7 Provisions
Edward was in a mood.
He was trying not to let it affect Alice, and so far he seemed to be succeeding. She was in her high chair picking blueberries out of her yogurt, and she didn't seem to be paying any mind to his restless irritability. He'd tried to shake it off, but every time his mind wandered he found himself seeing Bella's eyes glaring at him, judging him . . .
And where the hell did she get off? Blaming him for not knowing about Alice! Was he supposed to start every phone call with, "What's up, Dad? Have any illegitimate kids lately?" And yes, okay, he hadn't come to Forks. He'd known his dad had loved living in this God-forsaken pit and he hadn't been interested in figuring out why. But his dad had never asked. He'd never once requested that their visits take place in Forks instead of Olympia. Edward absolutely would have agreed. He'd have been more than willing to be the one to make the drive if he'd had the slightest inkling that his dad had wanted him to. Ted had always made it seem like he wanted to get into the city to enjoy some of the amenities that Forks didn't offer.
And, okay, maybe Edward could see that his father might have been avoiding the moment of truth that should have happened a long time ago. But how was he supposed to have known that? Bella was wrong. She was wrong, and he'd hit the nail on the head when he'd called her a harpy, and she was wrong.
But somehow he couldn't stop thinking about her and her judgy eyes.
Useless trust fund kid. That had stung. Besides, it absolutely wasn't true. Yes, he was living a lifestyle far beyond what he'd be able to afford if he were only spending his current income. But it wasn't like he'd never done anything with his life. He'd started working campaigns before he'd even finished his graduate program, and he'd been good at it. Yes, he'd drifted away into political commentary instead of campaigning, but it wasn't like he'd stopped earning anything. He'd had two weekly comic strips in syndication in the past, and he sold single cartoons all over the place. He even managed to garner some name recognition with his last syndicated strip, the Hall of Dreadful Presidents, which had since been collected into a single volume and was still selling pretty well two years after its publication. And then there had been the graphic novel he'd done with Neil. It had been a departure from his political work, but the end result was brilliant and would be producing royalty checks for decades.
He was a successful man, god damn it. He wasn't a useless trust fund kid. Bella was wrong.
And hell, it wasn't just Bella who had been wrong. Ted had put him in this position in the first place. How did a person hold back news like this? There was no good excuse, and he wanted nothing more than to call his dad and have a good, satisfying fight about it. It wouldn't be the first time they'd shouted through their problems. The major issue now, though, was that there was nobody on the other side of the fight. Edward was mad, and he had to stay mad because there was nobody to listen to him yell. Which . . . was maybe a little bit why he'd yelled at Bella? Maybe a tiny part of their fight was him taking his frustration at his dad out on her?
Not that it justified anything she'd said, because she was wrong.
He'd been a fucking good son.
He needed a distraction. He'd tried drawing, but he was sitting here with a stylus in his hand trying not to draw a pair of judgy-ass eyes. He pushed his tablet away and got up, wandering over to his father's desk. Maybe he could look into the Clearwater situation. That would keep his mind occupied with something useful. He fetched the key to the drawer and located the file, then settled down in the chair to read over the paperwork.
It took about a half an hour for him to be sure of the details, but he was pleased with what he found. His part was going to be really easy, and he wasn't even going to have to talk anybody into anything. This one problem, at least, had been handled.
He wanted to let them know right away. Leah was miserable with anxiety about this, and he didn't want that going on any longer than it had to. He didn't have a phone number for them, so he went hunting for his Dad's phone and plugged it in. A few days of neglect had left it dead. There were a lot of missed calls and messages, which Edward should probably eventually go through, but for now he flipped to the contacts and found numbers for Harry, Sue, and Leah. No Seth, but then, maybe his dad really didn't have any business contacting Seth directly.
And maybe Edward didn't have any business contacting Leah directly? There was something a little creepy about a thirty-year-old man calling a teenage girl, especially regarding her health care. He dialed Harry's number instead, and when he didn't get an answer, he tried Sue. This time she picked up.
"Hey, it's Edward," he said. "I just wanted to let you know that I found the paperwork on Leah's medical care." The only response was silence, so he continued. "We'll have to get together and go over it, but it's good news. She's taken care of."
He heard a quiet sigh of relief. "Thank you."
"No problem." But there was something off in her voice, and he was concerned. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes. Yes, fine. I worried that after Bella . . . but it's fine."
Right. Because Harry and Sue had been unfortunate witnesses to their argument. Not embarrassing at all.
"Yeah, um. Bella and I kind of seem to rub each other the wrong way. I apologize for putting on a show in front of everyone." Again, there was silence. "Really, I'm sorry. But that's got nothing to do with Leah. Dad's already got a whole situation set up for her. Maybe I can get with you later this week and talk to you about it?"
"Yes. Definitely. I'll talk to Harry and we'll call you."
They said goodbye and Edward scowled at his phone. Maybe it had been a little too much to hope that he could lose his temper with one of the Clearwaters' closest friends and still be on amicable terms with them. But damn it, it wasn't his fault that Bella was such an epic pain in the ass.
"Uh-wud! Mess!"
Edward moved back to the dining room, where Alice had managed to smear blue yogurt all over her face, hands, and bib. The bowl in front of her still had plenty of yogurt in it, though there wasn't a blueberry in sight.
"Don't you want to eat the rest?" Edward asked her.
"No. A-dun." She waved her hands at him. "Mess."
Well. Surely a little bit of dairy must have made it into her mouth with those berries. He wetted a cloth in the kitchen sink and washed Alice's face and hands. He freed her from the bib and took her into the bathroom to brush her teeth.
When she was done, he carried her into the bedroom and deposited her on the changing table. "We've got about an hour before your class," he told her, "so we should probably get ready for that."
"Iss munnay?" Alice asked.
"No, you can't have any money."
"Oh motace?"
He shook his head. He had no idea what she was saying. He started pulling drawers open and rummaging through them. "Where would I find your swimsuit?"
She gasped dramatically. "A-wimmeen? Iss munnay?"
"Swimming. Yes. Where's your suit?"
She pointed to a drawer and he opened it up. Inside was a package of diapers and a little baby swimsuit with a purple top, green bottoms, and—
"Oh, lord." Edward lifted out the third piece. It was a sequined skirt with a gauzy ruffle around that bottom that was undoubtedly designed to look like a fish tail. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Yes!" Alice was bouncing with excitement, oblivious to his reaction. "A-soot! Wimmeen!"
"Tell me you don't swim in this thing. You take it off, right?"
"Put-a on!"
Yes, she would have to take it off. Nobody could swim in a tight skirt, and there would undoubtedly be rules against sequins in the pool. It would be fine. It was just a cover.
He really, really hoped it was just a cover.
He closed the drawer but Alice kept looking at it. "Die-doo," she said, pointing.
"What?" He opened it again. "The diapers? You already have one on."
"Diss wun," she insisted.
