BPOV
A few days after my conversation with Edward, I text my dad to tell him that I'm coming to visit for Thanksgiving. About an hour after my text, my FaceTime ringtone goes off while I'm folding laundry. Glancing down to my father's contact picture staring back at me, I shake my head while I answer.
"Hey, Dad. What's going on?"
"Kiddo! I got your text. I love that you're coming home to see me, but you really wanna come back to Forks for two weeks?" His mustache twitches as he tries to hide his smile.
"What's wrong with that? Don't you want me to visit? Don't you miss me? Your only child."
He chuckles, rolling his eyes. "Of course, I miss you, but you were so dead set on getting outta this one horse town … and it's not like you've been home much since your mom and I divorced. Is everything okay?"
Plopping onto my bed with a sigh, I smile. "Things are fine. I just miss you, and I want to be home for a little bit."
"Are you bringing the boyfriend with you? What's his name? Edward?"
"Uh, no. Edward won't be coming with me." I can already see the wheels turning in my father's head.
"Something happen between you two?"
"Yes. No. I'm not sure. We're having dinner before I head out to see you. It's fine." I tell him, shooting him a watery smile.
My dad being my dad, he just nods and smiles back. "Whatever you say, Bell. Let us know when that day is. Sue wants to make sure you have fresh sheets and towels."
"I will. I'm looking forward to spending time with you and Sue. I'll let you know when I'm planning on heading over."
We say goodbye, and I realize that I actually need to make those dinner plans with Edward. We both agreed to it, and I just told my dad I was doing it. I text him and ask him to call when he gets a free moment.
In the time it takes me to fold my laundry, pack a bag for my visit home, and put everything away, Edward hasn't called. I try not to be upset, but the truth is that even though I wanted the space and so did he … I miss him already. We've only known each other a little over two months, and it feels like a lifetime. I don't know how I'm going to deal with this break or whatever it is between us right now.
Glancing down when my phone starts to ring with Edward's picture flashing, I answer the call swiftly. "Hey, I was just thinking about you, us. How are you?"
"If I said I miss you would that be breaking any rules?" He laughs, and I can't help but join him. "Sorry I didn't call you earlier. I was in the middle of a meeting. What's going on?"
"I just wanted to set up our dinner before I leave for Forks. If you're not too busy." Moving my bag over by the closet, I perch on the edge of the bed, waiting for him to reply.
"I'll always make time for you, Bella. Have you checked my calendar yet?"
"I didn't because it felt like I would be overstepping something at this point." I laugh lightly. "I'm not sure why I felt that."
"Go ahead and take a look. I'll wait."
Putting the call on speaker, I pull up his calendar and see that every night after five Edward has five hours blocked out that says Dinner with Bella, up until the night before Thanksgiving.
"You've been waiting for me." I can feel the tears forming, but I refuse to cry on the phone with him.
"Not waiting, just anticipating. When are you thinking of heading out?" We talk for a bit about what my plans look like and make arrangements for dinner the next evening. "I'll pick you up at seven. I look forward to seeing you, Bella."
"Me too."
At seven on the dot, Edward knocks on the door as Rose zips me into my dress, and I dash out to the living room to find Emmett and Edward engaged in a friendly conversation. Edward pauses when he catches sight of me and grins. "Thanks, Emmett, but I'll probably just catch up on work that day. If I change my mind, I'll let you know."
He breaks from Emmett to meet me halfway. "You look fantastic." Pressing a quick kiss to my cheek, he smiles over my shoulder at Rose. "I'll have her back by curfew."
Rose laughs as Edward and I make our escape. "Ugh, I'm glad we got out of there," I tell him as he helps me into the passenger seat of his car. "Rose really wants to sit us down for a session."
Edward lingers over the door. "Maybe that's not a terrible idea," he says before shutting me in.
Small talk on the way to the restaurant isn't hard. Edward and I haven't ever had a problem speaking to each other. But when he asks me how I'm doing, I'm at a loss.
"I … don't know. In the last two plus months, I found someone to date, found a job, and lost both." I angle to look at him while he drives. "I'm feeling so aimless, and I hate it. You know, I'm supposed to be settled at this point in my life or at least on the way to it."
"Says who?" He reaches over with his right hand to grasp my left.
