August 27, 2010

“Hi, you’re pretty. Pretty, pretty, pretty.”

“Quack, quack, quack, quack.”

“What’s did you say? You want some bread?”

Judie let her hand to ransack a lavish purse.

“Let’s see, I have a banana—and an apple? Do you like fruit?”

“Quack, quack, quack.”

“He doesn’t like fruit. I can’t sit here all day. You’ll have to make do. It’s not like you’re
eating poultry. Nobody would blame you.”

“Quack, quack.”

“Mum always said to chew the fat and then dish the dirt. I say that’s good enough for me. Come, Mr. Henry.”

“Quack!”

“Have it your way, then.”

Judie, irate, left the indolent pair in the park. Neither saw any reason to speak to her. If she hurried, she’d catch the metro in time for the afternoon shift at Cheetahs. She picked up her step and ran a finger around her waist to adjust a lace thong—the color of the daises.

The ride back to Seattle with Edward was quiet, but that probably had more to do with the fact that I just stared out of my window and worried. All the stressful things in my life were roiling around like a blender on maximum speed, only nothing was getting chopped up. Would my dad be all right? Would my presentation be good enough? Would dad and Sue be happy together? Will I finish my masters? What will I do after graduation? What will I do about this gorgeous man next to me that drove me crazy in so many different ways?

We were passing Tacoma when he reached over and took my hand, giving it a little squeeze. “Are you upset with me?” he asked. “I thought you’d rather not discuss marriage with Sue.” He gave another squeeze. “Well, not your marriage.”

Looking over at him I pulled my hand from his, folding both of mine in my lap. “I won’t be getting married,” I told him flatly.

The grin he always got, the one where I just knew he was about to make my life miserable, appeared on his face. “What? No dressing in white lace and prancing down the aisle for you?”

My eyes rolled involuntarily, and returned to looking out the side window. “Marriage isn’t for me.”

He chuckled. “Oh, I don’t think that’s true. I think you’d make a great little wife.” My teeth ground at his flippant tone, and I knew he was just trying to get me to react. “You’re a good cook, focused, worry about your family, very attractive and a wonderful kisser. It’s enough to make any man hunger for you.” His hand covered mine in my lap, reclaiming it and dragging it to his lips. “In fact, I’m feeling a little hungry myself at the moment. What do you think we should do about that?”

I tried to grab my hand back from his, remembering what I had said to him before kissing him just this morning. But he held it tight, the car never deviating in its path, despite our struggle. Until, suddenly, he swerved, taking the off-ramp at a high speed, and throwing me into him around the curve. Thank heavens for seat belts or I would have ended up in his lap.

I was about to be able to sit upright and look around when he swerved the car again, right into a parking space in a lot. My breathing was frantic as I scrambled to figure out where we were, when I saw a Denny’s in front of us. “Seriously, I’m hungry,” he said. “You didn’t look like you were going to make a suggestion, and I saw this, and I love their hot chocolate.” Surely the scowl on my face would put Medusa to shame, but he just laughed and leaned over to kiss me, once again catching me by surprise. “Let’s eat,” he beamed as he undid my seat-belt.

He was at the front door, holding it open before looking back to see that I was still sitting in the car, fuming, with my arms crossed. In a flash he was back, opening my door. “Where are my manners?” he laughed. “I guess I just got too hungry to remember them.”

I just sat, fuming, staring straight ahead. For all of thirty seconds, that is. Since my seatbelt was already undone he just reached down and plucked me from the car, making me screech. “Put me down!” I yelled, drawing looks from those around us. Sadly, most of them looked amused, but that could be because Edward was still laughing.

“Nope,” he replied, carrying me bridal style to the door. “I think this will make good practice for when we get married, don’t you?” His eyes were full of merriment, and he nodded thanks to the older man who held the door open for him.

“I told you, I’m not getting married, and even if did, it would most definitely not be to you!” I hissed quietly under my breath, not wanting to create any more of a scene than we already were.

“Two please,” was all he replied, but that was to the elderly hostess, who was also sniggering.

“Right this way,” she snorted, leading him into the restaurant.

“We’re getting married soon,” he told her with a wink. “I’m practicing carrying her but it embarrasses her.”

“Enjoy it while you can honey,” she said with a knowing look at me. “After the kids come and the hips spread and he throws his back out, you won’t be getting that kind of treatment anymore.”

“We’re not getting married,” I informed her through clenched teeth as I resumed struggling to get out of his arms. “He just likes to embarrass me.”

She pointed to a booth, placing two menus down, chuckling when he dumped me into the seat and almost sat on top of me. “Yeah, honey, guys call that foreplay,” she said, breaking into a laugh when I blushed bright crimson. “Your server will be here soon. Enjoy your meal.”

With a huff I grabbed a menu, my stomach rumbling loudly now that it knew food was nearby. “Sounds like you’re hungry too,” he said as he thoughtfully perused his menu.

“Only for food,” I quipped back.

“Another thing I don’t think is true,” he said, his voice muffled by the menu. I turned to glare at him, but he just winked when he looked at me out of the corner of his eye.

