oOo
Bella opened the door with a smile. She looked enchanting, dressed in a huge, striped sweater and jeans. Her hair was in a ponytail, displaying her long, pale neck.
"Hey!" she said.
"Hey." He stepped inside, wondering for a second how to greet her, but she had already made the decision for him, hugging him. She felt spectacular in his arms, and it was over much too soon.
"Do you want to give me your coat?"
"Um, yes, sure. Thanks."
She gestured to her loveseat.
"Have a seat. Would you like something to drink? I have a pot of tea."
"Yes. Thank you." She went to the kitchen, returning with a mug, which she handed him. She sat down next to him.
"Mmm, good," he said after he'd taken a sip.
"How… How was it? You don't have to talk about it, of course."
"It was okay, actually. I didn't feel that sense of obligation at the cemetery. I just, I don't know, did my own thing. Garrett, Kate's husband was there too, did I tell you that?"
Bella nodded. Her dark eyes were gentle and patient.
"He's nice. I mean, Kate and Tanya, they're nice, too. But a bit… superficial. I don't know them that well though. We went to visit her family in Chicago a few times, but she wasn't that close with them. She was closer to my family, toward the end. I'm sorry, is it okay if I talk about that?"
"Of course." She swallowed.
"They never got along, my family and hers. They always felt like I'd stolen her from them, or something. It's not true, she had decided to stay in London even before we met…" Edward sighed. "It was easier today. Because I knew I'd come here afterward."
At that, she smiled.
"What did you do?" he asked.
"Just worked on my paper."
"What's it about?"
"Morphological Formation in the German Language." She shrugged.
"Oh, God."
"Yeah, I know. You have to be a bit crazy to take this road."
"But you like it, don't you?"
"Absolutely. It tends to get very theoretical, mathematical even, but that's okay."
"You must have been really good in school."
"I was."
"I was terrible," Edward admitted with a smile. "I just wanted to paint. That's the only thing I was good at."
"I bet you were good in PE."
Edward realized that, for her, school, unlike for him, was a recent experience. To him, it was ages ago, and he had gladly forgotten most of it.
"I was horrible," he said. "I was always the last guy that was voted into a team. I always envied the girls who could claim they had their period, and sit on the sides."
Bella giggled. She was so pretty.
"Really?"
"Mmm-hmm."
He was not expecting it when she jumped up and grabbed his hand, trying to pull him up with her.
"Come on, we're going for a walk!"
"But, it's… it's cold!"
"Yeah, that's why I took out my really thick winter coat from its storage box!" She grabbed it from its hook on the door. It was a black down jacket that looked like one giant moon boot.
"That's… impressive." From his spot on the couch, he watched her put it on, which looked funny because she was still in her fuzzy pink slippers. Edward couldn't help but laugh. She looked like the Michelin man.
"Come on!" She grabbed his hand again, and this time, Edward let her pull him up.
oOo
Off to see Breaking Dawn, Part 2 now…