They were blue and green, after all. Maybe she was starting to get concerned about coordinating her colors? Only as he drew one out, he noticed that the package was labeled "Li'l Swimmers."
"Are these diapers for swimming?"
"Uh-huh."
"Well. Cool. Good thing I've got you here to teach me these things."
"Yep."
He helped Alice get dressed, skirt and all, and then lifted her down from the table. She headed toward the closet for a pair of shoes, but he stopped her.
"Hang on, kid. I need a picture of this."
Alice was clearly no stranger to cameras. She was all too happy to pose for him. She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head all coquettishly, and it was absolutely the cutest thing he'd ever seen. She offered to spin for him, but as the dress wasn't the sort to puff out in a turn, he declined.
He had already attached the photo to a text message when he realized that he was about to send it to his dad. He stopped, grimacing at the sudden clenching in his stomach. Yet again, there was no one on the other end of the conversation. He stood there staring at the phone, feeling too sharply the lack of someone to share this picture with. Jimmy wouldn't want it and Tori didn't know what was going on yet. Carlisle might like it, but Edward suspected he already knew all there was to know about Alice's mermaid swimming suit. He probably had a dozen photos of her already, and it was just as likely that they were better, cuter, more interesting pictures.
He was alone.
He deleted the text message and looked down at Alice. "You want to see the picture?"
"Oh, yes!"
He squatted down and let her look, smiling at her enthusiastic response.
"I'n-a moomaid!" she declared.
"The cutest mermaid I've ever seen."
He got Alice settled in front of the TV—"A-yaido!" turned out to mean Carmen Sandiego—and dashed down the hall to get himself ready. She was still engrossed in the show when he checked on her after his shower, so he took the time to run an electric razor over his face before throwing on a pair of jeans and an Oxford shirt.
They'd had some decent weather lately, but May in Forks was still probably a little cold to be taking the kid outside in a swimsuit. He grabbed jackets for the two of them, piled some more swim diapers and a towel into his backpack diaper bag (after removing something called a "Boppy" that he was starting to suspect he wouldn't need), and then slipped in a tablet so he could get some work done while Alice swam. Then he collected the kid and headed for the door. They managed to get into the car with only one run back inside for Alice's pendy puss, and he followed the GPS directions to the community center.
The building was uninspiring. The wood siding had probably been charming when it was new, but it had faded with exposure to the weather and it looked a little rough. There was a drainage pipe drooping off of one side of the roof, and the sidewalks were cracked and crumbling. None of which seemed to bother Alice. As soon as he set her down and handed off her pendy puss, she shot toward the front doors, running as fast as her mermaid skirt would allow. Edward followed and caught up with her at the door, which she couldn't open on her own.
There was no front reception desk, but there were signs pointing toward the pool—which it turned out he didn't need because Alice knew exactly where she was going. She led him to the left and headed straight for a men's changing room like she'd been there a dozen times before. Which, of course, she probably had, so Edward followed after her. He dropped some quarters into a locker for them and packed away their bags. Alice, thankfully, didn't protest when he took off her mermaid tail skirt and put it in the locker. She showed him where the showers were and he helped her turn one on.
"Mon!" she urged him. "Hattoo! A-chween!"
"You go ahead. I'll keep an eye out for sea monsters."
"Monsoos?" she asked curiously.
"No. Bad joke. Just keep showering."
She got herself good and wet, and they headed off through another door to the pool area.
If the building was uninspiring, the pool was downright depressing. It was long and narrow, maybe fifteen feet wide? It looked almost wide enough for two people to swim laps side by side. Not regulation laps, but some kind of laps. He looked around, trying to find some other pool where the actual swimming would occur, but this was it. There were several women and children milling around, both on the deck and in the water, and at one end of the pool two kids a little older than Alice were being led into the water by a short man with a hairy dad-bod gut.
A gray-haired woman with a clipboard approached him and introduced herself as Samantha Wells.
"Diss Uh-wud!" Alice announced proudly.
"It's so nice to meet you," Samantha said, shaking his hand. She tilted her head and gave him a sympathetic look. "I was so sorry to hear about your father."
"Thanks. Yeah."
Her sympathy turned to curiosity. "Are you not joining us today?"
"Uh. Was I supposed to?" He glanced around, and yeah, all of the parents were in bathing suits.
"We don't have enough instructors to do a class for kids without their parents, but . . ." she looked around, "maybe Alice could pair up with one of the other kids?"
Edward's heart sank. This could possibly be his last day with Alice. He didn't want it to be a day he fucked up. He considered stripping down to his boxer-briefs, but with all the kids around . . .
"Um. Well. How much swimming do you figure I'd be doing myself? Am I just there to hold Alice up and tell her she's doing a good job?"
"Partly, yes. You're there to help her if she can't stay afloat and to give her some one-on-one coaching."
"Do you think anyone would mind if I went in in my jeans?"
She blinked in surprise. "That would be fine. Do you have a change of clothes?"
"Nah." If he'd brought his own car, that would be a deal-breaker. But the shitty Volvo was outside, and he couldn't care less if he ruined the upholstery by driving it home in wet clothes. "It's fine. I'll make it work."
"As long as you don't mind."
And surprisingly, he didn't. He'd been looking forward to some time without having to supervise Alice, but right now this seemed like more fun.
"Alice, come on," he said, holding out his hand to her. She had moved over to the top step of the pool and was clinging to the hand rail, about to ease herself down the first step.
"No. Hattoo wim!"
"We will in just a minute. I have to go take my shoes off and get showered."
"I can watch her for a minute," Samantha said, drifting in Alice's direction.
Edward very much didn't want that. He had a deeply ingrained suspicion of strangers from his own childhood, when his father had been obsessively vigilant about keeping him safe from opportunists. His knee jerk reaction was to snatch Alice up and get her away from this woman.
But . . . it was a crowded room. Nobody here was going to make off with Alice without everyone else seeing. If he was very fast . . .
No. He couldn't do it. He'd be fast anyway, though, and maybe that would keep Alice from getting too upset. He started stripping off his shoes and socks and tossing them toward one of a few plastic chairs set against one wall. His shirt followed, and then he plucked Alice out of the ankle-deep water she'd managed to get to.
"Thanks anyway," he said, hoping he hadn't offended Samantha. "We'll be so quick." To the protesting Alice he added, "I need to take a shower. Will you show me where it is?"
"So you!" She wriggled out of his arms and started running back toward the changing room.
"Walk when you're by the pool!" Samantha called after her.
She obediently slowed and looked back to make sure Edward was following. "Mon, Uh-wud! So you!"
Jeans weren't meant to be worn wet. They got heavy and stiff, and frankly, they chafed. Edward ignored his discomfort after his shower and headed toward the pool with Alice's hand in his, but she stopped when he started to step into the water.
"Uh-wud!" she said, pointing at his legs. "Innoo pants!"
"I know, I forgot my swimming suit. Come on, we'll make it work."
