Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or these characters.
Carlisle POV
"Is this what Emmett looked like this morning?"
Chelsea's loud whisper to me earned an indignant look from Esme.
"Hey! I'm just feeding Alice. I'm not doing anything."
"You've looked at your phone a million times to check the time, but it's still only 12:15. And your foot is probably bouncing a hole in the carpet."
"Yeah, yeah," Esme said, rolling her eyes with a smile because she knew her sister was only teasing. "My baby has been gone long enough."
"It does seem quiet without him here for this long," I admitted. Emmett might have gone to preschool, but he had only been gone for three hours on school days. It had almost been five hours now, and even though I wasn't checking the time like Esme, I was waiting for pickup time too.
"You'll understand soon enough," Esme told Chelsea. "One day they're safe in your belly and then you blink and they're in kindergarten."
Chelsea laughed, rubbing her rather large baby bump. "I know. You know I'm just teasing. I'm excited to see him too and hear all about his first day. I hate that we didn't make it in time this morning to see him off."
Chelsea and Alec had stayed another two nights at the hotel he had booked, treating it as a short babymoon before the stress of moving would really begin for them. This morning while we were taking Emmett to school, they were coordinating all the deliveries of their items in storage, both the few things Alec had shipped from California and the new thing they had been collecting in the last month. They had come over around eleven this morning with a tray of sandwiches, and we enjoyed a nice lunch together while they updated us on the progress.
Tomorrow afternoon, a truck would be coming with the things Alec had shipped which included their bedroom furniture. I was going to help him move it all into the house and set it up so they could spend their first night in their new home. The whole family would be helping later in the week with everything else, but I was happy to do my part. This has been a long process for them, but thankfully they were finally at the finish line.
Truthfully, Esme and I would both miss having them stay with us. The kids loved seeing Aunt Sea everyday and Uncle Alec on the weekends. They deserved their space though, especially getting ready to bring their baby girl into the world. And they would only be a short ten minute drive down the road now instead of states away.
I knew the kids would be sad to see them go, even such a short distance away, so it was good we had this last day and night together. Alec had the rest of the kids outside now, playing on their playground in the backyard leaving only Alice inside with us.
Alice had been just fine with her Nana and Pops this morning, even treating them to a few quick smiles. She had definitely been happy to have her mommy home though and had pretty much been stuck to Esme since she walked in the door.
Esme wasn't complaining and was clearly loving the snuggles she was getting while Alice nursed and snoozed away. It was such a vast difference from just a couple months ago when Alice had been so indifferent to all human contact.
"I hate to disturb her, but I do need to freshen up before we leave," Esme said regretfully to me. "Do you want to change her diaper real quick?"
"Of course, sweetheart. I bet I won't even wake her."
Esme laughed softly and shook her head. "I might doubt you a bit, but I hope you're right."
She carefully unlatched Alice and passed her over to me. Alice squirmed at the disturbance, but after I popped her little pink pacifier in her mouth, she settled easily into my arms.
I winked at Esme as she got up, and she squeezed my shoulder in response, rolling her eyes. "That's not the real challenge," she reminded me.
"Doubt away, sweetheart. Doubt away."
After she headed to the bathroom, I carefully stood and carried Alice over to the pack-n-play, laying her down as slowly and gently as I could. I held my breath in hopes she would stay asleep, but thankfully she was wearing a dress which gave me easy access to her diaper. In record time I cleaned her up and secured a new diaper before lifting her back into my arms.
Chelsea gave me a silent golf clap as I walked back to the couch. "That was impressive."
"You'll be doing that soon, too," I assured her. "The sleeping diaper change is an aquired skill. You might not be as good at it as me, but. . ."
Chelsea huffed out a laugh, shaking her head. "To be fair, this is your fifth in diapers. Alec and I will be rookies.
"You'll be fine," I assured her. "You've had lots of practice here, and babies are very forgiving. I definitely didn't know what to do with Emmett when he first came into my life."
"It seems like yesterday I was meeting Emmett for the first time," she mused. "I can't believe that was almost four years ago. I'm so thankful we won't have to miss any more milestones in any of the kids' lives."
"And we get to raise our babies together now," Esme said as she came back into the room. "I hope Alice and Baby Girl are the best of friends."
Chelsea's smile widened as she rubbed her belly again. "Oh, I do too. And speaking of Alice, what all do I need to know before you leave?"
