Chapter 73

BPOV

“Me?”

What the heck is Emmett talking about? He’s the one who said nooky. The day before when Edward was fooling around with his head inside shirt making me squirm from his nibbling on my ribs. Emmett caught us, announcing, ‘No nooky on the beach,’ Vinny echoed it and we all laughed knowing that the little parrot would repeat it.

Oh my god

Freaking Emmett, he said he was going to blame me. I wasn’t going to let him get away with that, “I did not…”

Emmett interrupted my declaration of innocence, “Don’t worry about it Bella, we all know how things slip out.”

I sat there with my mouth gaping open as Vinny tried to come to my defense. Shaking his head he continued looking at Emmett, “But Aunt Bella did…”

Emmett stopped him from finishing also, “We know aunt Bella didn’t mean it…” he was imploring the child to go along with his bullshit. Vinny narrowed his eyes and was going to say something but Emmett continued, “Just so you know little man that is not a nice word to say, and Aunt Bella should know better.”

Rose was snickering in the chair next to me while Edward – the traitor – chuckled under his breath. I figured I was on my own with this one, that was ok I could fight my own battles.

Everyone was staring at me – albeit with a smile on their faces; however that could have been from the two year old sitting on my lap dripping blue freeze pop all over my legs. Looking to Alice something she said came to mind, “Whatever happened to ‘he who names takes the blame?’”

Emmett tisked a few times before shaking his head in disapproval, “You shouldn’t try to pass off your mistakes with a childhood misnomer.”

Oh…the shit was getting deep

My protector finally did something to let me know that he was coming to my rescue. Giving me a sly smile Edward winked at me before turning to his brother, “I don’t know if that is such a good idea Emmett.”

“What?”

At Emmett’s question Edward pursed his lips shaking his head a cynical manner, “All I know is I wouldn’t do anything to aggravate the person who holds the tickets.”

My eyes narrowed as I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, it was apparent neither did Emmett, “What tickets?”

Emmett’s eyes shot to me scrutinizing me sitting there holding Mia, “What does she have some kind season tickets to the college psychology symposiums? Because I’m really not interested in hearing any Freudian theories, I got all the phallic envy I need,” his hand moved cupping his junk while everyone except Esme groaned.

She narrowed her eyes at her oldest son giving him a stern reproof, “Don’t be crass.”

Edward sighed heavily, “You’ll be singing a new tune the first Sunday you’re at home and spot us all on the big screen during the Seahawks game.”

That got Emmett’s attention as he eyed me suspiciously while Edward added “But I guess that’s your prerogative”

“Seahawks?” Jasper question looking to me, “Bella you have tickets?”

“Umm…” I wasn’t sure how to respond because the tickets were in my possession but they were Edward’s.

“She sure does,” Edward answered for me with a smug smile, “and I would venture to guess that it’s going to take a whole lot of groveling and sucking up before she lets you use them,” at the last part his attention was focused on his brother who was gaping at me with an open mouth.

“Wait…wait one minute. How much groveling are we talking about?” Wanting clarification Jasper rested his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward while he questioned Edward on the specifics. “I mean are we talking first level down on your knees begging or third level nose bleed ‘I’m sorry’s’ but please let me go to the game bowing?”

Carlisle tilted his head giving me a small smile, “How many games do you have tickets for Bella?”

Again I didn’t get to answer as Edward’s smile turned devious while he raised one eyebrow at his father, “All the games.” The other two men gasped-well Jasper gasped Emmett kind of whimpered. “Now I’ll leave it up to you dad, how much groveling do four season tickets in the VIP Booth deserve?”

“No fucking way!” Emmett jumped to his feet almost knocking little Vinny over as Esme and Alice both reprimanded him for cursing. He didn’t even hear them as he turned to stare down at me in disbelief, “You have…four tickets…in the VIP Booths?”

He was looking at me like I was a hot fudge sundae, with large wide eyes and (I think) drool was dripping down his chin. I was getting kind of nervous because I wasn’t sure what he was going to do to get his hands on those tickets so I was glad when Edward spoke taking Emmett’s attention away from me, “She does, I’ve seen them along with a VIP parking pass.”

Emmett swallowed hard while Edward questioned, “So dad, what kind of groveling do you think that deserves?”

Carlisle didn’t get to answer as Jasper spoke up, “I think that’s down on your knees, feet kissing while pleading undying devotion.”

Everyone else laughed as Emmett dropped to his knees, my first reaction was to pull my legs up with a stern warning, “Don’t you touch my feet.”

“Bella, sweet little Bella, so kind and wonderful, I swear…” bringing his hand over his heart, “I will never, ever again blame you for something I did…” twisting his upper body Emmett faced all the others, “…it was me, I said nooky.”

“And the red underwear comment?” Edward questioned as Emmett looked a little worried when Rose wondered, “What underwear comment?”

“It was a simple observation babe, Bella came out in teal cheekies and I said red would look better on her.” Turning back to me his face became apologetic, “But I shouldn’t have said that, because any color would look good on you.”

I couldn’t stop the giggle, “That’s not the point, you shouldn’t have said anything about my panties.”

“Well what was I supposed to do when you come traipsing out in front of us? I’m telling you girl you’re lucky they…” he thumbed over his shoulder, “…are doctors, or they would have said something too.”

“Why were you in your underwear?” Before the whole thing could get out of hand Edward clued Alice in on what happened. Throughout his re-telling I could hear Carlisle and Jasper pleading their virtuousness by saying that they had indeed turned their heads. Emmett however made no such claim as he continued to give me puppy dog eyes until he finally laid his head down on my knee, “Please Bella, forgive me, I knew not what I was doing.”

I pushed his head away with a giggle, “Get off me. Besides they’re not my tickets.”

That piece of information got his attention as his head shot up and he asked, “Who’s are they?” at the same time Edward questioned, “What do you mean?” and Jasper asked with a clear tone of disappointment, “You don’t have tickets?”

Three grown men were staring at me like little boys waiting for their mother to tell them their room was clean enough for them to go outside and play. Pulling Mia a little closer to my body I was hoping that the small sticky child might provide me some protection, because they wanted an answer. I decided to work my way backwards starting with Jasper, “Yes, I have the tickets,” as he relaxed I turned to Edward. “But they are not mine,” lastly I answered the man who was still kneeling on the floor in front of me. “They’re Edward’s.”

“Mine?”

Who did he think I got them for?

“Yeah…I wanted to give them to you for your Birthday, but since you were standing right there…”

“My birthday?” he sounded shocked.

Wasn’t it customary to get your boyfriend a birthday present?

“Did you change your mind? Don’t you want them?” At my questions Edward remained quiet while he just stared at me. So much time had passed that I was beginning to worry that I had done the wrong thing.

He didn’t want them

I wasn’t the only one who mistook the meaning of his quietness, Emmett glanced back at me, “If he doesn’t want them, can I have them?”

That seemed to bring Edward back to the land of the living, his voice was firm as he spoke to his brother, “No, you can’t have them,” as his gaze came back to me his features softened along with his tone. “I want them, it’s just…”

I let out a silent sigh of relief, it’s not like the tickets had cost me a lot of money it was more of the fact that I had asked Emery to do me a favor.

“Honey that’s…my god baby that’s…”Edward couldn’t seem to get the words out, “Bella those tickets are worth six hundred dollars…”

“A piece?”

Three voices answered in unison, “A game!” Carlisle was the one who completely enlightened me. “Each ticket, for each game is worth that much.”

I was stunned that tickets to a football game could cost so much. Edward seemed a little stunned himself. “You bought me something like fifteen thousand dollars worth of tickets…” he sounded astonished as he went on, “… and that’s not counting pre-season, UW college games, or possible post-season playoffs.”

“You paid all that money for football, and turned down Gucci because it was too expensive?” Shifting my gaze to Alice I defended myself, “I didn’t pay that much.”

“How much were they?”

“Edward you don’t ask how much a gift was?” Esme tried to give her a son an etiquette lesson, but it didn’t matter because I could tell by the look on his face he really wanted to know.

“Only a few hundred dollars processing fee.”

“How well do you know Sterla?” the tone in Emmett’s voice indicating something torrid had occurred.

I had no intention of answering such a preposterous accusation. The only person who had any right to that information was Edward and he already knew all about the relationship that I shared with the guys from the reservation.

Giving me a thoughtful expression Edward answered his brother, “He calls her sweet cheeks”

“Ohhhh…” Emmett groaned while from the corner of my eye I could see Jasper sit back in his chair and Rose snickered as her husband wondered, “I guess walking around in your underwear is an old habit, huh?”

Edward continued to hold my gaze as he declared, “Actually, she wasn’t wearing underwear.”

For a few seconds I forgot that everyone else was around us as I got lost in the perfection that is Edward’s face. I love when he takes on the dark no nonsense sternness of my Master. The look that leaves me no doubt who is in charge and makes my body quiver with anticipation. Next on my list of favorites is the look carefree playfulness that is like a contagious disease causing me to smile like a fool right along with him.

Yes, perfection

Breaking the trance I was in Edward asked humbly, “Those tickets are mine?”

I shrugged, “Happy Birthday.”

Edward leaned over to give me a quick kiss whispering a thank you as his mom let out an, “Awe” and Alice declared that he better remember that when it came time for my birthday, making me roll my eyes at her. The last thing I wanted Edward to do was spend a lot of money on me for gifts. I wasn’t lying when I told Emmett that it didn’t matter if the toe rings were cheap. I wasn’t accustomed to people buying me gifts and I certainly didn’t expect anything. I was more than happy with the simple gesture that told me while we were apart he had thought about me. That was worth more than anything else he could ever give me.

Emmett having decided that since I no longer had the leverage of the tickets to hold over him, he could get off his knees. He also announced that all bets were off making me fair game for as he said, ‘sibling rivalry.’ It didn’t matter to me because in all honesty I didn’t expect him to behave himself anyway, in fact I would have been rather disappointed if he had. Because even though I defended myself – as anyone would –the fact that he had felt comfortable enough to include me in the family repartee was rather heartwarming. The spirited action spoke volumes at his and everyone else’s acceptance of me. I was beginning to feel like I was truly a part of the family rather than being an interloper along for the ride.

