Stolen Dreams
Disclaimer: Yeah. You know this already. Don't steal, m'kay?
A/N: Thanks to KareBear for providing some of the adoption info in this chapter. She's also a wealth of knowledge on military matters and rocks out hard. Apparently, getting into West Point is a little harder than I made it seem, but for the sake of the story, we're going to pretend that Edward got in on late acceptance without the fanfare.
Thank you to everyone that read and reviewed over the last week. I love hearing from each and every one of you and even if I don't respond, please note that I read each one. I'm going to work really hard over the next two weeks to get this done because I'm going to be starting a new job soon. That's seriously going to cut into my writing time, but it'll mean that I can pay the bills, so . . .
Thank you, JenRar for making this prettier. Mwah.
Chapter 26
Lunch was loud. In the private party room of a nearby restaurant, we gathered and talked. Esme and I talked about the logistics of getting Ryan here and what he would need for his two week stays. Alice ran over the plans for our house she'd made the night before and while sitting in the courtroom. Esme joined in on our conversation—she'd decorated their homes in Portland, Los Angeles, and Forks. All in all, it was about as pleasant as it could be. Tanya surprised us all by showing up just as we finished eating.
"Bella, can I talk to you, Edward, Carlisle, and Esme really quickly?" she asked quietly.
"Sure," I answered, somewhat concerned. I pulled them together, and we huddled in an empty corner of the room. Over Carlisle's shoulder, I could see the rest of the table watching us curiously.
"I'm sorry to crash the party like this, but I have to go home tonight, and I just heard back from 60 Minutes. They want to send a crew out here to do an interview with you as soon as we can work out all the details. Is this what you still want to do?" Tanya asked, confirming what she already knew.
Esme nodded. "If this is what you think is best and that it will get the reporters to leave us alone."
"I do. Once everything is settled, I'll spread the word to the other major news agencies and ask for them to back off. It should work—meaning that your lives can go back to normal within a few days or a week." Tanya reached for and shook Carlisle's and Esme's hands. "Thank you for trusting me on this. I promise I won't let you down." Then, she hugged both Edward and me tightly and said she'd call as soon as she knew more. Before I could do more than react, she was back out the door and on her way to the airport.
After eating, we hugged Ryan goodbye and returned to Alice's and my apartment, while Dad drove back to Forks and the Masens went back to their hotel. I suggested they join us, but Ed had cast a regretful look at Edward and told us they would see us before they left. I wasn't sure what to do, if I could do anything, about the tear in their relationship. Only time and effort, I supposed, would heal it.
Alice opened her laptop and started typing and clicking madly on the screen as soon as we walked in. "If you all like this, I can probably have the painters over there by the middle of next week, and you'll just have to go pick out some furniture."
"Trying to boot us out, Al?" Edward teased.
"Yes. I'm tired of sleeping in Jasper's shithole of an apartment," she answered in a matter-of-fact tone. It was hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or not, until the corners of her mouth twitched upwards as she fought her smile. She flipped her laptop around so that we could see what was on her screen. She'd used the pictures she'd taken to mock up rooms and "coated" the walls with different shades of paint. Her ideas were great and only needed a few minor adjustments. She grinned and left the room with her phone in her hand.
"Huh, so I guess I won't be seeing much of her for the next few days?" Jasper asked, amused.
I giggled. "No, I wouldn't expect to. Sorry, Jasper."
He shrugged and rolled his eyes. "As long as she doesn't expect me to paint, I'm good. I'll just cover the office with Ed here, since he's gonna want some time off when Ryan gets here."
It hit me like a ton of bricks. "What're we gonna do with Ryan?" I gasped, sinking into the sofa cushions.
Edward shook his head, clearly not understanding. "What do you mean? He'll stay here until we get his room set up."
"No, Edward. What are we going to do with him during the day while we're at work? I could take some vacation time, but I don't have—what—six weeks? And I doubt that you can take off two weeks at a time," I explained, the panic welling up even higher.
