henry and Eliza. Ciara would temporarily remain in La Push for an indefinite period of time.
Henry was not comfortable letting his mother travel with a complete stranger.
An over-reaction, no doubt, but after all it was about his momma!
She wanted to see her home again, to meet Billy's family, but also to meet her own.
How long she would stay there was not yet certain, but Billy would definitely fold up his tents there. Whether immediately or perhaps gradually was not yet decided.
They were told that a room was here for them at any time. They would be absolutely no burden, but very nice company. The house was big enough and it had worked very well the past week.
But Billy and Ciara refused that.
They wanted their own little home in the city, where they could also find their way around on their own. So ground-level, age-appropriate and the like, but also so that their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren wouldn't have to take a world trip to visit them. These were, after all, the primary reason why Saco was under consideration for them.
"If you want, we'll keep an eye out for a suitable property for you," Carlisle then offered.
"Real estate is the best investment," Edward whispered to me, chuckling.
I rolled my eyes.
"And we'll fix it up for you, so that all you have to do is move in," Esmé indicated kindly.
I could already see it glittering in her eyes.
The anticipation of being able to furnish and renovate a cottage or apartment again. She missed the work.
I felt guilty.
It was only because of Ced that her plans to start her own business as an interior designer and interior decorator were put on hold for the time being. Actually, because of me. Because I wanted to write my dissertation and she was taking care of my baby during those hours.
"What troubles you, dearest?", Edward stroked along my cheek with gentle fingers.
I shook my head and smiled again for the time being.
I would tell him later.
Edward didn't trust my face, of course, he knew me too well for that.
"Later," I kissed him on the tip of his curious nose.
Eliza congratulated Leah and Marcus on their engagement.
It had come as quite a surprise. In general, that they were together again.
Alice thereby returned to the subject of a double wedding, when she had passed the dining room purely by chance.
So I didn't really believe in the 'purely by chance'!
"Maybe their ideas about a perfect wedding are so far apart that you wouldn't be able to reconcile it!", Carlisle tried to curb their eagerness.
"That would be a challenge!" the shot obviously backfired.
"Don't you have anything to say about it?", I checked with the people who were actually the subject of this. The ones who wanted to get married. Maybe they just didn't want to share that day, which I could well understand, and Alice would then have to accept.
However, my predators reached out to each other and just looked at me with a smirk.
"We are twins!" they opined in unison.
"And we're marrying twins," Becky commented, looking over at Marcus.
He nodded in affirmation.
Alice then stood behind the four of them and blathered on with her suggestions.
"That sounds expensive already," Henry muttered to himself.
"You don't have to worry about that," Edward put in, just as Henry was about to say something. "We can calculate that later, when the plans take shape," Edward therefore followed up promptly, so as not to alienate Henry.
One of the traditions was that the bride's father paid for the festivities, something Henry would certainly not let himself be deprived of. For his only daughter!
"And how is your friend Connie?" asked Ciara to her grandson Bryan.
"Are the wedding bells ringing yet, too?" Sue wanted to know.
"She must be a very nice girl," Carlisle surmised.
"She's actually quite delightful," Eliza interjected.
"Hey, guys! Why don't you let me ... finish school first," Bryan huffed.
The last part came a little bumpy, which is why I looked at my husband.
"What did he actually want to say?" I asked him in a whisper.
"What do you think boys think about at that age?" he replied between the lines.
Becky was sitting next to us, had understood Edward and choked on her juice laughing.
But then it was time for our children to leave. They had an appointment with their friends.
Even Henry and his own departed after an extensive goodbye hug had taken place. And Henry's reminder to his mother to call when she landed.
I just chuckled at his attitude.
Edward fetched the already wrapped muffins and brownies for the kids.
"What about dinner tonight?", I echoed before our children disappeared.
"I have a date," Leah commented.
Surprised, I raised an eyebrow as Leah chuckled.
"Would be nice to at least have a date with my fiancé before we get married."