Vinny went back into the pool; Mia had made herself and me a sticky mess so while Alice watched Vinny swimming I went with Rose and Esme into the bathroom to wash us off. While the two of them went into the stalls I set Mia down on the sink with her little feet inside the bowl. Turning on the water I turned to get some paper towels laughing as she splashed water all over the place with her feet. I had just finished washing her off and started on my legs when the girl who had followed Edward out of the bathroom earlier came in.

Ignoring her as she stood next to us washing her hands my attention was on Mia, turning off the water I worked on drying off her legs and feet. The girl was following my actions in the mirror and I wanted to ask her if she had something to say but I didn’t get a chance to as she turned to face me.

“He said he would meet me later.”

“Excuse me?” I asked looking around me to make sure that she was talking to me.

“Edward’s exact words were ‘once I can get away from the clingy bitch’ he would meet me down in the bar for a drink. You know if you’re so worried about him cheating that you can’t let him out of your sight I guess your relationship can’t be all that stable.”

I knew what she was saying was a lie, Edward would never say that about me. I also was smart enough to recognize a poor imitation of reverse psychology. She was hoping that either her first statement would cause a fight or in my attempt to not be overbearing, I would practically kick Edward out the door to go have ‘fun’ without me. Both of those scenarios would send Edward out where she would be waiting to try and get her clutches into him. I knew all that and yet I couldn’t stop the sick feeling in my stomach from occurring as I heard first one then the other toilet flush. Rose and Esme came out at the same time but it was Esme who spoke, “Bella take my grand-daughter out of here.”

One look at her face told me not to defy her; Rose quickly washed her hands following me out of the bathroom. We didn’t say anything until we got over to the pool where Alice had a little floating seat for Mia to sit in. Looking over our shoulders she wondered, “Where’s mom?”

“Momma bear is protecting her cubs,” Rose said while we walked down the stairs into the water. Alice narrowed her eyes but Rose glanced over at the guys sitting on the ledge with their feet in the water and whispered, “I’ll tell you later.”

Putting Mia in her seat the three of us pushed her back and forth in the water smiling at the glee in her laughter while I watched for Esme to come back. After a few minutes – that felt like an eternity – Rose nodded her chin murmuring, “skank on the run.”

The girl did not look happy at all as she went over to her friend, gathered her stuff together and left without even looking in our direction. I stood there staring while Rose laughed under her breath, “you got to love Esme.”

“What do you think she said to her?” I wondered while Alice seemed like she was going to burst as she came closer to us whispering, “What happened?”

We didn’t get to answer as Esme appeared at the pool, joining us she glanced over to see ‘skank two’ gathering her things to leave. Esme got a wicked grin on her face that reminded me of the one Edward sometimes gets. She gave me a warm smile while Rose asked, “What did you say to her?”

“I reminded her that there are two types of women in the world, those with dignity and decorum and those with vulgar immorality, and I assured her that she was of the second kind.”

At my giggle Alice was practically seething as her voice grew slightly above a whisper, “Would somebody please tell me what I missed?”

“Later,” Rose whispered again making Alice sigh in frustration.

My attention went to Esme, “I could have taken care of that.”

She smiled sadly, “I know you could have, but it was better and less dramatic coming from me. Besides I’ve had more practice dealing with …skanks,” she smiled while we giggled at her use of word, “lots of women have thought they could get their hooks into my husband and I had to assure them that they could not.”

“I can see that, Carlisle is really handsome,” Rose said.

Looking over at the man in question, I had to agree with her but didn’t say anything as Esme spoke her words of wisdom. “Yes he is, but men are simple creatures,” she said pushing Mia over to Alice, “that require very little work on our part to keep happy. It boils down to three simple needs.”

I was thinking love, trust and honesty those would be the three main things that any man would need. But I was about to hear words of wisdom from a woman who had been happily married longer than I had been alive proving that I was very wrong.

“There are exceptions, and for whatever reason some men can not commit to one woman, but for the most part the rule holds true. As long as they have clean clothes, hot food and a responsive body in their bed, they are happy. And once they always have those three things they will give their undying devotion to the woman who provides them with it.”

Yeah I was way wrong

“So you and Carlisle still?” I wasn’t going to ask but I was glad Rose did.

“Daily.”

“Ewww…I don’t want to know that,” Alice groaned while Rose and I giggled at the self-confident expression on Esme’s face. I also had to admit that I couldn’t blame her and I stood there in the water hoping in thirty years Edward and I would be the same way.

“See Bella? I told you we all like to be ravished,” Esme assured me then added conspiratorially, “and they need to ravish us.”

As Esme gave her last bit of advice Alice yelled, “Ok that’s it! Vincent it’s time to go get out! We have to ready for dinner.”

Glancing over at the clock I realized it was almost five-thirty, giving us an hour to get ready. Vinny made it clear that he wasn’t happy about having to get out but his mother wasn’t giving a choice. Jasper helped him out of the deep end wrapping a towel around his shoulders with a stern warning about his whining. Mia wasn’t any happier about having to get out of the water, crying as Alice removed her from the floater which Esme carried out of the water. Rose and I stood there listening to the two unhappy children and watching Alice struggle with a squirming child as she tried to remove her wet swimming diaper as inconspicuously as possible.

“Oh Jeez…I don’t know if I’m ready for that.” I giggled at Rose’s bleak expression as her hand cradled over her growing belly.

“You’ll be fine and even the crying will be worth it once little Roscoe comes”

“His name is not Roscoe,” Emmett called from behind me, “his name is Osborn.”

“Like Ozzy?” I asked glancing over my shoulder at Emmett and noticing Edward coming back over with two towels.

I guess it’s time to get out

“No…well yeah but that’s not why,” he tried to explain but Rose cut him off. “Emmett I am not naming my son Osborn so that he can grow up saying, “Oz-born on Tuesday, Oz-born of my mother, Oz-born in October.” Laughing at Rose I moved to get out of the pool, taking Edward’s hand and thanking him for the towel as he handed Rose the other one.

Emmett took the towel from Rose draping it over her shoulders, “Yeah about that babe – since thanks to Bella for Edward’s fuck awesome gift - there are football tickets involved, do you think maybe you could hold the little guy in until after the season?”

“What!” Rose spun around with a wicked glare as Edward and I laughed and Emmett tried to redeem himself, “No go?”

I knew he was kidding, Rose however was another story, “You listen to me Emmett Cullen, I am carrying your child at the expense of stretch marks, saggy boobs and not being able to hold my urine. I don’t care if it was the Super Bowl; your son is due October twenty-eighth. You. Will. Be. There.” saying each word through clenched lips before giving her final answer, “And if you think for one minute that you are going to be leaving me at home every Sunday with a newborn while you go off to a game, you better guess again. So I suggest that you get it all out of your system before then because, come the end of October you’re staying home with me and Roscoe.”

Rose stomped off leaving me standing there snickering along with Edward and I was surprised that Emmett chuckled along with us. “Told ya…hormones.”

Edward shook his head as he laughed, “You better watch it, she’s going to kick your ass.”

“Nah…she’s just all riled up. It makes for some good angry sex,” he smirked at us before going over to Rose who was gathering up their stuff.

Shaking my head of the images that had filtered through I looked up at Edward, “First your mom and now your brother.”

“What about my mom?” He questioned as we walked over to where everyone was getting packed up for the day.

“I’ll tell you later,” I whispered under my breath which for once seemed to satisfy him.

All of our stuff was still in the bag all I had to do was pull the white cover-up over my head, put on my flip flops and grab the towels. Edward put his T-shirt back on before picking up the tote bag and slinging it over his shoulder. Taking one last look around to make sure that nothing had been left behind we walked with everyone out to the elevators.

Rose still had a slight scowl on her face which in my estimation was making Emmett rather happy. We all squeezed into the same elevator talking about what time to meet back down in the lobby. Esme was adamant about leaving by six-thirty and as the ding sounded for our floor Rose smiled at her. “We’ll be there, because I don’t want to be on the receiving end of the momma bear.”

I giggled as Esme rolled her eyes and Alice once again wanted to know what happened in the bathroom. As we stepped off Carlisle was asking what Rose meant and as the doors closed we walked down the hallway to our rooms Rose giggled, “I wish I could have been a fly on the wall in that bathroom.”

“Why didn’t you stay?”

“Because Esme had that look like she was about to devour someone, so I got the hell out of there.”

Leaving them at their door we continued to our room. I hadn’t really had a chance to think about what Esme had done. Throughout all the years of growing up, the only person who I really had for any kind of protection was Charlie. After my mother died I always felt like the only reason he had me living with him was because he had no other choice. For that reason I had put up walls around myself not allowing him to be the defender that a father should have been. Never once did I ask for any comfort from him or allow myself to cry in front of him because I didn’t want Charlie to think that he had inherited a sniveling girl. In my young mind I took it upon myself to take on the attitude of ‘it’s me against the world’ and I was determined to keep it that way.

When I first came to Charlie I believe that he backed off with the idea that he should give me space to adjust. My mother had just died; I was taken away from the only stable family and home that I had known. Everything was different, the weather, friends, school, right down to the food we ate. I had been used to moms erratic cooking; throwing together what she called a ‘concoction.’ In reality it was some sort of casserole made from the leftovers in the fridge with melted cheese on top. Most of the time it turned out well and when it didn’t she would douse it with ketchup, so it would at least be edible.