The jeans weren't too bad once he was fully immersed. He certainly wouldn't have been able to swim in them, but he was able to wander around in the pool while Alice gleefully kicked and splashed and got herself used to the water. At Samantha's command, everyone lined up on one side of the pool, and Edward fell in next to the other man.
They exchanged nods.
"How are you? Edward Masen."
"Ben Cheney. Nice to meet you."
They didn't talk any more because Samantha began guiding them through some warm-ups. They started with blowing bubbles under the water, and Alice was just as gleeful watching Edward do it as she was doing it herself. Then they plugged their noses and dipped under the water together, and when they came up, Alice burst into peals of breathless laughter.
Then it was time to try back floats, and this was a little more challenging. Alice was hesitant at first, worried about slipping under the water, even though he got the sense that she'd managed to float on her back before. He held his hands under her while she lay back in the water and tried to help her figure it out again.
"You can do it. Arch your back, just like the teacher said. Good! I'm going to move my hands . . ."
"No!" She curled up and started to sink, and Edward caught her.
"I got you," he promised. "No worries. I'll keep my hands right beneath you, okay? I'll be right here."
It took a couple more tries, but eventually Alice managed a back float while Edward hovered with his hands just beneath her. She laughed when she managed, started to sink, and then laughed again when Edward helped her back into position.
"Good job! You're doing it!"
After that it was dog-paddling, which Alice was far less hesitant to try. "Yite Soo-see!" she declared, and waved her hands and feet wildly in the water, managing to stay afloat for a few seconds before she started to sink. Edward caught her and tried to help her out.
"Try keeping your fingers together," he said, demonstrating with his own. "Like Circe. She can't spread her toes wide like that, right? They're always together. So we'll try keeping our fingers together."
It helped. Alice tried paddling the way he showed her, and she managed to stay up significantly longer than she had before. But eventually she started drifting lower in the water.
"Hope!" she called. "Hope!" And Edward, who had let her swim a couple of feet away, stepped over and scooped her up into his arms.
"I got you," he said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"A dah-mee?"
He smiled to himself. "Yeah. I got you."
He felt it hard then. How precious it was to have this tiny person clinging to him, trusting him so completely. He could have stayed there for several minutes more, just hugging this clever, funny, bossy, energetic little girl, but Alice loved swimming and she had other ideas. Once she had recovered her nerve, she went right back into the water and started dog-paddling again.
After they'd done that for a while, a box of floating toys was passed around. Alice selected a pair of empty milk jugs and gripped the handles. She lay back in the water and let the milk jugs keep her afloat while she kicked her little legs to propel herself. Edward played shark and snatched at her feet, and she squealed in delight.
While he was teasing her, he caught sight of a group of four women clustered together, tossing glances at him as they talked. Edward's first reaction was to smirk and send a flirty wink in their direction. He kept himself in pretty good shape, and it wasn't exactly unusual to catch a woman checking him out, especially if he wasn't wearing a shirt. But as he turned back to Alice, it occurred to him that the looks they were throwing his way might not be admiring ones. What if they were friends of Bella's? They could be over there gossiping about what a terrible son he must have been to not even know about Alice. Or about how dumb he had to be to not even bring a bathing suit to his kid's swimming lesson. Maybe they were judging him too.
He fought to keep a scowl off of his face and tickled Alice's toes again. Her giggles certainly helped lighten his mood, but his defenses didn't completely come down.
The class wasn't long. Most of the kids were too young to learn any real swimming technique, so there was more play than lesson. But eventually the whistle blew and the toys were collected. Edward, Alice, Ben Cheney, and Ben's kids all headed to the men's changing room. The rest of the group streamed toward the women's.
That was when Edward realized he hadn't actually planned for after the swimming lessons. He'd brought a towel, at least, but no clothes or anything for Alice. He started to fret over taking her outside in her wet swimming suit when he remembered he still had a couple of dresses crammed in the diaper bag from previous excursions.
"Oh, thank god," he muttered to himself.
He rinsed the two of them off in the shower and then claimed a changing room and gave Alice a thorough drying-off. He finger-combed her hair and then rummaged around in the backpack until he found the dresses.
"Okay, we've got the one with the flower petals in the skirt or the one with the little butterflies all over it."
"Bo-fyes!"
"Butterflies it is."
It would have been easier with a changing station. There was a bench that he had Alice lie down on so he could put a diaper on her, but its position right against the wall made it hard to maneuver. And then the dress had an awful lot of skirt to work with in the same tight space. But eventually he got the fussy garment in place and he gave Alice a once-over.
"Seriously?" he said. "It has a train?"
"Chwain?" She looked around. "A-wed a-boose?"
"Not that kind of train. This." He showed her the long back of the skirt. "This is called a train, when part of your skirt drags behind you. Like a little red caboose, I guess."
"Choo! Choo!" Alice replied. "Choo! Choo! A-chwain!"
"Yeah. The problem is, the floor is wet. Here." He swept up the long skirt and draped it over her arm. "Hang onto your caboose."
This didn't seem to spoil any of Alice's fun. She choo-chooed her way out of the community center with Edward chafing his way down the sidewalk after her in his sodden jeans.
He was really starting to feel the sting of the rough fabric by the time they got home. He wanted to get his pants off, but he had to see to Alice first. He helped her out of the car and got all their gear into the house, and then he headed straight for the guest room. He closed the door behind him and stripped off his pants, eyeing the red bumps that were raising on his thighs.
"Uh-wud!" Alice's hands slapped at the door. "Yemmy in!"
"Hang on. I'm changing."
"Die-doo?"
"Yes. I'm changing my diaper." The bumps actually did kind of look like the ones beneath Alice's diaper that he put medicated cream on, which gave him an idea.
"Hope you!" Alice called.
"Okay, just a minute." He stripped off his underwear and dried himself with the pool towel, then pulled on a dry pair of boxer-briefs.
"I need some Butt Paste," he told Alice as he emerged from the room.
"Buppace?"
"Yeah, come on."
They went to her nursery and found the Butt Paste, and Edward sat down on Alice's bed. He squeezed some of the cream onto his finger and started rubbing it on the red bumps. And yeah . . . it felt pretty good.
"This stuff is great," he told Alice.
"A-hope you."
"You want to help? Um. Is that weird?"
But Alice was poking at the cream oozing out of the tube, and whatever. They were just legs. He squeezed some cream onto her finger and she started rubbing it in a less targeted fashion than Edward would have done himself. Mostly she was spreading cream on the top of his knee, which didn't really have a chafing problem. But she was entertained, so he didn't mind. He helped her wipe her hands when they were finished and then allowed her into his room while he finished getting dressed.
"Should I dress up a little?" he asked her. "Look good for the lawyers?"
"Yo-yooz?
"How about a sports jacket without a tie?"
"Uh-huh."
"Excellent." He pulled on his clothes but left his shoes off for now. "Okay, kid, how are you doing? Are you hungry?"
"Oh, yes!"
He shook his head. "You say that, but then you never eat anything."
