Chapter 41: The Interview
Author's Note: I own nothing. I just like to play with the characters that were created by Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.
Also, thank you for those of who have commented and offered well-wishes in my difficult time. It means a lot to me. Writing these stories has been my strength (as silly as that sounds) and has grounded me.
Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. It means so much to me. More than you can imagine. These stories (this one in particular) are my babies and I adore the reviews and comments I receive. Much, much love to ALL of you!
Chapter 41: The Interview
Reality hit us big time when we got back. Edward insisted I call my gynecologist on our way back to the house. Dr. Forks had an opening on Wednesday evening. Edward arranged his schedule so he could be there for me. When we got back to the house, I grabbed our suitcases and did our laundry. Edward took care of the garbage, getting the mail from the neighbors and making us dinner. My stomach was still going bonkers. Now that I knew what was wrong with me, I was more aware of my nausea. Edward offered to give me some anti-nausea medication, but I refused. I didn't want to harm the baby.
I checked my email from work and it was inundated with many notes of congratulations from my coworkers. I also had an email from Sherrie. My interview with the board of education was happening on Thursday during the school day. I would teach in the morning and then meet with them in the afternoon.
After finishing our chores from returning from our honeymoon, Edward and I went to bed early. He had an early shift the next morning and I wanted to go into school early to make sure that my sub wasn't an idiot and jacked up my lessons. Tuesday was stressful. The kids were excited that I was back. I began a new unit with my students, beginning a new novel. I had rehearsal after school and I wasn't ready for that. I was too busy during the day making copies for my classes. I did things on the fly for rehearsal and had my stage manager write the down for me. I told the students that we weren't having acting rehearsal. They would have a musical rehearsal and work on choreography. I arranged that to be done with Alice's sub. She was all too thrilled to spend the time with the kids.
Wednesday was easier knowing I didn't have rehearsal and I was having my appointment with Dr. Forks. Before I knew it, I was in my car driving to Nottingbrook and Dr. Forks' office. I parked next to Edward's Volvo and headed into the building. He was wearing a slate gray suit, white shirt and red tie that was loosened. His bronze hair was in a sexy disarray and he was reading something on his Blackberry. God, my husband is fucking gorgeous. I wonder if he's up for a quickie in the bathroom. "Hiya, handsome," I said as I walked up to him. He looked up at me and smiled brilliantly. He kissed me sweetly on my lips. "Hmmm…I love your kisses, Edward."
"Not as much as I love yours, Mrs. Masen," he said against my mouth. "You ready?"
"Yep," I said as I linked hands with him. We rode up the elevator and headed into the office. I checked in with the receptionist. Edward sat down and was tapping on his Blackberry. I settled in next to him. "What you doing?"
"We had a blow up at the hospital today. Not in the ER, thankfully. However, the head of surgery was called into a board meeting and he's in trouble. We don't know why," Edward said with a heavy sigh. "Something happened while we were getting married. He lost a patient or something…"
"I'm sorry," I frowned.
"It's not your fault. The rest of the departments are dealing with rescheduling surgeries and dealing with the interim head of surgery until the old guy returns or until he's fired. The interim head is a mess. Just thrown into the situation. They approached me to do it, but with recent developments I decided against it."
"I didn't know you were interested in surgery," I said.
"I am. But trauma surgery. Not cardiothoracic or anything else," Edward shrugged.
"Isabella Swan?"
"That's me," I said. I got up and Edward came with me. I sat down in the examination room. The nurse asked me a few questions. I told her about my recent change in marital status. She said she'd change my name in the file along with the updated status. She eyed Edward warily and I explained that he was my husband and the head of emergency medicine at Craven Memorial. She eased up after that.
"So, what can I do for you today?" the nurse, Audrey, asked.
"I think I'm pregnant," I said. "I took a test a few days ago and it came back positive." Audrey asked what my symptoms were and I explained what I was experiencing. She wrote a few things down and nodded. She then said that she was going to draw some blood. I winced. However, Edward held my hand. Audrey took my blood and left the room, having me remove my pants. "Are you excited, Edward?"
"Extremely," he said with a brilliant grin. "We get to meet the bean."
"Yes, our bean," I giggled. "Do you want to find out what the baby is going to be?"
