Chapter Five: Big Boy

Maisy screamed bloody murder as I tried to pry her hands off of Jasper's shirt. We were all standing in the living room now, the barbeque long since over. I had been trying to get my little demon to release Alice's fiancé for the better part of half an hour. I wasn't having much in the way of luck. She was glued to him.

Everyone else, including my parents, had already left to return to their respective homes. I would have been gone too if I could get my daughter away from her new bestie.

"Maisy Renee," I said with barely any force in my tone. I was too tired. "Let go. It's time to go home now, baby."

"Japper," she cried pitifully burying her face in his chest, her clawed fingers fisting tighter into his shirt. "My Japper."

To his credit, Jasper didn't seem annoyed by Maisy. He just rubbed soothing circles on her back and was trying to tell her that he would see her again soon. She wouldn't hear any of it though. She was steadfast in her decision to stay attached to the poor guy. I had to give him credit – he was one patient man.

Alice came up next to me, her eyes amused and her lips quirked up into a little half-smile. She put her hand on mine which was wrapped around my daughter's abdomen as I tugged on her.

"She can spend the night," she offered in a whisper, low enough that Maisy couldn't hear it over her wails, "If that's alright with you?"

I let go of my daughter and raised my eyebrows at Alice in surprise. I didn't answer right away, trepidation filling my stomach with knots. I never let my kids stay the night with anyone but my parents. I trusted Alice and her family, for sure, but I didn't know Jasper at all. He seemed like a nice guy who wouldn't dare hurt anyone, but I didn't know that for a fact.

Sometimes, the face people show you is just hiding the darkness in their soul. I learned that from my ex-husband. Not to mention, you hear so many terrible things about leaving your kids with strangers. And while the Cullen's weren't necessarily strangers, I wasn't too sure about it.

I wrung my hands under my chest, biting my lip as I looked between Jasper and Alice. Alice must've sensed my apprehension because she pulled me to the side, next to the couch that my son was passing out on.

"Jasper is great with kids," she assured me, "They seriously just flock to him," she said with a wide smile. "He would never lay a finger of harm on any child – I can assure you of that. And I'll keep a real close eye on your baby." Her eyes were large and hopeful. Something told me that she was doing this more for herself than Maisy. I didn't want to disappoint her.

I looked over at Maisy. Now that I wasn't trying to pull her away, she was sniffling back her tears and cuddling Jasper's chest as he rocked her from side to side and rubbed her back and hair softly. He seemed completely at ease with her – happy, even.

I sighed. "None of her things are here," I tried as a last-ditch effort. But I was giving in. I didn't really feel that I had any reason not to. I knew that Alice would make sure that one of the most important people in my life would be okay.

Alice's smile widened. She could tell I was ready to cave.

"It's one night. Bella. We'll bring her back whenever you want tomorrow. I promise you she will be just fine. We'll have a great time before she goes to bed." Alice was practically vibrating with excitement.

"I suppose…" I trailed off, looking at my baby once more. I didn't like leaving her anywhere overnight, but I knew that Alice and her family would take good care of her. I had to keep telling myself that. And it was only one night. Surely, I could survive one measly night without her.

Alice clapped her hands and jumped up and down, "You will not regret it, I promise!"

She pulled me into a tight hug before letting me go and walking over to Jasper and Maisy. She looked at Maisy, pushing some hair from her forehead softly. Maisy looked up with her red-rimmed and frantic eyes.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" she asked her with a smile.

Maisy's face lit up and her eyes found me instantly, "I stay?" she asked excitedly.

I nodded, "You stay. But you make sure you're extra good for Alice and Jasper," I commanded, pointing my finger at her.

She giggled and hugged herself closer to Jasper. She sighed in contentment, obviously very happy with the turn of events. I walked over to them and held my hands out to her.

"Does mommy get a hug and kiss goodbye?" I pouted dramatically.

She smiled and lunged her little body at me. She wrapped her arms around my neck in a tight hug. I returned it with just as much enthusiasm, not wanting to let her go. I really couldn't believe that I was leaving my baby for the night. I felt like I was sending her off to summer camp and wouldn't see her for a whole month. Maisy pulled back and grabbed my face between her chubby little hands. She gave me a big kiss on the side of my mouth.

