Morning, lovelies! Let's get back to our favorite couple, yeah?
Many thanks to my team for making this possible!
It should be a decent walk today. Meadow?
I'm in Edward's spare room, taking out my frustration on the punching bags dangling from the ceiling when my phone vibrates loudly on the windowsill. There are only two people who have this new number of mine, Rose, and Edward, so I finish my round of jabs before heading over to answer them. If it was an emergency, they would have called me instead of texted, so I take my time as I wipe the sweat off my face and take a large sip of water.
This new phone of mine is one of the new safety measures Edward introduced to our lives. He wanted to be able to keep in touch with me throughout the day whenever he could, so he surprised me with a phone of my own added to his plan.
He also added one for Rose, as well, so she and I have been able to communicate more frequently and safely. She still only calls me while she's out, in case my husband has found a way to monitor her calls at home and at her office. Either way, it feels incredible to be able to contact them whenever I feel like it. It makes me feel...normal.
As normal as I can, given the circumstances.
Reaching for my phone, I read Edward's message as I stretch my body, the last hour's session with the punching bags making my arms heavy as I hold the phone in my hand. I smile at his words, my eyes landing on the grass outside of the window. The snow had taken a few weeks to melt, but it finally had just enough to make it safe for us to walk to our meadow.
Or so, Edward thinks.
Either way, I tell Edward I would be down to go; it's been a while since we had a chance to practice shooting in the meadow, and now that my kick-boxing session is finished for the day, he's given me something else to look forward to before night falls.
Absolutely. I'll get everything ready.
I answer him quickly and head out of the spare room towards his room down the small hallway off the kitchen. We don't need much for our trek into the meadow today, but I still make sure we have everything we need in our backpacks. My gun and all the components, some extra winter gear for the cold, and of course, I throw a couple of little snacks in there for Edward to hold him over before dinner. To say we've settled into a comfortable routine these last few weeks would be accurate, and each day brings a new round of discoveries about one another for us to enjoy.
I gather our things, plus a large thermos of hot chocolate, and head outside when I hear Edward's Jeep pull onto our street. It's only a little after noon, and we'll have plenty of sun to use for our training session in the meadow before we have to pack it in and call it a night.
Not that I'm complaining about that, either.
Nighttime brings us a whole different kind of session.
He parks his Jeep into his driveway, smiling as he shuts the door and heads my way. He's spent the morning working outside, so he's ready to start walking right away, and we get started after he pulls me in for an afternoon kiss.
"Ready?" He asks.
"Yep," I answer, and we start walking hand in hand towards the meadow.
We chat casually on our way, filling each other in on each other's day as we walk. He's got a bag in his hand and our thermos in the other, and when I offer to help carry something, he shoots me a look that reminds me who I'm talking to.
He's had to carry much more on his back in his lifetime, so this is nothing to him. I'm fine with the backpack on my back; my muscles are familiar with the hills and terrain by now, even as we dip closer to winter.
We arrive at the meadow eventually, and there's a little more snow here than back at the cabin, but it is still easy enough to get ourselves situated like we're used to. Unlike before, Edward doesn't need to stand behind me, though he still hovers as close as he can. He says it's because he loves being close to me, but I suspect it's the military training in him that watches for excellence and accuracy.
He makes sure my footing and alignment are on par with our shooting targets for today, which has graduated from pumpkins in the fall to something else entirely as we inch closer to Christmas.
"Ugly Christmas sweaters?" I laugh as I watch him hang them from random trees around the meadow.
"We can't be shooting stuffed Santas now, can we?" He answers as he finishes hanging the last of the sweaters he had packed in the bag he was carrying. "Besides, these deserve to be mangled. Did you see how hideous these are?"
"That's the point," I laugh but shake my head and aim my body to make the first perfect shot. I'm not perfect, but I'm accurate enough, and Edward nods and coaches me through each sweater. I'm no longer shaky behind the barrel of the gun, and even though I have no intention of using one, I'm comforted knowing the metallic steel in my hands won't be a stranger if the time ever comes.
We relax for a little, the air freezing but also warmed by the sun hidden beneath the blanket gray of Forks. We sip our hot chocolate and make a terrible snowman out of the snow that's left on these hidden trails.
We laugh, easy and carefree, especially when Edward slips the last of the ugly sweaters over the snowman.
And just like the times before, I aim for the center mass of the snowman and pull the trigger when I see my husband's face flash before my eyes.
"You did good today," Edward tells me later when we're making our way back home.
"Time to warm me up," I counter, knowing he absolutely will as soon as we walk inside.
Edward is never one to let me down.
As much as I wanted to keep them in their little bedroom bubble forever, they have some training to do! See you tomorrow!