Italics are flashbacks!
Once we pulled up to the restaurant, I nervously followed Alice out of the car and into the comfortable atmosphere. Edward had been responsible for booking the reservations, yet he wasn't actually at the restaurant. Alice smiled gracefully at the Maitre d' and he led us to a private table in the back next to the large stone hearth.
"So are you nervous?" she smiled as we waited for Edward and Tanya. Her hands were folded primly over the menu. "I mean, you and Edward haven't seen each other in so long."
"Well you and I hadn't seen each other in a long time and I wasn't that nervous to see you," I grinned slyly. While I didn't want to lie to Alice, it would be impossible for me to say I wasn't nervous. My mind would wander back to the days when Edward and I would spend hours upon hours together during the summer, or walking home from school when there would be a foot of snow on the ground. He made my childhood what it was.
Magical.
"Here he comes," Alice suddenly said excitedly, patting my hand that was resting on the table. I tensed up immediately and braced myself for a less than pleasant reaction from a certain Mr. Cullen. I kept my eyes focused on the linen table cloth until he spoke in his sweet voice and all of a sudden, I was seven years old again.
Edward and I were lying in the field behind his house. The birds were chirping loudly and the sun was beaming down. It was Mid July and the weather was near perfection. At seven years old, all I needed was the sun and my best friend and my life was perfect.
"Edward, do you think you and I will be friends forever?" I asked him, breaking the silence. He looked over at me, smiled and nodded . "Good."
"Bella, you're my best friend. If we aren't friends, then I don't know who I'll talk to," he sighed with a smile, sitting up in the large field of flowers. He picked a purple wild flower and placed it on my stomach. "As long as you have this purple flower, you'll be my best friend."
"Bella?" Alice repeated. Broken from my trance, I shook my head and finally smiled up at Edward who was standing with a woman who was about as small as Alice. Her light skin was dotted with numerous freckles that spilled over the bridge of her nose and onto her cheeks. Her eyes were a deep green-just like Edward's- and her hair dirty blonde hair fell just past her jaw line. Alice wasn't joking when she said that Edward had picked a beautiful girl.
"Yes, sorry," I said quickly, extending a hand for Tanya to shake as she and Edward slipped into the booth. I was trying my hardest to keep my eyes from Edward's, knowing I wouldn't be able to tear them away once I did. But, it happened and when my eyes did meet his, everything I'd done my best to forget in the past seven years was back on the surface.
"What're are you doing in New York, Bella?" Edward asked. I ran my hands over my cool legs and opened my dry mouth to speak.
"Uh, well Alice invited me to your-your wedding," I stuttered. I'd been so preoccupied with Edward getting upset over the invitation, I hadn't even thought about Tanya. She and I were strangers, never having spoken two words to one another. "I really hope that's okay."
"Don't you worry, Tanya," Alice grinned, interjecting herself into the conversation. "I've already made her a place card and she sent in her RSVP card a while ago. Everything is taken care of."
"Well," Tanya suddenly smiled, her arms folded loosely over her chest. "It's always nice to have more guests. More gifts, right?"
We all laughed lightly, except for Edward who was sitting silently at Tanya's side.
"Alice," he coughed. "Can I speak to you for a second?"
"Sure," Alice answered, tossing her napkin onto the table. I watched nervously as she and Edward quickly disappeared, leaving Tanya and I alone in silence.
"So Bella," Tanya began sweetly, resting her chin on her folded hands. "How do you and Edward know each other?"
"Well we were childhood friends," I began. I turned my head to see if I could catch a glimpse of Edward and Alice but I couldn't see anything. "But, I had to move to Washington when I was seventeen and we haven't really talked since. I mean, Alice and I have but that's it. When Alice told me that Edward was getting married, I was kind of surprised. Any time a girl pursued him, he kind of blew them off. He wasn't ever one for relationships."
She was silent for a second. I couldn't tell if she was angry or not.
"Sorry about that," Alice said cheerfully as she and Edward returned to the table.
Alice must have done a number on him because he seemed much happier than he was when he and Tanya first arrived. He was uncharacteristically talkative and even acknowledged my presence at one point.
The night progressed nicely as we ate delicious food and I drank more than enough of the wonderful house wine. As much as I wanted to dislike Tanya, she just made it impossible. She was a wealthy lawyer who had everything going for her. Maybe that was what Edward saw in her, aside from the beauty. She was smart and witty and beautiful. As much as I hated to admit it. Tanya was lovely and she and Edward were meant for each other.
"Well that dinner was wonderful," Tanya sighed happily as we stood to exit the restaurant. When I looked to Edward who was already headed towards the door, my anger suddenly flared. He couldn't possibly be still angry for what happened when he and I were just seventeen years old. "Bella, it was nice to see you. I hope we see each other again by the time the wedding rolls around."