For the most part Charlie lived on fish, something that up until moving to Washington, I had never eaten. He had no idea how to make a meatloaf or baked macaroni and cheese, all those comfort foods were lost along with my mother. Rather than complain I ate what was in front of me, bidding my time until I was old enough to take over cooking. Even then, at first Charlie doubted my ability but I was determined to show him that I was responsible enough to take on the duty, insisting that I was fully capable of doing it on my own. That assertiveness carried over into my adulthood to the point where even in my darkest hours I refused to allow Charlie the opportunity to help. Not wanting to be a liability, whenever Charlie would ask my standard answer was always, ‘I can handle it.’

Esme didn’t give me the chance to shut her down. She didn’t even ask or think twice about coming to my rescue and as Rose had said she was like a momma bear. Normally having someone else fight my battles would have made me feel weak but somehow it was different. There was no feeling of helplessness or inadequacy; in fact I would say that it was the opposite.

If I had to place a name on how I felt it would have been – Relief.

Relief that I was significant enough to someone that they would take up my cause and not feel like it was burden to do so. In fact it appeared to me, that Esme had gotten her own satisfaction out of what she did. She acted out if instinct to ‘protect her cub’ from the predator who was threating harm. For a moment I walked a little lighter at the thought of being her cub, and then I wondered how Charlie felt at being denied that opportunity.

My mind thought back to the other day when Edward and I left Forks. Sue had said that by my keeping things from Charlie, I was being selfish. I had always thought that my evasiveness of the events was in a sense being the momma bear and protecting my dad from all the horrible details. But I was beginning to wonder if I had a right to do that. Was I being fair to Charlie by denying him the opportunity of the satisfaction he would get from being a father who safeguarded his only child?

Edward’s voice broke through my thoughts, “Baby are you going to tell me what happened? Because this quiet is driving me insane.”

“What?” I had been so lost in my own mind that I was going on auto pilot, not even realizing that we were in our room.

“Sorry. I was just thinking about your mom and…Charlie.”

Edward stood there waiting for me to elaborate but I wasn’t completely sure what to say because I still hadn’t come to my own conclusions. Glancing over at the clock on the microwave I realized that we didn’t have much time. “We have to get ready.”

His eyes narrowed yet he didn’t say anything as he followed me into the bedroom, stopping short at seeing the bed with the evidence of my shopping trip. Not wanting to deal with all the bags I stepped out of my flip flops before going into the bathroom to start the water in the shower. When I turned around a shirtless Edward was standing right behind me making me jump.

“Are you alright?” I couldn’t tell if the question came from concern or amusement

“I’m fine,” I answered with a sigh, and then watched as his brow crinkled while he took a step towards me. Out of instinct my feet retreated in the other direction and a few steps more I could feel the coldness of the marble wall against my back as the warm water cascaded over top of me.

Two arms reached out, planting themselves against the wall on either side of my head imprisoning me, while dark green eyes bore into mine. Edward inclined his shoulders bringing his face to within inches of my own as he spoke with sternness. “What happened in the bathroom?”

It wasn’t a request for information, it was a mandate that he expected to be obeyed. At my sigh, fury rolled across his face and for the first time since I been with Edward, a small twinge of dread ran through me. I figured that even though I hadn’t sufficiently evaluated my thoughts I had better at least give him some kind of an answer.

“Ummm…well, your friend from the beach came in,” Edward’s head tilted minutely as he eyed me suspiciously, “and she said some things…and your…”

My explanation was cut off by his question, “What did she say?”

Shifting my eyes I tried to look over at the faucets to see if I could reach them to shut off the water, “What did she say Bella?”

He was getting angry because I was being so elusive and really I don’t know why I just didn’t come out and tell him the truth. It’s not like I believed what the ‘skank’ said, because I didn’t. Yet I couldn’t stop the insecurities from coming through and I wasn’t sure if it was just me or if every woman who is faced with the same situation would question the hold she has on her man.

“Umm…” taking a deep breath I just spit it out. “Basically a bunch of shit about the two of you talking and that the two of you had made plans to meet later.”

His eyes widened in shock, “And you believed her?”

“No…I knew she was lying, attempting to cause trouble…”

He tilted his head even further bringing his lips closer to mine, “How did you know she was lying?”

My hands came up to lie against the broadness of his chest, “Because you love me and I trust you and…”

At my hasty stop Edward asked, “and?”

“And if you have enough energy to meet another women, you let me know, I’ll be more than happy to help exhaust you.”

“Is that right?” he asked while tugging on the tie at the back of my neck.

“Ah, huh.”

Closing my eyes my head leaned back as I savored the feel of his lips on my neck. Edward’s nose skimmed across my collar bone while his hand opened the other tie in the middle of my back as he spoke softly against my skin, “And what did my mother say to her?”

Swallowing hard I answered through my own hushed voice, “I don’t know, she sent us out.”

“Hmmm,” his lips moved up the other side of my neck sending shivers through my body.

My eyes fluttered open to take in the gorgeous half naked man standing before me. His wet hair, slick body and dark eyes were enhanced by the musky smell coming off his moist skin. It was too much to ignore and I threw my arms around his neck crushing my chest against his as our lips met in a searing kiss.

Our mouths tangled together while I kept my hold around his neck and Edward’s hands slid down my back to cup my bottom. He pulled me closer to him while I wrapped my leg around his upper thigh as he pressed the evidence of his desire for me into my center. Shifting my weight the warm hardness of his dick gave me the most delicious friction and the tingles were like shock waves running through me.

I knew we didn’t have much time and the last thing I wanted to do was be late but the fire was building inside me and I wanted him. Edward must have felt the same way because as quickly as my hands were moving down his body to the waist band of his pants, his fingers were moving the material from the crotch of my swimming suit bottoms out of the way.

It barely registered in my mind that his lips had left mine until I felt his hips shift as he slid the fullness of his length into me. A low needy moan left my mouth and the water splashed in my face as my head rolled back against the wall while his lips once again attacked my neck.

It was tantalizing

It was superb

It was ecstasy

“God, I fucking love you,” Edward spoke with a husky voice against my ear.

I couldn’t think enough to form a coherent thought all I could do was grip his butt with one hand and his shoulder with the other. It was a feeble attempt to hold on to him while he moved with precision in and out of my body. I don’t know if it was the way Edward had me pinned against the wall in an unmovable position or if it was the angle of his trust, either way it didn’t matter, each time he moved shockwaves of pleasure radiated through me. My breathing was heavy and I must have been saying something but the only thing I could concentrate on was the building pressure and one thought filled my mind - more.

Edward’s hand gripped down under my thigh lifting it slightly higher to make me tilt my hips in towards him. The moan left my mouth as he picked up the momentum of his thrust and my hands clenched him tighter. My body responded to the new position with a building intensity and all I could do was hold on and let the pleasure take over.

Gasping for breath I made my need known, “I’m gonna…can’t…Ed...ward.”

“Let it go,” he grunted in my ear.

And I did.

Pushing my back against the wall my hips thrust forward as my body was rattled with tingly warmth. My hands held on to any part of Edward’s body they could find as I rode out the orgasm letting him use my body until his own release spilt inside me. The groan left him a split second before he attacked my mouth with his own. Our tongues moved together in a dance for dominance that was leaving me even more breathless. Edward pulled away from my mouth with heavy pants, resting his forehead against mine as we both got our breathing under control.

Tilting my head my lips once again found his and both my hands slipped behind his neck holding him to me until Edward forcefully pulled away from me. The motion causing him to grunt and me to whimper as I felt him still semi-firm slip from my body.

“If we don’t stop, we’re never going to make it out of here.”

“I’m all up for that.”

“Ok.”

Not sure that I heard him correctly I questioned with hopefulness, “Really?”

“Sure,” Edward said letting go of my thigh so I could put it down. “But you have to explain to my mother why we weren’t there.”

Thinking back to the seriousness of Esme’s eyes when she sent me out of the bathroom I decided that was one conversation I would rather not have. “Ah…we better hurry up.”

“Good choice,” Edward chuckled at my reply nodding as he dropped his pants the rest of the way off his body, giggling I removed my bathing suit bottoms. “That’s the first time I ever took my pants off after sex.”

“Sorry, I just couldn’t wait anymore,” Edward confessed picking up the bottle of body wash.

“I’m not complaining.”

The shower was so big with so many different spray nozzles that it was easy for both of us to shower at the same time. Turning off the faucets Edward reached over to grab some towels, handing me one I started to briskly rub it through my hair. When I was done he had his towel wrapped around his waist and was handing me another one for my body.

Going into the bedroom I groaned at all the packages, knowing where my discontent stemmed from, Edward chuckled, “How about a glass of wine?”

Telling him yes, I set about clearing off the bed putting the larger purchases over by the seating area and condensing some of the bags. Pulling out all the little boys’ clothes I put them in with all the crib sheets before dumping out the contents of the last bag. The bed was filled with frilly pink outfits. Picking up the hanger containing the pretty ruffled dress with a bodice full of smocking, my finger ran over the soft white lace embellishments.

Shoving it into the bag I couldn’t contain my resentment, “Fucking Alice.”

“Woo…” the sound made me look up, “What did my sister do now?”

“Nothing,” I said shoving the rest of the clothes into the bag as fast as I could.

Edward reached out grabbing the last little outfit, a dark pink sleeper with the words, “Daddy’s Angel” written under a little embossed sleeping cherub with brown curly hair. He stood there in a towel rubbing the soft fleecy terry cloth between his fingers for a few moments before looking at me.

“Does your discontent with my sister have anything to do with her comments about not dressing her niece in stuff you got off someone’s lawn?”

I could feel my eyes fill up with tears and I blinked them back, “She shouldn’t say those things”

“She doesn’t mean any harm.”

I knew that he was right, Alice wasn’t being malicious. In her mind she truly believed what she was saying, she also thought that by telling me she was helping. The problem was that sometimes she was so convincing that I started to believe her and that was just too painful to deal with.

Edward continued to eye me as he handed the outfit over, “Is that why you bought all the girls stuff?”

“No,” I smiled at him hoping to take the look of bewilderment off his face. “I’m not crazy enough to buy clothes for a possible baby that will never happen. I bought this stuff because I am absolutely convinced that Leah is having a girl, and if she doesn’t I’ll donate it all to the center.”