"What do other parents do with their children while they're at work during the summer?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Send them to summer camp, put them in day care, hire a baby sitter, I don't know. Esme is mostly a stay at home mom. She only sent Ryan to the community center so he could meet some new people before school started."
"Then we'll do what those other parents do," Edward reasoned.
"No! We can't. If she can provide better care for him than we can, they'll take him away again," I wailed, the stress finally wearing down all of my defenses.
Edward sat down next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "They aren't going to take him away if we have to do what every other working family has to do with their kids. We'll figure something out for the first week at least. Maybe I can work all the nights and keep him during the day while you're working. There are all kinds of camps that I'm sure he would like, and we can talk to him about that when he gets here."
That didn't settle my fears, though. Edward and Jasper headed back to their office when it became clear that Alice was going to be tied up with our house remodel, and I was buried behind my laptop, researching various camps for ten-year-old boys.
Edward didn't come back that night, and I settled into an uneasy sleep. I hadn't recovered from my worry from the night before. It bled into all my actions for the rest of the day. My calendar was full since we were closed for the holiday on Monday and Tuesday; it was a struggle to keep my focus where it needed to be. My patients, though, didn't give me any down time. It was after six before I could check my phone, and I saw that I'd missed a call from Esme.
I dialed her back immediately. "Esme? Is everything okay?" I asked hurriedly as soon as she answered.
"Yes," she laughed. "Did you check my message?"
"No, I'm sorry. It's been a long day, and I just called back. What's going on?" I heaved my bag over my shoulder and moved toward the door, checking for lurking reporters on the way.
"I was calling about this weekend. I know it's not your weekend, but we're having a cook-out for the Fourth and wanted to invite you to come down," she said. "The cook-out is on Sunday, and we're going to let off some fireworks after dark. You can just stay here if you want."
I had to admit, I was shocked. I'd expected things to get a little harder after the judge's ruling, not to be invited to family events. "Uh, um, that sounds great. Let me check with Edward and see what his plans are. I know we're trying to get the house as finished as we can this week. Can I call you later and let you know?"
"Of course. Just let me know sometime before you get here." She laughed. "We can figure out next weekend while you're here, too."
I made a dash for my car and barely avoided being accosted by the sole reporter that was hanging out near the parking lot entrance. "All right. That sounds like a plan. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Oh, crap. Ryan!" she yelled. "Get that off of your head. If you spill that plant on my carpet, you're cleaning it up! With your toothbrush!" It took a moment for her to come back to me. "Sorry about that. Ryan's moving my potted plants around and has decided that carrying them on his head—without hands—is the best way to do that."
I laughed, envisioning the scene in my mind. "I'll let you go take care of that."
"Thank you," she groaned. We said our goodbyes and hung up as I pulled out into traffic.
Neither Edward nor Alice were at the apartment when I got there, so I made some dinner and changed my clothes. I'd just sat down on the couch with a glass of wine when Edward came in and plopped down beside me, his eyes closed.
"Long day?" I asked.
"Long day," he confirmed. "And we've got to go furniture shopping. This weekend, maybe?"
"Well, Esme invited us down to stay with them for their holiday cook-out and fireworks," I told him. "It's on Sunday, so . . ."
He sighed. "So, furniture shopping tonight it is. When did you tell her we would be there?"
"I told her I would talk to you about it. Do you even want to go?" I asked, getting a little perturbed with his attitude.
His eyes shot open. "Of course I do." He sat up and grabbed my hand. "Sorry, it's just been a shitty day. We're taking the weekend off—not going back in until Wednesday, I think. Do you want to go down tomorrow so you can help Esme get ready?"
I thought of the barbeques Elizabeth had thrown when we were in high school and how much work she'd put into them. "Yes, that would probably be best. I'll call her in the morning. Furniture? We need to do that now?" I changed the subject, because I needed to focus on something other than seeing Ryan again tomorrow. I was going to get spoiled.
"If we have to order any of it, it will take some time to come in, so yeah, I think we need to go now. What do we already have?"
