Somewhere with Him

When we arrived at my office building, Edward parked at the same spot to send me off to work. This had become our new routine and oddly I found it very comforting to know that at the end of a tiring workday, I will surely find Edward here waiting for me.

“I’ll pick you up when you get off work. Have a good day and don’t work too hard,” Edward said before taking my hand and kissing the back of it lovingly.

I couldn’t help blushing at this romantic gesture although Edward and I have gone way beyond this together. Come to think of it, Edward hadn’t made a move on me since I got out of the hospital.

I hadn’t realized it because I was too focused on my pregnancy and then my work. I wondered if anything went wrong between us. I frowned a little in worry as my mind started to think of bad and then worst scenarios…

“Thank you. I’ll see you later,” I replied, trying to sound casual.

Tonight, we’re going on a date so perhaps…everything will turn out just fine.

Just like all the times before with Edward, I found myself being dragged along at his pace and it just felt so right.

…

Work was surprisingly busier on that day than I had anticipated. As the end of the workday approached, I was certain as I glanced at my to-do list that I would have to work a little overtime.

Looking towards my other colleagues, I could clearly see that it would be the same for all of them.

On top of it all, there was an additional meeting that was just scheduled last minute to discuss the details for the plan tomorrow. I have a date planned with Edward after work today, so this made me feel extra guilty that I had to make him wait longer.

“Some work came up last minute so I’m going to be a bit late. I’m so sorry…”

I texted Edward, adding multiple crying emojis to express my sadness and guilt.

“Don’t worry. I’ll wait,” was the response that I got from Edward almost immediately.

I slapped my cheeks with the palms of my hand softly a couple of times as I urged my mind to focus on the work at hand. If I can just focus, then I’ll be able to finish it all faster.

Despite my efforts, I ended up working almost three hours overtime. Sure, it wasn’t the worst since I still got off at around 9PM which was way better than getting off at midnight. However, it also meant that Edward had to wait for an extra three hours, I thought as I stood alone in the descending elevator.

I haven’t eaten and I bet Edward hasn’t’ eaten either. My poor baby hasn’t eaten either. Before I started working, I didn’t understand why achieving work life balance was so difficult and why there was such a buzz around it. However, now that I’ve started working, I could understand how it could be difficult to achieve at times.

I walked as fast as I could once the elevator door opened on the ground floor. I darted through the quite empty lobby to where Edward was waiting in his car out in the front. I spotted Edward standing in a relax position as he leaned a little on the side of his car and waved to him.

“Edward! I’m so sorry that I’m late…” I said the moment I reached his side.

I wasn’t sure if it was an impact from my pregnancy or just from my lack of exercise in general, but the hurried walk left me panting a little and out of breath.

“No worries. I just finished clearing up some work myself. Get in,” Edward replied smoothly as he flashed me a gentle smile.

He opened the passenger door for me, and I got in. The car smelled like flowers…someone’s really got his game together.

“Oh, these are for you. Keep up the hard work…but I wish I could tell you to rest more instead,” Edward said as he handed me a large bouquet of red roses.

“Wow! They’re lovely. Thank you so much, Edward!” I said happily before flashing Edward a bright smile.

Gazing down at the roses cradled in my arms, I felt blessed and so mesmerized by its beauty. The deep red of the roses was alluringly beautiful. Red roses are for love.

“They suit you…red roses,” Edward mumbled so softly that I almost didn’t catch what he said.

Without giving me time to react to his comment, Edward started driving. I felt strangely excited now that our date has finally started. Work had been busy and with everything that had been going on, finding time to go out on a date had been quite difficult. I guess I have really left my younger life filled with dates and parties behind already. Time really does fly.

“So where are you taking us? Or is that a secret?” I asked.

“It’s a secret,” Edward replied without hesitation.

I knew he wouldn’t tell me. Edward will always be full of surprises. I decided to ask him about his work instead to past the time. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t curious about what he had been up to these past few weeks.

Since he had been glued to me, I wasn’t sure how that had impacted his work. Even though he had assured me that he could work just fine, I wasn’t fully convinced. There were clear differences to working remotely compared to face-to-face and to top that up, Edward had barely appeared in any public events.

“You don’t need to do so much for me, you know? I can take care of myself…” I started to make my point.

“Says the girl who landed herself in hospital just recently from overwork,” Edward immediately shot back.

“That was weeks ago. I’m ok now. I can drive myself to and from work or I can get a driver from the mansion to help,” I said, sounding as reasonable as I could.

“Hmm…so you’d rather have a random driver here with you instead of me?” Edward said sarcastically.

“You know well that that’s not what I meant…” I replied sweetly.

“That’s what it sounded like,” Edward said as he continued to sulk. I found him so adorable in that moment.

“I’m just worried about your work. You haven’t been to the lab or any public events. I don’t see you on the news anymore either,” I said anxiously. I was really worried for him.

“Why would you want to see me on TV when you can see me in person?” Edward grumbled.

--To be continued…