oOo
Edward spent hours at the museum, discussing how his paintings were to be hung. Everyone was extremely courteous and friendly, but he couldn't get over that nagging jealousy at the back of his mind, hating himself for it every time his thoughts wandered to Bella.
He had lunch with the director of the museum before they headed back, spending more hours figuring out shadows and light.
It was half past five when he finally left the dainty rococo building and called Bella. He'd been feeling uneasy all day, as if being away from Bella made him physically incomplete.
She answered after two rings, her cheerful voice lifting his spirits immediately.
"Hey. Are you finished?"
"Mmm-hmm."
"You've been there all day?"
"Yeah. They're really thorough. It'll be good."
"That's great. Where are you now?"
"Um, near Nikolaiviertel," he replied. "Where are you?"
"I'm in Tiergarten with Stefan. Why don't you come and collect me, then we can have dinner somewhere?"
Edward wasn't exactly keen on meeting her ex, but figured it would show some maturity on his part to just suck it up and be nice.
"Okay, sure." He was already hailing a taxi. "Ill call you when I'm there."
"Good," she replied.
Twenty minutes later, he walked to the café, and he could see Bella before she saw him. She was sitting with her back to him, her hair shining in the last bits of afternoon sun. Across from her was a blonde man in a black sweater. He was laughing. He was handsome, too.
Noticing Edward approaching their table, he said something to Bella, who turned around. Her eyes lit up with her smile.
"Hi," she called, and reached out for his hands. Half getting up, she greeted him with a kiss and squeezed his fingers before turning back to the man. He had gotten up, ready to shake Edward's hand.
"Edward, this is Stefan, Stefan, this is Edward."
"Good to meet you," he said.
"Yes, you too," Edward replied.
A slightly awkward pause, and everyone sat down.
"So it went well?" Bella pulled his hand into her lap.
"Perfect." He nodded his head, aware of Stefan's curious gaze. "I might go back tomorrow morning though."
"Oh, okay." Bella nodded, then turned back to Stefan.
Edward looked at him as well. He looked so different from what he'd imagined. Wasn't he some public relations dude? To him, he looked like a surfer guy, or a bike riding… Wait, hadn't Bella mentioned it some time? That he loved fiddling with his bike, and had sometimes taken her on rides?
Bella and her ex chatted about restaurants while Edward was silently brooding. A bypassing server bore a tray with tall glasses of beer, making him ache for one, just one, to quell the longing.
"Doch!" Stefan's voice pulled him out of his pity party. "Sie haben dort alles umgebaut, du musst es dir ansehen!"
Great. Now they were talking in German.
Well, Stefan had been saying one sentence in German, but Edward's frown was deepening. When the waitress came to their table and asked if they wanted anything else, he ordered a large beer.
oOo
Translation: "They did! They rebuilt everything, you've got to look at it!"
A/N: I took some liberty with the location of Edward's art show. The Ephraim Palais usually only exhibits works/painters directly involved with the city or the history of Berlin, but it's a very pretty building. You can Google it…
Have a great weekend, and thank you for reviewing!