Chapter 30

Sunday August 1

“Okay, I think that’s about it.”

Edward and I had been at the grocery store since it opened at 7:00am, picking up everything that was needed for the surprise welcome home party I was throwing for Alice and Jasper. Everyone was scheduled to attend; Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper’s parents, Alice’s parents and myself and Edward. It would be a full house, in relation to the get-together’s I’d had in the past. I had figured that after three weeks of restaurant and hotels, a nice home cooked meal, that they wouldn’t have to cook themselves, was in order.

It was, however, still a surprise for Alice and Jasper. They were under the assumption that they were simply coming over to drop off a piece of luggage that Jasper had borrowed and to show me some pictures.

“What did you want to do for after dinner? Did you want to have snacks or dessert or anything?” Edward asked, as we made our way to the checkout counter.

I had everything else set for the meal:  crackers, cheese and stuff to make taco dip for an appetizer, broccoli and cranberries for a salad, a rack of ribs with onions and barbeque sauce, everything for tzatziki mashed potatoes, corn on the cob plus a bunch of options for drinks. I just hadn’t though of what to do for dessert.

“Well, Alice loves these little mojito cheesecake things that I make in shot glasses, so I guess I can make those for her.”

Edward and I got the rest of the ingredients needed, the proceeded to the check-out. The total came to almost $200 and we hadn’t gotten the rum from the liquor store for the cheesecake or stopped by Wal-Mart for the decorations yet. I knew that this would cost me a lot to throw this party, but it was something I wanted to do. So, with a deep breath and a nervous stomach, I pulled out my emergency credit card and handed it over to the cashier. Unfortunately, it seemed like I was too slow as Edward had already handed over his debit card and was putting his pin in the interact machine.

“What are you doing?” I snapped, as I took in Edward paying for my cart full of food.

“I got it, don’t worry.” Edward dismissed my worries as he returned his card to his wallet and started loading the groceries back in the shopping cart.

I was livid but remained silent, not wanting to cause a scene in the middle of the grocery store. I wanted to seethe in anger but cry from embarrassment at the same time. I found it sweet that Edward wanted to take care of me but this simple act made me feel like I couldn’t take care of myself.

My emotions were all over the place and I didn’t know if I was grateful or ashamed and I knew that I couldn’t confront Edward about it until I knew how I felt. We loaded the groceries into Edward’s car and drove to pick up the rest of the stuff from my list, ensuring that I paid for the rest.

By the time we got back to my house, the incident was all but forgotten.

“So where do we start?” Edward asked as he wrapped his arms around me from behind, kissed the top of my head and stared at the food spread out before us that needed to be prepared. I turned around in his arms and kissed him softly as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“I think we should par-boil the ribs first and then start with the mojito cheesecake.”

Edward and I worked side by side, stealing looks, touches and kisses all afternoon until everything was prepared, cooking or marinating in the fridge. People weren’t due over for another couple of hours so Edward and I had some time to kill.

We sat in the living room, blowing up balloons, hanging a “welcome home” sign and tidying up here and there.

“I love you,” Edward proclaimed out of nowhere. He was setting the table as I was flipping the ribs and coating them with more sauce. I turned towards his voice and saw that he was leaning in the doorway to my dining room watching me. A slow smile lit up my face as I walked over to him and buried myself in his chest.

“I love you, too,” I whispered as his arms wrapped around me. I pulled back and looked at the man who held me as if I were the most precious thing in the world, the man who had changed my life and completely flipped it upside down. The man who loved me just as I was, flaws and all. If he wanted to pay for my groceries, that was fine. As long as he never let me go.

oooOOOooo

The doorbell rang as Edward flipped the corn on the cob that was grilling on the barbeque and I put the finishing touches on the mojito cheesecake shots. I ran to the door and greeted Emmett and Rose.

“Hey, kiddo. How are things going? It smells great in here. What’s to eat?” Emmett wrapped me up in a tight hung, kissed the top of my head and walked straight to the kitchen to grab some appetizers.

“Hey, Bella,” Rosalie laughed, as she pulled me into a hug and walked with me into the house to find Emmett.

