Chapter 2: Bella Swan

“Ms. Florence!” Bella called out to the owner of the diner where she worked.

“What?!” Florence bellowed back with irritation in her voice. Bella chuckled because she knew that her boss hated when people yelled out her name like she just did. She had personally witnessed her children duck being swatted in the back of the head for wailing out her name like banshees, instead of coming to find her ‘like civilized folks’ she liked to say.

“It’s slow. I’m taking a lunch break!” Bella yelled again to see if she could get a rise out of her friend.

Florence walked into the dining area from the kitchen slowly with her hands on her slender but round hips with her eyes narrowed at Bella, “Isabella Marie Swan, are you trying to stand on my last nerve this evening?”

“Why, Ms. Flo, what would make you think a thing like that?” Bella asked innocently fluttering her eyelashes. Intentionally calling her the name she hated the most.

“You are not too big to be beat. And I told you not to call me Ms. Flo. It’s too close to ‘aunt flow’, or the name of that horrible sitcom woman that used to talk about people ‘kissin’ her grits’. I will put you over my knee and not think twice about it. Go on and take a break and get out of my face, child.”

Florence playfully narrowed her slightly slanted chestnut brown eyes at Bella. Bella could never tell how old Florence really was. This evening she was wearing her long black course hair with a little “salt” in it, as she called the grey, in a low-hanging ponytail that reached the middle of her back. The salt and pepper hair was one of the two things that indicated she was over 30. The other being the wrinkles that had finally settled around her eyes and mouth. Her medium brown skin with a reddish undertone was otherwise flawless. Bella wondered if her bright oddly perfect smile was the result of dentures, good genes, or good dental work. They were pearly white and incredibly even despite all the coffee Bella witnessed her consume. Bella suspected she was closer to 70 than 30. Her slim-trim, yet curvy figure still caught the attention of many young men around the diner. Bella would tease her about all the male customers that seemed to multiply when she was around. She would just roll her eyes and ask Bella if she was blind.

“They’re all staring at you.” She would click her tongue at Bella and shake her head. “You better start looking up. Your husband could walk through that door and you’d have your head down in some book or staring off into space.”

Bella laughed and walked around the counter grabbing her messenger bag.

“You’re so fun to mess with, Florence. I can’t resist.”

Florence flicked her on her the backside with the towel she was carrying and laughed.

“Bella, kiss my grits!” She said in a horrible overdone “southern” accent mimicking the woman on the sitcom “Alice.”

Bella sat in a booth in a corner that gave her a little privacy. She was in her last year as an undergraduate and a Criminal Justice major and was applying to law school at John Marshall and Northwestern. Although her grades and LSAT score would easily get her into either school, she knew neither school was ranked the highest but their rankings were respectable. She had done incredibly well on her LSAT with a score of 162. She figured if she lost the scholarship she had earned to take with her to any graduate program and depleted her savings, she could afford to work to pay for the tuition at either school. Bella was always pragmatic and didn’t take many risks that may affect someone else negatively. She didn’t want to pile on more student loan debt, or burden her father, Charlie Swan, who was the Police Chief in Forks, Washington, her hometown, with graduate school debt. He was highly respected, but not highly paid.

She was told by one of her advisers that she was at a distinct disadvantage for law school because she hadn’t taken a writing intensive major. However, she had a minor in women’s literature that kept her writing skills and love of literature alive and well. She had also been advised to continue on at the University of Chicago for her law degree, since it was ranked 5th in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. Bella knew she couldn’t afford the University of Chicago’s tuition for law school, even if she worked three jobs. Plus, a great mentor and friend of hers, Judge Irene Hale, had attended John Marshall. She wanted to follow in her footsteps. As she was going through her notes for her Victimology class, she saw a silver car pull up in the parking lot. Bella didn’t know the make and model. Her father tried to teach her these things so he could train her to be a “good eye-witness,” she supposed. But, cars never interested Bella. She
wouldn’t have a clue what the car was even if she could see it well. Her friend Rosalie, Judge Hale’s daugher, knew cars.

“Seven Sisters” was a 24 hour diner in the Kenwood area of Chicago. They served the best “nouveau soul-food” and deli sandwiches with fresh baked bread around town. It was a Chicago staple and had been open for over 50 years. The current owner, Florence Nelson, is one of the seven daughters of the original owner, Amy Toliver. The diner started out on the West Side of town. But, somewhere around the late 70‘s the diner moved into the Kenwood neighborhood. Florence’s father, Calvin or “Da-da”, had worked as an X-ray technician at the University of Chicago Hospital to get health benefits for his 14 kids, a rare thing for a black man of his time. Amy ran the diner and he helped out when he could. He fell in love with the Kenwood area and they eventually moved. By that time, many of the girls and most of the 7 brothers were married with their own families. The “Seven Brothers Auto Supply” chain was started by the oldest brother, Charles Toliver, around the same time as the diner. Its success had paid for the other siblings to go to college or pursue whatever goals they had in mind. In that generation of the family, there were 3 doctors, 2 accountants, 3 lawyers, and 4 teachers. The other two were entrepreneurs.

