2.

I was resting my legs after the last practice time of the day, when one of Alice's little girls waddled up to me in a spotted leotard and a pink tutu; her white leggings were torn in a few places, probably from when she had fallen. She tapped my arm lightly, and I turned towards her, smiling cheerfully.

"Hello, Abby!" I said softly.

She nodded shyly. "Hello," she mumbled out.

I saw her mother standing a few feet away, watching us with a careful smile. I remembered her as one of the grateful mothers from the first day, Martha.

Abby looked up at me, blue eyes sparkling with tears.

Worry shot through my veins. "What's wrong, honey?" I asked her, concerned. I glanced back at her mother again, but saw no change in her expression.

I rubbed the girl's blond head softly. "Miss Lisa," she started quietly, sounding like a child who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

I nodded, encouraging her to go on.

"I was wearing my outfit for the show yesterday and spilled some juice on it," she whispered. I was thankful for my perfect and acute hearing, or else I may not have heard her.

I nearly laughed at how worried I had been as relief flooded me. "That's okay, honey," I replied with a smile.

Her mother was standing in front of me now, and she smiled at me apologetically. "She spilled grape juice on her leotard yesterday," she clarified. I looked up at the mother and smiled.

I stood up and noticed with surprise that Martha was almost a head shorter than me. "That's alright," I said to her, then looked back down at Abby, "I'll have Miss Alice get you a new one. No problem!"

"I'm sorry for the trouble," Martha said. She began digging in her purse. "I can give you a check for the replacement outfit."

I shook my head. "No worries," I replied. "I'll take care of it, don't worry about paying for it. Honestly, we realized that something like this might happen, so we bought a few extras. I'll have Alice find her size and I'll have it for you by tomorrow." I glanced down at Abby, who was grinning up at me.

"Thank you, Miss Lisa!" she said with a lisp because of the huge gap in between her teeth. She had shown me her tooth the day it had fallen out. I recalled with a smile how proud she had been.

I got down to her level and hugged her. "Of course, honey."

The mother thanked me with a sweet smile and I watched them walk out the door, Abby skipping next to her mother. I smiled to myself.

I picked up all my things and headed out the door. Alice and Esme were waiting outside by Esme's car. We all climbed in. The second all our doors were shut, Alice turned around in her seat and smiled at me. "You're great with kids, you know."

I laughed half-heartedly, hoping she would leave it at that, but she didn't.

"You would have been a great mom."

Esme noticed my discomfort and told Alice quietly to stop. Alice's face froze, not understanding what she had said wrong and turned around slowly, facing the front. The car grew deathly silent. Thought of Lily Anne flooded my mind. I would have been a great mother, wouldn't I? But now I would never have that chance. I bit my lip, fighting back the urge to sob. Alice was just trying to be nice. It wasn't her fault that what she had said brought up such painful memories for me.
We were almost to the house when I swallowed all my pain, buried it, and turned so I was looking at the back of Alice's head.

"Alice," I whispered softly, relieved that my voice was under control.
She turned as quick as lightning with an eager expression on her face. "Lisa, I'm so sorry!" she blurted out.

I shook my head, patting the hand she had placed around the headrest. "It's alright, Alice, really."
She smiled, her regret shining through her eyes. When we got out of the car, I hugged her tight. "It's really alright, Alice," I whispered into her ear.
She nodded, squeezing my hand, before running to the house. I hopes Jasper would be able to reassure her that I was fine and everything was really all right.

I glanced at the clock on my phone and noticed it was almost 6. I hurried off to our little cabin and began dinner for John.

Pulling open the door to our cottage, I let out a gasp of surprise when I saw John sitting on one of the couches in the living room. The setting sun was shinning off my skin, making the whole room as bright as midday, so I quickly stepped inside and shut the door, enveloping the room in near darkness. He still hadn't grown quite used to the effects the sun had on my skin. "John!"

