Hi all. This chapter is being published without being beta'd, so any mistakes are mine. See you at the end.
Chapter 18
Bella
In the month since we arrived in Cambridge, MA, we had found ourselves integrating well into local life, although sometimes I still had to remind myself sometimes that this was where we lived now, and that we weren't returning to England. The Fox confessed that he felt something similar from time to time.
Edward and I were keen to move into a house, as we both realised that we wouldn't feel completely settled while we were still in the apartment. After seeking out the Cullens' advice on the local property market, we decided to look for houses in Arlington and Somerville, towns that were an easy, commutable distance to Harvard. Although we could afford a house in Cambridge, the area was more densely populated and we wanted somewhere quieter, with more space, and after encountering our creepy neighbours in Paradise, we were even more desperate to move.
Rather than commit to an area immediately by buying a house, we decided to try it out first and rent for our first year. Just a few days after meeting our agent, she informed us about a furnished house near Spy Pond in Arlington. It had suddenly come onto the rental market, and was ready for immediate occupancy. It was bigger than we needed, but the more I read the particulars, the more excited I became.
"Edward, it's really pretty! It has colonial features! Oh, oh, it has a kitchen with an island! It has a beautiful garden!" I exclaimed as I read the details whilst walking around the living room.
"Whoa, slow down, Baby!" He came up behind me and held me around the waist as he read over my shoulder. "Bloody hell, it's stunning. Look, it's open for viewings this evening. We should go."
"Yep. I bet it'll be popular, especially with such a competitive rental price."
"Looking at the map, it's really close to Mass Ave. Commuting would be a breeze."
"I really hope this is the one, Foxy," I murmured. "I want to finally be able to have a home that's ours."
"I know, Baby." Edward turned me around and wrapped his arms around me snugly.
That evening, we cycled over. It barely took thirty minutes from Central Square and just twenty from the labs. The Cullens lived ten minutes down the road. When we got there, I was even more ecstatic than I had been reading the brochure. Mass Ave was a couple of minutes away, but it was so quiet, green and leafy. At the end of the road was a park, and Spy Pond itself wasn't much further.
The house had a wraparound porch, a pretty, enclosed garden, a big kitchen and open-plan living area with high ceilings, three bedrooms, a study, and two bathrooms. It was painted white, with large windows, and had a light blue, fawn and cream interior colour-scheme running through the entire house. It came mostly furnished and the furniture was neutral and contemporary, and mostly fairly new. In the living room was a contemporary, but cute fireplace. It wasn't the rural cottage I desired, but it was a very pretty alternative, convenient and spacious.
"So," began the landlord, "what do you think of the house?"
Edward glanced at me and I grinned back at him. He picked up my hand and kissed it before replying.
"We can move in on Saturday."
On Saturday, just three days later, we borrowed Esme's car, a BMW estate car, or 'station wagon' as she called it, to move our stuff. As we had only four suitcases and a couple of bags and boxes of items we'd bought since arriving in Massachusetts, we were done in less than an hour.
We then phoned Jasper to ask him to send over the boxes of our things that were in storage.
"No problem, glad you've finally found a place."
"It's lovely, Jazz, and there's loads of space," said Edward. "You should bring the family out here in the autumn half-term."
"I'd love to. We'll have to check out finances, though. Getting five kids anywhere is fucking expensive."
"Well, the offer's always there," I replied.
"Thanks, Bella." He paused for a moment before adding, "By the way, guys, Emmett and I had an interesting phone call from Eric Yorkie a couple of days ago ..."
"Oh?" enquired Edward.
Eric Yorkie had been Emmett's undergraduate. He was very keen, sweet and ever-so-slightly effeminate. I had gotten to know him a little when we were in the Oxford labs together, but his only hobby was World of Warcraft, and I never got on with online gaming. As we didn't have much in common, we never became close, however.
"You may recall that he was wait-listed for a Neurosciences doctoral place by the committee, and they asked to meet him when you dropped out, Bella. He had already accepted a PhD place at Warwick, but he went along to meet Banner and Volturi anyway."
"What happened?"
"Apparently, Volturi spent less than five minutes asking Eric academic questions and a lot longer asking him about you, Bella. Had he heard from you, how well did he know you, did he know what your future plans were etc."
"What did Eric say?"
"Nothing much, although he did mention your Harvard internship last summer. It didn't go down well with Volturi. After the meeting, he asked Eric, 'off the record' if he knew whether you had had any issues during the previous academic year, or any relationship problems."
"And?" interjected Edward.
"Eric didn't know to tell him anything, but the encounter left him feeling intimidated by Volturi and a little freaked out about your disappearance. He turned down the offer of the place at Oxford and then called us to find out if we'd heard from you."
