A/N Here we are... 9-10-11... and chapter 12. We hope you all have a beautiful weekend.
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t h e t o m a t o s o u p a w a r d. b l o g s p o t . c o m
At the first hint of daylight, Bella slipped out of bed. Even though we didn't sleep, it became our nightly ritual to spend the dark hours there. Covered by down that would never warm our bodies, she would wrap her legs through mine and rest her head on my chest.
She stood there, in the half-light dawn. A silhouette beside the bed. I could sense her contentment, the corner of her lips pulled back ever so slightly. When she finally turned to move, she slid my tee shirt off and tossed it on the bed, padding softly into the bathroom to shower.
It was Thanksgiving and despite my best efforts I had yet to come up with a tradition for us. I pressed my head back further into the pillows and ran both hands across my face.
Think.
Bella wanted to watch the parade. I could hear the hum of the DVR, recording for the past couple of hours. I set out to accomplish all I could think of outside. Taking full advantage of my abilities, I worked quickly. Bella s showers were fairly predicable. Not to mention the fact that I could hear her singing, and the water running, through the cedar planked walls.
We never hunted alone, but I could blame my trip outside on a cigarette.
Shit. Where are they?
I patted my flannel pants to no avail. A near empty pack caught my attention on the rail and I sighed in relief as I lit one and took a moment to inhale deeply.
Okay I really needed this.
Concealing my efforts, I grabbed a stack of logs from the wood pile and headed back inside just as Bella turned the water off. She was humming softly in the bathroom while she dried her hair and I carefully stacked the firewood in the bedroom, beside the hearth.
After getting the fire going, I sat on the couch, tuning my guitar. It didn't take long for her to come out of the bathroom. Her eyelashes were still wet, her hair hanging down, slightly damp. A towel was tucked loosely under her arms and there was no one more beautiful in the world.
I looked down at the guitar, as if I needed to concentrate, and began to play.
"It's hard for me to say the things I want to say sometimes
There's no one here but you and me and the broken old street lights
Lock the door, leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you are these five words tonight..."
She moved slowly to the couch beside me. I turned toward her and her hand went to my thigh, not wanting to interrupt.
"Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes when I couldn't see
For parting my lips when I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
For loving me."*
Her eyes fell closed and she inhaled deeply, then leaned in slowly to kiss my lips, lingering there. No words needed to be spoken.
~xOx~
After I quickly pulled on a pair of soft pants and a t-shirt, Edward dragged me back into the bed, tucked us in under layers of soft sheets and fluffy down and flipped the tv on. The parade lit the screen and he pulled me into his side.
So far, this was the best Thanksgiving I could ever remember. We made fun of the opening acts, the lip syncing Broadway singers were worth a laugh or two. And then we laid together in a comfortable silence. Commenting here and there on the floats, the balloons, the cheesy commentary. My sentimental side reared it s ugly head as Santa came down the road. Christmas without Charlie was going to be very different. Sharing gifts and decorating a tree. I wonder if he'll even get a tree. Without me there to push him out the door and into town to get one, he most likely won t even think about it. A soft sigh blew past my lips. I shifted, resting my forearms across Edward s chest and propped myself up to look down into his eyes.
"Can we go into town tomorrow and get some Christmas decorations? Maybe some lights and garland? Do you think you re ready to do something like that? If not, I can just order everything online." I kissed his nose. "Maybe I should just do that. Order online and have it delivered."
I wasn't sure he was ready to head out into the masses and I didn't want to make him uncomfortable. I worried more about his head being overwhelmed with all the inner voices from strangers.
~xOx~
The parade was... awful. It was. They have balloons from characters that were popular decades ago, strung to people on the ground like massive marionettes. The singing was all faked, but rather than embrace the facade they try to pass it off on the public as live performance. I watched in earnest, hoping one would pull an Ashlee Simpson, but no such luck. Bella grinned from ear to ear while we watched, though, and her happiness was contagious. This was one tradition I could absolutely live with.
How many years are they going to reuse the same balloons? How many are we going to see over and over again? Dozens? Hundreds of times?
"Hmm," I pretended to think intently. Her childlike enthusiasm for this holiday was something I'd recognized immediately. This wasn't the first the time the subject had come up.
"Bella," I exhaled, "I told you, I can handle it. We can go to town tomorrow and I'll show you." I placed a reassuring kiss against her forehead.
I just had to find a way to keep my emotions in check. It wasn't the desire to hunt that threatened my restraint, it was those damn unfiltered thoughts in the men around my wife. Bella was beautiful beyond words, but so much more. She had a draw, an attractant, like pheromones but far more intense. It was part of her hunting instinct, I imagined, but when she walked into a room she was utterly captivating. Literally every man in her presence would fall to her feet, if given an opportunity. So, naturally their thoughts were filled with the most excruciating detail of what they would do with her. And then mine turn to what I want to do to them so that they never think again.
"And I think I can handle the thought thing, too. I have an idea how to counter that. So taking a trip to town tomorrow would be a great way to test it. In fact..." I raised a finger.
I slipped out from under her, leaning across to the bedside table, and pulled a small envelope out of the drawer. I know Thanksgiving isn't exactly a gift giving occasion. But, with no turkey -and as tempting as it is to catch a live one, but... no -and no pumpkin pies, I resorted to gift giving.
Bella's eyes lit up. She loved presents. Any kind. I set the envelope on my chest as we found our positions again, tangled together in organized chaos on the bed. She looked to me for permission to open it and with a nod and a crooked grin, I consented.
She was perplexed when she opened it, afraid to get her heart set on something that wouldn't come to fruition.
"I can do this,
"I reassured her. I made it here, didn't I?"
Her lip quivered, ever so slightly, and in an instant she smothered me.
Outside under the purple sky
Diamonds in the snow sparkle
And our hearts were singin'
It felt like Christmas time 2000 miles is very far through the snow**
*Thank you for loving me -Bon Jovi
**2000 Miles -Coldplay