Where the Streets Have No Name

Chapter 103

"Morning, Mom," Bella said as she saw her mother approach with Ella wrapped around her torso in a hands-free baby carrier. Renee had learned early on that these baby accessories were the perfect solution to meet Ella's constant need for human contact without having to compromise her mobility or use of her hands.

"Morning, sweetie. Come and meet Ella," Renee said with a smile.

"Ahh, so this is the cutie pie you replaced me with?" Bella put on a cheerful facade as she greeted her mother and Ella.

This was the first time she was getting a close look at the baby that had become the center of her mother's universe over the past few months. Bella was familiar with sharing her mother's affections with a houseful of small children who were under Renee's care when she used to run her daycare center. But never before now did a single child occupy Renee's complete attention.

"No one can ever replace you, sweetie," Renee quipped back, knowing perfectly well that Bella was only teasing.

"Oh my God, she is so cute!" Bella exclaimed as she took in Ella's face.

"A-ha. Told you," Renee agreed with pride as she lovingly grazed Ella's head with her lips.

"Can I hold her?" Bella asked excitedly.

"Later. First come and say hi to Edward. Then we have to plan our day," Renee said as she turned around to lead them back to the kitchen.

Bella felt her heart skip a beat.

This was it.

She was about to meet the man in person. And have her theory tested once and for all.

With timid feet she followed Renee to the brightly lit, spacious kitchen and stopped by the entrance to prepare herself for the impact.

The man in casual clothes who was standing in the kitchen, pouring himself coffee, looked nothing like the shattered soul she recalled from last night, nor did he resemble any of the photos framed on the living room wall. Of course, he had the same face, but his presence neither revealed sorrow nor joy. It was almost as though he was hiding behind a wall of numbness.

There was an air of detachment in the way he held himself. If she hadn't seen him fall apart right before her own eyes, she easily would have missed the hint of resigned hopelessness in his gaze.

But she had seen him at his most vulnerable.

It had left her with an unquenchable need to piece him back together again.

And now she knew that no amount of sunlight could free her from the web that now held her captive to this impossible fantasy.

Thank you Lulabelle98, HeidiJoVT, and Dinx.

I was a bit too dopey yesterday after being at the dentist and didn't have the mental acuity to turn on my laptop. Sorry about that.

I've learned that my OS Forgive Me Not got nominated at the Eclipse Award in the Best Angst category. A ton of great stuff are nominated there. Voting will start tomorrow. I hope you'll check out the stories and vote for the one that you love the most.

twilighteclipseawards (dot) blogspot (dot) ca / p / one-shot-nominees (dot) html

I'm curious to know what you think of Forgive Me Not even if you don't vote for me. So, hope you'll take a look. It's pretty short and won't take too long to skim.

Thank you, kindly!