We spent the next hour while we ate, making notes about what we had and what we were going to need. Ryan's room wouldn't be furnished until he got here, but the rest of the house needed to be. Edward's couch was going downstairs and the one in our apartment was actually Alice's. We had a table for the kitchen, but would need something more formal for the dining room. Edward's bedroom suite was new, and mine would suffice for the guest room. He already had all the stereo and entertainment pieces, but wanted something to put them in.
Armed with the list of what we needed, Edward and I loaded up into his car and drove to the same furniture store he'd bought his bed and desk at less than a year ago.
The saleswoman that helped him then remembered him—not that I was surprised. I figured that she had probably been hoping to use the bed he'd bought before, judging by her reaction. I looked on in amusement as she asked him what he was looking for and how she could help him. The funniest part, though, was her reaction to me.
"Marcie, this is my girlfriend, Bella." He pulled me closer and wrapped his arm around my waist. "We've bought a house, and now we need everything on this list." Edward handed it over, but Marcie barely scanned it. She was too busy shooting daggers at me with her eyes.
"Hello, Marcie," I said sweetly, doing my best to rein in my laughter. "It's nice to meet you."
"You, too," she simpered, and then turned her attention back to Edward. She handed the list back and suggested that we walk through the store for a bit to get an idea of what we liked and wanted. She assured him that if he had any questions, she would make herself available to help.
Deciding on a dining room table and buffet wasn't difficult. We knew what we each liked and found a set that fulfilled our requirements. We added another dresser for Edward's set so I would have somewhere to put my clothes. Even the entertainment center didn't cause a huge amount of grief, as I didn't care that much about it. Couches, however, were another matter entirely.
Edward liked big leather monstrosities. He sat on every single one and tried to sell me on their virtues. He had no chance. The problem was that while he was over six feet tall, I wasn't, and when I sat down on them, my feet didn't hit the floor. My little body would sink into the cushions, and I couldn't get out again. Without my feet able to anchor me in place, I would slide off the slick leather until they did touch, but by then, my butt was halfway off the couch.
"You're doing it on purpose," Edward accused. "If you just sat down, you wouldn't have any problems."
I rolled my eyes and tried to do as he suggested, only to slip again, this time into one of the cracks in the cushion, where I got stuck.
"No leather," I declared, and walked over to sit on one of the microfiber couches with puffy back cushions.
It took a while for us to find one we both liked, and then another twenty minutes for us to agree on a color. I insisted on something dark, because we were bringing a kid into the house—that, and Edward wasn't the neatest person on the planet. In the end, we agreed that the chocolate brown color they had would go well with Alice's paint color and the entertainment center. By that point, Marcie was glad to be rid of us, as the store was closing, and she'd gotten the hint that I wasn't going anywhere.
Before we left, she promised that all of our furniture was in stock in their local warehouse and that she would have it delivered the following Friday. Edward gave her his cell number for the delivery guys to call when they were on their way. She looked tempted to keep it for herself, but I looped my arm through his where she could see it, and she scowled.
"Did you enjoy tormenting the poor sales girl?" Edward teased once we'd left the store.
"She couldn't take a direct statement!" I defended. "You told her I was your girlfriend, and she was still trying to figure out how to get me out of the way."
He shrugged. "Wouldn't have worked."
I grinned at him. "You are so sweet. I love you."
"I love you, too." He bent down and pecked me lightly on the lips, before going around to the driver's side of the car and getting in.
That night, we fell in bed, legs tangled, hot and sweaty from our lovemaking. All the pieces that our lives had been separate were finally falling into place creating one, beautiful whole. After all of the stress and heartache we'd both endured over the last ten years, the peace that was settling over our lives was even more welcome.
A slamming door and stomping feet woke me early Saturday morning. Edward was still laying next to me, snoring lightly. His morning run had been foregone in favor of sleeping in before the drive to Forks. I slid out from underneath his arm and crept out of the room so that he could get as much rest as possible.