"Maybe you should have done that before you got engaged. After all, you want to know who you're dealing with," Edward teased the two.
"So, we're there. Around seven o'clock?" announced Jake.
"Okay. Dinner around seven ... Have fun and don't let Jason pull a fast one on you," I wished them convincingly elated and they were off.
Actually, I was disappointed. I thought tonight I would have all my kids together. For the first time again ... and just us. Friday we had been out, Saturday the kids' party, yesterday all vampires, wolves and humans. Too bad.
Tender arms embraced me from the back as we watched the Audi go by.
"We'll have a family night just between us. Don't worry," he whispered softly against my ear.
"How do you know ...", I asked vaguely.
"I know you too well, my heart," he replied.
We helped clear the table and clean up the kitchen.
Well. At least I tried, but I couldn't do more than collect a few plates. The vampires were just too fast.
Charlie, Sue, Billy, and Ciara, meanwhile, had gotten their things out of their rooms.
We now said goodbye to them as well.
Edward's siblings also made an appearance for this farewell.
Ced was sufficiently cuddled before they then left, and Charlie and Billy reminded me to keep them posted and send pictures often enough.
Jazz, Alice, Rose, and Em said goodbye to a hunting trip, and Edward and I then stood there with our baby.
Ced was thirsty.
We did that immediately, of course.
We praised our baby for being quite well-behaved when Becky's parents had been there.
"What were you thinking about earlier?" my angel asked me as we sat there.
I explained my feelings of guilt toward Esmé. That I kept her from the profession she loved because of my doctoral thesis.
"Don't feel guilty, Bella. You want your PhD, and Esmé is supporting you as best she can. For one thing. You're human and you think about things you want to accomplish differently than we do. Among other things, the finite nature of life plays a role. You want the title. By your own efforts ... without outside help. My accumulated titles are worth nothing in direct comparison. I was a vampire when I made the corresponding works. You might call it cheating, since I could recite every single one of my papers to you verbatim. As well as every lecture I ever attended. In that respect, I have very great respect for the fact that you want to get your doctorate. The fact that Professor Stewart is now standing by you is a very considerable opportunity that you should not let pass, and everybody will give you all the support they can. For another. Esmé loves her profession, yes, but she has not only been doing it for a considerable number of years, but will continue to do it for a much longer time. So she doesn't mind the few months she's taking off. Especially since she can continue to do private assignments, which she can arrange freely without clashing with your work on your thesis."
"But does she have any private assignments like that?", I inquired skeptically.
"Not at the moment, but she's not looking for assignments at the moment either. Right now, she takes up very much in the role of the caring grandmother who spoils her grandson rotten," he said with a smile.
"Yes!" our baby commented enthusiastically.
"Soon, after all, she will be taking care of our house in Hanover, which will certainly keep her busy for a few days."
"A few days?", I doubted.
As far as I knew from his stories, the house had to be of a size that could comfortably accommodate his whole family. So we weren't talking about a modest little house here. That wouldn't be quite the style of my ice-cold relatives.
"Bella. What are you thinking!" he reprimanded me. "Esmé is a professional and knows every corner of the house ... In her mind she has already worked out the complete renovation!"
Yes, I had probably overlooked that.
After Ced finished his bottle, we went to the swimming pool.
Ced was fine with that. In other words - he freaked out a little with excitement. And we would also have the whole day.
Quickly we changed clothes, we entered the swimming pool and Edward took us both in his arms so quickly that I barely realized it when I was already landing in the water. I instinctively rowed my arms seeking help, while Ced just laughed happily. So did his daddy, who kept me safely afloat.
Bad vampire! Very bad vampire for scaring me like that!
We had a lot of fun together. We romped, we played, we swam, we enjoyed the massage jets in the small side pool.
Well, me more than my men. Ced found this boring when he wasn't letting the water pressure drive him into our arms.
And our son could now swim properly. It was no longer just holding his head above water and moving forward rather clumsily, but coordinated swimming movements. He jumped off the edge of the pool, climbed onto the slide floating in the water by himself, used the swimming mat as a trampoline.
