Sunday goes better than Saturday, since they actually manage to get the sausage mix into the manicotti shells, but then they get distracted with the dogs, because Edward has to show Bella this amazingly hilarious thing he discovered where Memphis will chase a flashlight beam all around the room and even jump to get it on the wall, and the cannelloni dehydrates into a crunchy mess.

On Monday they actually make a presentable version of the dish that survives baking, but then when they sit down to take their first tentative taste, Edward remembers something really, really bad. "Oh, shit."

At Bella's inquiring look, he says, "Um, you haven't seen any leaves lying around, have you?"

She gives him that you might be crazy, but I'm humoring you eyebrow, complete with head tilt. "Uh, no. We're indoors, Edward."

Edward makes a face at her. "Thanks, Einstein. Seriously, do you remember me taking any leaves out of the sauce?"

"No," she says, bewildered. "Why the hell would there be leaves in the sauce? Were you stirring it with a branch, or something?"

"It was a bay leaf," Edward says, poking at the stuffed manicotti on his plate. "The recipe said you could put a bay leaf in the sauce mix if you wanted, and I think I did, this time. But I don't think I took it out, and um." He swallows. "I think they're kind of…"

"Kind of what?" she asks.

He winces. "Poisonous?"

Bella looks down at her plate like it's been infected with Ebola. "And it's somewhere in our food?"

"I think so," he says. "I didn't see it when I was spooning out the sauce, but it might have gotten all ground up or disintegrated."

"So we have no way of finding this possibly poisonous leaf," she surmises. "Great."

"I might have taken it out," he amends. "Maybe."

"I'm not going to stake my life on maybe," she complains, pushing her plate away.

"It's not going to kill you," he argues. "Probably." At Bella's glare, he says, "Come on, this is the only good version we've got. We have to at least taste it so we know if we're on the right track."

Bella looks pained and on the verge of refusal, but Edward's spent way too much time around adorable little puppies, and he has the soft, pleading eyes down pat. Bella looks back down at her plate and sighs. "Fine. If I die, I'm haunting you."

"Fair enough," Edward says, picking up his fork. "Oh, wait. Is there anything you want to say, in case it's our last meal?"

Bella just stares at him.

"Okay, I'll go first," he says. "I'm really glad I met you, Bella. You've been a really good friend."

"Um, you too, I guess," she agrees. "Thanks for… making my life interesting."

"You're welcome," he grins. "And just so you know, you have a nice ass. I don't know why I noticed that, but I did, and I thought you should know, just in case I never get another chance to tell you."

She blinks. "Uh, what?"


Yeah Edward... What?

Jess