Sturmfrei (adj.) Origin: Germany

Lit. "stormfree"; the freedom of not being watched by a parent or superior; being alone at a place and having the ability to do what you want

Chapter 11

November 19th 1989

Bern, Switzerland

9:03pm

A week had passed since Bella and Edward had their talk. As the time went by, their communication had dwindled. Not that Edward was much of a communicator before.

Edward had taken to eating meals alone and he avoided the late night rooftop talks with Bella. Whenever they spoke it was strictly about Eloise and nothing else. As he had said, their relationship would be nothing but professional. He would be her employer and nothing more.

During Bella's free day Edward had disappeared with his daughter early in the morning. She knew it was his way of giving her space on her day off. She had spent the day exploring the Old Town more thoroughly on her own. She couldn't help but feel the loneliness she felt after Jasper had left her in London.

She wished she could go back in time and stop the kiss. However, that would prove to be difficult since she couldn't even remember who initiated the kiss.

Bella looked up as she heard the front door open and close.

Edward was home.

She was curled up in the living room with a book, waiting for his return from his meeting in the city. She refused to accept his avoidance. She longed for the days when their relationship was uncomplicated.

"Miss Swan," he said, nodding in her direction when he noticed her presence.

"Hello Edward." She closed her book, sitting up straight.

"Eloise?" His eyes moved around the room as if he were expecting to see his daughter hidden in somewhere in plain sight.

"She's asleep."

He nodded, averting his gaze. "We're going to Germany in about three days."

She sat up straighter, excited about her next adventure. She had already been to Germany with Jasper, but she was excited about the prospect of revisiting. "What's in Germany?"

"I have some business to conduct. We are interested in a few galleries there." He picked at some imaginary lint on his sweater. "We'll only be there for a few days and then we'll go to the Netherlands and Belgium."

"Galleries?" she asked. "So the fun side of the Caron group business."

"Right," he said, moving to sit across from her in the very place he sat when he broke her heart exactly a week before. "Our quest to enter the banking business will be put on hold for a short while. It's back to wine and art for me."

"Which is far more interesting," she finished for him with a laugh.

"Certainly," he chuckled. "I didn't know how much more of those stuffy bankers I could take. I've been accused of being quite stuffy myself, but I have nothing on them. I'm relegating that job to another one of my associates. It's more of his style."

"I don't think you're that stuffy." She offered with a teasing grin. "You could loosen up a little more, but it could be worse."

He let out a loud chortle. "Thank you Miss Swan. I'll take that as a compliment."

"Good."

Edward groaned, rubbing his eyes as he made himself more comfortable. "I'm exhausted. I can't wait to get out of here."

"Yeah, I'm excited to see Germany again."

"That's right," he said. "You've visited already. What about Amsterdam?"

"I haven't been there yet, but I did visit Belgium with my friend Jasper. We went to Hungary as well."

"Hungary," he said. "Where? Budapest?"

She nodded.

"My mom used to be obsessed with that place," he said. "Which is funny because I don't even think she's ever been there. I think she just always wanted to visit for some reason. She would never stop talking about it."

"It's a beautiful place," Bella agreed. "My friend Jasper and I stayed with a doctor while we were there. We had a lot of fun. You've never been?"

"I have," he said. "I believe I've been to every major city in Europe so far. I'm always on the move."

"You are a very busy man," she mused. "It works for you. You balance it well and I admire that."

"This life isn't for everybody," he said sadly. "It's why Phillip gave it up. He's much happier working with my mom in Bergerac."

"Happiness should always come first." She ran a finger along the side of her book. "Are you happy Edward? With what you do."

He gave her a sad smile. "I love it at the moment. It won't be like this forever, but I'm enjoying this point in my career. It doesn't work for everybody, but it works for me."

Bella offered him a comforting smile. It felt wonderful being able to have a normal conversation with him again. Her mind drifted back to the little girl upstairs and her missing mother. What about her mother? Was Edward's lifestyle, one that worked for her?

November 20th 1989

Bern, Switzerland

8:20 am

"Want to do something fun?" Bella asked as she brushed Eloise's hair into a ponytail.

"I like fun," Eloise said, nodding her head happily.

