CLAIMING BELLA AS HIS OWN

Sunday morning was crisp and cold, so the Masens wrapped themselves in warm attire as they walked to church. Edward had retrieved Bella earlier that morning, and the four of them sat together in his family's usual spot. Edward was proud to sit beside Bella, claiming her as his sweetheart. She was new to the city, and therefore new to the congregation. Several young men noticed her, and wondered how Edward was able to secure a courting position with this beautiful girl. Some of them attempted to speak to her as church was dismissed, but she only had eyes for Edward.

Edward kept her by his side, securing her hand in the crook of his elbow, and often turning to whisper in her ear. All her other potential suitors were soon disheartened in pursuing her, when they realized the strength of Edward's hold on her. Edward was proud to be seen with Bella, and held his head high. Bella was dependent entirely upon Edward, because she was unfamiliar with the topics of conversation in this decade. She was also learning how to carry herself in her new clothing, looking closely at other ladies, to see how they walked, how they dressed, how they wore their hair. Her mind was overwhelmed with all the minute details of the early 1900's.

When the church service ended, Edward escorted Bella back to his father's home, and she joined them for the midday meal. Edward's mother was able to relax at the table with them today, because she had hired a servant for the day. Everyone enjoyed their lunch, and discussed the sermon, as well as other topics of interest. Bella's quiet observance gave her the appearance of being a very sweet, subservient young girl, which appealed greatly to Elizabeth and Edward, Sr.

When the meal was over, Edward walked Bella back home, and spent some time with her in their private room. He was excited to continue their earlier activities, and Bella smiled in response to his advances. Edward's heart soared, as they shared their attraction together. He was so deeply in love with Bella, and was a very willing pupil for whatever she wanted to teach him. They embraced, kissed, touched, giggled, and moaned with ecstasy.

Late in the afternoon, he left her asleep in her bed, as he dressed himself carefully, then walked back home. His father was waiting in the front parlor when he arrived, and told Edward that he was ready for their discussion. They walked down the street together, then out into a secluded part of the local park. Edward patiently listened to his father's advice about women, and sex, asking questions that would uphold his innocence in his father's eyes. His father actually did have some helpful advice, about how Edward should be gentle with a lady, giving her time to be comfortable with the sex act. Edward's father implored his son to be a gentleman, and never be unkind to the fairer sex.

When his father felt that he had shared everything he could with Edward, they walked back home for dinner. The hired servant had gotten a lot done this day, changing all the bed linens, scrubbing the kitchen and bathroom, cleaning the furniture and floors, and gathering all the family's laundry, for it to be washed elsewhere. The clean laundry would be delivered the following week. Elizabeth prepared the evening meal, because she enjoyed cooking for her family. Cooking was one of her favorite hobbies.

After dinner, Edward spent about an hour practicing piano, then finished up his schoolwork, so he would be prepared for the following day. He looked forward to helping Bella get acclimated at school, for her first day as a student. Once again, he would be showing everyone that he was her suitor, and all other interested parties would need to back off. He had a lot on his mind. He went to bed at about 9 pm, anxious for the next day.

Bella woke from her afternoon nap, feeling invigorated and flush with love for Edward. She made herself a simple dinner, and spent some time talking with Carlisle about the local school, asking for advice on etiquette, appropriate topics of conversation, and what outfit she should wear for her first day as a student. Carlisle was happy to help, and showed Bella how to press her blouse and skirt in the laundry room. The early 1900's offered an entirely new set of appliances for Bella to learn. She looked forward to seeing Edward at school in the morning.

She took a nice, warm bath before she went to bed, and combed out her hair, using the hair conditioner she had acquired at the hospital. Soon, she was drowsy, so she hung up her robe, placed her slippers under her bed, and climbed under the covers. She wished that Edward could sleep with her.

(Bella begins school in Chicago)

Monday morning dawned with a bright sun, but a wicked chill in the air. Bella dressed warmly for her first day of school, and prepared a lunch to carry for both herself and Edward. She was looking forward to spending the day with him.

Edward arrived about an hour before school started, and was welcomed by Carlisle at the front door. "Edward, let's sit down and have a quick chat," he asked, leading Edward into the front room.

"How are things going with you and Bella?" he inquired.

"Amazingly well, Carlisle," Edward answered. "Thank you so much for welcoming us into your home. Your help has been crucial to our sanity. If it wasn't for you, I can't imagine how we could have made it from day to day."

Edward then brought up the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic. He was late in approaching this topic, because he had been sidetracked with getting Bella acclimated to 1917. Carlisle said, "No worries, my son. I know all about it. My later self wrote everything I need to know in the letter he sent. I thought you would have read that by now."

"Wow...I really got pulled away from my responsibilities, didn't I?" Edward admitted. "I've been so happy spending time with Bella. I never even finished reading those other letters. I put them in a drawer in Bella's room. I'll read the rest of them this afternoon."

"Good plan," agreed Carlisle. "I hope that Bella will enjoy her first day of school. It will be an interesting challenge to me to be the parent of a teenager in high school," he chuckled.

Edward smiled, promising to stay by Bella's side, and watch after her. This was not going to be a chore at all for him. He was thrilled. His only real concern would be dealing with other boys who wanted to court Bella. His protective nature was coming to the forefront as he anticipated their actions.

"I'm sure you'll take good care of her," said Carlisle. "Well, I'd better head out to the hospital. Have a good day." He walked out the front door, and Edward ran up to Bella's room. He knocked, and Bella called out for him to enter.

Bella was sitting at her dressing table, trying to style her hair the way she had seen on a lady at church the day before. She was having some trouble with the back. Edward walked up behind her, and looked in the mirror, gazing into Bella's eyes through her reflection. She smiled at him, then said, "Can you help me get the back of my hair up in these clips?" Edward looked closely at her hair, stuck the clip in place, then leaned forward to kiss the side of her neck. "Mmmmm," he moaned, "you smell wonderful. Bella, I just can't get enough of you."