It was past noon when I picked up a bottle of blood for Ced and a snack for the two of us.
Edward had wanted to leave as usual, but I needed a little water break.
Ced was already swimming happily towards me when he noticed the bottle in my hand. Soaking wet, he wanted to climb onto the lounger and onto me, but his daddy was faster with a towel.
To make sure Ced rested a little after blood and snack, Daddy told a little story.
About a fish that wanted to have legs so that it could also discover the mainland. A slightly modified form of Arielle. I even dozed off a little bit, but Ced didn't seem to. As soon as the little fish was back in the sea, my baby was back in the water too.
Ced even dared to jump from the one-meter board. At first only together with daddy, but then he already jumped alone.
With growing enthusiasm.
On the diving board one step higher, however, things looked quite different. He didn't even dare to leave the safe platform. He clasped Edward's leg fearfully, unwilling to let go. So they climbed down again without having achieved anything.
But from the edge of the pool, our baby was brave enough again. With a running start!
"Do you know any vampires with a fear of heights?", I asked my husband.
"None so far," he smirked.
It was definitely too early to worry about whether this was normal. Ced was only eight weeks old tomorrow.
We frolicked in the water for some more time before taking a late afternoon shower.
I had another load of laundry to iron at our house.
Meanwhile, Edward sat in front of his grand piano with our baby. He had been playing our song, but Ced had climbed inquisitively onto his lap. They strummed a little together.
I leaned against the railing of the gallery on the upper floor after distributing the laundry and watched the two of them.
Sometimes it still overwhelmed me what my life looked like today.
Married to an angel. The sweet offspring angel. Two magnificent predators. Two adorable children-in-law. A beautiful and cozy home. We were doing really well, there was really no other way to put it. The only worries we had, other than making sure our kids got to school on time, were whether we had enough food in the house or anything like that.
Around 6:00 p.m. we arrived at my house in Saco.
Our kids had apparently just arrived, too. At least Becky and Jake had. They were standing in the kitchen, Jake with an ice cream in his hand.
"Well, you two. How did your game go?" asked Edward, elated.
"There's about to be dinner. So you're eating ice cream now?", I asked however.
"Are you afraid I won't finish my plate?", Jake raised his eyebrows skeptically and smirked.
Uh ... okay, that was really not to be feared. Wolves were genetically incapable of letting food go to waste.
"Besides, we just saved the world. Surely one can reward oneself for that!"
"And Marcus and Leah are already on their way?" so I skipped over Jake's counter question, which was met with copious chuckling all around me.
"Nope ... Marcus is at home and Leah is nervously changing," Becky said.
"Nervous?" I dug deeper, uncomprehending.
"It's their first date," Edward smirked.
Jake and Becky played with Ced, Edward started dinner and I went to see my daughter.
My nervous daughter. Allegedly. That didn't really fit her.
I knocked on her door.
"Yes!" it came out a bit beastly.
"Oh my ...", was my first reaction. Half of Leah's closet contents lay on and in front of the bed and she also held various hangers in her hands.
Gruffly she turned to me, again to the mirror, to the bed, exchanged hangers, again to the mirror.
My child was actually nervous.
"I have nothing to wear!" she grumbled with a slightly panicked undertone.
"Well, it looks different to me," I said, pointing to the pile of clothes.
Displeased, probably rather annoyed, she lowered her arms jerkily and looked at me venomously.
I bit my lower lip.
That had probably been the wrong answer. So ... new attempt.
"Leah. You have so many beautiful things to wear. Look at this one, for example," I said soothingly, holding up something she had from Alice.
A pink tight-fitting top.
"It's too garish."
"And this."
A dark pantsuit. Very discreet, but very tasteful.
"Too boring."
Okay. Discreet was boring. I had to remember that. The game repeated itself several times, no matter what I offered Leah. Whether jeans with a chic top, dress, skirt, jumpsuit ... With everything Leah had something to criticize.
