Southern Comfort: Chapter 17

Southern Comfort

Chapter Seventeen

"What does my dear brother have planned for V Day?" Alice asks as we make our way down the cereal aisle of the local grocery store. The car that she and Jasper own is currently in the shop. Jasper has been riding into the stable with Edward and I've offered up my services as personal taxi for Alice when I'm not elbow deep in work. Today we decided that we both needed a little grocery retail shopping.

She throws a few different boxes into her cart while I search for a specific kind. Bingo. Raisin Bran with an extra scoop of raisins. I toss the box into the cart.

"He won't tell me."

It's been a month and a half and mine and Edward's relationship is perfect. We argue like we did before, only this time the make ups don't consist of a foot massage or double fudge brownies.

No.

Now once our arguments are resolved we're shoving our tongues down one another's throats and we're groping each other something fierce.

"Hmm. Jasper and I are just doing something low key; probably dinner and a movie." She shrugs and grabs a jar of peanut butter. "Edward's such a romantic; he's probably got something spectacular planned."

"I hope so," I mumble bitterly.

"What's that?" Alice asks.

"Oh, nothing," I laugh.

We make our way through the produce, bagging different fruits and veggies up. I make sure to get a few extra bananas because Edward's been getting leg cramps at night. A month and a half and Edward hasn't brought up the marriage topic again. Here lately, I've noticed that my attention is drawn to anything baby related, but he hasn't proposed and our physical relationship hasn't ventured under the clothes yet.

Bella Swan is one sad, horny, sack of pitiful.

Dairy and frozen foods are our last stop. I decide that tonight I'm going to cook something good for Edward to eat because I've been busy the past few nights and he's had to fend for himself. He hasn't fully moved into my house, but every day I notice something hanging around that wasn't there before.

First it was mostly clothes, but now I'm starting to notice other personal things, like a pair of slippers he likes to wear in the morning, toiletries that he won't have to cart back and forth on the off chance he decides to sleep at his apartment.

I grab four different types of cheese, deciding that Mexican is probably the best way to go tonight. I've already gotten the other ingredients for enchiladas, so once I get sour cream I'm done for this shopping trip.

"Jasper's been doing really well at the stable," Alice comments out of the blue as we check over our shopping lists to make sure we haven't forgotten something. "He's so much happier there."

"Maggie loves him," I comment.

"Yeah, we're finally getting back on our feet since I lost my job at the firm."

Alice used to work for a well-known law firm until she found herself in a case against them over sexual harassment charges. Overnight she went from being a receptionist to being a victim of a grabby lawyer.

Luck apparently wasn't on her side because she lost the case and her job in the same day, resulting in Jasper carrying the two of them on a bartender's paycheck.

They didn't let anyone know they were struggling until it was too late and Alice had to sell the car she'd received for graduation to help pay the bills. Esme and Carlisle managed to help them find their bearings and Edward convinced Maggie into hiring Jasper on. The job wasn't anything spectacular, just mucking stalls and other manual labor around the stable, but it was a steady paycheck that paid more than a good night of bartending and tips. Alice was currently working at the local dime store, but her hours weren't very stable and there were times when she showed up only to be sent home because they couldn't afford to pay her for the day.

"That's great, Alice." I hip check her as we make our way to the checkout lanes. She spots an open lane a few rows away from the one I've decided on.

"Hey smiley," Lauren greets from behind the counter.

"Hi." I quirk my eyebrow.

"Oh, don't even. You've been smiling like a mad hatter ever since the carnival." She's sitting on a stool and her hand rests on her giant belly. My eyes hone in on her pregnant stomach and I feel a pang of jealousy and a desperate yearning.

"Hello?" the teenager waiting to bag the groceries asks, snapping his fingers. "Paper or plastic?"

"Oh, paper please," I mumble, turning back to Lauren and her pregnancy glow. "How are you doing?"

"Great. Just waiting for little Tyler to just come already." She pats her belly as she scans the last few items.