Bella closed her eyes, leaning her head to give Edward better access to her neck. She reached up to hold his head, then turned her face toward him. Their lips met with tender affection. "I miss sleeping with you, Edward. The nights are so long without you," she whined. "I need you."

Edward slid his hands down her front, caressing her breasts through the fabric of her blouse, then resting his hands on her waist. He groaned in frustration, "I wish I could carry you away to another country, and make a life together. But, I have no way of providing for you yet. We will just have to be patient, until I am old enough to leave my parent's home, and make our life together. It will be worth the wait, Bella. But, every moment apart will be torture."

He lifted her to a standing position, and she turned to face him, their hands joined together. "At least we have this room together. We'll just have to make it special," she smiled, looking up at him through her lowered lashes. "Carlisle has told me that we need to wait about 10 more days, before we can make love. I hope we can last that long."

Edward's breathing sped up, as well as his heartbeat, and he leaned close to kiss her forehead. His eyes closed, as he imagined actually being inside of her. His imagination was powerfully intense. He could not believe that he would really be doing this with her. He let out a deep, trembling breath. "Bella...I am truly looking forward to that," he moaned. "God, it will just be incredible."

Bella sighed, "Yes, it will be. I've missed you so much. And this will be the first time we are both human when it happens. Your warm skin and tender touch will be completely new to me. It's almost like the first time for me, as well."

Edward wanted to take her right now, his desire was so strong. But, he remembered his father's words about being gentle with the fairer sex. And he also remembered Carlisle's promise to help Bella be able to bear children. He had to wait.

"Bella, let's hurry back here after school, so we can play around a little, okay?" He winked at her, with a mischievous smirk. She smiled up at him, "Definitely. Let's just call it homework." Edward laughed, "I like that."

"Okay, Miss Cullen. Let's get you to school," he said, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. She checked her face and hair in her mirror, picked up her lunch box, and took Edward's arm. They walked down the stairs, out the door, and headed off to school.

"So, what have you packed for lunch?" Edward asked. "Is there enough for both of us?" Bella smiled, "Of course! This is my first chance to cook for my man. But, it's not really cooking...just sandwiches. Oh...and some pecan pie that I made last night." Edward's eyes popped open, "Pecan pie! Wow Bella! I can't wait to try that!" Bella glowed, enjoying taking care of Edward. She had lots of recipes swimming in her head, and couldn't wait to make more things for him.

At school, Edward introduced Bella to each teacher, then led Bella to a seat beside himself in every classroom. The lessons were not difficult for Bella - just different. She was behind in one class though - Latin. She had never studied it before, so she had a lot of catching up to do. Edward promised to help.

When lunchtime came, they went to sit in the cafeteria, and Bella opened up her lunchbox. Edward grinned when he saw that she had made two sandwiches for him, and one for herself. He moaned his approval with every bite, and Bella giggled with pride. She just loved feeding Edward. Edward had purchased milk and juice for them to drink.

When their sandwiches were gone, Bella pulled out three slices of pecan pie. Edward beamed, and his eyebrows lifted high. "I hope you like it," Bella smiled, as she held up a bite to Edward on her fork. He opened his mouth, closed his teeth around the bite, then slid his lips slowly back across the fork, watching Bella as he chewed. Her hand stayed suspended, and her breathing stopped. She was captivated by him.

Edward's eyes closed, as the flavors of the pecan pie exploded in his mouth. Creamy, rich, sweet, and heavenly...delicious! "Oh my god, Bella. This is a slice of heaven!" he groaned. He grabbed the fork out of her hand, and dove in to eat the rest of the slice. He then held out his hand for a second slice, with his mouth open in a giddy grin. Bella chuckled and blushed. "You like it!"

After lunch, they continued going from class to class, with Edward always at her side. When it was time for PE, they had to part ways, because boys and girls had separate rooms for that. Bella missed Edward during this time, but tried to get to know some of the girls. A few of them were nice to her, some were quiet, and others were indifferent. One girl was bossy and rude, but Bella just ignored her.

When they were changing clothes after PE, one girl came to introduce herself. Her name was Pamela, and she had blonde hair and blue eyes. She was in some of Bella's classes, and had seen her sitting with Edward. "So, Edward is your beau?" she asked. "Yes," Bella replied. "He is helping me get adjusted to the school here, and we just get along so well." Pamela had known Edward her whole life, and was surprised that he had taken an interest in Bella. "I've never seen him pay attention to any of the girls here. Lots of the girls have liked him, though. He is so handsome and kind. You are very lucky that he has claimed you."

Bella smiled in response, "Thank you. I think so, too." She was glad that Pamela had spoken to her. She wanted to have some girlfriends at school, and looked forward to getting to know her. Together, they walked out of the gymnasium, and they found Edward waiting at the hallway. "Hi Pamela," he said, "So you've met Bella?" Pamela smiled, "Yes, she seems to be a nice person. How did you meet her Edward?" He explained that he had seen Bella at the hospital one day, when he was helping someone in the front door. This answer seemed to satisfy Pamela. She told them both that she would see them the next day. "Nice meeting you, Bella. Bye!"

Edward winked at Bella, taking her hand in the bend of his elbow. "Pamela's a nice girl. You'll like her." Bella felt a little jealous, because she had known Edward for so long. She tried to fight this feeling, though. She didn't want there to be any bad feelings between her and Edward. So, she smiled, and said, "I hope so. We share some classes together, so we'll be seeing each other every day."

PE had been their final class, so they were now able to walk to Bella's house. Finally, it was time for them to unleash some of their frustrated emotions and desires.