Chapter 10
Edward seems genuinely happy when I skip up his porch step to tell him I'm sticking around. I worry I'm too eager, and he's not just doing a polite, New England thing. But I do feel lighter today, having let him in a bit.
And having pushed Michael out a bit.
"But I have one request. I need to buy some clothes," I say. He offers the washer and dryer in the house to wash the three or four Ogunquit items I was forced to buy. I stare at him blankly and tell him I use wash and folds in New York.
"And I'm sure most of your wardrobe is dry clean only." He smirks.
"I don't suppose you have a Neiman around here, do you?" I ask, praying silently.
"We have Reny's. Their most popular item is an adult onesie covered in lobsters that says "trapdoor" on the butt with a picture of a lobster trap." He's laughing at me, and I finally know exactly what Aro is getting.
"Is there a Target or anything?" Dear lord.
"If you're nice to me, I'll take you to the Kittery outlets. Higher-end stuff there."
I nod in agreement and gratitude. "I'll try to be nice. Is this going to impede today's plans?"
"Nope. We have some time to kill until Jasper picks us up at three." At my raised eyebrows, he continues. "Alice and Jasper are coming with us tonight, hope that's okay?"
"Of course. This is your outing. In fact, I hope I'm not intruding."
"Not at all." We're standing facing each other and all I can think about was the kiss we shared last night. That can't happen again. He is my assignment and I'm a professional.
But man, I kind of hope he wants to.
He stoops to pick Joey up, breaking whatever spell I was imagining. "You're not intruding. You're here for work, to spend time with us, so, of course, you're coming."
Well, ouch. Even if that shouldn't have poked me in the gut a little, it did. "Do I get a clue as to what we're doing so I can buy the appropriate attire?"
"What fun would that be for me?" Edward jokes just as the phone in my pocket chimes. Shit.
"Sorry, one second." Walking off across the lawn towards the ocean, I read Michael's reply.
What do you mean something came up? You know how important tonight is.
I know, I'm sorry. But I'm on assignment, and that is important to me.
This is very selfish, Bella. I can't be the only one at dinner without a plus one.
I said I'm sorry. I would think you would understand work comes first.
Yes, my work. Not some stupid story about a dog. I'll tell my partners that you got called away for some urgent matter. Talk to you later.
My eyebrows rise at that line. Fuck him and his work being more important. I type out my reply.
Don't bother.
I guess that's the end of that relationship. I wonder if I shouldn't feel something. Some remorse or woeful finality that it's essentially over. Some dramatic emotion that makes me run and hurl myself off the cliffs wearing a long, flowy white gown while the wind howls.
But no. I definitely don't feel much at all.
Looking up, I see Edward and Joey, smiling and waiting for me. Edward takes Joey's paw in his hand and makes him wave. That makes me feel. That causes an emotion-filled breath to fill my lungs. Makes me feel wanted, and in a strange way, secure.
In such a short time, they are the two most important things in my life right now.
Michael can go to hell.
"Even a non-sports minded person such as myself knows that New Yorkers do NOT wear anything Boston." I wave the Red Sox baseball hat at him as we sit in the back of Jasper's car, Joey sleeping between us.
"Wasn't a lot of Yankee stuff to choose from." He smiles, and adjusts his own hat with a picture of either a dog or a seal, I can't really tell, with a bat in its mouth, hanging through a bright red "P".
We're headed to Hadlock Park in Portland, the home of Maine's triple A baseball team, the Portland Sea Dogs. Apparently, it's "Bark in the Park" night. Jasper and Alice, and even Joey, all have clothes strewn with logos. Guess they're a big deal here.
"I'm sure you could've found a Sea Dogs hat. You did this on purpose." I feign annoyance, but inside I'm actually thrilled that he thought to buy it for me at all, keeping it from me on our shopping trip until we were on our way. It's a little gesture for him, perhaps, but it's a much larger one for me. I don't get many gifts.
"If I wanted to humiliate you in public, I would've found a Yankee hat. Trust me, now you won't get beaten up."
Rolling my eyes, I place the hat on my head. At least the outlets had some non-Ogunquit clothes, and I'm happily Ogunquit-free in my new jeans and striped polo. It was hard to decide how much to buy, without a real end date in mind at the moment. I suppose I need to call Aro and tell him I'm still here and gauge his reaction as to whether or not he needs me back.
That can wait until tomorrow.
Wheeling Joey into the park, the sky is a magnificent late-day pink and it's a fantastic evening for some baseball. The smells of hot dogs and popcorn fill the air and I'm excited, having never been to a live sports event before. Edward laughs at me as I gladly take the free pennant the usher hands out as we make our way to the dog section, an area they've sanctioned off to the side behind the third base line. An excellent spot to catch foul balls Jasper tells me as he waves his glove in the air.
Joey sniffs some butts and returns the favor when Edward takes him out of his ride to enjoy before we sit. He's calm around the other dogs, even when some of them get rambunctious and bark at him, wanting to play. He doesn't seem interested at all, and I ask Edward if he was always that way.
"No, we used to go to the dog park all the time. I'd have to chase him down so we could go home." Joey is once again sitting on Edward's foot, tongue out. His favorite spot. "He likes bigger dogs for some reason, has no time for the little yappers."
