I apologize for the delay! I have been writing hundreds of college application essays so my free time has been spent NOT writing! Please enjoy this next chapter!
Chapter 6:
Bella shut the door behind Jake and made her way to the kitchen where she knew Edward would be waiting for her. Everything about Edward being in her home felt natural, like that was the way her life was supposed to be. She picked up toys, putting them into a basket and placed it on the stairs to bring up to the playroom later that night. She walked into the kitchen where Edward was sitting at the breakfast bar.
He was flipping through her pages of cookbooks and Internet printouts. Edward sifted through them, pulling some pages out and placing some to the side. He looked upset, almost angry as he did it.
"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked him, placing a hand on his arm. Something about the entire situation seemed rather domestic to her, but she pushed the thought out of her mind.
"Nothing," Edward snapped a little too quickly to be convincing.
"Look, I'm sorry I called you, okay?" she was beginning to cry. "It's just that I needed help and I don't exactly have anyone else around here. Besides, you told me to call you if I needed anything. I was just so scared for Melanie and I didn't have anyone else I could call. I'm new here, I don't have friends. I have you, Mrs. Thompson and Mel."
Edward looked down at her, his face a mixture of emotions. He wrapped his arms around Bella, making her feel safe and home at the same time.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm not upset because you called me, I was more than happy to come over here. It's just that…you know what, never mind. It doesn't matter anymore."
Feeling her in his arms was all that mattered to Edward at the moment. Dr. Black could have been there months, even years in the past. He no longer mattered. Edward was starting to realize he had more than a friendly interest in the young woman. Bella was becoming one of the most attractive women in his acquaintance, someone who he was desperate to date.
Wiping her eyes, Bella pulled gently out of his arms and surveyed the kitchen.
"What am I going to do?" she groaned, seeing the bare table in her mind's eye that she would be forced to present to her family. "I can't possibly host Thanksgiving without a turkey, or anything else for that matter."
Edward rolled up his sleeves and smiled down at her. "Then let's get crackin'."
Together the two managed to throw together several side dishes: stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and marshmallows, green beans, and cranberry sauce. Edward taught Bella how to marinate a turkey, placing the large parcel in the fridge to wait for its turn in the oven. By the time they finished cooking it seemed silly to send Edward home.
"We have a really lovely guest bedroom," Bella wheedled. "It has a shower and everything!"
"I couldn't possibly stay the night," Edward replied. "Your family will be here tomorrow and you have so much left to do."
"You mean we have so much left to do, right?" she asked with a little smile. "You don't think that after all the work you put into this, I wouldn't invite you to dinner?"
Edward was flabbergasted. "But Thanksgiving is for family-"
"And friends!" she replied. "And you are most definitely my friend."
Edward wasn't sure if he was thrilled with the 'friend' status, but he'd take what he could get for the time being. After that, he was quick to acquiesce for he was truly exhausted from the long day and not very anxious to return to his quiet apartment.
The next morning he awoke to loud noises drifting into his room from next door. It took him a minute to remember where he was, lying in a comfortable bed in a flowery room. Throwing on his shirt from the previous day, he went to find the source of the racket.
Opening the door beside his own just a crack, he found Bella and Melanie curled up in her bed singing along to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Both in their pajamas with rumpled hair and sleepy smiles, they were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. For one blissful minute, Edward imagined Bella beckoning him into their room where he would curl up with his family. Then he remembered that this was hardly his family, hardly his house.
There was a gasp from Bella followed by a deep blush and embarrassed smile. She turned down the volume on the TV, whispered something to Melanie and stumbled out of bed towards him. In her simple cotton tank and flowing pants, her hair tumbling about her, she was the most beautiful sight he had ever beheld.
"Did we wake you? I was trying so hard to be quiet, but I always get carried away! I am so sorry!"
"You didn't wake me, I was just…trying to find the bathroom again," Edward hastily pulled out any excuse he could think of.
"There's the one that's attached to your room. Though I must apologize because it's a joint one between your room and Mel's. The house seems to be designed for more than one child," Bella flushed again, imagining her own child, Edward's child, living in the spare bedroom. She didn't know where her mind was this morning, probably just coffee-deprived.