"Society? My parents? School? Media? I don't know. You knew what you wanted before you were my age and were already making things happen for yourself. What's wrong with me that I can't do the same?" I might be whining a little bit, but I don't really care.
"First, I don't think you can compare the two of us. We both come from very different backgrounds, with different opportunities placed in front of us. What do you really want to do?" Edward asks as he pulls into the valet line.
"I don't know anymore. I just want to be happy," I tell him after we've exited his car, and he takes my hand to walk up to the restaurant.
"So, let's figure out how to do that." He gives his name to the host, then turns to look at me again. "Everything else will fall into place after that."
Our dinner is filled with great food and even better conversation. This feels like the first date we should have had two months ago. When our server brought out our dessert and coffee, I ask Edward what he was talking about with Emmett.
"He asked me what my plans were for the holiday, and since I don't have plans, he invited me over. He said Rose's sister and her husband were coming in for it." He shrugs it off like he wasn't offered the greatest gift my friends have to give.
"Don't you have plans with your parents?"
"Oh no. Mom did years of holiday hosting, and she's done with it. She and Dad go on cruises every year now." Edward takes a bite of the pumpkin cheesecake and smiles. "This is really good. You should eat some before I take all of it."
"Why did you turn Emmett down?" I frown across the table, looking into his face.
Edward sets his fork down, taking my hands in his. "You won't be there, and I didn't want to go for some pity invite. Dwayne always hosts a Friendsgiving, and he'll bring me a big plate of leftovers. I won't be missing out."
Nodding, I take a harder look at him. "There's something else. What is it?"
"I don't want to talk about it. It's not really important." Edward rolls his eyes a little, going back for a second bite of the cheesecake, but I pull the plate away. "Hey!"
"What is it? You're worried about something."
"Okay, I know that you called Lauren, but that's not what I'm worried about. Lauren is obviously a much different person, and you can make your own decisions about people you associate with." He winces as if he's waiting for me to contradict him.
"Go on."
"She was right about me, about a lot of things about me. And I want to work on those things. But I wanted to see if it was just her or if it was definitely me. So, I tried calling Jane. Only I didn't get Jane, I got some woman named Maria." He huffs out a breath before reaching for his coffee.
"Okay, so Jane ditched her number, and now someone else has it. Big deal."
"Except I'm still paying for that line. It's still a 206 area code. Unless she gave that phone to someone, there's no way someone else could have it." He looks nervous.
"What are you getting at? What's wrong?" I reach for his hands, just like he did mine.
"I can't find any trace of Jane Marcus. After she moved to the East Coast, we stayed in minimal contact but hardly ever spoke. It's like she's vanished off the face of the Earth," Edward tells me quietly.
"That worries you. Because she was nice, and at one point, she was your baby. You looked out for her, took care of her, cared for her." Squeezing his hand, I sigh. "Did you ever stop to consider that maybe she just doesn't want you to find her?"
"Yes, to all of that, and yes, I considered it. I called the company she supposedly got a job with, and they've never heard of her."
"This is really bothering you, isn't it?"
"Yes. In the grand scheme of things, I don't care about Jane. But something feels off about this, and I can't put it together." I slide the plate back toward him.
"You finish that. You need it." Smiling, I finish my coffee. "Have you hired a private investigator?"
"How did you know?"
"Seems pretty spot on for you. I can scrub her socials if you want; at least, whatever is left of them." I shrug, offering to help however I can.
"You don't have to do that, Bella. Things between us are awkward enough and—"
"And I'll be in Forks with my dad and his girlfriend for two weeks with almost nothing to do. It'll be a welcome distraction." I give him a light kick under the table until he nods.
"Okay. Let's get out of here." Edward closes the check, and we wait for the valet hand in hand.
"Edward." I turn to face him. "It's not awkward. It doesn't have to be. We just had a lovely evening, and we're standing here holding hands, like we should."
"You're right. I'm sorry. I don't want to be awkward with you. I just want to be us." He dips down to press a chaste kiss to my lips as his car pulls up to the curb.
The drive home is quiet but comfortable. When he pulls up and neither of us moves to get out right away, we both joke about necking in the car. And then we do just a little bit. Finally, he walks me to the door, and I slip inside, thinking once again that this was a really nice first date.