He turned towards me. I could see the tears that streaked his face and his red, blotchy cheeks, even though it was nearly pitch dark inside. I ran towards him and gently pulled him into my arms. "Oh John!"

A million possibilities as to why he would be crying ran through my mind. Was he going to leave me? Oh please, God…

He sucked in a shaky breath and pushed himself away from me. Worry bloomed fully inside my chest. "John, what's wrong?" I gulped out.
He was holding something in his hands and I glanced down at it. It was a small snapshot, about the size of a passport photo. "John?"

And then I saw the beautiful face, red from crying, on the little piece of paper. "Oh," I gasped out as I clutched my middle. All the feelings from the car came rushing back. I moved slowly to take the photo out of his hands and I slowly fingered the face of my beautiful angel. "Oh, Lily."

Now it was John's turn to pull me into his lap. His tears had dried up but his voice was still shaky as he said, "Tomorrow she would have been four."

A sob escaped my throat, though no tears came. All the emotions I had been holding back for all these years now were threatening to come out all at once. Barely I managed to hold on to some control. I buried my face in John's chest and he held me as tightly as he could. I felt wetness hit my scalp and realized John was crying again. Oh, how I would give anything for the sweet release that tears could bring me. But I had to be strong.

When I opened my eyes again, I could tell it was pitch dark in the little cabin, though I could still see everything clearly.

"John," I whispered, looking up into his face. He had stopped crying, his face unreadable as he stared off into space. I wished Edward were here so I could know what John was thinking. "John, we have to move on, baby."
His eyes slowly moved to my face, looking it over carefully. Finally he spoke in a gravely voice. "A year ago I though both my wife and baby girl were dead."

I nodded, waiting for him to finish.

His hand moved to my cheek, stroking it lovingly. "I am so thankful that I have you back. You make life bearable."

I closed my eyes and marveled in the feel of his warm hand against my marble skin. "I love you so much, John," I whispered, loud enough so he could hear.
And then I felt something I had been yearning for for a long time. John's lips touched mine softly, kissing me. He stayed that way for a while, not pulling back, until the hand that was on my cheek moved to brush through my hair and he pushed me into him, kissing me hard. His hot breath on my tongue sent my head into a frenzy and I kissed him back, hungrily. I nearly lost myself before I remembered that he was only human. I pulled back sharply and exhaled. "John."

He was staring at me, a dazed expression on his face.

"John, that was dangerous, I could have hurt you!"

He started shaking his head. "No, no. Don't you see, Lisa? I don't care anymore. I love you." He took my hands in both of his. "Please, Lisa." He kissed my fingers. "Please, just kiss me. Forget about hurting me. I just need you to love me."

My resolve dropped and I leaned into him again, kissing him wildly on the lips. I was still very careful not to hurt him, but with every kiss I began to realize how much I had missed this about my husband. This was the first true sign of intimacy he had showed me in a long time. I let myself unravel as he kissed me passionately.

When he stopped and leaned back, I recognized the hunger in his eyes. It was the same one I felt. "John, I love you so much," I blurted out.

"Lisa, have sex with me."

The way he said it, it sounded like a simple request: for a wife to make love to her husband. But I knew it was way more than that.

"No, John, it's too dangerous. You don't understand."

"I don't care, Lisa, please."

I stood up, hugging myself tight. "John, no, you don't understand."

I closed my eyes and felt him move to stand in front of me. He planted a kiss on my forehead. "I trust you, Lisa."

I started shaking my head, truly scared of what he was saying. "No, John. I don't trust myself, don't you see!"

He grabbed my arms and pulled me into his chest. I could hear his heart pumping madly. The sound of his blood rushing was intoxicating. Stop it! I scolded myself. "John, please," I whimpered softly.

But he wouldn't let go of me until I finally gave in. "But we have to be careful," I barely got out before his hands were moving to my belly.

"It's okay, Lisa. Just love me." And then he kissed me and I gave up fighting him, determined to focus only on keeping him safe now.