Taking the few steps towards me Edward stroked the length of my jaw with the back of his fingers, “You know Bella, it might be possible.”

I couldn’t deal with Edward believing in the impossible too, “Did you see my medical reports?”

The day I told him the worst of what James had done to me; Edward came in to find me hysterically crying. Amongst the pile of papers scattered around my living room the medical reports were with them. I didn’t know if he had looked at them or not. Edward had told me afterwards that he had gathered everything up for Leah to put away but he was unable to look at the pictures. I couldn’t say that I blamed him.

“No, but there are advancements and…”

It was not something I wanted to discuss at that moment, besides he was missing the most important part of the whole equation, “And are you saying you want to impregnate me?”

“Not right this minute nâhtötse…” glancing over at the clock Edward smiled mischievously. “…I’m not that quick. Besides for all my kinky ways I have some very old fashion idea’s and I think that babies should be born to two people who love, honor and obey”

Love, honor and obey?

That sounded like a marriage or a D/s relationship

Edward took the last bag from me placing it over by the seating area where I had put everything else and handed me a glass of wine which I took a drink of before going into the bathroom to dry my hair. While the heat from the dryer blew through my hair I wondered about the last thing that Edward had said. When I asked about impregnating me he didn’t say ‘absolutely not,’ instead he implied that we would be married first.

Was Edward thinking about marring me?

Looking into the mirror while I ran a brush through my hair I wondered if I even wanted to get married again. I wasn’t exactly sure that I believed in the institution or exactly what a piece a paper said or didn’t say about a relationship. For the most part it boils down to legitimizing children and since I was very sure that we would not be faced with that consequence there really was no reason to go through the whole process of a marriage.

Besides that the first time around had been a colossal mistake that nearly cost me my life along with my sanity. I was young and chose foolishly, thinking that once we were married everything would work out. In my mind I thought that once I was James’ wife he would automatically respect me but I should have known that the respect has to come first. That is something I always got from Edward along with tenderness and unconditional love.

Another thing with getting married was giving up my autonomy; I had just gotten back to being my own person. Although when I thought about it I didn’t truly know independence until I handed control of myself over to Edward. It seems like an oxymoron finding individualism in subjection but that is exactly what I did. I have never in my life been more happy or more fulfilled and there was one thing I knew for sure, there was no way in hell I could go back to the way I had been living my life.

Brushing the Mascara through my lashes all those thoughts ran through my mind. What exactly would change with a marriage? One thing came to the forefront of my thoughts and I knew without a doubt that yes I would like nothing more than to one day be: Isabella Marie Cullen.

We weren’t going anywhere fancy for dinner so I dressed casually in khaki capris and a brown sleeveless button-down that tied around the waist with my strappy sandals. I thought about wearing my bells but decided against them out of respect for Edward’s parents. When he gave them to me he said that there would be people who knew what they represented and I was sure that Esme and Carlisle were among them.

I made sure that I had my phone and room key in my purse before we left, walking down the hall holding hands Edward brought up my phone call with Jane asking what I meant by seeing her Thursday night.

“Your mom is excited about your aunt and uncle coming to town and she wanted us all to come over for dinner but I already told Leah we would eat with them,” glancing up to see his reaction, there didn’t seem to be any disapproval. “So I told your mom that we would come over afterwards for a little bit, is that ok?”

“Sure,” he said pushing the button to call the elevator. “That’s why Jane called you?”

“No, that was just part of the conversation,” I told him stepping inside. “I had called her…”

“You told me she phoned you?”

The accusation was clear. “She did…” Edward sighed at the contradiction, “I left her a message first and she was returning my call.”

I knew what he wanted and figured it was best to tell him, “I wanted to ask her opinion on the task you gave me.”

As I said the words the doors opened and we stepped out into the lobby to meet most of his family. Rose and Emmett still weren’t there and as we said hello to everyone Vinny came over to take my hand. “Come here Aunt Bella I want to show you something.”

Before he could drag me away Edward stopped him, “Hold on a second, let me talk Aunt Bella first.”

Amongst the eyes of his family Edward lead me over to the corner, “What do you mean her opinion?”

He sounded kind of mad which didn’t make any sense to me because I thought my talking to Jane was already pre-approved. Edward narrowed his eyes as his face took on a serious appearance. “Isabella it doesn’t matter what Jane or anyone else thinks about the task I give you. Their opinion holds
no power over me.”

I was slightly taken aback because I think Edward misunderstood what I was talking about, “I didn’t ask Jane what she thought about the task, I was looking for direction in fulfilling it.”

“Why didn’t you ask me?” he sounded almost hurt.

“Because you yelled at me”

I could see that my answer shocked him by the way his eyes widened as his head jerked back, “I didn’t yell at you. I did reminded you of your place when you made an insufferable sound and then afterwards I gave you the opportunity to ask me anything.”

“Well I couldn’t think of anything then. But while I was shopping I thought maybe Jane could help me to come up with some goals.”

The vagueness of my explanation led Edward to come to his own conclusion. “So basically you had Jane do your homework for you.”

“No,” shaking my head I tried to explain, “she just helped me narrow down my choices. You said the goals could be anything, that’s a broad spectrum with lots of choices…”

“Yo…you two ready?” Emmett had arrived and Vinny was back pulling on my hand. “Come on Aunt Bella.”

Unable to thwart the five year old boy I took Edward’s hand pulling him along as I finished my thoughts, “All she did was help me narrow down the choices”

Vinny lead us towards the large indoor pond in the corner of the lobby pointing at the large fish. “Look those are Koi fish. They come all the way from Japanese…” his bright blue eyes shown with excitement as he looked up at me, “that’s on the other side of the world.”

“You’re right it is, but the fish are Japanese because they come from Japan. Like we are Americans because we come from…”

“America!” He announced triumphantly.

“That’s right, you’re so smart,” tussling his hair before he ran smiling back to his mother. Looking up at Edward I wondered if tussling his hair would result in a smile. “Did I do something wrong because I thought it was alright to talk to Jane about anything?”

Reaching out Edward held my chin while searching my eyes for something, when he spoke there was a hint of sadness in his voice, “You have free reign in your conversations with Jane, have you documented it in your journal yet?”

“No, I was going to do it tonight.”

“See that you write out every detail because that is a conversation that I will be analyzing very closely,” Edward pulled my chin a little higher before he touched his lips to mine for a chaste kiss then he dropped his hand and gave me a piercing stare, “Understand?”

I understood what he wanted me to do I just couldn’t comprehend why that particular conversation would be of such interest to him. There wasn’t any time for me to get clarification as everyone started to leave. Then instead of riding in our own car Edward and I drove with his parents, Esme filled Edward in on the plan for Thursday night. She really was excited about her brother coming to town and I was getting excited to meet the oldest of the siblings.

Once that conversation was exhausted I asked Carlisle about the Center. We had been together for three days but there were always people around us and it wouldn’t have been proper to discuss any specifics. Since the only person in the car who wasn’t associated with the Center was Edward I felt like it was acceptable to ask. He assured me that all was well; Dana had left on Friday as planned, going back to her original job working at the bank.

That worried me a little because I knew that she still had more time left in the medical leave she had taken and it might have been a better course of action to use it. Dana was headstrong and determined to live her life to the fullest. I just hoped that enough time had passed for her husband to have given up looking for her.

Carlisle was talking about some of the things the girls had done and we were laughing at the attempted runny fudge when he said, “Carol has an assignment for you,” before he caught himself. Our eyes met in the rearview mirror for an instant before he looked away with a guilty expression.

“What does she want?” I didn’t understand Carlisle’s reaction I would do whatever I could but I had to admit that I was already giving as much time as I could.

Carlisle chuckled, “I’m going to let Carol tell you.”

Trying to finagle information out of Carlisle was like trying to take rum from an alcoholic, it wasn’t happening. I even resorted to bribery however he wasn’t swayed by my naming our next puppy after him. Glancing over at Esme I got the sense that she was aware of what he was talking about however looking at Edward he had no clue as he shrugged, “I guess you’ll find out on Monday.”

The restaurant was inside of the casino, which Emmett wanted to go to the next – our final – night. Alice wasn’t as up for that plan because she had the kids. As they were discussing what else we could do Esme came to the rescue saying that when they left the next day she would take the kids with them. That would give Alice and Jasper one night to go out and as Esme put it “shake their tail feathers.” All throughout dinner Edward seemed distracted. He still pulled out my chair, shared an appetizer and spoke at the appropriate places and maybe to anyone else he seemed fine, but I knew something was bothering him.

The only thing that I could think of was my conversation with Jane and I wished that we had a few minutes to be alone so we could talk about it. Once dinner was over Esme told everyone to not order dessert because she had a whole pie – that Carlisle had bought at the bake sale – back at the hotel. Alice wanted to put the kids to bed so that meant that we all ended up in her room. We sat around eating the mixed berry pie – which was really good- having drinks and played a few rounds of Uno. It was almost eleven when we left with the plan to meet down in the restaurant for breakfast at nine.

Emmett and Rose left with us and on the elevator Edward talked with his brother about some of the extra events planned for the weekend at the club. They seemed to have all kinds of games and activities planned to help with the Anniversary celebration. I still wasn’t looking forward to going back there but it did sound like a lot of attention was given to making the party memorable.

After saying good night Edward and I continued in silence down the hall to our room. Once inside he kicked off his shoes and went to the refrigerator, “Do you want a glass of wine to drink while working on your journal?”

I knew that the rule was all conversations with Jane had to be documented before the end of the day, so it didn’t surprise me but I really wanted to know what his problem was. I should have just asked instead I figured I would bid my time and answered his question, “Sure.”

Taking my journal out of my purse I went into the bedroom and started to underdress, opting for a sleep shirt. I was just pulling it over my head when Edward came in to hand me the wine. While I sat down on the bed to begin writing Edward changed into pajama pants then told me that he was going to sit out on the balcony until I was done. He was giving me alone time to get my thoughts together yet I couldn’t help but to feel like I was being punished for something.

