August 18, 2010

I’d met Mrs. Cullen a few times before, sometimes in the grocery store, other times at the park.

I returned the hug and replied in kind, “You too, Mrs. Cullen”.

“It’s Esme, dear. You’re always calling me ‘Mrs. Cullen’ and I’m always telling you not to! Let us not continue this cycle, alright?” Mrs. Cul- no, Esme said, her eyes twinkling.

She doesn’t wait for a response, instead questioning me about Charlie and his health, which strikes me as odd because she’s the doctor’s wife. She would know if there was something to know. I answer all her questions dutifully, accepting my drink from Edward, who had been holding it for me patiently.

A loud squeal interrupts us and we see Alice chasing a butterfly, with Lauren close at her heels, both their drinks forgotten at the moment.

“Excuse me”, Esme says, and walks over to the excited girls.

I sip the lemonade, it’s rich, citrusy taste delightful to my taste buds. It’s a nice relief from the miraculous heat bearing down upon us. The shining sun is never heard of in Forks, and the weather is a sweet respite from the usual cold and rain. I drink he lemonade through the conveniently placed bendy straw, the cool liquid swirling around in my mouth.

I realize that Edward hadn’t tasted his lemonade either before, waiting for me to drink first. The gesture, whether intentional or not, is such a sweet one that it warms my heart. I watch him drink it right from the glass, not bothering to use the straw. I see his throat constrict as he swallows the lemonade, his Adam’s apple a very distracting sight.

Evidently, I’m so consumed by the wonderful sight that I suck too much of the liquid at one go, and end up spluttering and coughing wildly, all the while hoping I won’t throw up.

I feel Edward thump lightly on my back, and I wheeze, all the air released in a resounding whoosh.

I feel his eyes upon me, and I close my eyes, thinking of how mortifying my life always seems to be around this boy.

We sit and talk at the bar, closer than ever, touching and flirting. I know I’m in over my head, out of my depth, whatever, but I can’t seem to keep myself from being drawn in again and again. I can tell he’s entertained by everything I do. He likes my naiveté and I like how he looks when I say something unexpected. I’m going for shock value because at least tonight I’m holding his attention.

His sexy smirk, his dark green eyes, and the flip of his pretty but messy hair – it all adds up to the fact that I want to taste him.

I lean over and giggle at Rosalie and try to whisper that fact in her ear.

“You what?” he says, obviously eavesdropping.

“I believe I was addressing Miss Hale,” I say dismissively. I lean back in and cup my hand around her ear and whisper, “Do you think he likes me?”

Rosalie looks at me and rolls her eyes. “Honey, he’s fucking lost.”

I feel triumphant and decide that I need to use the lavatory so I start to walk away without mentioning my need to anyone else. I don’t want to say anything in front of the guys.

“Where are you going?” asks Edward.

“Can’t a girl go to the Ladies’ without announcing it to the whole room?” I ask.

“Oh, well, sure you can,” he says. “I’ll just wait right here.”

I dip into the one-person bathroom (bars are never, ever equipped properly to support the female population) and expedite the intended process. I wash my hands, check my reflection and am happy that I don’t look as sappy as I feel.

When I turn the door knob, I peek out and Edward is there, waiting as promised. A brilliant idea hits me and I grab a handful of his shirt and pull him off balance into the Ladies’ with me. He looks sort of dumbfounded as I turn to lock the door.

I start to giggle and he says, “What are you doing Bella?”

“I’ve always thought about pulling a guy into the bathroom with me at a party or something but I never have,” I confess. “Of course. I’ve never done anything,” I lament.

“So you’re a…” he starts.

“I’m a…” I prompt.

“Virgin?” he asks.

“In the flesh,” I say. Then I can’t help adding, “But in my fantasies I’m all sorts of other things.”

I feel myself smirking and he looks a little dangerous now.

“I believe you wanted a taste Bella?” he says moving in on me.

“Yes,” I whisper.

He leans in and just like in the kitchen, he owns me with his kiss.

I was standing in the canteen area, dead tired, styrofoam cups and bendy straws stacked up in neat rows, going over the last little bit of my notes when I felt my cell phone vibrate. This was my personal phone, not the hospital one that we carried so that the nurses could contact me. I hoped that it was Bella although it was three in the morning, so my hope died a quick death.

Then I almost hoped it wasn’t Bella because that would mean something might be wrong.

911, Mary’s screaming and I don’t know why. Any advice?

I didn’t recognize the number and I didn’t know anyone else with the name Mary. It must be Bella. My heart leapt a little.

Is this Bella? Do you want me to come check her out?

I had spent a lot of time with babies and kids of all ages when I worked at Children’s. I was pretty confident with them even though I didn’t have any kids myself.

Yes, please. And then an address showed up on the screen. I recognized it, she was down by the university at least, not too far away.

Okay, I’m just leaving the hospital, I’ll be right there.

