Chapter 32 – Bella's Birthday, Part 1

EDWARD

Bella's birthday was Saturday and, despite all my efforts, she hadn't given any hints of what she would like, let alone where she would like to go for dinner. Jewelry and flowers have always been my go-to for my past girlfriends. However, Bella was more than a girlfriend. She was my wife, my confidant, my best friend. I wanted her gift to mean something, and I couldn't lean on Alice this time.

Pulling up my calendar, I discovered the rest of my morning until after lunch was free. I still wanted to take her to France, and she and I had discussed it. She wanted to wait until after the baby was born, which at the time, I agreed. Now, I was rethinking the decision. There had to be something else we'd talked about in Vegas or since.

Dragging my keyboard closer, I did a search on romantic birthday gifts. I explored various lists of gifts and it was when I was scrolling through DodoBurd, an idea struck me. The gift that would keep on giving for twelve months, a book of the month subscription. Smiling, I clicked the link and started filling out the form. The subscription was not the only gift I planned. Once done, I logged in to my Amazon account and clicked my cart. I had selected a navy chunky knitted weighted throw blanket. It would compliment the décor in the living room, and I hoped she would keep it there. Besides the photo of her and Charlie, there was no other indication of her presence in the house.

My cellphone rang, startling me. Glancing at the display, I saw it was Mom. I thought about not answering as I finished checking out. The blanket would be delivered to the office tomorrow.

"Hey, Mom," I answered. "What's up?"

"Not much. I need ideas for Bella's birthday."

And this was why I didn't want to answer. "Join the club," I remarked, before going on describing my struggle.

"Edward, I hate to say this. Plan the trip to France. Leave after her dinner, or maybe lunch."

I sat back, thinking. It wasn't a bad idea. Both our passports had been renewed and were in the safe. My schedule was light next week and could easily be handled by one or two junior lawyers. I would have to get Alice or Rosalie to pack for Bella. What the hell, I thought. Aloud, I said, "I'm doing it. I know it's what see really wants."

"Good, Edward. Now, I have some ideas. See you Saturday."

"See you then."

BELLA

Vocalizing my wish list was hard and the main reason I avoided the topic with Edward. Growing up in a low income family, my wishes to Santa were not always granted. Not to say my belief in the man in the red suit diminished one bit. If anything, it taught me not to get my hopes up.

Telling him I wanted to go to Paris, to see where Victor Hugo lived, was a mistake. When he brought up going, I talked him into waiting until the baby was born and old enough to leave with his parents. It saddened me that I was denying myself of what was sure to be a wonderful trip.

~~~ Reaching for Love ~~~

Saturday brought with it my birthday. The sweet smells wafted through the open bedroom door. Strange, I thought. Edward got up before me most days and closed the door. Why would he leave it open? With a shake of my head, I got up and proceeded to the bathroom.

When I reentered the bedroom, Edward was coming through the door with a tray. "Back in bed," he said with a smile. "I have your breakfast."

I have had breakfast in bed a few times when I was sick. Grandmother Swan would bring me dry toast and orange juice. It made me feel special. Here was Edward bringing me breakfast, and I wasn't even sick. I piled up a few pillows and sat on the bed, pulling the blanket up.

Still smiling, Edward placed the tray down over my legs. "Happy birthday, love," he whispered, kissing my cheek before pulling the silver dome thingy covering the plate.

Revealed was a stack of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and fruit. "Not joining me?" I asked when he moved to the door.

"I am. I need to get the other tray from the hall."

~~~ Reaching for Love ~~~

My birthday so far was wonderful. I had set not expectations and given no hints of potential gifts. The bar was pretty low. After breakfast, he told me we were going out to lunch and to dress nice. Nothing about where we were going.

The doorbell chimed as I was coming down the stairs. I was still in my pajamas and was glad to see Edward answering. When he turned, in his hand was a vase of pink lilies.

"You didn't," I said.

He shook his head. "Not this time." He handed me the card.

"Happy birthday, Bells. As much as I want to join you for lunch. I couldn't get someone to cover for me. Love, Dad."

The flowers were on the table in front of the window. They didn't look right there. Edward was sitting on the couch. He watched as I moved them to different locations in the living room. I stepped back, pleased with the placement on the fireplace mantel.

Edward hooked his finger, motioning for me over. I sat next to him, but he had other ideas and pulled me into his lap. "I'm sorry your dad can't celebrate with you."

Since Dad's little speech a few weeks ago, he and I had been talking on the phone weekly. When I called him last night, I hadn't known about the change in time. "How did he find out about change?"

I bounced on his lap as he chuckled. "I called him last night when you were relaxing in the tub."

Leaning in, I thanked him with a kiss.

"So, are going to give me any ideas of what you want for your birthday?" he enquired, for what seemed like the hundred and fiftieth time this week.

Paris, I thought as I shrugged. "Whatever you got me is what I want."

His eyes narrowed. "And if I got you nothing due to your lack of suggestions," he teased, at least I hoped he was teasing.

"Then that is perfectly fine."

He raised his hand and caressed my face. "Liar," he whispered. "Why won't you tell me?"

EDWARD

Bella turned away from my loving gaze and tried to slip off my lap. I wasn't going to let her run away, not this time. It was too important, and I wanted to understand.

She turned pleading eyes on me. I could see in them all past birthday disappointments. All the times she asked for something only to not get it. I could see it wasn't about the money, but about her learning the hard way that life wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.

"Please, Edward, let it drop."

I didn't think I could, and I was going to try something. "Let me ask you this, Bella. If you received fifty dollars today, what would you buy yourself?"

My question seemed to catch her off-guard. "Huh?"

I shifted her off my lap and reached behind me, pulling out my wallet. A crisp fifty was soon revealed. "What would you get yourself?" I asked again, handing it to her.

She stared at President Grant for a long moment before lifting her gaze to me. "Umm… maybe a hardback copy of Wuthering Heights," she responded, trying to hand me the money back.

I shook my head. "It's yours. Was telling me what you would buy hard?"

"No," she whispered, lowering her head. "However, it's easy when I'm giving money to buy anything I want. It's harder to tell someone. To get your hopes up of possibly receiving at least one of the suggestions."

I understood her reluctance. Standing, I walked over to where I had hidden a gift. "Let's see if I guessed right," I said, sitting next to her and passing her the wrapped item.

After ripping off the paper, she soon revealed three hardback books, Wuthering Heights being one of them. The others were The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Paradise Lost. The last book was a guess. She seemed to like the classics, and Milton's poem, though incredibly difficult to understand, was something I believed she would love.

When she didn't say anything, I wasn't concerned at first. It was when the tears began to glisten on her cheeks, that I couldn't take the silence anymore. "What's wrong?" I asked, pulling her into my lap again.

"Nothing." She sighed. "I asked for Paradise Lost some many times and never received it. You, without even knowing, got it for me."

She kissed me again. The books slid off her lap as I deepened it a tad. As much as I wanted to take the kiss further and give her a much more intimate gift, it had to wait until we were at the hotel in France.

"You best get dressed. We have a stop to make before heading to restaurant."

She hopped off my lap and bent to pick up the books. Her gasp told me she had found the Book of the Month subscription information I had placed in one of the books.

"What's this?"

Playing dumb, I inquired what was what.

"Oh, no, you don't get to play dumb. You placed this information in the book, explain what it is?"

I chuckled. "I think you know what it is. You, my dear, get to build yourself a little library, a month at a time."

She walked off with a smile on her face. That was all the thanks I needed.