I took her hands and commanded her to sit in her chair.
So that we were at eye level. After all, my children were huge.
Together we took a deep breath.
"Will you tell me why you're so nervous?", I asked cautiously. "You've been out with Marcus so many times before. What's different today?"
"It's our first date."
"This time," I wanted to improve.
"No, Mom. It's really our first date. I realized that abruptly earlier when he let us out of here. We've never been out just the two of us. We've always been out with his friends or our friends. And if they weren't there, Jake and Becky were. Or we were just home alone. It's our first real rendezvous!"
"So what?!", I then said lightly.
"So what?!" my little daughter became indignant. "What if this goes wrong? What if we have nothing to say to each other on our own? If it's just going to be a disaster?"
"Little one. You're going out with Marcus!", I interrupted her gently but emphatically.
Her look changed.
She seemed attentive as she looked at me.
"You've had this fear before. Many weeks ago, when you were sitting here together on the bus in front of the house. A lot of time has passed since then, and you have spent a lot of time together. You've sat in this room for hours discussing trivia. You've been squabbling and teasing each other. But you also loved each other very much. And when you look at this ring ... what goes through your mind?"
She looked thoughtfully at her hands. At the two rings that adorned them. She began to smile shyly.
"That I love Marcus more than anything," she murmured.
"And that's all that matters, little one. All these pretty clothes and which one you choose for this evening means absolutely nothing. We could put you in a potato sack, I don't think Marcus would care. Because he loves you. The person you are. And also the wolf you carry inside you."
Leah nodded after a long moment and then hugged me. She was completely calm.
"So what am I going to wear?" she then looked at her bed.
Well, we hadn't solved that problem yet.
"Where are you going?" A not entirely unimportant piece of information.
"I don't know."
We picked out three different outfits. Casual with jeans, an elegant evening dress and an ensemble that was somewhere in between.
Leah fixed her hair, put on a little makeup, I put the closet back away, and Leah sat there unfinished in her bathrobe. She tapped her fingers on the desk panel.
"You're not really afraid of this evening, are you?", I asked her.
"No. I'm just a little excited ... And it makes me nervous not knowing what we're going to do."
I was about to say something back when we heard the doorbell.
Leah immediately jumped up from her chair. Two more minutes of nervously hopping back and forth on her feet until Jake finally arrived with us.
"Marcus is ..." he wanted to say.
"What is he wearing?" both Leah and I interrupted him at the same time.
Jake grinned ... a little gleefully. He looked at the bed, where the selection lay ready.
"Take the black one," he said good-naturedly, however, and left again.
Leah took a deep breath and grabbed the dress.
In the meantime, I went downstairs.
Checking to see if maybe Jake wasn't teasing his sister about the dress choice. But he had made the right choice for her.
Marcus was standing at the dining room table, Ced in a chair in front of him, and they were discussing the number of plates set. In Ced's opinion, there were two too few.
"I'm going out with your big sister today!", Marcus proudly announced to our baby.
However, Ced couldn't seem to do much with these words. He just peeked confused.
"He's asking if he can come?" smirked Edward, leaning in the kitchen doorway.
"I hardly think so," I then made my point and stepped closer. "First of all, it's going to be way too late for you. By the time the two get back, you should be in dreamland. Second, it's their first date all by themselves. They want to be undisturbed," I explained.
Marcus nodded, while everyone else looked at each other, puzzled.
"Hello, Marcus," I greeted him with a suggested hug. "You look good," I remarked.
Marcus was wearing a dark suit. Although very casual, without a bow tie or tie, and the top two shirt buttons were open, there was still a definite hint of solemnity. And his three-day beard. Leah's heart would stop at the sight of her lover.
"Now back up a second," Jake interjected. "You mean the first date since they got engaged."
"No ... Generally," Marcus said, explaining that in fact they had never gone out alone. Always only in the company of others or that they were alone at home. But a real date, a date for two, they never had. He had noticed this when he had just rang the doorbell. Because he had never picked Leah up in this way before.
