***A/N***

I hope you all had a great weekend. I had fun writing this chapter

S. Meyer owns all things Twilight.

Chapter 31-Everybody Loves Bacon

BPOV

I tried to push the dream I had about Edward out of my mind. I went food shopping with Esme and we ran some other errands, but it was still all I could think about. While the events in the dream didn't actually occur, the feel of his mouth and hands on my body was burned in my memory, as if I had experienced it in the flesh.

The last time I saw Edward was three days ago in the kitchen, and the truth was, during those three days, more times than I'd like to admit, I'd found myself looking forward to seeing him again at dinner tonight.

But now, after that dream, how was I ever going to face him? My stupid blush would give me away the moment he looked at me.

Esme and I pulled into the driveway after our shopping excursion, and carried everything into the house. As I'd done all day, I tried to shake off thoughts of the dream and what it might mean, and instead focus on helping her put everything away. I was already feeling tired just from our short trip, and thought a nap would be a good idea if I wanted to be at my best for dinner tonight.

Dr. Nelson told me I would feel fatigued for awhile, and he was right. Even the smallest bit of exertion made me feel like I needed a nap.

I told Esme I was going to lie down, and made my way to my room. I changed into a cozy fleece and pajama pants, and stretched out on the chaise next to the fireplace with a blanket and a book. Carlisle had started a fire before we returned from shopping. He was always doing things like that, behind the scenes, to make me more comfortable, and I realized once again, I'd made the right decision by coming here.

Esme and Carlisle didn't hover. They left me to myself, and I really appreciated it. It made me feel more comfortable, like I wasn't in the way. I read books, slept, and generally just decompressed. I told Esme I would be perfectly fine staying home by myself and she should go to the bookstore during the day. She protested, but I finally convinced her.

"It's your busiest time of the year," I said, "... and besides, I have everyone's phone number and can give one of you a call if there's any problem, which there won't be."

We haven't discussed how long I'll stay with them. For now we're taking it day by day until I'm feeling stronger. We talked briefly about when I'd return to the book store, but decided it would be best to wait until I didn't feel so fatigued all the time, and my arm was healed. I had at least two more weeks in the cast, and then I would start physical therapy.

I opened the book, arranged the blanket around my legs, and turned toward the fireplace. I hadn't even gotten through reading the first paragraph from where I'd left off, when I felt my vision blur and my eyes start to close from the lulling warmth of the fire. Before I knew it, the book tipped over onto my chest, and I drifted off.

When I woke from my nap, I looked at the clock. I had slept for almost two hours. I gazed out the window, and could see the light had changed slightly, as late afternoon started to turn to early evening. I stood up from the chaise and stretched, and padded to the bathroom to shower and get ready for dinner.

The combination of the nap and shower re-energized me. I stood in my towel, in front of the open closet, and decided something a little nicer than yoga pants was in order. I settled on a v-neck royal blue sweater and a pair of black skinny jeans, and paired them with black, low heeled, ankle boots.

I went back to the bathroom and dried my hair, letting it hang in loose curls around my shoulders. I put on a few pieces of silver jewelry, and a little bit of lip gloss and mascara.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I felt more like my old self, and I smiled. The bruising on my face was completely gone, my eyes were bright, my face no longer gaunt, and my cheeks had a rosy glow.

I checked my phone quickly before I left the room. I'd texted both Jake and Angela the first night I arrived here to give them my new number. Jake's been keeping his word, and texted back a simple, "Thanks, talk to you soon."

I saw there was a text from Angela and I smiled. "Saw Jamie Lee Curtis in an elevator when I went to the dentist today. She looked like she didn't want to be recognized."

I was going to give her a call in the next day or so, but still hadn't figured out what I was going to tell her about my living arrangements. I would have to deal with that later.

I walked through the living room and could already smell something heavenly. As I made my way into the kitchen, I saw Esme as she stood in front of the stove checking her simmering pots. She smiled when she saw me. "Look how pretty you are!"

I smiled, exaggeratedly batted my eyelashes at her, and did a little twirl.

"Thank you, the nap did wonders, and might I add, you look gorgeous yourself. Everything smells wonderful, what can I do to help?"

"I think I've got everything handled, but you could pull out the hors d'oeuvres from the fridge if you don't mind. Everyone should be arriving shortly." I took out the appetizers from the refrigerator and placed them on the kitchen island, as I continued to watch her cook.

"Help yourself to a glass of wine dear." She said as she stirred.