“Infuriating, annoying, overbearing, controlling, pig-headed, supercilious, exasperating, irritating, egotistical, arrogant, imperious…”

“Testing out your memorization of the thesaurus?” he asked, cutting off my rambling off all the words that I thought applied to him.

Setting down my menu, I folded my hands and quietly turned to him. He looked at me with a quirked eyebrow. “What? No other adjectives?”

“Nope, just a noun,” I told him, shaking my head. “Ass.”

His face became one of surprise, then cunning amusement. “Ah,” he said loudly, just as our waitress sidled up to the table. “You’re an ass girl.”

My jaw dropped and I began sputtering, my head filling with words that made me feel like I had mental Tourette’s Syndrome. Meanwhile he just turned and greeted our waitress. “Hello Holly,” he said amicably. “I’ll have a grand slam with pancakes, eggs over medium, sausage and hash browns. My fiancé will have the bananas foster French toast skillet with bacon, her eggs scrambled. Thank you.” He ended with a big smile, and I could have sworn she was making plans to have his babies, up until he said fiancé. Then she just glared at me.

When she finally left I smacked him lightly on the arm. “There’s no way I can eat all that, especially that much sugar!”

He turned in his seat and grabbed my hands into one of his. Lifting his other he rubbed at the crease between my eyes. “I have watched you worry about things for the last three hours. It’s not hard to figure out what is going through that mind of yours, even if you do refuse to look at me.”

I tried to pull away so I could argue, having him this close was muddying my brain, but he wouldn’t let me. The hand that had been rubbing my forehead whipped behind my neck and pulled me back to him. “For weeks I’ve seen you lose far more weight than you should, worrying over your presentation. For days now I’ve seen you worry over your father, even though he was in capable hands. Now, I know that you like caramel more than chocolate, and watched you cut a banana into every bowl of cereal. You need the calories, and when we get home I’m taking you to bed.” He saw my stunned reaction and his eyes narrowed. “My bed, so I can make sure you actually sleep and don’t try to sneak out and do work.

“Bella, my mom knows what has happened with your dad, and has called your professor to tell them that she’ll need to reschedule your presentation back a week, because she’s swamped. You’ll probably have a message on your answering machine telling you about it.” His shoulders dropped and he took on a pleading look, the arrogant, controlling one slipping away. The hand around my neck came up and cupped my face, his thumb rubbing my cheek. “Let me take care of you, please.”

“Why?” I whispered. “I get cranky when I’m stressed or hungry, and the former is all the time lately. It’s not like I’m going to sleep with you.”

The dancing merriment was back in his eyes. “Oh, but you already have, darling. You already have.”

Rolling my eyes I tried, unsuccessfully, to pull away again. “You know what I mean, Edward,” I griped, not amused by his innuendo.

With a nod he agreed, and scooted closer to me. “Yes, I do, I just love seeing you get all riled up. It’s a bad thing, but did you know that when you get angry you get this spark in your eyes?”

“Did you know that when you tease me your eyes dance?” I retorted, then slapped my hands over my mouth, realizing I had admitted to watching his eyes so closely.

They started to dance again, but in a way that was more similar to this morning. Leaning in very close, his hand once again behind my neck, he whispered. “And did you know that when you say things like that it makes me very hungry?”

I tried to shake my head, but it was too busy kissing Edward back. Up until I heard the waitress return and drop our plates on the table. Breaking the kiss he stared into my eyes with a smile. “Thank you, Holly,” he said, never looking away from me. “That looks perfect.” She just giggled and walked away.

We sat there for just a moment while he grinned and I tried to process what was happening. It seemed no matter how hard I fought him we ended up kissing, like he knew it was his weapon of mass destruction, totally annihilating my will. But then my stomach rumbled, and his answered, and we both sat up and started to eat.

Time sped up now that Edward and I were back in school. Some days we were so exhausted from classes and commuting that we barely had the energy to kiss each other good night. The stack of take out menus in our kitchen grew.

Because Edward was working on his Masters now, he’d enrolled in the two year program at UW’s College of Built Environments. It was located in Seattle, which meant at least two and a half hours on the road both ways, but it’s what he’d wanted – even from before we’d met. It’s a good thing, too. Had I thought he was doing all that driving because he wanted to live near me I’d have been eaten up with guilt. It helped that he’d also set up an internship of sorts at his father’s firm and had several online classes so he didn’t have to do the commute five days a week.

As for me, I’d completed my two years at Grays Harbor Community College and was now a junior at UW Tacoma. I had to do a lot of driving too, but my trips weren’t quite as long as Edwards. Once or twice a week our schedules coincide closely enough that we could ride together and I loved that. I told him we needed to plan a road trip sooner or later; I loved just being in the car with him.

Despite the hectic nature of things, those days were so memorable, so wonderful. Sure, we were running around like crazy but like my mother so often reminded me, it was just a season. Life was comprised of them, she said. Times of building and times of breaking down, seed time and harvest. Edward and I had our moments and when we did, they were incredible.

I felt good knowing that I was working toward a goal. Each day I went to campus, I knew that it would all culminate one day in me being a teacher. Before, I’d been floating sort of aimlessly, making the best out of each day. I’d been happy for sure, but definitely lost. Having purpose changed things.