It’s not like I can’t be alone or that I am afraid to be alone, really it was the way I have lived my whole life. It was more of the way he left the room, in a very uncharacteristic way of not saying a word or even a kiss on the cheek. Leaving me to feel deserted and all those abandonment issues came back. It was a wretched feeling that once I had relayed the conversation with Jane, came out in my writing.

An hour later I had exhausted everything inside of me, setting the journal on the nightstand I went into the bathroom to wash my face. Six hours earlier I was standing looking in the same mirror contemplating the possibility of becoming a Cullen. Looking into my own eyes, reality set in and just like the dream of pink frilly dresses I had to stop deluding myself.

The problem was I didn’t want to stop believing in the impossible because even if it was only a dream it was still better than nothing at all. With that thought in mind I went back into the bedroom picked up my empty glass and went out on the balcony to talk to Edward.

Chapter 72

EPOV


“Rose peed in her pants?”

“She sure did, and it was all Emmett's fault”

How the hell was it Emmett's fault?

He had been golfing with us all day, what Bella was suggesting just didn't make any sense, however she wasn't saying anything more as we rode down the elevator to meet with everyone at the pool. Stepping out into the lobby I had to ask “What did Emmett do?”

“I told you, Vinny informed the guy he had ball sacs and I’m pretty damn sure we all know where he heard that expression. I highly doubt that term gets thrown around the playground at Saint Margret’s Pre-School”

That was agreeable but she lost me somewhere between ball sacs and peeing “Can you start at the beginning?”

The irritating sigh made its appearance and even though we had reached the entrance for the pool, Bella looked longingly through the glass door, took my hand and led me across the walkway to the patio. Once we were outside she removed the bag from her shoulder, placed it on the table and started to rub the back of her neck. She had so much shit in that bag the heaviness was causing her discomfort. I didn’t think it was over her weight limit, yet I was very tempted to pick it up and see just how heavy it was. My attention left the overstuffed bag to listen to what she was saying.

“We had a great morning, we ate breakfast down here in the hotel - the eggs benedict were fantastic.”

It was my own fault I told her to start at the beginning.

“So we got to the outlet mall and we’re making our way around in the baby stores and going into a few specialty shops. Alice wanted to get the kids shoes and your mom likes the gourmet kitchen store.” Bella paused giving me a rueful look “Which by the way, I bought us a new coffee maker.” Before I could comment she went on to explain “The one at the house is fine but we need one with an automatic timer and the one I bought has individual clock settings so that it can be programmed to start at a different time on different days”

She didn’t need to clarify; I didn’t care what she bought for our house especially if it was useful or made her happy. Besides I was still waiting for her to get to the point. “I’m sure the coffee maker will be great, now about Rose?”

“Oh yeah…well like I said we spent the morning shopping and the kids were little troopers while we tried things on and went from store to store. So we go to the food court for lunch and while we’re eating Alice says that she needs to go to the men’s store to get Jasper more microfiber underwear, because they really helped him.”

“Helped him how?” It was beyond me how underwear could be of any service except what they were made for.

Bella pursed her lips in contemplation before telling me something I really didn’t want to know “Well it seems Jasper had this… habit of constantly bending his knees and squirming around” the demonstration was enough to tell me what she talking about, however Bella elaborated. Leaning her head closer to me she spoke in a hushed tone “Alice said that his balls would hang down and stick to him, so he would shuffle around to dislodge them”

Is that a normal lunch conversation? And why the fuck is Alice telling Bella about Jasper’s balls?

I wasn’t so sure I wanted my girl having any intimate knowledge of how low Jasper’s sack hung down.

She either did not notice my reaction or thought it was due to something else, because she straightened up and went on with her conjecture “I suppose in the scheme of things its better than the alternative”

“Alternative?”

What did she mean? The only other choice was to walk around with your balls clinging to your ass and who the hell wanted to do that? Bella however had another thought in her mind “Yeah you know, when men stick their hand down there and adjust themselves.” Again I was privileged with an unneeded demonstration before her nose wrinkled in distaste. “Baseball players do it all the time and it’s disgusting.”

Grinning at her I wanted to clarify that they were not adjusting their balls but the cup inside the jock, it has a tendency to shift around getting rather uncomfortable. Bella didn’t give me any time before she continued. “Anyway Alice was explaining the merits of the microfiber and she said that it held him up so that he stopped doing that nasty thing all the time. She knew all about the material and yet she still quizzed the guy on the advantages of it over the cotton.”

Bella stopped talking to give me a questioning look “I think she just wanted to test his knowledge or maybe it was to embarrass him, because he was young. Either way it doesn’t matter because the poor guy was standing there with four women and two children trying to tell us the benefits of one over the other. You could tell he was uncomfortable and he never actually said the word balls or package he would just use his hands.”

She cupped her hands together giving them a small lift in the air while her voice changed to imitate the store clerk. “The microfiber holds everything up away from the skin, keeps it tight without adding extra heat or moisture.” Bella smirked “We all knew what he meant but Vinny was holding your mom’s hand and he looks up at her and says ‘Grandma does he mean the Family Jewels?’”

My face must have registered my shock before I chuckled because Bella pointed at me “Yeah, that’s the same look your mom had, except she didn’t laugh. But Rose and I were giggling under our breath while Esme told him that he shouldn’t say that. Vinny” Bella paused as she started laughing “looks back up at your mom and says ‘should I say ball sacs?”

Bella burst out laughing making me laugh with her “Your poor mom…she didn’t know what to say. Alice was humiliated and…and the guy was trying to stay professional but he started snickering. Rose and I were laughing so hard…we had to…walk away…and that’s when she peed”

The hysterically laughing continued as she wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand “Oh my god Edward it was so funny. Vinny was so innocent he didn’t know…and poor Rose had to run to the bathroom leaving me there…” Bella’s laughter was dying down “…I guess the baby pushes on her bladder and it must of happened before because she carries pads with her. Pregnancy causes a lot of gross things to happen, sticky yellow stuff leaks from your boobs, your vag turns purple and you become incontinent”

“Your vag turns purple?” I asked with a chuckle while she got a guilty look on her face waving her hand at me in a dismissive manner “Don’t ask”

Bella chuckled once more leaving out a sigh “I guess it was meant to be because while I was alone in that part of the store I found your shirts then went back to where your mom and sister were to get the underwear. I had to buy some, I mean besides them being better for you and little eddie, I really felt bad for the store clerk.”

Ohhhh…that’s why I got new underwear, she not trying to be my grandmother.

Thank God for that

While I had a mental sigh of relief, Bella finished the story “By the time we were done in the store, Rose had returned all fresh, dry and perturbed. So once Alice had the kids in their car seats we stood outside and they all came up with a plan to extract their revenge on Emmett.”

I chuckled once more wondering “And what’s your part in the plot?”

“Not much…” she assured me “…all I have to do is take the kids away before they really lay into him”

That’s it?

If that was all she had to do I wondered “What did my mom tell you to bring down when she called?”

“Oh” Bella went to pick the tote bag up but I took it from her, it wasn’t as heavy as I thought but it still had some weight to it. As we walked back inside Bella explained that mom wanted her to know that the hotel pool only provided small towels and that we should bring down our beach towels.

Everyone was already there waiting for us and saying hello as we entered. I found it strange that the women had formed their sitting circle by the deep end of the pool; usually they stayed down by the shallow end so the kids could have better access. Vinny was already swimming around while Mia was playing with crayons on the floor by her mother.

“It’s about time you two get here; really can’t you give the poor girl some rest?” Emmett made his comment with wagging eyes

The implication of what took us so long was plain yet we ignored him. Placing the bag down along side of the empty lounge chair I assumed was for Bella, I leaned over to kiss my mother’s cheek.

“Hello dear, did you have a good time golfing?” mom asked while patting my stubble free face with a smile. As I told her yes, Rose spoke up to Bella “Come on girl let’s see it”

Unsure what she was talking about I watched as Bella removed the white cover-up she had on, as she gave a little turn Rose let out a cat call whistle and I had to concur that swimming suit was spectacular. Rose however voiced her opinion before I could say anything “I told you that would look amazing on you”

Alice wrinkled her nose “It makes your butt look big”

Bella gasped while Rose giggled as she slapped Alice with the magazine she was reading “It does not!”

“Alice!” mom admonished my sister while Bella laid the beach towel over the lounge chair. I had no idea what that was all about, I did know that Bella’s butt looked fantastic and I wanted her to know that. Stepping behind her I wrapped my arms around her waist resting my chin on her shoulder as I looked at my sister “Alice doesn’t know what she’s talking about…”

“Oh yes I do!” Rose snickered at my sister’s outburst adding “I was on your side but now you’re just being vindictive”

“I don’t care, I’m still mad at her” Alice spoke with indifference as she kept her eyes on the book she was reading.

For the life of me I couldn’t figure out what Bella would have done to earn my sister’s wrath. Besides if there would have been some kind of confrontation Bella would have told me about it, wouldn’t she? Since I wasn’t getting any answers from the girl in my arms I decided to go right to the source. Standing up straight I narrowed my eyes at my sister “Why are you mad at Bella?”

Alice looked up from her book glaring at me “She knows why”

Rose snickered and mom tsked giving an eye roll while Bella took a step away from me groaning in irritation as she sat down “Your sister seems to have an aversion to my shopping practices”

“It was Gucci Bella!” Alice demanded, making me jump as she slammed the book she was reading down on her lap.

Bella leaned back against the lounge chair taking her own book out of the tote bag acting as if she wasn’t paying any attention until she defended herself “If you would have told what it cost, I never would have tried it on. Eight hundred dollars is a ridiculous price.”

