Disclaimer: I don't own anything Twilight related…
Chapter 28: Three Talks and a Meal…
I was sitting on the bed in my hotel room in Chicago with phone receiver in my hand. Dialing "0" I had the operator call my mother first.
"Hello," she answered on the first ring.
"Hi Mother, it's me, Isabella," I said, twirling the phone cord on my hand.
"Isabella," my mother's voice was filled with delight. I just hoped that she would still be this happy after I told her my new plans. "Where are you calling from dear?"
"Chicago, I just got in a few hours ago."
"Wonderful, so you'll be home soon?" she asked, I could hear the hope in her voice.
"Yes, I should be in the Hamptons in a week or so."
"I'll get Penny to air out your room. Vanessa is going to be so excited," my mother nearly squealed. I noted to myself she didn't say a word about Mary. I wondered how they were doing.
"Thank you, that would be lovely," I answered out of habit. "Mother I have something to tell you."
"Oh?" Her reply sounded cautious. For a moment, I wondered if she thought I was pregnant.
"Yes, it's good news. Very good news actually. I have new friend," I explained.
"Isabella," she drawled out, I could see the wheels turning in her head. 'Hippie, communist, pot smoker from Berkley'
"You know him," I said, deciding to cut to the chase. "Jacob's friend, Edward Cullen."
"You mean the baby's godfather? Isabella, he's engaged!" she replied outraged.
"No Mother, he's not engaged, they ended it several months ago," I answered quickly. "It was in the Boston Tribune if you want to look it up."
"Oh really? Well then Isabella that's wonderful," Mother exclaimed. I knew that would do the trick, the possibility of another upper class husband, especially when it was my choice and he was not attached to anyone.
"Since Edward is going to the baby's godfather, I wanted to know if he could stay with us for the summer. He can take one of the spare bedrooms," I suggested, not daring to imply he stay with me. I knew my father will flip out.
"I'm going to be staying at the house for the rest of the summer too, along with Mary. Edward is welcome to the guest cottage," my mother said with finality in her voice.
Translation: don't you even think of having pre-marital relations in my home.
"That would be fine." I wasn't going to rock the boat. Let's face it, I provided myself with my own chastity belt and Edward wasn't trying to move it either. For a brief moment, it made wonder if there was something wrong with me.
"We are so looking forward to you coming home darling," my mother's voice breaking my thoughts.
"Me too," I replied meaning it. For some reason, I was inexplicitly hopeful about the future. I really shouldn't have with the events of the past year, Jacob's death, Mary's drug abuse, but I was truly hopeful. "How is Mary?"
"The same," Mother replied, her voice dropping slightly. "Your father and I are going to send to her another program. She's not doing well and she's becoming openly rebellious now."
"Then that's probably a good idea. She needs structure. Most addicts do."
"Oh Good Lord, my baby is an addict," she whispered.
"Mother, stop, you're doing the best you can. Please remember, that this was Mary's choice, not yours," I reminded.
"I know, I know, I just wish I had paid more attention and not been so hard with you girls." Now her voice was remorseful.
We spoke for a few moments until I felt she was okay. "By the way Isabella, thank you for the pictures. Vanessa and I have been comparing them. You have some talented photographers. The ones of you are spectacular."
"Oh good. I'm glad you like them," I replied, feeling happy for Edward.
"Yes, they're a wonderful souvenir for you. You'll have to put these in a remembrance book so you can show your children your adventure. I hope you sent the photographer a thank you note."
I smiled, thinking of Edward. "I did, thank you Mother." I told her.
"See you soon Isabella."
With that, I hung up the phone and then dialed Nessie. "Bella," she squealed when picked up the phone.
"Hi Ness, how are you doing?" I asked, playing with the cord again.
"Good. Christ, I'm as big as a house. Any news on when you might get here?" Nessie asked.
"In a couple of weeks at the latest. I have one more stop to make and then I'm all yours."
"Great, as entertaining as Mary has been, I've had enough of her," she answered.
"Have you been to the doctor? How is the baby doing?" I asked, ignoring her comment about Mary. I didn't want to think about her yet.
"Oh Junior is fine. Fine but big. I'm not looking forward to pushing this kid out Bella. They're saying the baby is going to be anywhere from eight to nine pounds."
I winced thinking of having to push something that big out. "Ouch can they give you something for that?"
"The doctor offered me sedation. I'm thinking about it…" she trailed off. "My mother is definitely pushing for it. Says it undignified to have a natural birth."