Alice was in the kitchen, throwing towels around and banging all of the parts to the coffee pot as she used them.
"Alice, what's wrong?" I asked.
She huffed and flopped down into one of the kitchen chairs, momentarily giving up on her pursuit of caffeine. I took over, because I would be damned if I didn't need some to get my day started.
"I'm just so frustrated, Bella."
I had a bad feeling that I was part of the reason for her aggravation. "Why so?"
She jumped up and started pacing. "I mean, I get that Jasper is a guy and he's used to living on his own in his bachelor pad and that he has some unusual attachments to his stuff, but I can't handle this. It's too much."
"What did he do now?" Edward asked through a yawn as he walked into the kitchen.
"He wants to keep his couch when he moves in," she declared, as if this was the greatest crime known to man.
I scoffed at her dramatics and was surprised when Edward groaned. "No, he doesn't want to do that, does he? That thing needs to be burned, not moved."
"That's what I said! And we don't need couches. The ones here are mine, but this morning, he set that as a condition of him moving in here, that he be allowed to bring along that nasty ass couch." Alice folded her arms across her chest and clearly pouted.
I didn't understand what the issue was. If the couch was so important to Jasper, Alice needed to give in and let him bring it. I told her so.
"No, you don't understand, Bella. I won't even sit on the thing without a sheet over it. Jasper found it while he was stationed in Texas, and he's dragged it around with him ever since. Oh, did I fail to mention that he found it on the curb after someone else threw it away? The thing is nasty," Edward said.
I'm sure I looked as grossed out as I felt. "Why does he keep it? It could be crawling with vermin!"
Edward laughed. "He had it cleaned, but I think it holds some sentimental value or some crap like that."
"Alice, I really think that this isn't the thing to put your foot down over. So it's ugly. That's why Pottery Barn sells slip covers. If the couch means that much to him, you're going to have to accept it," I told her. "How would you feel if he told you that you had to cut your shoe collection in half to move in with him?"
She looked aghast. "He wouldn't," she breathed. But her shoulders sagged in defeat, and I knew my comments had finally sunk in. "Dammit. I hate it when you're right." Alice stomped over to the coffee pot, now full to the brim with liquid, poured herself a cup, and retreated to her room.
I poured a cup for both Edward and myself and sat down at the table. He took the seat next to me, but it was clear he'd rather be back in bed. "Why are you up, sweetheart?" I asked gently. "You look like you could use a few more minutes of sleep."
He yawned and shook his head. "There's not enough time left for me to get back to sleep and for it to do any good if we want to get on the road and be there before nightfall." He paused, and a silly smile spread across his face. "If I had a nasty couch, would you let it in our new house?"
"Uh, yeah," I said warily, before taking a sip of my coffee. "I might relegate it to your man cave or the basement, but it could come. I guess it's lucky for me that you have better taste than Jasper, right?"
Edward laughed and nodded. "When were you planning to call Esme? I've got a couple of errands to run this morning, and I need to know what our timetable is."
"I was going to wait until at least eight," I said teasingly. "Go on and run your errands. Just be ready to go around eleven, I guess? I'll call you after I talk to her."
He kissed me goodbye and headed out to do whatever he needed to do. As it turned out, that was a good thing. I packed up before I called Esme, and she was thrilled with the suggestion. There were some items that she wanted for the picnic, but couldn't find in the meager selection at the Thriftway, and I agreed to pick them up before we came down. None of it was overly unusual, just things like different kinds of cheeses and specialty crackers, but the local store's selection had always been pitiful. By the time I finished grocery shopping for her, it was after eleven, and Edward was waiting for me in the living room.
Silently, he moved the groceries from my car to his and stuffed our bags in around them. His expression was one of deep concentration, more than would be warranted for his simple task, but I waited until we were underway to ask about it.
"What's bothering you?" I asked, breaking the quiet. He hadn't even turned on music.
"Hmm?" he asked in return, still not looking at me. "What? Oh, nothing. Just thinking." He dismissed my concerns as if his own behavior weren't startling.
