Standard Disclaimer – I don't own Twilight or any of the characters from the story. All song selections have been provided by my amazing beta, NoWayWithWords. She is the greatest! She has set up a YouTube playlist that includes the songs chosen for the chapters. If you would like to check it out, see my profile for the link.
The song for the chapter is "Princess of China" by Coldplay (featuring Rihanna).
Chapter 35 – Souvenirs
During the weeks the followed, Lucy and I got into a good routine. We got up in the morning and exercised, before working in the workbook that Esme had sent to help her learn numbers and letters. Once she finished with that, we would have a morning snack and then she could play with the little girl next door, Kiko, if her dads said it was okay. We usually ate lunch outside on the back porch and enjoyed the fall weather. We would play together in the afternoon and then pick up all of Lucy's toys before nap time. After nap, we watched TV or played some more. After dinner came bath time, reading time, and then bed time.
I felt like I was getting as big as a house. My doctor was concerned that I was not putting on enough weight, but I assured him that I was sticking with the diet that he recommended. He did some testing and finally agreed that I was fine. Thank God.
There was no way I could hide my pregnant belly any more in my own clothes, so I resorted to wearing oversized sweatshirts when I had to go out in public. The weather was cooling down, so it was not out of the ordinary to see people in sweatshirts. I always made sure I carried my big diaper bag/purse when I was out, so I could use it to block my stomach from anyone that might possibly take a picture and post it on the internet.
Lucy was finally starting to realize that she was going to have a baby brother soon. She loved to sit beside me and feel him kick. She would talk to him and sing him songs. Sometimes she would put her ear on my stomach and try to listen to see if he was talking yet. I probably should have told her that babies can't make any sound until they have air in their lungs, but it was so cute that I just had to let her keep trying.
Esme and Carlisle came back to the house to paint the nursery for me. It was perfect. Esme painted the walls light blue with huge palm trees on one wall in brown and light green. She found some nice, sturdy-looking brown baby furniture and picked it up. She and I worked together to make an adorable mobile of little monkeys to hang above the crib. Esme paid someone to make a little quilt to match the monkey theme. It turned out fantastic. She also found some other cute monkey decorations for the room.
Lucy insisted that the baby's room have more than just monkeys in it, so Carlisle took her shopping and they came back with a stuffed hippo and a stuffed giraffe to put in the crib. She was proud of her addition to the room and said, "Papa Doc say baby monkey needed friends."
Lucy loved having her Nana and Papa Doc visit while they worked on the baby's room and was heartbroken when they had to go back to LA. Before leaving, they made one more drive around the island and stumbled across a little house only a few blocks from mine. It was only a two bedroom house, but it sat on a decent-sized piece of property and was right on the water. It was listed "For Sale by Owner." They called the number on the sign and made an offer. The owner had just put the sign up that morning, so it was a miracle that they were the first to call.
The owner said that the little house belonged to his grandmother who recently passed away. The house had too many memories for him, so he couldn't bring himself to live there. He gladly accepted their offer, so they closed on the house right before Thanksgiving.
Since they were in town closing on their house, I invited Esme and Carlisle to join me, Lucy, and my dad for Thanksgiving dinner. I cooked a huge meal, including a turkey and all the trimmings. Lucy kept calling it a big fat chicken. I had been working with her on her speech and it was improving considerably. She was finally talking much better and using full sentences. She said grace before my dad carved the turkey.
My dad asked Carlisle what Edward was doing over the holiday. I tried not to make it look like I was paying attention, because I hadn't heard from Edward since I left him the message about the flowers at the beginning of October.
Carlisle told him, "He is off filming a video in Rio. He should be home next week."
Dad scowled and cleared his throat. "Rio? Well, I hope he's not traveling with much. I hear the crime rate is really high there."
Carlisle said, "Yes, it's a shame really. It's such a beautiful place, but it has a really high poverty level. I went there about ten years ago, for an international medical conference."
Esme grinned widely. "Don't let him fool you, Charlie, he went to hang out on the topless beaches and ogle the beautiful women. The medical conference was just a temporary annoyance that he had to deal with while he was there."