"Then that's why you're so excited," Edward commented with a smirk.
Marcus nodded and ran an embarrassed hand through his hair.
Cute.
"Where's my camera?" asked Edward then jitterily and immediately went to get it. "My princess's first date must be recorded for posterity!" he insisted.
"When was the last time we actually went out by ourselves?" asked Becky, meanwhile.
Jake had to think about it.
"There were usually four of us on the road," Marcus helped him out.
I chuckled at the fact that my twins didn't have a real personal life without realizing it.
I went to the kitchen to see what was going on.
Everything looked good. Nothing required my attention.
I contorted my face in offense at this.
The non-eating vampire cooked better and more organized than I did.
So I went back to the others.
Edward had found his camera and Jake just formally invited Becky on a rendezvous. But Ced wanted to go with the two of them, if he was not allowed to go with Leah today.
"Leah's done," Edward commented, at which point Marcus headed for the stairs.
As he did so, he grabbed a long-stemmed red rose from the dresser that I had apparently overlooked earlier.
Jake apparently wanted to look at his little sis, too, but Edward held him back.
"It's his date. Not yours!" he rebuked him.
And I took Ced on my hip, who had also been on the road.
"But Mommy!" he made unenthusiastically.
I put a finger over my mouth and then took one of Ced's hands.
'Allow the two of them this moment alone. You'll see Leah when she gets here. And she won't leave without saying goodbye to you.'
My son nodded. Snivelling.
I heard the camera click, but Edward just took a picture of his baby, who was just so saccharine offended.
Ced just thought it was unfair that he was never never never taken along.
"Then you need to tell your siblings that you want to do something just with them for once," Edward pinched our son's cheek encouragingly.
The latter immediately demanded to be lowered and negotiated terms with Jake and Becky.
Something moved in the corner of my eye, and I turned my gaze there.
Leah was on the stairs and came down the last steps led by Marcus' hand. They looked at each other in love, whispered something I didn't understand and kissed lovingly.
"I think I owe you a real rendezvous too, my heart," Edward then gave me to understand.
"Haven't we had enough of that in the last week?", I asked. And how beautiful the evenings had been.
"That doesn't count. That was our honeymoon, not official dates!" clarified Edward. "Or have you already had enough of your husband?" he then wanted to know skeptically.
"Never! I will never have enough of you!", I assured and got a kiss for this answer.
Then they finished greeting each other at the stairs and hesitantly entered the living room.
The were such an enchanting couple, it really touched me. Marcus in his suit, Leah in a black evening gown with her signature pink-colored accents. They smiled happily, but also a little tentatively, as would be appropriate on a first date. When you didn't know yet what would become of an acquaintance. The past weeks had been so unnecessary. So much anger, suffering and pain. Of course, we had all made new friends, too. The Latham family belonged to the world of myth and legend itself, and they had become real friends in that short time. Friends from whom we did not need to keep secrets.
I wandered off in my thoughts while Edward asked them both for a photo.
A beautiful picture it had become. The red rose between them, held by their ringed hands and a tender look. I was already thinking about a suitable frame for the picture and where I would hang it.
We wished the two lovebirds a nice evening, but I reminded them that tomorrow was school.
I just couldn't quite get out of my skin.
The rest of us spent a pleasant evening together.
During the meal, we thought about what Ced could do alone with his siblings.
Except swimming.
Since Ced thought our twins were so great as wolves, Jake had suggested a trip to the woods.
Ced was thrilled.
Riding on the back of his big brother. Held by Becky.
Which of these was the decisive factor for his enthusiasm, I was not able to say. Ced still adored Becky at every opportunity.
But the parents were unanimously against it.
It wasn't that we didn't trust our kids to take proper care of their baby brother, it was just this wet and cold weather at the moment that was militating against it. And not just because of Ced, but also because of Becky and Marcus. One rain shower out there somewhere and they would be soaked to the skin.