"Are you sure you're okay watching her while we go?" Esme asked, sitting beside her sister and taking her turn to rub her belly. "She's had a really good couple of days, but I can't guarantee anything, you know?"
"I'm positive. And you already told me that she did fine with Carmen and Eleazar this morning. You'll be gone. . .what? An hour tops? Alec and I can handle it."
Esme nodded and stood, coming over to carefully take Alice back from me. She continued sleeping peacefully as Esme led Chelsea into the kitchen to explain how to heat up a bottle of breast milk just in case she needed it while we were gone.
As she did that, I went out the back door to check on Alec and the kids. He had them all swinging as he took turns pushing them by pulling their feet up and then letting them go. Their squeals of delight made me smile.
Rosalie was the first one to notice me as I walked towards them, and she used her feet to stop her swing and then ran towards me.
"Daddy!" Rosalie squealed as she ran before jumping into my arms and wrapping her arms around my neck. "Hi, Daddy!"
"Hi, baby girl! Are you having fun out here?"
She nodded quickly and pointed to the swings. "Look! Uncle Alec is pushing us on the swings and we go so high!"
"Wow!" I said, widening my eyes. "Did you fly up to the sky?"
"No, but my feet almost touched a cloud! It's so fun!"
I chuckled, kissing her cheek. "I'm glad you're having such a good time. It's almost time to come in, though. Mommy and Daddy have to leave soon."
Her face turned serious as she looked at me. "Daddy, I miss Em. You go get him now? He's at his big school, right?"
"I know, baby. I miss him too. We're going to leave in just a few minutes to go get him from his school and then I'm sure he'll tell us all about how much fun he had."
"And I go tomorrow?"
Her tone was simply curiosity, but I studied her face closely before I answered. Unlike her twin, I didn't see signs of hesitation or fear.
"You go tomorrow," I confirmed after a few seconds. "You and Jasper get to go play in Miss Angela's class for a few hours, and then Mommy and I will pick you up and you'll get to tell us how much fun you had. Does that sound okay?"
She shrugged but then nodded. "That's okay. Can you go get Em now?"
"We will," I promised with a laugh and set her down. "Go on inside with Mommy and Aunt Chelsea while I help Uncle Alec with the boys."
Rosalie skipped off to the door, and I went over to help Alec get Edward and Jasper off their swings.
"It is quiet without Emmett," Alec said as we walked to the door, him holding Edward and me holding Jasper. "Who knew I'd ever say four kids in a house is quiet."
"True, but you're definitely right. Are you sure you and Chelsea are okay with watching them for a little while?"
"Of course," he immediately agreed. "We're both going to miss seeing them all the time after tomorrow. I can't wait for us to be settled and I can't say I'll miss all this moving stress, but you guys have definitely made me more confident with babies." He playfully jostled Edward in his arms, making him squeal and giggle. "I don't think I'll be completely panicking when my girl joins us."
"You'll be great. And having only one will definitely seem very quiet."
He laughed and nodded, setting Edward down once we were inside. I tried to do the same with Jasper, but he held on tightly to my neck.
"You okay, buddy?" I asked, rubbing his back.
"Daddy, you goin' to get Em?"
"We are in just a few minutes."
"I go too?" he asked, looking at me hopefully.
I looked over at Esme who had overheard us, and she nodded.
"Sure, bud. You can come with us. Just go potty and wash your hands, okay?"
This time he let me put him down, and he ran off to the bathroom. I wasn't sure if he just missed his brother or he was afraid for us to leave him, but either way I had no problem taking him with us.
"Looks like we're taking Jasper with us," Esme told Chelsea and Alec then knelt down to talk to Rosalie. "Hey, Sugar. Do you think you can help show Aunt Sea how to take care of Alice and Edward?"
Rosalie eagerly nodded and clapped her hands. "Mommy, I'm so good at that. I can do it!"
"That's my girl." Esme gave her a hug and a kiss before standing up.
Chelsea already had Alice in her arms, and she was thankfully still sleeping. Rosalie hopped up on the couch and snuggled close to them.
After everyone was sitting and drinking their milk that Esme had poured for them, I dimmed the lights and turned on a movie, hoping it would be nap time for everyone while we were gone. At the very least I hoped it would be a calm hour or so for Chelsea and Alec. They might not have minded watching our children, but I never wanted to impose on them while they were guests in our home, especially on their last full day with us.
With Chelsea and Alec settled with half of our bunch, I picked up Jasper and headed out to the van with Esme. Once he was buckled in his seat, we started the drive to Emmett's school.
