Autumn's Concerto

Autumn's Concerto 13

"Good morning, welcome to Webb- Edward?"

"Good morning, Bella."

I gaped like an idiot fish, the pencil behind my ear falling with a few soft clicks on the floor before I regained my senses. "What are you doing here this early?"

"I wanted to apologize... again. I seem to be doing this a lot lately." He smiled sheepishly, looking like the pure incarnation of repentence. "I haven't gotten the hang of controling myself when my mother pulls one of her stunts."

"Oh, you mean the baseball practice. I wasn't upset over that. I mean, I understand."

"But that still doesn't give me the initiative to completely ignore you after you snuck out to come see our practice."

"How did you -?"

"Alice told me." He smiled. "I appreciate you cutting work to see me. And I was driving by here and remembered that you said you worked here so I decided to pull in and have breakfast."

I couldn't help but smile. "Then let me show you to your seat and I'll get you a menu." I showed him to a seat by the window and told him I'd be right back. I swept into the kitchen, smiling like an fool again, enough for Eric to notice.

"What's got you all happy and fuzzy?" He inquired, drying his hands.

"Nothing much." I answered, straightening my apron and grabbing the extra menus. "Just a new customer is all."

"I'm going to guess a boy? And it wouldn't happen to be the one from that University, would it?"

"How did you know?"

He pointed. "I saw it throught the window there. I would have thought you'd given up on him."

I was trying to flatten the fly aways off my face."Why?"

"Weren't you being harrassed by the rich kids at the school because of him? And didn't he use you?"

I shook my head. "It was a misunderstanding, that's all. We talked about it and realized that we both had been wrong so it's all fine now."

Eric nodded slowly, pressing the spatula into a meat patty so it sizzled. "But he's, like, really rich, isn't he?"

"I guess so. His mom's the headmaster of the college so I guess you could say they live comfortably."

Eric nodded slowly again. "So, you don't think he's using you?"

"No." I answered immediately, folding the menus in the pocket of my apron.

"And you're not afraid that he's looking down on you?"

I stopped what I was doing and stared at Eric who was doing his best to keep his eyes on the fat that was leaking out of the meat. "Why would you say that? No, I don't think that's what he's doing. We're friends." That kiss, my brain added.

"I'm just saying. Nothing against you, Bella, but we're not exactly high class. You live out, away from town, and he lives in the city with his big house and fine frills. You work two jobs to get by and can't even afford to go to school while he gets whatever he wants whenever he wants and could quit school and still get whatever job he wanted, or just live off his money for the rest of his life. I mean, it's not like the 'mightier than thou' normally mix with people like us for no reason. I just don't want you to get hurt again."

My brain chewed over his words. Despite what he said might be true, I didn't think it counted with us. I mean, he hadn't given me actual reason to think he saw me that way and I told him so.