"I do. However, we can't do that until you're at least twenty weeks along. We may have a few weeks before we can see anything," Edward said.
Dr. Forks breezed in and she greeted me warmly. "I hear congratulations are in order on your recent wedding. I'm so happy for you, Mrs. Masen," she said kindly. "You too, Dr. Masen."
"Thank you, Dr. Forks," Edward smiled.
"So?" I asked from the table. "Am I?"
"Indeed, you are pregnant," Dr. Forks beamed. "We're going to do an ultrasound to see how far along you are and then we'll go from there." A timid knock came through door. Dr. Forks opened the door and Audrey rolled in an ultrasound machine. She plugged it in and left the room. Dr. Forks lowered the sheet around my waist and squirted some jelly onto my stomach. I hissed. "Sorry, I should have warned you. It's cold."
"Yeah it is," I said, arching a brow.
"Okay, let's take a look," Dr. Forks said as she put the transducer on my belly. She ran it over my belly and found a tiny bean on the screen. "There's your baby," she said as she pointed to the bean. "Based on the size, baby looks to be about twelve weeks along which means you conceived in late January. Sound about right?"
I nodded dumbly and looked at the bean on the screen. Edward's hand was laced with mine and his eyes were filled with tears. Dr. Forks prattled on about the baby's size and weight. She also printed out some pictures.
"Do you want to hear the baby's heartbeat?" Dr. Forks asked quietly.
"Yes, please," I said in a whisper. Dr. Forks flipped a few switches and she moved the transducer over my slowly growing belly. She pressed down and a strong whoosh whoosh filled the room. I covered my mouth to hold back a cry of joy. Edward's fingers tightened around mine and he kissed my forehead.
"I love you, Bella," he said in a watery voice. "That's our perfect baby." I looked up at him. Edward's face was so happy and tears were falling down his cheeks. I smiled and wrapped my fingers around his neck. He leaned down, giving me a sweet kiss.
I didn't pay that much attention after hearing the heartbeat. Seeing the baby and hearing it's heartbeat really solidified the fact that I was pregnant. Pregnant with Edward's baby. Dr. Forks left the room and told me to get dressed. I pulled on my pants and sat next to Edward. "We're really pregnant," I said, my voice filled with awe.
"Yes, we are," Edward said as he pulled me into his lap. "We're having a baby. A baby…I couldn't be happier, Bella."
"Me neither," I said as I leaned my forward to his. He wrapped his arms around my waist, placing his left hand on my belly. I ran my finger over his wedding band. He looked up at me and kissed me sweetly as he held his hand over our child.
"Okay, Dr. and Mrs. Masen," Dr. Forks said as she came back into the room. She saw our position and blushed. "I'm sorry."
"No, we're sorry," Edward replied, his own cheeks turning a bright pink.
"I've walked in on worse," Dr. Forks laughed. "I have some information for you and a prescription for prenatal vitamins. I should have you come in a few weeks. However, if there's any problems, don't hesitate to call or have your own husband help you out."
"Okay, that would be just weird," I said as I wrinkled my nose. "Edward, I love you, but you are not delivering our baby. Unless we have some random freak accident or all the cars die."
"You wound me, Mrs. Masen. I've delivered plenty of babies," he snorted.
"But it is different when it's your own wife," Dr. Forks pressed.
"I know," Edward said. "I wouldn't want to be placed in that situation. But it is beneficial to have a doctor as a husband."
"This is true," I giggled. "So, when do I need to come back in?"
"Let's shoot for the beginning of May," Dr. Forks said as she handed me my information and prescription in addition to several print outs from the ultrasound. Our first baby pictures. I nodded and got up from Edward's lap. We walked to the receptionist. I set up my appointment for the week following my show. Edward marked it in his calendar and we drove back to our home.
When we got to our house, we noticed that there was police cars surrounding our block. Edward parked and he got out of his Volvo. He strode to the closest police officer. I got out of my car and joined him. "Excuse me? What's going on?"
"There was a break in," the young police officer said. "1760 Maple Drive."
"Edward," I said, my throat constricting.
"That's our home," Edward said curtly. "Why weren't we notified? We have an alarm. The company and the police are supposed to contact us if the alarm went off."
