Chapter 12 Ground Hog Day

A/N One of the stranger American holidays, Ground Hog Day is February 2nd. People gather to watch ground hogs emerge from their dens for the first time. If they see their shadows, they run back to sleep and we have 6 more weeks of winter. If they don't see their shadows, Spring is around the corner.

One of the most famous groundhogs is Punxsutawney Phil, immortalized in the movie "Ground Hog Day." I'm not making any of this up.

BTW this is so fluffy it might float off the page. Fanfic makes the perfect after Thanksgiving treat, sweet and calorie free.

"Apple"

"No."

"Scout."

"No."

"Harper Seven."

"No."

"Gwenyth."

"No."

"Nahla."

"No, Alice, no celebrity baby names."

"Darcy."

"Like Mr. Darcy, from Pride and Prejudice?"

"No, Darcy like the character in the movie where the best friend is going to marry the guy she's been in love with."

"And why would I want my daughter to have that hanging over her head?"

"It's just a name, not a sentence. Okay, Scarlett."

"As in O'Hara, 'Gone with the Wind'? The burning of Atlanta is not exactly lucky either."

"Ok, what about Paris, or Dakota, or Montana…"

"Like Hannah Montana? NO."

"River, Ocean, Meadow."

"No cities, no geographic features."

"You're impossible."

"I'll know it when I know it."

"There are things to monogram, names to paint on walls."

"Alice, change the subject."

Alice groaned, leaning back on the sofa, but rolled up quickly, a devilish smile on her face. "Sure. So, have you seen Edward Cullen lately?"

Bella was able to fit in some hours twice a week at NJMC. She needed the money, but mostly she enjoyed the eye candy. Edward was there at least once a week, and he had an arsenal of great suits. She wasn't sure if the suits were so great, or he just filled them out perfectly. Her favorite sight: him walking to the break room at the end of the day, sleeves rolled up, tie a little loose, shirt open a button, five o'clock shadow covering that jaw, and those nicely tailored pants covering that world class ass. She, and every other woman working there, and she was pretty sure one of the men, watched him parade by. He never said hi, just a tight little nod in her general direction, which Jessica interpreted as being in her general direction. Why did Bella think the nod was for her? Was she as delusional as Jessica? When she looked down at the soccer ball growing under her sweater, she gave herself a mental slap. He wasn't looking for anyone, least of all someone gestating a sidekick. According to Jessica he arrived early, worked late and then went home. He never went out on group outings with people from the company anymore, let alone dated anyone, that Jessica knew about, and her gossip web was wide and well informed.

Why was she thinking about him? Oh right, anything could make her think about him. The green grass; his green eyes. A penny back in change; his coppery hair. Grasses blowing in the wind; his wild eyebrows. A guy lifting a box at the store; his strong arms, under her, carrying her. Why oh why did she have to be unconscious for that?

"Earth to Bella…I asked you what movie you wanted to watch?"

They were trying something new to save money. They'd cut back to basic cable, and were stuck watching whatever old movie was currently playing. Bella didn't mind though, she liked a lot of older movies.

"Here's the popcorn." Angie sat down on the chair, putting the bowl next to the mugs of hot cocoa already on the table.

"What are our options?"

"'Overboard', or 'Ground Hog Day'."

"So, a misogynistic farce where a woman is kidnapped and tricked into believing she is the mother of four boys, and falls in love with her captor, OR, a modern retelling of the tale of Sisyphus, where a weather man is doomed to repeat the same day over and over until he redeems himself?" Bella finished and reached for her mug.

Alice shook her head. "English majors ruin everything."

"I was only an English major for a year."

Angela chopped the air in front of her two roommates with her hand. "Break it up ladies. Here are our choices. The goofy and fully clothed Bill Murray, or the hot and occasionally bare-chested Kurt Russell."

They raised their mugs of hot cocoa. "To Kurt Russell."

A/N I admit I love both of these goofy movies. And I was an English Lit major for four years. Thanks to all the new reviewers and the returning reviewers, I think I replied to everyone.