A/N: Sorry for the wait guys. RL happens, you know?
I don't own Twilight. I will own my very own Bachelor's Degree tomorrow. Yep. After 7 years, I'm finally graduating.
Big hugs and snuggles to Emmy415 for writing this thing with me, and not letting me give up, and Sweek539 for being an awesome beta.
Chapter 11 (BPOV)
I was standing in Starbucks on Thursday morning, waiting for my Caramel Macchiato, when I heard a small, chipper voice call my name behind me.
"Bella? Bella Swan?" the voice said. I knew who it was without even turning around. I closed my eyes for a moment, preparing myself for the onslaught of perkiness that I was about to receive. I whipped my head around to see the 5 foot nothing frame of Alice Cullen standing not 3 feet away from me.
"Alice!" I squealed, stretching my arms out to engulf her tiny body in a hug. She hugged me back just as fiercely, her tinkling laugh ringing out through the coffee shop.
She pulled back from me, keeping her hands on my shoulders. Her bright blue eyes were shining with excitement, framed by long eyelashes. Her long dark hair that I remembered was chopped off into a sleek cropped cut that barely reached past her chin. She was clad in a short casual summer dress and heels, which brought her up to almost my height. She looked phenomenal.
"You look great, Bella! New York has done wonders for your fashion sense," she complimented, her eyes raking up and down my dress. "You were always such a tomboy. I guess that's what happens when you spend every waking moment with a boy. And of course, by 'boy', I obviously mean my brother. He tells me you and him have reconnected again. That's really great!"
I almost snorted out loud and told her that we'd 'reconnected' more than she thought, but I kept that to myself. I didn't know if Edward had said anything, or wanted to say anything to her at that point. I didn't really even know exactly what we were. Boyfriend and girlfriend? We only went out on one date...was that enough to start labeling our relationship?
I beamed at her, and reached over to grab my coffee that the barista had set down on the counter. "Yeah, it's been great. It was pure coincidence that we even ran into each other in the first place."
"Mmmm-hmmmm. I bet it's been great." she said, knowingly.
Damn it. I think she's on to me. She HAS always been intuitive.
"Can you stick around for a minute while I get my coffee?" she asked, nodding her head towards the counter. I nodded and she almost skipped over to the counter, dazzling the poor teenage boy on the other side as she ordered. When she was finished, she came back over to me, pulling out her cell phone out of her bag.
"Let's exchange numbers and get together soon, okay? I need a girls' night," she said, handing me her phone to put my number in. I typed my cell number in and called my phone, checking to make sure her number showed up.
"Got it. I've got to get to work, but let's do something soon. Are you free tomorrow night?" I asked her, taking a sip of my coffee.
She nodded vigorously, bouncing on her toes with excitement. "Oh, it will be so much fun! We'll do dinner and drinks. I've got to tell you ALL about my new man!"
It took everything I had not to burst into laughter at her statement, but I remained calm and collected.
"Is it okay if I ask my sister-in-law to come? She doesn't get out much with the girls. Emmett clings to her like she's the last drop of water in the desert."
"Oh! Sure! The more the merrier! Alright, I have to run. I'll call you and we'll discuss details." She enveloped me in a huge hug again, kissed me on the cheek, and then she was gone and out the door before I could even mutter a good-bye.
"See ya later," I said to nobody but myself.
That girl needs some Ritalin. Thank god Edward is not that enthusiastic about everything. I'd have to start slipping sedatives in his drinks.
As I started my walk to work, I pulled my phone out to send Edward a quick text.
It's a small world after all. Just ran into your sister. Was she always that energetic? - B
Alice? Yeah...I think she came out of the womb tap dancing, and it's gotten worse ever since. - E
I giggled, and raised my head to make sure I wasn't about to walk into an unsuspecting person or inanimate object before replying to him.
My head is spinning and I only talked to her for 5 minutes. We're going out tomorrow night. - B
You aren't spending your Friday night with me? *pouts* - E
Quit pouting. I'll make it up to you, I promise. Besides, she wants to tell me all about her new man! LOL. - B
I turned to walk through the doors to my building, when he replied.
They've been so annoying. He won't leave my apartment and they have pet names for each other already. I may need to move in with you. - E
Make them go to Jasper's apartment. Going to work now. TTYL. -B
I miss you. Come play with me soon. -E
I barked out a laugh as I got into the elevator, making the people around me shoot me death glares.
