Howdy.
1. I am still alive. So there's that. I'm hoping to break back into writing with this short sweet little ditty. Wish me luck. I do still plan to finish all my stories.
2. This story takes place in south Alabama. The town is fictionalized. I also feel I should go ahead and mention that Bella's views are not my own. I actually live in Alabama now. And it's fine. Pretty much just like every other state I've ever lived in, but hotter.
3. You're all very pretty.

"So, this is Alabama, huh?" I laughed into the hair of my best friend. "I was pretty much expecting moonshine, toothless men in overalls, and rattlesnakes."

Alice snorted, "Not at the airport, fool. You'll see all that stuff later. Let's get out of here. We have about a three hour drive." We each grabbed a bag and headed out to her SUV. After making fun of her soccer mom car, we started on the road to Rock Forrest, AL, population 7500. I couldn't pretend to be super sophisticated.. the town where Alice and I grew up was tiny, but I had been living in Seattle for the past seven years. It just seemed kind of crazy to me to settle in such a small town.

"I'm so excited that you're finally here!" Alice smiled so big, I could see all of her teeth- all of them. "Jasper and I hated to miss Christmas at home this year, but this more than makes up for it." My sweet, tiny friend was seven months pregnant with twins, and her doctor didn't recommend air travel. After listening to my favorite girl cry on the phone for three hours, I booked a flight and decided to spend Christmas in the South... the deep south.

"Yeah, I'm happy to be here, too. I have missed your face so, so much. And, seriously, that belly couldn't be any cuter." Alice merged onto I-65 and we headed even further south. "So.. tell me the truth: do you know any meth heads? Any happily married cousins? Are all your neighbor preppers?"

"Shut up, dumb ass," Alice grinned. "Actually, I can't lie. I do know one meth head. One of the LPNs I work with got fired for that shit two weeks ago." Alice was a physical therapist in an impatient rehab facility, and I honestly wasn't sure how she was even still working. She assured me that she was only doing evaluations at this point in her pregnancy, but her job was usually so demanding, I was concerned.

The trip to Rock Forrest flew by as we caught up, and sooner than I expected, we were pulling into the driveway of a really adorable house. It was larger than I expected and in the middle of a really nice neighborhood. "Jesus. Swanky digs, Whitlock."

I swear I heard her eyes roll.

"Yeah, along with meth heads, South Alabama has extremely reasonable real estate. See the house for sale two doors down?" On my nod, she continued, "They just listed it for $180,000." I raised an eyebrow and took a closer look. The house was enormous. Two stories, two car garage, and a huge yard with what appeared to be a pool.

"Are you shitting me?" I asked, lugging my bags out of the admittedly pretty nice soccer mom car.

"No, girl. I swear if I thought you'd consider it, I'd beg you to move here. Can you imagine being neighbors again?" As much as I loved that thought, I couldn't imagine living across the country from my job, my dad, and cute little apartment.

"You know you guys want to move back home," I said as the front door opened and Jasper stepped out.

"Hell no!" Jasper said, lifting me right off the ground in a huge hug. "I don't miss the cold."

"Yeah, what the hell is going on with the weather? Don't you guys know it's December?" The day was gorgeous, sunny, and approximately 70 degrees. I had lost several layers on the way to the car at the airport.

After a quick tour, Jasper and Alice left me to unpack in the beautiful guest room. They were planning to have a few friends over for a barbecue in the evening, so I decided to take a shower and a short nap.

A quiet tap at the door woke me up, and I opened the door to a sheepish Alice. "I'm so sorry to wake you up, but folks are gonna show up in about an hour and I thought you might want to brush the stank out of your mouth and wrangle the rabid animal on top of your head."

Giving her a swift smack on the behind, I shooed Alice out the door. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be out in a few minutes." With the door firmly locked, I quickly changed into a nice pair of jeans and the lightest weight shirt in my suitcase. Jasper assured me the evenings were chilly, but apparently "chilly" meant high 50s. My hair ended up in a loose side braid, and I finished with a coat of lipgloss and mascara. High maintenance was never my thing.

The doorbell chimed as I walked into the living room, searching for my friends. Alice whizzed by, giving me a wink as she passed. "Come on, Bella. Meet Rosalie!"

A gorgeous blonde stood on the front porch, her hands full of grocery bags. She and I were briefly introduced as she made her way to the kitchen like she had been over a thousand times. A pang of jealousy surprised me, and I brushed it off as quickly as it had hit me.

We all got to know each other as we worked together to prepare a few side dishes. I was busy chopping potatoes while Alice put together a dip and Rose, as she asked to be called, made a huge salad.

Rose wasn't exactly friendly, but I was pretty sure that was just her personality. I had been surprised to find that underneath all the grocery bags was a very pregnant belly. Again, I felt a little jealous. I wasn't looking to get pregnant, though at 30, I seemed to be in the minority. It just made me a little sad to imagine Alice's babies not growing up with mine. They would instead be growing up with Rosalie's pretty babies.

"So, Bella, what do you do?" Rose's inquiry shook me out of my pitiful thoughts.

"I own a day spa," I smiled. My job was pretty wonderful. I created a place for people to go to relax and forget their troubles for a little while. Our entire goal was to provide excellent customer service, and I had a great staff who accomplished that every day.

My answer loosened everyone up, and conversation flowed. I gave Rose the rundown of our services and answered questions about pregnancy packages. She had received a gift certificate to a local spa, but had been worried about what services she could receive as her pregnancy was high risk.

"Hey, baby mama!" came a booming voice from the doorway, interrupting Rose midsentence.

"Emmett, you fool, I told you not to call me that!" She replied, kissing the interrupter on the cheek.

I turned to introduce myself, and I had to give myself a mental slap. The man was ridiculous. He had to be at least 6'5, and solid. From the top of his curly brown head to the soles of his enormous... were those flip flops? No matter. Even wearing flip flops, he was perfect. The dimples on the guy went straight to my ovaries. Disappointment flooded over me as I realized I was ogling a very taken man.

"Well, hey there. I'm Emmett," the handsome fellow said with a slight southern accent. His voice was deep and it sounded like sex and whiskey and sin. My hand was tiny in his as he gave me a firm handshake.

After a quick introduction, I stuck my head straight into the refrigerator to cool off.

"Bells? What are you doing in there?" Alice asked me, sounding worried. I grabbed a beer and held it over my head in reply. Knowing I couldn't stay hidden forever, I stood up, relieved that Emmett and Rose had already walked outside. Alice was giving me the side eye and I just shrugged and offered her a water.

When we made out way outside a few minutes later, another handsome man was letting himself in through the gate. He smiled hugely at Rose and Emmett and headed straight for them.

"Hey, it's my baby daddy!" Emmett greeted the newcomer with a wink, as the new guy bent down and gave Rosalie a deep kiss. I nearly dropped my beer. What the fuck was going on?

What the fuck do you think is going on? See you birds next week.