June 1950

***June 1950***

The day after Ed's telephone call, the girls and I spent the morning at the beach. With nothing to distract me but the sound of waves crashing against the shore, and the occasional happy squeal of a young child chasing the surf, I was able to truly reflect upon the past few days.

Thinking about Ed, it was easy to forget the angry expression from the last time we'd been together. In my mind's eye, all I could see was his tender smile; the one he wore just before his lips would met mine in a tender kiss.

I sighed and closed my eyes.

I missed him.

I had to urge to slap him, but I missed him nevertheless.

I had no doubt that his apology during the telephone call had been sincere. Truth be told, I had already forgiven his hurtful remarks, that didn't mean I was any less angry over his treatment of me. As my mother would say, he'd managed to 'get my Irish up' and he had some work to do before he was back in my good graces.

Even taking all that into account, I loved him more than ever.

After returning to the rooming house to wash up and change, the girls and I had a light lunch before visiting shops along the boardwalk. Alice managed to coerce me into purchasing a new swimsuit. It was black with white trim, and strapless. It seemed a bit daring, but I couldn't help but feel beautiful when I tried it on.

"Oh, Bella!" Alice exclaimed when I modeled it for her. "You look ravishing." She was grinning from ear to ear. "You are going to turn every head on the beach."

I frowned. There was only one fellow whose head I wanted to turn, and I wouldn't be able to see him for days.

It was late afternoon before we headed back, parcels in hand, to dress for dinner. When we rounded the corner to the rooming house, my steps faltered once I noticed a familiar figure leaning casually against his automobile while taking a drag from a cigarette.

"Oh!" Alice exclaimed.

Ed turned to look in our direction just as I shook off my surprise and regained my footing. He gave me a sad smile before putting out the smoke and swiftly closing the distance between us.

Even though I could see signs of worry on his face, that didn't take away from the fact that he was, as always, devastatingly handsome.

"Bella…" he said, his voice almost a whisper. It was then I noticed the small bouquet of flowers in his hand.

"Hello, Ed." Alice's tone was pleasant enough, but her expression was less than friendly.

He nodded toward her, while our friends stared back and forth between the three of us. "Hello, Alice."

Ed hadn't met Betty or Marcie before, so I made quick work of introducing everyone.

"Bella, may I speak with you," he eyed the other girls, "privately."

Alice crossed her arms over her chest, ready to argue.

I gave her a pleading look, "I'll be in shortly."

Betty and Marcie quickly turned to go inside, but Alice hesitated. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. She gave Ed a hard stare, before taking my parcels along with her own, and following our friends.

"Take a walk with me?" Ed asked; he sounded nervous.

I nodded. "Sure."

We walked silently, side by side for a moment before he remembered the flowers. "Oh, here, these are for you."

I took the small bouquet and lifted them to my nose out of habit, forgetting that daisies didn't have much of a smell, "Thank you."

We continued to walk slowly down the sidewalk.

Finally, when I couldn't tolerate the silence a moment longer, I opened my mouth only to close it again when Ed began to speak.

"Bella, I can't tell you how sorry I am for the things I said," he ran a hand nervously through his hair. "I just want you to know that I never really thought you were untrustworthy. I just… I just got so angry knowing someone had gone through my things, I blamed you. I was wrong, and I want to make it up to you, if you'll let me."

We both stopped walking as I turned to face him. He was the image of remorse with his head hanging low, shoulders slumped, one hand wringing the other nervously.

"Please," he whispered before reaching for my hand.

I tentatively placed my hand in his, reveling in the feel of being close to him once more.

"I've already forgiven you." I took a deep breath and glanced around. "Ed, we need to talk, but I don't feel comfortable having this conversation on the sidewalk."

Truth was I didn't want to have it in Mrs. Collins' parlor either. I loved my sister dearly, but I doubted Alice would be able to resist the urge to eavesdrop.

Ed nodded. "Come on," he said as he held my hand a little tighter, and led me up the street toward the nearest coffee shop.

Once seated in a quiet booth, sipping a root beer, I waited.

He nervously pulled a cigarette from its pack. "Mind if I smoke?"

I shook my head. "It's fine."

After lighting up, Ed stared down at the table and began speaking in a low voice. "Em says I'm lousy at this dating stuff, I think I have to agree with him." He grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

"I beg to differ," I answered, "Up until a few days ago, I would have said you were perfect."

He winced, "Not so much now though, huh?"