"What do you want?" I asked, since, frankly it was Nessie's body and no one had any right to tell her what to do.
"The thought freaks me out; them putting me to sleep and then pulling the baby out me," she said. I didn't blame her. The thought made me shudder and I wasn't even pregnant.
"Then that's your decision, you're going to have this baby one way or the other. Not me, your mother or my mother."
"Yeah that's easier said than done with my mom. She's almost as bad as yours used to be." Nessie reminded me.
"It's your body Ness. Screw her. We don't even have to tell her what you're planning and can wait until you have the baby."
"Would you be my labor coach then? You're the closest person I have to Jake and I really want you to be there. You can keep me calm when I start to lose it,"
I blanched a little at the thought. Childbirth was a foreign and gross concept to me. The blood and gore made me nauseous. But for Nessie and Jake I could do this.
"Sure, I'll be there soon so sign us up," I told her.
"Thanks Bella. Listen, I love the pictures you sent me. They're amazing. Who took them? Is this your work because if you want I can get you some freelance work at the magazine."
"Yeah no, they're not mine, but I can tell you who did take them; Edward Cullen," I told her then waited for the reaction.
Nessie didn't disappoint me. "Edward took them? I thought the style was familiar…. Wait! Edward took them? Bella is he with you?"
"Yeah, we're kinda of dating," I said, twisting the phone cord.
"Bella, how the hell did you start dating Edward? Last I heard he was back home with his fiancée. What happened? Oh my God Bella, you're not his mistress are you?" she yelled into the phone.
"Nessie, are you kidding me," I snapped. "After everything I went through with James how could you ask me that?"
Nessie took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry Bella, hormones. Go ahead: explain."
"When I started this trip in Vegas I ran into him and Jasper. He needed a break from home, but he didn't want to get into what Jasper had planned. We talked for a while and I agreed to let him come with me. He had just broken up with Irina and wanted to get away. We thought it might be fun to drive back East together," I explained, leaving out the more salacious details.
"Wow, what are the odds of you two meeting up in Vegas?" she replied finally.
"I know, I didn't expect to see anyone I knew on this trip. We're going to drive up to the Hamptons together. He's going to help out with the baby, if you don't mind."
"Sure, the more the merrier. Your mom is going to be through the roof when she meets Edward. He the kind of guy she would have loved for you to marry."
"Hah, well I like Edward a lot, but marriage? I already did that. I have no desire to repeat the institution."
"Don't let your past dictate something that could be wonderful. I know James did a number to you but Edward is wonderful. He was wonderful to me when Jake died. He and Jake used to get into the craziest stuff together," Nessie's voice faded.
"Look Ness, I'm not going to keep you, I'll see you soon; take care of my niece or nephew," I told her.
"Thanks, I think I'm going to take a nap. I feel like a 70-year-old woman," she snickered.
I hung up the phone and noticed that Edward was standing in the door looking at me.
"Oh hi," I said, wondering how much of that conversation he heard.
"Ready to eat," he asked.
"Sure, I just got off the phone with my family. I'll call Rose and Tanya when we get back."
"Ok, I thought we could get a bite then walk down the Golden Coast."
"Sounds good."
I grabbed my purse and we headed out to the humidity. Edward seemed quiet and I realized he overheard my conversation.
"Edward is something bothering you? If this is too much we can say goodbye in Massachusetts. I'm not offended," I said finally the silence getting to me.
"No, of course not. I called my parents when you were talking to your family. They can't wait to meet you Bella and I can't wait to see Nessie and the baby," he said, taking my hand.
"Then what's wrong, you seem preoccupied."
"I overhead part of your conversation. I swear I wasn't eavesdropping," he said.
"I believe you. Which part?" I asked even though I had a pretty good idea.
"The part where you said you weren't interested in getting married again."
I took a deep breath but I had feeling this was a deal breaker for Edward. "I see," was all I could say. To be honest I had sworn that I would never marry again but that was before I met Edward; he was slowly opening my eyes to new possibilities.
Finally, I spoke up after a moment. "I wish you had walked in the part where I was speaking to Nessie about your photos. She thinks you're brilliant with a camera. Before I told her you were the photographer, she wanted to hire you do a shoot for Vogue."
"That's flattering," Edward said with a small smile and pat on his Nikon.
"I'm sorry Edward, I wish you hadn't heard what I said about marriage."