"I'm not sure, sir. You'll have to ask the detective on duty."
"Can you please ask him to speak with us?" I spat. He looked at me with an attitude. "Now!"
"Ma'am, you don't need to be rude."
"Trust me, I'm not being rude. My home was just broken into and some young punk is copping at attitude," I seethed.
"Bella, relax," Edward said as he pulled me to his side. I relaxed against him but was still pissed at the police officer standing before us. "Can you please radio your detective?"
"I'll see what I can do," the police officer sighed. He spoke into his radio quietly. He listened and nodded. "He'll be right out to see you."
"Thank you," Edward said. I leaned against Edward, my body and mind exhausted. Tears fell down my cheeks. "Bella, it's okay. Everything is alright. They said it was just a break in. Hopefully nothing was taken."
"That's not what I'm worried about. What if…if…it was Mike?" I sniffled.
"We can probably safely assume that it was him," Edward said menacingly. The detective came up and introduced himself as Detective Santos. He explained what happened to Edward and I. He did tell us that our home was an active crime scene and we couldn't go into it. He said that the police department would pay for us to stay in a hotel. Edward declined the offer and said that we would stay with his family. Detective Santos gave Edward and I his card. We went back into our cars. We drove to Esme and Carlisle's. Edward had called them as we were driving and we were greeted by a teary Esme. She hugged both of us and led us to the guest house. We stripped off our clothes once in there and we crawled into the bed and into each other's arms. I sobbed most of the night. Edward just held me tightly, trying to calm and soothe my quickly fraying nerves.
xx AFS xx
I woke up to my alarm. Edward was still asleep. I got out of bed and went into the main house after I pulled on Edward's dress shirt. Esme was sitting in the kitchen, reading the newspaper. "Morning, Bella. How are you?"
"Shitty, honestly," I said. "I don't know how much more we can take."
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," Esme said with a frown.
"However, I do have a favor to ask of you. I have an interview today. We were not allowed into the house and I have nothing to wear…" I indicated to my sleep attire, dancing nervously on my feet.
"Don't worry, Bella. Alice swung by with an outfit for you and some makeup," Esme said with a smile. "She came by after dinner yesterday. She had a feeling. She also has some clothes for Edward, too."
"Thank GOD," I said. Esme handed me the garment bag and I went back into the guest house. I went into the bathroom and showered quickly. I put on the makeup that Alice had given me. I then dressed in the suit that Alice dropped off. It was a little snug around the middle, but Alice didn't know about our bean. Our baby.
I got out of the shower and sat down next to Edward. He was curled around my pillow. "Edward, wake up, baby," I said as I kissed his forehead.
"Don't wanna," he mumbled. "Play hooky and cuddle with me."
"I can't, Edward. I have my interview today," I sighed.
"Shit, that's today? God must be playing a cruel trick on you," Edward said sadly. "What time did you fall asleep?"
"About four?" I replied skeptically. "I'll be fine. Just wish me luck and say a prayer for me that I don't kill a small child today."
"Will do, Mrs. Masen," Edward said as he looked up at me. His fingers traced the dark circles under my eyes. I closed my lids and enjoyed his tender touch. "We'll get through this, Bella."
"At what cost? I don't feel safe there anymore," I whimpered.
"I don't feel comfortable there either," Edward said. "I can put it on the market and we get a place closer to Carlisle and Esme. They'd love being closer to their new grandbaby."
"But you just got that place," I whined.
"I did. However, our safety is more important that a damn house," Edward said forcefully. "I'm off this morning. I'll talk to my realtor and get a listing of places here near my parents."
"How can we afford it?"
"Millionaire, remember," Edward laughed. "Don't worry about it."
"Edward, it's in my nature to worry," I said nervously. "Anyhow, we'll discuss it later. I have to teach young impressionable minds and get a job as a principal. Oh, and Alice dropped off some clothes for you."
"Thanks. I love you, my beautiful girl," Edward said as he kissed my lips chastely.