I shrugged off his comment. "Ed, what you accused me of… well, I was shocked and hurt, but at the time, more than anything else, I was angry. It's a good thing you didn't show up on my doorstep the following day, because I probably would have slapped you." I grinned, but the statement was a truthful one.

He grinned as well. "I would have deserved it."

"Maybe. You need to know that if you want me to stick around, you'll have to trust me. And just as importantly, when we have a disagreement, you need to listen to my side."

He nodded quickly and placed one of his hands over mine. "I promise. I am so sorry…"

"I believe you." I interrupted, "I suppose, what I want most is to understand why you reacted that way."

He relaxed back into the seat, watching me. "I'm not Em, but I think you figured that out by now," he smiled softly. "I'm quiet. I keep to myself. I'm slow to make friends, mostly 'cause it takes me a long time to trust people. That has more to do with how I was raised than anything else," he waved a hand, "we won't go into all that now." He paused to take a drag from his cigarette. "It also didn't help that ever since we started dating," he paused and then grimaced, "Vicky has been tryin' to put doubts in my head."

"What do you mean?" I asked, more confused than ever.

He gritted his teeth, "I never even realized it was happening. But I've had a couple days to think things over. She'd make remarks in passing, always making it sound like she was concerned for my welfare, most were subtle, but sometimes she was downright blunt, like trying to say that you weren't the right girl for me. That made me angry, and I told her to but out of my business."

"And then, before I picked you up the other night, she mentioned some bull about seein' you comin' out of my room when you and Elise were over there. I shrugged it off, thinkin' maybe you were looking for the bathroom and took a wrong turn. I wasn't going to mention it, but when you asked about the photo… I remembered what she said and lashed out without thinking."

I stared at him, trying to make sense of Vicky's behavior.

"That being said, I still had no right to lose my temper with you. I take full responsibility for being a jackass. I shouldn't have listened to Vicky."

Vicky's evil; more evil than I suspected

"Anyway, I confronted her later, and she denied lying to me. I knew; I knew you didn't look through my things, and that's when I went to Elise."

He ran his hand through his hair again and lowered his voice to an angry whisper. "I told Jimmy that I can't stay there anymore. I'm movin' on base. He may have to put up with Vicky's shit, but I don't."

I bit my lip to keep from smiling. It took a lot for Ed to swear, especially in a public place.

"The thing is…" his brow furrowed, "I don't understand what she was hopin' to accomplish?"

I gave him a dubious look, "Sarge," the mention of his nickname brought a small smile to his face, "isn't it obvious?"

He forced his lips into a hard line. "Well, after she finished yelling at me, Elise said that she thinks Vicky wants me for herself, which doesn't make sense. She's married…to my brother. She's gotta be crazy." He shook his head, "I would never cross Jimmy. Period. Especially for someone like Vicky," He cringed, "Even if she'd never met Jimmy, and was single, Christ…" he muttered and shook his head, "not in a million years…"

I couldn't help the giggle that escaped. "Oh, Sarge, being married doesn't stop some people. You are more trusting than you realize."

"I supposed," he said with a sigh. "I feel bad for my brother."

I agreed. Jimmy certainly didn't deserve this treatment.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, she played me for a fool as well."

Now it was his turn to look confused.

"She had me thinking that if your next orders are for Europe, you'll be looking up Marie the first chance you get."

"Bella…" He shook his head, "that will never happen. There's nothing between me and Marie. Never was. Please believe me. Whenever I had time off, I'd go over to Belgium, we'd go out, have some laughs, but it was always in the company of Elise and Joe. But even if my feelings had been more than that, you are too important for me to even think of another girl."

My heart softened at his words. I believed him. After all, what kind of person would I be if I expected his trust, and couldn't grant him the same courtesy?

After he was convinced that I didn't doubt him, he continued to apologize until I couldn't take it any longer.

"Sarge, whatta ya say we get out of here?"

"Sure, what did you want to do?" He still seemed unsure, possibly thinking I was going to send him home.

"Well," I smiled sweetly, "How about I get dressed up and you take me out to dinner?"

He was beaming as he stood and reached for my hand. "Can't think of anything I'd like better."

"I can," I whispered while toying with his shirt collar, "because after dinner, we're going dancing, and after that, you're going to kiss me like you mean it." I winked at him. Never in my entire life, had I winked at a man.

Being with Ed seemed to bring out my inner flirt.

He chuckled and put his arm around my waist before leaning down to whisper in my ear, "I can't promise to wait until the end of the evening for the kissing."

I smirked, "And I can't say that I'm opposed to that possibility, Sergeant Colonna. Not one bit."