"Sorry if I've been crazy," Esme said as she squeezed my hand that was holding hers. "I should be used to sending him to school by now, but it's still hard."
"I know, sweetheart," I said, pulling her hand up to kiss it. "But you're doing great. You know Chelsea was only teasing. You're just fine."
She sighed, relaxing against the seat of the car. "Thank you. I just hope he had a great day and wants to go back. That will at least make tomorrow go halfway easily."
I knew what she meant. If Emmett was still excited about day two, we wouldn't have to worry about him and could focus on the other two. Jasper was silent during our drive, and I periodically looked in the rearview mirror to make sure he was okay. Because he wasn't always as quick to share his feelings, it was hard to know what exactly was going through his head.
"Okay, buddy?" I asked him as I pulled into the car rider line. "Emmett will come out in just a few minutes."
"I okay, Daddy," he said with a small smile.
After a few minutes, the doors of the school opened and teachers started leading the kids out. Esme hung a little sign with Emmett's name from the rearview mirror so they would know where to bring him, and it wasn't long before I saw our boy.
Emmett had the biggest smile on his face as he skipped out the door wearing a "first day of kindergarten" hat that looked like he had colored it. The teacher who was holding his hand could barely keep up with him.
I opened the van door to be ready for him and less than a minute later, they found us and the teacher let go of Emmett's hand and waved as he climbed in.
"Mommy! Daddy!"
"Hi, baby!" Esme turned in her seat and held her arms out the best she could. "Come give us some love. We missed you so much!"
Emmett managed to lean over the center console to give us both hugs and kisses.
"Let's get in your seat and then tell us all about your day," I told him, and he shrugged his backpack off and went to the back of the van, giving Jasper a hug before he climbed into his seat and buckled himself.
I closed the van door and followed the rest of the car rider line out of the parking lot as he filled us in on his day.
"Mommy, I played with Playdoh! And I colored a picture of a worm and sang songs about God and danced on the circle rug and Mrs. Ford read a book about a raccoon and a kiss in a hand. And Daddy, we eated lunch outside on a big table! And I play on the playground and drank some water! And we counted some blocks and I played with the kitchen there!"
"Wow! That's a lot of stuff in one day," I said. "That's very cool."
Emmett smiled and looked over at Jasper. "Look, Jasper! You want to wear my hat?" He took it off his head and handed it over to his brother. Jasper studied it for a moment and then put it on his head. "Yeah, like that! I colored it all bys myself. It's so cool! Hey, Monmy? Can I go back there again?"
Esme laughed and nodded. "Of course you can, Monkey. You get to go back tomorrow for more fun. Pops is going to drive you with Riley and Corin in the morning. I'm so glad you had a great day."
Emmett cheered and continued telling us all about everything he could remember from his first day. It sounded like they had really packed a lot into just a few hours. Jasper even asked him a few questions and seemed to relax just a little as he listened to Emmett's answers.
Esme and I shared smiles as we drove and he continued his happy chattering. After a few minutes, the backseat was quiet, so I looked back in the mirror to find Emmett fast asleep.
"Em's sleeping," Jasper whispered. "It his naptime?"
"I think he had so much fun that he got really tired," I explained. "Emmett doesn't normally wake up as early as you, bud. He likes his sleep."
Because his kindergarten class was released early every day, there was no scheduled nap time. Most days Emmett didn't need to take a nap anymore, but his exciting day had obviously tired him out.
Once we were home, Esme helped Jasper out of his seat and sent him inside. Beside she could follow him, I grabbed her hand and pulled her into my arms.
"You did good today, Mommy," I murmured as I hugged her tightly, resting my head against hers.
She let out a sign, relaxing into my arms as she wrapped her arms around my waist. "We survived. I'm so glad you could be home today."
"Wouldn't have missed it for the world."
She leaned her head back so I could kiss her, and I did so eagerly. This morning she'd stopped my kisses before I was ready, and I didn't plan to waste a private moment now. Somehow we shifted and before I knew it, I had her pressed against the side of the van. I didn't want to hurt her so I placed my hand behind her head to cushion it, but it only encouraged her to deepen the kiss. I had no complaints about that and happily kissed her until I remembered Emmett was still sleeping in the car behind us.
Regretfully, I slowed the kisses until finally lifting my head to look into her eyes.