I nodded and couldn't object before she hugged me tightly. She waved once at Alice with a smile and followed after Edward. I let out a sigh of relief and followed after Alice as we left the restaurant. Due to the numerous glasses of wine, I stumbled into Alice more than a couple of times before we could even get to the car. All I wanted was to swathe myself in the thick blankets that awaited me back at the Cullen household.
Once we returned home, I laid out the dress on the reclining chair on the corner of my bedroom and slipped into my pajamas. Esme and Carlisle were at a gala at the museum and Alice had retreated to her bedroom, so it was just me sitting alone in the living room as the TV rambled senselessly before me. Unable to find anything on the TV that could keep my attention, so I laid back and let my thoughts wonder.
"I'll never ever lose this flower," I giggled, sitting up and holding the flower close to my chest. Even at seven years old, I was mesmerized by the way his copper hair could catch the sunlight so perfectly, so beautifully. He said I had the prettiest hair out of all people in our grade, but I had to disagree. "You know, when my daddy gives my momma flowers, she always gives him a kiss."
"But, isn't kissing only for the grownups?" he cocked his head curiously. "My dad says that kissing is something that I should do when I'm older and not in the second grade."
"Well," I blushed. "We could just try it and I bet that we wouldn't get in trouble. My momma says that kissing is magical. Cinderella is magical and I love Cinderella so I guess I'll love kissing, too."
"We can try," he nods seriously. "But we should stand up first. That's how my parents always do it."
I agreed and stood. He inhaled deeply, closed his eyes and his face began to move to mine. While I'd always wanted to know what it was like to get a kiss like Prince Charming gave to Snow White, something in me just wouldn't allow it. His lips were just inches from mine before I hurried away with the flower still in my hand.
I sighed loudly and lifted myself off of the couch. I trudged into my bedroom, fell to my knees and began rummaging through my suitcase to retrieve my tattered copy of Wuthering Heights. Once I had it in my grasp, I flipped to the last chapter and out came that withered, purple-now brown-wildflower that Edward had given me so many years ago. "As long as you have this purple flower, you'll be my best friend."
His words echoed through my head and I could still picture that same young Edward, sitting in my living room coloring or running through the sprinklers with Alice and I. He seemed happy now, but he wasn't mine. It didn't matter to me whether he was happy or not. And, he didn't seem to want to care about me anymore-if dinner was any indication. He had Tanya now. She was his best friend. His counterpart. His everything.
Tears were just brimming in my eyes when I suddenly heard a soft, lulling song filtered in through the closed door. The only pianist in the family was Edward, and he couldn't have possibly slipped inside without my knowledge. Knowing I needed to see where the music was coming from, I held the flower in my hand and made my way out into the living room.
"What're you doing here?" I asked as I saw Edward sitting before the grand piano. I hadn't even heard the front door open.
"Playing the piano," he answered curtly, his face nor fingers leaving the keys. As much as I would have loved to sway to his sweet song, I needed to talk to him, ask him about his coldness at the restaurant. "What're you doing here?"
"I'm staying here with your parents and sister who actually decide to acknowledge my presence for than once an hour," I retorted. "But, whatever."
I practically slammed the frail flower on the piano top and began towards the bedroom. A part of me wanted to wait for him to respond to the item he'd given me so long ago, but the other part of me-my dominant part-fought against it.
"I gave you this flower," he suddenly said as he followed after me. His emerald eyes burned with intensity as he held the flower out in his upturned palm. "We were seven years old. How do you still have this?"
"You told me that as long as I had this flower, you and I would be best friends," I answered as the tears began to drop from my eyes. "But, I guess fate just wasn't in our favor."
"I'm gonna go over to Rosalie's house," Alice peeped quietly, slipping from her bedroom and out of the apartment. I turned my gaze back to Edward who was still staring at me seriously. I wouldn't be surprised if Tanya was marrying him just for his eyes. Other than his hair, they'd been one of my favorite things about him.
"If I do recall," he cleared his throat. "You left Massachusetts. Not me. You're the one who didn't call. Not me. I tried to keep in contact with you but you wouldn't allow it. Oh, and you're the one that left without a simple goodbye."
"I did say goodbye!" I boomed, shoving past him.
"Through a letter!"
"I thought that it would be better that way. We were happy and I figured a silly goodbye would just ruin things. Besides, you were off doing god knows what with god knows who at that damn summer camp!"
"That's just it. We were happy," his voice cracked slightly. "Imagine my surprise when the camp counselor hands me a letter that tells me my best friend has just moved to the side of the country. How would you feel if I had done that to you?"
"You blame me for leaving!" I cried. "It's not my fucking fault, Edward."
I thought he would continue further but his mouth snapped shut. With a loud huff, he turned around and quickly left as Esme and Carlisle were coming home. I stood still for a moment before I entered the bedroom and didn't leave for the rest of the night.
Uh oh! Drama! What will happen next? Only time will tell!