Chapter 28

This is an INSANELY long chapter that has taken me 12 hours to write. It is full of so much fluffiness that it will HOPEFULLY make you gag. I am getting concerned that my Edward doesn't sound very…um… Edward-ish. I hope he does. I will admit that I don't feel the need to have him be overly protective in this. I mean—there are no evil vampires coming after Bella. I hope everyone likes this chapter. I put a lot of effort into it. Is it too long??

PLEASE REVIEW! And hopefully there will be no flames…

Love,

Kim-Macafee

Chapter 28

Edward's POV:

I let Bella drive the Mustang to Savanah, mostly because I had no idea how to get there. Although, I swore to her that she was in no condition to drive because she was still in a state of shock. All she did was smirk at me.

The beginning of the drive was silent. Normally silence didn't bother me—but for some reason, todays did. Bella seemed as if she was in la-la land. I wasn't sure why though. Did her uncle's volunteering to do the dishes bother her THAT much? I will admit—he doesn't seem the type of guy that normally does that… but he just volunteered for once. Or was Bella mad at me? Did I do something? I couldn't be quiet any longer…

"Bella, if you're upset, you know we can talk, right?" I offered thoughtfully. My voice seemed to snap her out of her thoughts or daydreams.

"I'm not upset, really. Just confused. I mean… I had lived in that house for about 15 years. George NEVER offered to do any house work—I mean… I think he cleaned the bathroom once but that was it. It was always Nellie or me. I just don't get why he SUDDENLY wants to help," Bella opened up.

"I seem to have that charm..." I tried to joke. She snorted.

"I think you dazzle people more than you know…" she smiled.

"How often do I dazzle you?" I wondered.

"Frequently," she admitted plainly as if it was a fact. I grinned at her.

"Seriously though… I'm not sure why your uncle volunteered to do the dishes. I don't think it's a big deal though… but that may be me," I honestly answered.

"Well—maybe you're right. I feel like I'm just being silly. Aunt Nellie is being silly too," Bella decided.

"You are definitely silly." I smiled while I caressed her cheek with my thumb. She returned the smile.

"Thank you, Edward. I love you very much," Bella told me.

"I love you too."

We stayed silent for a minute before she said, "Boy, I'm really excited."

"So—what are some things me and you could do in Savannah?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Well—there are ghost tours at night, then we could take a carriage ride through the city…um… there are a few art museums. There's a LOT of tours of old historic homes…I even think there's a zoo. " she listed.

"Honestly, I don't care what we do as long as I get to spend time with you," I responded.

"What sounds most interesting to you?"

"The zoo sounds like fun. I think a carriage ride sounds like fun as well," I answered. She smiled.

"I know there is a carriage ride in the historic district. There's also quite a bit of shops in that area."

"Excellent. Do you know where the zoo is?"

"Yes. That's where I took most of my field trips as a child," she laughed. "It's the Oatland Island Wildlife Center."

"Can you remember any of it?"

"Yes. I can remember being terrified," she reminisced with a smile on her face.

"We don't have to go if you don't want…" I offered. She shook her head no. "No—seriously, Bella, I don't want you to be scared."

"I was only scared of the snakes. Although, I think I was scared of the alligators too. I won't be so scared if you're next to me," she explained.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you'll protect me from the big scary alligator." I laughed and nodded at her.

"You are so adorable," I said. She blushed.

Bella told me to look inside the glove box of the car. There was a large, blue CD holder inside. Bella told me to look for Hairspray. When I zipped it open, the soundtrack from the newest Hairspray was the first CD inside. I asked if that was okay; she nodded. I stuck it into the CD player.

As the first drumbeats to "Good Morning Baltimore" boomed through the car, I asked Bella, "When did you stick the CD thing in there?"

"When you had been asleep in the car."

I smirked and listened to the song playing. Alice sung along to this song in the shower all the time so it made me cringe a little. Although, this Nikki Blonsky had a pretty good voice. When the chorus began, Bella belted it out in the car. I had forgotten how beautiful her singing voice was.

By the time "You Can't Stop the Beat" came on, I was singing along playfully as well.

Bella was laughing at my singing.

"Am I terrible singer or something??" I exclaimed.

