Glitter in the Air - Prologue
I looked out the window, expecting the familiar car to pull up in front of the house, as I usually did this time of the evening, it being Friday and all. The bag was packed, though I expected that a few more toys would find its way into it before it left the house along with my… no, our daughter. Nessie, oblivious to the world as ever was sitting on the sofa, happily blabbing away to her current favourite doll while I was waiting for Edward to collect her for the night. My mind wandered over to a few things that led to our current situation, to the arrangement that we’d finally worked out three years later.
“How soon can we do this?” Edward looked at me anxiously.
My eyes dropped to the floor, following my heart. I knew why he was so eager for me to find out; his decision about his life and consequently my life was hanging in the air.
“Next week,” I whispered, “it’s still too soon to get a valid result.”
“Bella…” his voice broke and I knew he was struggling for words.
“It shouldn’t be a factor in your decision, though,” I said, my own voice suddenly stronger as I made the one decision I knew would change my life, the one decision that would most likely shatter it. I knew it was the right one, though, anything else, while it might lead to a different outcome, would be wrong.
“What are you saying?” Edward lifted my chin to make our eyes meet.
“You should decide without this,” I blinked away my tears, “it should be about you, me and her… not about…”
“Oh…” he dropped his hand from my face and stayed silent.
The silence lasted almost a week, five days when I didn’t see him at all, didn’t hear from him, didn’t know what he was going to do. All I knew for sure even without a stupid test, was that I was carrying his baby and it didn’t matter at all.
My eyes shot open as I shook my head to bring myself back to the present before I let whatever had happened back then take over my emotions. It was never a good idea to reminisce just before Edward was due to visit, because it made the walls I so carefully built around my heart fall into pieces. And I worked very carefully to not allow Ness to see me like that. She was way too smart for her age, so being cautious about what she heard or saw was a given.
“Vanessa!” I said sternly, “What are you doing?”
She turned to me with an innocent look in her face, her doll’s face covered in the juice from her bottle, the reason for my question.
“I feedin’ dolly, Mommy!”
Well, d’oh. I almost laughed out loud.
“We have to clean her now, darling,” I said softly while I pulled out an ever-present wipe out of a packet, “Daddy’s coming to pick you up soon.”
“Daddy!” my girl giggled and ran to the window, leaving me to clean up the mess she made.
Just then I head the car pull up and the door slam moments after. Ness bounced at the window before she ran over to me, her eyes wide and serious.
“I need my jacket, Mommy,” she stated simply and I laughed.
“Is she ready?” the voice from the door sent shivers down my spine as I looked up at Edward.
“Yeah, her bag’s over there,” I pointed to it, trying to detangle Nessie’s jacket, since she tried to put the jacket on by herself, “so what’s the plan for the day?”
Edward shrugged his shoulders and threw the bag around his shoulder, “Not much, we’ll go to the beach if it’s nice later.”
“Are you bringing Jake?” I asked about his German Shepherd pup, whom Nessie adored.
“Hell to the no! Not doing that ever again,” Edward shuddered and I couldn’t stop a laugh.
The last time he tried bringing both the dog and Ness out, he needed almost a day to recover.
“But the two of them had so much fun that time,” I said, still laughing.
“Yeah,” he rolled his eyes and shot me a look, “I know.”
Nessie was finally in her jacket and I gave her a quick hug before she bounced into Edward’s arms, grabbed her doll and cup, all in the space of about ten seconds. Without us having a chance to react, she was on her way out to the car, literally bouncing along the path.
“Vanessa!” Edward called her and she stopped in her tracks.
“What?” her little face turned into a pout, as if he was stopping her from having fun.
“Come back and give Mommy a hug,” he said and we watched her run back immediately.
“Wait for Daddy at the gate, baby,” I said before she could run off and fly straight onto the road.
Edward shuffled his feet around, obviously trying to figure out how to say something, but not quite sure of the words.
“What’s up?” I wasn’t one for beating around the bush. Not anymore.
“OK, this is not public news yet,” he frowned and I nodded, “but… I’m moving.”
“Oh?” I was confused.
“I’m moving to my own place,” he said as an explanation, “I have to get out.”
My jaw almost dropped to the floor as I watched him while he waited for a reaction or a comment, but I didn’t have any.
“Don’t worry, I’m not asking if I can move in here,” he raised his eyebrow and smirked.
“Oh thank fuck,” I laughed, breaking the tension immediately.
“OK, I’m off, someone” he pointed to our daughter, who managed to run up and down the short path in my front yard a few times, “is getting antsy.”
“Right,” I shook my head, “I’ll talk to you later. Have fun.”
I got an answer that consisted of Edward rolling his eyes and marching off after our little menace. As I watched them drive off a few minutes later, my head was spinning from the short conversation.
What the fuck did that mean?