Twilight...not mine (sigh).
Chapter 104
We finished the shower and got ready to go wander around in Venice. Both of us were starving since we hadn't eaten anything since the day before at lunch. We went down to the hotel's restaurant, ordering a huge breakfast. Over breakfast, we planned the day.
"So, birthday boy, we're doing the Venice thing today," I said as I sipped some cappuccino.
"I'm thinking St. Mark's first. Then, we can roam around and do some shopping. I know you're itching to spend some money," he teased, giving me a wink.
"You know me too well, Mr. Masen," I giggled.
"Then, we can come back here and change for dinner before going on the gondola ride at sunset?" he suggested.
"That sounds perfect," I smiled, snagging a piece of bacon from his plate.
"Hey, lay off my bacon, woman," he glowered, arching a brow. I popped in my mouth, giggling quietly. He smiled evilly, picking up my plate and putting it far away from me.
"I took a piece of bacon," I snickered. "Give me back my crepes, Edward."
"What's the magic word?" he asked, smirking.
"Now," I said, tickling his knee. He snorted and put my plate back in front of me, kissing my lips three times. "Thank you, tesoro. Let's finish breakfast and change."
"Why change?" he asked, plucking at his t-shirt.
"Well, I need to change. I can't have bare shoulders in the church. Technically, I could but it's a sign of respect. You probably should put on a polo or something," I shrugged. "Besides, it's still pretty early." He nodded and motioned for the check. I had it charged up to the room and we went back upstairs to put on some more appropriate clothing. I put on a cream colored light-weight sweater with a sequined tank top underneath with a light peach skirt. Edward kept on his khaki shorts but slipped on a deep eggplant polo shirt. We kind of lazed around the hotel room until nine. After that, we grabbed our passports, money, camera and sunglasses and went down to the lobby of the hotel.
We took a cab to the cathedral. I snapped photos with the camera that Emmett gave me last year for Christmas. The building was huge and absolutely beautiful. It almost gleamed under the early sunlight. Edward smiled softly when he saw the building. It was fairly quiet; most people treating the cathedral with respect and reverence, as they should. We walked inside, hand in hand and were amazed at the beauty inside. I continued snapping photos, but most of them were of Edward. His eyes were glittering as he looked around the inside of the sanctuary.
We stayed inside for an hour, exploring the sanctuary, altar and oddly enough, the floor of the building. It was truly gorgeous. As we were getting ready to leave, there was a small table set up with candles. It was for prayers for the deceased, sick or weak. "I'd like to say a prayer for my mom," I whispered.
"Me, too," he replied, his eyes filling with tears.
We walked to the kneeler and lit candles for our mothers. I closed my eyes and thanked my mom for being the woman that she was. I also thanked her for sending me Edward. He was gripping my hand and tears were flowing down his cheeks but he was smiling. Wiping his face, he whispered his love for his mother and stood up. "You okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, just give me a minute," he said. He walked a few feet away, a sob escaping him. I stayed nearby and waited for him to pull himself together. He came back and his face was slightly pink, but his eyes weren't sad. They were peaceful. "Let's go outside. I'll tell you why I turned into a sobbing lunatic."
We went outside and walked to a bench in the square. Edward twined is fingers with mine and kissed my knuckles. "One of the earliest good memories I had was with my mom on my sixth birthday. My dad was out of town on business. She had scraped some money together and we went to this theme park in the northern part of Illinois called Six Flags Great America. She had gotten the tickets from someone from church, who hated roller coasters, so our admission was free. The money we needed was for food and trinkets and stuff. We went inside and acted like kids all day. We rode the roller coasters until we got sick, ate cotton candy for lunch, funnel cake for dinner and nachos for dessert. It was the best day ever. As a souvenir, my mom bought me Sylvester cat stuffed animal with the last of her money as my present. I had a bit of a lisp. So did Sylvester. Anyhow, we drove back to the tiny apartment. My dad came home and he was none the wiser about our excursion."
"Why do I think that your dad fucks it all up?" I asked, my hatred for his father growing.
"Because, he did. I had to hide my Sylvester cat. If he knew that I had a toy, I'd be punished. I wasn't allowed any toys. One day, as we were walking back from church, which my father very rarely came, but he was with us that day, the woman who gave us the tickets asked we had fun at Six Flags. My dad smiled charmingly and allowed my mom to answer. She replied but I could see my dad squeezing her hand in anger. Well, we get back to the apartment and he starts wailing on my mom. Once she's unconscious, he turns to me and stomps into my room, tearing it apart, searching for proof that we had gone to theme park, 'wasting his money.' Stuffed between my mattress and box spring was my Sylvester. With a look of pure hatred, he tossed the toy into a garbage can and lit it on fire. He was going to hold my hand over the fire to burn my skin, but my mom woke up and lured him away." Two fat tears fell out of his eyes onto his cheeks. "It was my first and last toy. It's completely stupid that I'm crying, twenty-one years later over it, but it was something that my mom gave me because she loved me."
"Edward, I really hate your dad," I growled.
"You're not the only one," he deadpanned. "Come on. It's my birthday and no more tears. I want to have fun with my girlfriend. Eat some gelato and watch her spend a few hundred Euro. Maybe spoil her a bit, hmmm?" He stood up, kissing me sweetly. His lips were soft and tasted like the salt from his tears. "I'm okay, Little One."
"Is that why you don't like your birthday?"
"Part of it," he shrugged. "The other part was ingrained in me from my sperm donor...that I wasn't worth it and that I was a mistake. I know I'm not a mistake, but hearing it for over half my life; it sticks with a guy."
"Edward," I said as I stopped him. I took his face in my hands. "You are not a mistake. You are a gift. A beautiful gift. You...are an amazing, loyal, wonderful and loving man. Your sperm donor was the one who was wrong."
"I know," he smiled crookedly, kissing me. "Bella, I'm fine. Already, this is an amazing birthday."
"I want to make it a birthday you'll never forget," I whispered, threading my fingers into his hair.
"You already have," he murmured back. I hugged him closely, wanting to crawl into his skin. I wanted to go back in time to murder his father, make him suffer. I wanted to bring back his mom.
I also wanted to make sure he had a toy. Yes, I wanted to give my twenty-seven year old boyfriend a toy. I was going to find him a Sylvester the cat toy, even if it killed me. I had to make that right. I had to.
A/N: Yeah, I'm a sobbing mess. Just saying. Pictures of St. Mark's Basilica are on my blog (Link is in my profile.) You can also find me on Facebook: Tufano79's Twilight Fanfiction Appreciation or on Twitter: tufano79.
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