Picking up the Pieces

Chapter Eight

This story is dedicated to my friend, Pam, who recently lost her husband to cancer. She's a wonderful friend with a beautiful soul who didn't deserve losing her best friend to such a devastating and deadly disease. I love you, girl.

Not mine...Just sayin...

We're going to switch to Edward next chapter and see what he's thinking. I love writing EPOV. He's so awesome and so sweet. Leave me some lovin!

Chapter Eight

EPOV

"Mom?" I called, letting myself into the house.

"In the library, Edward," she replied. I walked through the house and found my mom curled on the leather sofa, covered with a blanket with a book in her lap. "You look troubled, son." She patted the couch. "Talk to your mother."

After I had talked to Bella about meeting up to go for groceries, deeming it a 'date,' she had been distant toward me. Her text messages were short and somewhat cold and when I asked her for a time to get together, she never gave me a straight answer. Her response was 'I'll call you when I'm done.'

"Edward, talk to me. I'm not a mind reader," Esme snickered, putting her feet on my lap. "You've got that constipated/I'm-thinking-too-hard/life sucks face on."

"Really, Mom?"

"Edward, spill," Esme demanded.

"So, on Wednesday, I was talking to Bella on the phone," I blushed. "We'd been going grocery shopping together since I'm helpless in the kitchen. She was going to give me cooking lessons and show me ways to make different meals incorporating veggies."

"I could kiss her. Finally! After thirty-six years, my son finally gets that he needs to eat his greens," Esme giggled. She sobered quickly, looking at me. "Tell me more."

"Flippantly, I said that it was a 'date' when I was talking to her on Wednesday to go grocery shopping and then for her to give me my first cooking lesson. Since then, she's been, um, distant."

"You know what Wednesday was, right?" Esme asked, her green eyes softening.

"It was the anniversary of her husband's death," I replied.

"Edward, I love you, baby, but you shouldn't have said that. Bella, while a beautiful and amazingly strong woman, is nowhere ready to date. Even in the flippant sense," Esme admonished lightly. "Do you care for her?"

"Very much, Mom. I've never met anyone so strong, graceful and wonderful in my life. She reminds me of you, in a way, withthis quiet power behind her every move," I said, taking my mom's hand.

"Then, let her lead you through this. I can see that you have feelings for this woman, but she's still grieving and you need to give her time. My suggestion to you is to make up some excuse to get out of the 'date' this weekend. Give her time to calm down and when she's ready, Bella will contact you. Edward, you're a fixer, just like your father. You see something wrong and you automatically want to fix it; make it better. The only thing that can fix Bella is time, understanding and patience," Esme said. "But don't be mistaken, she cares about you, too. Bella's just confused, scared and lost. She's been a widow for a year and so she feels badly for wanting to move on. She probably thinks that she's broken and that she's using you."

"She's not!" I barked.

"Trust me, she does. Bella, I'm assuming, has taken some comfort in what you're offering, but feels horribly that she can't give anything in return. You've been affectionate, loving and kind, right?" I nodded. "Hugged her, provided her the support she needed?" Again, I nodded. "Bella yearns for that, but her heart is still attached her husband and she wants it to be him, but she's taking it from you. And I know that you're going to continue giving it because that's just who you are. My suggestion to you is to give her some space. Do not push her or she's going to shut down completely."