oOo
Bella went down with a cold the following week and stayed in bed for two days. Her mum brought her soup and some medication, as well as three gossip magazines – Bella's guilty pleasure.
She hadn't seen Edward since their outing to the ballet, but they talked on the phone every night, sometimes for two hours. Last night, she'd been too groggy to chat for a long time. He'd asked her whether she needed anything, but she had declined, saying that her mum had already taken care of it.
Presently, Bella was dozing in front of the TV, which she had turned around so she could watch it from her bed. She was feeling better, and was planning on attending her Sociolinguistics class the next day.
She was pondering whether she should get up, go to the kitchen, and get a yoghurt, when her phone rang.
"Hello, Edward!"
"Hi, how are you? You sound much better."
"I feel better too. The headache's gone, and my throat is better as well."
"Listen, I'm in Kensington right now, so I was wondering if I might come over? Maybe you need something?"
"I'm fine, but if you'd like to drop by… Yeah, sure."
"Okay."
He sounded oddly… relieved.
Her doorbell rang only fifteen minutes later, which made Bella think that he'd probably already been on his way.
She'd barely had time to put a comb through her hair and slip on a robe.
"Hey," a voice from behind an enormous flower bouquet said. There were yellow and pink roses, daisies, lilies and carnations. The scent was beguiling.
He lowered the flowers, and Bella's heart sped up at seeing him after five long days.
He looked tired, but he'd been telling her that he was working late hours, wanting to make the best use of his flow in painting.
"These are beautiful."
"Beautiful flowers for a beautiful girl," he crooned, then ran a hand through his hair, apparently embarrassed at his own cheesiness.
"Thank you so much! Come in."
Edward hung up his coat and followed her to the kitchen, where she tended to the flowers.
"I also brought you this," he said once she turned back to face him.
She placed the vase on the counter. He was holding an envelope in his hand.
"What's that?"
"I… um… I made this for you. Open it."
She did, and gasped.
It was a perfect, small drawing. Two rabbits were sitting on an old-fashioned, blue sofa. One was wearing glasses and seemed a little older. The other had a pink muffler around its throat. There was also a bottle of cough drops next to it. The older rabbit was holding the younger one's paw.
The picture was clearly drawn by a masterly hand. It was incredibly sweet and sentimental, yet oddly realistic, as if two rabbits sitting on a sofa were the most common thing in the world.
Underneath were letters in blue: "Get well soon."
It was the most touching thing Bella had ever seen, and she bit her lip so as not to break into tears.
Edward was nervously drumming his fingers on the counter, waiting for her response.
"Edward." She finally looked up at him. "This is… amazing. I can't believe that you made this for me."
He shrugged lopsidedly.
"Wow, I'm probably a millionaire now," she giggled.
"Hardly. Anyway, I was hoping you wouldn't sell it." He scratched the back of his neck.
"I was only joking," she said quickly. "Thank you, Edward." She hugged him awkwardly. No one has ever given me anything so special."
"You like it?" Still, there was an undercurrent of uncertainty.
"Like it? It's adorable! Thank you, thank you!"
And finally, Edward smiled.
"Do I get a kiss?"
oOo