So we continued to think about it.
There was an indoor playground in the direction of Portland. Ced couldn't understand the concept and thought it sounded pretty dull. He didn't know of any real playground except his play corner at Edward's house. So they would go there the next weekend. The various setups were designed so that even the big kids would get their money's worth. We had checked that extensively the day after Thanksgiving.
After dinner we played 'Yahtzee'.
One of the few games where my husband wasn't at least one step ahead of us because of his gift.
Ced sat in the middle of the dining room table and rolled the dice for all of us in turn. But he almost fell asleep when he got another bottle in the early evening.
We had been in the swimming pool for half the day. Half-vampire or not, Ced was still just a baby. So lucky! At least for us parents.
Edward and I took him upstairs together, with Daddy brushing his teeth, we diapered him again and put him in his crib.
He fought off the fatigue. With us downstairs, it was just more fun than sleeping. But against my lullaby hummed by Edward paired with the gentle rocking of the cradle he had no chance.
"Thank you, Bella," my angel whispered.
"Don't you ever get bored of saying that?", I dug deeper.
Edward turned me in his direction and gently took my face in his hands.
"No, never. I will never forget what you took on to give life to our little Knob."
"Just look at him, our little angel. How could I not have taken the danger and hardships to have him with us."
"And for that, I thank you!"
His lips came closer and closer to mine, when I then thought of something else.
"Where is Edwina, anyway?", I asked.
Edward paused and growled at me that I had to smirk.
"I put her up for adoption!"
"No, you didn't!"
Edward sighed theatrically. He went to the back bedside cabinet.
His side, if one could speak of sides in our bed. The one on the window side had always been empty until Edward moved in. He kept his cuff links, tie pins, and things like that in it.
Now he pulled the vampire teddy out of one of the drawers.
"I was hoping you'd forget about this thing," he puffed.
"She's not a thing!", I grumbled, sticking my tongue out at him.
We went back downstairs and let our treasure sleep.
It was about time to introduce the new addition to the family.
Jake and Becky were already sitting on the sofa, popcorn was ready, the movie they had chosen was apparently also already prepared. They just enjoyed the parentless togetherness.
In other words, they were making out. At least until they noticed us.
"I forgot to introduce you to your little sister," I said.
"Uh ... when were you pregnant?", Jake looked cutely confused.
I pulled the teddy out from behind my back and threw it right into his arms.
"This is Edwina!", I introduced. "And be nice to her!"
"She's cute!", Becky was already excited, massaging over the fluffy fur.
And the vampire next to me rolled his eyes.
"Edwina?!" chortled Jake to himself. "So now I have to share my dad with one more person?"
His amused laughter weighed a lot heavier than the words he said.
"Absolutely not!" clarified Edward.
"Edward doesn't like Edwina," I clarified.
"Can she sleep with us tonight?" asked Becky cheerfully.
"That'll make the wolf jealous!" opined Jake.
"Which one of the two?", I asked. Competition for the plush wolf or for the real wolf?
"We'll see," he gritted his teeth playfully and narrowed his eyes wickedly. "But she really is cute," Jake then admitted.
We then turned to the film that the two of them had chosen.
A funny film about teenagers whose senior year everything they had planned for that special year went wrong. Somehow, miraculously, they all made it to college together.
"You've been to Dartmouth before. What's it like there?" asked Jake toward the end of the film.
"I'm sure you'll like it there very much, although my personal impressions were several years ago," Edward commented.
"How long? And are you studying there now, too?" Becky asked.
"We were there in the 1950s. So plenty of time has passed that no one there will know me anymore. Even the youngest professors should be retired by now. I'm enrolled. In medical school. But we don't know yet exactly what our lives will be like after summer vacation. How far along Ced will be then. Whether Bella will continue to hold on to not wanting to survive the summer. And if she does, how she will cope."
"So you're moving to Hanover with us?" asked Jake.