By now the other men had joined us along with the attention of a few other people in the pool area, all wondering what the heck had Alice all excited. Vinny said hello to me as my sister sat up spinning to sit on the edge of the chair, just as I high fived my nephew Alice started ranting.

“Bella you don’t understand, tiny little…” Alice held her finger and thumb a half inch apart as she scrunched up her face while pleading her case “…Mulberry worms, with G’s branded on their heads…” her fist came up to her forehead “…toiled for months just to make that silk.”

“Do they actually brand their little heads?” Bella asked in amusement then added with a smirk. “That sounds like cruel and unusual punishment”

My sister didn’t share Bella’s amusement as she became very serious. “Isabella Swan you are either an enigma or you should be placed in a strait jacket because who in their right mind could turn down sixty percent off Gucci?”

Jasper chuckled “Apparently Bella can”

My girl remained quiet while I was doing the math in my head. Sixty percent off of eight hundred would have put the cost of the dress at around three hundred and twenty dollars. It seemed like a lot but not that outrageous, it made me wonder “Was it a nice dress?”

“It was beautiful” Alice said dreamily “A-line, ivory silk that was perfection on Bella”

Glancing back at Bella I wondered if perhaps the problem was that she just didn’t like the garment but was intimidated by Alice’s enthusiasm “You didn’t like the dress?”

“No it was nice…”

“Nice?” Alice interrupted while mom added her thoughts “It was a simple summer silk dress that was very practical and in my opinion timeless in style.”

“It was better than nice” Rose added nodding her head while Bella remained impassive.

I truly didn’t understand what the problem was and albeit my knowledge of women’s shopping habits was next to nothing. I knew that they preferred to hunt in groups, prowling around looking for the perfect object to pounce on. They also seemed to desire the opinion of each other, relying on the other person’s instincts as to whether it was a good purchase to make. If all three women agreed that the dress was something Bella should have bought, even at the slightly higher cost, I couldn’t comprehend why she didn’t. Sitting down on the side of Bella’s chair I placed my hand on her thigh, asking the obvious question “If you liked it and everyone agreed, why not get it?”

Bella’s head tilted ever so slightly as she looked at me in utter disbelief “Because I prefer not to spend almost a whole week’s salary on one signal dress”

“Yeah but with the discount it would have been…”

“Edward…eight hundred dollars was the discounted price”

I was glad that I had sat down because the shock of what Bella had just said would have knocked me over. I was so stunned my math skills had vanished “H…How much was it regular?”

“Two Thousand dollars” my eyes blinked several times as I stared at Bella wondering if I heard her correctly. When I was sure that I had there was something else I wondered.

Silk, ivory, two thousand dollars

“Was it a wedding dress?”

I could hear the others amusement at my obvious ignorance with women’s designer clothing, but all I could focus on was Bella. Was she looking at wedding dresses? Was she thinking about marriage the same as I was?

She however smiled at me shaking her head “No it was just a simple, sleeveless, summer dress”

“Two thousand dollars and it didn’t even have sleeves?”

What the fuck is up with that?

Bella leaned forward to rest her head against my shoulder giggling as she gave into the humor she found at my ignorance. Letting her laugh I was still stunned as I looked around at the faces of my family – who found me just as funny - my eyes fell on Alice “Is that a normal price?”

“For designer? Yes” my sister seemed flabbergasted by my naivety.

Holy shit

“That’s why names don’t mean anything to me” Bella added looking at me in a reassuring manner.

Alice however seemed to take the response personally “I can’t help it, my daddy kept me dressed in designer labels”

“And my daddy kept me dressed in Walmart, thrift stores and garage sales” the humor could still be heard in Bella’s voice. She came from a simple upbringing where she was provided for but not overindulged and she was proud of that.

Alice however looked like she had been slapped “Garage sales? There is no way you are putting clothes you got off someone’s front yard on my niece”

“Would you stop saying that!” All joking was gone as Bella yelled at her, bewildering me yet again as to what was happening.

Alice shrugged it off “I call them as I see them”

“Well see something else!” Bella was up and out of her chair before I could say anything. Mom however must have been privy to what was occurring as she spoke softly yet influentially “Alice, that was uncalled for”

My sister had genuine remorse in her eyes as she followed Bella’s retreating form “If she would just listen”

Only the women seemed to know what was going on as I looked around at the faces of my father and brothers – who looked just as confused as I did. Emmett came to his own conclusion “Did you let one slide Eddie?”

Let what slide?

He laughed at my bewilderment “Is little Bell knocked up?”

As I answered with a confident “No” dad glared at me “You told me this morning…”

“Bella is not pregnant, she can’t …” my brain kicked in before my mouth could finish. This was not their business nor did I think that Bella would appreciate me informing them, at least not at that moment. Before I could get up to follow Bella someone must have made an unspoken request because Alice stood “I’m going, Jaz watch the kids I’ll be right back”

Mom and Rose shared a glance while dad pulled up a chair to sit down between them. The two women acted like nothing had happened as they started discussing a magazine article. Jasper picked up Mia who was clinging to his leg crying because Alice walked away and Vinny asked if he could go back into the pool. Jasper told him to wait until his mother got back but that didn’t sit well with the boy at all. Jasper started to reason with him, explaining why he had to wait when Emmett’s stare caught my attention.

He moved to sit next to me on the lounge chair and I readied myself for his satirical comment. “She can’t, as in she can’t be because she’s on the rag or she can’t, as in ever?”

“Not now Emmett” my answer was enough to tell him.

He sighed deeply “Is it a medical thing? Was she sick, I know that chicken pox will make a man sterile; does that work the same way with a woman? Was she in some kind of accident or is it a defect?”

“Bella is not defective” the last thing I wanted to do was to make it sound like her medical problem was in anyway some kind of a flaw. She already harbored enough guilt and remorse, she didn’t need more.

Emmett kept his voice low “I didn’t say she was and I would kick anyone’s ass that did. What I was talking about was physical deficiencies that could cause infertility. Some things like cyst, blockages or fibroid tumors can medically be taken care of so the chances of conceiving…”

There are times that my brother’s knowledge confounds me. Emmett teaches high school physical education and coaches the football team; he is big, brawny and could be what most would consider a meathead. His loud, fun loving, crude exterior often mask the astute intellect he holds.

How in the hell did he know about female infertility?

The question must have shown on my face as Emmett shrugged “I teach health classes”

Ohhhh

Keeping my eyes on the floor I wanted to reassure him “No it’s nothing like that…”

“So what’s the problem then?”

Our eyes met for a brief moment as I spoke quietly “During her marriage there was some damage…”

Emmett’s eyes narrowed in true rage at the implications of what I was saying as he seethed under his breath. “That son-of-bitch! What did he do to her?”

Staring into the dark blueness of my brother’s eyes I was tempted to tell him, however the better part of honor came through, I couldn’t betray Bella’s trust simply to appease my brother’s interest or to ease my own internal struggle. Looking around at the faces of my family I tried to make it appear that it was their presence keeping me from spilling my guts.

Emmett got a rueful expression on his face “It was bad, wasn’t it? Like she’s lucky to be alive, kind of bad?”

“Yeah” it was all I said before standing up “I’m going to go check on her”

Bella had walked off towards the direction of the bathrooms and just as I had gotten into the little corridor Alice came out of the ladies room. “Is Bella alright?”

“She’s a big girl Edward; don’t worry so much, you’ll get gray hair”

“Concern is different than worry Alice” I assured her.

“Doesn’t matter, results in the same grey hair” She started to walk back over to the rest of the family but abruptly turned back to face me with a shrewd grin. Taking a step closer to me Alice brought her face to within a few inches of mine “By the way I have one word for you” her voice lowered to a hushed whisper “Sapphires”

My brows narrowed at her as I wondered what the heck she was talking about. Alice rolled her eyes bringing her left hand up cup my face while she tapped her ring finger against my cheek and repeated slightly louder “Sapphires”

Much like Emmett surprises me with his knowledge base Alice often does the same thing with her insight. It is not that she is psychic or can see the future she just has this uncanny ability of knowing things. She always called it intuition and I will admit when we were kids it would freak me out. As we grew to teenagers it became a backup system to not get into trouble. If someone was having a party and Alice said not to go, we stayed away. She never said what exactly was going to happen but it was enough of a warning to heed and we were usually glad that we did.

There was no reason for me to ask Alice how she knew, she wouldn’t tell me anyway or worse, it would be something simple like she overheard a conversation between our parents. If that was the case it would totally ruin the mystic she had going on. Instead I smiled at her repeating the word ‘Sapphires’ to let my sister know I had gotten the message.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Shaking my head at her hopeful expression I told her “No”

Picking out a ring for Bella was something I wanted to do on my own. Besides it wasn’t going to be any run of the mill engagement diamond that could be found in hundreds of jewelry shops. I wanted something special that would symbolize my love for her along with our relationship. Demettri would be all the help I needed and I was positive that together we would come up with the perfect ring. The only thing I would have to worry about was finding the precise opportunity so that Bella would say yes.

The bathroom door opened as Alice stepped away from me to look over at Bella “Hurry up because I won’t be able to keep Vinny out of the water.”

Bella nodded and I could only surmise that Alice was referring to whatever they had in store for Emmett. My mind couldn’t totally comprehend because one look at Bella told me that she had been crying. Not very much but her eyes were excessively glassy, with a slight trace of pink around the edges.

Before Alice could completely leave the corridor I had Bella in my arms holding her tightly to me as I kissed the top of her head. “Are you going to tell me what that was about?”

Tilting her head back Bella looked up into my face “Not right now, later”

At her assurance that the discussion would take place I decided to finagle more information out of her. Running my hand down her side I palmed her bottom pulling her tightly against me as I asked “Can it be at the same time as when you tell me why you called my Aunt?”

The conversation that took place between the two of them would be documented in Bella’s journal and I could have waited to read it but I really wanted her to tell me about too. Bella smirked with a slight twinkle in her eye “I’ll have you know Jane called me, but since it concerns you too, then yes I suppose I’ll have to tell you all about it.”