"Would you like some coffee?" she asked, anxious to change the subject.
"I'd love some," Edward was quick to accept, for he too sensed her unease.
"Great, give me a minute to throw on something decent and I'll meet you in the kitchen."
Edward went down into the kitchen, seeing the coffee maker but no coffee beans or instant coffee. Bella joined him quickly, wearing sweats and a T-shirt, looking relaxed and pretty. She rummaged through cabinets, pulling out packages and filling the coffee maker. Soon, the aroma of fresh coffee filled the kitchen. Edward poured the liquid caffeine into mugs, turning around to find Bella scrambling eggs in a pan over the stove.
"A Thanksgiving tradition from when I was little. I hope you're hungry!" she said, as the delicious smell of fresh eggs filled the house. "Mel!" she called towards the stairs. "Come down for breakfast!"
The three of them had breakfast together, watching the parade out of the corner of their eyes and singing along to the performances that came on. Bella left the TV turned onto NBC, the volume low, as she and Edward cleaned up in the kitchen. Melanie was watching it in the living room.
Edward helped Bella take the turkey out of the fridge and place it in the warming oven. She was caught up in the rush of the day, digging out tablecloths, finding the nice silver, the fine china and setting the table.
"Bella, I need to go home," Edward said, finally gaining the courage to speak.
"What?" she asked glancing up from the task of polishing a silver platter. "But I thought you were going to stay for dinner?"
"I am, if that's still alright with you. But I need to go home and change." He looked sheepishly down at his clothes, rumpled and sweaty from the gym.
Bella blushed again. "Oh, alright then. I was planning to serve dinner at 4:00. Do you think you could be here by 3:00? You deserve to have a final peek at the meal…and I need to prep you for my family."
Edward nodded and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Thank you for inviting me."
She smiled, her cheeks red from his chaste kiss. "I'll see you at three then."
Bella sighed in relief as she heard his car pull out of her driveway. Never had she felt so tense and nervous around someone. Never had she wanted someone to like her as desperately as she wanted him to.
Melanie walked into the kitchen and looked at her mother. "Why did Mr. Cullen sleep over last night?" she asked.
"Mr. Cullen is my friend and he was helping me out last night. He's going to be coming over for dinner tonight if that's alright with you, Mellie," Bella replied carefully.
Melanie simply nodded, she liked Mr. Cullen and saw no reason why he shouldn't be friends with her mommy. Bella placed a quick kiss on her forehead before putting her to work. By 3:00 the house was filled with smells of cooked food, the main course itself and the pies that Bella baked for dessert. She had hurried upstairs to dress before her family arrived, having already wrestled Melanie into a pretty red velvet dress. She glanced through her closet, rejecting her many black dresses before finally settling on a simple green silk babydoll dress. She left her hair down, but pulled it back with a matching headband.
The doorbell rang, and she smiled to herself, perhaps a bit too anxious to see her daughter's teacher. Pulling on a silvery shrug, she raced down the stairs, skidding around the corner into the hallway. She opened the door with a breathless smile.
"Dear me, Isabella! This is hardly a way to greet guests!" Renee Swan, Bella's mother, criticized. "I can't believe we agreed to this. Thanksgiving would have been so much nicer at our house, Charlie."
"Renee, we're not even in the house. Let's give her a chance," Charlie said, giving his daughter a peck on the cheek and walking into her house. "This place looks great, Bella. I'm really proud of you, sweetie!"
"Grandma! Grandpa!" Melanie shouted, running pell-mell into the kitchen.
After the 'hello's' were said, Charlie went into the living room to watch football, while Renee looked around the house for things to critique. Charlie uncomfortably pulled at his tie, uncomfortable in a formal suit after years in his police uniform. At quarter past three, Bella heard another knock at the door.
"Can I please please please get it mommy?" Melanie asked, bouncing up and down on her feet.
Bella smiled and nodded, following her daughter surreptitiously into the hallway. Melanie opened the door to a smiling Edward Cullen. In his hand was a bunch of daisies, simple and pretty. Kneeling down he handed Mel a single pink carnation from behind his back. Whispering in her ear and giving her a wink, he walked into the house towards Bella.
