This is my bonus story to those who have stuck with me and patiently waited for Chapter 7 of "Shopping? No way! Yes way!" I hope you guys enjoy!

To other readers, I hope you enjoy this too, and please don't forget to review! They make my day. :D

~moogledoodler

Salty Coffee tastes the Sweetest

"Umm. W-would you like to have c-coffee with me sometime?" a guy with tousled bronze hair stammered as he asked me said question while I was sitting alone in the national library.

"It's okay if you don't want to, it's just that I see you go here every day, not that I'm spying you of course, and I thought that women nowadays don't spend much time hanging around in libraries so I, well…" he rambled then stopped and scratched his head as I looked up at him smiling slightly at his word vomit.

He seems nice and harmless, enough. I thought. Why not?

"Umm, sure."

"Sure? As in, you're agreeing to go out and have coffee with me?" he asked, albeit shocked.

"Why, yes, mister. You seemed shocked." I said as I collected my things and stood up.

"Um, well, honestly, I didn't expect myself to be this lucky. I'm Edward, by the way." He said as we walked towards the doors of the library.

"I'm Bella. Well, where are we going?" I asked as we walked through the busy streets of New York.

"There's this quaint little coffee shop that I know near here."

"Okay." I said as we settled into companionable silence.

We arrived 5 minutes later in some coffee shop you wouldn't notice that was there unless you really know it, but the interior has this homey feeling that reminds you of Sunday breakfasts spent at home.

We ordered 2 mugs of black coffee and sat on one of the chairs near the glass panes.

"So, what do you do for a living?" Edward asked, and I can tell he was desperate to make me enjoy this little date.

"I'm a journalist. What about you?"

"I'm a photographer."

These kinds of questions were thrown back and forth until both of us exhausted our question bank.

"Um, er, excuse me!" He said as he called on one of the waiters.

"Can I please have some salt? I want to put them in my coffee." With that statement, I, along with the others in the coffee shop whipped our heads in his direction wondering why in hell does he want to put salt in his coffee.

"Um, sir, you want salt?" the waiter asked as though not sure if he heard correctly.

"Yes, salt." Edward said, blushing a little at the attention the whole coffee shop was giving him.

The waiter came back with some salt and Edward put them in his coffee, all the while looking everywhere but me.

"Um, why salt, if you don't mind me asking?" I said, unable to hold back my curiosity.

"Well, you see; as a child, my family and I lived near the sea. I was always playing there with my dad, and it was where I always felt what the word 'home' means. I left that place when I graduated from high school thinking how I couldn't fulfill my dreams if I stayed there. But when I went to the city, I missed the taste of the sea; salty and biting. Just like salty coffee. And so, every time I drink salty coffee, the ache of missing my hometown, my family, and my childhood becomes a little less painful and the loneliness gets a little more bearable." He said almost tearing up.

I was touched by his confession and thought how so little number of men in this world would openly express their feelings like this. And the fact that we had just met yet he still shared that to me made me even warmer to him and I decided to be a little more open.

I started to share stories about my childhood too, and the fact that my parents were separated. I told him how I went from my mother to live with my dad when I was in high school and so on, and so forth. We parted ways that day and I thought how our little date went from downright boring to one of the best dates I have ever gone to in my life.

We continued to meet every now and then in the library and we always went to that coffee shop, him always having his salty coffee.

Years pass and we decided to get married and start a family. He was such a good man. He met all of my demands, him being sweet, caring, protective, and all the qualities anyone could ask for in the man of their dreams; and to think that she almost missed him! I couldn't thank his salty coffee enough for bringing them two together.

"I promise to love and cherish you all the days of our lives. I promise to be faithful and honest with you at all times, never to break the trust which you put upon me. I would try to give you everything you need and be the best man you could ask for. From that fateful day I asked you to go out with me, it has been the most memorable day of my life; not just because it was the start of our relationship, but because it was the beginning of my life. You are my life, Isabella Marie Swan." Edward said as he slid our marriage ring on my finger.

I said my vows, not exactly as sweet as his was, and slid the ring on his finger, and then, we swept off into our married life.

He was the perfect husband to say in the least.

We lived our happily ever after in a home close to the coffee shop where we made our memories. I tried to become the perfect wife for him too, making our home a place where you want to go to always at the end of each day, a place where you always feel that you belong and that you are loved. I showered our family with all the love I could muster to make up for all the love he was radiating to us too. And Edward, I always made him coffee; salty, of course.

Forty years later, our children up and about their lives, he passed away. His death was that of nothing but peace. He died as we were sleeping. I awoke to the sunlight seeping through our windows and I felt half of me lost, and then I knew. I knew without looking that the love of my life, of my being, the meaning of my existence, has left me. I cried silent tears after then as I awoke each day not feeling the comfort of his weight at the other side of the bed.

For a while I did not touch his things. I couldn't. It hurts too much. But after weeks, I knew I needed to fix some of the things he left behind. As I was going through his dresser, a letter fell out from his favorite clothes. They were the same clothes he wore when we first went to the little coffee shop.

I opened the letter and was surprised that it was addressed to me.

-----

Bella, my love,

I want to tell you that I am sorry. Please forgive me. Forgive me my biggest lie. Forgive me my whole life for I have lied to you. The single lie I ever told you was the salty coffee. Every single day since we first went on that date, I wanted to tell you that the whole story behind that salty coffee was a lie. I was so nervous then that I ended up asking for salt instead of sugar. I was so ashamed to change so I just went ahead with ordering salt; but you ended up believing me and I was afraid that if I told you the truth you would be angry.

You always made me salty coffee since then. I can tell you the truth now since I am dying and I want to tell you the truth this one last time. The truth is, I don't like salty coffee. It doesn't taste good. But I had It since I knew you and knowing you has been the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I do not feel sorry for having done anything for you.

If I could live my life again, I would drink a hundred salty coffees again if that meant that I could have you still forever in my arms. I love you.

Edward

-----

I was crying by the end of the letter and my tears ended up smudging the ink on the sheet.

Every year, on his death anniversary, I go to the grave where the love of my life rested along with my family. And every year I make a thermos full of salty coffee and put it there with flowers and my prayers.

One year, one of my grandchildren asked me,

"Grandma, what's the taste of salty coffee?"

I smiled at her, looked up to the sky and said "It's sweet."

There you are! I hope you like it! Please review! :D

I'm also promoting my other one-shot "Behind a Dollar", if you have time, please read it too. :)