"Absolutely not, Jake," I replied. "College is the beginning of a new phase in your lives. You're growing up and you should be able to move and decide freely from your parents. It's part of that that you're going to walk this path on your own. Even though it's going to be pretty hard for me to let my babies go out into the big bad world."
"But Dad will be there to watch over us," Jake tried to cheer me up.
"Should I start studying, I will be officially registered in our house there and even one of the rooms will be prepared for me. It will appear that I am living there as well, in the very likely event that you have guests. But my home is here. In that respect, I will only be able to get through the woods on foot, and from there I will continue on to the university by car."
"But you do visit!" Becky categorically stated.
"Just like you'll be coming home regularly!", I said in the same way. After all, I hadn't brought children into the world so that I wouldn't see them after high school!
Edward told a little more about Dartmouth. About the campus, about philosophy and how the different faculties were arranged. That the university buildings were spread out far into the surrounding area. About the small town of Hanover, which was home to the college.
The movie had been over for some time when Jake and Becky pulled away.
The two did not seem particularly tired. It wasn't yet eleven o'clock, so they would certainly find something fun to do together. Monopoly, I chuckled in my mind.
I stood up and stretched. I staggered a little, but I was just a little stiff from sitting for so long.
My overconcerned vampire, of course, stood with me and held me before I finished thinking.
"So stormy today?", I purred. I felt very much like being near him.
He had taken the hint.
Or just quickly noticed that I stood easily on my own legs. After all, he had known me for a few days.
His hands slid under my sweater to my sides, and he kissed me.
Intoxicating. With hunger for more like this!
So I was about to illustrate that we should go up when I noticed headlights in our driveway through the window.
Edward looked intently for a moment.
"Leah and Marcus," he merely said and continued kissing me.
Eternities. I just couldn't get enough of his sweet lips; however, the living room clock distracted me. It struck eleven o'clock.
"Are they upstairs yet?", I asked, confused. I hadn't heard the front door open at all, let alone heard Leah say anything like she usually did when she came home. At least if anyone was still down here.
"No. Marcus is trying to steal a 'good night' kiss from our daughter right now," Edward murmured into our own kiss.
"Huh ...?" I didn't understand. What was there to steal. I mean, they were back together and even engaged.
"Leah doesn't want to make it too easy for him. It's their first date, after all," Edward smirked.
"Oh, I see," I chuckled.
We quickly took the glasses and the popcorn bowl to the kitchen, folded up the blanket I had been lying under, and turned off the lights in the living room. When we arrived in the hallway, the front door flew open and immediately closed again.
Leah.
She was leaning with her back against the door, had her eyes closed and was breathing unusually deeply.
I could not interpret her behavior. Was she happy? In love? Disappointed? Pissed off?
"Where ... is Marcus?", I asked cautiously. Maybe something had gone wrong with the 'theft'?
"But Mom ... I'm not bringing the boy home after the first date! What do you think of me?" she grumbled.
Behind me, however, someone was already smirking.
A soft knock on the front door, Leah opened, and Marcus came in.
"Good evening," Marcus wished formally.
I raised my eyebrow playfully in rebuke.
Rebuking for the statement just two seconds before.
"That's my fiancé. He's allowed to come," Leah chuckled and they hurriedly ran up the stairs hand in hand.
I shook my head in amusement.
Young and in love. It was beautiful. But to be no longer quite so young and still in love, had also something for itself. Especially with the man who offered himself to me.
"Marcus had only forgotten his bag in the trunk, which Leah took advantage of briefly to gather her wits again," the vampire explained to me before we too tackled our bedroom.
Quietly, so that Ced did not wake up. Emotionally and tenderly ... I realized once again that humanity was completely overrated. Having to spend the night sleeping was so annoying.
I snuggled up to my husband for a long time as sleep approached with more and more certainty.