I laughed, "Thank you, my love. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

She nodded and reached for Jasper again. He took her without hesitation and walked her over to the couch with her and sat her on his lap.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" he asked her as he picked up the remote.

"Shrek!" she yelled, clapping her hands together. The smile on her face was enough for me to be okay with my decision to let her stay. She looked so happy and I loved seeing that. I never wanted to be the reason for my kids sadness. They already had one parent content in doing that to them.

"I'll help you to your car," Alice offered, touching my arm and giving me a pointed look. Basically telling me that I can leave now. She seemed really excited to have my baby for the night. It was actually very sweet.

She grabbed up all my containers that were totally empty. My fruit dip was a big hit with everyone basically devouring it. I lost count of how many people asked me for the recipe, including Esme. So, I just wrote it down for her and asked her to pass it around.

"Ready?" Alice asked me.

I looked down at my sleepy boy and gathered him into my arms. He groaned and laid his head in the crook of my neck, snuggling into me. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and sighed tiredly. I rubbed his back and followed Alice to my car. I felt his action figured tucked into the back of his pants and snickered quietly. He sure was my responsible little man.

My car was the only one outside since I was the last guest to leave thanks to my daughter's infatuation with Jasper. It was already pretty late when the barbeque ended, but I was still surprised to see how dark it had gotten outside. Time really does fly when you're having fun. And it was a lot of fun with the kids playing and screaming and the adults talking and laughing and sharing stories. I had a wonderful time. I really needed a day like that. A day to just enjoy my children and the company of other adults. I even made a few new friends and that was a rarity for me.

My Facebook friends list and my phones contact list grew as the party went on.

Alice reached over with her free hand for my keys, the containers in her other arm stacked precariously. I handed them to her, and she opened the trunk setting the containers down. They scattered all over the place. She closed the trunk and turned back to me with a big smile, handing me back my keys.

"I'm so happy that I got to spend time with you today," she said sincerely.

I grinned, "Yeah, it's been a while. I forgot how much fun we always had together."

"I love how we just picked up from where we left off. It's like no time has passed, you know? That's the kind of friendship that people would kill for."

"Well, luckily no one got hurt," I snorted at my lame joke. She rolled her eyes with a happy smile and wrapped her arms around me and Connor. He stirred slightly from the sudden touch but snuggled right back into my neck, his warm breath tickling my skin.

"I really did miss you, girly," she breathed when she pulled away.

The sincerity in her tone made me feel like I was going to have a minor breakdown. I didn't know why it made me feel so emotional. I didn't think I ever realized just how badly I missed this girl. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. I laughed quietly and looked down at my shoes to compose myself.

I glanced back up at her through my lashes, "I missed you, too. So much. I hate that you'll be leaving again," I admitted.

Alice nodded, "Me too. But that's where I've been building my life," she explained ruefully with a one shoulder shrug, "However," she continued, "I'm going to buy you and the kids plane tickets at least once a month to come spend a weekend with me. And if you can't come, I'll visit you. We will not lose contact with each other again. I absolutely forbid it," she mock-glared at me.

I laughed and nodded, "Sounds like a plan to me. I'd love to visit New York anyway. You can show me around."

"Girl, we're going to go to all the best spots. Family-friendly spots, of course," she said, her eyes smiling down at the boy in my arms.

"You and Jasper are really great with kids. Are you two planning on having any of your own?" I asked her as I walked over to the back door of my car. I opened it and carefully put Connor in his booster seat. I strapped him down and moved his sleepy head to a safer and more comfortable position.

I closed the door softly and turned to Alice. She had a sad look on her face, her slender fingers pulling at the collar of her shirt. I took a step toward her and reached out my hand. She took it willingly and sighed deeply.

"The chances of me having a child are apparently very low," she whispered with a sad shake of her head.

I squeezed her hand between us and hugged her around the shoulders with my free arm. We stood there, rocking back and forth for a few minutes as I tried to comfort her. I waited until Alice composed herself and pulled away from me to speak.

"You know what?" I asked her with a small encouraging smile, leaning down so she would look into my eyes.

She looked at me quizzically.

"If you can't have a kid biologically, you and Jasper are going to make one lonely kid very happy one day."

Alice's face brightened. "We could do that," she nodded quickly, "I have thought about it. I just hope that Jasper would be okay with that. I feel so bad I can't give him children. I know he wants them more than anything."