"Uh-huh. Hassum boobooeys."
He rummaged through the refrigerator and found a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs with microwave instructions on it. Perfect. He got Alice bibbed and settled into her high chair while the spaghetti heated, and when it was finished he spooned it out onto a plate.
He should have known that a bib was no match for spaghetti.
There was screaming.
After rinsing her dress and promising that he wouldn't throw it away, Edward set Alice back in her high chair in just a diaper. He worried that she wouldn't like it, but eating naked seemed to cheer her up. There was no pretty dress to worry about, and Alice found it hilarious when the unwieldy noodles trailed tomato sauce on her bare skin. He tried not to despair over the fact that there was more body-painting happening than eating. When the doorbell rang that afternoon, Alice was naked and smeared from face to waist in marinara.
"Owizzit?" she called from her high chair.
Edward glanced at the screen and smiled with relief. "It's my mom," he told her, heading for the door. He swung it open and welcomed Elizabeth with an enthusiastic hug.
"I'm so glad you're here," he murmured. He released her and drew her inside, kicking the door closed behind him and guiding her into the living room.
She took a few minutes to fuss over him, like every mother should. She smoothed his hair and looked him over and scolded him good-naturedly for missing their monthly brunch. And then she hugged him again.
When she was finally finished with her fawning, she scanned the cheap furniture around the room. "Well. This is . . . different."
"I know, right? At first I thought Dad just didn't want Alice messing up his nicer stuff, but now I'm wondering if he wasn't trying to fit in. Folks around here aren't exactly setting trends in home decor."
She flashed a fake smile. "There's no accounting for taste, is there?"
"Owizzit?" Alice called again. She was straining against the confines of her high chair, trying to see who had arrived. Edward led his mother into the dining room.
"Mom, this is Alice. Alice, this is my mom, Elizabeth."
"Yibbuff?"
He grinned and glanced at his mom to share the joke, but she was giving Alice a sour look. "What on earth is going on here? Honestly, Edward, doesn't she have any clothes?"
He stifled a laugh. "She's got plenty of clothes, she just doesn't like to get them dirty."
"Hi!" Alice waved one sauce-covered hand and then picked up a meatball and bit into it like an apple.
"You can't just let her sit there naked. It's disgraceful."
"She's two years old and in her own home. She's fine. Anyway, actual food is making it into her mouth, and I'm not about to interrupt that."
She shook her head and patted his cheek. "Well. You were never meant to raise children."
Edward's reaction to that was stronger than he would have expected it to be. After all, he'd always said he wasn't cut out for parenthood. But the implied criticism made him defensive, and he found himself wanting to protest that he and Alice had been getting along just fine, thankyouverymuch.
Even though they absolutely hadn't been. But he was figuring it out!
"Come sit down," he said again, leading his mom back into the living room. "How was the drive?"
Edward let her complain about the driver's poor performance and strong accent. He'd known it was coming. Elizabeth had never once had a chauffeur who had lived up to her expectations, and since she usually preferred not to drive herself, she was in a perpetual state of dissatisfaction over transportation. The only person she never complained about was Edward. Part of the reason he hadn't moved back to Seattle after grad school was because he didn't want her constantly calling him and asking him to drive her somewhere. He had forced her to rely on a car service, and she took every opportunity to let him know how displeased she was about it.
Edward didn't mind it as much as he could have. It never hurt to be reminded that she liked him best.
"Do you want me to have a different driver take you back?" Edward asked when she came to the end of her tirade.
"Heavens, no. I've finally trained him to come to a full stop at every intersection. If you request a new driver, I'll have to start from scratch."
He smiled to himself.
"So," she said, frowning in Alice's direction, "have you learned anything about the mother?"
"Not a lot." He shrugged. "I think she must have lived out on the reservation or at least had family out there. I get the impression that she's not around anymore."
"Has she been contacted about coming to get her child?"
He shook his head. "I don't think that's happening."
"Who's supposed to take her, then?" Elizabeth asked indignantly. "Surely your father didn't name you as her guardian."
"I don't know." He shrugged. "Honestly, I haven't been able to bring myself to try to find out. But I kind of think he might have named the neighbor."
She sniffed. Edward suspected that it was difficult for her to have this conversation, so he changed the subject. "How's Aidan?"
His question finally elicited a fond smile from her. "Just fine. Wonderful, really."
"Is he still teaching yoga?"
"Only a couple of times a week now. He was doing more, but I just need him around more often. He indulged me and cut back on his class schedule."
"I'm glad to hear he's looking after you," Edward said, but mentally he was preparing for the break-up announcement that he was sure would come before long. Elizabeth had a habit of attaching herself to younger, fitter, less affluent men. Things would be fine for a few months, but then she would start to get clingy and jealous, and the relationships would inevitably end shortly afterward.
"Uh-wud!" Alice called from the dining room. "A-dun!"
"You're finished eating?" he asked, hauling himself up from the sofa.
"Uh-huh. Mess." She presented her sloppy hands to him, and he smiled as he shook his head. "Yeah. This one is a big mess. I don't think one rag is going to do it." He unclipped her belt and lifted her under the armpits, holding her away from his clean clothes as he carried her to the kitchen sink. He gave her a good scrubbing there, rinsing the dishcloth over and over again until he'd managed to clean all of the sauce off of her. Then he scooped her up and carried her out of the kitchen.
"Pity jwess?" she asked him.
"You know, I thought we'd wait a little while to get you dressed. For now, why don't we lay you down for a nap.
"No." She shook her head vigorously. "No. A-wantoo."
"Carlisle says you should, though. Will you take a nap for Carlilse?"
"Um. No."
"Let's get your pendy puss," he said, hoping that she would go along with him if he just acted as though she were agreeing with him. "Do you know where it is?"
"I know!" She shimmied out of his arms and ran to the kitchen, reappearing a minute later with her bag slung over her shoulder.
"Awesome. Come on."
She followed him to the bedroom, but when he moved to the side of the bed, she veered off toward the closet.
"Yudda wun," she said, pointing to the dresses.
"Come get in bed," Edward encouraged. "It's time for a nap."
"No. Pity jwess."
"If I put a dress on you, will you take a nap?"
"Uh-huh."
So he helped her into a glittering yellow dress, a pair of pink tights, her lace gloves, and some purple shoes with rosettes at the toes. When she had satisfied herself with an exuberant spin, he scooped her up and carried her to bed.
"All right, kiddo, time to sleep for a little bit."
She shook her head and crawled out of bed again.
"Hey. We had a deal."
He had a choice. He could try and force her to stay in bed, but his previous experiences taught him that his chances of success were slight and his chances for an angry, crying child were great. Or he could let her have her way, and she'd likely be tired and cranky later. He sighed and let her wander out of the bedroom, pendy puss hiked over one shoulder, and followed her.
"Kid," he told her, already resigned to giving her what she wanted, "I'm supposed to be giving you consistency. Dad would make you take a nap right now."