Rose stopped halfway down the hallway. “Um…Bella?” I turned to find that Rose had stopped halfway down the hallway and was looking out my back window. “Who’s that guy in your backyard?” She turned to face me an eyebrow quirk and a smirk playing on her face.

I followed her line of sight and realized that she was staring at Edward. He was walking through the back door, entering the house with a couple cobs of corn wrapped in aluminum foil. He was pulling back the foil to check on the corn, not even remotely registering the fact that two girls were staring at him.

“The corn is pretty much done, love. I’ll just throw the finished ones in the oven to keep warm.”

Rose’s mouth dropped open as she turned her head to watch Edward walk into the kitchen. Before I could say anything, she took off after him.

“Thanks, dear,” she said in an obviously fake, seductive tone.

Edward’s head immediately whipped around, not realizing that anyone was in the house besides me. He looked around and saw that Emmett was already sitting at the kitchen table, beer open and half the crackers and cheese gone and Rose was standing beside me, laughing her head off.

“Hi, I’m Rosalie,” she said, still partly laughing, as she walked up to him and extended her hand out.

“Um, I’m Edward.”

Edward’s eyes met mine and I could definitely see the humor whirling around in them. The look on my face must have been hilarious.

“Hey, kiddo! What am I? Garbage? I don’t get any introductions? Who’s the chef?”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Emmett as he finished his beer. Both Rose and Edward laughed at the sight of him, a huge, muscular man with cracker crumbs all down the front of his shirt.

“Edward.” The boys stood and shook hands, both still smirking. “Can I get you another beer?”

“Sure.” Emmett brightened up and came to stand beside me, throwing his right arm over my shoulder. “Master chef AND bartender? Who is this magical ‘Edward’?”

“He’s…um…my boyfriend.”

Clearly, that was the wrong thing to say. Rose jumped in asking a hundred questions. While the boys went out back with their beers and to throw the ribs on the barbeque, Rose asked me where we met, who he was, how long we’d been dating, and of course, had he ‘popped my cherry’ as she so delicately put it.

“Listen, Rose,” I sighed. “I’ll explain everything later. I have stuff to finish in the kitchen before everyone else gets here. Just know that his name is Edward, we met at Alice’s wedding and we’ve been seeing each other ever since.”

I went to the fridge to pull out the ingredients to make the dressing for the broccoli salad and Rose was immediately on my heels.

“But - ”

‘That’s it for now, Rose. You can play twenty questions later. Can you grab the sunflower seeds from the cupboard please?” Rose grumbled under her breath as she helped me finish off everything. She kept asking little questions here and there but I kept ignoring her.

Edward came in every once in a while, bringing more wrapped corn to shove in the oven, placed tender kisses on the top of my head and whispered little things in my ear.

“There’s no need to be nervous, love,” he whispered. “It’ll be fine. Just relax.” He started to massage my shoulders as I finished mixing up the salad. I leaned back into his chest and let the built up tension start to leave my body. That was, of course, until the doorbell rang.

I jolted forward, immediately tense and nervous once again. Edward simply laughed, kissed my cheek, grabbed two more beers and went back outside taking Rosalie with him. I could hear her asking him questions as they made their way to the back deck.

Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock arrived and not three minutes later, the Brandon’s were here. We had all congregated out back, snacking on the taco dip, crackers and cheese when the final doorbell rang.

“Okay, everyone. That’ll be Alice and Jasper. Stay out here and I’ll bring them out back.”

I grabbed Edward’s hand, squeezed it tight and I pulled him along with me.

“Just….stay in the kitchen in case I need you, okay?”

He laughed as he pressed a tender kiss to my lips.

“Bella, it’s just Alice. She’s your best friend. Why are you nervous?”

I took a deep breath, shook my head and asked for him to wait in the kitchen. I opened the front door as Alice started ringing the doorbell over and over again.

