The following Tuesday, I got a call from Edward.

"Bella?"

"Yes?" I answered, my heart immediately leaping into my throat.

"It's Edward."

"Hello." The back of my hands prickled with adrenalin in anticipation. Like my body was preparing for another cross-country flight.

"Bella, I was hoping we could talk."

"Um, sure. I think that's a good idea." Silence met me on the line. So much for talking. I guess he was having the same reaction as me. That's ok; I had questions of my own.

"Edward, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Bella."

"How did you get my cell number? It's unlisted… I know you probably got my address from the police report, but it shouldn't have had this number on it…"

Again he was silent.

"Oh wait, let me guess, you hired a private investigator…" I said, only slightly joking.

Silence.

"Wait, you hired a private investigator? Why would you do that?" My voice cracked at the end. He sighed. I could imagine him closing his eyes and pinching his nose near his eyebrows. It was something he always did in extreme frustration. I tried not to be happy about his frustration level. Payback is a bitch and all that…

"When I saw you at Pike Place, I was confused. I wanted to know what the hell was going on, and I wanted to hear it from a third party. Not from you. Not from Carlilse. I just wanted the facts. The same reason I got the paternity test."

"And how do you feel now that you have 'The Facts'?"

"I'm….I don't know. I'm sad. I'm overwhelmed. I'm confused."

Now it was my time to be silent.

"Bella?"

"Yes?"

"When we talked last week, you heard me say that I wanted to be in Owen's life. How do you really feel about that?"

"Good?"

He sighed. "No, I mean, how do you really feel about me being in your life. Being Owen's Dad…"

"Edward, I think it's important that you are a part of Owen's life. He needs a Dad. But I'm all he's ever known. Every kid needs a dad. And I think you'll get there with him. But slowly. Let's just see."

He was silent again.

"Baby steps," I added.

"Yes," he replied.

"But you have to stop invading my privacy. DNA tests and Private Investigators are WAY over the line. Seriously, it's freaking me out."

He cleared his throat self consciously, "I'm sorry, Bella. I just needed to understand what was happening. I promise, I won't do it again."

I sighed. That really was such an "Edward" move. He was so Left Brain. Everything was black and white with him. And, to his credit, he was ridiculously brilliant. Most the time he WAS right. But not when it came to people. Another sigh, and I held up the white flag. "Well, you already know where we live. You could come visit some time and we could take it from there."

"That sounds good." More awkward silence, and then Blammo, "Bella, why did you leave me in a letter? Why didn't you break up with me face to face?"

I swallowed a tiny bit of panic and took a deep breath. "Edward, I told you exactly how I felt. I told you about 5,000 times how I felt. You didn't listen. And I was so in love with you. I was afraid you'd convince me to change my mind. Really, what do you think would have happened if I'd tried breaking up with you in person. What if I'd come to you and said, 'I skipped my appointment. I'm having this baby. And I'm leaving.' What would you have done?"

Silence.

A heavy sigh.

"I would have done everything in my power to get you to the clinic. I never wanted to ruin your life."

"I know, Edward. But you were wrong. I made the right decision for me and Owen. I made the choice. It was mine. And you weren't hearing my answer. I tried over and over and you wouldn't hear me. It was the only thing I could do. I had enough strength to do what I did. Nothing more. I can be sorry I broke up with you in a letter, and you can be sorry you didn't listen. There's nothing we can do to change that. But it's not just about us anymore, Owen comes first. So I'm willing to move on."

Another awkward silence. And so I filled it, "Edward, what about you? You know all about our lives, but all I know about you is that you're dating a Tanya. Where do you live?"

"I'm downtown. I have a condo."

Of course he did. It was probably a penthouse with views of Elliot Bay.

"Well, that's practically down the street," I said, trying to put a good spin on it. It was good that he was close, right?

"Yes, I'm really amazed at how fortuitous this all is. Of all the places in the country, you and Owen end up only five miles away."