Everyone laughed. I tried to pretend that I thought it was funny, but inside I was plotting ways to castrate Edward and decapitate any woman who dared to lay a finger on him. I didn't realize until later that evening that I had absolutely no right to be jealous. We weren't together. He was a grown man who could do whatever or whoever he wanted. I still didn't like it though.
After Thanksgiving, Emmett came out and brought us a Christmas tree. Lucy and I spent hours making decorations for it because I wasn't feeling up to getting out and buying ornaments. We covered the tree with paper snowflakes and strings of popcorn that we had painted with Lucy's finger paint set that my dad had given her.
I ordered all of my Christmas presents online because even bulky sweatshirts wouldn't hide my bulging stomach. Rosalie took Lucy out to buy a stocking and an angel for the tree. While they were out, Rose let Lucy pick out a present for me and wrap it. I was surprised that she was able to keep a secret and not tell me what it was.
On Christmas morning, I snuck downstairs and put everything out from Santa. I even ate the cookies that Lucy and I had made. I got out my camera and went upstairs to get dressed. Lucy came out of her room as soon as I made it to the ground floor. She walked to the top of the staircase and said, "Mommy, I don't think he came."
"Why don't you come down here and check?"
She came slowly tromping down the stairs in her footie pajamas. I was ready with my camera and captured the look on her face when she saw the toys that had been set out for her. It was priceless. She ran over to the stack of gifts and squealed, "Oh Mommy, look at the pretty paper! Who are all of these for? Did he leave some for Kiko?"
"No, baby, these are all for you because you've been such a good girl."
I took pictures as she tore into the packages one by one and make a big production of loving every one. Once she had opened all of her gifts, we headed out to my dad's for lunch. Dad invited his best friend, Billy Black, and Billy's son, Jacob, to join us for lunch. Dad had ordered the food from the Diner, so all we had to do was heat it back up, which was good because my dad wasn't the best cook in the world and I didn't have enough time to do it when I got there.
Lucy was intimidated by Jacob's size, which is strange because she had no problem with Emmett and he was slightly bigger than Jacob. To her, he looked like a giant. She tried to cling to my leg and hide from him, but dad quickly scooped her up and dragged her over to meet his guests. It didn't take long before Lucy was laughing at Jacob as he crawled around in the living room like a big dog. She said, "Mommy, Jacob is silly."
I laughed and agreed, "He sure is."
After lunch, Billy and Jacob headed home, so dad pulled out his gifts for Lucy and me. He gave Lucy a play kitchen and some play food. She loved it. She wanted him to take it out of the box and put it together for her so she could play with it, but I pointed out that it wouldn't fit in the car once it was assembled.
Dad gave me a video camera and a tripod. He had already charged it up for me, so we sat it up on the tripod and taped ourselves playing with Lucy. Dad made her tell him all about what she got from Santa. It was adorable. She said, "Papa, Santa got in the house with stuff and didn't even make a mess."
Dad loved the painting that Lucy had done for him. I wasn't sure what it was supposed to be, but it looked a lot like a waterfall. I gave him a new wallet and a keychain that said, "World's Best Papa." On the keychain was a key to our house. Dad was touched.
Lucy napped in her car seat as we drove home from dad's house. All of the fun and excitement wore her out. She woke up just as we got home. As I was trying to get the kitchen out of the trunk of the car, Kiko came running over to the house, followed closely by one of her dads, Martin.
"Here, let me help you with that," Martin said as he extracted the big box. "You probably shouldn't be lifting heavy things in your condition."
"Thank you. It's really not that heavy, it's just a little bulky and I already have my own bulk to deal with." I patted my belly.
He carried the box inside for me. Lucy and Kiko were jumping up and down chanting, "Open, open, open…"
Martin said, "I can help you set this up if you like. Do you know where you are going to put it?"
"There is a small game room upstairs that I'm turning into a play room. Can you take it up there for me?"
"Sure thing."
Martin carried the box upstairs and set the kitchen up in the game room, while I kept Kiko and Lucy out of his way. Once everything was assembled and the play food was unpacked, Kiko and Lucy practically shoved us out of the way so they could play.