"Wow," she said breathlessly, reaching up to straighten her hair. "I don't know what's gotten into us, but I like it. We're like newlyweds again."
"You know what newlyweds get to do?" I asked, grinning as she blushed and shook her head. "They get to do this." I quickly scooped her up into my arms, and she laughed as I carried her over the threshold into the house.
As much as I wanted to keep her in my arms, I did let her go so I could get Emmett out of the van. Miraculously he stayed asleep as I carried him inside and laid him on the couch.
His nap only lasted a few more minutes with the kids all excited to have him home, but he woke in a good mood and loved getting to tell Chelsea, Alec, and Rosalie all about his day just as he had done in the car for us. After he told everyone in the house, he insisted on calling his Nana and Pops and Aunt Kate and Uncle Garrett as well. He wanted to call the rest of our extended family, but I had to break the bad news that they were all at work and he'd have to wait to talk to them later this week.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing together and letting the kids play with no schedule. Everyone was in a great mood, including Alice who hadn't shown any negative effects from Esme leaving her twice today.
Later in the day Esme prepared a delicious spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread dinner for us which everyone enjoyed. The kids especially enjoyed it all over themselves, so after sending Esme to relax and feed Alice, Chelsea and Alec volunteered to clean up the kitchen while I had the challenge of cleaning the kids.
I threw them all into our large bathtub and poured in plenty of bubbles so they'd have no choice but to be clean. They happily splashed and played until all their fingers and toes were shriveled.
Esme soon joined us upstairs and helped me get everyone dried off and into pajamas before we herded them back downstairs.
"Okay, guys," Esme said, clapping her hands to get their attention. "We're going to lay out our clothes and shoes and backpacks tonight so tomorrow morning will be easy peasy."
"I know what to do, Mommy!" Emmett said, excitedly. "Like last night?"
"That's right, Monkey," she confirmed. "Do you want to show Rosalie and Jasper how we do it?"
He readily agreed and placed his backpack on the couch followed by the school polo and shorts that Esme handed him. Socks and shoes came next, and then he extended his hand for a high five from his mommy.
"Awesome job, dude," I said, getting my own high five. "You're already so good at that. Who wants to do theirs next?"
"I have my Cinderella bag," Rosalie said, handing it to me to place beside Emmett's. "I have a pretty dress too?"
"You sure do," Esme said, handing her a dark blue dress with apples all over it. "Here's your special first day of school dress."
Rosalie seemed pleased with the choice as she laid it on the couch along with some little shorts, socks, and red tennis shoes. Once she placed her matching hairbow in the pile, she received high fives from everyone and then we moved on to Jasper.
"Here's your super cool Lego bag," I said as I passed it to him. "Do you want to put it on the couch too?"
After a few seconds he nodded and lifted his arms for me to pick him up. He didn't seem upset as we lined up his bag with the others, but he didn't want to let me go either. I didn't say anything, just continued to do whatever he needed to help process this change.
Once his clothes and shoes were laid out with the others, Esme took him into her arms and then had Rosalie and Emmett follow them into the kitchen to decide on their lunch and snack choices.
I sat down on the couch and Edward quickly traded Alec's lap for mine, holding onto my arm as he drank his cup of milk.
"Is Jasper okay?" Alec asked with a worried look. "He's been so quiet."
"I think he will be," I responded. "I'm just not sure how tomorrow will go. He's not anywhere near as excited as Emmett about school."
"Rose seems to be okay," Chelsea said as she rocked Alice. "If you had asked me a few months ago, I would've guessed it would be the opposite."
I had to agree. Back at the beginning of the year, I would've guessed that Rosalie would be our more hesitant child when it came to going to school. But even though they were both completely thriving, my baby girl had really started coming out of her shell recently. I couldn't be more proud of her, but we still had Jasper to worry about and support through everything.
"Just pray tomorrow goes as well as it can," I told both of them. "Otherwise, Esme might bring him home and homeschool him forever." I was only halfway joking because I didn't want to see him upset anymore than my wife did.
"I'll gladly homeschool him," Alec said with a small smile. "They've been through enough."
Esme and the kids soon returned to the family room, happy with all of their food selections. After they all took turns telling Chelsea and Alec goodnight, we corralled them upstairs to get into bed.
Edward had fallen asleep in my lap, but Rosalie still insisted that he sleep with her so I gently laid him on one side of her bed and tucked him in.