I wanted to press further, but he chose that moment to reach over and click on the stereo, effectively eliminating our ability to have a conversation. I could have turned it down, or off, and pestered him about it. Instead, I thought about all that had changed in our lives over the past couple of months. Our ten-year old son was alive, we now shared custody of him with the people that raised him, were dealing with a criminal trial against Gerandy, and moving in together. For years, Edward had lived a structured life, defined by his military service, and now his life had been thrown upside down in less than two months. That was a lot for anyone to take in, so I left him to his brooding.
He continued his silent contemplations until we pulled into the Cullens' driveway. At Esme's instruction, he unloaded the groceries into the kitchen and stashed our bags in the spare room. His step was lighter than I'd expected after our torturously quiet drive down.
"Hey, Esme, would you mind if I borrowed Ryan for a little while?" he asked, sticking his head around the kitchen doorway.
She smiled at him and gave a half shrug. "Not at all. He hasn't had lunch, though, so be warned. He'll probably try to bribe you into stopping somewhere."
"Eh, I've got to eat, too. Thanks!" He disappeared around the corner so fast, I almost thought I'd imagined him there.
Something was definitely up with him. Not that I expected him to care for all of my needs when I was perfectly capable, but he'd never asked if I wanted lunch and hadn't even said goodbye to me before he jetted out.
While we put things away, I found an opened box of the crackers Esme had asked me to pick up. It was odd, but since they had just been up in the city, I wrote it off. She tried to keep me engaged in conversation. My mind was only half there, though.
Edward's odd mood had commenced after their discussion about Jasper's couch this morning and his question as to whether or not she would let him bring something so horrible into their home. I thought my answer had been satisfactory, making it clear that I would, but I couldn't shake the feeling that somehow, I'd messed up. If Esme noticed my distraction, she was kind enough not to mention it.
Once all the food was put away, Esme grabbed some Ritz crackers, peanut butter, and cheese, and motioned me to the table. I was too nervous to eat much, but I was starving.
"Do you mind going over this list with me again? I just feel like I've forgotten something," she said, sliding the list so we could both see it. She was planning to serve hot dogs, hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, chips, baked beans, and pasta salad. She'd also gotten a huge veggie tray for everyone to munch on throughout the day, and of course, the crackers and cheese I'd picked up.
"I think this looks good," I told her honestly. "Do you have all the extras?"
When Esme gave me a strange look, I clarified. "You know, plates, cups, drinks, utensils, buns, cheese, and condiments?"
"Drinks!" she shouted. "That's what I forgot. Thank you. We need two liters. Let me text Carlisle and have him bring some home. How many do you think we need?"
The next five minutes were spent trying to decipher how many of each type of soft drink she needed to have Carlisle pick up and who all exactly was coming. She also wanted to have some wine coolers and beer on hand. Carlisle had invited a few people from the hospital, and they'd invited a few of Ryan's friends and their families. Dad was even going to stop by for a short time. After all, even if he was on duty, it wasn't like Forks was so big that he'd be too far from the station if he was needed.
"I hope you don't mind lasagna for dinner," she said as she stood from the table. "With all the cooking we'll do tomorrow, I didn't want to slave over a hot stove tonight." She pulled an already assembled dish from the refrigerator and popped it in the oven.
"No, that sounds great," I told her with true enthusiasm. Her lasagna really did look good.
"Actually, Esme, I thought I would take Bella out to dinner, if that's all right with you," Edward said.
I wheeled around to see him leaning against the doorframe. I hadn't heard them come in.
She gave him a sly smile. "I don't mind at all. You two have fun."
Fun? Unless his mood had improved substantially—which, judging by the frown line between his brows, it hadn't—I wasn't sure I wanted to spend a couple of hours stuck at a table with him. He did look sort of hopeful, though, so I acquiesced and trudged upstairs to get changed.
"Oh, Bella," he called after my retreating form, "wear something casual."
