I'm sorry this chapter is really short and sort of draggy… and well, I couldn't decide how best to introduce the rest of the Cullens. Next chapter would be awesome.
BPOV
It was already nine when I got up next morning, the alarm clock must have blared on for hours before falling into a sleepy silence of its own. I sat up staring at the sunlight streaming through the white lace curtains, flowing in light wind of the morning.
It was such a beautiful morning, and these mornings were one reason I loved New York. It was sweltering hot, nearly hundred degrees at the peak of summer and a minus twenty in biting cold winters with everything blanketed in a sheet of fluffy white snow. I liked watching Empire State Building rise from the horizon and touch the blue sky, like a giant shadow against the azure of the blue sea above.
I somehow managed to drag myself out of the Egyptian six-hundred thread count cotton sheets and walked out of the room, wondering if Renesmee was awake already.
When I peeked into her room, she was still fast asleep, unaware of this world, unaware that sun was out…
Sometimes I wondered if childhood was the best phase of life, I mean you had nothing to worry about except for Ms. Clair's math homework due Wednesday, or playing with your favorite toy. Being an adult sucked! Absolutely, get up, go for a job, earn your livelihood, take care of your home, your responsibilities and taxes and other adult stuff kids never had to worry about.
I wanted to be a kid again, or just escape my life, even if for a second.
But that wasn't going to happen, actually so I decided to wake up the adult in me and drag my lazy butt to kitchen.
I made a cup of coffee for myself and went back to my room. I checked my Blackberry and pager for any messages from the hospital. There were no messages, hopefully the new patient was fine, I thought as I checked the only message from Rosalie asking about plans for Renesmee's birthday.
I looked at the desk calendar, it was already 4th September, and Renesmee's birthday was only five days to go and I hadn't started planning anything. A bolt of pain shot through my head, almost tearing my head apart. It was an old sign that I was taking life too seriously.
As I massaged my temple, an idea shot through my head and the next second I was hitting speed dial 3, my hospital. After two rings, someone picked up the phone.
"Hello, Aaron," I said instantly before the receptionist could say a word.
"No, it's Brett," the voice replied. "Aaron is taking a day-off."
"Oh, okay, listen, Brett, its Dr. Swan here," I started the idea forming words. "If anyone calls up asking for me –"
"- should I direct them to you?" Brett asked enthusiastically. One of the disadvantages of being new… Brett was new, and worked as a receptionist only when Aaron wasn't there.
"No!" I said a bit harshly, "don't tell them about me, okay! Whatever they might claim to be." I told her thinking what excuses he might think of.
"Dr. Swan, are you okay?" her voice faltered a bit.
"I'm fine, just that someone's just – just trying to annoy me!" I said and regretted my words instantly.
"You mean a stalker, OMG!" Brett's voice was instantly full of excitement. Even in a hospital what can be better than a gossip. That too about the most stuck up doctor.
"No, it's a – a friend," I corrected, better than people starting to think that I had some psycho of an ex-boyfriend who was staking me. And such a thing was possible considering I was a single mother, but these sort of things happened only on soap operas. Not in real life, not in my life, I thought lapsing into a denial mode.
"Dr., are you sure everything's fine?" Brett asked, her voice reeking of fake concern and thirst for gossip.
"Yeah, everything's great," I said too quickly, or will be. Hopefully.
"Okay, Dr. Swan, I won't give you away," she said and I hung up after muttering a brief thank you.
I looked in the bathroom mirror and saw my brows still creased with worry, I tried to stretch them away but it was still there. I decided to have a bubble bath and the next second I was amazed at my thoughts, being with Rosalie was really rubbing off on me. Instead of my usual hot shower now I need a bubble bath. Next time I might just find myself checking into Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon and getting a reverse French manicure done.
Cursing Rosalie I stepped into the shower and turned it on, and after two minutes I realized that I wasn't feeling any better. So I decide to switch back to the initial idea and prepared an exotic and sweet smelling bubble bath with all those little bottles and containers that usually lines my bathroom cupboard, thanks to Rosalie again which she won't think twice before picking up from the beautifully decorated shelves of Lush and The Body Shop while I continued to chastise her about buying something totally useless for me.
Now I'd have to thank her instead. I plugged my old iPod into a dock and let Debussy play as I stepped into the elaborate bathtub and tried to relax my overworked senses closing my eyes.
"Momma," I woke up to Renesmee calling out for me.
Damn, I had slept off in my bathtub, poor kid. She must be hungry I thought getting out of the bathtub as quick as I could without slipping on the dangerously smooth peach colored marble of the bathroom floor.
I grabbed my bathrobe and wrapped it around me quickly stepping into a pair of dry slippers. "Coming sweetie," I called out so that she won't worry.
Renesmee was used to waking up to find me gone, sometimes for night shifts and often for emergency ER shifts. Being a doctor was challenging but I wanted to do this, and I wanted Renesmee to have everything she could ever ask for.
Except maybe for a father, a tiny voice whispered form the back of my head. We don't need him, I tried to silence that voice of self-contradiction but I failed.
Thanks to my little Cleopatra treatment, I didn't have time to make pancakes I'd promised for breakfast last night so I prepared French toasts and scrambled eggs and set them on the granite island in the kitchen itself.
I read the paper while Renesmee ate he breakfast while watching some Barbie movie on DVD. We finished breakfast and sat down with my daughter about to ask her what she wanted to do for her birthday when my phone rang.
"I'll be right back," I told her and took the call.
"Hey, Rosalie," I said looking at the caller ID.
"Hey, Busy-bee!" Rosalie said, half-laughing, "morning!"
"Morning, Rose," I said.
"So I wanted to ask you what Renesmee wanted to do for her birthday," she was all-business.
"I don't know, maybe we'll take her out," I said having no idea what to do, yet.
"What does she want?"
"Haven't asked yet," I told her.
"Oh, do that quick then," she aid, "and by the way, I think we can go shopping, unlike you she actually likes it, like a real girl."
I stuck out my tongue at this, "whoever said you have to love shopping to be a real girl?" I objected.
"Whatever, I'm not arguing with you," she cut me out, "so I was thinking brunch, shopping and then eat out, and then we'll take the weekend off and take her out. As it is I don't have any emergency cases up this week, so I'm free."
"Okay, that sounds fine, great, I mean," I said correcting myself. Rosalie's plans were always great, if not epic, and fine didn't qualify as an adjective when it comes to Rosalie.
"And I'm inviting Alice as well," she told me.
"Alice? Who?" I couldn't remember anybody called Alice.
"Alice, don't you remember, Bella. Or have you got a case of retrograde amnesia? Alice!" she said as if it were one of her favorite fashion, but obscure (for me!) designers.
"I'm sorry, what were we talking about?" I said sarcastically.
"Bella!" Rosalie sighed at my acrimony. "Alice, the girl we met yesterday at Bergdorf's!"
"Oh, her," I said putting a face to the name finally, the brunette Tinkerbell like girl.
"Good thing you remember now, don't forget it again," she warned me.
"I won't," I promised.
"And ask Renesmee what she wants to do for her birthday, and if she wants to go out on the weekend get an idea of what kind of place she wants to go to," Rosalie instructed me.
"Okay."
"Okay then, I'll hang up, bye. And don't forget again," she said.
"Bye, don't forget what?"
"Alice!" Rosalie groaned.
"Oh, right. Yes, I won't. Alice. Bye!" I said hanging up.
I haven't been able to write these days, busy with other stupid stuff called life! Update ASAP!
Please read and review!