Chapter 9 - Open Doors

BELLA

I hurried inside and checked my parents' room. My mom was still sleeping, so I thought I would let her rest and finish up my homework while I had a snack.

Before I knew it, my dad was home. I looked up, surprised so much time had passed. "Hey, button, did you and your mom have any luck on the dress hunt?" he asked.

"She's still sleeping. I figured I'd just finish my homework, and she'd wake up soon, but I guess she isn't up yet." I looked at the clock. "I suppose I'll start dinner. Soup sound okay? I'm guessing if she's sleeping that she isn't feeling good."

"Yeah, thanks, button," he said leaning over and kissed the top of my head. He walked back to where their room was, and I knew he was probably going to wake up my mom. I hoped she didn't feel bad about missing the store today. There was always tomorrow or this weekend. Maybe we could get dad to drive us. I knew the drive to Port Angeles would take a lot out of her.

"Bella," my dad called to me, "Your mom is running another high fever. I'm taking her in. Are you going to be alright here alone?"

"Sure, Dad, I'll be fine."

"Okay, I'll call you when we find out when she'll be coming home," he said carrying my mother's limp body to the car. You would think I would panic, but this had gotten to be pretty routine. She probably just needed another round of some sort of medicine to help her fight something off. She had an auto-immune disease that just worked against her constantly.

I finished up the soup and put it in the fridge after eating my portion of it. I was sure she would be alright. She had been going through this for as long as I could remember. I pulled out the cleaners and disinfected everything, scrubbing the house from top to bottom and washing the linens. I was sure she had picked something up somewhere, and I needed to kill it off before she came home again. I had just finished getting ready for bed, when my dad called and let me know they weren't coming home tonight. Exhausted, I went and locked up downstairs and tucked myself into bed.

EDWARD

"Edward, could you be a dear and take Carlisle his dinner? He had another patient come in last minute, and he can't get away."

"Can I take my bike?" I asked in bargaining.

Esme rolled her eyes but conceded. I put the packed up food in my backpack and headed down to the hospital. It was pretty quiet, as I made my way to his office. One of the nurses stopped me before opening his door. "He's with a patient. Just wait. I'm sure he's almost done," she said, and I leaned next to the door. I didn't mean to listen, but I could hear what they were saying.

"I'm sorry, Chief Swan, but your wife is going to have to stay longer this time. You know a simple cold or flu bug can really be dangerous. This little sniffle I'm sure she came down with this morning is already turning into pneumonia. I know she doesn't like staying here, but she really needs to consider taking up residence in the hospital. We have better air filters, and it's just a much more sterile environment."

"She wants to be with our daughter. Look, just tell me what I have to do so she can get better and come home."

"Edward?" I heard someone call to me. I looked up and saw a woman sitting up on a bed in the room across from my father's office. She was surrounded by clear plastic and waved me over smiling. "You're Edward Cullen, right?" she asked.

I nodded and stepped forward. I figured she was stuck in the plastic, so I was pretty safe. "You're taking my Isabella to the spring dance. I'm her mother, Renee Swan," she said smiling like she wasn't sick.

I just nodded nervously. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Swan."

"Oh, please, call me Renee."

"Yes, Ma'am."

She chuckled at me. "Edward, can you do me a favor?"

"Ah, sure," I said not really knowing what I was agreeing to.

"Can you make sure my Bella doesn't back out of your date? I wasn't able to take her to get her dress today, and I know she's worried about it. I'll talk to my husband about taking her to get it, but I'm worried she's going to back out, saying she's causing too much trouble," she said sadly.

"I won't let her back out. My sister can take her shopping if you want. She really was hoping to go with you today, but Bella said it was a mother-daughter thing."

Renee smiled. "That would've been nice. I swear I'm getting tired of this old sick body. I'm ready to trade it in for a new model," she said joking and laughed but started coughing. "Thank you for looking out for my girl. I think everyone is so busy worrying about me that she slips between the cracks."

"Don't worry, Ma'am; I'll keep an eye on her." I think I was starting to understand the quiet sassy Isabella Swan a little better now. She didn't complain about anything, because her parents had enough on their plate as it was.

BELLA

I had just lain down to go to bed when the phone rang. I wondered silently if I should get it, but I decided to get up and answer it, because it might be my dad with some news.

"Hello?"

"Bella?"

"Who is this?" I asked confused. No one ever called me.

"Sorry to call so late. This is Edward. I just wanted to call and see if you were doing alright."

"Why wouldn't I be alright?" I asked confused. Last he saw me I was walking up my driveway.

"I kind of ran into your mom at the hospital."

"Oh, how is she doing?" I asked. It kind of sucked he knew more than I did at this point. Dad hadn't even called to let me know if I was going to have to come in for a donation tomorrow. I figured I would eat a big dinner just in case.

"She was in a good mood. She's really nice, told me to call her Renee."

"Oh, that's nice." I had no idea what to say; this conversation was getting more awkward by the minute.

"She made me promise not to let you back out of our date. She said you were worried about getting a dress, and that I shouldn't let you back out."

I was freaking out. I wanted to strangle my mother for telling him that. "Just, don't worry about that, Edward; it's fine."

"Alright, but if you need someone to take you shopping, I could do it. Or Alice would love it if you'd rather go with a girl or something. Just let me know, but not having a dress is no excuse not to go on a date with me, Bella. Your mother agrees with me on this one."

"Fine," I said and hung up. I was mortified. There was no way I was going to be able to face him tomorrow. I had to find a way to come up with some money to buy a dress. The problem with living in a small town was it had a very small economy with fewer jobs. The fact that I needed one within walking distance just made it all the more difficult to find one.

Avoiding Edward the next day at school became easy, when my father pulled me out at lunchtime. He took me to the diner to make sure I had a hearty meal, before I donated plasma for my mother. I noticed a little help wanted sign and quickly asked Sue about it.

She rolled her eyes. "Harry went to some convention on boosting restaurant sales and bought a giant shake."

Dad was next to me, looking just as confused.

"It's a costume. Anyway, the job is just for the weekend lunch rushes. We want someone to stand outside dressed as a giant shake and pass out flyers."

"I can do that," I said eagerly.

She looked at me for a moment like she was sizing me up. "Charlie, you mind taking a minute to help her try on the shake outfit? It really does take two people to get it on."

"Are you sure you want to do this, Bells?"

"Yes, definitely," I said eagerly. This was a chance for me to have my own money, so I could buy myself a dress. I was hoping this job would solve my problem.

"Okay," he said with a shrug, and we followed Sue to the back office, where a huge shake cup costume was sitting in the corner. "Hey, Harry, my girl would like to try your shake on for size."

Harry clapped his hands. "Alright, you ready to help me prove my wife wrong? She thinks this is a waste of money, but I tell you, people are going to see this shake standing out on the sidewalk and think, mmm, that sounds really good right about now, why don't we head into the diner for a shake? It's a goldmine, Charlie, just waiting to be dug into."

My dad chuckled, as they lifted the massive shake cup costume over me. It covered me almost completely, going all the way down to my mid-thighs, leaving my arms exposed. I just hoped I didn't trip, or I would be SOL for being able to get myself up. There was a cute face painted on it with long lashes, and there were two large eyes on the shake made of a screen-type material, so I could see out, but no one could see in.

I think I was going to like this job.