We took the other three into our room and let them all cuddle under the covers between us while Esme and I both read them a book. Esme read If Animals Went to School, and I chose The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! I had them all giggling with my silly voices which maybe wasn't the best choice since we wanted them to settle down.
After we finished reading, we held hands to say our nighttime prayers. The kids usually thanked God for the same things every night like our family members, the playground, animals, and there was always something silly mentioned like parking lots or toilet paper.
Once they were all satisfied they had thanked God for everything they could think of, I finished it up.
"Dear Lord, we thank you for helping Emmett have a great first day of kindergarten. Please be with him tomorrow when he goes back to school and be with Rosalie and Jasper as they go to school for the first time. Help them to have lots of fun and feel safe until we come pick them up. Thank You for loving us and thank You for Jesus. In His name we pray, amen."
They all repeated the amen, and when I opened my eyes, Esme was hugging Jasper close. I hoped him hearing my prayer would help assure him even more that everything would be okay, but more importantly I also knew God heard me. We had to give it to Him and trust.
After we tucked everyone in their own beds and kissed them goodnight, Esme went downstairs to get Alice and spend a few minutes with Chelsea since this was their last night here with us.
I went to my office and tried to quickly go through some of my inbox from work. Peter had said he would address anything critical that came up today, but as I skimmed through everything, I didn't see anything that couldn't wait until tomorrow afternoon. After answering a few emails, I shut down my computer and joined everyone downstairs.
Alice was wide awake when I sat on the couch next to Esme, and she passed her over to me. I held her in front of me and tried my best to coax a smile out of her but had no luck. Still, the contrast of her sitting calmly at nine o'clock at night compared with our week of screaming wasn't lost on me. I appreciated every moment of her bright eyes looking right at mine and tracking my face as I moved.
A little while later we all said our goodnights, and Esme and I went upstairs to get ready for bed. Alice settled fairly easily after Esme nursed her, and I situated her in the bassinet before pulling Esme to me. I made good on my promise to her enjoy her privately until we were both completely sated and happily fell asleep with her in my arms.
I woke up before my alarm thanks to Alice grunting and starting to cry. Once she was happily in her favorite spot on her mommy, we shared our quiet time once again before getting ready for the day.
Rosalie and Jasper had requested their favorite breakfast of cinnamon rolls today. As Esme worked on those, I cut some berries and heated some sausage. When everything was ready, we started the task of waking everyone.
I brought Rosalie and Edward downstairs while Esme woke the boys. By the time we made it down with everyone, Chelsea and Alec were awake as well and we all enjoyed our meal together.
Breakfast wasn't quite as loud today as it was yesterday, but everyone seemed to be in a good mood and ate well. After everything and everyone was cleaned up, Esme started packing lunchboxes and I took the kids into the family room to start getting dressed.
Emmett was independent for the most part so he finished first. I helped Rosalie with her clothes next, but left the hairbow for Esme. I knew my limitations.
When it was Jasper's turn, I studied him carefully as I talked him through dressing in his blue apple shirt and red shorts that matched Rosalie's dress. There was no hesitation with getting his clothes on, but when he was finished, he climbed into my lap..
"Okay, buddy?" I asked softly, kissing the top of his head.
"What we doing, Daddy?" he asked as he snuggled close.
"It's your first day of school, remember? You and Rosalie are going to play in Miss Angela's classroom and have so much fun."
"Daddy, I stay with you? Peas?"
The begging almost broke me, and I was glad Esme was still in the kitchen and hadn't heard him.
I cleared my throat and tried to maintain positivity. "Oh, Jasper. Buddy, you're going to have so much fun at school. I promise. But listen. Mommy and Daddy will come back to get you, and you'll have Rosalie and Jane with you the whole time. You won't be alone at all. And there's lots of fun toys. Remember the fun blocks we saw? And the big train table?"
Jasper pressed his face against my neck. "I scared," he whispered after a moment, making me hug him tight.
I was so proud of him for being able to name his feelings. That was something we had been working on with Siobhan for some time.
"It's okay to be scared," I told him. "Daddy gets scared sometimes too. But what if we just go try? If you're too scared to stay with Miss Angela, it's okay. But we'll be super brave and try. Do you think you can be brave?"
"I be brave," he finally said.
"That's my boy." I hugged him once more and kissed his cheek.
I didn't have much time to dwell on his fear because almost as soon as Esme finished packing lunch boxes, Uncle E pulled into the driveway. He had volunteered to take Corin and Riley to school so that Kate and Garett could both take Jane to her first day, and he was doing the same for us with Emmett.
