Happy Sunday! So, I wrote this chapter on the fly and I have a ton of other things to do, so I didn't really to read it over and find any mistakes. I also realized that this is probably going to be a pretty long story! I have a ton of ideas I'd like to put into this story. Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Five

I nervously twisted my shirt in my fingers as I walked into the restaurant. Esme invited me out to lunch and to a day of trying on costumes for their Halloween party. I had planned on just going to the party city store, but I guess that wasn't their thing.

I found them immediately at a large round table. I walked over, still twisted my shirt in my fingers nervously. Esme spotted me first and stood, smiling widely.

"Bella!" She greeted as she pulled me into a tight squeeze. "I'm so glad you decided to join us."

"Of course," I said, letting her go and sitting. "I was happy to be invited."

"You're always invited," She grinned before letting it drop and shifting into an awkward pose. "Um, before we order lunch, I wanted to apologize for my mother-in-law. Her behavior the other night was completely unacceptable. I'm just so sorry you were caught in the crossfire of that."

"Esme, please don't apologize. It's not your fault."

"I know, but I am still so embarrassed by what she said." She said. "And I'm very embarrassed that my son didn't tell you about his engagement. I'm appalled that he would keep that a secret."

I shifted awkwardly in my seat. "Well, don't worry about Edward. He wasn't really keeping it a secret he just kind of forgot. But me and him have worked it out and I'm passed everything."

"Good, I'm glad. I made sure to reem him out properly for that." She said as she picked up her menu.

"Yeah that was a huge dick move." Rosalie said. "We all kind of gave him a piece of our minds. I don't think he'll keep anything from you again."

I smiled. "Thanks for getting after him. I think he learned his lesson."

"Alright great, Bella and Edward have worked things out." Alice said, slapping her menu down onto the table. "So, for the Halloween party, I'm thinking—,"

"Alice," Esme laughed. "Don't worry, we're all dressing like princesses. You don't have to worry."

"Okay, but it's obviously important." Alice said. "This is mine and Jasper's five-year anniversary of us meeting. This night is so important."

"We know Alice." Rosalie said. "And, not to upstage you in any way, I was wondering if you'd be alright with Emmett and I having a huge gender reveal during the party?"

"Absolutely not. I'm excited to find out if I'm having a niece or a nephew," Alice smiled. "How are you thinking about doing it?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe the cake color or something?" Rosalie tapped her chin. "I haven't figured that part out yet."

"What if you dressed like princess Aurora? You know she had the blue and pink dress. You could wear a big coat over your dress, and I don't know, maybe at some point in the night take it off to reveal the gender." I suggested as I looked at my menu.

"That's a great idea Bella." Rosalie smiled. "I was going to dress up like Cinderella, but I'll dress up like Aurora and do that."

"That is a great idea Bella," Esme beamed. "I am beyond excited to find out. I've been craving having a baby around. I miss my babies being babies."

"Well, aunty, I hope you're going to be willing to stick around. I think between a new baby and Emmett, I'll lose my mind."

"He means well."

"Last night he tried to tell me how much better a natural birth would be for the baby." Rosalie made a face and shook her head. "He's lost his damn mind. I'm already freaking out by having an actual baby come out of my who-ha. Doing it without drugs will kill me."

"I gave birth to Edward without anything. Of course, when it came time to push, I begged for them to give me something, but it was to late. That was terrible," Esme laughed. "And then with Alice, I had done everything humanly possible to prepare for her birth, but then you all know how that turned out." Esme laughed, shaking her head.

"I don't." I said. "What happened?"

"Oh yes," Esme said after taking a sip of her water. "So technically, Alice was born in England."

My eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Yes," She chuckled. "Well, there was a mix up with how long I had been pregnant. When I thought I was only five months pregnant, I was actually seven months. And I was at the end of my seventh month pregnancy. Ugh, it was a huge mistake by the doctors! How it slipped under their radar," She shook her head. "It was unfortunate, but the English doctors were so amazing. Alice was a preemie, obviously, but they took such good care of her. And we got to spend an additional four months in England which was great. Edward loved it."

"How did you guys even survive in England like that?" I asked.

"We rented an apartment. Alice had to stay in the hospital for two of those four months. And during that time we had so much citizenship paperwork to do we really couldn't come back to the states until they were done. But Alice is a citizen now. That's all that matters."

"Wow, that's insane." I said. "I'm more surprised that your doctors didn't figure out you were near the end of your pregnancy. That's negligence."

"Yeah, Carlisle ripped them a new one. Sued the hospital and had the OBGYN's license revoked. Because that mistake almost cost us our child and it prevented me from being able to have more children." She sighed harshly. "I wanted a big family, but after Alice was born, I had a very traumatic birth, and I wasn't able to have any more afterwards."

"Hello ladies," The waiter said as he walked over, "What can I get for you?"

Rosalie piped up first, quickly ordering and mentioning to the waiter how hungry she was. The waiter chuckled, but when he went back to the kitchen and retrieved a large basket of rolls. Rosalie was the first to snatch a few out of the basket.

Royal Lace Dress Shop

When I thought we were going somewhere other than the party city shop, I did not think we were going to a gown shop such as this. My stomach dropped to the floor when I saw all of the elegant gowns hanging up on the shop.

"Hello ladies!" A very flamboyant man said as he walked over. "Mrs. Cullen it is so wonderful to see you again!" He gushed as he kissed her on the cheeks. "It's great to see you two again, but you're new." He said, pointing to me.