"No. I just never knew that you liked Hairspray," she responded.

"The funny thing is, is that I don't! I'm surprised that YOU like Hairspray!"

"Me? You know I love it."

"It sounds more like something Alice would like. You seem more of the…hmm… you seem more of a The Producers kind of a girl," I thought out loud.

"I seem more of a 'Keep it Gay' kind of a girl, don't I?" she responded sarcastically. I chuckled.

"No—you're more of a 'When You've Got it, Flaunt it'," I said. She laughed.

"You know what? Let's listen to The Producers until we get to the zoo," said Bella. I took Hairspray out of the CD player and stuck in the Mel Brooks musical. The Producers was one of my personal favorites.

When "The King of Broadway" came on…it was my turn to sing and Bella became my backup. This car ride to the zoo would always be one of my favorite memories from now on.

Finally, we arrived at the zoo. Bella and I both enjoyed the farm animals. When we came up to the cougars and bobcats… Bella seemed to squeeze onto my hand a little tighter. The next little shack held the snakes and turtles. Bella snuggled even closer into my side as we stopped in front of the door.

"Bella, we could just walk right through it without even looking if you want to," I offered. She shook her head no.

"It's just some snakes in glass cages. I've gotta get over it…" she said bravely.

"I'll protect you from the snakes," I promised. She rolled her eyes and inhaled deeply as we walked into the building.

There was a large corn snake in a glass cage next to the door. Bella hid her face in my armpit.

"You can look if you want. I won't though…" she giggled. I smiled at her innocence and moved softly to look at a large yellow snake. Ugh. These are the ugliest creatures I have ever seen. According to the sign on the door, it said there was also a turtle in here. I finally spotted it next to the exit. I brought both Bella and myself in front of the turtle.

"Bella, I'm looking at a turtle right now. I don't really want to look at the snakes…" I warned. She peeked, smiled, and then buried her face once more. I grinned. I took one look at the turtle once more and then brought us out of the shack.

Bella began to walk for herself during the rest of the zoo. She did squeeze onto my hand tightly when we saw the alligators…but she did fine. Finally, we made it to the gift shop.

"If you see anything in here that you think anybody would like…tell me," I told her. She nodded and we began to look around.

Bella spotted a black bear stuffed animal. She picked it up and examined it.

"You know…Emmett always did remind me of a bear," she commented. I snorted.

"You should try wrestling with him… he is definitely bear like then," I laughed. My heart soared when I heard her giggle.

"You should get that for him," she pushed the bear towards me.

"Nah. It'd be kind of awkward if I gave him a bear," I responded.

"It'd be weird if I got him something. I mean—you're his brother," Bella tried some more.

"He may be YOUR brother-in-law in a few years," I muttered under my breath. I dearly hoped that he would be her brother-in-law soon. She heard me and smiled. I think I blushed when I realized she understood what I said.

"Very true. I think I will get it for him then; if that's okay of course," she decided.

"Of course it's okay. I, honestly, believe that Emmett will love the bear," I told her. She smiled. We walked through the shop for a little while longer. I waited patiently by Bella's side while she bought the bear.

It was about 3:30 once we got out of the zoo. Bella drove to the historic district. We began to walk around the beautiful city. The atmosphere of it all was very romantic. To my surprise, we passed a little restaurant called Lady and Sons. In the windows were cook-books written by the famous cook, Paula Dean. There were pictures of her and her two sons… I wondered if Esme would like a cook-book. I had seen Mom watching Paula Dean's TV show a lot.

"Do you want to eat here?" Bella questioned.

"I'd love to eat here. However—I hear it's a VERY hard place to get into…" I responded.

"I know."

"I wouldn't mind to check out their little shop in there… Esme may like something out of there. I mean—I know she likes Paula Dean's show," I thought out loud.

"Let's go then," she smiled and pulled me onto the gift shop side. There were Paula Dean T-shirts, Paula Dean sauces, and then there was a large shelf of cookbooks. I glanced over them. There were so many I thought Esme would like…

"Which one do you think I should get Esme?" I asked Bella.