"And for the beautiful mother," Edward whispered in Bella's ear with a suggestive wink.
She blushed, burying her nose in the flowers to disguise her obvious attraction to Edward. As Bella left the hallway, heading towards the kitchen, Renee stuck her head into the hallway.
"Em is that you..oh…" she stuttered.
"Hello, Mrs. Swan is it? My name is Edward Cullen and I'm a friend of your daughter's."
"Are you dating Bella? Because it has been so long since she's been in a relationship, I'm starting to wonder if she's still a virgin!" Renee chattered.
"Mom!" Bella gasped, her face flushing a deep red. "Please don't listen to her, Edward. She's a pathological babbler."
Edward just smiled, looking down at his feet and trying to ignore how much he wanted to be getting the boyfriend speech.
"And for your information, Edward and I are just friends," Bella added, with a hint of finality in her voice.
Edward couldn't help feeling disappointed by this, wishing he hadn't heard such a hopeless remark. Thankfully, another knock on the door saved him from further consideration of this fact.
"Uncle Emmett! Uncle Emmett!" Melanie was shouting excitedly as a bear of a man gave her a huge hug."Hi Miss Rosalie," she added with quite a bit less enthusiasm.
"Hello Melanie," Rosalie began awkwardly. "I brought you a present from college…"
"Thanks Miss Rose!" Melanie replied, smiling as she opened the tiny pink T-shirt reading Rutgers University. She smiled, politely thanking the woman who was in fact her true mother.
Rosalie smiled in relief, holding Emmett's hand and walked into the house. Soon the house was bustling. Emmett and Charlie shouted at the TV in the living room, Edward and Bella rushed around the kitchen finishing dinner, Rosalie awkwardly attempted to connect with the amiable Melanie and Renee attempted to get into everyone's face. At 4:00 on the dot, everyone was gathered around the heaping dining room table watching Charlie carve the turkey.
Everyone hastened to dig into the food, raving over Bella's delicious cooking. Renee looked rather sour, upset that a Thanksgiving dinner away from her home could be acceptable. Edward and Bella shared looks over the table as everyone enjoyed their joint efforts.
After dinner, Edward once again joined Bella in the kitchen, this time to help her wash dishes.
"So…that was an interesting night," Edward said with a slightly uncomfortable smile.
"Please excuse my family, none of them seem to comprehend basic manners," she replied.
"It was wonderful, I really enjoyed getting to know them," Edward replied honestly. "It's telling to see where a person came from."
They worked in a companionable silence, listening to the sounds of the Swan family digesting their feast. Couple by couple, the Swans departed with kisses and compliments for Bella and handshakes and invitations for Edward. Soon, just Edward and Bella remained. Melanie had long since fallen asleep on the couch and the two were relaxing in the newly cleaned kitchen, a bottle of wine opened between them.
Edward had been mulling one thought over in his mind all afternoon, if he was totally honest with himself the thought had been in his head since the night he met Bella Swan. Looking down into the ruby depths of his drink, he waited for the words to come to him. But the words would not come and he was a desperate man so he just spit it out.
"Bella, would you like to…go out with me sometime?" he asked, looking beseechingly into her eyes.
Bella's eyes took on a startled look. "What? Edward?" she fragmented, unable to form true thoughts. "Isn't this inappropriate? I mean after all you're Melanie's teacher."
"I know," Edward replied sheepishly. "But I can't stop thinking about you, Bella. How great we could be together. And I know I'm Melanie's teacher but that doesn't mean if I date you I can't be objective."
"I'm still not sure Edward. I mean I like you a lot, but I have to think of Melanie and the school…"
"That's okay Bella, why don't you take a few days and think it over. When you haven an answer…call me. Promise?"
"I promise."
I know that was sort of a mean thought to leave it on, but I promise I intend to post chapter 7 sooner! So, what did you all think? Is she going to say 'yes' or will Edward have to persuade her? And what will happen with Jacob? Comments, criticisms and suggestions are always welcome! Please please please review!