She stopped in the hallway and looked back at him. "Daddy home?"
"No." He sighed. "No, it's just me. Come on, don't you think you should sleep for a little while?"
"Hassum weentine?" she asked, walking away again.
"I don't know what that means."
They made it back to the living room and Edward sank down next to his mother again. "Any tips on how to get a kid to sleep in her bed?"
She chuckled. "You were always so difficult to put to bed. Your nannies usually had to rock you until you fell asleep. Usually you would make them read you stories over and over again or sing you dozens of songs, and eventually you would drift off."
"That could work." He eyed the rocking chair. "Hey, Alice, you want to sing the bed-time song?"
"Um. No." She had planted herself on the floor next to the TV and was unloading her pendy puss.
"How about a book?"
She perked up. "Weed a so-wee?"
"Yeah, you want to pick one?"
"Oh, yes!" She abandoned her toys and ran back down the hall to her bedroom. When she came back, she was fumbling with several picture books. Edward moved to help her, collecting them into a neat stack before sweeping her up into his arms and settling himself into the rocking chair.
"Okay, let's start with this one, huh? Voices in the Park."
The trick worked, but it took a while. Elizabeth grew bored with the activity and wandered into the office to call Aidan. Edward felt bad that he couldn't give her more of his attention, but it wasn't like he could just abandon Alice. The kid demanded a lot from him. He was pretty happy when she drifted off to sleep, but unwilling to risk waking her up before she was fully out, he read through the book in his hands twice more, just to be sure. Finally, he set the books aside and carried her into the bedroom. She fussed a little when he laid her in the bed, but he murmured softly and rested his hand on her stomach for a minute, and she drifted off again.
Edward waited until he was back in the living room to celebrate. He pumped the air with his fist and whisper-yelled an excited "YES!" Elizabeth emerged from the office and he grabbed her up in an enthusiastic hug. "You're a genius!" he said, lifting her off her feet and spinning her around.
She laughed indugently. "I guess you got her to sleep?"
"For the first time ever," he told her, setting her back on her feet. "That's a really cool trick!"
"It's never occurred to you to rock a baby to sleep?" she teased him.
He smirked self-consciously. "What do I know about kids?"
"Not much, apparently. Why do you smell like chlorine?"
"Right. I need ten minutes."
Edward abandoned her long enough to take a quick shower and get dressed for the will reading, though his idea of appropriate dress might have been a little more casual than his mother's. He looked damn good in a sportcoat, but she had shown up in a widow-fabulous Valentino dress that would have looked at home on a red carpet. That was typical for her, though. Edward was used to her being the best-dressed person in the room. Elizabeth could teach Alice a thing or two about glamor.
Once he was dressed, he made some tea for the two of them and they sat together and caught up. Edward was in the habit of having Sunday brunch with her once a month, and as this month's brunch had been overshadowed by more pressing matters, this was their make-up time. Elizabeth didn't tolerate talk of her ex-husband well, so Edward steered his conversation toward the possible upcoming graphic novel. Elizabeth, in turn, told him about the politicking she'd done to make sure that her dragon's mouth orchids would take first prize at her garden club's annual showcase. They chit-chatted about little things for a couple of hours, until a glance at the clock told Edward it was nearly time to head to the lawyer's office.
"I guess I'd better get the kid up," he said, rising and taking their teacups to the dishwasher.
"Don't you have a babysitter for her?"
He shook his head. "Not yet. The one dad used isn't out of school yet, and I don't really trust anybody else to watch her. Anybody who's not going to the reading, anway."
He left her and headed to Alice's room, lowering himself onto the bed next to her. He rubbed her back gently, trying to ease her awake. "Hey, kiddo. Can you wake up for me?"
She made a noise between a growl and a whine that made him smile.
"I know. It's pretty weird for me to be telling you to wake up, isn't it?"
She made the noise again and burrowed her face into her pillow.
"We need to go to the lawyer's office," he said, still rubbing her back. "They're probably going to give you some money. Does that sound good?"
Her sleepy eyes opened. "Immye baint?"
"Sure. Does that sound fun?"
"No." She closed her eyes again.
"Carlisle's coming. Do you want to see Carlisle?"
"Mm-mm."
"You can show him your pretty dress."
She raised her head and looked down at the dress that was bunched up around her hips. "Yudda wun?"
"Yep. I bet Carlisle would really like to see you spin."
"Uh-huh. So Tah-why."
"He'll be so happy. Let's get your diaper changed so you're all ready to go."
"Die-doo," she agreed.
Alice was still rubbing her eyes when he emerged from the bedroom with her a few minutes later, and when she saw Elizabeth she hid her face in Edward's neck. Edward gathered up the necessary gear and led his mom through the kitchen to the garage door. He stepped out and headed for the back seat to get Alice strapped in, but his mom stopped in the doorway.
"Oh, Edward."
Her voice sounded so disapproving that he stilled and glanced back at her. She was looking at the Volvo in sheer revulsion.
"I know," he said, laughing in sympathy. "It's awful. But it's got the car seat, so . . ." He shrugged.
She shook her head, and it looked like she wasn't going to bring herself to be able to get into the car.
"I've got my Nissan parked outside. Do you want to drive that?"
She hesitated, and he saw her deliberate on her choices. She usually went to great lengths to avoid driving herself anywhere, but the Volvo was just so awful. They could try to call the car service back, but Edward had told them they wouldn't need a return trip until after the reading and there was no telling where the driver had gone off to in the interim. Edward was about to offer when Elizabeth said, "Fine. I'll follow you."
"Key's on the hook right there by the door. The one with the green keychain."
Edward got Alice settled, and she was sleepy enough that she didn't even request a movie. In fact, by the time he got to the lawyer's office, she was asleep again. He eased her awake, reminding her about showing off her pretty dress for Carlisle, and she let him carry her into the office.
Carlisle was already there, waiting in one of the chairs in the waiting room. Alice pushed away from Edward when she saw him and ran to show him her dress. He oohed and ahhed to her satisfaction.
Seeing how delighted she was made something click into place for Edward. Alice had a closet full of dresses because they made her this happy. It wasn't because Ted had thought they were cute or because he was overly indulgent. It was because he couldn't resist giving her something that made her smile so big that her nose scrunched up and her eyes shone. She had a thousand opulent dresses because Ted had adored her. And maybe it was stupid that it took him so long to notice that. He'd been thinking of Alice as the kid his father had hidden from him, and somehow it didn't occur to him that their father had been completely smitten with her. She hadn't just been his daughter, she'd been his treasure.
The realization changed things for Edward. He suddenly felt more connected to her. Ted had loved Edward that way too, the kind of love that scoffed at the bounds of reason. He could have been jealous, maybe, of no longer being the exclusive focus of his father's life, but somehow it felt kind of great to share him. They were the same, the two of them. They were Ted's kids.
"They're ready to see us in the conference room," Carlisle said, oblivious to Edward's silent epiphany. "I didn't want to go in before you arrived."