Holy hell. Lighten up people.
I muffled my snickers behind my hand as I exited, shouting a "Hey Ang!" into Angela's office as I walked by.
"Hey, Bells, wait!" she shouted, causing me screech to a halt.
"Yes, dear?" I said, turning around to face her. I was still grinning like a fool from my conversation with Edward, and she eyed me suspiciously. She walked over to me casually and circled around me, examining me from head to toe.
"You look like Bella, you sound like Bella....but you sure aren't acting like Bella. You're...happy," she said, laying a hand on my shoulder. She peered at me over her thick black framed glasses, and I couldn't help but to grin wider back at her.
She grabbed my hand and pulled me into her office, kicking the door shut with her foot.
I laughed as she stood in front of me, hands on her hips and tapping her Louboutin-clad foot impatiently. "Spill."
"Spill what? Why I'm happy? I'm always happy. Am I not allowed to be extra happy sometimes? It's been a good week."
"Uh-huh," she said speculatively. "Does your extra happiness have anything whatsoever to do with a handsome chef with glorious sex hair?"
She stared me down, and I wanted to just sit down and spill everything, because I had yet to do so with anyone, but the other part of me just wanted to keep it to myself for the time being. I'm sure Alice and Rosalie would drag it out of me on our girl's night, anyways. Might as well keep it sacred for now.
"Damn it Ang, stop using your journalist voodoo on me. I'm not spilling anything. Yes, it does have to do with him. Now let me go work." I stomped my foot in frustration and then laughed out loud when I realized I was throwing a tantrum.
I turned to walk out of her office, but she stopped me. "Wait- did you get my e-mail about doing a column about the summer movies in the park? I know people like those, and I think we should get the schedule out soon."
"Got it under control. Ta ta!" I said, sauntering out of her office and over to mine. I plopped down in my chair and turned on my computer, going through my morning routine of checking e-mails and phone calls. Angela popped her head in every now and then to pester me some more, but I stood firm and ignored her desperate pleas for information. I worked straight through my lunch, just pausing to inhale a granola bar around noon, and dove back into my work so I could leave the office at a decent hour.
That night, I made myself dinner, and was sitting around watching bad reality TV, when my phone trilled. I checked the caller ID and saw Alice's name.
Brace yourself, Bella.
"Hey Alice," I said, turning the volume down on the TV.
"Bella! How are you? How was work?" The words spilled out of her mouth almost faster than I could comprehend.
"It was work. Same old, same old. So, did you find somewhere that you wanted to go tomorrow night?" I asked, hoping that if I got straight to the point, she wouldn't talk my ear off for an hour.
"Oh, yes! The Cibar Lounge over on Irving Place. Do you know it?"
"I know exactly where that is. Rosalie and I will meet you there at 8:00. Is that okay?"
"Perfect! I'm so excited to see you again! I'll see you tomorrow, Bella. Bye!"
"Bye" I mumbled, but she was already gone. Jesus. How do Edward and Jasper ever get a word in with her?
Even though Edward and I were best friends, and Alice was his sister, she and I never really hung out much as kids. I was always with Edward, and she was always playing with dolls or putting on make-up. Don't get me wrong, Alice had always been very sweet, and loyal to a fault, but I'd never really spent much time with her. After just two short conversations with her, my mind was left spinning. Tomorrow should be interesting, I thought. Wait till Rosalie meets her. I snickered at the thought. Rosalie could go two ways with her. One- she will dive in and talk just as animatedly, or two- she won't want anything to do with her.
At 7:00 the following evening, there was a sharp knock at my door, and then Rosalie came sauntering in, looking like the she-devil of the west, clad in a skin tight red dress.
"Emmett let you out like that?" I asked, shocked at her appearance. My brother was fiercely overprotective and practically growled and ripped off the appendages of any man that even glanced at Rose.
She scoffed at me. "What do you mean, he let me out like this? I can do whatever the hell I want to do."
"Oo-kay," I said. She was definitely on a warpath. Someone must have pissed her off at work.
"Why aren't you dressed?" she asked, gesturing toward my fluffy robe and velcro rollers in my hair.
I rolled my eyes. "It's only 7. I've got time. Come in here while I finish getting ready," I said, motioning for her to follow me into my bedroom. She gracefully folded herself into the chair in the corner of my room, and crossed her legs.