"Banner will have gotten the request for my transcripts by now, so they will know that I'm at Harvard."
"I have to admit, I thought Edward was somewhat overstating it when he said Volturi would be relentless in his pursuit of you but to ask so many questions of Eric like that was very creepy."
"We're prepared, Jazz. We know he's going to stir shit up and we'll deal with it. "
"Okay, just be careful."
"We will. Give our love to everyone."
"Will do."
After the phone call, Edward went out to return Esme's car, and I made a pot of tea, placed an array of photos of me and Edward on the mantelpiece, and started making a list of things we needed to buy in order to set up our home. I had bought a starter pack of sheets and towels, and some plates, cutlery, mugs and glasses, but we had barely anything else.
"Bella, Esme made us cookies and they smell bloody amazing ..." called Edward when he came in from returning Esme's car. "What are you up to?"
"About to check my email," I replied, when Edward wrapped his arms around my neck from behind and kissed my shoulder before jumping over the back of the sofa and landing next to me. "I was making our shopping list but Jasper got me wondering if Volturi's emailed again."
"I'm pretty sure he has. Let's have a look."
It turned out that Slimy had a predictable streak. In my inbox was an email dated from two days earlier.
Dear Isabella
I understand from Doug Banner that you are to take up a doctoral place at Harvard this September, in Carlisle Cullen's laboratories. I must say that I am very disappointed that you did not contact me to discuss this decision as per my previous emails.
I think that relinquishing your place here at Oxford is very unwise given the boost to our funding from Eclipse Pharmaceuticals. I fear that your opinion has been swayed by Professors Masen, Hale and McCarty, who appear to lack the forward-thinking attitude of Professor Banner and the rest of Oxford Neurosciences.
My previous offers still stand and it is not too late to change your mind; I won't hold it against you. Just think what you could achieve under the supervision of a mentor as experienced as myself, and with the funding of a company as illustrious as Eclipse. I understand that Professor Masen and his little friends might have particular ways of persuading you away from Oxford's glorious spires, but I must tell you that it would be a big mistake to walk away from such a wealth of opportunities.
You are a bright girl, Isabella. Do the right thing. It's not too late.
Aro Volturi
"He's quite the condescending, self-important ass, isn't he?"
"Yep, and it's only getting worse," Edward replied with chagrin.
"He isn't even working at Oxford yet. What gives him the right ..." I could feel myself getting het up and stopped myself from ranting.
Volturi was clever. The email made subtle inferences that could easily be dismissed, but felt menacing and accusatory in tone. I couldn't see how he would do it yet, and neither of us could vocalise anything without sounding paranoid, but I felt sure that Slimy was going to play dirty in an attempt to get me back to Oxford.
"You don't think Banner will hold back my references and transcripts, do you?" I asked instead.
"On what grounds? Because Volturi's pissed?" I nodded. "No, Banner might be a thicko for hiring Aro, but he thought very highly of you. Besides, he won't want to deal with an angry phone call from Carlisle."
I relaxed a little and impulsively shut the laptop.
"No more Slimy intruding on our perfect Moving Day," I stated. Edward grinned and nudged me so I was lying on my back.
"You are correct, Mrs Masen ... now, what do you say we focus on christening our new home?"
His voice was husky. He smelled of sunshine as well as his usual sexy, caramel scent. His body heat made me tingle and flame.
"A great suggestion, Foxy." I raised my hands above my head and he pulled off my t-shirt before flinging his own on the floor.
"Glad you think so."
He kissed me hungrily, and I started to wrap my legs around his hips when his jeans pocket started to vibrate. His phone was ringing.
"Ignore it," I mumbled against his lips.
"'Kay."
We continued our groping and after a minute, the ringing stopped. Edward slid his hands behind me and undid my bra before breaking our kiss to show my breasts some attention. However, just as I was about to undo his jeans, his phone started chirping again.
"Fuck!" I cried in frustration. Edward sighed and fished the thing out of his pocket.
"Damn it," muttered Edward. "It's Randall."
I sat up sharply.
"Shit, he was supposed to be flying in this weekend, wasn't he?"
"Yeah, I told him to call me when he got settled and I'd show him around, but with finding the house and moving, I forgot."
"Call him, Foxy."
Randall and I had become good friends during my time in the lab; along with Charles and Makenna, the more senior doctoral students, we had done several late nights in the library working on research. We had all hung out at each other's college bars a few times and gone to the cinema or for pizza. However, when Edward and I started getting really serious, I stopped going out with them as often, citing workload from my other courses and exam stress.
"I will, when you stop looking so anxious, Bella."
"He's going to hate me, Edward. I was so fearful of our relationship being discovered, that I couldn't even bring myself to suggest that I was going to be at Harvard too. Now we're going to blindside him."