Our oldest baby had no hesitation about riding to school with Pops and barely even stopped to hug and kiss us goodbye.
With him taken care of, we focused on getting everyone else settled. We had a little bit of time, so Esme fed Alice and Edward while I put backpacks and lunch boxes into the van then double checked to make sure Rosalie and Jasper's shoes were tied and everyone looked presentable.
Edward and Alice were soon asleep, so I helped get them settled with Chelsea while Esme styled Rosalie's hair to her liking. We quickly said goodbye to Chelsea and Alec and then got everyone buckled into the van.
This drive was completely different than yesterday — mostly silent except for Esme trying to engage the kids and then their quiet responses. I kept my eye on them though and so far they had their brave faces on and there weren't any tears.
We soon pulled into the familiar parking lot of the preschool building.
"Okay, guys," Esme said as I parked the van. "This is your school. You've been here lots of times with Emmett."
"Miss Angela had a baby in her belly?" Rosalie asked.
"That's right. She did have a baby in her belly, but he was born a few weeks ago."
"Can I play with her baby?"
I laughed and shook my head. "I'm afraid not, baby girl. Miss Angela can only have big boys and girls in her class. Maybe some other time."
She sighed but nodded, not seeming too disappointed.
Esme and I helped them both out of the car, and she wound up carrying Jasper while I had Rosalie. We walked to the familiar classroom and found miss Angela standing at the door along with her mother, the principal, Cynthia Weber. Angela was also holding a small baby which I assumed was her newborn son.
"Good morning, Cullen family," Cynthia said with a wave as we approached the door. "I was just talking to Carmen last week. We're so excited to have a couple more of you here this year. That Emmett was such a treat."
"We're definitely excited to be back," Esme said. "I can't say you'll have another just like Em, but these two are very special, too." She kissed Jasper's cheek, and he hid his face.
"I'm so excited to see you, Rosalie and Jasper," Angela said with a big smile. "We're going to have a blast this year."
"Is that your baby?" Rosalie asked softly.
"This is my baby," she confirmed, lifting the baby to kiss his head. "His name is Eric and he's eight weeks old. My mom was just going to take him down to the baby room for me."
"It was good to see you all," Cynthia said as she took her grandson into her arms. "I'm sure i'll see you all again soon."
We told her goodbye before she walked down the hall to the stairs, and then Angela waved us into the classroom.
"You can come on in, guys. Let me show you where you can put your backpacks, and then we'll get started on the fun."
I set Rosalie down and held her hand as we walked inside the classroom. There were a few changes from what I remembered it looking like when Emmett was here, but overall the classroom was very familiar.
Angela showed us the hooks on the wall to place their backpacks and then led us over to a long table. There were coloring pages laid out at every spot with the student's names already printed at the top. Rosalie's and Jasper's were right next to each other, as was Jane's.
"I have these fun pictures you can color first, or you go play with anything you want! What looks fun?"
Rosalie looked around, ultimately deciding to sit and color. Esme managed to convince Jasper to look around, but he didn't seem even slightly interested in leaving her arms.
"Look, baby," Esme said softly. "Rosalie is coloring a fun picture. Can you sit and color with her?"
Jasper looked down at the table and then over at me, so I smiled and nodded in encouragement.
"We'll be right here, buddy," I said. "You can color while we talk to Miss Angela."
He wasn't excited about it but he let Esme put him down and place him in the chair next to his sister. He kept his eyes on us as we walked a couple of steps to the side, but once he figured out we weren't leaving, he started coloring his picture.
"Sorry," Esme whispered to Angela. "Jasper is not too excited about this."
"That's okay," Angela assured us. "He won't be the only one today, I promise you. I usually have at least one crying on the first day. One year I had a little girl who cried every day for half the year. How is Rosalie doing?"
"She seems better than we thought," I admitted. During meet the teacher last week, we had mentioned to Angela that they might both have a hard time with us leaving. "I wouldn't say she's excited like Emmett, but she doesn't usually hide her feelings. I think she'll be okay, especially with Jane here."
Right as I said her name, Kate and Garrett arrived with sweet little Jane. She was wearing the same dress as Rosalie, and I was unsurprised that Kate and Esme had coordinated their choices.
"Told you we wouldn't be the first ones here," Kate said, gently elbowing Garrett.
"Yeah well, I should've known Carlisle and Esme would beat us."