"So, we haven't talked much lately. How are things?" she asked, glancing at her blood red fingernails. Her expression grew a little sad, and I immediately felt remorse for not speaking to her much lately.
I shrugged my shoulders noncommittally. "I've been busy at work mostly, hung out with Edward a few times, made-out on my couch last weekend, worked out a bit, been trying to develop some sort of Jacob repellent. You know, the usual."
Her perfect features twisted into a grimace. "Ugh. That creep still bothering- Wait! What did you say about making-out? Who was it!" she screeched, jumping to her feet.
I hung my head, and I felt my face getting hot. I knew my traitorous blush was going to give me away.
She screeched again, and I flung my hands up to cover my ears. "It was Edward, wasn't it!" She bounded over to stand right in front of me and put her hands on my shoulders. "Look at me, Bella. WAS. IT. EDWARD?" she punctuated every word with a slight shake.
I lifted my head and nodded slightly, bracing myself for what was to come. I was sure she was going to start dancing around me singing 'I told you so, I told you so' like a 5-year-old, but instead she reached out and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.
"Oh, Bella! That's great! So, are you two an item now? Or is this strictly a friends-with-benefits deal?" she asked, pulling away from me slightly, a megawatt grin plastered across her face.
I pulled her into my bathroom and motioned for her to sit down on the closed toilet lid so that I could talk to her while getting ready. I started pulling the velcro rollers out of my hair, letting it fall down my back in loose, soft curls.
"I don't know, Rose. We went out on a date last weekend, just out to dinner. Then we came back here and ended up sucking face like a couple of teenagers. We haven't exactly 'labeled' our relationship yet."
I started putting my makeup on, and waited for her to give her opinion. I knew it was coming. She wouldn't be Rose if she didn't tell me what she thought. She was quiet for a few moments longer.
"Hmmmm...so was he a good kisser? He looks like he would be. I mean, if I wasn't married to your brother, and you didn't have a thing for him I'd-"
"DO NOT finish that sentence!" I said, flinging my eyeshadow brush at her. "But to answer your question...OH MY GOD yes."
She screeched again, and I almost poked my eye out with my mascara wand. "Must you screech?" I whined, wiping off the glob of mascara that ended up on my cheek.
"Sorry. I'm just happy for you. It's been such a long time for you."
"Gee, thanks Rose. I hadn't realized my sex life was lacking," I droned. Finishing up my make-up, I walked into my room to get dressed.
I walked straight over to my dresser, already knowing what I was looking for. As I pulled the leather mini skirt out of the drawer, Rose's eyes widened slightly as she looked at me.
"What is that? You better consider yourself lucky that Edward won't be seeing you tonight. He'd flip his shit for sure if he knew you were going out in public wearing that."
"And?" I asked, pulling the skirt on under my robe. "Look, I just want to have fun tonight with you and Alice; who may or may not drive you crazy but not really in a bad way. She's just really hyperactive. Anyway, tonight is not about men. I'd just like to get a little bit sloshed and have a good time."
"Amen," she said, throwing her hands up in the air and exiting my bedroom so that I could finish getting dressed. I pulled a white corset style shirt out and pulled it over my head, making sure that my boobs were tucked in securely, but still showed the tiny bit of cleavage that I did have. I pulled on some stilettos and checked myself once more in the mirror, before heading back out to my living room.
Rose wolf whistled when she saw me enter, and I spun for her, brushing my hair back over my shoulder. "Damn Bella. We're going to have to beat the men off of you with a stick."
I giggled, snatching my purse off of the counter. "Let's go, bitch. There's hearts to break and alcohol that needs to be consumed."
We arrived at the Cibar lounge 20 minutes later, and weaved our way through the massive crowd that was taking up residence in the doorway. I craned my neck once we got inside to see if I saw Alice anywhere, and saw her dark hair sitting at a table in the far corner. Grabbing Rosalie's hand, I wound my way back through the tables, making sure not to crash into any waiters along the way.
Alice saw us when we got close and jumped out of her seat, waving furiously with a huge grin on her face. She pulled me into a hug, her tiny arms almost choking me to death, and then pulled back to survey my outfit.
