A Single Step Teaser

Months went by. Edward became a regular fixture at the Swan household, spending the night frequently. So often, he had brought over a fair amount of clothing, most of which hung in Bella’s closet. He celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with the family, and was unofficially adopted by Renee and Charlie.

In addition to opening his heart to Bella, Edward also opened his heart to the boys. Jake accepted Edward easily and gained a new male role model and friend. Seth was still cautious, having been burned by his father, but he grew to like Edward and gobbled up his attention along with his knowledge about sports.

Bella’s recovery was slowly improving after a month-long stall. She still struggled with balance, but she was able to walk smoothly in the aquatic treadmill. Edward also had her work on a recumbent stepper to get her leg strength back. She could walk, but required the use of a walker for balance. Bella hated it, vowing to never use one when she reached the age of eighty. Regardless, she was walking more and using her wheelchair less and less.

During the boys’ spring break, Edward took Bella to visit his parents in Jacksonville. Jake and Seth wanted to spend time with Nana and Poppy, going fishing and camping. Bella was more than happy to have her sons go with her father to do their outdoorsy things. It had been a cold and wet winter. When Edward suggested the trip to Florida, Bella readily agreed, eager to get out of Seattle. She hadn’t had a vacation since she started working for the publishing  house.

As they flew over the country, Edward read Bella’s diary entries. She was watching a movie on her iPad while Edward read her inner-most thoughts on her laptop. She knew it was tough for him, reading about the pain she endured. He held her close, kissing her forehead and crying during her lowest parts of her recovery. At one point, Edward closed her laptop.

“What?” Bella asked, tugging out her ear buds.

“Your ex-husband is a douchebag,” Edward sneered.

“Keep in mind that I was writing these as if no one would read them,” Bella snickered. “Obviously, I need to do some major editing …”

“No, they need to know about how not to treat someone who had a life-altering medical event,” Edward huffed. “He’s so cold! What did you ever see in him?”

“When we met, he was good and kind, treating me with love and affection. We got married relatively quickly. I was pregnant with Jake. He was a drunken debacle baby, but we loved him from the moment we found out I was pregnant. Anyway, we were still in college. I had Jake in June between my junior and senior years of college and I was back, student teaching in August. Riley’s parents helped a lot,” Bella said.

“You don’t talk about them, in your diary,” Edward said.

“They both died, around our five-year anniversary. Car accident,” Bella frowned. “William, Riley’s dad, fell asleep at the wheel and crossed four lanes of traffic before wrapping his car around a telephone pole.” Bella sighed. “Riley was a mess after that, fell into a deep depression. He bounced back, returning to the sweet, affectionate man I married and Seth was conceived. After Seth’s birth, Riley just shut off. We lived together, but we weren’t together. It wasn’t a marriage. Then, I had my stroke and his true colors came out.”