"I'm sorry too, Bella. Look I'm not saying I want us to elope or run off to the city hall for a license but I do want to get married one day. I'm pretty old fashion about a few things like marriage and children. Living together instead of getting married isn't that appealing to me. Maybe it's better we have this talk now," he said with a deep breath.
I took one too feeling about two inches tall.
"Well, I'm glad you're not ready to choose china patterns and thank you for being honest with me. You know I had a horrible marriage and my parent's views on it hasn't helped either. With the exception of Jake and Rose, I haven't had a lot of good examples."
"I guess I've been lucky since my parents are still disgusting in love with each other. Really Bella, it can get really gross on a family vacation," he shuddered and I giggled at the visual. "I can't imagine what you went through with your ex, but I know that I want what my parents have one day."
I nodded. "Rose once told me that when I met the right man I would want things like marriage and kids. She felt the same way after her divorce, but Emmett warmed her up to the idea again. I couldn't understand that until recently. Edward, I'm not saying I want marriage but what am I saying is that meeting you has opened me up to the possibility."
Edward smiled at me we stood by the water.
"That's all I want, the possibility," he said kissing me lightly on the lips. I felt it throughout my body. It was something new and I was starting to crave the feeling.
We walked around for a while until we got hungry and went to Manny's steakhouse. Tanya had told me that it was a Chicago institution and once Edward heard it was a steakhouse he was all for it. One thing I had learn about Edward was his appetite for red meat. It had to be rare, too. Rare, red meat made me queasy when I saw or smelled it.
One bottle of red wine and a romantic meal under candle light, I was in lust. I was thanking God I listened to Rose and got the Pill. Three glasses of wine loosen me up enough to start touching Edward more. Nothing overly suggestive but more like the touching you would expect from the newlywed couple we were pretending to be. Him caressing of my arm and playing with my hair, me snuggling into his side so I could breathe in his scent. Light kisses on the top of my head and me returning the favor on his neck. I began to wonder if this was it. Would we cross that line tonight?
We had finished our meals when I decided to go for it. What was the worst that could happen?
I looked around and saw all the other patrons were involved in their conversations, not paying attention to the newlywed couple in the corner. Our waiter was coming back with for the check.
"Edward," I hummed.
"Yes?" He was stroking my arm, looking at the bill.
Taking a cue from what I heard from my friends and what I had read in Cosmo, I put my hand on his stomach, rubbing it gently, and started moving down. Edward hummed, making me think he liked it. Feeling emboldened, I moved my hand lower.
First, Edward froze up right before my hand hit his groin. I was rewarded with him going from limp to fully erected in about half a second. I thought only teenage boys had that type of reaction.
Second, Edward's eyes bulged and he almost jumped out of his chair. Then his knees hit the table make a loud noise, causing some of the other diners to look our way. Fortunately the tablecloth covered my hand so no one could see what was happening. He snatched my hand away from his dick, put it back on my lap and kept it covered with his own. Quickly he threw some bills on the table, not waiting for the waiter and pulled me from my seat, out of the restaurant.
I was so mortified; my face was the color of the Merlot we just had. The night air hit my face as we walked out and I yanked my hand from Edward's, walking away as fast as I could.
AN: So Bella's mom seems good with her boyfriend. We'll see how Edward's parents feel about him being involved with a divorcee. Yes, that was awkward in the end. Liquor and lust are never a good mix. Especially when you're taking it slow. And you have practically no experience. In a number of ways, Bella is like a teenager learning about sex and relationships. She was married early and was chaperoned while dating James. She lived like a nun in San Francisco so its going to take some time for her come into her own sexually.
Twilight birth, from what I read, was the idea of pulling the baby when the mom was asleep. It started in the late 19th century and continued until 1970s. It wasn't mandatory but a number of women, particularly very young moms were pushed to this from what I've read. Moms seemed to have been two camps, those who loved it and those who hated it. An older colleague of mine did it with her son and loved. She said she felt no pain. My grandmother had it with her first child at a hospital and refused to go back for her second child, my mother, was born at home naturally. I apologize if I got any of this wrong. By the time I was ready to have a baby twilight birth was a thing of the past.
My apologies for any typos. I have been sick for the last few days and its late. I work in a hospital and well let's just say I brought some work home. Mainly a nasty respiratory infection. Ick. I'm trying to do a better job with posting and wanted to get this up.
Thank you for everyone for taking the time to read/review/favorite/following this story.