"Something tells me that Jasper will be happy with it. And if you adopt, that will still be your baby. Don't forget that."

Alice sniffled and laughed, "You've got a way with words," she told me as she wiped some tears from the corners of her eyes.

I shrugged with a smile, "Just speaking the truth."

We hugged one last time before I climbed into my car. Alice waited outside, waving as I drove off. It was dark as hell as I navigated down the long driveway. I had to turn my lights on. I thought about telling Esme that she should put some lights out on the path leading out of her residence. It was an accident waiting to happen.

When we made it home, I decided to just leave the containers in the back. It wasn't like there was any food left over to spoil and stink up my car. I gathered Connor into my arms carefully. This time he didn't even stir or make a sound. He was out cold. I carried him upstairs after I locked the front door and laid him in bed. He had been playing outside all day, but his bath would have to wait for the morning. The last thing I needed was to try and give a sleepy boy a bath.

I removed his shoes, socks, jeans, and flannel, leaving only his red and blue Spiderman underwear and his graphic tee. With all the movement, I expected him to at least open his eyes for a second, but the boy was apparently stuck in dreamland. I covered him with his green Hulk comforter and kissed him on the forehead. I set his two favorite action figures on either side of him and then turned off the light.

I went into my room passing right by my very inviting bed and headed straight for the bathroom. I needed to brush my teeth and shower. I decided to do them at the same time. I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste and set them on the shower caddy. I turned the water on all the way to steaming hot and stepped underneath the fiery spray, sighing in relief as my muscles started to relax.

I hadn't been sleeping very well so my body was way more than sore at this point. I stood there, doing nothing for a few minutes, just letting my mind relax and wander. For some reason, my mind drifted to Edward and his expressive dark green eyes. Whatever he was trying to hide outwardly came through his eyes so clearly. He was hurting, that much was obvious to any bystander. But there seemed to be so much more going on in that handsome head of his.

And for some reason, I wanted to get into it. I wanted to know what he was thinking, how he was feeling, and what I could do to help. I felt a need to help both him and his daughter. Maybe because I was in a similar situation and I could sympathize with what they were going through.

I spent so much time thinking about Edward that the water started to cool before I could even start washing myself. I turned it up higher and blanked out my mind. Once I felt sufficiently relaxed, I grabbed my shea butter body soap and started lathering up my loofah. I washed slowly and once I was done with my body, face, and hair, I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste and thoroughly cleaned my teeth. They never felt cleaner than when I brushed them in the shower.

I stepped out of the shower when the water was bordering on freezing. I dried myself off, put my hair into a cotton towel, and slipped on my silk black kimono. I didn't feel like getting dressed for bed. I was too tired. So, I just laid down with what I had on. I didn't even remove the towel.

"Momma," a quiet voice whispered next to my face. This time, his breath was minty fresh.

I opened one eye and looked at my boy sitting next to me on the bed. He had a worried look on his face. His hair was wet and dripping onto my comforter and all he had on was a pair of green undies.

"What's the matter?" I croaked, my throat feeling thick and dry. I cleared it a few times and forced my other eye to open up.

"Momma, May-May is gone," he said worriedly, his voice shaking.

I sat up so fast my head spun, "What?" I shrieked.

"I looked everywhere, Momma." He was on the verge of tears, his little lips quivering.

I grabbed my phone getting ready to call my dad, my brother, Rose, fucking anyone and everyone. When I looked at my phone, I nearly puked from the anxiety and relief that was warring in my stomach and chest.

I had a text from Alice.

Hey, girly. Just letting you know that Maisy was an absolute angel for us. We woke up early and she helped us make pancakes. She's quite a little baker, lol. Anyway, just let me know when you want her back but there's no rush! :)

I let out the breath I had been holding, hugging my phone to my chest. I couldn't believe I had forgotten that I left my kid with someone overnight. I felt like such a shitty mom. But I never let them stay anywhere before, so after a few seconds of self-flagelation I let myself off the hook. No need to beat myself up over that. I looked at Connor and smiled.

"I forgot, baby. She spent the night with Alice."