That evening lived long in my memory as one of the happiest I'd ever known. We danced; we kissed, and then went for a walk, hand in hand, along the beach in the moonlight: that last part felt like a scene from a romantic movie.

A perfect night with the perfect man

We said our goodnights on Mrs. Collins' front porch, agreeing to meet for breakfast the next morning.

That next day I spent with Ed. My sister and our friends didn't seem to mind that I'd abandoned them, for which I was grateful.

During the morning spent on the beach, I wished I'd had a camera to record Ed's reaction to my new swimsuit. I'd never witnessed someone's eyes almost bulge from their head until that moment. Let me just say that it was a great boost to my self-confidence, knowing I could elicit that type of response.

Sadly, duty called. Ed had begged his C.O. for the time off in order to come see me, and was required to report back on base the following morning. After dinner, we kissed goodbye, with a promise to see one another on Saturday night.

***YBTM***

Alice wasn't satisfied with my account of my talk with Ed.

"He didn't say much about this Marie character," She complained, "I know his sister-in-law is crazy, but suppose there's something to what she told you?"

I raised my eyebrows.

"Alice, it's settled. I trust Ed, and if he chooses to confide anything more, that is completely up to him."

By the time we arrived home on Saturday afternoon, I couldn't wait to see Ed again. He telephoned not ten minutes after I'd walked through the door, and I smiled just hearing his voice.

Instead of going out, I suggested he eat dinner at my house, so that we could enjoy a quiet evening in. Ed, knowing I was tired from the day of travel, readily agreed.

It wasn't long before I heard his familiar knock on the front door. I rushed over to open it, intending to throw my arms around him in greeting, not caring at that moment whether or not my parents approved. The sight that greeted me however, stopped me in my tracks. My arms hung limply at my sides as I stared. "Ed, what happened to you?"

His handsome face was now bruised and swollen on the left side. I reached up to tentatively stroke the bruise with my fingertips. He leaned away from my hand a bit while giving me a sheepish look. "I got punched?"

I glanced behind me and noticed the curious faces of at least four members of my family. Hoping to get away from their prying eyes, and ears, I stepped onto the porch, pulling Ed with me and closing the door behind us. "Did you get in a fight? Who did this?"

I had a panicked feeling in my chest at the thought of someone hurting him.

He bit the inside of the cheek that wasn't swollen. "Um. No fight." He shrugged. "Let's just say that I got what was comin' to me, and leave it at that."

"What do you mean?" I gave him an incredulous look as my words came out in a rush, "How could you deserve that? Why… who hit you?"

He looked down, sighing in defeat as he did so. "I told Em about what I did, how I treated you…" he shrugged, "and he socked me; end of story."

"What?!" my voice rose in indignation. "What the hell gave him the right to do that? I can't believe this," I was shouting now. "Did you at least hit him back?"

Ed's eyebrows rose in surprise. "No…uh, why would I?"

"Because he had no right to interfere!" I shouted again, not caring that I was making quite a spectacle of myself. "What happened was between you and me. It was none of Em's business." I growled before pushing past him and stomping down the steps.

"Bella, what are you doing?" He asked while following close behind me.

"I'm going to have a word with your brother. If you won't put him in his place, I guess it's up to me!"

"Bella, stop!" he practically begged, "Em did nothing wrong. I deserved what I got."

"How can you even think that?" I didn't slow my pace as I spoke.

Ed continued to plead with me all the way to Em and Rose's flat, only going quiet once I knocked. Em opened the door, and I could see Rose in the background holding Maggie. "Hello there Bells!" Em greeted in his typically cheerful manner, obviously paying no mind to the scowl on my face. "You got a little sun, looks good on ya." Then his eyes trailed over to his brother and he seemed to study the bruise on Ed's jaw with an expression akin to pride. "Hello Ed." Em rubbed his own chin. "That color looks pretty good on you too," he remarked with a chuckle as he ushered us inside.

"Emilio Colonna!" I exclaimed. "What were you thinking, hitting your brother like that?" I was livid.

Em looked a bit taken aback by my outburst.

"I told you," Rose whispered. "You're in for it now."

I didn't turn to look at her, preferring to keep my angry glare locked on her husband. "Ed did nothing to provoke that sort of barbaric reaction. How could you?"

"Bella, stop…" Ed interrupted while Em crossed his arms across his chest, never losing his smile.

I put my hand up to silence Ed while continuing my rant. "You should be ashamed; hitting your brother… I'm glad Ed isn't the sort of man who resorts to his fists in order to prove a point."

