Chapter Sixty-One: Bella

May 28, 2024

Cambridge, England

"Bella!"

I wake with a start.

Against my chest, Spawn starts to fuss and I realize we've both fallen asleep. I look at Edward who is coming into the room, shaking his head. "People are here. We've been waiting for you for like half an hour."

I nod, pulling Spawn off me. "Sorry," I yawn.

Edward focuses on dressing our drowsy daughter in her duck costume while I pull on some leggings and a t-shirt.

When we are all dressed and presentable, we head out to the living room.

There are a lot of people packed into our small apartment. People from my work, and people from Edward's program, not to mention a few friends we'd managed to make in our building.

Everyone cheers when they see Spawn, and my daughter perks up, realizing she has an audience.

I head straight for the kitchen as Edward takes Spawn to say hi to all our guests.

"Bella!"

I turn and smile at Jess. She pulls me into a quick but firm hug.

"Jess, it's so good to see you!"

I went back to work a few months ago, but I've been completely remote. I'm hoping to get into the office soon, but until we can get consistent daycare for Spawn, Carmen has been generous enough to help me work from home.

"You too, you look incredible."

She's being kind. I know I must look like a walking disaster.

"Thanks for coming," I say instead. She smiles.

"Always happy to see my niece," she jokes, giving me a wink. Despite the fact we've known most of the people in the room for less than two years, we consider most—if not all of them—family in some way or another.

Spawn has no shortages of aunts and uncles.

"Speaking of," Jess says. "I want to give you the gift we got you."

I arch an eyebrow and she grins, pulling a plastic card out of her pocket.

"A few of us have agreed to babysit Birdy over the weekend. We got you and Edward a hotel room in London."

I stare at her. "W-what?"

She grins, hooking an arm around my shoulders. "I'm sure you two haven't had much time to connect, and honestly, the way your husband looks, it should be a felony to not tap that at every available moment."

I can't help snorting.

"I think I actually said that once," I snicker. She grins.

"I'll show you the schedule we all worked out to care for Birdy. You and Edward have train tickets in two hours."

My head is spinning.

"O-okay," I say slowly. "Uh, let me talk to Edward."

Jess nods.

"Absolutely. Let's go break it to him now."

She moves across the room, pulling Edward back to where I'm still standing in the kitchen.

I don't know if it's because I'm still in a nap delirium, but it's hard for me to follow Jess's plan as she explains it to us.

Edward looks at me in surprise and I let out a breath.

"We'd only be a train ride away," I point out.

He turns to Jess. "You're sure?"

She nods.

"Of course. None of us would offer if we were hesitant. I promise, it'll be fine. Go pack a bag."

I look around the room. "But, Spawn's birthday party…"

Jess turns me toward my room. "Go pack. We'll do cake and presents after and then you two will be on a train for a much-needed get-away."

I look at Edward, who shrugs. I understand him immediately, and we excuse ourselves to talk in our room.

The moment the door is shut, we turn to look at each other.

"Are we monsters?" I ask.

"No," Edward says slowly. "I actually think this could be good."

I stare at him. "It's our daughter's first birthday."

He lets out a breath. "Honestly, the only thing monstrous about us is how we've been acting. We've been at each other's throats and I hate it."

He's right, of course. I hate it too. I let out a long breath.

"We're not bad parents, right?"

He steps towards me, pulling me into his arms. I immediately sink against him. God, how long has it been since we just hugged?

"No," he murmurs into my hair. "We're not bad parents. Nor does it make us bad people to need time to ourselves." He presses a kiss to my forehead. "We don't just have a daughter to take care of, we have a marriage that needs nurturing too."

I know he's right, and I let out another breath.

"You're right," I whisper, burrowing against his chest. "I miss you."

I feel him take a breath. "I miss you too."

For a moment, we just stand there, holding each other. Eventually, we break apart, looking at each other.

"We're doing this?" I ask. He nods.

"Yeah, we're doing this."

I take a deep breath. "Okay. Don't bother packing many clothes. I plan to have you naked as much as fucking possible."

Edward grins and leans down, pressing his lips to my own.

"Sounds like a fucking plan."