Glancing at the clock beside her bed, Belle winched at the display on the clock when she saw it was half ten at night. She flicked through the pages of her book and decided to read up to the next chapter, as there was not many pages left until the end of her current chapter. Belle settled back further into her pillows and searched for the spot she had gotten to on the page. As she read, Belle smirked at Albert's comment about what Rumald had been saying about her. Before, it probably would have annoyed her, but knowing how he felt about her, the comment only amused Belle. Belle turned the page in her book whilst she shifted onto her side, repositioning her pillow to support her head. Her attention was elsewhere, as she read the words on the page and followed along with the story.
After an hour and a half in the library, they had parted ways outside of the library when Emma had to go home. Albert and Belle had gone to Grannies and had chatted over a milkshake, chatting about school and the movie that he had seen at the weekend with Emma and her parents. Albert had abruptly changed the subject to his mother, airing out his annoyances about her. Belle listened quietly to him and allowed him to vent to her. When it had been time for him to go, Belle had hugged him tightly and whispered into his ear that she was there for him no matter what happened, and made it clear to him he could call her any time.
Knowing she was not paying attention to her book, Belle collected her bookmark from the bedside table and marked her page in the book. She slid the book onto the bedside and sat up on the bed, slinging her legs over the edge of the bed. Stretching her arms above her head, Belle rose from the bed and strolled around it to go into her bathroom. Belle picked up her toothbrush and squeezed some toothpaste onto her toothbrush before she put it into her mouth and began brushing her teeth. In the mirror, she looked at her reflection and combed some loose hair behind her ear.
Mid brushing her teeth, Belle paused her brushing to listen and heard her phone ringing in the other room. She quickly walked out of the bathroom and flopped onto the bed, her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth, as she grabbed her phone from beside her book. Her thumb instantly swiped the screen to answer the call and held the phone to her ear, missing the caller id.
"Hello." Belle mumbled into her phone with her mouth full of toothpaste.
"That's a very interesting tone to your voice." He said in amusement. When she heard his voice, Belle excitedly cried down the phone and climbed off the bed to run back into the bathroom, and spat out the toothpaste into the sink. Belle could hear his voice faintly calling hello from the phone, as she rinsed her mouth of the remnants of the toothpaste.
Hurriedly Belle put the phone back to her ear. "Hello!"
"What was that noise? Sounded like you stuck the phone in water." Rumald told her.
"You caught me brushing my teeth." Belle explained after wiping her mouth on a towel and waltzed out of the bathroom to hop onto the bed.
"Getting ready for bed, are we?" He asked.
Belle smiled at the tone of his voice. "I'm already ready for bed. Just hadn't brushed my teeth yet."
"Shame." His voice sounded disappointed. "Anyway, did you get my flowers?"
"What flowers?" She asked frowning at his question.
"I ordered you some flowers this morning…" Belle raised her eyebrows when he paused. "Right, yes! Stupid! God sakes!"
She pulled the end of her vest down, covering her stomach that was on show. "What're you on about?"
He groaned down the phone. "I ordered some flowers to be brought to you this morning, as an apology for not seeing you yesterday."
"Okay…" Belle laid her arm over her chest, resting just underneath her breasts.
"I stupidly ordered them from the only florist in town, your father."
"Oh!" Her hand instantly raised to her mouth, suppressing the laugh that cried to get out.
"I guess that's it then." He stated to her, his voice humorous. "I can never buy you flowers."
"It's the thought that counts." She giggled and then sobered by biting her lip. "You could have just came and saw me at lunch."
Rumald sighed. "I would have, but I had a watch piece to finish, which was being collected at two. And then I had the stupid council meeting to attend."
Belle relaxed back into the pillows. "Albert told me about Milah. What was it about?"
"I think the easier question would be what wasn't it about?" He sounded irritated as he spoke. In the background, Belle heard a chink sound and water being poured. While he was quiet, Belle took the chance to take the phone away from her face and saw the caller id was Albert's.
"Have you stolen your son's phone?" She asked him and could hear the distinct sound of the lid being screw back onto the whiskey bottle.