“Is that so?” I asked with a grin, spinning us so that Bella’s back was against the wall and rubbing my check along her jawline while speaking quietly against her ear “You suppose? I seem to remember that was a major condition”

“Con…dition?” Bella whimpered as I placed a line a kisses down her neck.

“Mmm…yes” the word came out in a hiss against her throat as I let my nose skim up the other side of her neck “full disclosure, remember?” Bella’s hands came up around my neck gripping the back of my hair as I ground my dick into her thigh while speaking quietly against her ear “I would hate to think of my girl as being intentionally deceptive. Are you being naughty Isabella?” at the sound of her name she whimpered.

Pulling back I looked into her face waiting for her eyes to open. As they fluttered to life I stared into the deep brown for a long moment before asking “Do you need a spanking?”

Biting down on her lip she shifted her hips around looking for friction, finding none she let out a small sigh. Lowering her chin she looked up at me innocently through her lashes “Not like the last one”

She was referring to the maintenance spanking I had given to her in the motel room after the run in with James. Even though it had left her ass tender for a rather long time it had been a necessary evil that served its purpose however I had sensual spanking in mind. Shaking my head I agreed with her “Not at all like the last one”

I totally was not expecting the shift in Bella’s body as she attacked my lips with hers or the way she wrapped her leg around mine to grind her hip against my dick. The low groan left my throat just as the excited voice of my nephew came from behind me. “Uncle Eddie, come see my trick!”

Bella’s hands released the hold she had on my hair as the rest of her body straightened while Vinny uttered his disgust at finding us in such a precarious position “Ewwww…”

Taking an experimental step away from Bella I wasn’t sure how much I would be able to walk with the massive hard-on I was sporting. After a deep breath I grinned as Bella giggled at the knowledge of my rather large problem before throwing some interference with the insistent five year old that was pulling on my wrist.

“Come on Vinny, let Uncle Eddie use the bathroom and then he’ll watch” reaching out she took one of Vinny’s hands making him release the hold on me. Standing there still rather dazed I watched as the two of them started to walk away. Just as they were ready to turn the corner Bella glanced over her shoulder giving me a smart-ass smirk “Don’t take too long with little eddie”

At the sound of her giggle my face dropped.

Oh, she is going to pay for that

Standing there in the hallway with my mouth gaping open I heard the door to the ladies room open a second before someone’s hand touched the back of my arm “She just left you hanging? I can take care of you”

“Excuse me?” I had to blink a few times before I realized that Jackie…Jennifer…Jenna, whatever the fuck her name is, was actually talking to me.

“You looked all cozy with that girl, and she left you standing here like that…” she glanced down at my crouch “…I’m very good and it wouldn’t take long…”

My brain finally kicked in and I realized what she was suggesting. I have to say that just the thought of her anywhere near my dick was the quickest hard-on repellant I had ever seen. Pulling my arm away from her hand I stepped away as my eyes narrowed, “What’s your name again?”

Not that I cared one way or another, I just wanted to make it clear that she was of so little interest to me that I didn’t even remember her name.

“Gina”

I didn’t even have the right letter

That thought made me smile which was probably a bad thing as Gina got the wrong idea and stepped closer to me. I needed to set her straight. “I’m sure you can hoover like a pro but I have absolutely no need of your services”

The last thing I wanted to do was show even the slightest bit of interest, so before she could say anything I high-tailed it out of there to join my family. As I came around the corner Rose leaned over to say something to Bella who was sitting on long part of the lounge chair with her feet on the floor. Looking up at me she smiled for a second before shifting her eyes to whom I assumed was Gina following behind me. In an instant the smile that had been on her face was replaced with fury as the two women whispered something to each other. Whatever they were saying had gotten the attention of my mother who gave me a hostile look before letting her eyes roam away from me to the other side of the room.

As I approached Bella shook her head at whatever my mother had said then watched me as I sat down on the floor in front of her. Leaning my back against the lounge chair I stretched my legs out crossing my ankles. Bella cupped my face with her palms, tilting my head back and forming a screen of hair as she looked down at me. She spoke quietly yet still loud enough for the others to hear “I see you made a new friend”

Leaning my head back onto her thigh my hands skimmed up her smooth legs until they reached the back of knees, lifting them over my shoulders I looked into her eyes hoping that the repulsion I felt from the encounter with Gina showed on my face “She’s no friend of mine”

Bella regarded my expression for a long moment before shaking her head with a smirk. “You’re just too dazzling for your own good. I’m going to have to keep my eye on you”

Bringing my hands up around the back of her neck I pulled her face a little closer to mine as I assured her “You don’t have to worry about me nâhtötse. I know where my bread is buttered”

She giggled “Don’t you mean your bread stick?”

“No. I mean the whole damn thing. All of me, only needs you”

Bella brought her lips to mine whispering an ‘I love you’ before she kissed me. It wasn’t a quick peck but we also knew that there were lots of people around so we kept it respectable however it would have been very easy to get carried away. My body was still kind of feeling the effects of our little encounter by the bathroom and even though Gina had disrupted my mood, being with Bella brought it right back. As she pulled back my hand swept through her hair, gathering it to one side of her face. Looking up into her eyes they were dark and glassy while her face was flushed with a pink hue.

My girl wanted me

Knowing that it was going to have to wait I smiled up at her “Upside down kisses. We’ll have to try them later”

“Mmmm…yes we will and maybe some other upside down things as well”

I think a small growl left my throat at the thought of what Bella was suggesting and I would have liked to take the conversation a little further, like all the way up to our room further, however the throat clearing reminded me once again where we were. Bella placed another kiss on my lips as she assured me with a whisper “later”

“Yo…are you done making out?” Of all people Jasper was the last one who I would have thought to say anything. Bella sat back up attempting to remove her legs from my shoulders but I held on to her ankles keeping her right where she was while defending our actions. “We were having a discussion”

“Is it a discussion anyone can join?” before I could come up with an answer Bella blurted out “I didn’t know you were into that Jasper”

The smile on his face turned into a blush at Bella’s words as he shook his head “Touché, sweet Bella”

“Oh she is not that sweet” I assured him with a laugh as Bella chimed in “Yes I am! I’m very sweet and you know it”

“I have never known Bella be anything but gracious” Dad added with a wink in her direction.

I rolled my eyes at dad while rubbing my thumb against Bella’s ankle “Oh yeah gracious and yet still buh-SAY digetsinatlai wisatsu”

Bella gasped at my calling her my naughty slave girl while I laughed and dad shook his head “I don’t even want to know what that means” and mom admonished me “Edward you shouldn’t say stuff like that”

“What did I say?” I asked with a chuckle. Mom had no clue but must have figured from Bella’s reaction it wasn’t sweets words of love. Looking up at my girl her face was bright red I wanted to see the love in her eyes. “She’s also uwohiyuhi, uwoduhi, and akuatseli”

The smile lite up her face at me calling her devoted, beautiful and mine, earning me a kiss from Bella and praise from my mother “That’s much nicer Edward”

“You don’t even know what I said” mom glared at me “I don’t have to know I can tell by Bella’s reaction”

Smirking I asked my mother “Are you sure you don’t want to know what I said the first time?”

The resounding no from both my parents was underscored by Emmett’s – who had been unusually quiet – “Hell yes”

Winking at my brother I assured him that I would tell him later as dad called over to Alice “Are we going to see a trick or not?”

“Yes, I need to get tape, I thought I brought it down but”

Bella spoke up “I have band-aides Alice”

“Oh that’ll work”

Bella gave me a triumphant smile as she moved to retrieve the band-aides from the bag she had packed with almost every necessity you could imagine. We had a major discussion the day before about the need for all that stuff, it had gotten to the point where I was questioning her on every item and she became so frustrated that I was sent to the car. With the usefulness of the band-aides coming into play she was feeling rather smug.

“That doesn’t count” I told her as she moved to her legs off my shoulders to stand.

“Yes it does” she countered turning her upper body to look at me as I pushed myself off the floor to sit on the chair she had just vacated.

“No it doesn’t, no one is bleeding, there is no big gapping wounds that needed to be covered”

Bella shook the band-aides at me “Did I have to take them out of the bag because someone asked to use them?”

Sighing I raised my hands in defeat while Bella just had to rub it in “Say it, come on tell me what I want to hear”

When she packed the bag I had questioned her on the necessity of all the stuff she was putting in there and before sending me to the car she said that I would eat my words. That the things in there would be needed and then I would have to say that she was right. Thanks to Alice I not only had to do that but I was also sure that for the rest of my life I would have to remain quiet whenever she packs one of those bags.

Thank you very much Alice.

If I had to do it I was going to ham it up, dropping to my knees with my hands in a praying position I looked up at Bella reverently “oh wise and wondrous woman, you were so insightful at your forethought to bring band-aides”

She giggled through the whole thing then bent down to give me a kiss “You’re a nut”

“Just doing it right nâhtötse” getting to my feet I realized that every member of my family was staring at me but it was Emmett who laughed.

While Bella went to give Alice the box, Rose stood from her chair to make her way back to the bathrooms. As she departed Emmett sat down in her spot, stretching his legs out as he leaned back with his hands clasped behind his head looked at me and laughed again.

I didn’t care, shrugging I sat down in Bella’s chair waiting for the comment to come, it didn’t take long “damn dude you are wrapped. We might as well cover you with lettuce and smother you in Ranch dressing.”

He could think I was wrapped around Bella’s finger all he wanted to. I was happy and more important my girl was happy too.

“Speaking of which, mom, are we doing anything for dinner?” While Emmett’s focus was changes I glanced over at Jasper who was staring at me.

As our eyes met he smiled giving me nod which I could only take as some kind of approval. I guess our talk at the golf course must have had some kind of an effect on my brother-in-law. It’s not that I was expecting an instant change I just didn’t want there to be any point of contention between us and I certainly didn’t want it cause Bella any distress. Time would be the telling factor in that equation, Jasper needed to see how Bella truly is not his mental picture of an abused woman. I thought about Bella’s volunteering to help with the kid’s party, which might be a good thing. It would give Jasper time to get to know her when I’m not around; then he can see for himself what kind of woman Bella really is. .