I noticed she was sipping on a glass of red, and walked over to the bar area to pour myself a glass of the open Malbec, and then wandered into the adjoining dining room to look around. The table was set beautifully, with a simple fresh flower arrangement in the center, and a personalized name marker for each guest in front of their plate. The taper candles, some in the wall sconces, and some on the table, gave the room a soft romantic glow that shimmered and sparkled off of the silverware and crystal glasses at each place setting. She really had such a flair, I was envious.

I heard laughter coming from the kitchen, and walked in just as Alice and Jasper were entering. They were followed by Detective McCarty and his wife Rose, and I watched them all hug and kiss Esme while she continued to stir. Alice gave me a huge smile and came over to give me a hug. "You look great Bella, it's nice to see you again. Everything ok so far?"

I returned her hug. "It's been great. Esme and Carlisle have been wonderful, I'm not sure I'm going to want to leave." I said with a laugh.

"She doesn't have to!" Esme called out as she added some spices to her dish and took another sip of wine. I shook my head and chuckled.

Alice turned toward Jasper as he approached us. "Bella, this is my fiance, Jasper Whitlock. Jasper this is Bella."

Jasper was tall, with wavy blonde hair and light blue eyes. His smile was wide as he held out his hand to shake mine. "Nice to meet you Bella." His handshake was firm, and I detected a slight southern drawl to his voice. I vaguely remembered Edward telling me he was originally from Texas. Jasper was a professor at a local community college, and I could tell he was probably a hit with his students, with his laid back demeanor and southern charm.

Detective McCarty was picking through the appetizers on the kitchen island and turned to me after putting a shrimp in his mouth. "Hey Bella, great to see you again." He looked at me for a quick moment and said, "Is it alright for me to call you Bella?"

Alice broke in. "I just told Edward this the other day, can we please do away with all the formalities for God's sake?"

"Back off shorty, I was asking Miss Swan." Alice rolled her eyes.

"It's ok Alice. Yes, please call me Bella."

"Great, and of course the same goes for you, call me Emmett, or 'hey you', I'll respond to either." He said with a smile as he turned toward the woman next to him, "...and this is my wife, Rosalie."

The statuesque blonde came up to me and held out her hand. "Hi Bella, call me Rose. It's very nice to meet you."

Edward told me Rose was an art dealer, and had helped Esme acquire some of the pieces in the house. She had long blonde hair that reached the middle of her back, and in heels, was just a few inches shorter than Emmett.

"Hi Rose, it's nice to meet you too." Before she let go of my hand I added, "Your husband saved my life. I can't ever thank him enough for helping me that night."

Rose looked up at her husband. "He's a keeper for sure."

"You know it baby." Emmett said as he leaned down and kissed her temple.

"I'm just glad he and Edward were there Bella."

"I'm just pissed I didn't catch the fuc..." Emmett looked over at Esme, "Sorry, I mean I'm just pissed I didn't catch the dirtbag."

Carlisle walked into the kitchen at that moment, and greeted everyone before walking to the bar to get himself and the guys a beer. Alice and Rose both made themselves some kind of fancy cocktail, I wasn't sure what they were, and we all sat around the island and snacked on the appetizers.

"So..." Jasper directed his attention to me with a smile, "I heard you saw The Bible."

I laughed as I popped a piece of cheese into my mouth. "Oh my God, that thing is incredible."

Alice narrowed her eyes at Jasper in warning, "Don't insult The Bible honey."

Japser raised his hands in supplication, "I wasn't, I just wanted to get Bella's opinion."

I laughed and looked at Alice, "It's absolutely awesome."

"Good answer." Emmett interjected as he reached for another shrimp.

We were talking about the finer points of DJ's versus live bands, when we heard someone come in the front door, and then heard the hall closet open and close as they hung up their coat.

"We're in the kitchen!" Esme called. I felt my pulse quicken, the excitement I'd felt the past three days when I thought of seeing him again, making itself known.

I heard footsteps coming toward us, and looked up as he walked into the room. My breath caught in my throat. He was wearing a dark grey shirt and it made his eyes look even greener than usual. His cheeks were red from the cold outside, and his hair was all over the place. Some hung down over one of his eyes, and he brushed it back with his hand as he walked over to Esme to give her the wine he held in the other. He gave her a kiss. "Sorry I'm late, traffic was a bitch."

I watched the way he moved. So effortless. Comfortable with himself and everything in his orbit. His clothes looked almost tailor made to him, but in a casual way. I couldn't stop staring.

"No problem dear, Bella was just getting to know Jasper and Rose. Everything is just about ready, get yourself a drink and relax."