"Slutting it up tonight, are we Bella?" she asked, a mischievous grin playing across her dainty features. "My brother would have an absolute cow if he saw you in this. He'd probably rant and rave about you wearing next to nothing in public, and then go all caveman on you, dragging you back to his den of sin."
Rosalie laughed uproariously behind me, and I remembered that I hadn't introduced the two yet. I disentangled myself from Alice, and stepped back, motioning to Rosalie.
"Alice, this is my sister-in-law, Rosalie. Rose, this is Alice."
The two women eyed each other speculatively, both of them sharing the same, calculating look on their face. I was suddenly nervous that Rose was going to pull out her bitch card, and say something that would offend or hurt Alice, because god knows she has done it before. But before I could start having a panic attack, Rose spoke.
"Gucci. Nice," she said, motioning to Alice's dress. Alice's face split into another huge grin, and she reached up to pull Rose into a hug too.
"I'm so glad that we're getting to do this! I have a feeling we're going to be great friends!" Alice exclaimed, pulling out her chair to sit back on.
Rose shot me a 'what is she on?' look, but I waved her off, and we sat down across from her at the small table. The tables were a beautiful dark wood color, with a vase of dark pink flowers sitting on top. Clear, crystal votive holders gleamed with small white tea lights in the center. I picked up my menu, scanning the martini list.
Suddenly, Alice let out a high-pitched squeal, causing me to drop my menu and cover my ears.
"What on God's good, green Earth was that for?" Rosalie asked. "I'm pretty sure my ears are bleeding."
Alice looked back and forth between Rosalie and myself, obviously confused by our reactions, as we stared at her. "What? They have a chocolate martini."
The waiter came by and took our drink and appetizer orders, and as soon as he left our table, Alice pounced.
"So Bel-la, Edward has been extremely happy these past few days. I take it that it's all your doing?" she asked, inquisitively. I rolled my eyes at her.
"Don't you two have anything better to do than question mine and Edward's relationship?"
"Relationship?" Rosalie interrupted. "I thought you didn't know if it was a relationship or not."
"I-I don't," I stammered. "I honestly don't know what he wants from me. I mean, I think I do, but I don't want to jump to any conclusions."
Alice eyed me dubiously from across the table. "Are you kidding, Bella? You really don't know? I swear, you two are about as dense as they come. Edward has been looking at you with goo-goo eyes since you were knee high to a grasshopper. He didn't realize it. You didn't realize it. It took all of my willpower not to just knock your heads together. Christ, our mom's have been picking out china patterns for you two since you were 10 years old."
I took a long sip of my drink that the waiter had just set down in front of me. I needed alcohol in me, quick, before these two started in on the sex talk. I knew it was coming. I was never one to be forthcoming about my sexual conquests. Rosalie, on the other hand, would tell me in detail about every single time her and Emmett had ever had sex. I put a stop to that quick. I did not want to hear about my brother's favorite positions or what he did with his tongue. Gross.
I hoped that I was saved from talking about my sex life, or lack of, since Edward was Alice's brother. I had a feeling, though, that she wouldn't care. I needed to distract her before I was spilling my guts about what I wanted to do to him.
"So Alice," I started, "Tell us about this new man of yours." Her eyes lit up, and I knew I was off the hook. Jackpot.
She immediately dove in and started gushing about Jasper. Her arms were flailing and her eyes were so huge with excitement that I thought they were going to pop out of their sockets.
"Oh, he's perfect! The first time I saw him I just knew that we were supposed to be together!"
With her hands clasped under her chin, she did that exaggerated-swoony-content-sigh-thing and Rosalie had to stifle a chuckle.
"Edward seems to be handling it quite well," I noted, swirling my finger around the rim of my martini glass. "He was always so protective of you - I'm surprised he hasn't chopped Jasper's balls off yet."
She grinned at me mischievously. "I assure you that his balls are still fully intact, and they will be forever if I have anything to do with it."
"Oh, eww, Alice. That was an unnecessary over-share," I groaned, scrunching up my face in disgust.
"Balls aside, are you settling in okay? Have you found a job yet?" Rose asked Alice, picking at the appetizers on our table.
"Yeah, staying with Edward has been great, besides the fact that he gets all irritated when Jasper and I make-out on his couch. I haven't found a job yet...I'm looking for a stylist job somewhere."