I headed for the nurses station, thank God Dr. White had just come on, and I was free to go. My car was parked in the Doctor’s spots, so thankfully it was just an elevator ride away and I was pulling out of the lot onto 115th Street headed south towards the University of Washington and Bella’s house.

o * o

I woke to the smell of bacon and coffee and for a minute I wasn’t sure exactly where I was, but as I looked around the room I remembered. I was at Bella’s.

And then a big smile came over my sleepy face. She’d called.

I could hear her singing to herself quietly in the kitchen and so I got up to find the bathroom, guessing it was down the hall. As I walked out, still in my green scrubs from the night shift, she came around the corner with a tray laden with food.

“Oh, you’re up!’ she said shyly. She was beautiful in the morning.

“Yep, thanks for letting me crash. I’m sort of used to the crazy hours, but it was a particularly long day yesterday,” I said, rubbing my fingers over my stubble.

She instantly looked guilty and started to apologize.

“No, no…I didn’t mean you. I’m glad you called,” I stuttered. “I mean…Mary…she was in so much pain.”

“Yeah, dumb me,” Bella said, setting the tray down on the coffee table. “I should have figured it out, I’m sorry I called you over something so silly.”

“Bella, really. I’m glad you called,” and I picked up her hand, just to hold it.

She held my hand for a second and then let go of it awkwardly.

“So, are you hungry? When did you eat last?” she said very hostess-like.

“Yeah, I’m actually starving. I didn’t get to eat dinner last night. This looks great,” I said, picking up my fork. “Thanks.”

“Well, Alice and her parents, Claire and Peter actually made most of this, I just heated it up. I honestly have so much food, I’m afraid it’s gonna go bad,” she laughed. “You may have to come help me eat it all.”

“Gladly, if it’s all as good as this,” I smiled. I hoped she was serious.

I had spent the last few days trying to explain to myself why I was feeling the way I was about a girl I had just met. A girl with problems of her own and a baby to raise nonetheless. I had yet to come up with anything tangible other than the fact that my senses came alive when I was around her and I wanted to know her better. It wasn’t that I felt sorry for her, in fact, she seemed pretty level-headed and set financially from what she told me. It was more that, I had some inexplicable need to share her issues, her wants, her fears. I wanted to know what made her who she was.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” I asked after swallowing a forkful of blueberry pancake.

“Nah, coffee is good for me I think just now,” she said, watching me over her mug.

Just then we both heard the baby stir and she got up, setting her coffee down next to mine. Cream…I wondered if she took it sweet or without sugar. I made a note to find out.

She came back with Mary who’s eyes were big and round and vacant the way all newborn’s eyes were.

“I hope her eyes stay blue,” Bella said. “My eyes are brown, not the most interesting color.”

“Your eyes are beautiful…” I couldn’t resist saying, “…like chocolate.”

Bella just smiled at me and I was happy to see it.

“Do you mind if I just…” she started, indicating that she wanted to nurse the baby.

“Please, Bella. I’m a doctor, but I’ll give you some privacy while I go clean up the dishes,” I said. I wasn’t sure I was ready to see her breast just then; even though it was for strictly utilitarian reasons, a breast is a breast and I’m just a guy. I wasn’t sure I could put aside my doctor persona with her just now.

“Want some more coffee?” I asked, scooping up her cup as I headed into the kitchen with the tray of dirty dishes.

“Yes, please. Cream and one sugar,” she said, busying herself with Mary.

“You got it,” I repeated.

Cream and one sugar. Sweet, but not too sweet.

The house next door was remarkably quiet. I smirked to myself. Well, well. It looked like Mr. Party Pants wasn’t partying anymore.

Glancing out the window facing the street, I finished my cup of coffee. I wondered who had been the one to call the cops; my bet was Mrs. Grayson. She was a widow, and a rather cranky one at that.

That’ll be you one day if you don’t meet someone, my inner voice snickered.

“Oh, shush,” I sighed, going back upstairs to brush my teeth before work. I had a long day ahead.

–

He said

–

I watched from the kitchen window as Bella got into her car and left.

That chick was so predictable – she never deviated from her schedule, not even by a minute. She was lucky I wasn’t a serial killer or a stalker casing her place.

Well, okay, I was kind of stalking her but only to make sure she was gonna be around when I set my plan in motion. I had to get back at her for calling the cops. Granted, all they did was shut the party down but it had been a major buzz kill at the time. And it had been a little over the top, considering I could’ve done the same thing to her when she was roaring around her frigging yard on a lawnmower like John Deere on meth.

But anyway. It was all good.

Ms. Priss was about to meet Edward Cullen, the junior High edition.

I waited a good five minutes to make sure she didn’t come back for anything – she didn’t of course – and then wandered on over to her porch. After taking a quick look up and down the street I unscrewed my jar of Vaseline and smeared generous amounts of the stuff all over her doorknob.

Next I sneaked around to the back yard and located her breaker box, which was in the same spot on an exterior wall as mine was on my house. I switched off the main breaker,
cutting off the electricity to the house.

