oOo
The first weeks of January brought icy cold and temperatures down to fifteen or less degrees. The streets were covered with a thick layer of snow that swiftly turned into a grey, muddy substance.
Bella was freezing all the time. No matter how many layers of clothing she put on, she was cold. Well, with the exception of one factor: she was never cold when she was with Edward. He kept his house extra-warm for her, and she would mostly be in his arms, anyway. Edward's arms were wonderfully warm and strong.
Right now, she felt incredibly cold though, hurrying as she made her way from King's Cross to the British Library. It was snowing again, and she pulled her muffler tighter. She couldn't wait to get back to Edward, who had send her a text an hour ago, asking if she wanted soup for dinner. He was going to order in from their favourite restaurant, the New Lotus Garden.
The mere thought of their hot and sour soup with vegetable dumplings made her lick her lips. She hurried across the snow-white piazza and was still shivering when she entered the vast entrance hall.
She knew her way about and fifteen minutes later, was sitting in one of the crowded reading rooms on the second floor with her laptop and three books that were long out of print.
Time flew as she scribbled down notes, compared theses and looked up references. She was surprised when she looked up and realized that it was getting dark outside. It was almost half past five, and it would take her half an hour to return her books and collect her coat, and another half hour to get to Edward.
If anything, it had gotten even colder outside, and Bella hurried as much as she could without slipping and falling on the muddy spots where the streets had not been gritted.
The tube was crammed due to the rush hour. Everybody was in a foul mood because of the ongoing cold. A baby screamed and a guy with headphones was drumming a rhythm on the handrail. Bella's relief was immense when she could leave the train.
Another ten minutes later, she rang Edward's doorbell. He would usually open the door very quickly, which she always found endearing.
Today, he took his time. She frowned. Maybe he had gone out to get the soup?
No, that wouldn't make any sense. He would have called her, or sent a text.
She rang again.
Finally, she heard him, and a smile lifted the corners of her mouth.
"Darling. Sorry I made you wait. I was upstairs, working."
"No problem," she smiled.
He looked too adorable. His hair stood in wild tufts of bronze and auburn. He was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, both of which were dotted with splodges of paint, as were his hands and forearms. His cheeks were pink.
"Hey." She stepped in and took off her boots and hung up her coat before she kissed him in greeting.
And realized that Edward smelled like whisky.
oOo
I'm soooooorry! I promise these two will be okay, but it will take some time – I don't want this to be too unrealistic.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your wonderful support. I said it before and I will say it again: I couldn't do it without you. You guys are so funny and inspiring and immensely helpful, and I am deeply grateful to have such wonderful readers. Sorry I was bad at replying to your reviews these last days.
So here comes the bad news: there will not be any updates the following week. There's just too much going on right now, and I don't want to give you crappy chapters. I'm terribly sorry if you're disappointed, but I'll see you all on February 10.
Have a good time and take care!
Love and hugs and kisses
Your
harperpitt