Martin and I visited for a few minutes before he headed back home to get a few things done around his own house. We often did things for each other. If I had something to do, like mopping the floors, I would take Lucy to Kiko's house. If George and Martin needed some alone time or just needed to do something without Kiko being underfoot, they would send her to me. We had become each other's babysitters.
I pulled out my video camera and taped Lucy and Kiko pretending to cook food and feed it to various dolls and stuffed animals. I was glad that Lucy had a friend so close by and that they always got along so well together.
My mom called later that evening to tell me that she had received the pictures I had sent to her. We had a long standing agreement that we would not buy each other anything for Christmas or birthdays. Instead we just used that money to buy something for ourselves. She sent me a check so I could buy something for Lucy and label it from her and Phil. While I was on the phone with her, I informed her that she had given Lucy a tricycle. When Lucy got on the phone with her, Lucy told her how much she loved it.
Later that night, after I put Lucy to bed, I called Edward. He answered on the second ring.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Edward, it's Bella. I was just calling to say Merry Christmas."
I heard him shifting around. "Merry Christmas to you, too. This is a surprise. I didn't expect you to call."
"Well, I just put Lucy to bed and was thinking about all of the people that I hadn't spoken to yet. I figured you wouldn't mind if I called this late. You don't mind, do you?"
"No, not at all. You know me. I'm a night owl."
"Did you go visit your parents today?"
"Yes, I saw them earlier."
I heard some noise in the background and a woman's voice said, "Edward, who are you talking to?"
I tried not to think of the implications and willed my racing heart to calm down.
I heard Edward put his hand over the phone and tell her, "It's just a friend calling to wish me Merry Christmas. I'll be in there in a minute." He put the phone back to his ear and said, "Sorry about that. So, how was your first Christmas in the new house?"
I struggled to keep my voice steady and answered, "It was nice. I thought the tile floors would be cold, but the heating elements do a good job of breaking the chill, so it's not that bad at all."
"That's good. My mom tells me that they bought a little house down the road from you. She said the construction will be finished next week, so she is hoping to start decorating after the New Year. Have you seen it?"
"Yes, they took me by there after they closed on it. I haven't seen it since they started construction. I'm curious to see what all they did to the place."
"Mom was telling me that they added a large sunroom on the back of the house, overlooking the water, they completely redid the kitchen, and they added a master bedroom and master bath."
"That should help, because the original house was tiny."
There was a slight pause then he said, "So, how is Lucy doing? My parents adore her."
"She's doing great. She doesn't baby talk that much anymore and she is almost completely potty trained. The only time she has to wear a pull up is at night. That's not too bad for a three year old."
"She's still three? When does she turn four?"
"April 20th. I will probably have a little birthday party for her here at the house. She doesn't have very many friends yet. She primarily just plays with the little girl next door."
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence and then Edward said, "Are you doing anything with your music right now? I know your music is still getting played. I hear it on the radio all the time, but I haven't seen you in any magazines or anything. Are you deliberately trying to keep a low profile?"
"I guess you could say that. I've been getting settled here at the house and spending some time with Lucy. Jasper and I have been talking about coordinating a summer tour. I have to do ten stops to fulfill my contract with him. He thinks that if the CD continues to sell the way it is, I might be able to headline, or open for someone big again. We'll just have to see."
"My mom put a copy of your new CD in my Christmas stocking. I haven't opened it yet. Hold on, let me grab it." I heard him shuffle and then put the phone back to his ear. "Okay, I'm back."
"I can't believe you still have a Christmas stocking at your parent's house. That's hilarious," I teased. "You do know that Santa's not real, right?"
"Of course he's real; I just haven't sent him my change of address yet." I heard him tear open the plastic surrounding the CD. "I like the picture on the front. It's very sexy."
"Thank you. I was a little nervous about using those pictures for the CD." I was fidgeting with the edge of my maternity sweater as I waited anxiously for his response.
I heard him open the case and gasp, "Bella… Holy fuck!" The sound of pages flipping carried through the phone. "Bella, these pictures are beautiful. What were you wearing?"
I chuckled and asked, "What do you see, Edward?"
"Shit! You're telling me that you were really naked in these pictures? They didn't air brush out the strings from a bikini or something?"
