FYH Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The Morning After

The next morning I woke up still wrapped up in Bella but now, I had a pounding headache. I looked over at the clock by the bed and groaned when I realized that it was already nine in the morning. We had gone to sleep at about seven with me completely drained from that therapy session with my family. I was hoping that it wouldn't always be that hard or leave me that exhausted after only an hours of talking.
I slowly and carefully got out of bed, not wanting to wake Bella and went to the find some aspirin from our luggage. Then I went to take a hot shower. I stood under the spray and allowed the things that were said yesterday to come back to me. Emmett was actually leaving Phoenix. I wondered when this was going to happen. I assumed that it was going to be soon as he mentioned putting in his notice at work.
I also thought about Bella and me settling down so more. I was eager to find a home, and then we could think about school in the fall. Contrary to what I told my dad on the phone last night, I was still very undecided about whether or not I was going to go to school, not that I had mentioned that to Bella as of yet. I knew that she was determined to get her degree. But, I was a good portion of the way through my book, I loved the way that it was turning out, and the arrogant part of me was wondering what the degree would give me that I didn't already have? However, another part of me recognized that college was important and that if I didn't go I'd end up regretting the decision one day. Plus I knew that there was no guarantee that I would be published or that anyone would buy my book.
As I stepped out of the bathroom, I could smell fresh coffee and that amazing casserole that Bella made yesterday being warmed up. I quickly made my way downstairs to a sight that I wanted to see frequently for the rest of my life. My wife was standing by the sliding glass doors, she was wearing nothing but her bathrobe and was sipping on a cup of coffee while looking out at the ocean. It was raining this morning so there would be no walks on the beach or breakfast on the patio.
"This weather reminds me of home." She said sadly. It wasn't going to be her first holidays without her parents but it was going to be her first away from home. I felt bad because with everything being about my family issues and me I had forgotten that she had issues of her own to work through too.
"I love you, Bella. You know that right? I am so lucky to have you as my wife and I am so grateful to you for you standing by my side as I deal with all my issues but please don't hesitate to tell me if I'm ignoring you or anything. I know you miss your mom and dad and that it has to be hard for you at this time of year. Just please tell me if I'm being too self-absorbed or anything ok?" I had wrapped my arms around her waist and was kissing her neck.
"Honey, I'm fine. Well, maybe a little sad that they aren't here. But, Edward, they will never be here again, and even though I do miss them, I have come to terms with that."
"You'll tell me if you ever need or want to talk about them?"
"Yes. I promise I will. There's coffee in the kitchen and the casserole should be about ready by now." She turned in my arms and kissed me. "I love you too, by the way." and then she slipped out of my arms and took off for the kitchen.
After we ate breakfast, we had to run to the market to buy everything that we would need for Thanksgiving dinner. I was going to miss the meal that my mom always cooked. We had a live-in housekeeper but Thanksgiving and Christmas were two holidays that Mom always insisted that she go sit in the living room with the rest of the family and leave the cooking to her. Mom always made the cranberry sauce from scratch and it was amazing.
After we got to the store, it was plainly clear that my job for the day was to push the cart and grab the things that were too high or too heavy for her. She had everything all planned out and it really reminded me of the few times that I went shopping with mom for the Thanksgiving dinner. "A good detailed plan will ensure that you don't forget anything and cause yourself more stress later." And I really had to laugh because my Bella was a planner at heart and here we were living our lives without planning out anything and I was hoping that we weren't forgetting anything important along the way.
She stopped what she was doing and looking at me like I was insane when I started laughing. I suddenly realized that she had guided us to the produce department and was standing there with a bag of fresh cranberries in her hand with that concerned look on her face. I decided that a diversion would be a good thing right then.
"What's with the fresh cranberries?"
"Well," she said looking a little smug, "I may have snuck out of bed last night and called my mother-in-law to find out what my husband's favorite Thanksgiving dish was and to get the recipe."
"Now I really love you." And that really made her laugh. I loved her laugh and seeing her smile, but I had to ask. I had to know. "How was she when you called?"