In Forks, casual meant a meal at the diner. I couldn't complain; we had a lot of good memories there. However, if I had to choose between diner food and Esme's lasagna, we'd be staying in. Since it didn't seem like it was my choice, I threw on a pair of capris and a hunter green peasant shirt I'd packed on a whim.
Edward was standing somewhat impatiently by the front door when I came out, and I ducked my head into the kitchen to tell Ryan and Esme goodbye. Ryan gave me a huge hug, and Esme smiled at me—almost knowingly.
He was a gentleman, as always, as he helped me into the car and shut the door behind me, before walking around to the driver's side and sliding in. He put the car in reverse and pulled into the street. Almost immediately, two things became abundantly clear. First, Edward's mood hadn't improved any in the intervening hours. If anything, it was worse. His hands were gripping the steering wheel so hard, his knuckles were white, and his shoulders were as tense as Atlas'. Second, we weren't going to the diner.
Oh, God, what if he took Ryan out to tell him that when he came to visit, he'd be alternating between our places, because we weren't going to be together anymore? I thought, the panic welling up inside me. What if this is his way of letting me down?
The car stopped, and I looked at my surroundings for the first time. We were at the park. In the distance, I could see the baseball fields, and off to my right were the swings and the jungle gym. On the left, I knew from experience, was a covered pavilion filled with picnic tables.
I was startled when Edward opened my door and held his hand out for me to take. Gingerly, I accepted, still nervous about what was to come. He led me over to the pavilion, and one table in particular. On it was a checkered tablecloth and a couple of pillar candles, as well as a basket. I sat at one end, while Edward grabbed a lighter from his pocket and lit the partially burned candles I recognized from my own apartment.
"I thought these might work better since the wick will be shielded from the worst of the wind," Edward said as he finally got them lit and reset in the middle of the table.
"You planned ahead for this," I said aloud as reason dawned.
He nodded and chuckled. "I did. Amazing, I know." He reached into the basket and pulled out two Chinet plates, some napkins, two cans of Dr. Pepper, and fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and biscuits—what I'd once deemed the perfect picnic food.
"It's not bowling alley food," he pretended to lament. "But I couldn't bring their burgers all the way from Seattle, and the bowling alley in Port Angeles only serves nachos and hot dogs. Not at all appropriate."
I laughed, remembering our date some weeks ago when I'd declared that I preferred the bowling alley burgers to haute cuisine. "This is good," I assured him. "What's the occasion?"
He shrugged. "I just wanted to spend some time with my girl. It's been a really hectic couple of weeks, and this seemed like a good way to slow down."
I bit my lip and considered hard about what I was about to do, but I decided that I'd rather know outright than let my mind wander. I also took a bite of chicken and ate it before speaking. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong? I might not be able to fix it, but I can listen." Internally, I prayed that "I'm tired of you" wasn't what was wrong.
"Nothing's wrong, Bella, honest. I just have a lot on my mind," he protested, a little too heartily in my opinion.
"If you're sure . . ." I said doubtfully.
"I am." His tone was decisive and his expression was clearer, though I could still see hints of his anxiety.
We spent the time while we were eating just catching up. Even though we spoke every day and saw each other almost as much, there had been many things that neither of had shared. It turned out that though Edward liked Ben, he was having a hard time relating to him.
"He's such a nice guy, and I have no doubt that he'll be good to Ang," he said. "It's just that he's what you think of when you think of your stereotypical computer hacker nerd. As much as I'm good at what I do and enjoy it, Ben takes it to a whole other level. The other day, he hacked into the Pentagon—the Pentagon!—just to see if he could beat his previous best time. We had to call in and let them know we were testing their security."
"Is he going to be problem?" I asked, concerned.
"No." Edward shook his head. "It's not that at all. It's just that I can't relate to the guy. And Jasper is so far caught up in Alice-land that he's barely spoken."
"I can imagine that's probably how he felt when we first got back together," I said, sort of commiserating with Edward and Jasper at the same time.
"You're right. It's just such a shock seeing my best friend that way, when in the past, his idea of being hung up on a girl was doing her twice." Edward laughed. "Though I've got to admit, this is a lot better."