And it wasn’t just the mental peace that choosing my career had brought. It was Edward, knowing he was the probably the One. The knowledge sat deep inside, making me flutter when I thought about it. We didn’t talk about marriage or anything, but our plans always included one another, regardless of how far ahead in the future they were.

For Thanksgiving my mom and I joined Edward at his family’s house. It was awesome having everyone we loved under one roof like that. I missed my dad though; Edward still hadn’t met him yet. We decided to head up to see him the following weekend, just for a day or two.

–

“You sure you got everything?” I asked, for probably the seventh time.

Edward looked at me, raising his eyebrow in amusement. “Babe…”

“I know, I know – I just don’t want to forget anything.”

“We’ll be gone for three days. Even if we did forget something I think we’d survive.”

I nodded, knowing he was right but stalling. I was having a rough time subduing the nervousness.

My father, though I didn’t see him much these days, had always been an important part of my life. We chatted via email on a regular basis, so he knew I was seeing someone, but
until recently he hadn’t realized how serious Edward and I actually were. Knowing Charlie would likely panic, my mother had suggested I wait to tell him that Edward and I had our own place. She wanted him to meet my boyfriend, deem him worthy first.

I wasn’t so sure that was the best idea but she, technically, know him better than I did. So I went along with it. I sort of wished he was coming down to Ocean Park, where I’d at
least have y mother and Phil as buffers. Oh well.

“We’re not going to get there when we said we would, Bella,” Edward warned, jingling his keys impatiently.

“All right.” I grabbed my purse, made sure my phone, keys and wallet were inside, and followed him out. We’d already put our overnight bags and snacks in the car; all that was left
to do was gas up and hit the road.

Despite being late November, the day was bright and beautiful. It was cold, but at least the sky was blue. Every now and then I begged Edward to pull over so I could catch a quick
shot of something pretty.

After long last we entered Clallam County. My father had lived in Forks for most of his life and I’d visited him a lot, spending entire summers with him when I was younger. This town
felt even smaller than mine did.

While it was tempted to stay at one of the little inns in town, we opted to stay with Charlie and his wife Sue. She was home when we arrived, and welcomed us with open arms.
Apparently Charlie had run to the store to pick up a few items and would be back shortly. I was relieved; at least we’d have a chance to settle in a bit.

I’d always liked Sue. She had a real direct personality, like my father, but unlike him was soft around the edges. They complimented each other quite nicely and I’d have been lying
if I said I didn’t have similar hopes for my mom. She was a contented person, regardless, but I’d seen how much happier she was with Phil.

“We’ll be eating soon, Bella,” Sue said once we’d come back downstairs. “You guys thirsty?”

“I am actually… “

She gave me a knowing grin. “Coke?”

“Sure.” I smiled. Some things never changed, apparently.

“Edward?”

“I’ll have a Coke, too. Thanks.”

“No problem, honey.” She squeezed his arm affectionately.

Edward grinned at me as Sue walked away. She definitely liked him.

–

I pushed away from the table, almost uncomfortable with the amount of chili I’d just consumed.

“That was…”

“So good,” Edward finished for me, his too-full expression mirroring mine.

“Aw, finishing each other’s sentences!” Sue cooed, genuinely thrilled.

I blushed. Edward fidgeted. My father rolled his eyes.

Thankfully, things had gone smoothly. I could tell he wasn’t thrilled about our living arrangement, but he definitely seemed to approve of Edward. It helped that Edward was ambitious
and forward thinking, and that he obviously cared for me, loved me. He liked that Edward had his career lined up with his father’s firm, and that it was something he was not only
adept at, but passionate about.

My father wasn’t quite as stoic as he appeared; still waters ran deep.

Soon the conversation turned to the classed Edward and I were taking at our respective schools.

“So you just gonna keep on doing that drive?” Charlie asked, frowning.

“Well, not forever…” Edward glanced at me quickly before refocusing on Charlie. This was a conversation we’d broached a couple of times but it had never gotten too far for one
reason or another. “Eventually I’ll… we’ll probably have to move in to the city.”
My heart jumped. That seemed like a logical next step, but something about it seemed so definitive, so final somehow.

We sat around talking, enjoying each other’s company and Sue’s coffee cake until it got late. Now that he knew we were actually living together, Charlie didn’t try to suggest Edward
and I sleep separately. Besides, I was twenty now. In my father’s eyes I’d always be his little girl, but he could see that I’d made my choices. He wasn’t in denial over my growing
up and I respected that.

My childhood bedroom had been made in a study, with a pull out couch. Sue helped us set it up and then she and my father turned in, promising we’d do something nice the next
day.

Edward and I took turns in the tiny bathroom and then snuggled into bed, craving one another’s warmth. He ran his hand under my shirt and over the skin of my back, then down into
my pajama pants, his fingers playing with the lace trimming my panties.

“Were you a naughty girl in high school?” he whispered. “Do you sneak out boys in or sneak out?”

“No,” I breathed.

“Can you be very quiet?”

“Yes…”