Connor sighed, wiping his eyes with the backs of his hands. His little chest started to shake wildly. I put my phone down next to me and quickly grabbed him into a tight hug. He let out a few little cries that nearly had me breaking down with him. I rubbed his hair, kissing him on top of his head.

"You're such a good big brother, you know that?" I asked him, pulling back to look at him.

He sniffled, "I was scared that she left us too," he cried, his lips turned down in the most heartbreaking pout I had ever seen.

I felt the tears in my eyes. I pulled him back to my chest and just hugged him with all the motherly love I could muster in my body, hoping to calm his fears and silence those doubts.

I really fucking hated Mike for doing this to him.

After a while, he pulled away from me and looked up into my eyes.

"Can we go get May-May," he asked in a small voice, "I miss her."

I smiled. "Yes, we can," I smiled as I ran my hand through his wet hair, "But why is your hair wet, buddy?" I had been wanting to ask that for a while.

"I tooked a shower all by myself, Momma," he announced proudly, puffing out his bitty little chest, the sadness from earlier dissipating slowly.

"Oh, you did now?" I laughed, "You're just growing up on your old mom too fast."

"You're not old, Mommy," he argued with a furrowed brow. He looked damn insulted that I would say such a thing.

"I'm not? So does that mean you're still my little baby?"

Connor smiled and jumped off the bed. He walked over to the door, and I noticed that his underwear was on backward. I put my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing.

"I'm a big boy now," he said before walking away with his little butt cheeks poking out from his undies.

I fell back on the bed cackling quietly with my hands over my face. I loved my kids so much. They truly made my life worth living.

I got up and went over to my closet. I pulled out my thick white mock turtleneck sweater and grabbed a pair of leg and hip-hugging dark straight-leg jeans. After I was dressed, I went back to my closet and decided to put on the black knee-high boots that I literally never wore. I even put on some light makeup and straightened my hair before setting it up in a sleek ponytail. I wasn't quite sure why I was putting that much effort into my appearance when for the last couple of months, I hadn't really cared too much about how I looked as long as I could make it through the day without breaking down.

Perhaps that meant I was healing.

I hoped.

I went to Connor's room. He was dressed in light jeans and his favorite white hoodie that had his and his sister's smiling faces printed on the front. He didn't notice me enter the room, too busy digging his hand into the back of his pants.

"You okay there, bud?" I asked him, trying to fight back my smile.

He turned to me, looking aggravated, "I got a wedgie. It won't go away."

I snickered and walked over to him. I got down to his eye level and said, "Look, I know you're a big boy now, and one thing big boys should know, is that the tag should always go in the back."

He looked at me with a confused expression. I tried so hard to keep my mirth at bay. I didn't want to embarrass him.

"Your undies are on backward, baby," I told him, my voice only slightly shaking from trying to contain my laughter.

His cherub cheeks blazed, and he looked down, "Oh."

"It's okay," I quickly assured him. "Another thing big boys should know is how to learn from their mistakes. Everyone makes them. You just have to fix it and know better for the next time."

He smiled bashfully, his cheeks still tomato red, "Okay."

"Do you need my help?" I asked him, reaching for the waist of his jeans.

He rolled his baby blue eyes and shook his head, "I can do it, Momma."

I stood up straight and put my hands to my sides, waiting for him to fix it. When I didn't move from in front of him, he gestured to the door with his hand, his eyes looking at me like I was dense.

"I need alone time now, please."

"Oh," I said slowly, "Well, I guess you are a big boy now, huh?" I shook my head as I left his room, closing his door on my way out.

It was a hard pill to swallow that my baby boy didn't need me to help him with everything anymore. It would give me more time for myself, but I enjoyed doing things for my kids. I wasn't ready for him to start wanting to be independent.

Such is the way of life, I guess.

I sighed and walked to my room, picking my phone up from the bed. I sent Alice a text message telling her that she didn't need to bring Maisy home and that I would be on my way in just a few minutes. She texted me back almost immediately.

Oh, good! You guys can come hang out for a while! Unless you have other plans, of course?

I texted her back that we would love to spend some more time with them. I was sure that Connor would be more than happy to play in their backyard again. They had everything a kid could want back there.

Connor yelled that he was ready and we were on the road a few minutes later, heading to the Cullen's mini castle. Connor was singing loudly along with the radio, insisting on listening to the Backstreet Boys. He was halfway through Larger Than Life when we finally made it to our destination.

