Chapter 4: Never say it by: DragonMouse
�I�ll check,� Crys shouted back over her shoulder, dashing past.
I glared at Edward, shoving my hands in my pockets. �Two things. She is too energetic for 4:30 in the morning, and she�s supposed to be taking it easy. The doctor gave her specific orders to be easy on that foot. Just because she was healed enough to take off the cast 2 weeks ahead of time doesn�t mean she�s allowed to run.�
Edward leaned against the side of the U-Haul he was packing and looked at me in a way that just screamed, �I�m sexy!� Hanging around with Jason, Nathaniel, and the rest of the were�s, I�d realized it was a typical guy look and wasn�t even intentional sometimes. �Come on, Anita. If it hurt, she wouldn�t do it.� His Ted voice came out, �Besides, I�d have to hog-tie her to get her to stand still now. For 4 weeks, she did nothing but totter about. I won�t be the one to tell her to slow down.�
�Speak of the devil,� I muttered as Crys came screeching to a halt next to me.
�And his imps shall appear,� she gasped, finishing my quip. Her breaths came in great clouds of fog and her glasses shone, reflecting my porch light.
Edward put on his father voice as he asked, �Well, did you forget anything?�
�Yeah, I did,� Crys replied, having the grace to look embarrassed. �My Christmas wish list. There�s only 33 days left, ya� know. Oh, and Anita? I left you my Garfield �fridgerator magnet.� Suddenly, she wrapped me in a hug that showed better then words that I�d be missed. It felt strange to hug someone my exact height. Stranger still was when Rio gave us both a hug by leaning his whole 65 pounds against our legs. We got the hint and squatted to scratch his belly.
�Crystal, quit goofing around and load that dog up. I want to be out of town before the traffic hits.� Crys sprang to her feet at Edward�s growl, calling the black and brown dog with her.
As Edward walked toward me, I could read the frustration on his face, though he tried to conceal it. �Jeez, _Eddy_, calm down,� I teased, putting a hand on his forearm. �You look like my dad used to when he took us on vacation. Think happy thoughts or you�ll be yelling at the kid before you know it.�
He visibly took a deep breath, running a hand through his lengthening blonde hair. �I know, I know. Damnit. I�m just, God, I�m nervous. Scared, sure, but nervous? It�s all Donna�s fault. You know, I�m certain that they�ll get along fine, but then again, Crys is a tomboy with a love of violence. Well, you�ve met the woman and know how she feels about violence. That, and her experience with raising girls is Becca, who is a far cry from a tomboy. I mean, the girl�s begging for ballet lessons. When Crys was six, she got her first pocket knife, not toe shoes.�
I shrugged. �I don�t know what to tell you. I could tell you that they will get along great, and be lying. On the other hand, I could say they�ll be like oil and water, and be way off. All I can say is what I�ve seen. Crys will try to get along with her, just because that�s the way she is, but she probably won�t respect her, not about the violence thing, and if Donna bad-mouths were�s and vamps, Crys�ll have a few choice words for her. There�s going to be problems, but how bad, you�d need a psychic for that. Hell, ask for one from Donna.�
He stared at the toes of his shoes for a long moment, his face serious. When he looked up, he was good ol� Edward, as blank and unreadable as ever. �You�re right. I�ll find out soon enough.�
�Come on, Eddy,� Crys called, hanging out of the truck�s cab. �Quit� gabbing, and let�s go home.�
I almost detected a bit of blushing on Edward�s part when Crys paused before saying, �gabbing.� Sometimes I hate inside jokes. Of course, it might�ve been the light. Then the rest of what she said sunk in. �Jesus, Edward. She called it �home�.�
He sort of sighed, �Yeah.� Then he smiled a little boy smile he�d demonstrated a bit ago. Until then, I didn�t think he was innocent enough to have a smile like that. He probably wasn�t, not until Crys forced her way into our lives. When Edward smiles like that, it�s like a glimpse into his past and I can almost see the kid he was, almost but not quite. Not quite because there�s something in that smile that comes close to melting me in my Nikes. Scary thought, that. Edward melting me. If you�d asked me a month ago, I wouldn�t have thought it possible.
�I, um, guess you better go,� I said, my voice steady. Brownie point my way. He nodded and I followed him around to the driver�s side to say my good-byes.
The cab of the U-Haul was large, with plenty of legroom. It was probably designed for long trips like this. Even with Rio lying in the middle, there was plenty of room for Crys and Edward, plus their small cooler with drinks. The girl leaned forward against her seatbelt and waved. �G�bye, Anita.�
I wiggled my fingers in return as Edward rolled his window down all the way and slammed the door. Suddenly, he reached through that window and grabbed my still upraised hand. In the same motion, he brought it to his lips, his eyes never leaving my face, as if waiting for me to hit him. I didn�t. I was too shocked, and he looked about the same.
After kissing it, he dropped my hand and turned to Crys. �In our line of work, we don�t say good-bye. Good-bye is final. It�s for funerals, deathbeds, or killing someone, because there is always the possibility that you�ll see them again until then. Just, never say it.�
She nodded, her eyes a bit wide. Again, she leaned forward, this time saying, �I�ll see you around, Anita. Sorry �bout the �good-bye� thing.�
I just smiled this time. �That�s alright. I never knew why Edward and my cop friends never said goodbye. Thanks. Hey, maybe I�ll come see you guys in Santa Fe sometimes. I know Donna will love that.�
�Sounds great,� Crys almost shouted, oblivious to my slight sarcasm. She may be extremely smart, but sometimes, her lack of experience shows.
Edward stared at me and, in his own way, looked panicked. I had gathered that Donna is quite jealous of �Ted� staying with me, and me in general. He whispered, just loud enough for me to hear, �Never say that either.� With that as his parting words, he cranked the engine and they rolled into the darkness. I walked back inside, ready to sleep until after dawn, grinning all the way. I�d panicked Death. All was good.
~( 8>