I had to agree and said so.
"Hey, you want to walk for a minute, since it's not raining?" Edward asked suddenly.
It was a decent evening, though there was a light cloud cover. I stood and waited while he threw away our trash in the provided cans and loaded everything else back into the picnic basket. He ran it to the car and was back at my side in less than a minute. We walked side by side, our hands linked, through the park that was the center of activity for my childhood.
"You know, this is the first place I ever saw you," Edward said out of the blue.
"What? No, it isn't. That was at school," I reminded him.
Edward shook his head. "Nope. That was the first time you saw me. I saw you the day you got into town, a week before school started, here in the park. You were sitting over there, underneath that big tree, reading a book. Every once in a while, your eyes would dart up and you'd look at all the people around you, but mostly, you stayed curled against the trunk, reading."
I remembered that day. I had gotten into town on an early morning flight, having spent all night in airports because of various delays, and Charlie had dropped me off at home because he had to work. He was taking the rest of the week off to get me settled in, but had to work one last day to cover someone else's vacation. After I'd put my clothes away and showered, I'd gotten bored and wandered down to the park.
"Why didn't you ever say anything?" I asked incredulously.
He shrugged. "It didn't seem that important, other than it sparking my interest in you. The first day of school, when you deigned to speak to me, was much more interesting."
"Yeah, interesting isn't quite the word I would use," I mumbled. "Mortifying is much more like it."
I was still embarrassed by how I'd behaved that day. At my old school, some of the popular boys had made bets about whether the coolest guy in school could get in the new girl's pants. He romanced her and carried her books to class all the time, until she finally gave in and went out with him. A month later, her ruined underwear were hanging on her locker when she got to school. It got so bad that she had to transfer to another school. When Edward came up to talk to me, I loudly told him that I wasn't going to sleep with him and that he shouldn't even bother. Once I'd gotten to know him, I'd apologized profusely, but he'd laughed it off, saying that I'd upped his street cred.
"It's also where we had our first pseudo-date," I reminded him.
"Ah, yes, the baseball game," he mused. "The date that wasn't a date."
He'd invited me to come watch him play a game, and I'd dressed up for the occasion, thinking that it meant he wanted to spend some time with me afterward. After our first encounter, one would think I would stop assuming where he was concerned, but I hadn't learned my lesson. When Lauren Mallory called me out on my sundress at a baseball game after it was over and the team was leaving together, I'd been too embarrassed to admit what I thought and started walking home, completely dejected. Edward had run across the field to me and tapped me on the shoulder. "I think you look beautiful," he'd said. "I wish I didn't smell so bad so that we could go out. Maybe you can wear that dress again for me sometime?"
"There were also the nights when we'd stop here after our dates, and I'd push you on the swings," he mentioned as we drew near them.
"And the night I told you that you probably shouldn't push me so high because I was pregnant with our baby," I recalled fondly. He'd been so shocked, but completely happy when he realized what I'd just said.
Edward's hand squeezed mine a little tighter. "And this is the first place you saw our son."
"It is," I murmured. We'd turned so that we could see the side of the baseball field.
"I'd like to add another memory to this park," Edward said softly as he got down on one knee beside me. "Isabella Marie Swan, I've loved you for almost half my life, and I'm going to love you until my last breath is gone. Would you do me the honor of being my wife? Will you marry me?"
There. Was that worth the wait? Did he do better this time?
The couch shopping story is mostly true. This is what happened when my husband and I went. It wasn't pretty.
Rec of the week:
Saving Myself by 107yearoldvirgin—it's hilarious and so OOC. You'll love it.
Stolen Secrets and Shattered Dreams by FoxxyJ—read it. This chapter is over so go do it now.
Fatherhood, Formula and other F words by anhanninen—a great WIP with Edward thrust into sudden fatherhood. You don't get much funnier than watching (reading?) a guy with no child experience try to juggle one.
Leave me a note. Let me know what you think!