"No. They didn't airbrush anything. It was just stockings, pearls and a conveniently placed satin sheet. That's it. Nothing else."
"What the hell, Bella? Who the hell took these? How did he talk you into posing nude? Are you seeing him? Were you sleeping together? Are you still sleeping together?" I could hear that he was pacing the room, and pictured him yanking his fingers through his hair.
"Edward, calm down," I said, trying to soothe him. "I'm not dating or sleeping with anyone. I haven't been with anyone since we were together. The pictures were taken by a photographer named Laurent, who is extremely gay and thinks that women's parts look like twin tumors and large amounts of chewed up bubble gum stuffed in an open wound. He would be much more interested in seeing you naked than me."
Edward took a deep breath and let it out. "Is that what you were doing in New York when I saw you there? You said you were there for a photo shoot."
"Yes. I flew in for the photo shoot, ran into you and then came home."
"Stockings and Pearls. You named your CD Stockings and Pearls? Are those the same stockings from when we…"
"Yes. They're the same stockings you left me in. I'm assuming you took the rest of the outfit, because I couldn't find it anywhere."
"I just wanted some kind of physical evidence that what we had was real. I know it sounds crazy, but I liked the idea of taking a little part of you with me. I didn't think to leave any part of me with you before I left."
I rubbed my stomach and said, "You did leave a little part of you, Edward."
I was just about to tell him about the baby, when I heard a door open on his end and the woman's voice. "Baby, I thought you were going to sit by the fire with me. I'm getting lonely out there by myself." It seemed like she was trying to sound seductive, but she sounded more like a whiny six year-old.
Edward replied, "I'm coming, Zaf. Hey, Bella, can I call you tomorrow, or something? I have some people over and I'm ignoring my guests."
I felt my heart crack and tried to hide the disappointment in my voice when I said, "Sure, Edward. I'll talk to you later." I hung up before he had a chance to say goodbye.
I turned on my computer and did a Google search for Edward Cullen. I hadn't done that since our talk in New York, so I was shocked to see all of the reports about Edward dating a Brazilian supermodel named Zafrina. There were pictures of them sitting together on the beach. Of course, she didn't have a top on… bitch. There were pictures of them holding hands, sitting together at a restaurant, him sitting with his arm around her at a club, and even one of them kissing. I wanted to be sick. I checked several different websites and they all said the same thing. I even found an interview where Edward was asked if they were dating. His response was, "Have you seen her? She's absolutely beautiful."
I shut off my computer and started to cry. I cried so hard that I started cramping. The cramping made me cry even harder, which made the cramping worse. I tried to make myself relax, but it wasn't working, so I called Alice. Within a few minutes, Alice and Jasper were on their way to my house. Jasper stayed at home with Lucy, who was asleep, while Alice drove me to the hospital.
When I got there, Alice took me in through an entrance at the back and used her connections at the hospital to get me seen right away. I had to see the doctor that was on call, but he seemed nice enough. He checked me and said that I was going into early labor. He had to give me some medication to make the contractions stop. They ran some tests and held me overnight. The following morning, my doctor came in and told me that he wanted me to stop lifting heavy objects and to avoid any kind of stress. He warned that if the contractions started again, he was going to have to put me on bed rest. I surely didn't want that, so I agreed to follow his instructions.
On our way home the next morning, Rosalie called. "Hey, Bella, Emmett and I are on our way to your house. Are you home?"
"I will be in a few minutes. Alice is driving me home from the hospital."
"Oh shit, Bella, are you ok?" she said frantically.
"Yes, I'm fine. I just had a little cramping, but it's better now."
"Thank God, you had me scared there for a minute." The relief was obvious in her tone. "I have a present for you and I can't wait to see your expression when you open it."
Alice and I got home just as Jasper was trying to convince Lucy that it was too cold outside to wear sandals. She was arguing with him and getting ready to slip into a nasty temper tantrum, so I gave her my best "Don't mess with me" look. As soon as Lucy saw my face she took off the sandals and let Jasper put socks and shoes on her feet.