I turned the car off, which shut the radio off with it.

"Hey!" Connor pretested, his eyebrows crinkling angrily at being cut off.

I turned around in my seat and grinned at him, "Do you want to go play or not?"

He looked out the window and smiled, "We're here!" he yelled as if he had just noticed where we were. Which was probably the case. He was very into his private concert the whole way here.

I got out of the car and before I could make it to Connor, he had already jumped out of the car and was running over the bridge to the front door. I shook my head and laughed. Following at a slower pace behind him. He jumped up and down in front of the door, knocking hard a few times.

The door opened and there was Carlisle with a big grin on his face, "Connor are you trying to knock my door down, boy?" he asked playfully his hands on his hips as he leaned down to get in Connor's face.

Connor giggled, "Hi, Carlisle!"

"Hi, Connor!" he returned with just as much enthusiasm. He stood up straight. "Come on in, kid." He touched Connor's head as he flew passed him into the house. I watched him head straight for the back of the house.

I walked up and Carlisle smiled kindly at me. "You've got some great kids."

"They have their moments," I joked.

He gestured for me to enter. I walked in and was met with the delicious smell of baking chocolate. I followed it to the kitchen where Alice and Maisy were huddled in the booth by the large window. They were looking over some glossy and colorful magazine, Maisy enthusiastically turning the pages quicker than Alice could realistically read the words on them. But she didn't seem to mind one bit. She just smiled and held my daughter up in a standing position on her leg.

"Hello," I announced my presence. Alice and Maisy looked up and smiled big happy smiles.

"Hey, Bella!" Alice waved with her free hand. "Come sit. Mom is making a cake. Maisy insisted upon it. Apparently, Esme is now her grandma, and grandmas are supposed to make cakes."

I rolled my eyes at that and stuck my hands on my hips. I met the eyes of my child, and she looked down bashfully.

"Hi, mommy," she said sweetly.

"Hi, baby," I smiled, relaxing my stance. I couldn't stay mad at the sweet little face. I walked over and grabbed her face between my hands and gave her a big smooch on the cheek.

"I missed you," I told her. "Did you have a good time?"

She nodded emphatically, "I love Alice," she said in her cute little voice.

Alice's grin grew impossibly wider. The sentiment clearly touched her heart.

"What's not to love?" I asked seriously. I sat down across from them. "Where is everyone?"

I looked around the empty kitchen. I didn't even see my son, but I was sure he had made his way out to the backyard already. He couldn't stop talking about their awesome jungle gym yesterday.

"Mom is changing the laundry over, Dad is probably reading in the living room, Edward and Lena went out somewhere, and Jazzy is taking a shower. Someone," she looked pointedly at my daughter, "spilled his coffee all over him."

Maisy looked back at Alice. "I sorry."

Alice shook her head, "It's okay, honey. I promise you he wasn't mad."

"What are you guys reading?" I peered down at the colorful pages in front of them.

Alice smiled proudly, "It's a prototype of my magazine. My assistant just sent it over to me. I've been waiting for so long for it to get finished."

My eyes widened, "You have your own magazine?"

She lifted it up, showcasing the front of it. In colorful graffiti-type font was the name Ally Cat at the top. Ally Cat was the name of her clothing brand.

"Alice, that is amazing. I am so proud of you!"

Alice grinned and put the magazine back down so Maisy could continue her assault on it.

She shrugged, "It's no biggy," she said with barely contained excitement.

"Stop being nonchalant," I laughed, "This is huge!"

Alice broke her calm façade and squealed, jumping in her seat. "Girl, I know! I'm like so legit now."

"I'd say so!"

I got up and then leaned down to hug her with all the love I had. She squeezed me back tightly, her squeal of happiness touching my heart. When I stood back up, a little body crashed into my legs, startling me.

"Whoa," I said teetering off balance.

I looked down to see Connor standing there with a big smile on his face. A face that had something dark on it, right next to his nose. I licked my finger and wiped at it and sure enough it was dirt from playing outside. I wiped my finger on my pants.

Connor pulled away from me and looked at me pointedly, "Mom," he hissed.

"Oh, sorry," I snickered, holding my hands up, "I forgot you're a big boy now."