Edward nodded. Elizabeth was just coming in and he performed some brief introductions. Carlisle expressed his condolences, which felt all wrong to Edward. She wasn't the mourner in this room. But it wasn't worth getting into, so the four of them headed into the meeting room together. The table had been pushed close to one side of the room, and two lawyers sat behind it, one of whom Edward knew.
"Benjamin," he said, moving forward to greet the man who had been managing his family's papers for decades. He had a little more silver in his beard than he had when Edward had seen him last.
"Junior. Nice to see you."
"I didn't expect you to be here."
"Our firm has been supporting Forks Family Law with this one, since your father's holdings are so extensive. And when I got your email, I thought I'd go ahead and come out so we can talk about this project of yours in person."
"That would be great. I'll be glad to have your expertise."
A handful of chairs were arranged in a semicircle facing the table, and Edward settled himself into one between Elizabeth and Carlisle. Alice attached herself to Carlisle's leg, so he picked her up and settled her onto his lap.
"We're just waiting for one more person," Benjamin said. "Ms. Morgan Fernall."
"I don't believe she'll make it," Carlisle murmured.
"No?" Benjamin raised an eyebrow. "She's been left considerable property. You don't think she'll show up to receive it?"
"I could be wrong," he said, but his sad smile belied his words. Whatever he knew about Alice's mother, he very much doubted that she would appear.
"Well, let's give her another few minutes."
"I really can't spend too much time," Elizabeth told him, brushing a lock of hair from her forehead in a practiced show of carelessness. "I'm afraid this meeting time was very inconvenient for me."
Benjamin shot Edward a look that had become familiar over the years. It was the please-handle-your-mother look. Benjamin must really want to wait, but Elizabeth was a very difficult woman to argue with.
It was fine. Edward knew how to manage her. He took her hand, drawing her attention to him. "Do you have to go back right after the reading? I was hoping you might be able to stay with me for a couple more hours."
"Well. Let me see." She made a show of checking her phone, though Edward was certain that she had already planned to stay for a while after they were finished with the lawyers. Her problem wasn't a tight schedule, it was the indignity of being made to wait for someone. "I suppose I can move some things around."
She wasn't happy about it, and Edward figured he'd better do something to soothe her. "Tell me about the opera the other night. What did you see?"
Given free rein to critique her theater experience, Elizabeth told him all about the flimsy scenery, the tenor's frequent flat notes, and the soprano's jiggly arms. Edward hung on her words and smirked in all the right places in order to encourage her to continue her descriptions. It worked. Fifteen minutes went by fairly quickly, and when Elizabeth started to wind down, Benjamin drew attention to himself by tapping a stack of already-straightened papers on the desk in front of him.
"It seems like Dr. Cullen is correct and Ms. Fernall won't make it here today. Let's go ahead and get started. Ms. Masen, can we begin with you?"
Ted had been paying Elizabeth alimony for quite a while. In order that she be allowed to maintain her lifestyle, several million dollars had been placed into an endowment fund that would continue to make payouts in perpetuity. In addition, an extra ten million in liquid assets had been bequeathed to her. When Benjamin closed the folder and passed it over to her, her jaw dropped.
"That's it?" she demanded. "Alimony and ten million?"
"That's all that's in the will," Benjamin said, and Edward could see him bracing for the inevitable onslaught.
"That cheap bastard!" she said, pushing herself to her feet. "I gave up my life for him! I sacrificed my career to keep his house and raise his child, and he has the nerve to leave me a lousy ten million out of the billions he's been hoarding?"
"Mom, come on," Edward said, trying to soothe her by rubbing her hand. He couldn't imagine his mother ever deigning to have a career, but he held his tongue. He was actually relieved at Ted's generosity. His death meant Elizabeth would never again have a claim on a single penny, but he had made sure that she would have more now than she'd had before. "You know he could have been a lot worse. You still have your independence, and now you've got an extra ten mil that you can blow on shoes if you want to." He very nearly added that he would make sure Elizabeth didn't want for anything, but it occurred to him that the money left to Elizabeth might have been as much a gift for him as it was for her. Edward would have had to assume his mother's expenses if she hadn't been willed a living that she could tolerate. In that spirit, he decided not to make any rash offers.
"How much did she get?" she demanded, pointing to the empty chair.
Benjamin opened another folder. "Ms. Fernall received an endowment fund matching yours, some property in California valued at five point eight million dollars, and liquid assets of four point two million dollars."
"SHE GOT THE SAME AS ME?" Elizabeth shrieked.
Edward jumped to his feet and wrapped an arm around his mother's waist, but she shoved him away.
"HE HAD THE NERVE TO GIVE THAT TRASHY BITCH THE SAME THING HE GAVE ME?"
"I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it," he said. "He probably thought it made sense to give each of his kids' mothers the same thing."
"We are not the same!" she hissed. "I was his wife! I lived with him, I stroked his ego, I schmoozed with his smug friends, I put up with that motherfucker for sixteen goddamn years! And he's going to treat me like I'm the same as some whore?"
"This isn't the kind of conversation we should be having in front of the kid," Edward said quietly. "Come outside for a minute."
"I will not. If this is how he treated me, how do you think he'll treat you? That bastard daughter of his is going to walk away with everything."
"Then that's the way it is," he said, his voice taking on a sharp edge. If she didn't stop running her mouth in front of Alice he was going to drag her outside and lock the door behind her. But he figured he'd try once more to bring her around. "I know this is hard for you, but it's harder for me. My dad died. You didn't love him anymore, but I did and I'm struggling. He meant more to me than just the money he left behind, and it hurts to see him reduced to that. I'm asking you, please, just be here for me right now. You and Aidan can bash him to your heart's content later, but right now I need your support."
"You never saw him for what he was," she said, glaring at him.
"Please, Mom, don't do this right now. Please."
She softened, pursed her lips, and sat down again. Edward sank down next to her.
"What's next?" he asked Benjamin.
"Next we need to settle the question of Alice's custody." He looked at Edward and then at Carlisle. "Edward Senior expressed his preference that Edward Junior take custody of Alice. However, if you feel that taking on a child isn't right for you, the second choice is Dr. Cullen. If he declines, there are some other names here. Should we review them?"
Edward looked at Carlisle. He was cradling Alice, who must have been upset by Elizabeth's outburst. Tears beaded on her lashes and she was clutching handfuls of Carlisle's shirt in her fists. Edward felt bad that he hadn't even noticed. He'd been too focused on Elizabeth.
But . . . Carlisle had been exactly right. His father hadn't forced either of them into anything. He had a choice and he couldn't avoid it anymore. It was time to decide whether he was going to keep Alice. It was time to do some practical thinking. Really, it was way past time, but he'd neglected it before, so this was the time he had.