"We should go on an adventure today in town," she said. "I'm going to find my sister Angela a gift."

Eloise gasped. "You have a sister Miss Bella?"

"Yes, I do. In fact, I have two little sisters and a big brother."

She looked up at Bella with her bright beautiful eyes. "Are they little like me?"

"They're a bit bigger El. They're fourteen years old."

"Wow," she said counting on her fingers. "That's very old. How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-one," Bella answered with a giggle.

"Oh, you're not as old as Papa. He is very, very old."

Bella laughed at Eloise's concept of age. He may have been old to a child, but from society's perspective, he's still very much a young man. "I'll go ask your Papa if we can go into town today. I'll be right back."

Bella knocked on Edward's office door. She heard his voice on the other side and she assumed he was on a call, but the speaking seemed to have stopped.

Just as she was about to turn around and return upstairs, he swung the door open, peering out. "Oh, Miss Swan. Is everything okay? Eloise isn't giving you any trouble is she?"

"No, she's great. It's just that I –" her words were cut off by a loud clicking noise against the floor that sounded like high heels.

"Edward?" A tall, slender woman with fiery red hair appeared behind Edward. "Oh, sorry to interrupt."

Edward sighed, turning to face the woman. "Bella I'd like you to meet Victoria," he said. "Eloise's mother. I'll be with you in a minute Victoria."

"Actually, I should really be leaving," She said, brushing some imaginary lint off of her sparkly expensive-looking dress. "I'll be back for Eloise later."

"She's awake and upstairs," Bella said. "Does she know you're here? I can go –"

"That's quite alright…Bella is it?" She stepped around Edward and was now directly facing Bella.

"Yeah," Bella shrunk back slightly, feeling like a sloppy child in comparison to the tall confident redhead.

"I'll see her later with her grandparents," she said, glancing at her watch. "She will be much more surprised to see us all at once. I really must be going though. I wish I could talk more, but I have to get ready to meet with the new designer for the line. I'll see you later Edward." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before hastily heading towards the front door.

"Victoria is in town for a photo shoot," he said in explanation after they heard the sound of the front door shutting. "Her parents are flying in this morning. They will stop by this afternoon to collect Eloise for a sleepover. Prepare an overnight bag for her."

"Okay."

"What was it that you wanted to tell me?"

"It was nothing," she said, backing away. "It doesn't really matter anymore."

"Well if that's all…I have some calls to make," he said, gesturing to his office. "After Eloise leaves you'll have the rest of the day off. I'll see you later."

"Okay."

Bella found Eloise in the kitchen with the cook having breakfast. She wasn't aware that the woman was going to be in today. Edward hadn't mentioned it. "Hey El."

"Miss Bella I want to wear my blue dress," Eloise said excitedly. "I want flowers too."

Bella poured herself some coffee. "Change of plans."

"Huh?" Eloise seemed confused by this. "Papa said no?"

"No El. You are going to do something else later. It's a surprise and we have to pack a bag for you."

"A surprise?" she gasped. "Like un cadeau?"

"Something like that."

Eloise squealed in excitement.

Bella wasn't sure what kind of clothes Eloise would need for an afternoon and evening out with her mother and her grandparents. Judging by Victoria's clothing they seemed like they might be the luxurious type, so she packed a fancier dress along with some casual clothes for Eloise.

Edward had said that Victoria would be back around noon, so she took a very excited Eloise down to the foyer with her small overnight bag to wait for her surprise.

"What's my surprise Miss Bella?"

"You'll see very soon," Bella said, giving her a wink. "Any minute now."

Twenty minutes passed and Eloise was beginning to get fidgety. "Why is my surprise taking so long Miss Bella? J'en ai marre d'attendre."

Bella looked at her watch again. "Okay, how about we get a little snack. Your gift might be running a little late."

"Running?"

"It's an expression El."

"Expression?"

"Never mind." She took the child's hand, leading her to the kitchen to make her a snack. After Eloise was happily eating, Bella went to find Edward.

"Hello Miss Swan," he said after she entered his study. "Have they left already? I wanted to see Eloise off." He glanced at the clock.