"Baby, you shouldn't feel guilty for having a sense of preservation. What exactly did you tell him, just out of interest?"
"That I needed some time away to think about whether I wanted to do my PhD in Oxford when the lab was going through such unrest. He emailed back to say that he understood and to wish me luck. I hoped we would be catch up before I left Oxford but it didn't happen."
"Bella, if he doesn't understand, it doesn't matter. He just has to be able to work with me. And he's laid back. I think he'll be okay with it, in time if not straight away."
"I suppose. Call him, Foxy."
Edward picked up his mobile phone and dialled.
"Hi Randall, sorry I missed your call. How was your flight?" There was a pause as Randall replied. "Great, and you're all into your new digs? Good, good ... so, how about I take you for breakfast and a tour of the labs on Monday? What's your address ... No, it's easier if I come to you because my house is a few miles out of town ... great, I'll meet you at ten o'clock, see you then ... bye!"
Edward ended the call and then relaxed back into the sofa. I curled into his side.
"I wish I didn't get so nervous about telling people about us. So far, my fears have all been completely unfounded, but I know there will come a time when every element of our relationship and our characters will be dissected. What with Slimy's emails and facing Randall, it feels like that time is looming."
"And when it comes, Bella, it will be shit, but it will pass. The only thing that matters is that you love me and I love you."
-cc-
Edward
Randall was staying in Harvard-affiliated graduate housing a few minutes' walk from the campus and a stone's throw away from the River Charles. He was waiting for me outside when I turned up, his shoulder-length sandy hair covered with a Harvard baseball cap. I liked Randall. He was easy-going and friendly, and wiser than his twenty-four years.
"Hey, welcome to Harvard."
"Thanks. It's great to be here." We shook hands.
"Shall we head towards campus?"
"Yep. I walked around a little yesterday but I'm pretty tired with the jet-lag."
"It took me a few days to get used to it. I kept waking up at five o'clock, thinking I'd overslept," I replied. "So, are you hungry?"
"Starving! I can't wait to try a big American breakfast like they have in the movies. Can we do that?"
"Sure. I know just the place."
I directed him to a little café Bella and I had found when exploring the south end of the Harvard campus. It did great pancakes, had a very homely feel and an All-American welcome.
"You seem to have settled in well here," commented Randall, once we had ordered our breakfasts.
"So far, so good. It was tough leaving Oxford when I'd been there for such a long time, but Harvard is a new adventure. The team are friendly and the facilities are so good, you have to see it to believe it."
"Bella said exactly the same thing. You know she did a summer internship at Harvard Neurosciences?"
"Yeah, I, uh, remember."
"I was hoping to catch up with her before she graduated, but she went away in the summer and I don't even know for sure if she came back for her convocation, although I've heard that she did." Randall looked kind of sad. "She pulled out of the PhD programme at Oxford, you know. There have been a few rumours floating around, but nobody's heard anything from her since the end of June."
"Rumours?"
"Academic burn-out is the main one; after all, she worked so bloody hard that it wouldn't surprise me if she decided to have a year out. Family reasons are another. There was also one suggesting that she got knocked up and is having the baby somewhere in secret, but that's just ridiculous."
"Ridiculous," I echoed. "I wonder how that one came about."
"Just lab techs speculating, and it turning into Chinese Whispers," he retorted dismissively. "One of them saw Bella picking up a pizza in Summertown and somehow decided that she must be seeing a guy up there, because otherwise what was she doing in up in Summertown when she lived in college ... blah, blah, blah. I still don't know how they extrapolated Bella's takeaway of choice into a relationship and a pregnancy."
The lab techs did like to gossip, and could create it out of thin air, but this time they weren't far off. Bella wasn't pregnant, but my apartment in Oxford had been in the suburb of Summertown, with a pizza place on the corner.
"One Full Works with eggs sunny-side up, and one order blueberry pancakes with bacon and a fruit plate," announced the sweet, middle-aged waitress, Cora. She had served Bella and me before, but I didn't think she remembered me. "Would you guys like a refill of your coffee?"
"Yes, please."
"Yes, thanks."
"Oh Lordy, more English men!" she exclaimed when hearing Randall's voice. "Are you a newbie here too, sugar?"
"Yep. I got here a couple of days ago. Edward is my boss."
"And do you have a pretty young lady in your life, like him?"
Clearly, Bella and I had made more of an impression than I realised.
"Oh, um, no." Randall looked at me oddly. "Just me."
"With that handsome face, I'm sure you won't be single for too long." Cora winked at him before walking back to the counter.
For a few minutes, we ate mostly in silence, but I could tell that he was working up to ask me about my 'pretty young lady.'
"So, you have a girl here?"
No, I have a wife.