"I love you, too," I said as I danced out of the guest house. I drove to school and went through my morning on autopilot. After lunch, I headed to the district office. I desperately wanted coffee. However, Edward told me that I needed to curtail that habit quickly with my being pregnant. I was so cranky and tired. But I needed to put on my game face. I picked up my practicum binder, resume and portfolio. I walked into the district office confidently and signed in the front desk. The receptionist led me to a conference room. I sat down and nervously picked at my finger nails. As I waited, two men came into the conference room.
"Hello," one said, looking at me with disdain. "I'm Franklin Bendis. You are?"
"Isabella Masen," I said as I held out my hand. "Nice to meet you, Franklin."
"Masen? There isn't a Masen up for the job. An Isabella Swan is," he said.
"Swan was my maiden name. I just got married," I replied. "And you are?" I turned to the other man.
"William Tuner," he said, giving me an impish grin. "Nice to meet you, Isabella."
We sat in silence as we waited for the board to convene in the other conference room. We were called into the conference room and sat down at a long table. The board asked us questions as a group. The questions were the same. As Sherrie said, the two men were very much into politics and wanting to increase test scores. Now, while that is a valid and needed point, the climate of the school should be maintained. The best interests of the children should be taken into consideration. When I said that during my interview, the two men scoffed quietly. I didn't have the patience to think about this. I called them on it.
"Excuse me, but the commentary is not appreciated," I snapped at the two gentlemen sitting next to me. "The snickers are inappropriate. I've been respectful and quiet during answers. It would be welcomed if you did the same for mine."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Masen," William said with a genuine look of apology. Franklin just rolled his eyes. I bit my tongue and narrowed my eyes at both of them. I don't need this. I don't need them.
I probably ruined my chances of being principal, but their behavior was atrocious. It was rude and condescending. I know I may not have been the most experienced candidate and that I had an idealistic vision of how I wanted my school to be run. However, it is my philosophy.
After my tirade, I sat back in my chair. The board stared at me dumbfounded then they dismissed us. I got up and left the district office without any further incidents of my massive foot in mouth disease. I drove back to Carlisle and Esme's. I saw that they were both gone and I went into the guest house. I pulled off my suit and crawled into the bed. I curled up around Edward's pillow. I sobbed. I sobbed until I eventually crashed.
xx AFS xx
I woke up to Edward's arms around my body. I turned around and looked at him. His own cheeks were smattered with tear stains. His brow was furrowed and he looked so tired. Old, even. I nestled closer to him and put my head over his heart, listening to its steady thrum. "Why can't we just be happy? We've been through enough. It's time for happiness," I whispered in the darkness.
"I agree, beautiful girl," Edward said sleepily. He turned on the lamp. I covered my eyes, groaning at the sudden change. "How did you interview go?"
"I fucked it up," I moaned into my hands. Edward pulled down my hands and looked at me expectantly. "I told off the other two candidates during the interview. They were scoffing at me and making underhanded comments all during my part of the interview. I ruined my chances."
"Bella, they were being rude. Perhaps I'm being optimistic, but maybe the board of education will see your reaction in a positive light that you won't stand for any bullshit," Edward said.
"Unlikely," I mumbled. "I'll just be a teacher and I'm okay with that. However, it still pisses me off that they got to me."
"If you had had a good night's sleep and not been dealt the break in card, do you think you would have gone off on them?" Edward asked.
"I don't know. Probably not."
"Then, relax. You're on edge. I'm on edge. Shit, I completely blew my lid at Ren today. He made a minor mistake in the supply room and I dragged him into my office. I screamed at him for nearly twenty minutes. He just took it, not looking at me. Once I was done, I immediately felt guilty. Ren asked me if anything happened and I told him about the break in and Mike. I hope you don't mind," Edward said. "Ren understood and I apologized. He knew he made a mistake and he knew that my epic blow out was not me. I still felt guilty the rest of the day. I didn't say much. I only said a few curt orders, but not much else."
"Can we go back to Cancun?" I asked sadly. "Life was perfect while we were there."
"I know. Believe me, I'm so close to booking a flight," Edward chuckled darkly. "The happiest moments of my life happened there and I want it back."
"Me too. It's also horrid that Mike took our moments of meeting our baby, hearing her heartbeat, getting our first baby pictures and tainted it. Loathsome little troll."
"Her? You think we're having a girl?" Edward asked.