So . . . costs. He probably had a lot of money coming, but it was possible that he didn't. It wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility to see another ten million from his dad dispensed to him while the rest got donated to the Pacific Northwest Save the World Fund, or whatever it was called. Maybe he wouldn't even see the ten million. So. Could he live with himself and the kid on the money he had? He figured he probably could. He'd heard that kids were expensive, but so was the jewelry he regularly bought for Tori. So were nights out at restaurants and vacations abroad. He could cut back enough to pay for clothes and private schools and whatever. He was pretty confident about that.
"Edward, honestly," Elizabeth said.
"Give me a second."
"You're not actually considering this?"
"Of course I am. She's my sister."
"She is not your sister."
"Mom—"
"No. You are Edward's legitimate son, born into a legal marriage and raised by decent people. She's the result of some drunken fling with an enterprising gold-digger. You are not the same."
"You have to stop," he snapped. "None of this is Alice's fault. You have to stop taking your anger out on her."
"So, what, you're just going to change your entire life to accommodate a child?"
He took a deep breath and let it out. "Maybe. I'm trying to think it through."
"Don't be ridiculous. You have no idea what you're doing. Children take away everything. You'll have no life of your own until she's grown and gone."
He tried not to let that remark sting. He tried to convince himself that she was upset and lashing out. He didn't really have time to deal with those feelings because he was trying to figure out what exactly he would be giving up. Work? No, he was pretty sure he could make work happen. He wasn't naive enough to think that he could get much work done while tending Alice, but daycare existed. Babysitters. He could get her a nanny.
He would need a bigger place if a nanny were involved. He'd have to move out of his apartment, obviously. He could buy a single family home, maybe something with a separate apartment so he could have a nanny on-site if he needed to . . .
But all of that was detail-work. Minutia. What he really needed to figure out was whether he could handle being with Alice all the time, day in and day out, for the next twenty years. Could he put up with her insisting on sleeping with him at night? Throwing tantrums when she didn't get her way? Arguing constantly about the food or toys or naps?
Could he live without her funny little scrunched-nose grin? Her tiny baby arms wrapped around his neck in a hug? Her pealing laughter that was like a shot of pure happiness straight to the veins?
Could he be what she needed? Did he have enough patience? Enough empathy? Enough perception to understand the challenges that she would face and help her through them?
"I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head. He looked at Carlisle, trying to express his regret with his eyes. "I'm really sorry. I'm not at all sure it's the right thing for her but I can't give her up. That kid . . ." He didn't know how to explain that it felt like she belonged to him and he belonged to her. How it felt like letting his Dad down to refuse to take her. How he looked at her and saw his dad's eyes, his own eyes, and knew that the two of them had to be there for each other. "She's family."
Carlisle's smile couldn't hide his sadness. He nodded and ducked his head, pressing soft kisses into Alice's hair. She didn't seem to notice that major decisions were being made about her life. She just held onto Carlisle.
Fuck. "Is this the right choice?" he asked Carlisle, suddenly wildly unsure of himself.
"It absolutely is not," Elizabeth said. "Edward, you've got to think about this. Children take over your whole life."
"Maybe that's okay," he said, and he found that arguing with her helped strengthen his resolve. "Maybe I need this kind of change."
"And have you considered what sacrifices you'll have to make?"
"Like what?"
"Like Thanksgiving in Cancun," she said, giving him a cold look. "Will you stop spending them with me or will you be turning her over to the nanny for the holiday?"
Edward swallowed hard. "Are you telling me you don't want me to go to Cancun with you if I'm taking Alice?"
"It's not an option. The resort doesn't accept children."
"So we go to a different resort," he said between his teeth.
"Out of the question."
"Then, yeah." He had to make a conscious effort to release the tension in his shoulders. "I guess I'll stop going to Cancun with you."
She suddenly looked livid. "You're choosing your father's bastard over me?"
"If you're forcing me to, I am."
"You ungrateful brat," she hissed.
"I'm ungrateful? Are you kidding me? I manage half your life for you."
She stood up, drawing herself to her full height and regaining her poise. "I suppose there's no reason for you to continue doing that." With one last disdainful look at Alice, she stalked out of the conference room.
Edward dropped back into his chair, instantly feeling contrite. He had a tendency to stay fired up in the face of a fight, but once it was gone he always regretted losing his temper. He was going to end up groveling for forgiveness after this one.
And, well, it wouldn't be the first time. Family was complicated. But damn, that was yet another fight in a growing string of them. It was a little ironic, actually, that his last big argument had been because he didn't want to take Alice and this one was because he did.
He felt a hand on the back of his shoulder and glanced over at Carlisle.
"Are you all right?"
He sighed and nodded. "Fine."
"Uh-wud sad?" Alice asked.
"Yeah. Edward's sad."
"Hudjoo?" She reached for him.
Edward smiled and took her from Carlisle, appreciating the gesture from her. He was still pretty sure that she liked Carlisle better than him, and he was still pretty sure that Carlisle deserved it more. But it was nice that she cared enough about him to help him feel better.
"I love you, Alice."
"Yuh-yoo, Uh-wud."
He breathed in the sweet scent of baby shampoo and let it calm him down.
"Is that settled, then?" Benjamin asked.
It was probably his last chance to back out, but he nodded. "Yeah. I'll take care of Alice."
He shuffled some papers from one folder to another and then picked up a third. "Let's look at the bequests to Dr. Cullen first, then."
If pressed, Edward would have had a hard time repeating what exactly his father had left to Carlisle. He remembered several million being earmarked for their charity fund, which Carlisle would be steward of, and there was definitely something about a hunting cabin in the Cascades that ended up in Carlisle's hands. Edward didn't think he'd known anything about that, but he hadn't known about the property in California either, and there were probably plenty of other holdings that he had no idea about. He hadn't kept close track of what his dad had been doing with his money, and it was hard to focus on now because he was in the middle of a private little panic attack.
He had just agreed to raise a kid. A real actual human who was still all tiny and fragile and impressionable. What the fuck had he been thinking?
He was going to screw it up, he knew it. Hell, he couldn't pack a diaper bag without screwing it up. What would he do when she came to him with all the questions that kids were supposed to have? He didn't know jack shit, especially about girls. He was going to have to figure out potty training and schools and—oh, god, she was going to get a period someday and he was the one who was supposed to help her deal with it. Him, the guy who couldn't walk down the aisle of the drugstore without averting his eyes from the feminine hygiene products. He wasn't cut out for this. How had they just allowed him to decide to be responsible for a whole human being? Why hadn't someone stopped him? Couldn't they see what a colossal fuck-up he was? Why would they just hand Alice over to him like that?
He looked down at Alice, who wasn't so much hugging him now as drooping on his shoulder. Her eyes were drifting closed, which wasn't a huge surprise given how little stimulation there was around her. And he'd gotten her up before she was ready after all, so it was probably good that she was sleeping a little more. But it helped somehow, looking at her sweet little baby face, her drowsy calm a stark contrast to the turmoil in his head. Okay, so he didn't know much, but he'd already learned some things. Alice herself had taught him a bunch of stuff, and he had resources. Ted's friends knew things, and Bella had put that book on his phone.
