BPOV

In a little Italian restaurant in Port Angeles, Edward and I are tucked away in a booth in a dark corner. We've been talking and laughing, and by the time our food arrives, I'm slightly ravenous.

"What did you order again?" Edward asks as his fork hovers over his classic spaghetti and meatballs.

I smile and nod down at my plate. "Mushroom ravioli with a cream sauce." He makes a face that I'm sure Liam either mimics or taught Edward. "You don't like fungi?"

"I'm good, thanks." He twirls some pasta onto his fork. "You're more than welcome to a meatball though."

"I might take you up on that."

As we eat, our conversation continues and it moves toward Liam. He's a sweet boy, and I really enjoyed spending Thanksgiving dinner with him—Edward too. But as Edward is telling me all about his little boy and the things he likes, I can't help but wonder about his mother. How do you ask a widower how they came to be that way?

Putting my fork down and wiping my mouth, I look to Edward. "Can I ask a question?"

"You want to know about his mom? Eventually, everyone who doesn't know gets curious." He sets down his fork and sighs softly.

I reach for his hand and squeeze. "Don't feel obligated to tell me."

"It's not that. When people find out, their opinion usually changes." Edward takes a drink from his water glass and clears his throat. "Jessica and I were high school sweethearts and thought we had the entire world before us. So when we got married, we weren't exactly prepared for the hardships being a married couple would bring us.

"It was great in the beginning, don't get me wrong. Jessica was a teacher, and I was working as an electrician. We had our little house and we were happy, or so I thought. Jessica always wanted a little more than we had. She wanted to be a stay at home wife and eventually mother, but we weren't in a position to be able to do that. We began to fight here and there about her working and how she felt like I wasn't doing enough. That's when I became a plumber's apprentice, and then got my own license."

"You did what you needed to do to make your wife happy," I tell him and squeeze his hand again. "I'm sure that kept you away from home more and added to her unhappiness."

"It did, and then she got a raise and so did I, and things evened out for a while and …"

"She got pregnant with Liam?"

"Yeah," he breathes out. "We were both so excited. Everything seemed perfect again, and when he was born, he was perfect. Jess didn't go through too much postpartum depression, and she bounced back beautifully. We had a great support system in town and everything was fine.

"Until it wasn't. She was drinking a lot and picking fights with me over nothing. She called me lazy and a bad father. One night when Liam was 18 months, I came home to find her packing her bags, saying she couldn't do it anymore. This wasn't the life she wanted, and she wanted out. Liam was crying in his crib, and I picked him up to soothe him, and when she saw that I went to him, she said I never really loved her. I just used her to get the family I always wanted. She left that night, and I thought she just needed time to clear her head. She was in a car accident on the 101 just outside of Seattle."

I'm already saddened by the fact that someone thought they couldn't make it work with Edward, who is such a great guy—funny and caring, sweet and genuine. But then you add that she left little Liam behind, and for just a moment, I'm not sad. Then I think of how Liam is growing up without his mother, and I feel the tears well in my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Edward. That must be so hard," I say quietly. He nods and lets out a sigh.

"But, I've come to realize that we weren't happy for a long time, and Liam was a balm to our wounds but couldn't heal us completely. No child should be given that much responsibility; he was just a baby," Edward tells me, and I can understand.

"Not the same story, but I'm sure you that my mother left Charlie when I was young too. She's still living, but we don't have any kind of a relationship. I know how Liam is going to feel one day about his mom, especially when he's old enough to know the truth."

"Maybe you'll be around so he can talk to you about it then," Edward says with a wistful smile. "I think I'd like it if you were around."

I feared this was coming, and as much as I like Edward and my stomach does little cartwheel around him, as much as I like Liam, I live in Seattle.

"My life is in Seattle, Edward. My shop, my apartment, all of it."

His smile drops a little, and I feel bad for ruining our night, but I have to be honest. With him and with myself.

"It could be here though. In Forks, I mean. You have a shop there, and I know someone who could fix it up for you." He winks, and I laugh lightly.

"You mean you?"

"Yeah, give me a chance to spruce it up before you make any final decisions." He turns his hand over and laces our fingers together.

"All right, but you have to promise me you won't be upset when I don't stay. I know my heart, Edward."

He nods and pulls his hand away to finish eating. "I know mine too. I think you're creeping into it."