Then I went home, satisfied in a job well done. Nothing harmful, really. Just enough to watch Bella flip her lid when she came home.

Lucky for me I worked from the house, so I’d definitely be home for the fireworks. Emmett, Jasper and I had started our own internet business in college dealing with local businesses and coupons. Something that had started off really small and simple had grown like crazy and within a year we’d all quit our jobs to focus on bargainbee.com.

Most of the people we’d gone to college with thought we were slackers. But they weren’t the ones that owned their own homes; we were.

Life was good, what could I say?

I wondered of Bella owned that house or if she was renting.

Why does it matter, dude? Weirdo.

My cell phone buzzed in my pocket, the alarm reminding me that I had an online conference in an hour. Just enough time for a workout. I made myself a protein shake and headed to my basement gym.

–

She said

–

“Um, no. That’s why I need you to help me,” I said to Rose.

“But you’re so much better at these sorts of things,” she whined, her voice sounding tinny over the phone.

“Nope, flattery gets you nowhere this time,” I replied, pulling into my driveway.

Rose pulled in right behind me. We closed our phones as we stepped out of our cars.

“I’m just saying you seem to have a really low opinion of your abilities but I’ve seen what you can do. You have amazing rapport with your cases,” she said, grabbing her briefcase off of the front seat.

“Well… thanks,” I sighed, having a rough time accepting the compliment. “But I could really use your expertise, okay?”

“Which is why I’m here,” Rose smirked. “Again. I should just move in.”

I withdrew my hand from the doorknob, grossed out by the gunk now all over my hand.

Rose cleared her throat. “Or not. What is that?”

“I … don’t know.” I looked closely at my hand, but whatever it was, was clear. I sniffed it. “It almost smells like Vaseline?”

Rose grabbed my arm, bringing my palm closer. “Definitely Vaseline,” she confirmed.

“But…” I frowned, totally confused.

“That’s weird,” Rose said.

“Very.” I unlocked the door and we walked inside. “Lemme just grab a rag to wipe – “

The light didn’t come on when I flipped the switch.

“Dammit, the light must’ve blown. Ugh.”

“You got extra bulbs?”

“Yeah, in the kitchen. Let me go grab one.”

But the kitchen light wouldn’t go on either and now it was dusk outside, casting the house in dimness.

“Dammit!” I shrieked.

Rose was at my side in an instant. “What?!”

“I think my power’s out,” I groaned, holding my goopy hand out.

“Did you pay – “

“Yes, I paid it. I’m never late.”

“Okay, okay, just asking.”

“What should I do?” I asked, perilously close to tears. This was awful. I had so much work to do and now I couldn’t even see. Or shower. Or wash my icky hand.

“You can stay at my place; come on. We’ll figure this crap out tomorrow,” Rose suggested.

“Okay…”

“Unless.”

“Unless what?”

“It’s possible something got overloaded. That’s happened to me… where’s your circuit breaker box?”

I shrugged in the semi-darkness. “I don’t know.”

Rose huffed. “You don’t know? I mean, is it in the garage? Or the basement? Outside?”

“Oh wait, is it like, a grey box?”

“Usually.”

“I think it might be outside,” I said, leading her to the backdoor.

“Bella, babe, how can you own a house and not know where the circuit breaker is?” Rose chided.

“Because Jake handles all that stuff!”

“Well Jake’s married now and I doubt Leah would appreciate you calling her man out at all hours to fix some dumb crap like this.”

“If that’s the problem,” I muttered, feeling my way along the wall outside.

Shoulda brought a flashlight.

–

He said

–

I watched from the shadows of the guest bedroom, chuckling in glee.

Damn, though, her friend must’ve figured it out. I sipped thoughtfully at my beer, watching as Blonde Amazon shoved Bella aside and started fiddling with the circuit breaker. She was hot, in a man-eater sort of way.

The lights came on and I heard Bella shout something. They were headed back inside now.

–

She said

–

“Why would that have happened though?” I lamented, taking the food that had probably spoiled out of my fridge.

Rose shrugged. “I don’t know; you might want to call an electrician down – make sure everything is working properly. If you’re having power surges or if something’s faulty that could

jack things up.”

I nodded, shutting the fridge door and washing my hands.

“What I don’t understand, though, is the Vaseline. What was that?” she continued.

“I don’t know,” I said, tired. “You want something to drink?”

“You got rum?”

“And coke. But it’s kind of hot.”

“Whatever,” Rose said, jumping down off the stool. She grabbed glasses, bendy straws and some mostly melted ice from the freezer and got to work.

The next morning there was trash all over the yard. Again. I sighed, looking over at Edward’s house as I retrieved my newspaper. Stupid idiot had forgotten to secure his trash again.
I was about to go back inside when something caught my eye.

Amongst all the refuse was an empty plastic jar.

Of Vaseline.

Son of a …