At my statement, they both began to laugh.

"Bella," Ed interrupted again, "The only reason I didn't hit back, was because Em was right. Believe me, I give as good as I get when it comes to my brothers."

"But it wasn't Em's place to defend me…"

"See that's where you're wrong, Bells," Em interrupted this time, his expression turning serious. "The day I married Rosie, you became my little sister; all the Swans are family to me now, and when someone hurts one of youse, even if it's my own brother, I'm gonna step in."

My mouth fell open in surprise at his words. "But, you didn't need to punch him…"

Em cut me off, "Sometimes a guy needs a pop in the mouth to wake him up."

"But we'd already made up, I wasn't mad anymore."

Em shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Even if he'd of told me three years after the fact, I'd still have slugged him. That's just the way it is."

Ed nodded. "Bella, I understand why Em did it, and if he got outta line with Rosie, I'd most likely do the same to him."

I stared with wide eyes. "Well, I don't understand."

It was true. Somehow, being raised in a home with mostly girls, I suppose my knowledge of the way brothers worked out their differences was lacking.

In the midst of my confusion, I had to admit to feeling touched that Em viewed me as a sister.

"Never a dull moment with these guys," Rose said with a smile as she reached an arm around my shoulders, "How about some tea?"

I relaxed and the anger I'd felt only moments before evaporated.

Not understanding didn't mean that I couldn't accept things as they were. More and more I was coming to learn that these boys, these brothers, would go through hell or high water to defend the women they loved. If that meant teaching a lesson with their fists, so be it.

After my tea and a beer for Ed, we made our way back to my parents' house, my confrontation with Em all but forgotten.

After dinner, Ed surprised me by going out to his car and retrieving a shoe box full of photos he'd taken in Europe during and after the war. We sat alone in my parents' dining room for the rest of the evening, perusing them while he filled me in about his life during those years.

Ed also imparted other details of his past. I tried to keep a blank expression on my face for most of it, but inside was secretly thrilled that his romantic encounters, for the most part, hadn't been much more exciting than my own.

The next morning, Ed and I attended Mass together; afterwards, we'd been invited to dinner at his Aunt Catherine's house. She was his mother's sister, and I'd met her once before, soon after Ed had purchased his car.

Aunt Catherine and her family didn't live in the city, and during the thirty minute drive to their home, Ed had quite a tale to tell.

"So," he turned and clasped my hand where it lay on the seat between us as we cruised along the parkway, "ask me about my night." I tensed upon hearing the anxious edge in his tone.

"What about it?"

"Last night, when I arrived at Jimmy's, the house was completely dark. They'd all gone to bed." He scowled while keeping his eyes on the road ahead. "As soon as I walked through the front door, I found out the hard way that Vicky had rearranged the furniture in the parlor."

"The noise I made after I tripped over a table and fell on my ass, caused my brother to come running down the stairs, Vicky right behind him. I was still picking myself up off the floor when she accused me of coming home drunk." He shook his head in disgust.

"That woman is relentless." I muttered.

"I packed a bag, had a few not so nice words with my brother about his wife, and spent the night at Joe and Elise's. I'm moving onto base tomorrow, but she couldn't just let me go. She had to cause more problems. Elise says that she's probably angry because you and me made up."

"Did Jimmy say anything to defend you?"

Ed shrugged. "If he did, I didn't stick around to hear it. Jimmy knows I wasn't drunk."

"Your brother is making a mistake by not standing up to her."

"I think so too." He agreed, "Bein' a good husband shouldn't mean that he has to tolerate her garbage."

We had a pleasant dinner with Ed's relatives. His aunt and her husband were quiet and more reserved than the Colonna side of the family.

Evening was just descending when we arrived back in the city. Imagine our surprise when we found Jimmy's car parked in front of my parents' house, with Jimmy, Vicky and their children waiting inside.

Ed pulled up behind them, and we got out and waited on the sidewalk while Jimmy opened his wife's door and pulled her by the arm over to us.

"Hey Ed, Bella," He greeted, "I telephoned Aunt Catherine to find out when youse left."

"Vicky has something she wants to say," he stared at his wife and waited.

Vicky glared first at him and then at us. "I told you, I'm not doing this."

"Like Hell you aren't," Jimmy spoke low enough so the children wouldn't hear. "I've allowed you to brow beat me long enough. Things are going to change Victoria. Either that, or you'll find yourself out on the street." He crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

I watched as Vicky's face turned several shades of red, expressions of both anger and embarrassment evident. "I'm sorry that I didn't leave the light on last night, and accused you of being drunk, Ed." She finally stuttered out.