"I think you should get her a few. I mean—she IS your mother that carried you for nine months," Bella reminded me with a smile on her face. I rolled my eyes and smirked. Although, I think Bella had a point. Maybe I could get a few and give her one of them for Christmas or something…

I decided to get Esme 2 cookbooks and a bottle of barbecue sauce that Bella had been looking at. Bella got a few bottles of different sauces for her aunt.

We looked through a few more stores together. Bella spotted a small clothes boutique and eyed it longingly. I saw that there was a florist a few stores down. I looked at it thoughtfully. I noticed Bella's staring at the boutique.

"Do you want to go in there?" I asked.

She winced and nodded. "I think Alice has begun to wear off on me… because I do want to go in there. Is that a bad thing?"

I chuckled and shook my head no. "Alice would be very honored if she knew that. Go on in there. I may run into another shop real quick. So, take your time… well, before you go… where is this carriage ride thing at?"

"Actually, it's right up the road…why?" she answered.

"I was just wondering. I didn't know if we would have to go back and get the car and drive there," I lied. She nodded.

"No—we don't have to go back and get the car."

"Good. What time do you want to do the carriage ride?" I made sure.

"I was hoping we could do it at night time. I think it'd be more romantic then…" she blushed.

"Good thinking, my love," I giggled at her red face. "Now, Bella, go clothes shopping. Shop as if you were Alice… and speaking of the devil, if you see anything in there that she or Rosalie would like, get it." I handed her a 50 dollar bill.

She grinned at me and began to walk off.

"Ah-ah-ah… not so fast, my dear Bella…" I fussed at her playfully. She turned around and pouted. "You did not give me a kiss good-bye."

"Edward—it would only be for a few minutes…" she protested. I rolled my eyes and wrapped my arms around her small body. I interrupted her blabbering by kissing her passionately on the lips. When I pulled away, Bella seemed rather limp. She stood still for a second and looked at the ground.

"Are you okay?" I wanted to make sure.

"I'm fine… just give me a second… everything was spinning for a little bit…" she muttered. I found this hysterically amusing.

"Silly Bella; go shopping now," I rushed her off. She skipped into the store and began looking through racks. I ran to the florist and walked inside. The scent of flowers greeted me happily. The small florist was colorful and bright inside. A short woman in a striped shirt came to the front desk with a large, white smile on her face.

"How may I help you?" she asked in a strong Georgian accent.

"Um… could I have half a dozen roses please? To go of course…" I ordered. She smiled and walked back into the back of the store. I figured there was a cooler back there.

She returned with half a dozen roses wrapped in a green tissue paper.

"Do you want a card with that?" she asked. I shook my head no. "Okay, now, baby, you need to keep these in a cool spot. Heck, you could put these in a refrigerator and they would stay nice."

I thought of an idea. "Question… how late would you consider delivering these?"

"Well—depends, where should I deliver these too?"

"My girlfriend and I are going on a carriage ride through the city once it gets darker. I wanted to surprise her with these flowers. I'd say we'd be up there around 7:30 PM. We're planning on going to the carriage rides right up the road… do you know what I'm talking about?" I explained. The woman nodded. "Would you be able to get these up there at around that time?"

"Yes. Actually, my husband's family owns that little business. I can even arrange it that they are in the carriage when you arrive. I could tell Frank to save a time just for you," the woman offered.

I nodded happily.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Edward Cullen. Tell him we'll be there at 7:30 PM," I stated. She smiled and wrote down my name on a piece of paper.

"I promise you that they will be there, Mr. Cullen. Is this your first time in Savannah? I mean—I can tell that you're not from around here by your accent," she asked.

"Yes. This is my first time here. My girlfriend used to live here though… we're back so we can visit her family."

"What's her name? Maybe I knew her."

"Bella Swan. I don't know what her aunt and…" I began.

"BELLA SWAN?? You are dating Isabella Swan?? Is her aunt and uncle's name George and Nellie?" the woman exclaimed. I nodded with a surprised look on my face. "OH! I love sweet little Bella! I'm so glad she finally has a boyfriend…and a very handsome one, at that! I will make sure that these will be there for Miss Bella at 7:30. I swear!"

I stared at the woman and nodded. I pulled out my wallet from my back pocket and began to open it. The woman shook her head no.