He huffed and looked over at Alice and Maisy. "May-May!" he yelled happily. "Come play outside with me."

"Kay," she said softly.

She held her arms out for me to pick her up. I plopped her down next to her brother and he took her hand leading her out of the kitchen quickly. Her little legs were having a hard time keeping pace with him. I watched them go and then turned to Alice when they were out of sight.

"Do you want to sit outside with me and watch the kids play for a while?"

"Of course, girlfriend," she responded. She stood up and dusted the tiny shoeprint off of her pant leg.

We were exiting the kitchen as Esme was turning the corner into it. "Bella," she said happily, "We loved having Maisy here with us. I've gained a new granddaughter, don't you know?"

"I heard," I laughed, "Now she has two great ones."

Esme smiled that gentle smile of hers. "And I have two awesome granddaughters. I'll sleep happily."

She pulled me into a hug and then waved us off stating that she needed to check on the cake. Alice and I walked to the back door and went outside. it was still set up from yesterday except for the bouncy house being deflated. Connor was pushing his little sister on the swing. He was being very careful not to push her too high. Bless her heart, she was trying so hard to kick her legs like I had been trying to teach her but only succeeded in making the swing turn in half circles. Connor was telling her she needed to kick them at the same time not one and then the other, but she was hearing none of it. She was very determined.

Connor was such a patient kid though. He just kept pushing her with an exasperated look on his adorable little face.

Alice sat down at the picnic table that we had occupied the day before. She slapped the spot next to her and I went to join her. We talked about her clothing line and her magazine and all the moves she was making, and we also talked about my students and the pain in the ass parents I had to deal with.

"Edward is going to be one of those pains soon enough," she said with a raise of her brow.

"I doubt he'll be a pain," I laughed.

Alice's brow raised higher, "Hmm."

"What?"

Her tongue poked out as she tried not to smile, and she was failing miserably at that.

"Seriously, what?" Every time Edward was mentioned, she got this look about her. A look that I couldn't quite read or place, but it was starting to irk me. I loved her dearly, but I hated guessing games.

"It's just, you and my brother seemed to really hit it off yesterday."

"He's a nice guy," I said slowly, not getting her point.

"Oh, he really is just the sweetest guy. He'd do anything for the people he cares about. He's a giver, for real. Edward is just the most awesome person." She was saying all of those things about him as if she was trying to sell him at an auction.

"That's… nice?" I framed it as a question because I was still at a loss as to what her intentions were. I mean, I had a small idea, but there's no way she would be suggesting that. I wish she'd just come out with it already.

"I'm just saying," she shrugged and broke her gaze away from mine. She looked over at the kids. "He's really good with kids, too."

"Alice," I breathed, exasperated. I tugged on her sleeve until she met my eyes. "What is it exactly you are getting at? You've never been one to pussyfoot around so don't start now."

Alice looked back at me and that infuriating all-knowing grin was back in place. "I just think that you two could be great friends. He's going to need one when Jasper and I leave. I was just thinking that maybe you two could help each other through this hard time, is all."

I mulled over her words for a few moments. I wouldn't be opposed to being friends with Edward. He seemed great. Sad, but still kind. And since we were going through our own heartaches, I was sure we could be a comfort to each other. But by the look on Alice's face, I was sure she wasn't telling me exactly what she was thinking.

I was going to pry into that annoying head of hers some more but, the back door swung open. We both looked over and saw Esme standing there with Lena at her side. Esme had a cake in her hands and Lena was holding paper plates with plastic forks and napkins piled on top of them. While Esme had a content smile on her face, Lena looked like she'd rather be anywhere else. But she followed Esme out to the picnic table and set everything down next to the cake.

Esme cupped her hands around her mouth and faced the swings. "Dessert time!"

My kids stopped what they were doing and ran toward us as fast as they could. Maisy jumped onto Alice's lap and Connor sat down next to me. Esme and Lena sat across from us. Lena had her arms crossed and her eyes looking down at the table. I looked at the adults and noted that they didn't seem fazed by her dour mood, so I figured it was just how she was at the moment. Totally understandable and giving her space seemed like the best option anyway. She would come around when she was ready.