"Well that's convenient," I said, taking a sip of my drink. "Rose, aren't you guys looking for somebody at Vogue?" Alice snapped her head over to Rosalie, leaning her tiny body over the table towards her.
"Oh. My. God. You work at Vogue! THE Vogue! You work for the magazine that has become my Holy Bible!" Alice started bouncing up and down in her chair like a hyper Chihuahua.
"Down girl," Rose chided, pushing Alice back down in her seat. "Yes, we do have a few openings right now for stylists. Come to my office on Monday and I'll get you a meeting with the director. Just please don't squeal or bounce like that...my reputation is at stake." Rose said, but then smiled in Alice's direction to let her know that she was kidding around.
We then dove into our appetizers and downed our drinks, quickly ordering another round as soon as the last drop was gone. We talked and laughed, falling into quick companionship with one another. It felt good to go out and have a girl's night and it had been too long since I was able to do so. We consumed drink after drink, getting more and more tipsy with every empty glass.
"I've gotta go to the ladies room!" I said, probably a little too loud for just the three of us, but at that point, I really didn't care.
I got up and sashayed away from the table, wiggling my hips in Alice and Rose's direction as they hooted and hollered. When I returned, I heard a click and saw Alice with her phone in her hands.
"Alice! What are you doing?" I yelled as I tried to snatch the phone out of her hands. She yanked the phone out of my reach and punched a few buttons, before setting it down on the table.
"Oh, don't get your panties in a bunch, Bella. I was just showing Edward what he's missing." She cackled evilly, and Rosalie high-fived her across the table.
I dropped my head into my arms and groaned. "He's going to flip when he sees that, you know. I'm going to tell him it was all your idea to dress like this."
"You need to learn from us, Bella. It's all about the chase. You need to give him little glimpses like this, so that next time he sees you, he just wants to rip off your clothes and mount you." Rose said, sipping on her martini.
"Mmmm-hmmm." Alice added. "Trust me, Bella. My brother is a boob man. He will die when he sees you in that corset. You can thank me later." She winked at me, and went back to bobbing her head along with the music.
No he's not. He likes shoes. I giggled softly to myself, remembering the look on his face when he asked me to keep my stilettos on.
"Whoa! Wait! Edward has a SHOE fetish?" Alice broke out into hysterical laughter, clutching her stomach.
Crap. Did I say that out loud?
"Ummm...yeah. He may have asked me to keep them on when we were fooling around last weekend."
She looked across the table, her bright blue eyes wide with excitement. She ducked her head under the table, most likely to look at the shoes I had on at that moment.
"Holy shit, girl. Hike your foot up here," she commanded, whipping out her phone again.
"No, Alice. I don't think so. You've already embarrassed me enough for the night." Just as I finished my sentence, my phone buzzed in my purse. I pulled it out, and saw I had a text from Edward.
Would Alice and Rosalie completely hate you if you left right now? - E.
I could feel the butterflies flitting about in my stomach at his words. It wasn't even anything dirty or vulgar, but knowing he wanted me at that moment was somehow very fulfilling.
They might. We're having a blast getting tipsy. Miss you though. - B.
Where are you? -E
Nope. Not telling. Nice try though. Let me call you tomorrow. -B.
Okay gorgeous. I want to see you tomorrow. -E.
I smiled down wistfully at my phone, and then felt Rosalie grab it out of my hands. "No boys!" She commanded, turning it off, and tucking it down into her cleavage.
"If you want it back, you have to get it yourself," she teased, shaking her chest in my direction.
"Oh yeah?" I challenged, then quickly reached across the table, aiming for her boobs. However, I was quickly deflected.
"Not a chance!" Rosalie yelled as she grabbed my wrist. Alice just sat and laughed as she consumed what might have been her umpteenth drink of the night. For such a tiny girl, she sure could hold her liquor.
"Fine," I said in defeat, slumping down in my chair and pouting like a child. "Then YOU call Emmett and tell him to come pick us up or I'm finding a pay phone and I'm calling Edward." The words tumbled out of my mouth in a slur and Rose's face scrunched up in confusion.
"What the Hell did you just say? Bella, I don't speak Drunkenese, please try again."
Alice let out a cackling laugh as I rolled my eyes and huffed. "Just call Emmett will you?"
I looked over at Alice, as she was still laughing her ass off. Her face was turning red and she was having trouble catching her breath. I noticed the people around us staring and looked back at Rose.