"We just live closer," I said with a wink, knowing I was almost always more punctual than Kate.
After we greeted each other with hugs, Angela knelt down next to Jane.
"Good morning, Jane!" Angela said, offering her hand. "Would you like to come put your backpack away so you can color with Rosalie and Jasper?"
Jane looked up at Kate who smiled and nodded, and she didn't hesitate to go with Angela. Jane might not have been as boisterous and high energy as her older brother and sister, but she usually warmed up to people fairly quickly. I hoped she would be a positive influence on her cousins.
"How's it going?" Kate asked us softly. "Everyone okay?"
I reached over to hold Esme's hand, squeezing it in mine. "I think we're okay. But. . ." I looked over at Rosalie and Jasper and shrugged. "We'll see. Hoping for the best."
Angela returned with Jane and showed her to the chair on the other side of Jasper which was probably a good idea. Hopefully with him flanked by two of his favorite people, the fear would be a little less.
The rest of the students gradually arrived with ten total in the class. Some of them had no problem leaving their parents, but there were a couple others who were holding onto their parents tightly. Once the rest of the parents were leaving, I took a deep breath, knowing we needed to go too.
Kate and Garrett said goodbye to Jane first, and she didn't seem to be bothered with them leaving.
Esme and I then knelt down so we were behind Rosalie and Jasper's chairs.
"Hey, guys?" I said softly, and they turned to look at us. "Mommy and Daddy are about to go for a little bit so you can have fun here with Miss Angela. We'll be back very soon, and you can tell us all about it."
Rosalie frowned, looking from me to Esme.
"It's okay, Sugar," Esme said with an encouraging smile. "You know Miss Angela. I'm sure she has lots of fun things for you to do until we get back."
After a few moments, Rosalie nodded and after hugging and kissing both of us, she went back to her coloring page.
Jasper, however, already had tears forming in his eyes.
"Daddy, don't leave me."
"Oh, buddy." I pulled him into my arms and kissed the side of his head. "You're going to have so much fun, and Mommy and I will be back before you know it. Can you be brave for me?"
He held me tightly until I gently sat him back so I could wipe away his tears.
Esme also sniffled beside me but did her best to smile as she pulled Jasper over for a hug.
"You're being so brave, baby," Esme told him. "We're so proud of you. I promise we'll be back soon."
Angela was waiting quietly beside us, and I nodded to her as I stood up. We couldn't stay here all morning, so it was probably time to just rip the bandaid off.
I rubbed Esme's shoulder to get her attention. As much as I hated to do it, I knew I needed to get her out of here before she did just homeschool him. We needed to give this a chance just to see how he would do. I had faith that this was the right choice even if it was painful at first.
Esme finally pulled back from Jasper and wiped away his new tears that had fallen. "How about you hold Rosalie's hand so she can help you be brave?"
Rosalie heard her and reached over to grab one of his hands. "I hold your hand, J."
"Me too," Jane said as she grabbed his other hand. "It's okay, Jasper. We can play toys here."
Angela saw her window of opportunity and motioned for them to follow her. "Look! You guys are like a little choochoo train! Why don't we all come over to our circle and we can start the day. Come on, everyone! We're going to sing a song to get our bodies moving!"
She used a small remote to turn on an upbeat song, and all the kids followed her over to the blue circular rug in the front of the room. Jasper didn't look back at us as Rosalie and Jane led him with everyone else, so Angela gave us a small wave and we made it out the door.
I felt like I couldn't breathe until we made it back out to the van, and I pulled Esme into my arms before she even tried to open the door.
She held onto me as tightly as Jasper had, and I felt her tears soak into my shirt. I slowly rubbed her back and rested my head against hers, letting her stay there as long as she needed.
"That. . .was not fun," she finally muttered, sniffling as she lifted her head.
I shook my head and held her head in my hands, using my thumbs to wipe away her tears. "Definitely not. But it could've been worse."
She snorted. "I guess you're right. He stayed. That's pretty big."
"And this morning he told me he was scared. He named a feeling and was willing to express it. I know it's hard for us to see, but that's also a big thing for him."
"It is," she agreed. "I know I need to focus on the positives, but it's so hard to see him upset. After everything they've been through, all I ever want to do is protect them from anything that brings up that trauma."
"I think that's always going to be our first reaction," I said. "We want to protect them. But we know this is something good for them. And hey, Rosalie did fantastic."
Esme smiled and nodded. "She really did. I had no idea she'd do that well. They're both so brave."