"Yeah. Amazing," I replied. I tried not to sound sarcastic. But really, of ALL THE PLACES IN THE COUNTRY, I end up five miles from my Baby Daddy. Ugh. It was just so….typical!

"Bella, I don't know how to thank you."

"Then don't Edward." I didn't want to be in this position. I didn't want to share my baby with him. But it wasn't about just me anymore. I needed to at least pretend to be mature. I wasn't feeling very charitable, so I pretended.

"Well…thank you. And if you really mean it, I'd like to see Owen soon."

I sighed. "Of course I mean it Edward. You are his father, even though you just found that out. This whole thing is just really odd. I feel like I'm living out a Lifetime Movie."

"Yeah, I know," he chuckled with relief. "If you'd told me a month ago that I'd be speaking to Bella on the phone about visitation with my son, I would have called Security to have you escorted off the premises."

"Yeah. "

"But really, Bella. Thank you. Your generosity never ceased to amaze me when we were together. But still, this is so much. I….I really appreciate it."

"Thanks. I guess. Let's just leave it here for now, ok Edward? We can figure a little more out later."

"Yes, it is rather…overwhelming. Isn't it?"

"You got that right," I said, laughing to myself.

"I'll let you go," he said. I stilled, and felt the old sadness squish in my stomach. I already had let him go. I felt melodramatic and self conscious and stupid.

"Goodnight," I said.

"Goodnight, Isabella."

I hung up the phone. I went to bed. I didn't cry this time. But I didn't sleep either.

A few days later I got another surprise visit. But this time Edward wasn't trying to break down the door.

"Hello Edward," I said, putting on my nice face. With all these unexpected visitors, I really needed to start wearing better clothes when I got home from work. This time I was sporting an old baggy sweater and leggings with fraying hems. I did NOT feel pretty. I was in the middle of cooking dinner and Owen was making me a little bit crazy.

"Bella. You said I could see Owen some time. I was in the neighborhood. I'm sorry, I should have called.."

"Yeah, you should have. But it's ok," I replied, opening the door to let him in. "We were just about to sit down and eat. I'm going to feed Owen. Are you hungry?"

He shook his head and swallowed, craning his head around me to get a look at my sweet little boy, who was currently pulling all the low hanging magnets off the fridge and relocating them to the side of the oven. "I ate when I got home from the lab. Thank you. Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your night."

"It's ok, we're kind of getting used to it. We haven't had this many visitors, well, ever."

"Really?" he asked as we made our way into the kitchen. I scooped Owen up and put him in his booster.

"Hungry, sweetheart?" I asked.

"I wanna eat. I WANNA EAT!" Owen pounded his hands on the table.

"Charming, my darling child," I said. Edward snorted. I smirked back, "He learned that from Charlie."

Edward smiled slightly. I served up the food and sat down to eat. "Are you sure you don't want any? There's plenty. You always liked my stir fry. I have tons, really."

"Thank you. But no, I'm fine. I don't need to eat your food."

I shrugged in response and helped Owen with his spoon. He was pretty good at feeding himself, but sometimes got a little over excited.

"Careful baby, remember to chew."

We sat quietly, watching him stuff handful and spoonfuls of rice and vegetables in his little mouth.

"Hm. I guess he likes it."

I laughed. "Yeah. He does. You always know how Owen feels about everything. No secrets with this kid." I cringed when I realized that no, Edward didn't know anything about Owen. Edward didn't even seem to notice my pause. He was transfixed by the spectacle before him.

Owen finally slowed down enough to engage in conversation. He waved his spoon in Edward's directions and said, "Who dat, Mommy?"

"That is….Edward."

Edward beamed at him.

"Oh," was Owen's brilliant response. He resumed his eating. I caught Edward's eye, "Is that what you want him to call you?"

Edward's forehead wrinkled. He pursed his lips in thought. I looked away. I took a big bite of food, trying to push the thought of lips out of my head.

