Episode Sixty-eight: First-Class

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Next: Episode 69

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 Episode Sixty-eight: First-Class

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Next few days went by in a hurried blur. I talked to everyone, every day. All of them. Jake, Rachel, Rebecca, Alice, and Rosalie. Mrs. Esther screamed wildly into the phone when I informed her. Of course, she told me she knew I was at least a ‘little Jew.' I heard Jonah in the background joking that it wasn't enough to count. She ignored him. She was right, and that's all she cared about.   

Edward was awake before me the next morning, arranging a flight leaving at six in the evening on the following Friday. He would have to meet me at the airport, rushing from work. Not that he cared. He insisted on getting there as early as possible.  

I wasn't up for recording. I wasn't that good at keeping my actor's mask on like Edward was. So, instead, I edited pictures so that I could make books for him and his family, and I did research on charities. I cooked for us, too. We didn't do anything at night, simply laying by the pool and drinking wine in the chilly March night air.   

Luckily, the most exciting thing that happened in those days was that I went to the doctor to get my IUD put in. It was terrible, though. I hated it. I actually end up throwing up in the trash can on the way to the parking lot. I was warned that it was a possibility. Edward had gone with me to the early appointment before he had to go do voice-overs. I spent the rest of Thursday in bed with a heating pad and painkillers, sleeping. By Friday morning I felt fine though, besides being on my period. They preferred to have them put in while you're on it, even though it just added to my discomfort.   

I didn’t pack that much. We were only staying a couple of days. Carefully I selected my wardrobe, trying to find the right outfit for meeting one’s family for the first time but I don’t think it existed. 

Jasper kept me company on the phone since he was off Friday morning. I was panicking a little, but he was so soothing and kind. His voice was warm in a different way than Edward's, and I found I liked it almost as much. We spoke for hours.   

Edward was waiting for me, arriving just a few moments before me at the airport in his personal car. We were pulled up right in front of the small private jet. I shook my head. He was always showing off. 

"You spend so much money. We could just fly like normal people. It's just for three hours. We could even do it first-class if you wanted to." 

“I’m not spending anything. Disney has private jets they lend out to their top creators. All you have to do is ask.” He took my bag from me, picking up his as well from the trunk that I brought from home with me. An employee quickly took them from him. I kept my purse and camera bag. I was going to take so many pictures. 

“Wait. For real?”

“Yeah.” Edward took my hand. “They want to keep their money makers happy. So, I was thinking,” he began as we were walking up the stairs, “as much as I want to give you everything you need, I don’t think I can. I realize that you might need a different kind of support that I can’t provide.”

“Honey,” I started as I took my first step on the plane. “You’ve been amazing. What are you talking about?”

"I'm glad you feel that way, but I know you need your family right now." He pointed towards the cabin. I realized that there were people sitting in some of the chairs. I quickly walked towards them.  

I screamed when I realized it was Alice and Rosalie, throwing myself at them. They instantly wrapped me in a hug. Then, of course, I began to cry. Once my waterworks had started up, I was having trouble controlling them. They cried, too, though. They stroked my hair and whispered that they loved and missed me.   

“Mr. Cullen, we’re about to take off. We’re going to need everyone to take their seats,” the stewardess told him, smiling politely. I turned quickly to look at him. Edward was smiling at us, his hands in his pockets. 

I then threw myself at him, launching myself in the air to wrap my arms around his neck. He laughed, grabbing me with one arm. I kissed him several times, finding it hard to grasp the words to thank him for everything he was. His thoughtfulness was unmatched.

“They flew first class like normal people,” he whispered, making me giggle. “I knew you needed them.”

“Thank you.”

"Of course," he grinned. "Come on, ladies. Let us take our seats. Mustn't hold up the plane," he said in his actor's voice. Edward was a little nervous about this trip too, and he was trying to keep his worry out of his tone and off his face. I was grateful to him for it.  

There were two seats per row, the chairs facing each other with a table in the middle. Alice and Rosalie sat across from us. Both women reached over and took my hands as they smiled. 