Rosalie and Emmett arrived a few minutes later with a gift for Lucy. It was a little dress up set, complete with little high heels, a tiara, jewelry, and a princess gown. The first thing Lucy did was kick off the shoes that Jasper had put on her feet only moments before and slip into the heels. Jasper threw his hands in the air and told her, "I give up. Let your feet freeze off."
While we all laughed, Rosalie handed me an envelope. "Bella, this is your Christmas present. I actually got this in the mail at the beginning of the month, but I wanted to wait until now to tell you about it so it would be a surprise."
I opened the envelope and pulled out the beautiful letter. As I read the print, my hands started shaking and I started breathing hard. I sat down and said, "Shit, Rose, what the hell am I going to do?"
"Oooooh Mommy! You said bad words!" Lucy yelled.
Rosalie rolled her eyes. "That's a stupid question. You start writing your acceptance speech. That's what you're going to do."
Jasper reached over and took the paper from my hand. "Holy shit, Bella, you've been nominated for two Grammy's!"
Alice said, "What?"
"It says right here that Bella's been nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best New Artist. They are holding the awards February 13th in Los Angeles," Jasper read.
"But I'm not going to have this baby until March 1st! I can't go to the Grammy's looking like this!" I said in a panic.
"Bella, you have to go. This is a huge thing for you. If you don't go, it will look like you are turning your nose up at the entire music community. You don't want that to happen."
"I can't do this, Rose. There is no way I could hide THIS huge thing." I pointed to my enormous stomach. "Not to mention, Edward will probably be there with his new girlfriend. I don't think I could handle seeing that in person. It's bad enough seeing it on the internet."
Emmett said, "I thought he already knew about it. His parents know about it, obviously. Do you seriously think they haven't told him by now?"
My head was spinning. Did Edward already know about the baby? "But he hasn't said anything about it."
Rosalie turned to me and asked, "When was the last time you spoke to him?"
"I called him last night."
Alice chimed in, "Before you cried yourself into pre-term labor?"
I nodded my head. "Yes. He's dating a supermodel that he met in Brazil over the Thanksgiving holiday. It kind of took me off guard."
Emmett fumed, "What an ass! You know he has to know about the baby, yet he doesn't call to check on you at all. You have to call him and then he tells you he's dating someone else on Christmas. What an insensitive prick!"
Jasper shook his head sadly. "Bella, why did you call him?"
"I was going to tell him about the baby, but I didn't get a chance. We wished each other a Merry Christmas and talked about the pictures in my new CD. I was just about to tell him when his girlfriend interrupted and told him she wanted to snuggle by the fire, so he said he had to go."
Jasper gave me a hug and said, "Bella, you probably shouldn't call him for a while. Every time you talk to him, you get upset. This isn't good for the baby. You need to try to take it easy and not get stressed out. Emmett's right. His parents have probably already told him about it. If he gave a shit, he would be here or at least be calling and checking on you. I know it hurts, but you need to just let it go. You have a beautiful daughter to take care of and a son on the way. You should be worrying about picking a name and registering for a baby shower. You shouldn't be crying and stressing over him."
"I know, Jasper. I know. It's just so hard. Everyone tells me that I should tell him and when I finally decide to do it, I find out that he has already moved on and is with someone else. I feel like I waited too long and now I've blown any chance for us to be together."
Alice rubbed my back soothingly. "Bella, if you two are meant to be together, it will happen. You just have to wait and see. Maybe last night wasn't the right time for the two of you to discuss the baby. You said that he had company. I'm sure it would have been very uncomfortable for him to discuss something like that in the presence of other people. He probably would have become defensive and said some things that he shouldn't have. I still think the two of you should talk about it, but not when it is going to risk the life of your son."
Rosalie spoke up, "Since we are all in agreement that he probably already knows, I think you need to stop hiding yourself from the public eye. I think you should go to the Grammy's even if you are as big as a house. You need to show the world that you aren't ashamed of this baby. Show the world that you are a happy, healthy, beautiful, and talented young woman that is here to make a difference in the world."