"I…I suppose, for now. That would be good. We should probably move forward slowly."

I chewed and swallowed. "Did you get a chance to speak with Tanya?" He turned his head quickly and looked at me. Was it weird to have his Ex and mother of his child talk about his gorgeous new girlfriend? Yeah, probably.

"Yes, we spoke."

I let that hang there. I didn't want to push him. I looked down at my plate and concentrated really hard on some snap peas.

"She….she wasn't very happy." I looked up at Edward. He seemed sad. I let him collect his thoughts.

"We had an argument. It was pretty bad. I think we might be broken up."

"You THINK you might be broken up?"

"Well, she said some things and left."

"Like what kind of things?"

"That now is not a good time, she wasn't ready to be a mom, and that I'm easily replaceable."

"Oh."

"Yes."

"But she wouldn't be Owen's mom. I'm Owen's mom."

"I told her that. But she didn't like that very much. She said some things about you that weren't very nice and I asked her to leave."

I felt cheeks burn in anger and embarrassment. But I'd better get used to it. I was always a disappointment for the Cullens the first time around. Now I get to complicate Edward's relationship with his perfect and gorgeous girlfriend. If they broke up I'm sure I'd never hear the end of it. I sighed and mentally added that fun fact to the tally of reasons to never talk to his family again.

"So when exactly was this?"

"Last Friday."

"Have you tried calling her since then?"

"Um, no."

"What?"

"Well, I think she's right."

"What?"

"She's right, if she doesn't want anything to do with my son, she should find a new boyfriend."

I stared at him.

"Really? Just like that you're going to let her go?"

He looked at me quizzically.

"Edward, how do you feel about Tanya?"

"She is brilliant and kind," I mentally rolled my eyes at the "kind" thing. Sure, she was kind, she just didn't like my amazing adorable child. Whatever. "She has a great future. Our families are good friends."

"Ok, but do you love her?"

He looked at me. He didn't answer.

"If you love her, you should call her and try to work it out."

He looked down and rolled a few strewn pieces of rice from Owen's voracious display into a little pile.

"Edward, I don't mean to pry. I don't want to hurt your feelings, or assume you want to hear any of my advice, but can I say something?"

He nodded.

"You tend to just make these big decisions and lay down the law. And that's fine. It's good to know what you want and be strong. But don't sabotage yourself. If Tanya is important to you, I'm sure you can find some sort of solution."

He looked away, folding his hands on the table.

"I understand."

I finished my dinner and started clearing away the plates.

"Edward?"

"Yes, Bella?"

"Now that you've had some time to adjust, what do you want to do about Owen?"

"I want to be in his life. I want to be his Dad."

"Oh." And though I knew this was coming, his words still brought me an unexpected relief and a tiny bit of terror. Our lives were definitely going to get more complicated, but I was grateful, especially for Owen. He deserved to know his father.

"Is that ok, Bella?"

"Yes," I said. I smiled at him and sighed. "I think that's great." Then I started to think about some logistics. "But can we talk about specifics? I kind of like the specifics."

"What do you want to know?"

"Well, like, how often do you want to see Owen? I arranged my whole life around the 3 day weekends we spend together now. I really don't want to give up the only time I have with my son. But I know you pretty much only have the weekends too. And I'm also worried about Owen adjusting to you. He's fine now because I'm here, but if I were to leave the two of you alone…Especially if you were to take Owen by yourself, I don't think that would go over well. At all."

"Right. I understand. Like I said before, I think we should take things slowly. I don't want to traumatize him by taking him away from his Mom to go get ice cream."

I smiled, feeling relieved. And slightly overwhelmed. All of the sudden, Owen was getting his father. And Edward sounded…cooperative. I was almost afraid to hope that this might actually work.

"I'm sure you want to spend a little time with him. Would you like to read him some stories while I do the dishes?"

"There's nothing I'd like better."