"The bravest." I leaned down to kiss her a few times which did exactly what I wanted and widened her smile. "Now, let's go check on our other babies. We only have about two hours until we can come get them."
We drove home and happily relieved Chelsea of her baby sitting responsibility. Edward and Alice had been fine and had slept almost the whole time we were gone, so Alice was eager to nurse while I played with Edward in the family room floor.
Alec had gone into his new office for a few hours, and Chelsea went to do what every 33 week pregnant woman deserved to do: take a nap.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was time to get Pumpkin and Alice ready to go. Esme and I each changed a diaper and dressed them, and she packed the diaper bag while I buckled them into their car seats.
We were once again the first ones to be waiting at the classroom door but were joined by Kate, Garrett, and the rest of the parents before long.
Right on time, Angela opened the door and started leading little ones to their correct parents. Jane was the one of the first ones out and spotted Kate and Garrett immediately. After they shared hugs, Kate took Edward from me so I could be ready for our babies.
When it was their turn, Angela led them out of the door, holding each of their hands. They were nervous with all the people in the hallway, but as soon as they spotted Esme and I, they rushed to us.
Even with Alice secured in the wrap on her chest, Esme still managed to pick Rosalie up for a big hug while I did the same with Jasper.
"Daddy," he sighed, laying his head on my shoulder. "I did it! I be brave."
I swallowed back the lump in my throat as I kissed his head. "Oh Jasper. I'm so proud of you. You did such a great job."
He leaned back to look at me, and I was thankful to not see any evidence of tears on his face.
"You came back!" he said, smiling slightly.
I nodded. "That's right, buddy. I told you I'd be back. Mommy and Daddy will always come for you."
"Mommy's turn," Esme said as she reached for him.
I passed him over, finding Rosalie standing in front of me with her arms lifted. I did as she requested and picked her up.
"Daddy!" she squealed, wrapping her arms around my neck. "Daddy, me and J was the line leaders today, and Jane was the weather helper!"
"You were? That sounds so fun!" I hugged her tightly then kissed her cheek. "What else did you do?"
"Um. . . We play on the playground! And sing songs. And Miss Angela said we can come back and play on Friday!"
Angela heard her and laughed, coming over to stand beside our family. Everyone else in the hallway had cleared out, leaving just us.
"That is right, Miss Rosalie!" she said with a smile. "You guys did such a great job today! I'm so proud of you. We'll have lots of fun on Friday, too."
She looked at Esme then at me, nodding once. "Really," she said softer. "They did so well. No more tears. Rosalie and Jane stayed right with Jasper all morning. They were so sweet."
"Good job, sweet girl," I said, kissing Rosalie again. "Thank you for helping Jasper be brave."
"Daddy, J sad, but we play and now he's happy."
"Me, too, Uncle Carlisle," Jane added. "I play with Jasper and we danced on the circle!"
"Thank you, Janie," I said to her with a wink. "You all did awesome. Are we ready to go?"
Esme nodded and set Jasper down. "Let's all tell Miss Angela goodbye so we can go get some lunch."
The kids all gave Angela a hug, even Jasper, and I took Edward back from Kate so we head to our vehicles. The kids all walked in front of us, and in hand, and I held Esme's hand while Garrett did the same with Kate.
"I think this calls for a special lunch," Garrett said as we walked. "Shake Shack? Our treat?"
I looked at Esme, and she smiled and nodded. "That sounds great. Do you have time?"
"Sure," I said with a shrug. "I don't think I have any patients scheduled until after one thirty. It's not like I have a nurse anyway."
"That's right," Kate said, laughing. "Renata is off this morning to take Felix for his first day of school, too. We'll show up when we show up."
"Sounds like a plan then. Thanks for the offer, guys."
"No problem. It's been a big week for everyone. And it isn't over yet. We'll have to take our breaks when we can."
Garrett was right. It was only Wednesday, after all. Not only did we have kids to get to school two more mornings this week and jobs to go to, but we'd also all be helping with Chelsea and Alec's move.
The biggest hurdle felt like it was over though. We'd all survived the first days of school with minimal tears and with hope that the following days would only get better.
This next season of our life would be busy, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than here with our family.
Hiii. Back again. Still having a blast with my PL babies.
The books mentioned in this chapter are The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, If Animals Went to School by Ann Whitford Paul, and The Pigeon HAS to go to School! by Mo Willems.
Hopefully more soon! xx