"No, sir! I do NOT want any money from you. These are on-me," she insisted. I tried to protest.

"You just make little Bella happy…and that will be enough for me." I grinned and nodded.

"Thank you, ma'am. You have no idea how much I appreciate it," I answered gratefully while putting my wallet back.

"Are you going to make her happy?" the woman eyed me, trying to make sure.

I nodded. "I will try my very hardest to make Bella as happy as she has made me. I will do anything I can."

"That's my boy. Where is Miss Bella now?"

"She's looking in some shop down the street."

"Alrighty then. Go back to her and spend the rest of the day with her… and tell Nellie that I said hello. My name is Darleene Simms." I nodded and began to head out the door.

"Thank you, ma'am." She smiled and I left the store.

I didn't see Bella anywhere around here. I looked at my watch and saw that it was already 5:43 PM. I sighed. What would Bella and I do for the next hour or so? I walked back towards the little shop Bella was in. I was distracted by a book store that was very small. I entered and began to look around. For some reason, I really loved the smell of the store. I always favored the smell of a new book, even when I was a child and still reading "Cat in the Hat". I found what I wanted to get for Emmett and Jasper…I was going to get them each a book of cheat codes for Nintendo games. I found two books for Dad; one was a large book on the history of medications and another was a book of ghost stories from Savannah. Few people knew that dad enjoys learning about things like ghosts, vampires, and werewolves. I thought he was insanely goofy for it…but that's what he likes. I bought the books and headed back down to the boutique.

Bella had her back turned to me when I walked in. She was looking at dresses. I tip-toed over to her. I goosed her and made her jump. She zipped around and hit me lightly on the shoulder.

"You scared the hell out of me, Edward!" she exclaimed. I laughed.

"I couldn't help myself; it was too tempting. So—did you find anything for Alice or Rosalie?" I asked her.

Bella answered, "Yes. I figured a bracelet or a necklace would be nice. What do you think?" I agreed with her.

I picked out a necklace for Alice that had a little fairy on it. I've always told her she reminded me of Tinker Bell. I found a lime-green jeweled bracelet for Rosalie. I also wanted to surprise Bella with a bracelet as well. I bought her a simple silver necklace that had a diamond heart that shimmered. It was beautiful.

Bella walked back towards me after the cashier had put all of the jewelry into a bag. He rang it all up and said "That will be 127.96." Bella gasped. I used my debit card for this one.

"You only gave me 50 dollars to spend on them! And you're spending that much on them!?" she exclaimed. Bella was holding a sparkly-sequined tote bag that she wanted to buy.

"Are you getting that for yourself?" I asked, ignoring her comment.

"No, I'm getting this for Alice. You know how she likes shiny things… now answer me. Why are you spending that much on them?"

"The most expensive thing in this bag is not for Alice or Rosalie," I stated.

"Esme?"

I didn't answer her. I just made her get checked out so we could leave. I changed the subject quickly once we got out of the shop.

"I made reservations at the carriage thing up the street… I wanted to make sure that we would get to go on that. We have to be there at 7:30. Does that sound fine?"

She nodded but stayed silent. I look at my watch and saw that we had spent a whole 30 minutes in that store. It was after 6. There was a small coffee shop next to the store. We walked in and ordered. She seemed to forget about the jewelry.

Finally, I saw that it was 7:25. We walked hand in hand quickly up the street. The sun had set already and the beautifully made street lights lit our path. Bella knew where the carriage place was. There was a large white carriage that had two HUGE horses in front of it. There was a man leaned up against it. He smiled when he saw Bella.

"Hello Miss Swan, I was expecting you…" he greeted.

"Hi! I haven't seen you in forever," she responded excitedly. She must know this man.

"You look great. So—which tour do you two lovers want?" he asked.

"The longest one possible," I answered for her. I wanted to spend as much time with my Bella as possible. My Bella… that sounded nice to say…

"Nice to see you, Mr. Cullen. I bet you didn't know that I've known Bella ever since she was a little girl. Do you want to set a few of those bags down?" the man offered and pointed to a small building. It must be his office.

"Is there a restroom back there?" she asked the man. He nodded. "May I use it?" He smiled and nodded again.