It was another night in which one had been happy in the entire Black house. Whether all the excitement finally came to an end now? I was married to my angel and had a beautiful home. Actually, two of them. My twins were finally both happy again and there was no fear that any supernatural forces would destroy that for us again. Our baby was doing well and developing splendidly. Even if much too fast for my taste. Everything was perfect now! Okay, a tiny little shadow just lay over my happiness. Edwina was lying on the sofa. But I would be able to change that the next night. No matter how much Edward would be annoyed about it.
"Bella," he purred lovingly the next morning.
I smiled.
As I do most mornings when I hear Edward's melodic voice first thing.
He was already lying with me again, gently stroking my face and smiling adorably.
Our baby also woke up and I took him out of the cradle to us. I sighed happily.
Yes, everything was perfect!
Our all-morning routine followed.
The predators went running in the forest. Our children-in-law found it too wet to go jogging and dozed off in their beds.
Edward, Ced, and I went to take a shower. And brushed our teeth. I reminded my husband not to eat the brush.
We met at the breakfast table in a good mood.
Leah and Marcus talked about their rendezvous.
They went to a small romantic restaurant on Factory Island and then walked along the waterfront. Then they were at the 'Twilight'. The bar where it had all started. Where Leah and Marcus had met for the first time. But it had been full to bursting. Even more crowded than when they had first met, which was why it was far too uncomfortable for them. They had waited forever to get their two Rainbow cocktails and had finally walked back out with their glasses. On Factory Island there were some bars, cafes, and restaurants, but also a playground. There they sat down in two swings. They talked, they teased each other, they gave each other a swing, at some point they had seemingly shared a swing. And all accompanied by the music from the bar. Among other things, the song was playing that they had danced to on their first night and what they had done on the playground. A beautiful evening.
Marcus, of course, had to leave first in order to get to school on time.
He also had to pick up his sister from home beforehand, who was probably already quite curious about what Marcus would tell her about the evening. He had already said at his house that he was back together with Leah, but hadn't said a word about his engagement. They were going to tell his mother together tonight when he came home from work later.
Jake, Leah, and Becky also left early, leaving me alone with Edward and Ced for a moment.
We goofed around together for a bit before we too would head out.
"Well, say something about it! Do you like it when your mommy rides around on her motorcycle in this weather?" Edward prompted our baby and showed him the sleet that was pelting down in our garden.
The two talked in silence for a moment before Edward's face darkened.
I asked how Ced's opinion was on that.
"Surely you'd have been driving it long enough to know how to do it!" he grumbled.
I laughed out loud and gave my baby a big kiss on the cheek.
"Right he is!", I agreed.
I praised Ced for his opinion, while my husband sulked when we had a surprise visitor.
Surprising for this time of day. Jasper. Actually, I would have rather expected Esmé, since I wanted to drive straight to Portland for my PhD. I was dreading it a little. I hadn't been to Professor Stewart's for almost two weeks and hadn't looked at my work in just as long. But I would find my way back into it.
"Good morning ... Any particular reason for your early visit?" I asked. Maybe something had just come up with Esmé and Jazz would want to take care of Ced.
"Good morning. Yes, there is," he simply said as he came into the house via the terrace.
He dashed on vampirically straight to the coat rack by the front door to hang up his wet jacket there.
I lowered Ced, who ran to greet our guest. I sat down.
His tone of voice gave me the impetus. It sounded serious.
Jazz was the family lawyer and took care of all the legal and official matters. Their IDs and other documents, property transfers when they changed their identities, tax returns, managing the numerous bank accounts, and whatever else there was to take care of. Among other things, he had taken care of the legal side of the adoption and our marriage, or had assisted Mr. Corbin in this regard with documents, information and proofs to be obtained. In this respect, my fear was that my marriage or the adoption would not be legally binding after all.
"Mr. Corbin called me earlier. The process will begin soon."
"What process?", I asked, confused.
"What a process is, I'll explain some other time," he said to Ced, who had apparently asked him through his gift for it.
"Becky's rape," Edward answered me quietly.
That's when my perfect world crumbled apart again.
Thanks for reading!