Fucking harpy calling him a useless trust fund kid . . .
But as frustrating as she was, she had given him a book that would have good information. He'd start listening to that as soon as he could. And there was always the internet. Parenting blogs were a thing, right? He could read those. Maybe there were classes somewhere? He could learn how to do this. He and Alice together, they'd figure it out.
"Okay, Edward, let's take a look at what your father left to you and your sister."
Edward snapped out of his daze and nodded. Benjamin opened four different folders and started explaining them, and it was probably a good thing that Elizabeth had already left. Alice did, in fact, get more than Edward did, at least at the current moment. She had a trust fund in place that was comparable to what Edward had already received from Ted. Most of the remaining assets had been divided between them based on value, expected stock performance, and various other criteria, and it was clear that the lawyers had tried to be very fair with the split. The better part of what Alice received from the divided assets was designated to be held in trust, but a respectable amount had been held out for her maintenance. Basically, the person who took legal charge of her also got the income from a portion of her holdings until she turned eighteen. Which Edward very much didn't need, so he had them redirect any dividends directly into her trust. The house in Forks went to her as well, but Edward assumed that it was to ensure that she would have a home no matter who took custody of her. It would be easy enough to sell. But then Benjamin came to the final folder.
"These are documents regarding Edward Senior's financial holdings in Forks."
Edward nodded. Actually, he was a little surprised that Forks holdings hadn't gone to Carlisle. He didn't care much about investments made into the town, and he doubted they could be of significant value, at least compared to the rest of Ted's wealth.
"Shares in the local companies are being divided in two. Half of the shares go to Alice and half go back to the owners of the businesses."
"Oh." Edward blinked and looked down at Alice again. He tried to think of a reason that Alice would be left holdings in Forks when he wouldn't be. It wasn't that he begrudged her the money, and he certainly didn't need anything tying him to this place. But between the stock in local businesses and the house in Forks, it seemed like Ted had wanted Alice to maintain connections here. Or maybe he'd thought that she just would. Maybe Ted had assumed that Carlisle would be the one to take her, so it would make sense for him to be managing her Forks holdings for her. The property adjacent to Carlisle's would be an extra bonus.
"Wait, why weren't they invited?" Edward asked. "The people who are getting shares of their companies back? Wasn't this reading supposed to be for all the beneficiaries?"
"We can meet with them separately if we need to," Benjamin said, "but Ted put in a request that you yourself deliver the paperwork on the transfer of shares."
"Me?"
He nodded. "It's not a requirement, but he wanted you to."
He frowned and looked at Carlisle. "Do you know what that's all about?"
"If I had to guess? I'd say he wanted you to meet his friends."
Which sounded uncomfortably close to: "Bella was right when she said Ted wanted you to visit, and you never did because you're a lousy son." But maybe he was projecting.
He rubbed a hand over his face. "Right. Yeah. I'll deliver them."
And then there was a lot of signing. Less, actually, than Edward had assumed given the extent of his father's wealth. The lawyers and accountants had set things up to be as efficient as possible. But he and Carlisle both had to sign a lot of documents, and then there were documents regarding custody of Alice that he had to sign, and then there were more documents that he had to sign on Alice's behalf.
Carlisle didn't have to stay for all of Edward's paperwork, but he did. He took the sleeping Alice from Edward's arms and held her while Edward was guided through the forms. Edward considered telling him that he didn't need to hang around, but then he wondered if maybe Carlisle wanted to be with Alice. Now that it was a sure thing that he wouldn't be getting custody of her, his time with her was limited.
The guilt of it weighed more heavily on him than he wanted it to. When the paperwork was finished, he took a minute to make sure that Benjamin had his home address so he could join Edward for dinner with Rosalie Hale, and then he and Carlisle walked together to the parking lot. Edward took Alice from him again, and she fussed in discontent as he hitched her up in his arms.
"I feel like I've stolen something from you," he admitted.
"Don't. Please." Carlisle's eyes showed nothing but earnestness. "You had to do what was best for you and Alice. It was the right decision."
"Was it, though?"
"Yes. But . . you'll let me visit sometimes, won't you?"
"Absolutely. Say the word."
"Hassum weentine?" Alice asked sleepily.
"I don't know—Carlisle, do you know what she's saying?"
He smiled down at Alice. "She wants to have some screen time."
"Screen time. TV?"
He nodded. "TV, or playing with a phone, or games on her tablet. Ted tried to limit the time she spent with screens every day, though he almost always let her watch something in the car."
"Got it." Edward felt a little guilty for using the television as a babysitter while he showered. But, dammit, he had to shower sometime. He couldn't just let his BO build and build until no one could stand to be in the same room with him. And he'd already seen the consequences of leaving her to her own devices while he wasn't there to supervise.
He still had some things to figure out.
"Will you be heading back to Olympia soon?" Carlisle asked.
He nodded. "After the memorial this weekend, maybe? Though . . . I don't know. The therapist said to make changes slowly, so I guess we'll see how Alice is doing then."
"You'll let me know if there's anything I can do to help?"
He dipped his head in a nod. "Will do."
"Uh-wud," Alice complained, "hassum weentine?"
"Um. I'm not sure I have anything. Let me see." He put the diaper bag on the roof of the car and dug around inside. "Oh, look, we still have Encanto in here. You want to watch that?"
"Uh-huh."
"Okay. Let's get you in your car seat."
"I'll see you around," Carlisle said and drifted to his car while Edward got Alice settled.
The whole interaction was somehow unsatisfying. He felt like taking custody of Alice was the right choice, but . . . something wasn't sitting right between them. Carlisle was still owed something. Edward wasn't sure how to make the balances equal, but he very much felt like he needed to.
Now, though, he had to get home and deal with his mom. They'd left things pretty rocky between them, and he hoped he could smooth them out before she went back to Seattle. But when he got home, the Nissan wasn't parked out front. He checked the garage, but it wasn't there either.
"Where's my mom, Alice?" he asked absently as he lifted her out of the car.
"A-no know."
"Yeah, me neither." He led her into the house and then fished out his phone from his pocket. He opened a phone tracker and logged into his mom's account. When the map appeared, it showed that she was a good forty miles outside of Forks, on the road back to Seattle.
"Great," he muttered. "She left. What did she do with my car?"
He tried calling her, but the phone rang through to voicemail. So he called the car service's driver instead, hoping the man could tell him where he'd picked Elizabeth up.
"Century Car," came the answer.
"Hey, this is Edward Masen calling regarding Elizabeth's return trip to Seattle."
"Wonderful. Is she ready to go back?"
"Uh. Yeah. Isn't she already in the car with you?"
"No, I've been waiting for her to let me know she was ready for me."
"How the hell is she—" Edward stopped and he felt his jaw tighten. "Oh, no. Ohhh, she did not." He pulled his phone away from his ear and looked at the map again. "Unbelievable. She took my car."