“You’ve got two sets of twin sisters!” Rosalie said with a small laugh. “How crazy is that! Twins run in your family.”

"Right? It's crazy. My mom and uncle were twins, too," I explained to Edward. I hadn't talked about him much. "He was a cop, but he died before I was born."  

“Y’all look alike, from the pictures. From what you can tell from the photos, anyway,” Alice commented. “Especially you and Jake. Especially in the face.”

“We have the same nose,” I replied, putting my chin on my knuckles. “I get to meet him in a few hours.”

“Are you scared?” Rose asked, squeezing my other hand. 

“Of course. What if I’m a disappointment to them? They have to be a little resentful. This mythic child that he spoke about. But they’re making it sound like he was such a great father. So maybe not. I don’t know.”

“How does that make you feel?” Alice questioned, leaning into me. It was the therapist in her talking. 

"Mm… Frustrated that he didn't go to the police or something. I understand that it took a long time to heal. It was so easy to disappear back then, and if my grandparents carried me to the other side of the city, it was enough to disappear. Houston has millions of people. The address he had for my mother before is at least an hour from the house I grew up in. And if they went out of their way to hide me… No wonder she needed heroin. What did she go through?" 

“So, they were a thing?” Rosalie questioned. “They wanted to run away and have you?”

“He says Billy proposed before they found out she was pregnant. My grandmother figured out my mother was knocked up, apparently, and took her to the doctor. That’s how he knew I was a girl, probably. She had an ultrasound. My grandfather screamed that they were going to raise the girl to be a good Catholic despite her sinful origins. Not so nicely, I’m sure,” I smirked. “Before he fucking shot him.”

“You’re going to rage about that for the rest of your life,” Alice smirked at me. It wasn’t mean. She just knew me. 

“You have no idea. Wouldn’t you?”

"Oh, yes," Rosalie nodded. "Grandma is salty as hell, but she'd never shoot Daddy." 

I laughed, “I don’t believe you. The thing is, your daddy would have deserved it. I could have seen him drunk, mouthing off to her and her taking a shotgun of rock salt to him.”

“She’s still so proud she outlived him,” Alice snickered. 

“That’s terrible,” her sister sighed, rolling her eyes. I liked their grandmother so much. She was salty, mean, and funny as hell. Alice adored her grandmother. She talked to her more than her mother. Rose wasn’t as close. 

I looked over to Edward. “Their father was MUCH older than their mother. Their mother’s mother is still living and thriving on her own. She’s ninety-seven.”

"We're actually the youngest of ten half-siblings. Our oldest brother is in his seventies. Our mom was his fourth wife. He was already in his sixties when they married, and she was in, like, her early thirties.”

“Wow,” Edward said in surprise.

“Mama is a former beauty queen, too,” Rosalie added. 

“How did he manage that?” He asked us in surprise. “In his sixties?” 

“Money,” we all said at the same time. 

“Texas oil money,” I explained further. “Old money. Lots of it.”

“Our inheritance put us through school,” Rosalie said conversationally.

"And helped start the non-profit," Alice added thoughtfully. "We all have daddy issues. But, I've found that most people have a problem with at least one of their parents. I still have to see patients to maintain my licenses, and all of them do," she explained to Edward. "Mostly daddy issues. Some problem mothers." 

He pointed his finger at his face, making a sour little expression to make me laugh. My boyfriend sighed and rolled his eyes. "I thought as I became an adult, it would be easier to deal with my mother." 

“No,” Alice and Rosalie said at the same time with the exact same smirk on their face. “It doesn’t,” they both said in unison again. 

“That is so creepy,” I told them in a whisper. “Stop doing the twin thing.”

“Sorry,” they said at the same time, making me giggle a little. 

“So, Bella, I was looking at psychotherapist in LA for you,” Alice began nonchalantly. 

“Well, Dr. Brandon,” I replied in boredom, “thanks, I guess? Let me do some regular therapy for a while before I try to fix my deep-seated issues and emotional traumas. There are new ones now. My PTSD has a whole new interesting layer.”