“BELLA!!!!!” Alice screamed as she ran into the foyer. Her bright blue sundress flew out around her waist as she launched herself at me and threw her arms around my neck. “I’ve missed you so much. I have so much to tell you. Canada was so beautiful and the car…OH MY GOD!!!! I am in love with that car. So how have you been? How were classes…?” Alice just kept rambling on, a giant smile across her face.

Jasper walked in behind her, laughing at the sight of Alice’s death grip on me, kissed the top of my head and rolled two suitcases into the hallway.

“Hey, Jasper.” I squeaked out as Alice still had me wrapped in her tiny but mighty arms.

“Hey, Bella,” he smiled. “How have you been?”

“Not too bad. I’d be better if I could breath.”

At that, Alice let go, grabbed my hand and pulled me into the living room.

“Oh my God, you got balloons and a welcome home sign????” Alice was twirling around the living room, taking in the decorations before she sat on the couch, pulling Jasper down with her. She grabbed the smallest of her bags and laid it out. She unzipped it to reveal her laptop, computer cords and seventeen DVDs.

“We went a little camera happy,” she said bashfully as she pulled out her laptop and set it on the coffee table. It was then that I notice that Jasper had disappeared into the kitchen. I assumed he was talking to Edward and that was fine by me. The boys could deal with each other.

“Alice, before we start with the pictures, I have snacks and stuff set up out back. Come and tell me about the trip.”

Our arms linked together as we walked out through the back sliding doors where everyone screamed “WELCOME HOME!” Of course, Alice’s scream was the loudest as she ran to hug everyone. Jasper and Edward strolled out laughing at the commotion that Alice was making.

It took almost half an hour for Alice and Jasper to say hello to their families and it took another hour for the energy to calm slightly when Alice revealed that she was pregnant. I unconsciously tensed at the pregnancy talk, still allowing my own imperfections to interfere. Edward stood beside me at the barbeque, gently squeezing my hand and kissed the top of my head.

“The doctor didn’t say you can’t,” Edward reminded me. “We’ll just have to practice.” He whispered the reassuring words in my ear before he kissed my cheek and went back to rotating the ribs. I stared at him and let his presence calm me. I looked back out at the family, of which I was not a part of, and tried to immerse myself in their joyous energy. That lasted about two seconds.

The minute I met Alice’s eyes, I knew I was in trouble. She was giving me a strange look that clearly asked, “what is Edward doing here and why did he just kiss you?”  It was in that moment when I realized that I had a lot more explaining to do than I thought. I had never, not once, not even at our brunch before she left on her honeymoon, told Alice what happened when I left her wedding. Not in a single email or phone call.

“Is everything almost done?” I asked Edward, hoping that if I called everyone to dinner, I’d be able to distract Alice and push this conversation off until later. 

“Yup, it’s all ready.”

Edward loaded the last rib and cob of corn onto platters as I called everyone in for dinner. I grabbed the cheese, crackers and dip, allowing everyone in ahead of me to grab a drink and a seat. In all honesty, I was stalling. I didn’t want Alice to question me about this with everyone around.

As I walked back into the house, I noticed that Alice and Rose were whispering to each other, blocking the entrance to the kitchen.

“Bella…” Alice sang as she twirled back and forth, making her dress flair out at her knees. Both she and Rose had evil smiles on their faces and I immediately knew what was coming. I was being hijacked. “I think you have some explaining to do.”

I forced myself in between them, into the kitchen and started putting stuff on the table. Of course, Alice and Rose just stood there with their eyes trained on me, and their smirks growing by the second.

“Not now guys, okay?” I huffed. “Let’s just sit, have dinner and hear about the trip. This is a party for Alice and Jasper. We can talk about me later.”

As soon as everyone sat down and dug into the mountain of food on the table, Alice and Jasper started talking about the honeymoon. They told us about the trees, and the mountains, and the crazy hitchhikers that Alice made friends with at one of the hotels. There were stories about whale watching, how Alice tried to climb an 800 year old cedar in Vancouver Island’s National Park and how they went to a paleontology museum and actually got to go on an archeological dig.

