Edward's Diary

Promising Times

Dear Diary,

128. 

One hundred and twenty eight. 

One-two-eight. 

What is that? 

Is it the number of days left for Christmas? 

No. 

Is it the number of dresses Alice has? 

Really, you think? 

Is it the number of books that Bella has at the cottage? 

Still no. 

        128: That's the number of pizzas that have been cooked and eaten in the Cullen household in the last week. I shouldn't really be surprised. I know how preganant women crave things. I went through that with Bella. And I absolutely, really have no problem making pizzas all day. But throw a pregnant woman, seven humungous wolves, and a pizza monster (Leah, surprisingly) in the mix and you've got pizzas coming out of the oven right and left. And now, we've got an extra mouth to feed. I honestly didn't know cats preferred different flavors of cheese. Maybe it's only our cat.

        Gordon Ramsay loves cheese and pepperoni, but won't have that same cheese with olives. His meat should be barbecued, and his chicken should be diced, not shredded. And he wants mozarella, not Blue Bell. I honestly don't know how he figures it out. I wonder how he would feel if I thought of making Pizza a la Cat. Coming back to more important things. For the first time in a long time, Bella's birthday passed without any fanfare, because Bella had threatened that she would maim me if I did anything for her birthday. The same went for Alice.  

        So, like the good husband I am, I backed off very politely, and insisted that the family not go “all out” with their tendencies to party. I only gave her a gold coated journal. What? She said I couldn't do anything. Gifts were not a part of that stipulation. Leah had after finished her graduation at a local community college, and was now spending most of her time at our place with Jake and Seth. She wanted to be a pediatric nurse, which had been surprising to us because we had never pegged her for a maternal person. She wasn't exactly our, how do you say, BFFL, but she was coming around, albiet slowly. At least now she was able to stay in the house for extended periods of time, sometimes even overnight, and we'd had civil conversations many a times, although they had been short.

        The only persons she really talked to, apart from the pack, were Esme and Nessie. Bella followed them closely, though I had heard many times that the primary reason for that was because she and Bella were well on their way to becoming step-sisters. All in all, underneath the tough and uncaring exterior, Leah had a vibrant personality bejewled with witty sarcasm and a wicked humor. Put her in a room with Rosalie and the latter would leave Emmett for her “true soulmate”: Rose's words, not mine.  

        I know, shocking. Carlisle almost put Rosalie to a drug test to check if she was okay. Lastly, Mark and Katherine had settled in peacefully after their arrival. Since Mark did not want to take any chances, a guest room had been readied on the ground floor for them to stay in. Katherine's pregnancy was progressing almost as fast as Bella's had, and after only a week of her arrival, she looked almost four months pregnant. Mark and Katherine were interesting to say in the least. He had been turned at the age of forty four, which was evident from his slight graying hair and the faint wrinkles in his eyes. Katherine, on the other hand, was only twenty two, with waist long, wavy black hair, oval face, and big, black eyes set against a pale skin.

        We had been mildly surprised at the age difference between them, a notion which Mark confessed sometimes distressed him as well. They were both what you would call “complementary”. They had wildly variant personalities when you looked at it closely. Both of them, when with others, were shy and reserved. Katherine never spoke without looking at Mark first, as if asking for his permission, and he would only contribute to the conversation when absolutely necessary. On the contrary, when together, and in private, they were jovial, open, and witty. Mark was a riot to when it came to Call of Duty, and had quite a colorful vocabulary which Katherine had told him to clean up before the baby arrived.