I kind of doubted that, but was happy at the sentiment. "Well, if you think THAT'S fun, I'll even let you stay for bath and bedtime."

Edward beamed in response.

I stood up, wiped down my incredibly messy child, pulled him from the booster and let him loose, "Owen, Edward is going to read you some stories. Can you show Edward where your stories are?"

"I get stories, mama." He pulled Edward into his room with his chubby fingers and left me to clean up the disaster behind him.

After the kitchen was put back in order, the child was bathed and put to bed, it was just me and Edward in the living room. But unlike last week, I no longer wanted to run and hide. I almost felt content.

"Edward, do you have any plans for this weekend?"

"I was hoping I could see Owen again. If that's alright with you."

"I was wondering if you'd like to go to the zoo with us on Saturday. We usually go at least once a week. It's going to get cold pretty soon, so I'm trying to fit in all the fun outdoor activities while I still can."

"That sounds perfect, what time should I be here."

"Ten?"

"Ten. And you have my number so you can call me if you need to reach me?"

We pulled out cell phones and I got all his info. He had the new fancy iphone. I had a phone that came free with my contract, was over 3 years old and dinged up from being repeatedly dropped and exploding into pieces.

"By the way, why do you still have a Florida area code?"

"I just haven't gotten around to changing it. Besides, this is the number everyone has for me."

"Yes, well everyone now."

Finished putting his numbers in, I placed my phone on my nightstand/coffee table and went to pull my blankets out of the closet. Edward looked around confused.

"Bella?"

"Yes, Edward?"

"Where is your room?"

"It's here. In the living room. It was easier to give Owen the room cause he sleeps a lot more than me. This way I don't keep him up when I'm puttering around late at night."

"Where do you sleep though?"

I pointed to the couch.

"It folds down. I got the nicest one, it's actually very comfortable."

"But where do you keep your clothes?"

I pointed to the TV, which was sitting on top of my low dresser.

"I don't need much room. This works out perfect."

He didn't answer. I knew he was thinking judgmental thoughts.

"It's fine Edward. This place is actually great. It's in a good neighborhood. We're zoned for a great school. I can always find parking. It's right next to the bus line. And it's cute."

"Cute."

I smiled and blinked. "Yes. Cute."

He frowned slightly.

"And it's affordable. I can put extra money in savings and his college fund every month. What do you want me to say?"

"I think we can do better."

"No, Edward."

"Yes, Bella."

"Edward, we're fine. I don't want to move. Owen is finally happy here. It was hard for him to leave Florida and Grandma. I don't want to uproot him again."

"I suppose we can give it a few months."

I sighed with exasperation. "Edward, NO. Really. I like it here."

"Bella, there's no washer or drier. No dishwasher. You don't even have a bedroom! You sleep on a futon! And the building isn't secure!"

"Edward! It's a couch bed and IT'S FINE."

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to look. Alice could help."

I gulped. Alice. I'd almost forgotten about her and her penchant for real estate.

"No Edward," I said, quieter this time. "Please. Let's just take things slowly. Part of taking things slowly is NOT MOVING. Ok? Please? I need you to respect my boundaries. This…," I said, motioning to the space around me, "Is my boundary. My apartment. My life."

He closed his eyes, shook his head and sighed. Apparently I was making him frustrated. Poor thing.

"Fine."

"I'm not moving Edward."

"No, you're right. We'll take things slowly."

We said our goodbyes and I locked the door behind him. (You know, I take precautions like that with my dangerously unsecured building.) On the whole, the unexpected encounter was much more pleasant than I ever would have hoped. This is what I knew:

1. Our little disagreement at the end wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.

2. I had no intention of letting Alice scout out a new place for us.

3. No WAY would I take any Cullen money. (No need to fuel that "gold-digger" reputation I already had with them.)

4. We had some solid plans, and Edward and I actually seemed to be improving our communication.

5. This just might work.