A/N: Getting there. My hope is to finish the fic in its entirety next week. *slow chuckle, then a cackle* sighhhh We'll see. Wish me luck. Thanks for your reactions. Love the reviews.
This one goes out to Bobby. *black heart emoji*
Chapter 35 - A Head Start
BPOV continued, also her side of 'Lucky Today' chapter
The moment Bella arrived was like finding true north. Everything seemed to align. She breathed in the fresh air, closed her eyes, and knew this was the best idea she could've imagined. All her struggles, all the weight she carried slipped off her shoulders ... and suddenly, this bump wasn't so heavy after all. She felt this strength, she felt happiness.
She looked toward there, beyond the trees, at the lake, wishing she could see the boulders from where she stood. That secret place is her north on a compass, she's the needle. It is automatic, she wakes up, and her eyes find her window. She makes breakfast, and her eyes are pinned toward the treetops. She hardly keeps still waiting for Jameson to come, her knee bobbing in her wicker chair.
She accepted his deal. She thought, whatever it takes. He can do what he wants when he sees Edward, as long as he helps her find him. Jameson is her saving grace. Now she looks up at the sky, and it's almost as if she sees what he saw on that sidewalk.
Peace. Clarity.
But her knee keeps bobbing. Her sighs come more frequently, along with anxiety. She'd go alone. She would. But she holds herself back from hiking alone before Jameson comes.
The voices of Sam and Dad travels from the porch. She stirs cream into a coffee cup, the porcelain singing a high pitch against the spoon as it's steaming hot.
"And she's pushy and hormonal, and I'm just a man trying to appease a tired woman," says Charlie. His words travel into the kitchen where Bella stands.
She rolls her eyes.
"So much exaggerating," she says from behind the screen door.
Sam smiles at her as she climbs down the threshold and hands him a hot mug.
She lifts a palm, gesturing toward hers. "Don't worry, it's just warm milk," she says to her father, per his overprotective badgering.
"A North Pond baby," Sam says after some silence. "When's the day?" he asks.
"Not soon enough," Bella mutters. Really, she hopes it doesn't come until Edward has laid eyes on her. What will he say? What would he think? She can just see it: his bright eyes blinking through his glasses, shifting to her belly. Her insides curl with the thought. She wants so badly for him to react. He would know, right? He'd see her this way, and he'd know it's a result of their night together.
He wouldn't assume otherwise if Jameson is there.
Would he?
She'd shout it. "It's yours. Ours." Even before another word is uttered. No waiting.
Well, everything is falling into place. Sam confirms it when he offers to send his daughter to be her midwife.
"I told you it would work out. Help is right at our doorstep," she says to Charlie.
Charlie rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest.
The gravel crunches nearby, making Bella perk. Her compass needle twitches. Jameson drives up by the cabin. Bella sighs as if a ton of bricks have fallen off her shoulders at the sight of him.
"Tell her I'll make her dinner. I'd love to meet her. You come, too." Bella says to Sam before she waddles off to meet Jameson.
Her arms extending before they even connect around his neck.
"Whoa," says Jameson, his mouth nestles by her ear. He catches her. The baby bump pressing to his hips. She has to pivot her front to hug him precisely.
This is new. Well, as new as time passing, making things not a habit anymore. He hugged her like this all the time, but before. It's been weeks, and he hasn't seen her, since the day on the sidewalk. He guesses none of his threats affected her whatsoever. It figures.
He cups her head in his palm and lets the hug linger as long as she needs it to. He has no choice; she won't let go even if he tried that dance to back up. He gives in to more hugging.
"You okay?" he asks in her ear. She nods over his shoulder. Then she shakes her head. He hears sniffling next.
"I have this fear, James. A deep fear that won't go away."
She finally lets up, and he stares down at her; her front still stuck to his. He wipes a tear away from her cheek.
"Let's go. Now. Please," Bella pleads. "I can barely wait any longer."
He sighs. He looks up at Charlie on the porch.
"Yeah, but watchful eyes," he reminds. "C'mon, let's go inside."
Jameson feels the bubble of anticipation, the unveiling of the mystery. He can't help it. Soon enough, he'll be in the midst of a legend, a thief, a man who took his girlfriend's heart. He can't help but pity the unfortunate man who'll have his world turned upside down. Right now, blissfully ignorant is his state.
Well, he can't wait to see his face before he gets a good swing at him. He's seen it in dreams and through dried up eyes as he occasionally lets his mind wander, staring at walls. He's rehearsed it many times.
He can taste it.
His eyes catch Sam over Bella's head as he leaves, slowly walking toward the path to town. Then he sees a hiker just beyond the edge of the woods far away, weaving through trees. A backpack on his hunched shoulders, and a bin dragging behind him.
And he thinks, maybe he should prepare a bag for Bella too if they're really going to do this. He'll ask her out after dinner, casually like they always have. Charlie won't suspect it to be a hike. They'll have hours before he can question them being gone for too long.
"Get a backpack together. We'll leave in a few hours."
Bella quickens her steps, but her heart already has a head start.
…