Edward gave Carlisle a hug and looked over to all of us sitting at the island and said his 'hello's' one by one as he scanned the group, his eyes widening slightly when they finally rested on me.

"Hi Bella, it's nice to see you again. You look,... you look like you're recovering well. So, how's it going over here? Ready to run for the hills yet?" He laughed as Esme hit him in the back with a dish towel.

I looked at him, still a little dazzled by his mere presence, trying not to think about my dream from last night and said quietly, "Esme and Carlisle have been too kind. I'm so glad I came."

He smiled at me as he took the beer Carlisle offered.

"Ok, we're ready!" Esme called as she took another sip of wine and asked everyone to carry a dish to the dining room.

The dinner was incredible. Esme made pasta with a pesto sauce that was out of this world. It was paired with asparagus and a large leafy green salad. She had warm Italian bread, and small bowls of olive oil for dipping.

The red wine she chose was delicious, and complimented the meal perfectly.

If this was how she was going to cook while I was here, I would not only gain back the weight I lost, I might need to buy a new wardrobe.

We ate and laughed, and I found myself watching this family as an outsider, and seeing just how incredible they were. They really were. I was having so much fun listening to the stories about Alice and Edward when they were younger, and all the trouble Edward got into. The wine was flowing, the conversation was great, and the atmosphere, relaxed.

I watched Esme pour herself another glass of wine, as she launched into a story about Edward and Emmett in college. She was speaking animatedly, and I thought her voice had a slightly higher pitch to it than normal. I looked at the empty bottles around the table.

Did she drink an entire bottle by herself already? Oooof, she's gonna feel that tomorrow.

Esme and Carlisle were sitting at opposite ends of the table, Rose, Emmett and Jasper were on one side, and Alice, Edward, and I, on the other. Edward was to my right, my leg almost touching his under the table.

I tried not to think about it. I could feel my face getting red as my mind wandered to my dream last night.

God, If he ever found about that, I'd die.

He looked over at me, "You ok? You're face looks a little flushed."

I watched his lips as he spoke, and imagined them sucking my nipples. "What? Oh, um, yeah, I'm fine, just the wine."

Oh God, how was I going to get through the rest of this dinner with him sitting so close?

Get it together girl.

I took another sip of wine and looked to my left at Alice. "So, Alice, what did you decide? Mini tarts or mini bundts?"

She reached for a piece of bread. " I'm still not sure, I had a loooong talk with Alan and Damon about it and we still haven't decided. I think I just need to sleep on it for a few more nights."

Esme broke in, "Oh Alice, how are they? I really need to have them over for dinner soon. I want to talk to them about Damon's neighbor, I think I have the perfect girl for him."

Edward laughed. "On to the next victims, I see."

Esme pretended to kick him under the table." Admit it, I'm a great matchmaker, everybody says so."

"Oh, we know, trust us, we know."

"I am, and you know it! If you weren't so stubborn and busy with 'work' all the time...,"

She used air quotes around 'work'.

"I could have set you up with someone too!"

Set him up? What about, 'I'll cook' Tanya? Wasn't he dating her?

Edward laughed. "Listen, I refuse to get involved in your match making witchery, for all I know, you'd be cutting off locks of my hair while I slept."

"Oh stop it." She said teasingly. "That's ridiculous, I would never do that." She sipped her wine and took a bite of her pasta. "All I'd really need is a piece of clothing or something else you own, like your watch, that would be much easier to get."

We all stared at her and she looked up from her plate. "What? I'm kidding!" and then she waggled her eyebrows and gave her best attempt at an evil grin, "Or am I?"

Ok, she really needed to lay off the booze.

But no, she kept going.

"I even thought about setting you up with Bella!"

Oh my God, did she just say that?

My eyes went wide and I stared at my plate, not knowing where to look, as I felt my face heat up.

She poured herself another glass of wine.

"I did! I was originally going to set her up with Carlisle's new intern, and I still might do that,... or maybe Damon's neighbor now that I think about it, but I thought the two of you would have been perfect together, just like Alan and Damon, but without the bacon."

Huh?

Everyone at the table looked at her. She finished pouring her wine, and looked up into the confused faces surrounding her.

"What? Oh come on. You know...you know, the bacon thing," she said while twirling her hand above her head in the universal gesture for 'you should know what I'm talking about.'

Edward looked at Emmett.

"Do you know what she's talking about?"

"Shit if I know dude, but I love bacon." He replied.

Edward looked over at Esme who was on her way to consuming another half glass.

"So wait, I'm confused, am I supposed to be a gay man in this scenario?"