I swipe my bank card and help the bag boy load up my cart, declining on assistance to my car. After bidding Lauren goodbye and promising that I'd come to her baby shower in a couple of weeks, I set off to find Alice.

"Um, can you put back the chicken breasts?" she asks, nervously bouncing from one foot to the other.

"What's going on?" I ask, pushing my cart up.

"Nothing. I just went a little over my budget," she replies softly.

"I got you." I pull my wallet out, but she tries to stop me.

"No Bella, it's ok. Why don't you just go to the car and I'll be there in a minute."

"No Alice. I insist," I argue, swiping my bank card before she can stop me.

"It's eighty three dollars, Bella," she whisper yells at me.

"It's fine, Alice. You can get me back later."

"No. I can't," she growls, shoving the bags into her cart harshly. "Because I'm freaking broke."

"Alice..." I try to calm her down, but she throws her hands in the air.

"I can't even afford fucking groceries, Bella!" her lip quivers. "How am I supposed to pay you back when I can't even afford groceries?"

"Alice, we've all had hard times. We're practically family, so let me help you out okay?"

She nods and grabs the last bag from the poor innocent bag boy that just witnessed her meltdown. A whispered apology and she's out the door and heading towards my car.

I drop her off at her house and help her carry her groceries in before leaving so that I can get my perishables home. She gives me an extra firm hug before I go and I wrap my arms around her in my own silent way of comforting her.

Later that night I'm pulling the enchiladas out of the oven when I hear the telltale signs of someone jiggling my door knob. Smiling, I wait for the door to open, but it doesn't, so I go to see what the problem was.

"Babe, did the key get stuck again?" I ask, swinging the door open.

"Babe?" a husky voice asks. "Who the hell you callin' babe?"

The squeal that leaves my mouth is high pitched and somewhat embarrassing, but I don't care.

"EMMETT!" I throw myself at him, not caring that I'm wearing a dirty apron.

My big brother pulls me into a giant bear hug that leaves me winded.

"It's good to see you, too, but answer the dang question," he demands, setting me on my feet. "Who the heck is 'babe'?"

"Emmett, let her breathe," Rose scolds as she leads a tiny little boy up the sidewalk. She helps him up the stairs before turning to me. "Surprise, Sweets!"

The hug she gives me is just as fierce as Emmett's, but my feet remain on the ground. When we pull away, my four year old nephew Peter latches himself to my legs.

"Hi Auntie Bewwa!" he cries as I lift him up. "I missin' you."

"I'm missin' you, too, buddy." I hug him closely to my body and inhale his childlike smell, swallowing that yearning that seems to be making an appearance more often than not lately.

"You gonna meet my witta sista?" he asks after covering my face with sticky kisses.

"Of course. What's your little sister's name?" I set him on the porch and watch him walk over to the carrier sitting by Emmett's feet.

"Sharwotte this is Auntie Bewwa. Her gives the best kisses," he explains to the infant sitting obliviously in the car seat.

"Hello Miss Charlotte," I play along. "Why don't we get inside? I just pulled dinner out of the oven. If we can keep Emmett at bay, there will be enough for everyone. Have you guys eaten yet?"

"A few hours ago," Rose laughs. "We were actually coming to surprise you with a visit and a dinner invitation, but I guess we're the ones getting the surprise. Who's 'babe'?"

"My boyfriend. He should be here in a few."

"And why does this boyfriend have a key?" Emmett inquires.

"Because," I snort, leaving them in the living room. It takes me a little while to set the table for our extra guests. I find a stack of old phonebooks for Peter to sit on so that he can reach the table and find an old cup that had a lid so that he won't make a mess. I set all of the food on the table before going out to the living room to find that Edward's home.

He's sitting on the couch next to Rosalie with infant Charlotte on his lap. Looking down at her with such adoration, my heart just 'bout bursts in my chest.

"Hey Bells. Edward's here," Emmett says when he notices that I'm in the room.

"Hi babe." I smile waiting for it to click.

"About damn time!" Emmett laughs.

"We know," Edward and I groan.

"Daddy sayed a bad wor-erd!" Peter sings.