It has taken seven long weeks of tracking, but I have finally found my prize! Bella's green fountain pen went missing some time in the week preceding October 25th. I last saw it in her possession on October 22nd in English class. Though clearly not of any great monetary value, I knew from the fact that Bella favoured this pen when she wrote that she had some sort of attachment to this item, or merely liked it. This was enough to give purpose to some dozens of hours spent searching over these intervening weeks, after all, I have so little purpose in this eternity, but anything that might make Bella smile or bring her some small satisfaction seems a most worthy goal for me.
By heading into town and tracking her scent I ascertained that In the intervening three days Bella had visited many different locations: Forks High, the local Thriftway, the post office, the diner, Angela Webber's house, the college where we learned how to make sushi in Port Angeles, my car, her truck, her house, the gas station and all of the parking lots and walkways that connect those places.
I started my search by ruling my car off the list, which took under a minute. Strategic positioning of myself in the school parking lot over the week following Bella's return to school after her sickness allowed me to surveil various angles of Bella's truck over the following week and also rule that location out.
I visited the community college in Port Angeles and viewed their lost property section, just in case, though had no recollection of Bella using her green pen on that occasion.
The gas station seemed an unlikely place, as Bella would likely not have used a pen there, but I made a thorough investigation of the back offices anyway once they had closed for the evening, turning up many pens and items of lost property, though not that which I was seeking.
At school I conducted a thorough nighttime search, going so far as to check the drains in the parking lot and under grease traps in the kitchen in case a careless foot had kicked Bella's prized pen there. During the days I remained on high alert, peering into as many pencil cases as possible, seeing all manner of hidden horrors- why for the love of all that is holy, does Mike Newton have a collection of used q tips in his pencil case? I shall never be able to unsee it. What a cursed being I truly am!
After a month I considered abandoning my search and buying her a replacement, thinking perhaps she would like a Montblanc Meisterstück Classique like mine, but this seemed like resignation to defeat, so I continued my search. I am so satisfied now that I have found my quarry, I do hope it brings Bella a smile.
The Thriftway, diner, post office and school combined meant that practically any member of the local community might have moved, or pocketed, Bella's fountain pen. After my clandestine searches of their aisles, booths, corridors and classrooms had proved fruitless, I purchased a detailed plan of the town and listed the inhabitants of each home, ranking them in order of likelihood that they might have come into contact with the pen.
Angela's home was a known location, but I also knew from the thoughts of the family that none of them would take an item which they knew did not belong to them, and that Angela would surely recognise and return it to Bella should it be found wedged between the cushions or underneath the sofa.
Bella's own home was the most obvious site for the misplaced pen, though I trusted that Bella would have found it whilst cleaning, even if her initial searches did not turn it up. I could not go near the house in any event, so I had to trust that my searches elsewhere were worthwhile and not in vain.
As luck would have it I found the pen in the hands of someone most unexpected whilst out in town with Esme last week. We had stopped by the library earlier today, so that Esme could sign off on the flooring installation. It was nice to see inside during daylight hours, as I have only been able to visit at night since the work began.
The fruition of our months of work filled my focus until I caught the faintest unexpected whiff of Bella's scent. A driver had stopped by to deliver the light bulbs for the new fixtures and the foreman withdrew Bella's green pen from his jacket breast pocket to sign! My reaction drew Esme's attention, as through her mind's eye I saw myself hissing quietly and drawing back slightly, wanting to pounce. She immediately interjected saying "Edward dear, go wait in the car, I'll be with you in a moment."
Once she returned to the car I apologised and explained what had caused my reaction, she said that there was nothing I could do about it, as sad as it was, without drawing unnecessary attention or appearing odd. This was a wholly unacceptable outcome for me and I sulked for much of the afternoon in response. Eventually I realised I could bide my time and lay in wait for the right moment and that moment finally came today.
From lurking and tracking Mr. Hardgraves, the site foreman, and a few trips to the temporary site office under cover of darkness to search for the item and examine documents, I knew the pen was still in his possession and was also running out of ink. The brand has a proprietary cartridge design and I thought him unlikely to go to the bother of acquiring some, as he had no special attachment to the pen and had already bent the nib somewhat with his heavy handed chicken scratch. Today the ink must have finally given out, as I located the pen tossed behind the library issuing desk. I plucked the prized item from the pot of miscellaneous writing tools with a sense of great satisfaction. At last I was able to bring it home!
I have cleaned and polished it thoroughly, repairing the misalignment to the nib that Hardgraves' carelessness had resulted in. The pen has now been recharged with Bella's preferred brand of ink and I plan on giving it back to her when we next write together. Perhaps it will help lighten her mood, she is so taciturn of late and now her wrist is broken as well. It is such a pity she will not be able to use it for weeks yet!
A/N: Please leave a review! Thanks so much to my wonderful beta wh1teow1, please show some love and read Moirai, a reimagining of Twilight for the new decade! I think it's very romantic that Edward went to so much trouble to find something that Bella lost. What romantic things has someone done for you? 11 entries left to go!