“I bet,” she frowned. “Sorry, Bells. Oh, how have your dreams been this week? I’ve been worried. I know how much you hate to have your camera dreams.”

“Camera dreams?” Rosalie looked at her sister then back to me. 

“I always lose my camera in some stupid way in my dreams. Stolen, lost, broken, whatever. I was having them three and four times a week there for probably a year or so. Maybe more. But it’s been at least a few months since I had one,” I answered. “I don’t know if I’ve been dreaming all that much, which is better. They were bad for a while.”

“You had one almost every night for two weeks before you went to LA that first time,” Alice remembered.

“I’m not sure if I’ve had any since then. I imagine it’s because I have a stronger sense of security right now than I have in a few years.” I felt Edward’s hand smooth down my back comfortingly. “I keep dreaming about going back into the hospital, though. At least once a week since it happened.”

“That was dramatic as fuck, Bella,” Rosalie commented, looking worried. “I hated you were so far away. I wish I could have come. But you were out of the hospital before I could have even gotten there. I don’t know what I would have done for you anyway,” she sighed sadly. “Are you really feeling all better?”

“Yeah. Fuck my uterus right now, though. And that stupid thing they shoved in me,” I complained with a pout, leaning my head on Edward’s shoulder. 

"How was it getting that?" Alice asked. "Terrible?" 

“Yesterday was. I’m not as sore today. I’ll let you know if it’s worth it in a month or two.”

“Do you still have your period?” Rose asked. “I’m thinking about one.”

"After a few months, it's supposed to go away. So, that'll be nice. I liked not having it before on my pills." 

“Does this gross you out, Eddie?” Alice asked curiously. “Talking about this stuff in front of you?”

“I have four older sisters. No.” I laughed at his short answer. “Well, it’s true. Why would it?”

“They raised him so well,” I told them. “They’re all really good moms. You’ll both like them. I’m sure you will all meet someday.” 

“At the wedding?” Rosalie asked over a bottle of water before she took a sip. She was trying to be funny.

“Mmm,” I laughed. “I mean probably, but ew, weddings. Gross. It’s only fun if it’s someone else’s with an open bar.”

“Seriously, I’m good with eloping,” Edward assured me. “I don’t think I want that anxiety either.”

"Wait… Are you two serious?" Rose asked. "I was kidding. You're talking about marriage already?" Rosalie and I didn't talk like Alice, and I did. I didn't want to heap some of my personal things on her when she was so busy already. "That's great."  

“They’re not engaged or anything,” Alice asserted. “I would have told you.”

“I know,” the blonde replied. “I’m just so surprised. I guess I shouldn’t be. It was fast with Aiden, too. When Bells knows, she knows.”

“Mama keeps talking about how it was God that brought y’all together.” Alice rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her Dr. Pepper. “All this week. It was God’s work. He brought him to her so he could guide her to her family,” she copied her mother’s accent perfectly. I could even hear it in her voice when she spoke. I smirked a little. 

"Esther, too," I sighed. "They mean it in a nice way. It's fine. I don't think that's true, but it is nice when a series of pleasant things happen in a row. They're connected, but because of a good person. Who is not God." I pointed to Edward. He took my hand and kissed it. I smiled and smoothed my fingers over his chin. "I could get down with this Q’wati,” I joked. “The Transformer. I like the idea of that. Being able to change for the better. Sounds nice. Plus, fucking werewolves.” 

“There are ghosts and zombies in Catholicism,” Alice commented offhandedly. Of the three of us, she was the maddest at our ultra-religious upbringing. Religion didn’t bother me. It just wasn’t for me. Alice was a rather vocal atheist. She laughed, “remember when Aiden convinced Mama God was an alien?”

I snorted loudly before cackling. “Oh, lord. I forgot about that. Well, Mrs. Brandon,” I copied his voice, “Extraterrestrial, by definition, simply means that someone is ‘not of this earth.' God can't be of this earth because he created the universe, therefore existing before it. And all three of us gaping as she’s eating it all up. Doc, no. Why? She’s going to tell everyone at church now to sound smart! She doesn’t know you’re just an asshole.” 