“Your father said something about a Steak House” mom answered sitting back down after re-filling her cup from the pitchers of ice water on the table behind us while Jasper pulled up a chair next to dad asking. “The one we passed this morning?”

Mom had sat back down in her chair and while they talked about the plans for dinner my attention went to Bella. She had taken Mia from Alice so that my sister could make some kind of cone out of pages from a magazine while Rose was using the band-aides as tape to secure it together. Once that was done Bella came back over with Mia perched on her hip, as she passed Jasper to get a cup of water her held out his hands “I’ll take her Bella”

Mia laid her little head on Bella’s shoulder while she continued sucking her thumb as she clutched her slightly greying blanket to her chest. Bella shook her head assuring him that she was alright and after pouring herself a cup of water sat down next to me with Mia on her lap.

“Hi Mia” smiling at my niece she smiled back shyly burying her face in the valley between Bella’s breast.

Oh if only I were two again, I would live in that spot.

Bella was digging around for something in the tote bag and once she found it, she slipped her hand under Mia’s head to tuck it inside the top of her bathing suit. I wanted to ask what it was but she stretched her legs out hooking her toes on the edge of the Emmett’s chair. As he looked down at her feet he started laughing “I can’t believe your wearing those things”

Bella regarded him for a second before looking at the rings on her toes, that she started to wiggle “Why wouldn’t I? They’re pretty, aren’t my toes pretty Mia?”

Nodding her head Mia pointed to Bella’s feet “you got wrings”

“I know, Uncle Eddie gave them to me” Mia looked at me for a brief moment as Emmett laughed “Did Uncle Moneybags tell you how much he spent on them?”

“No, why would I ask that? Besides it’s the thought that counts, and I love them” Bella gave me a smile as my brother laughed some more “Oh you are going to really love them when your toes turn green. I hope he spends more than twenty dollars on the next ring he buys you”

Shut the fuck up Emmett

From the corner of my eye I could see Bella openly regarding Emmett expression along with the comment he made. I wanted to say something to change the subject and was very glad when Vinny announced that he was ready to start. “Ok, watch what I can do”

Mom, dad and Jasper who had been listening to our little exchange with intense interest, all turned their seats around to face the pool. We all watched with undivided attention as Vinny took the cone the women had made and stuck it inside the waist band of his board shorts. Standing with his hand clasped behind his back he tilted his head back while Alice placed a quarter on his forehead. Vinny moved his head slowly at first, then quickly jerked his neck so the quarter fell forward landing in the cone.

Vinny was proud as a peacock as we all clapped because that’s what you are supposed to do – positive reinforcement and all that shit. Dad encouraged him to do it again, and I’ll be damn if the quarter didn’t land in the cone. Dad got up to try it and after four times of failing decided it was harder than it looked. After Jasper tried and also failed they all figured it must be a kid thing. Rose went next, getting the quarter inside the cone on her second try.

“That doesn’t count her belly sticks out” reminding his wife that her stomach was indeed growing was not a very smart move on Emmett’s part. Rose glared daggers at him to the point where he almost became speechless as he stammered out an apology.

“B.baby, I..I didn’t mean it like that. Y..you know the little guy in there, he’s just helping you, that’s all. I didn’t mean you were fat” I had to admit he wasn’t helping himself at all. Rose continued to glare as we all snickered while he persistent in trying to make the original point “The baby’s in there and this is a kid thing, so he was helping you. That’s all I meant.”

Rose gave him an understanding nod as he finagled his way out of the situation, letting out a sigh as Alice told Bella to try. Reluctantly she handed Mia to me while going over to take a turn. Giving Rose the red plastic cup with her ice water in Bella put the cone –that was starting to loose it’s shape – in place. Once she was in the correct position, Alice placed the coin on her head and Vinny talked her through the process. As her head snapped forward the quarter dropped into the cone. Vinny clapped giving her a high five as Bella smiled victoriously.

“See not a kid thing, it just takes skill”

“Skill?” Emmett questioned standing to his feet “Let me at it, I’ll show you skill”

Bella came back over to me taking Mia from my lap as the girls gave Emmett a new cone. Rose was still holding Bella’s cup as she stood on her tip toes to put the quarter on Emmett’s head. As he stood there with his head tipped backwards he kept asking Vinny for more directions. While they were discussing strategy Bella moved to Vinny’s side, taking a hold of his hand as the girls started to bait Emmett.

“Come on already, show us your skill” Alice chided while Rose became more impatient “On the count of three”

“One…two...three” As she said three both of them poured the contents of their cups into the cone.

Emmett scream like a bitch as the water with chucks of ice hit his junk forming a puddle at his feet. Before he had a chance to react Rose and Alice pushed on his shoulders making him fall into the pool while we all laughed.

Bella giggled as she quickly spoke to a stunned Vinny “Come on let’s go get a Popsicle”

My girl was doing her job

Never one to turn down a treat Vinny accepted, as they walked out of the pool area Emmett broke through the water sputtering “What the hell!”

“I’ll what the hell you!” Alice was leaning over the water with her hands on her hips “Do you know what my son said today?”

Emmett was still in shock but didn’t look over at any of us who were still laughing. Alice proceeded to tell him the ball sac story then added “It’s embarrassing enough when your child says something they come up with on their own. But when he says something that a five year old shouldn’t know, it’s worse. Now if you don’t stop teaching him all those expressions, I’m not going to let you play with him anymore.”

“You froze my nuts off because Vin-man said ball sacs?” he was still bewildered

“I mean it Emmett! You wait until you have a kid and see how embarrassing it is.”

“Alright…alright, I’ll talk to him” Emmett admitted defeat as he pulled himself out of the pool taking the towel Rose was offering.

“This whole damn thing was a setup” he commented while drying himself off as we all continued to find it humorous.

“Mom? You too?” he sounded hurt while mom got apologetic “I’m sorry dear you needed to be taught a lesson”

“My own mother” he muttered pulling up another chair to sit in “damn diabolical women” he looked around the group “where is the little voice box?”

“Bella took them to get a Popsicle”

“She was in on it too? I should have known with the skill thing” Rose laughed along with Alice

“We knew that one would get you” Emmett shook his head at his wife glancing over at mom remorseful “I can’t believe you turned my own mother against me”

“Now you know how I felt, jerk” I said nudging his leg with my foot

“That was different, it was spare of the moment and mom was acting for the good of the team”

“And now I was acting for the good of my grandchildren. You can’t say stuff like that around children Emmett; he’s just a little boy. Children imitate what they see and hear, especially when it comes from someone they love and admire, they want to imitate that person. The world we live in, with TV, internet and music videos, makes it hard enough for parents to help their children retain some innocence. Vinny will learn enough dirty talk ridding on the school bus, he doesn’t need to hear it from you. Nurturing a child to be a respectful requires that you are always aware of your actions and words. Your father and I never went around cursing or using derogatory slang, because it wasn’t acceptable to us for our children to talk that way. And it won’t be acceptable for your child either, so the quicker you learn to watch your mouth the easier it will be.”

“I didn’t mean to…” Emmett stated to justify himself but mom stopped him “I know you didn’t, and you might think that because it’s not full out curse words that it is acceptable. It’s not and you are doing that child a great disservice as well as undermining Japer and Alice’s authority.” Mom gave him a piercing look “That cannot continue to happen, do you understand?”

I think I just discovered where my Dom tendencies came from.

Emmett nodded in agreement knowing that mom was right. Alice was mad as she condemned Emmett’s frequent usage of colorful language and I wasn’t so sure that he had taken her seriously. Mom was more insistent in her explanation making sure that he understood the ramifications of what he was doing. Truly it’s not like he taught Vinny to go around calling women bitches or saying motherfucker when he was angry yet it still was inappropriate language for a five year old or any child for that matter.

A few minutes later Bella returned with children Mia had a blue freeze pop with a napkin wrapped around the plastic to protect her hands from the cold while Vinny was sporting a red mouth from the half eaten popsicle.
Bella once again declined giving Mia back to her parents saying that she was already all sticky so she would just keep her until she was done and then wash her off.

Vinny was more concerned with Emmett “They got you all wet then pushed you in the pool”

“I know, that’s because your mom was mad at me” I wasn’t so sure that was a good thing to say. I could just see Vinny getting mad at his little sister and thinking that it was alright to push her, but Emmett seemed to have it covered. “But pushing someone is wrong and you’re not going to do that right?”

Shaking his head in contradiction to his words Vinny answered with a resounding “Right”

“That’s good” Emmett continued “Just because someone else does something wrong doesn’t mean you can do it too, or say things. There are something’s that I shouldn’t say and it’s bad of me to do that but just because you hear and know what they are doesn’t mean that you should say them”

Vinny looked kind of confused as Emmett seemed to be trying to make sense of what he was talking about “Like say you’re in school and you are sitting next to an ugly girl…”

“Emmett!” Alice interjected while I snickered under my breath and Emmett blew her off “I got this”

Giving his attention back to Vinny he went on “So the girl has glasses and funny teeth…”

“Oh my word” Bella muttered under her breath but I really wanted to see where the conversation was going “…you wouldn’t call her four-eyes or beaver-teeth, because that would be mean and hurt her feelings. See what I’m saying?”

The look of uncertainty still clouded our nephew’s face making Emmett reach deeper “What I mean is, just because you know the words doesn’t mean it’s all right to say them. Like today when you said ball sacs. That wasn’t good dude…”

Vinny looked like Emmett had just told him his puppy died. His hands dropped along with his face as he started to cry “But I didn’t say nooky”

There was a collective gasp as Emmett was momentarily speechless before he looked at our sister - who had the widest eyes I have ever seen - and pointed a finger in our direction “It was Bella”