"What? Well, no dear." She looked at him with a wrinkle between her brows. " Unless of course...if you are, that's wonderful! Edward, you know better than anyone, 'Hate Has No Home Here', is not just a sign on our lawn..."

She hiccuped.

"Oh! I have the perfect person for you! Remember Rick, the architect who designed the addition on the house? He's just spectacular, or there's Mitch from my LGBTQ advocacy group, he just got a Golden Retriever and bought a house on the lake, I'd love him for you..."

Emmett cut in, "Dude, you're gay?...Not that there's anything wrong with that."

Everyone looked over at him and he got a defensive look on his face.

"What? You've never watched Seinfeld?" He dug back into his pasta.

Edward turned back to Esme who was looking into the bottom of her glass with a perplexed look on her face, trying to figure out how it was empty again. She picked up the bottle and tipped it over, but nothing came out.

"Esme, I'm not gay."

Oh Thank God.

Wait, did I care if Edward was gay?

Apparently I did.

Yeah, I think we determined that after your beach blanket bingo dream last night.

Esme looked up from her wineglass into Edwards face, but it looked like she may have been seeing double.

"Oh...well ok dear, but I still stand by my original comment about the bacon."

Alice piped in. "Esme, what are you talking about with this 'bacon' business?"

Esme rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Carlisle, help me out here."

"Sorry dear, I don't have a clue, I'm a scrapple guy myself."

She rolled her eyes again and launched into the kind of explanation only someone who has consumed copious amount of alcohol can pull off. You know the ones, where it all makes perfect sense to them, but you're just trying to follow along.

" It's something about bacon, and you're supposed to cook it at six degrees, but I never understood that part because the oven doesn't even have a setting that low, and,... no wait, I might have that wrong... I think you're supposed to separate it first, but there's an analogy in there somewhere about connections with people..."

Oh my God, drunk Esme was hysterical.

I could feel the laughter bubbling up inside me, and couldn't keep it from bursting out.

"Esme, are you talking about Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon?"

Her head popped up, and she slammed her palm down on the table making the silverware clatter on her plate.

"That's it!" She exclaimed. "Yes! That's it!"

"Oh, I can't wait to hear this one." Emmett said.

Esme looked around the table excitedly.

" So, with Alan and Damon, they didn't meet directly, there were a few degrees of separation between them. Me, Karen, Karen's aunt, Alan's mother...I guess we were the bacon."

She looked off to the side, her brow furrowed in concentration, index finger on her chin, trying to figure out if that was right. Then she shook her head and came back to the discussion.

"Anyway, the point is, they had to have a connection with other people first before they could get to each other. It wasn't six people in their case, but whatever." She waved her hand dismissively.

We were all listening intently, waiting to hear when the final point to all of this was going to materialize.

"Annnnnnnyway,"She said, "With Edward and Bella, I knew they wouldn't have to go through anyone else, well, except for me, but that doesn't count."

Why didn't that count?

I guess you can't argue with the convictions of the inebriated. Carry on, Esme.

"So I knew it would be a straight bee-line right to romance-ville for the two of them! Edward wouldn't have to have his meat involved... errr wait,...that's not right... he wouldn't have to have anyone else's meat involved at all!"

She beamed at us with a huge smile of triumph, and then hiccuped again, twice.

We were all silent, just looking at one another.

Emmett cracked first. "Damn, Mrs. C..."and that was it. We all burst out laughing.

Rose was drinking water, and it came out of her mouth and nose simultaneously, and sprayed all over Emmett. Alice was laughing so hard she was practically crying. Jasper was looking down just shaking his head, a huge smile on his face. Emmett was doubled over, barely able to breathe, and I watched as he slowly rolled off the chair onto the floor, silent laughter wracking his body, while he held his stomach. Carlisle was looking across the table at his wife adoringly, like he just hit the lottery and she was the grand prize.

I turned and looked at Edward. His whole body was shaking with laughter. He looked over at me with a huge grin, and I put my hand over my mouth to contain my giggles.

Esme said,

"See! I told you I knew what I was talking about! Six Degrees of Kevin Hart!"

"Bacon!" We all yelled in unison, while erupting into another fit of hysterics.

***A/N***

Have you ever had scrapple? It's a Philly thing. It's gross.

And come on, who doesn't love Kevin Bacon?

Oh, and my friend who lives in California texts me monthly with all of her celebrity sightings because she knows how much I love them. The Jamie Lee Curtis one was a real text from her. I keep telling her she has to contact me immediately when she hits the mother load and sees Rob somewhere.

See you all soon!