"I haven't stolen it. I've borrowed it." He informed her.
Belle smiled. "Does he know you've got it?"
"He's fast asleep upstairs in the house. I'm in the garage."
"Come on, what was up with Milah?" Belle said bringing the subject back to Milah. "Whatever went on, has really affected Albert. He was not his usual happy self today."
"Hang on." There was silence for a second before Belle heard Rumald groaned distantly and a chorus of chinking.
"What are you doing?" She asked with a frown.
"Sorry, I just hopped onto the workbench." He said and cleared his throat, away from the phone. "Erm… Milah… Yeah, I'm not entirely sure what was going on."
Belle's frown deepened. "Albert said she was shouting at you."
"I'd just gotten up and had come downstairs to make breakfast. I was messaging you and making a cup of tea, when she burst through the front door." He explained to her. In her mind, she could imagine him waving his free hand around as he told the story. "She was shouting about everything and anything. Things from when we were married and getting divorced."
"You didn't know she was coming round then?" Belle asked him, shifting on the bed to get more comfortable.
"Not a clue. I wouldn't have been stood in the kitchen, in just my pyjama bottoms if I knew." Rumald disclosed to her. The image of him walking around his kitchen in just his pyjama bottoms and bare chested made Belle bite her lip as she smiled. Now she did not know whether she preferred the image of him in his jeans and t-shirt or pyjama bottoms.
"Belle?" Rumald called to her, a hint of concern in his voice.
"Oh, sorry." She apologised feeling a blush at her cheeks. "So, she wasn't shouting about anything specific?"
He chuckled. "From what I gathered, she was pissed that I hadn't spoken to Albert yet. Hence bringing up things from before, when I wouldn't do what she commanded."
"I was worried that maybe her mother or someone had told her about us." Belle confessed to him.
"We're an – us – are we?" Rumald questioned in a playful tone.
"Unless you want me to give Gaston a call." She smirked as she baited him.
His groan down the phone was animalistic before he said. "Don't play with me, young lady. Otherwise, I'll come down there."
Belle laughed. "Promises, promises."
"It is when I'm wearing my t-shirt and jeans." Rumald said seductively.
"Oh, I've gone passed that now." She told him, tugging at the hem of her top when she shifted on the bed. "All I can think about is you in your pyjama bottoms now."
"I don't think Mrs Potts would appreciate me, turning up to Grannies, wearing only my pyjama bottoms." He laughed as he spoke to her, with a beeping sound in the background. "Albert's phone is dying. I'll have to go in a minute."
"When's your phone turning up?" Belle asked starting to feel gloomy at the thought of him ending the call.
"Fingers crossed tomorrow." He told her.
As she leaned to look at the clock, Belle was amazed to see it was half past eleven, whilst she asked. "Albert said you've got a cut above your eye?"
"Yeah and some bruising that started coming out today." Rumald informed her.
"How did she get your phone off you?" Belle asked turning onto her side and drew her knees up, putting herself into the foetal position.
"It was actually your fault." She raised an eyebrow at his statement. "When you called me back, she saw your caller id and grabbed it from the counter, and threw it across the kitchen at me. That was when she ranted about you and how you had kidnapped our son. Just a load of bullshit."
"I'm guessing if she knew about us, then she would have said something." Belle surmised to him.
"I think if she knew, she would've tried to decapitate me." Rumald joked.
Belle chuckled at his joke half-heartedly, slightly upset by the idea of Milah hurting him. "Anyway, I better go to sleep. Am I going to see you tomorrow?"
"I got some meetings in the morning and a few things to sort out at the shop, but I will try and pop by Grannies. I promise." Rumald said to her.
"Okay." Belle bit her lip nervously before she said. "Night, Rumald."
"Good night, Belle." Ending the call, Belle grinned stupidly to herself as she placed her phone on the bedside table. She took a deep breath and released it slowly, feeling more at ease after hearing his voice. With the thought of him in his pyjama bottoms, Belle reached up to the light switch and turned the lights off, whilst she tucked herself under the covers to settle down for the night.