Everyone unanimously agreed, so I reluctantly said I would attend if I wasn't feeling too bad. I figured that it was going to be held two weeks before my due date, so I might not be up to it. Rosalie said she would look into finding ways for me to get there, because I wouldn't be able to fly that late in my pregnancy. Alice said she would start trying to find me a decent formal gown. Jasper and Emmett both offered to help me write my acceptance speeches, just in case I actually got either of the awards that I had been nominated for. I was thankful that I had such good friends.
Even though it still hurt, I realized that Edward would probably never be mine again. I had to accept that it was fun while it lasted, but it was over now. If I were being completely honest with myself, I would have to admit that it had been over a long time ago. It ended in New York the first time he left, and was confirmed after visiting New York the second time. I made a mental note to stay away from New York. Too many bad things happen when I go to New York.
All of my friends and band members came to my house for New Years Eve. We had a little party, complete with party hats, horns, and noise makers. Lucy and I drank sparkling grape juice, while the others sipped champagne. It was Bree and Riley's first real date as a couple. I was so happy to see them together. Twix brought two dates, one guy and one girl. I was curious to see which one he was going to kiss at midnight. Nate brought a young woman named Samantha. She seemed really nice. Nate said that they were just friends, but there was potential that it might lead to more.
I made a deal with Lucy that she could stay up until midnight, but she crashed before 8 pm. Nate carried her upstairs for me so I could put her to bed. While we were upstairs, Nate asked, "So, Bella, once you have that baby, are you going to start dating again?"
"Are you asking me out, Nate?" I teased him.
He laughed, "Hell no, that would be like dating my sister. I'm just asking for a friend. He didn't want to say anything to you if you weren't ready."
"I don't think that I'm emotionally ready to date yet. It might be a while."
"Your heart is still stuck on Cullen?"
I rubbed my belly and said, "Unfortunately it is. It's a shame that he doesn't feel the same way."
Nate smiled reassuringly. "You'll find your knight in shining armor, Bella. I know you will."
"Well, hopefully he doesn't come riding in on a stallion, because it's a bitch to strap two car seats to a horse." We both laughed as we went back downstairs and rejoined the party.
The rest of the party went really well. I was surprised that I managed to stay up with the rest of them. Bree and Riley had their first kiss at the stroke of midnight. Twix kissed the girl he brought with him. The guy that he brought kissed Nate's date. Nate just shrugged and kissed me on the cheek. He wasn't all that disappointed. Jasper and Alice were in full make out mode, so they left shortly after midnight. Rosalie and Emmett stayed in my guest room, since they lived the furthest away.
I spent the next day cleaning the house and taking down the Christmas decorations. Emmett carried everything out into the garage and hauled off the tree before he and Rosalie headed back to Port Angeles.
Lucy and I were snuggled up in front of the TV watching cartoons when the phone rang. I picked it up right before it went to voicemail. "Hello?"
"Happy New Years, Bella, I hope I didn't wake you." It was Edward.
My heart stuttered, and I had to compose myself enough to answer. "No, I've been up. Happy New Years to you, too. Did you go to any big parties this year?"
"Yes, I went to the same one I go to every year. I thought I would see you on the Seattle broadcast, but you weren't there."
"No, I had a party at my new house this year. It was just a small group of friends."
"That sounds fun. Did anything get broken?"
I laughed. "No. Apparently childproofing a house works for drunks too."
"I'll have to keep that in mind. Maybe if I childproofed my house I could have people over more often. Every time my friends come over, someone drops something, knocks something over, spills something on my carpets, or someone ends up going through a window."
"They go through the window? I don't think childproofing will work for you. You just need to stick with partying elsewhere or get new friends."
He chuckled, "Maybe so." There was a pause for a moment and then Edward said, "So, what are you doing today?"
"I took down the Christmas decorations this morning, so I'm just sitting around, watching TV with Lucy. What are you doing today?"
"I just woke up a few minutes ago. I think I'm going to work out a little, take a shower, and then maybe practice some. I have an idea for a song that's been floating around in my head since Christmas. I thought I would finally try to start putting it on paper."
"I'm glad to hear that you've found something that inspires you to write again." I tried really hard not to sound bitter as I thought about Edward writing a song for his supermodel girlfriend.