"Robert this is Edward's girlfriend, Bella." Esme beamed proudly. "She's going to be joining us for our Halloween party."

"Oh I'm jealous," Robert said, looking me up and down in a somewhat dramatic way. "I was hoping Edward would come out of the closet straight into my arms."

Alice laughed. "Stop pining over my brother. He is not that great. We're on a mission here, we need dresses."

"I know, I know, I got your email," He chuckled. "I already have the line up ready for you ladies, all the Disney inspired princess dresses I could find. So hopefully, you each find something that will suit you."

As I was looking around the shop, a horrible, sinking feeling settled in my gut. These dresses were way to expensive and I couldn't afford them. I felt my face turn red and I didn't know how to say to them that I couldn't pay for anything.

"I know you said you're reliving your famous Snow-White gown," He said to Alice as he led us up the stairs, "So, I selected something I think you will really love."

"Robert, I know I said I was going to dress as Cinderella, but I actually had a little idea before coming here," Rosalie said. "But it might be a little tricky to pull off, though I do know you are the best."

"Don't try to butter me up, I spent most of the night pulling out gowns that would be darling as Cinderella." Robert said.

"Oh hush, you'll love my idea."

He brought us to a row of dressing rooms and pointed us to each one. He then turned to Rosalie.

"Since you've decided to make my job so much more difficult, you can come with me and tell me your idea." He said to Rosalie before looking over his shoulder. "If you have any problems with anything, just ring the bell! The best dresses start from the right."

"Are they the best because they're the most expensive?" Alice laughed.

"You know it." He called with a laugh.

I quietly slipped into my dressing room while Esme and Alice were looking at each other's dresses and immediately took my phone out. I was thankful the dressing room was an actual room with full walls and doors so I could talk in private.

"I didn't think I'd hear from you so soon," She answered. "I'm so glad you called, baby—,"

"Mom, I need a huge favor," I said in a hushed, hurried tone.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" She asked quickly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm safe," I said, sitting on the bench. "I just… I need a favor and I know this probably isn't a good time to ask for one after our last argument, but I'm kind of in a jam."

"What's wrong Bella?"

"Um, it's kind of a long story," I said, "But I'm in a dress shop to find a dress for a party and all of the dresses are really expensive. I don't think I can afford any of them."

"How much are the dresses?" She asked.

I picked up one of the tags from the last dress on the left and felt the color drain from my face.

"This dress is 4,000… Mom, I can't… I don't even have that much in my savings."

"Okay, calm down honey," Mom said. "Can you just leave the shop? And go somewhere else?"

"I'm here with my boyfriend's family. I don't think I can just leave without making them suspicious and I know if I say I can't afford the dresses, his mother is going to just pay for it."

She took a deep breath. "What is the dress for exactly?"

"It's for a Halloween party."

"So it's for a costume? Honey, that's way to much to spend on a costume."

"I know that, but I don't know what to do. I'm kind of stuck."

She let out a long sigh. "Alright, how much time do you have to try the dresses on?"

"Um, I don't know, an hour maybe."

"Okay," She sighed again. "I will transfer money into your account. But you're going to have to pay me back kiddo. 4,000 is so much money."

"I know mom. I will. I swear I'll pay you back."

"I'm transferring the money into your account now. It's five thousand." She sighed. "Just call me later so we can work something out, okay? Don't worry about any of this. Pick out a dress and try to enjoy yourself."

"Yeah, I doubt I'll enjoy myself." I said, my breath hitching slightly.

"Bella don't start crying. It's okay. It's not a big deal. We'll talk about it later."

"I'm not crying."

"I know. Just take a deep breath, relax, pick a dress, and enjoy yourself."

"I'll try."

"Are you going to be okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I just didn't expect this today." I said. "I don't know. I mean, I knew these people were rich, but… spending over a hundred dollars on a dress is crazy to me."

"Some people are like that baby. It's just… sometimes those big fancy dresses are just a part of that life."

I scrunched my brows, "I don't think the Cullens are like that. They've been very nice."

"Mm. Well, I'm glad they're being nice to you." She said before snapping. "God damn it."

"What's wrong?"

"I can't transfer more than a thousand," She said. "Bella you might just have to leave."

The tears that I had managed to wipe away reappeared on my cheeks. "But mom… I-I don't… I can't…"

She sighed softly. "You're really trapped in a rough spot? Like honestly?"

"Yeah." I sniffled. "Mom I'm sorry I know it's so much to ask—,"

"I'll take care of it," She said. "I have a friend in New York who can help."

"You have friends here?"

She chuckled. "Yeah, I do. He can help. He will probably be thrilled that I called him for help. Just stall a bit, try on a bunch of different dresses and I'll text you when it's done."

"Okay, thank you so much mom." I sighed in relief. "I'm picking the cheapest dress."

"No, don't do that sweetie. Pick a dress you like because I'm sure my friend will be agitated if you try to hold back because of finances. So please pick a dress you really like, okay?"

"Okay. What's your friend's name?"

"Don't worry about it." She said. "Please just enjoy yourself. Pick a dress you like, and if you don't mind, could you take a picture of yourself in the dress for me? I've never seen you in a dress like this before."

"Okay mom," I chuckled. "Thank you. I really appreciate it mom."

"Of course baby. You know I would do anything for you." She said. "I'm going to call you later okay?"

"Okay mom. I swear I will pay your friend back." I said.

"I'll talk to you later about it." She said. "I love you."

"Love you to, bye."