"I do. You wanted a baby girl with Tanya and I hope I can give it to you," I blushed.
"Bella, I don't care if we have a boy or a girl. As long as the baby and mommy are healthy, I'm exorbitantly happy," Edward said as he held me his chest. "Oh, when I was sulking in my office after losing my temper at Ren, I contacted my realtor. He sent over the listings in Carlisle and Esme's neighborhood."
"Do you really want to move?" I asked.
"If it means our safety? Yes," Edward said fervently. "My house only has three bedrooms. I'd like to get at least two more."
"How many babies are you wanting?" I squeaked. "I'm not popping out a million children…"
"Bella, relax," Edward chuckled.
"Five bedrooms? We share one bedroom. Why would we need four extras?" I asked.
"Family gatherings," Edward said simply. He got out of bed and rummaged through his briefcase. I ogled his glorious ass. He stood up and looked at me. I averted my eyes. "Were you staring at my butt?"
"Yes, Edward. My husband has the best ass in all of Sherryville…no, the entire COUNTRY," I said sarcastically.
"Damn straight. I do have a nice butt," he said as he strutted to the bed. He threw his head back and cocked his hip. I snorted. "Don't be hating…I'm hot."
"Not right now. You look ridiculous," I giggled as I fell back on the pillows.
"Shut it," he said as he threw the file folder he was holding onto the bed. He crawled back into the bed and opened the folder. "There are a few houses that are out of the running. Too much mansion in my opinion." Edward pointed to one listing.
"29,000 square feet?" I said as my jaw unhinged. "Who in the hell needs 29,000 square feet?"
"Not us. Look at the price," Edward cringed.
"That's just sickening. That's not a house, that's a small country. What is on the list that is in our price range?"
"Technically the 29,000 square foot monster is in our price range, but you don't want it. I sure as hell don't want it," Edward teased. I arched a brow. "There are five houses that I personally like. I printed out their details and pictures from the website." He handed the folder and pointed out the five that he liked. He described each house. The first two I didn't care for. There was something about the layout and the colors in the pictures that threw me off. The third one was thrown out because I thought it was to ostentatious. It dwarfed Carlisle and Esme's home. We agreed to check out the final two. Edward sent an email to his realtor and requested a showing for those two homes.
"What are we going to do about the house?" I asked. "You know the one that's tainted."
"I'll sell it. As much as I love what happened in that house…" I looked at Edward with a look of confusion. "I met you. Fell in love with you. Proposed to you. Probably conceived our baby with you. All in that house. However, it is tainted. If it doesn't sell, I'll rent it. Bella, don't worry about it. It'll all work out."
I nodded and yawned. Edward picked up the papers and threw them on the floor. He pulled me to his chest. "Oh, Detective Santos let me into the house to let me get some clothes for us. I got us a week's worth of clothing."
"I may need to go shopping. My pants are getting tight," I said. "Bean is growing and subsequently is my belly."
"I'm certain that Alice will love to go shopping for you," Edward chuckled.
"But she doesn't know about Bean. No one does."
"We'll tell them this weekend. I'm off Saturday and we can go out to dinner. We'll make our announcement then," Edward said as he kissed my lips sweetly. "You are technically out of your trimester and you can share the news."
"I can, can't I?" I said. "I love you, Edward."
"I love you, so much, Bella. We'll get through this. I promise you," Edward said as he kissed me with passion, adoration and love. I pulled away and yawned widely. "Sleep Bella. Neither one of us got a good night's rest last night."
"Kay," I mumbled as I put my head on Edward's chest, my favorite place to sleep. Within minutes, I was out. Dreaming about our perfect baby in our perfect house. However, there was a dark shadow cast my dream, but I couldn't figure it out. Something big was coming and it was not good.
A/N: Mike's back. He's evil and cruel. Bastard. However, they did get to hear the baby's heartbeat on the ultrasound. What do you think the baby will be? Boy or girl? Whichever gets the most votes/suggestions in the REVIEW section will be the baby's gender. Also, if you suggestions for names, that would be AWESOME! Up next, the announcement to the family about Bean, Charlie/Bella discussions, the new house, and more Mike drama (possibly.) Leave me love and baby suggestions (names and gender!) xoxox!