"It's been a while. I used to write all the time. I would write enough for three or four CDs and then put them aside. When I decided to release a CD, I would go back through the music I had written and pick songs I wanted to put on it and then record them. Over the last couple of years, I have just made CDs of music that I wrote years ago. Now, I read back through that music and think it sounds… I don't know… shallow, maybe? I just don't like it as much as I used to. Maybe I'm mellowing out a little."
"So, is your girlfriend living in LA now?" I could hear the bitterness in my voice that time. The fact that this supermodel bimbo could convince him to start mellowing out and possibly settling down pissed me off to no end.
"You mean Zafrina? No, she travels too much to settle down anywhere. Right now, she's in New York. She'll be in Paris next week."
I tried to take deep breaths to keep my emotions in check. "I've seen pictures of the two of you together in Brazil. You look happy together. She's pretty."
"She was in the video that I taped down there. She's actually a really nice person. She makes me laugh, but she's not my girlfriend. We went out a couple of times, but it was nothing serious. It was all just for fun."
Apparently my mouth filter switched off, because I said, "I'm familiar with that one. It's all just for fun until someone gets their heart broken."
I heard him start to speak. "Bella, I'm…"
But I cut him off. "I'm sorry, Edward. I shouldn't have said that. Look, I have to go. My doctor wants me to avoid stress and talking to you just gets me upset. Good luck with your beautiful supermodel girlfriend. I hope that you find happiness together."
"Bella, wait…"
"No. I did wait, Edward. I waited for you, but you turned your back on me. You were the one that decided to walk away, and even when you did, I waited. You told me you needed time, so I continued to wait. I gave you space. I gave you time. Then you told me we were through, and do you know what I did? I continued to wait. I told you back then that I would wait for you, but I was not going to stand aside while you went out with other women and tried to decide if you wanted me or not. Well, you made your decision. You pushed me aside for someone else, so don't you dare tell me to wait. I'm done with waiting. Goodbye, Edward."
I hung up the phone and tried to calm myself down. I could feel my blood pressure pounding in my head. I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm my nerves, but it didn't work. My phone started ringing again. I looked at the name on the display and pressed the talk button.
"Edward, please don't call me again. Go fuck your girlfriend and leave me alone!" I hung up the phone as Lucy started fussing at me about my language.
The phone rang again. This time I tossed it across the couch. Lucy picked it up and answered it.
She asked, "Hello?... Who's this?..." She looked up at me and announced, "Edward's on the phone."
"Tell him that I don't want to talk to him, honey."
She put the phone back to her ear and said, "Mommy don't wanna talk at you. Mommy don't feel good. She's crying. I gotta go get Mommy some tissue."
She walked off and came back with a box of tissues from the other room. When she came back, she was telling Edward all about her room and what she got for Christmas. They talked for a few more minutes and then she said, "Mommy, what will make you… Hold on…" she turn her attention back to the phone and said, "What did you say?" She looked back at me and said, "What will make you talk to him again?"
I was pissed. "It will take a grandiose fucking gesture. That's what it will take. And I'm not talking about gifts and flowers. I'm talking about humbling sincerity. Since I doubt he even knows the meaning of the word, I seriously doubt he's going to pull it off."
Lucy listened attentively and said, "Mommy said you had to pull it off." I tried not to laugh as she said, "No, really. She said you have to pull it off."
Just then the cartoon she wanted to watch started so she said, "Sponge Bob is on. I gotta go. Bye." She hung up the phone and took her seat beside me on the couch to watch the show.
A few minutes later, I got up to get myself something to drink and felt a pain in my back. The contractions were starting again. I tried to sit down and relax, but it didn't help. It came back again. I had read that some people have false contractions, so I started timing them, thinking that was probably what was happening. Unfortunately, these were the real thing, so I called my doctor and headed to the hospital.
A/N: Finally our couple is starting to talk, but it looks like things are still not going well. They really suck when it comes to communication, as you can see. I think I'll slip in a chapter from Edward's point of view next, so we can catch up on what's going on in his world. Not to spoil it, but he's doing a little soul searching…
Ok, I have got to run. It's time for dinner and I'm starving.
Until next time,
A Little Distracted