Bella could see the person in the silver car still sitting there and started to get a little nervous about why somebody would just sit in a near empty parking lot at this time of night until she saw the driver-side door open, finally. A man stepped out of the car but she couldn’t make out his features. She went back to studying and drinking her straight black coffee to keep her awake.

The man walked in the diner and the bell above the door rang. He was obviously looking for someone. You could hear Florence rush out of the kitchen and the smile that spread across her face was blinding. He smiled back, which made Bella smile and returned her attention back to the material she was studying.

“Hey, gorgeous!!” Florence cooed excitedly at the man and ran around the counter with her arms spread to hug him.

“Hey gorgeous, yourself!” He responded while moving into her embrace.

They stood and hugged fiercely and Florence finally pulled away, stood on her toes, grabbed his face in both her hands, and gave him a quick chaste kiss on the lips. Bella felt a rush of emotion pass through her chest. The exchange reminded her of how little her and her father Charlie really emoted. They were very much alike and kept their emotions shielded from most people, even each other. Her mother Renee was overly demonstrative in her affection most times. But because Bella ended up being more of a caretaker towards her mother than a daughter, her affection felt more needy and clingy than anything. She was really glad Renee had someone else to cling to these past 7 years. She had married her boyfriend that wasn’t significantly older than Bella, Phil Dwyer, when Bella was 17. He played professional baseball for a while. But, a torn ACL stopped his career. He had a very magnetic and charismatic personality and the camera had always loved him during post-game interviews. Naturally, when ESPN needed a new announcer for the baseball season, they hired Phil. Phil and Renee had a permanent home in Florida and Phil took good care of her mother.

Florence stepped back and swatted the man on his butt. Bella’s eyes widened a little and she closed her book. She was becoming very interested in who he was.

“Where have you been, boy? Nobody’s seen you since that wench Tanya walked out on you.”

“Mama Florence, Tanya is not a wench. I left her way before she walked out.” Edward held his head down and she touched his cheek softly.

“Sit down here, Eddie. Why does it look like you’ve been crying?”

Bella searched his face to see if she saw the evidence that he’d been crying. She couldn’t see much of anything about his face from where she was sitting. All she could see was a bundle of reddish-brown locs tied up at the back that were hanging almost as long as Florence’s ponytail. She had never personally witnessed her father cry. She knew her feminism card could be revoked, but men crying made her uncomfortable. She thought it was odd and wondered what would make a man as big, strong and masculine-looking as this guy cry. She even wondered if he was gay, but remembered the mentioning of “the wench Tanya.” However, he said “I left her way before she walked out.” She wondered what that meant.

“You know, Mama. You’re the only one I let get away with calling me Eddie.” He grinned warmly at Florence whom he seemed to know very well. “I’ve just had a really tough week and I could use some of your peanut butter cookies.” Bella smiled because she joked that Florence’s peanut butter cookies could cure cancer. They were little miracles.

“You’ll always be little Eddie to me. Let me make you some fresh cookies. Kick back and stay awhile. We’re real slow tonight.”

“We? It looks like you’re here all by yourself. I worry when you do that.”

“No, child. Bella’s here with me. She just took a break. Bella!! Breaks up! You have a customer, hon.” Bella shook her head at the woman who didn’t like her name yelled, but constantly yelled hers. Respect your elders. Respect your elders. She repeated like a mantra in her head.

She turned around and saw “Eddie” looking at her curiously with a slight smirk on his face. She was a little annoyed and wondered why this stranger was smirking at her, so she snatched up her book and backpack, stumbling, as usual, and went to the back to punch back in. She approached Florence while she was dropping the cookie dough on the baking sheets.

“I’m back, Florence. I’ll take care of the guy. I won’t flirt with your boyfriend. I can see he’s taken.” She winked at her.

Florence turned her head slightly and studied Bella’s face. A slow pearly white Cheshire Cat grin spread over her face. But, she quickly dropped it and turned back to her cookie making. Looking at her grin made her wonder if her granddaughter and Bella’s best friend, Alice, would stop by and harass her like she usually did.

“Yeah. Go serve my boyfriend out there. The good doctor looks like he could use some coffee.” Bella narrowed her eyes at Florence, but got a stone face in return. She prepared herself to go out to the dining area to wait on any customers that may have wondered in without her hearing the familiar bell above the door. Sometimes this shift was pretty slow, which is why Bella liked it. She could study more.

“Doctor, huh? You better watch out. I just might have to snatch him from you.” Florence smiled with the corner of her mouth and turned her gaze on Bella as though she were conferring a great honor.

“If you think you can.” Then she chuckled and winked at her.

Bella smiled and really wondered if she was any competition for the feisty beautiful lady. She certainly was a charmer and she was a widow. Bella shook her head to herself and tied her apron around her waist. No competition hands down.

There were no new customers to wait on besides Florence’s friend. Bella walked over to the coffee machines behind the counter and grabbed an empty coffee cup, saucer, and spoon from the shelving above them to take to “Doctor Eddie.” She grabbed the pot with the real stuff with caffeine. It smelled fresh and strong, none of that “mocha chokea ya-ya crap,” as Florence would say. She mused over the fact that Florence had called him “the good doctor.” She wondered what type of doctor he was. There were many university professors that came in to the diner at this hour to have somewhere quiet to grade papers and read. On occasion, the rowdies from a college party would spill in and “the doctors" would exit quickly.