BPOV:
How was his mother when I called? That is what he really needed for the holiday; to know that his mother was all right after the harsh way that he treated her. I also knew that he was concerned about Emmett leaving Phoenix. Which reminded me:
"You're mom asked me to tell you that Emmett wants you to call, he needs to talk to you."
"Sure." Was all he said noticing that I still had not answered the question. I sighed, "I am not going to lie to you and tell you that she was absolutely fine, Edward. I could tell that she was crying but part of that is on Emmett and the bomb that he dropped yesterday. In fact, I think that was the biggest part of her tears."
"I thought so. This is going to be so hard for her. I just hope that it doesn't set her back. Or latch onto Alice and Jasper now since they will be the only ones left."
"I don't think she will. I think that her tears were her coming to terms with everything, Edward. I don't want to get into everything that she and I discussed but I think that she will be just fine."
"Just how long were you talking to Mom last night?"
"Ummm…an hour…maybe two…closer to two…I really came to understand her a lot more last night and she really is a good person underneath her issues she just needs to learn how to let that woman out."
"Wow. That must have been some phone call."
"It really was." He dropped the topic of the phone call and I was glad because I really did not want to end up accidentally breaking a confidence with anything that Esme had said to me.
Esme and I had had a wonderful heart to heart last night. It was one of the reasons that I was really missing my own mother today. I missed the long talks about the future that I used to have with Mom. I missed being able to lay out my hopes and dreams to her while sitting under a blanket in the living room. Even though they were stressful, scary nights I missed sitting up with her during mad weather waiting for Dad to come home, for neither of us were going to be able to sleep until he did.
I missed their loved and devotion to not only me but to each other. I knew that I came from a vastly different background than Edward. We never had much money but we had each other and we were close. And in that way my family was a lot richer than Edward's family ever was. They loved each other, that was obvious, but their own individual issues kept all of them from being close, and that was a damn shame.
Moreover, really, Esme's tears were due in part to Edward's comments and attitude earlier that day. The only reason that she even answered the phone when I called was that I had used Edward's phone and thought that it was him so that she could apologize again for the things that she had done. I honestly wasn't sure who owed who an apology right now.
I was concerned that her guilt was going to impede her therapy and healing. As much as I believe that Edward is entitled to his anger, it did not mean that he could keep lashing out at her like he had been. She told me last night that her greatest fear was that he was never going to get over his anger. She loved him, that much was obvious, and her real goal at this point was plain and simple, she just wanted to repair her relationship with Edward. She understood that there were issues with her other children but the damage with Edward was the greatest and the priority. She intended him to know about that but wanted to do it herself. They needed to fix what was broken themselves and interfering was not going to help at all.
The rest of the shopping trip was quite the experience. Edward has a habit of picking of the worst junk foods that were bad for him. I shuddered to think of the garbage that he'd one day try to feed our children. I had to keep putting things back and then endure his pouting that he really wanted that and everything from the Hot Fudge Pop tarts to the Ho Ho's and pizza pockets were his absolute favorites. So we compromised and I agreed to make a chocolate cake and get ice cream for dessert as neither of us were fans of pumpkin.
It was still raining when we left the store and headed home and of course he tried to stop me from helping him carry in the bags but I was having none of that. I was not weak or fragile; I could carry a damn few bags.
I immediately got to work on the prep while Edward went into the other room to call his brother. I figured that it was going well because Edward got really excited and was laughing a lot and he congratulated Emmett and Rose a lot. He was in a really good mood when he ended the call and came to join me in the kitchen and asked if he could help with anything. I told him that he could help by ordering a pizza because I was too busy doing the prep work to fix dinner. He laughed and went to find a number for a delivery place and I happily continued preparing our very first Thanksgiving dinner together.
A/N:
I am so so so sorry that it took so long to get this done. I kept sitting in front of the computer but no one would talk to me. Finally this morning they are started demanding to talk again. There are going to be outtakes coming in the next few days. Esme, Emmett, and Alice all have something that they want to say now, too. Thanks for reading and you know where to find me between updates. A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!