"No, they haven't. I guess a got her ready a little too early."

"No, Victoria said noon," he said. "It's 12:45 now. Perhaps she's running late. I'll call her hotel to see if she left already."

She waited quietly as he dialed the number. Apparently Victoria was still at her hotel. She informed him that her parents would be by in about two hours to collect Eloise without her. Something had come up and she could no longer make it.

"I'm sorry Miss Swan," he sighed. "I know I said that you would have the afternoon off, but –"

"It's fine," she said quickly. "El and I have been meaning to play a proper game of hide and seek so now is as good a time as any."

"Is it here yet?" Eloise asked when Bella reentered the kitchen.

"Two more hours El."

"Aww," she whined. "I'm tired of waiting."

"How about we play a game of cache-cache."

"Okay," she said perking up. "I will hide and you will count." The little girl hopped out of her chair and scurried away as Bella began to count to thirty.

"Ready or not, here I come," Bella called out in a loud voice. "Where is Eloise?"

After spending about ten minutes searching for Eloise on the first floor Bella moved upstairs. "Where could she be?"

She searched Eloise's room and then her own and saw no signs of Eloise. She searched two guest rooms before stopping short and Edward's shut bedroom door. She figured that room was off limits and she prayed the little girl didn't decide to hide there.

"Eloise?" She pressed her ear to the door, listening for a girlish giggle. "Please don't be in there," she whispered to herself. She looked both ways before slowly pushing the door open and peering inside. Nothing seemed amiss. The room was clean and impersonal. The room was painted white and had beige carpeting and bed linen. There were no pictures or any personal items. Even the guest rooms had more personality.

"Eloise?" There was no answer. She glanced over her shoulder again before slowly stepping into the bedroom. "Are you in here?" She got down on her knees to check under the bed.

Eloise wasn't there.

She slowly tiptoed to the door of his walk-in closet. "Eloise?"

Edward's clothes were neatly organized and she felt a little embarrassed thinking of the state of disarray her own closet was currently in. She never understood how some people were so good at keeping everything in their place. She smiled, reaching out to touch one of his sweaters.

She was tempted to sniff it, but she didn't want to be creepy.

"Where the heck is she?" she mumbled as she left his bedroom. She was starting to get worried. Maybe Eloise was on the first floor after all. There's no way she would be on the roof patio. That's the only place she didn't search.

Bella went back downstairs to have a second look. It had been almost thirty minutes since they started the game. As she left the kitchen, she noticed Edward standing conspicuously outside his office door.

Hello Miss Swan," he called in an unusually loud tone. "What brings you here to my office?"

She caught on to what he was doing with a sigh of relief. "I'm looking for Eloise. We're playing cache-cache and I can't find her anywhere. May I look in there?"

"You lost her again," he grinned feigning surprise. "You can look, but I think I would know if my Eloise was here. I was standing here the whole time and I didn't see her go in."

"Oh, well, it's worth a try," Bella said copying his loud theatrical tone. He stepped to the side to allow her to enter the office ahead of him.

"Where is El?" Bella heard a small giggle near Edward's desk. She smiled, moving around the room, play searching for Eloise. "I can't believe I lost her again."

When she had finally looked everywhere except behind the desk, she slowly moved towards it, peeking over to see Eloise's happy face smiling up at her. "Hi Miss Bella!"

"I found you!"

"You didn't know where I was," Eloise giggled. "I had a good hiding place Papa."

"You certainly did mon chou," he said, as he approached them. "Having fun?"

"Yes!" Eloise wrapped her tiny arms around Bella's waist, giving her a tight hug.

Edward met Bella's eyes before quickly looking away. He cleared his throat and sat down at his desk. "I'm happy to hear that." He reached for the telephone, his hand, pausing in midair. "Why don't you think of another game while I check on your surprise."

"Yay!" she exclaimed. She ran toward the door before turning around. "Will you come play with us Papa? Please?"

"Mon chou I –"

"S'il vous plait Papa?"

Edward gave Bella a quick glance before letting out a heavy sigh. "Fine, but one game and then I have to get back to work."

"Merci papa!"

Thanks for reading! Review please!

We finally meet Eloise's mother. What do you think?