Bella walked towards the back of the booth “Eddie” was sitting in holding the pot in one hand and the cup and saucer in the other. As she rounded the booth and got a good look at him, she gasped. When she gasped, he startled and jumped up, which caused a chain reaction. She jumped and dropped the cup and saucer, broken china splattered everywhere. She stepped and slipped on one of the shards and the hand with the coffee pot flew out of her grip and in the air, splattering steaming hot coffee over the pant leg of “Eddie’s” jeans. He jumped in pain. She slipped in the coffee and hit the floor. Then, the earth-bound coffee pot hit her square on her head fortunately after all of its remnants had spilled on the floor.

“Ow!” Bella mumbled to herself. She tried to get up and hit her head again on the edge of the counter she was in front of.

“MotherFUCKER, that’s hot!” He yelled out.

“Edward Anthony Masen Cullen!” Florence approached the scene before her with a slightly amused small smile on her face, some clean towels hanging from her apron pocket, a broom and dustpan in one hand, and a mop in the other. “You watch your language in my diner, young man.”

“Sorry, ma’am.” Edward replied with a shameful look.

Florence leaned the cleaning tools against the counter, careful not to fall herself, and stooped down to help pick Bella off the floor. She took one of the towels and worked at wiping off the blood on Bella’s knees and the coffee on her legs. She started brushing away the remnants from the coffee cup and leaned in to whisper conspiratorially in Bella’s ear.

“I had a feeling I’d need these.” With a head nod to the towels. Bella looked at her like she was growing two heads. Florence and her granddaughter Alice could “see things" before they happened. Bella wondered why she didn’t “see" this and warn her before she fell and hurt herself. Edward kneeled down to help Florence pick her up all the way up to sit her down somewhere safely. Bella almost fell back down from nausea. She hated the metallic smell and the sight of blood.

“Are you okay?” He halfway snarled at Bella as he wrapped his arms tightly around her tiny waist. He picked her up like she was a weightless rag-doll. His green eyes squinted at her like he was really angry and didn’t want to help. She nodded, gulped and looked up at all 6 ft. 3 inches of him as she was not so gently placed in the booth he had occupied with her legs turned out. He stooped down in front of her, careful not to kneel in the coffee that was spilt over the floor, looked in her eyes, then let them drop to her knees and finally, reached in his jacket pocket. He took a penlight and flashed it in her eyes. He mumbled something about her not being able to take a few steps without falling. Then he reached out to feel around where she hit her head, but hesitated.

“Can I take a look at your head?” Edward was stoic as he waited for permission. She nodded numbly, which is all she seemed to be able to manage in his presence. He took his long spindly fingers and dug around her scalp clinically. She closed her eyes, hummed a little and leaned into his touch. He snatched his hand away like he had been burned again. Bella sat up straight and opened her eyes widely.

“Well, I think you might have a little knot there tomorrow. But, I don’t think you hit your head hard enough to have a concussion. You should put some Neosporin on those cuts and they should heal fine. The cuts are shallow. Have you had a tetanus shot recently, Isabella?” Bella nodded again, internally wincing at her mute condition while other parts of her heated to the sound of his voice saying her name. Her frequent trips to clinics and emergency rooms kept her updated on shots.

“Bella. Just Bella.” She managed to sputter out.

“I need to excuse myself and see if I have any skin left on my leg.” He scowled and stomped off towards the men’s restroom looking highly irritated and she wondered why she wasn’t more angry at his brusque manner. His locs had come loose from the band that was holding them and he looked like an agitated mountain lion. Bella had seen them up close when she lived in Phoenix with her mother. She never thought one would be scowling at her in a diner in Chicago. Her shoulders drooped and she cursed her ever-present and never-changing clumsiness. She also assumed “the good doctor” meant medical doctor.

She called out softly, “I’m sorry, doc---Eddi--I mean Doctor Cullen. I’ll pay for any dry cleaning or...uhhh...medical bills.” She looked down glad she finally found the ability to form complete sentences then slightly raised her eyes because she sensed he had stopped moving. He had turned around to look at her and a look passed over his face she couldn’t quite read. He mumbled something incoherently and pushed through the restroom door.

“I think I pissed your boyfriend off.” Bella said to Florence. Florence looked at her with mock shock.

“He’ll be alright. The coffee pot you grabbed wasn’t even on a hot burner. I don’t think he’s scalded too badly. And you watch your language, too, young lady.” She lightly patted her cheek.

“That’s my godson.” Florence smiled and continued to clean up the mess Bella made.

Bella anxiously watched the restroom door for his return. Then, she realized she was sitting looking at a bathroom door and sprung up out of the booth. She flinched from the pain in her knee and went to the kitchen to get some Neosporin and band-aids from the first-aid kit she was all too familiar with. Internally, she told herself to hurry because no matter how angry he was at her, she couldn’t resist having a chance to get another look at the most arrogant, rude, and beautiful man she had ever laid eyes on.