"Although, we might get kicked out before Emmett gets here if she doesn't shut up." I chuckled.
Suddenly Alice jumped up out of her seat. "Bella! I need some air. Come with?"
I flinched, startled by her sudden actions. "Uhh, sure. Okay," I said, standing up and following her outside.
Before we were even out on the sidewalk, she was pulling a pack of cigarettes out of her bag.
I felt my eyes widen as I watched her light one up. "Alice, you smoke? Since when?"
She took a long drag before letting the smoke billow out. "College. The stress, you know? Please don't tell Edward. He'd kill me if he found out. Nobody knows but you. I really don't smoke that often but sometimes the craving kicks in and I just NEED one."
I nodded my head in understanding, but stumbled because my head was in a fog from drinking and the movement made me dizzy. Just as I was about to face-plant into the cement and flash my goodies to the people walking along Irving Place, a huge pair of arms caught me around my waist.
"Hey, get the fuck off of me, you big..." I stopped when I noticed who it was.
"Emmett!" I shouted. "Heyyyyy Emmett! How's my favorite brother?"
He shook his head and let me go once he was sure I was able to stand up straight. Well, as straight as possible.
"I'd be a lot better, Bella, if my little sister weren't traipsing around outside looking like...that." His eyes ran over all of the vast amounts of skin I was exposing, glaring at me disapprovingly. I took a step closer to him, jabbing my index finger into the middle of his broad chest.
"Now you listen to me, big brother," I started, rage coloring my voice, "I. am. a. grown. up," I said, poking him in the sternum with every word I spat from my lips.
"Yeah, she's perfectly capable of handling herself, Em," Rosalie added, sauntering out of the restaurant. She placed one of her perfectly manicured hands on his arm, and leaned up, kissing him on the cheek.
"Besides," I said, taking my bag and shrug from Rosalie. "Edward would fully appreciate what I'm wearing. I guarantee it."
I cringed as soon as the words left my mouth. Stupid, drunk Bella. I should know never to speak when I've had a few drinks. I have absolutely no filter.
Emmett's head whipped around towards me. I glanced at Alice, whose eyes were darting between my short form and Emmett's towering one. Rosalie just looked bored, staring at her fingernails and tapping her foot on the pavement impatiently. I swallowed hard and looked back at my fiercely overprotective brother, who could have been shooting flames out of his eyeballs with his stare.
"What did you say?" he asked, his voice gruff. He was trying to intimidate me.
I closed my eyes for a second, getting my bearings, before I opened them and glared right back at him.
"Jesus Christ on a cracker, Em. Yes, Edward and I are dating. Sort of. I'm 26 years old. He treats me well, and we've been friends since we were in diapers. It's not like I picked up some random bum on the street."
"Sort of? What the fuck does that mean?" he seethed. "Is this just some kind of friends with benefits thing? Because if it is, I will tear that son of a bitch limb from limb."
"You will do nothing of the sort!" I shouted. "Even if it was, so what? So what, Emmett. I'm a goddamn adult and I'll do as I goddamn please."
His eyes softened a bit after my outburst and he reached out to touch my arm. "I just don't want you to get hurt." he said, much quieter than his previous tone. His eyes drifted down to the sidewalk, and Rose sidled up to him, clutching his arm.
"Emmett," I started, trying to get his attention again. "I'm not going to get hurt. And even if I did, who cares? That's life, right?" I cringed a little at my words. Would I be hurt if Edward and I didn't work out? Maybe I was trying to convince myself right along with him. Edward wouldn't hurt me, though. Would he?
I suddenly didn't feel as drunk as I did 10 minutes prior. I stared at the cracks in the sidewalk like they would give me all of life's answers. Emmett sighed loudly and wrapped one of his hulking arms around my shoulders.
"Let's get you home, sis," he said, kissing me on the top of the head. He wrapped his other arm around Rosalie, and Alice looped her arm through my free one. She leaned in towards me, resting her head on my shoulder as we walked.
"Whatever you're worrying about, Bella, you're wrong," she whispered, squeezing my arm.
I sighed and squeezed back. "I hope you're right, Alice."
A/N: Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. We had fun writing it. Everybody needs a girl's night every once in awhile. We'll bring Edward back in ch. 12.
Reviews make me smile and write faster. :-)