Jimmy narrowed his eyes at her, "That's not all, Vicky." He turned to us then, "I had an interesting conversation with Joe and Elise this morning. It seems my wife has been meddling and causing trouble, and I'm the last to find out all the details." He turned back to Vicky, "Don't make me repeat the things they told me."

Vicky actually cowered, and this time when she faced us, her expression was remorseful, "I'm sorry about going through your things, Ed, and lying to you both. I… I hope you both can forgive me."

We nodded our heads, but didn't answer. Saying she was sorry was all well and good, but I was going to keep my guard up around Vicky for a very long time.

Jimmy spoke again, "I owe youse an apology as well."

Ed started to argue, but Jimmy held up a hand to stop him.

"I'm sorry that I didn't stand up to her a long time ago but, as I said, things are going to change." He looked back at his wife, "Vicky, I love you," he then wagged a finger in her face as he continued, "But if you ever try to come between me and one of my brothers again, we are over."

Vicky stared at him with wide eyes.

"As of right now, you're gonna promise to stop acting all high and mighty around my family. Your family is no better than ours, so stop puttin' on airs."

Vicky nodded, agreeing, "I will," she whispered as tears brimmed in her eyes.

"And another thing, I break my back to give you a comfortable life, but I don't see where I'm getting' a lot in return. So," he folded his arms across his chest again, "as a start, one Sunday a month, we're hosting dinner for the whole family. We'll see if you can keep that promise."

He turned back to us. "Sorry for interrupting your evening, Bella and Ed; you're invited to our house, next Sunday for dinner."

With those words, he ushered Vicky back to the car as Ed and I stood there staring after them in amazement.

"Never thought I'd see the day…" Ed finally spoke as they pulled away from the curb.

"That was better than a melodrama!" Alice exclaimed, and I turned to find Rose and Alice standing on my parents' porch, both grinning like cats that got the cream.

So nosey

***YBTM****

When the next Sunday rolled around, I put on a smile and went with Ed to his brother's. Vicky was on her best behavior, but I couldn't help but wonder how long it would last.

The rest of the month passed pleasantly enough. Ed and I, having survived the first test of our relationship, seemed to grow even closer during that time, spending much of our free time comfortably together.

As happy as we were, I couldn't help the apprehension that seemed to gnaw at me. It was as if I could sense that disaster was looming.

It was.

On an evening in late June, Ed arrived at my house in quite a state. His hair was disheveled as if he'd been pulling at it, and when he stepped into the parlor I had to wrest his hat away from where he was nervously wringing it in his hands.

I lay the hat down on the table and placed my hand on his arm. "What is the matter, is everyone alright?"

He nodded quickly. "Everyone is fine. We need to talk," he drew in a deep breath, "Would you like to go for a drive?"

Even though his tone made me fearful, I desperately needed to know what was upsetting him. "Let me get my purse."

Five minutes later, we sat in his car in front of my house, but Ed made no motion to start the engine.

Finally, I couldn't take his silence any longer. "Ed, please, you're scaring me. Won't you tell me what's wrong?" I couldn't even bring myself to use his nickname.

He stared dejectedly over toward me. "I got my orders today."

"Oh." I whispered.

Oh

We both knew that the day would come when he would be sent away again. But I had secretly hoped that he'd remain here for at least another year.

"Where…?"

"Japan," he answered before I could fully formulate the question.

My heart sank. I knew that Ed had been hoping his next assignment would be close to home. Ideally, even if he'd been sent somewhere as far away as Georgia or Virginia, he could come home on leave, but Japan…

He was going to be living on the other side of the world.

"It's only for a year," he added; his solemn expression belied his hopeful tone.

He put his arm around my shoulders. "Bella, it could be worse."

Of course, it could always be worse. They might have decided to send him into the middle of that mess going on in Korea…

I nodded, trying my best not to break down in front of him. There would be time for that later in the quiet of my bedroom.

"When will you leave?"

"August."

I turned, forcing a sad smile, "Well then, let's not waste a minute of the time we have."

***YBTM***

Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper I love you
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me

Say nighty night and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me
*************A/N************
A/N Song Rec: "Dream a Little Dream of Me" was recorded by many artists through the years. Frankie Laine had a version that was fairly popular in 1950. (my personal favorite would be the version recorded by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong)

Guilty of borrowing a line from New Moon; couldn't help myself.