“She did, too,” Mary Alice giggled, looking over at her sister. “Crazy woman. Mama’s birthday is coming up soon. It’s a big one, too. She’s turning seventy-five. We should do something for her.”

“We should throw her a big party,” I commented. “She loves a good soiree. Lots of finger food and lime sherbet and 7-up punch,” I joked with a smile.

"I hate how Mama over plans every visit," Rosalie whined softly. "She drives me crazy, and I'm always so tired afterward."  

“Then don’t let her,” I replied. 

“And how do you propose we do achieve that?” Alice said sarcastically. “It’s not possible.”

“Just don’t let her know you’re coming. I’ve found out recently just showing up like a boss is a ton of fun,” I smiled over at Edward. He winked at me playfully. 

Rose hummed as she thought. “How would that be possible and plan her party at the same time?”

"You don't think Coach wouldn't jump at the idea of throwing his wife a surprise seventy-fifth birthday with all of her daughters showing up on her doorstep?" I asked. Mrs. Lettie's husband was a good and kind man, and he loved his wife very much. They were a good couple, and I liked him. I liked him when he was my teacher when I was in school, too.  

The twins looked at each other and had a serious silent conversation. Edward was being very quiet, letting me have my time with the girls that I needed. I needed their company and their distraction. Rosalie tilted her head back towards me. "That's a good idea." 

“I agree,” Alice added. “We could show up a couple of days before and make it seem like we’re just there for her birthday.”

“Have Coach make reservations on the morning of her birthday. Like, give her a good day out. Spa and lunch or something. Make her think she’s going to have a big family dinner at home with all her kids. We could throw it in the barn.”

“That’s perfect,” Rose agreed, tapping her nails on her lip as she thought for a moment. “It’s late July. So, we can take off. Maybe stay a week or so. Have a party for her. Surprise her. She’s happy. She doesn’t get a chance to plan. This might work.”

I waved my hand in front of me to Alice. She was thoughtful for a minute. I wanted to hear what she was thinking. “Maybe Eddie could film some videos in Texas.” It wasn’t what I was expecting.

"Oh." I looked at him, hopefully. "Is that far enough to plan for that, maybe?" 

"I think so," he smiled at me. "Let me look into before I commit though. What kind of videos can I make in Texas, though?" 

"Whataburger. Schlotzsky's," Alice said very quickly as if she had been thinking about it. These were all the food places she loved. "Raising Cane's." She loved food as much as me, but in a different way. She didn't want to cook it, just eat it. She was a lot like Edward in that way, but he was expanding. She knew all the good fast food, though. 

“There’s a Cane’s in LA,” I replied. “So we could do that anytime. Waffle House would be good, too! That’s just food videos though. I’m hungry now.”

"Waffle House," Rose moaned. "Oh, that sounds so good." 

“Waffle House is best at two in the morning while not sober,” I giggled. “The last time I had Whataburger was when I was in the Houston airport last year. Coming to LA. They don’t have milkshakes in the airport ones, apparently. Bastards. I need Mama to send me some more spicy ketchup.”

They both made yum sounds at the same time. All three of us laughed. I sighed, pushing my hair out of my face as I looked at my friends. They both looked at me worriedly.  

"You okay, baby?" Rosalie asked, reaching for my hand again. I made a little face and shrugged. "You'll be okay, though." 

"Yeah, I know. I'm just in shock right now. Give me a while to process it all. It's good. I'm just overwhelmed. I resigned myself to never having these answers, and suddenly I have so many new questions that I'll never have answered instead. It's satisfying to have one mystery solved, though." 

“I never would have guessed Native American from the Pacific Northwest.” Rosalie leaned forward, wide-eyed. “How many hours did we look at pictures online trying to figure out where your features came from?”