“But the car,” Jasper started. “I swear, Emmett, that is the most amazing car I’ve ever been in. Whoever let you lend it to us is my hero. If that car were mine, I wouldn’t let it out of my sight. Where did you get a 1948, yellow, convertible Porsche anyway? I might just have to get one.”

“Well, no worries there, Jasper.” Emmett looked around the table at all our smiling faces before he let out the big news. “It’s yours. It’s a present from all of us.”

Once again, my home was filled with Alice’s screams as she jumped up from the table to hug her brother.

“Didn’t you wonder why there wasn’t a gift from any of us?” Mrs. Brandon laughed as Alice and Jasper made their way around the table hugging everyone.

“We actually haven’t opened any of the gifts yet,” Jasper explained as he grabbed Alice’s hand and brought her back to her seat. “We just figured that there would be cards from each of you.” 

The frivolity continued through dinner and the remainder of the evening. Pretty soon, the ‘adults’ left for the night and it was just Alice, Jasper, Rose, Emmett, Edward and myself. We sat and looked over Alice and Jasper’s pictures, had our mojito cheesecake shots and simply talked and enjoyed each other’s company.

Just a little after 9pm, Edward leaned over and whispered in my ear that he had to go. He was starting his first day in his new position tomorrow and needed to be at the hospital at 7:00am to do some final paperwork. 

He got up, said his goodbye’s and we walked hand in hand to the door.

“Thank you for today,” I said as we stepped out into the warm August night and wrapped our arms around each other.

“I didn’t do anything. This was all you.”

“You did more than you know.” I whispered as I stood up on my toes and kissed him gently.

“By the way,” I asked as we pulled apart but kept a tight hold on each other. “What were you and Jasper talking about in the kitchen when he first came in?”

Edward laughed, looked longingly in my eyes and squeezed me tighter.

“He came in, looked at me, then you, then me and simply asked ‘really?’  I said ‘yes’, he asked if it was serious, I said I loved you and he said okay. That was about it.”

I burst out laughing. “Are you serious?”

“Bella, we’re guys. That’s about the extent of male ‘relationship’ talk.”

We both laughed and stared at each other. I didn’t want Edward to leave. We had been having such a good time today.

“So, will I get to see you tomorrow?” I asked.

“Do you want to come over after I’m done with work and I can make you dinner?”

“That sounds wonderful.”

Edward leaned down and pressed his lips to mine again. It was a chaste kiss, but the love and passion that I felt made my knees weak.

“I love you,” he whispered against my lips.

“I love you, too.”

Edward left and I stayed out on the front porch watching his car drive away. Taking a deep breath, I turned around and headed back into the house and right into Alice and Rose.

They both stood there, their mouths gasping like a goldfish out of water. I should have known this was coming.

“Did he just say…did you just…what the…?” Alice stood there, gasping at the scene she’d just witnessed.

“Tomorrow, Alice. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.”

“Isabella Swan!” Rose interrupted. “You saucy little minx.” Rose had a smirk on her face as if she was thinking of Edward and I in the middle of lewd acts.

Rose and Alice were blocking my way to the living room and now that Edward was gone, I had no buffer. I was standing at enemy lines and I had no one to back me up. They slowly started to close in on me, sharing evil glances between each other as I back up into my hallway.

“Bella…” Alice sang.

“There’s no point running,” Rose joined in.

They both grabbed one of my hands and dragged me into the living room. They sat me on the couch and sat on either side of me, sandwiching me in and thwarting any plan of escape.

“Soooo…Edward huh…”

“Tell us everything.”

“What’s he like?”

“How long have you been dating?”

“Is he a good kisser?”

“Has he spent the night?”

“Did we hear him say he loved you?”

“Have you two slept together?”

“How big is he?”

Alice and Rose fired off question after question, barely letting the other finish before they asked another one.

“Enough!” I interrupted before Alice could jump in with her turn. Jasper and Emmett just sat by and watched the vultures circle around me. They laughed, got up and went to the kitchen to get another round of beer. They were obviously not going to stick by and help me out.

“Bella - ”

“Enough, Rose.”

“Bella,” Alice said, with her no-nonsense look. “Tell us everything!”