"I wish I'd seen that," I say truthfully as I gladly take one of the large cups of beer Alice and Jasper return with, feeling the camaraderie of the group I'm with. How nice it would've been to maybe be a friend to these people, to be a part of their lives. Shaking off the sudden melancholy, I follow them as we take our seats in the bleachers.
The Sea Dogs get a hit right away and you would think it was the majors with the way the crowd reacts. It's an exciting first few innings, and soon enough, I'm yelling and cheering like a natural. I remember to take some pictures and capture Edward holding Joey up and Jasper pretending to catch him in his mitt. Something that would've made me roll my eyes not a week ago now fills me with glee. It's a good picture, it's angled with the scoreboard behind them, and in the back of my mind I make a note to print it out and send it to them when I get home.
A sudden, heavy sharp feeling of utter loneliness hits my chest. Home to me is a soulless, stark apartment with no joy in its walls.
"What's with the storm clouds?" Edward pokes my side and makes me spill some beer on my new sneakers.
"Huh?" I look up at the sky, still beautiful with its darkening hues.
"You. Your face. You look like you just lost your dog, pun intended."
"How can you joke like that?" I ask seriously, because even I don't feel like I can be flippant where Joey is concerned any longer.
"Sometimes I have to." Edward kisses Joey's head and I understand. It's the only way to get out the other side with as little damage as possible. "But what's eating you? Aren't you having fun?"
I look around the ballpark, at all the red shirts and spilled popcorn on the ground. "I'm actually having a great time," I reply truthfully and smile up at him, shaking off the somber veil. "Surprised?"
"A little." He smirks, looking back at me. His eyes are a strange purple-blue in the evening sky. It's on the tip of my tongue to confess exactly how much I'm enjoying his company when Alice jostles me in the arm.
"Bella! Edward! Look!" She's pointing like a crazy person at the screen across the field. Right there, in the middle of a heart outline with the words "Kiss-cam" under it, is Edward and I staring with our mouths open.
The crowd around us is cheering, egging us on and all I can do is bite my lip in stunned silence.
Edward breaks first and holds Joey up, giving him a huge smooch on his face. "You too, Bella," he says and holds Joey up to me. Relieved that he's saved the embarrassing situation, not to mention my obvious infatuated expression before Alice interrupted, I happily kiss Joey on the other cheek.
To my surprise, the crowd boos. "Well, that's rude." I'm still looking at myself in a heart on the monitor, now with a scowl on my face.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" The fans chant and I'm about to crawl under the beer-strewn bleachers.
"Can't make them mad," Edward says, and my gaze turns sharply to him. "I apologize to Michael in advance." He shrugs before leaning down and planting a kiss on my stunned lips.
And the crowd goes wild!
At least, in my head they do. Edward pulls away, and grins at the monitor. "Do me a favor," he whispers out the side of his mouth. "Pretend you liked it, you're leaving me hanging here."
Looking at the monitor, I see that I still look stunned.
"Try again!" Alice shouts unhelpfully next to me and I see the camera is not panning away.
Fuck it.
Rising on tip-toes, I grab Edward's face. "There is no more Michael." I plant a kiss on him I hope he won't ever forget. He's motionless at first, but then I feel his lips move with mine. We don't stop the kiss, even when Edward shifts Joey in his arms to let one arm slide around my waist, pulling me closer to him.
"Just so you know," I hear Jasper say from somewhere way out in the outfield, or maybe even outside the park. "You guys aren't on camera anymore."
I feel Edward's smile against me, but he doesn't pull away.
We're driving home, Edward, Alice and I are slightly tipsy from all the beer, and I think I ate the hot dog seller out of his entire cart. Joey is snoring away like an old man, happily curled up in Edward's lap. He keeps stealing glances at me, and I pretend to not see it. I feel like a teenager playing silly games, but honestly, I never really was a teenager in the true sense of the word, so I let myself enjoy it and grin as I look out the darkened window.
I hear scratching next to me and see Edward has pulled out a piece of paper and pen, and he's crossing something off.
"Is that–?" I ask, and he just nods. "You have an actual bucket list written out?"
"It's more of a water bowl list, but yes."
"Can I see it?"
"Nope."
I understand his need for privacy, but on the other hand, it's an integral part of why I'm here. Hell, it's the only reason I was sent here. "Why not? I'm supposed to be reporting on it. Only makes sense."
"It's… personal."
"How personal can it be if I'm joining in on this list? Isn't that a main part of this story?"
Edward hesitates, folds the paper up and sticks it back in his pocket. "It's not personal because of what it is," he trails off. "It's personal because I'm not sure I'm going to be able to cross everything off." He looks directly at me, the headlights from other cars washing across his face.
I swallow. "Well, I think that's okay, if you don't. I mean, you're doing everything you can and I'm sure Joey won't know."
"But I will."
Letting his words sit, the reporter in me knows I could get him to crack. I could reason with him to give me the list. But the possibly new friend in me just doesn't have the heart to make him feel bad about something he might not be able to do.
The why of me being here has been far overshadowed by the want. "It's okay, I get it."
"Thanks." He pats my hand on the seat in a grateful gesture but doesn't remove it. The miles pass and after a few minutes, he flips our hands over until he's holding them together, palm to palm.
CarrieZM and LayAtHomeMom would be a hoot at a baseball game. I'd gladly kiss either of them.
True fact: Squiggy never liked little dogs. Always ran after the big guys :)
This is for Squiggy.