I took her bags from her and followed her inside the office. I laid the bags down and took the necklace I bought her. I put in the inside pocket of my jacket. Bella was out soon after…

I paid the man and we got inside the little buggy. The seats were red velvet. Bella gasped when she saw the roses.

She looked at me with her chin on the ground. She tried speaking but no words could come out. She picked the bouquet up and inhaled deeply. A smile came across her face from ear to ear.

"Are these for me?" she asked.

"Must you even ask?!" I asked in shock. She giggled.

"Thank you so much. You are the greatest thing that ever happened to me," she gushed sappily.

"Wow. All I did was get you some flowers," I muttered into her shoulder once she hugged me.

"You know I don't love gifts though…"

"I do know that. You told me that on one of our first dates…but when have I ever seemed to care?" I responded. "And flowers don't count as a gift anyway."

"What do they count for then?"

I thought for a minute. "Um… I believe they count for a romantic gesture."

She giggled. The horses began to move us across the streets. Bella stared at our surroundings in awe. We passed a large fountain that spit out cold water. The fountain was beautiful. But somehow—it could not hold my attention for long. I couldn't help but keep staring at the beautiful woman beside me.

"That is beautiful," she smiled.

"Yes, you are beautiful," I said lovingly while still looking at her. Her brown eyes met mine in surprise.

"That was terribly corny," she fought back plainly.

"Touché."

She grinned and rolled her eyes. I couldn't help but keep staring at her.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked.

"I am thinking about how I don't like to be stared at. I feel like I have something on my face … do I have a zit or something??"

"No. You look beautiful. I don't like to look at pimples…" I responded. I put my arm around her and began to play with her hair.

"Belllllllla…." I held out with a smile on my face. The necklace was beginning to burn a hole in my pocket.

"What did you do?" Bella muttered. I laughed at her flat tone.

"You know how you don't like me getting you gifts?"

She nodded.

"Well, you know what? You're just going to have to get over it," I argued.

Her mouth opened as if to say something…I laid my hand over it to silence her. I pulled the velvet box out of my pocket.

"Now, before I give you what's inside this box…I want to say something really corny before…"

"Oh God."

I ignored her comment and continued, "You don't realize how important you are to me; you make the air worth breathing, you make the water worth drinking. You give me something to wake up to in the morning. Even when I was a child, I thought that I would never find that girl that I dreamed about. I dreamt of a girl that actually cared about me and who liked to spend time with me. Even Alice always told me I was too cynical to play with—but I always told her she was too annoying to play with. I just figured I would be alone…and there were days where I wanted that. Now that you're in my life—I never want to be alone anymore. What I'm trying to say is… is that, don't let me be alone. I don't think I could stand being away from you for a long period of time. I want you in my life…"

She stayed silent and looked at me intently.

I took a deep breath in and said, "Wow. I really hope that made sense. I felt as if I was blabbering on. But, like I said, I wanted to say something corny. I hear girls like that kind of thing…"

"You did blabber. But it was the sweetest blabbering I had ever heard. Thank you. And if it makes you feel any better…I'm not going to let you be alone for long periods of time."

I smiled and handed her the box. She opened it up, and fortunately, the street lights made the heart sparkle in the nighttime. She took a gasp in and I didn't hear her let it out.

"Breathe, Bella…" I reminded her.

To my surprise, I heard her crying. I saw clear tears come out of her chocolate brown eyes. She was smiling as well. I moved the flowers to the seat across from us and put the necklace back into the pocket inside my great jacket.

I took her small body into my arms and held her there as she cried.

"You know—Bella… if I knew that it would make you cry, I wouldn't have got it for you at all. I don't like seeing you cry…although; I think this is for a good reason…"

"You're right. It is for a good reason. Thank you so much, Edward. I love you. I love you with all my heart… I will love you till the day that I die—maybe even after that. My heart beats for you, Edward Cullen."

Those were the most beautiful words I had ever heard… I'm sure they had been said before. But I loved hearing it be said with my name inserted into it.

"You, my dear, are my life now," I said while I continued holding her. The street lights zoomed by us. Right now—Bella was the only thing that mattered to me.