Esme dished out a plate of cake to each of the kids and then asked me and Alice if we wanted any. We both declined. Esme didn't have any either. We just enjoyed watching the kids eat their cake and jabber back and forth. Lena didn't say anything, though. My kids did try to include her, but she just kept looking down. Esme would rub her back or touch her hair every few minutes in a comforting gesture.

It didn't seem to be doing much to help her though.

Connor and Maisy finished their cake in record time and zoomed off toward the swings. I watched them nervously. I hoped they didn't puke after consuming those big pieces of cake. I was watching them run around the swingset and go up and down the slide. I just knew one or both of them were going to hurl.

"Are you looking forward to school tomorrow, Lena?" Alice asked her niece. I looked over at her as well, curious to hear her answer. Especially after how she had acted with me previously.

Lena lifted her eyes from the cake in front of her. It looked like it took a lot of effort to do so. She met Alice's eyes and nodded her head. "I guess," she said barely above a whisper.

"You're going to have the best teacher," Alice kept going. She pointed at me and smiled brightly. "Bella was the smartest kid in school back in the day. I'm sure she will teach you so much."

Lena forced her eyes to mine for the briefest of seconds before looking back down at her barely touched cake. "I guess."

"Is there anything you want to know before you start?" I asked her softly, taking this rare chance to speak to her directly.

She shook her head, her lips pulling down in what looked like annoyance mixed with sadness.

"Okay. Well, if you have any questions or you just need someone to talk to, you can always count on me to be there when you're in my classroom. All of my kids know that they can talk to me about anything."

Her hands balled into tiny fists atop the table, and she looked up at Esme. "Can I please go back inside now?"

Esme moved Lena's long tresses out of her eyes and nodded. "Yeah, baby. You go ahead. Tell your daddy that we're all sitting out here for a while when he gets done in the kitchen."

She didn't respond to her grandma. She just walked back inside with her head down and her shoulders slumped forward. I felt so bad for the kid. She seemed so lost in this world. I vowed to make her first week at school as enjoyable as possible. I was brainstorming ideas for how to be able to do that when the door opened again. This time Edward came out and he was alone. He had a plate in his hands and a small smile gracing his lips.

"I was craving bacon," he said sheepishly as he set it down on the table in front of us. The plate was piled high with crispy bacon that smelled wonderful. "Help yourselves." He sat down next to Esme and grabbed a piece, taking a big bite.

I could feel the saliva disappearing from my mouth and it had nothing to do with the bacon. I didn't understand the feelings stirring inside of me. How could such a normal action of eating make me feel so… mushy inside? I shook my head trying to rid myself of the sinful thoughts that were trying to take up residence there.

"So, Edward," Alice said. She set her arms on the table and leaned her body forward, a big smile on her face. "What would you think about a play date?"

His eyebrows raised. "A play date?"

"Yeah," she chirped cheerfully. "You and Bella should take the kids somewhere fun. It's the weekend and I think Lena could really use some fun and she really needs to play with other kids."

I forced my eyes to Edward's face gauging his reaction. His lips were pursed and his eyebrows crinkled. His eyes didn't quite meet mine, but he was looking at me. His expression was indecipherable. I couldn't tell if he was considering it or if the idea made him sick. It looked like it was somewhere in the middle of those two options.

I spoke up, saving him from feeling like he had to do something he really didn't want to do, "It's up to you." I hadn't ever said anything about a play date but now that the option was on the table, I wasn't against it. It could be fun.

Possibly.

His eyes flashed up to mine, then settled somewhere on my forehead.

"Where would you want to go?" he asked after a few beats of silence.

I thought about that for a few seconds, considering all the places I had been with my kids and all the places I'd still like to take them. Then I remembered what Lauren, a teacher I worked with, had told me.

"There's this place that just opened in Port Angeles that I've been wanting to take the kids to. It's some kind of trampoline jump house. One of the women I work with was telling me about it."

It felt like each second was ticking by so slowly as Edward stared straight ahead, a contemplative and slightly apprehensive look on his face. I breathed a sigh of relief when he finally opened his mouth.

"That could be fun," he smiled stiffly.

The smile that overtook my face was much more exuberant, and I wasn't sure why, but I was ecstatic that we were going together.

The next chapter is the play date. Guys, I can't see if anyone is viewing my story because I guess there was a server crash so can you please review and let me know if you're reading this? I'd love to hear from you!