"Yes. Um ..." I showed him my left hand.
"Congratulations," he enthused. "When?"
"A few weeks ago, in Italy."
"Well, good for you." He took a large bite of hash browns. "These are bloody delicious."
"She's loveliness personified. On the surface, we might seem like an unusual couple, but we're very happy."
"Unusual how?"
"She's younger, quite a bit younger," I admitted. "But it doesn't matter to us."
"Then it's irrelevant," he stated, smiling encouragingly. I hoped he would still mean it when he found out that I was with Bella.
"So, you're single?" He nodded. "Weren't you seeing a girl you knew from undergrad? Melanie? Millie?"
"Melissa. That was months ago. It kind of fizzled out. I became interested in someone else, and she started going out with a guy she met at the gym."
"Well, as you can tell, our accent goes down pretty well. And with so many students in Cambridge, I'm sure it won't be too long before you meet a girl."
Randall looked down at his plate and pushed a piece of sausage around with his fork.
"Yeah, it's going to take me a while. I'm still hung up on that someone else."
Suddenly it dawned on me. The identity of his 'someone else.'
"It's Bella, isn't it?"
"Yep." I waited for him to say a little more, and he didn't disappoint. "I mean, you can see why, right?"
"Err ..."
"You've got to admit that she's bloody gorgeous. That beautiful face and sexy bod? I mean, we can say these things out loud now that you're not her supervisor and I'm not her lab buddy anymore?"
Shit, why did I acknowledge it? Randall was on a roll, talking about my wife and how much he fancied her. Suddenly my blueberry pancakes felt like wool in my mouth.
"Nothing ever happened between us, not even a snog, worse luck," he continued. "If I asked her out, she probably would be all 'you're such a nice guy, Randall, but I just don't feel the same way' anyway, but until know for sure she's all right, I can't move on."
I sat there, utterly uncertain about what to say or do next. Eventually, I decided to go with a hypothetical.
"How would you handle it you found out she was with someone else?"
"I'd have to deal with it, I suppose." He gulped at his coffee. "But, hey, I'm over here, she's not. It's not like getting together with her is on the cards anyway."
"No, it's not." I couldn't help but say the words with an edge to my tone. My possessiveness was kicking in and I was trying not to lose my cool. After all, who could blame the poor guy? My Bella was exactly as he described. Gorgeous, beautiful and sexy, as well as being phenomenally intelligent.
I couldn't keep him in the dark any longer.
"Randall?"
"Hmm?"
"You never asked me if I had heard from Bella."
"Have you?" He dropped his fork with a clatter.
"Yes." He eyed me expectantly. "She was offered a PhD by Carlisle Cullen here at Harvard back in May, and initially she turned it down to stay in Oxford."
"But she changed her mind?" His voice lifted with anticipation.
"Yes. The man she's in love with got a job here, and he begged her to come with him." I dropped my voice to a murmur. "She agreed immediately, and they are happier than they could have imagined."
Randall held my gaze for a long moment, but as understanding took hold, he looked down at his plate again, and then pushed it away.
"You and Bella?" I nodded. "No, no way ... you and Bella got married?"
I undid my watch, turned it over and showed him the engraving.
My Edward
Forever, my Fox
Your Bella
"Well, shit. So, when she was spotted in Summertown, it was because she was seeing you?"
"Yes. We tried to be extremely careful at Oxford, but the plan was always to come out as a couple when Bella started her PhD, even before we moved," I explained. "She feels terrible about the fact that we didn't tell you before you came over, and when she finds out that you liked her, she'll feel even worse."
"You can't tell her!" he cried, causing the table next to us to turn their heads. "I'd rather leave Harvard."
"Don't leave. She'll be devastated. She's so happy that you're here," I told him. "And I am too. The research is going to flourish here, and so will you. If I didn't think so, I wouldn't have asked you to transfer."
My words didn't assuage him.
"Look, I won't lie. This blows." He crossed his arms and sat back in his seat. "Promise you won't tell her. How on Earth will I be able to be around her otherwise, looking at me with that wide-eyed droopy face she makes when she feels bad?"
"Um ..." I knew exactly what face he meant, but Bella and I usually told each other everything.
"At least until I find a Harvard Honey to call my own first."
"Okay," I promised, even though I knew that Bella would probably have my balls when she found out, and she would. "If you're done, should we go to the lab?"
He shook his head.
Please give my excuses to Bella, I need some time to process this. I'll meet you tomorrow morning."
-cc-
Thank you for reading.
The next update will be in three weeks' time, as mentioned last chapter.
As the Twific Doctorward Contest voting is now over, I can inform you that I entered a story, although I won't tell you which one until the results are revealed next week. I suspect, however, that if you're familiar with my stories, you'll probably have worked out which entry it is.