Sedona

Family Dinner

(Y/N)'s POV

"Annie, can you get your brother? I need to put his tie on." My fingers fumbled with the fabric, standing in front of the bathroom sink. She had been by my side, twirling about because she liked how the dress flowed with her.

"Okay," She stumbled a little bit from all of her twirling before going after her brother. Her flats made a soft patter on the ground during her search for Thomas.

"Found him; he was very bad." She popped back up in the doorway with her stuffed animal dangling from her hand.

"Nu-uh! She lied!" Thomas popped up, too, with his hands behind his back.

"You haven't, Thomas?" My brow raised, watching the boy before me.

He shook his head vigorously, his hands hidden away. "No, I haven't." His voice peaked a pitch or two higher than before. It's clear that he's lying to me.

"Okay then, what's with your hands then? Are they superglued to your back?" I crouched down to his height, approaching the situation with at least a little bit of humor.

"Nothing," he couldn't look me in the eyes as he said it.

"Then can I see your hands?" I asked gently, reaching a hand out to the boy. Curiosity slowly grew the longer that he tried to hide it from me. Annie watched him like a willing bystander.

He stood still for a couple of minutes, tension growing as he stood still. Before he reluctantly showed me his hands. All sorts of colors covered his hands in scribbles from a marker.

"Thomas, sweetheart, did you color your hands with a marker?" I asked him, even though I could see it with my own eyes that he did.

"Yes, parent. I'm sorry." He mumbled with his head down.

"It's alright, let's just you cleaned up. We're going to go to Esme's house to have dinner with her family." I hoisted him onto a step stool so he could reach the sink.

"We're going to see Esme!" His eyes widened, full of endless wonder. His excitement is clear, like a let him have sweets before dinner.

"Yeah, we are. So we need to get ready, you two. Wash your hands, Thomas." I encouraged him.

"Yay!" Annie cheered, jumping around in the doorway to the crowded bathroom.

"Come on, you two. Let's go inside and say hello to everyone." I helped them both out of the car in their best clothes. Gravel crunched under their feet, and their hands went into mine.

"Wow! She has a window house!" Annie looked up at the large open house in front of us. The light inside illuminated the pathway up to it.

"Yes, it's pretty open. Come on, let's check it out. I bet it looks pretty cool inside, right?" My eyes watched over the two, slowly climbing the steps up to the front door.

"Hello," I looked at the boy that answered the door. His hair is a dark brown that contrasts with his pale skin. "I'm (Y/N); Esme invited me over."

My confidence had been considerably challenged, seeing how he looked at me. His eyes stared at me hard, and his brows furrowed. It's like I'm not supposed to be there, and he's confused about why I would be here.

"Thomas!" He slipped past him while I was distracted. "Um, excuse me!" I slipped past him, too, with Annie in tow.

"Thomas, you shouldn't run away from me into someone else's home!" I ran after him. I knew that I was a hypocrite here, but I needed to get to him, so I pushed that aside for now.

"Thomas!" I followed him into the kitchen until I paused. He stood there, hugging Esme when she returned. Her hand rubbed his back.

Dr. Cullen stood by her side; this time, I saw him as her husband instead of a doctor. His clothes are only a hint more casual now, with a blue button-up that matches the sky during the day, black dress pants, and loafers.

"Thomas, you could have hugged her when you got invited into the house." My voice was softer than my panicked yells before. I watched over the energetic and affectionate boy in her arms.

"Can I hug her too, parent? Please!" Annie tugged on my hand, begging me for permission.

"Sure, go on ahead." I offered, distracted by the events that happened so quickly before my eyes. My heart is still beating rapidly in my chest after the panic and running.

Esme's POV

"Come on, everyone. It's time for dinner." I brought plates to the table with Carlisle by my side. As we set the table, everyone slowly came around it.

It's the first time that we have had a dinner in this house since we don't need to. (Y/N) sat with Thomas and Annie on either side of them. Everyone else filled the rest of the seats.

"Thank you again, Esme. It's sweet of you to invite us." (Y/N) told me over their shoulder while I did my rounds around the table.

"It's not a problem. I wanted to be of help to you. This is how I do it." I smiled kindly, watching everyone at the table.

Conversations slowly start up with everyone, and food is put onto plates. It's nice to see everyone around the table like a family meal, even if, for my family, it's a charade.

My smile stayed on my face, watching everyone. This scene warmed my heart to watch. It just felt so right.

I haven't had people around this table or any table in a long time, and now I do. If I could, I would let (Y/N) and their two young children be guests all the time.

To see them come and go, laughter filling the house would be like a dream. I had always wanted children, content with the ones that I have. Another dream, a wish for a star to grant, is to see (Y/N) be stress-free.
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1007 Words