“I always thought it was possible that she was Native Mexican. Didn’t we decide once that Bella kinda looked like a curly haired version of that chick in that Disney movie?” Alice snapped her fingers at me several times. She wanted me to remember the name. 

“The Road to El Dorado,” I mumbled. “Were they Mayan or Aztec or whatever?”

“No idea,” she shrugged. “But that was kind of closer than we thought.”

"Not really. I thought I'd be more European," I admitted to them. "I wasn't looking forward to the test, but I'm so glad we did it now." 

“Did you not want to know?” Rose questioned. 

"I didn't think it mattered," I told her truthfully. "And, it wouldn't have, if my assumptions were correct about my father. But they weren't. I'm kind of feeling guilty because I was so mad at him for so long, but now I have to totally reverse course and direct my anger differently. My blame. Guilt. Frustration. Goddamn, I am so frustrated." 

“About what exactly?” She asked. “Not that you shouldn’t be. You have so much to choose from.”

"Right?" I snorted. "The race thing. It's the part of the story that I got right, and it pisses me off. I wanted to learn my dad was a former drug dealer or whatever who is now in prison and my grandparents were just trying to make the best of a bad situation and were just kind of shitty at it. It made sense with the context clues. I didn't even care what nationality he was because I knew the problem was he that he looked like," I waved my hand over my face, "this." 

“If you did your hair a different color, honestly you’d just look like some of these women down on the Jersey shore,” Alice joked. “If you went blonde especially.” I made a little face. “Yeah, I don’t think it would suit you either.”

“That’s part of the reason I’ve never dyed my hair. I don’t want to hide what I am.”

“My mother is currently darker than Bella through the aid of a tanning bed,” Edward commented. “She even has boxed black hair. She’s got my hair color naturally. She has the same features as Bella but…” He rubbed his hand over his mouth, frustrated himself. “I don’t get it. Why that thing? It’s something you don’t have control over. I get why she might like Vicky over you, just to start. Nothing to do with what you look like. Vicky’s mom is her friend. They’ve been for years. But it just didn’t work out. I can’t only date my mom’s friends’ kids. And… I just- I don’t understand how that is ever a natural reaction to someone looking just slightly different from you. It’s the differences that attract me to her in the first place!”

“Obviously,” Alice laughed quietly. “She’s like the exact opposite of you.”

“Exactly!” He laughed. “I’m honestly pretty picky about who I’m attracted to. That’s why I didn’t date that much before Bella. But when I saw her for the first time…” Edward trailed off. 

“Awwww…” The twins drew out together. “You’re so sweet!”

"That is creepy," he agreed, looking over to me. This was his first time alone one and one with my girls and me. Alice and I were bad enough on our own. Soon we would all be talking together and finishing our sentences like when we were children. We just needed to get back into the flow. He would find that out soon enough, I was sure.  

We took our stuff to the hotel in Port Angeles where Edward bought us the nicest suite they had and the same for Alice and Rosalie to share. It was just after ten in the evening. I texted Jake when we landed. He asked if we wanted to meet him for a late dinner at one of the local diners. I instantly agreed. Rose and Al decided to let me go meet him on my own with Edward. In the morning, they would go with us to the reservation. They had traveled more than we had and were tired anyway. 

I felt so nervous, my hands were shaking. It was just Jake, and I was kind of grateful that I was getting to meet one to start. My sisters would be coming in the morning. They had class and had to work on Fridays. Edward rested his big hand on my thigh the entire ride comfortingly. When the car pulled to a stop, he turned to look at me very seriously.  

“Whatever happens, everything is going to be okay.”

“I know. As long as I have you, everything will be fine.” He smiled at my response. “I’m happy, don’t worry. I’m just too nervous. Thank you for being so great about this.”

He put his hands on either side of my face and pulled me close to kiss my forehead and my nose before kissing my lips. “I love you.”

"I know. You're really good at showing me." I smiled widely, leaning my forehead against his. I sucked in a deep breath through my nose and let it out through my lips. "I love you so much. Now, let's go meet my brother." 

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