Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyers owns the characters. I own nothing but the plot.
I am not a writer, just bored SAHM doodling with an idea. If you are an English Nazi, this has only been proofed by me and I apologize. This is my first FF.
My parents met the usual, cliché way. Renee moved next door to Charlie the summer before his senior year. She was tiny, cute, and barely 16. He never stood a chance. In his wallet next to my baby picture there is still a photo booth picture strip of the two of them that fateful summer. Charlie has always been an honest, hardworking man. The only time he wasn't responsible resulted in me. I am still not sure of how Renee talked him into that. I try to not analyze it too much and firmly believe that the Immaculate Conception theory is a plausible idea.
Renee was an awkward child, correction – she is still awkward. As a teenager she had problems adjusting because she moved constantly. Her father was known as the Colonel, but I called him Gramps. At an imposing 6'3'' he took his family wherever Uncle Sam told him to go. Grandma has never been in the picture, and it was never discussed with me. Gramps tried to be enough so that Renee never missed her. Unfortunately his career resulted in Renee going to over 12 different High Schools, and I am sure she was missed. I am not sure how Renee survived, especially after I arrived. Having a pregnant teenager was not in the Colonel's life plan; thankfully he could take on all obstacles.
Renee knew about me a month before she moved to Japan. Charlie tried to get her to stay with him, but Renee was meant for bigger things than a small town in Mississippi. They stayed in touch. I grew older and even stayed with Charlie during the summer months.
After a few years the Colonel moved to Maryland and Uncle Sam said he could stay a while. When I turned 4 Renee signed me up for pee wee baseball, and met her future husband. Phil was an up and coming sports reporter, and I am still not sure what he was doing at my pee wee baseball game. There are suspicions that he knew my mother would be there. Rumor has it that he saw her at the grocery store and found out as much as he could. Nothing is confirmed. There is a big age gap (and an even larger maturity gap), but Phil and Renee work well together.
They were married 2 months later. It was a grand affair. She wore white (not sure why because the secret was out when I came out). I was the flower girl who fell and tore her dress walking down the aisle. Big, poofy 80s dresses are not a good idea for small children. Can you say fire hazard?
9 months later Vanessa was born. A small, pink, wrinkly thing came home from the hospital. All 5 year olds believe babies come from storks and hospitals, and I wished I never leaned different. When it screamed it sounded like a dinosaur. I appropriately named her Nessie. Most sisters are competitive, fight, steal, and annoy each other to pieces. Using that statement I can honestly say that we have a normal relationship.
During high school I worked as a hostess to an upscale restaurant. I liked it so much I stayed in the business, became a waitress, and served my way through culinary school. On my 21st birthday the restaurant owner threw me a party, got me drunk, and promoted me to bartender. I can honestly say that I preferred serving food, but I made more money at the bar. On the upside customers get mad when you spill a plate of mushroom ravioli on them, yet they don't mind as much when you dump a martini on them. There are a few unhappy victims, but most enjoy the complimentary drink and shot. One guy even gave me his number. I found that to be weird.
At the ripe old age of 23 Charlie made me an offer I couldn't refuse: our very own restaurant. Charlie was the Chief of Police in a small town in Mississippi. He was retiring early due to near fatal gunshot wound to the chest. Seems even small towns have their delinquents. A bag of weed is not worth a man's life, not sure what those kids were thinking. Retirement for Charlie involved sports games, beer, and fishing. After about 3 months he couldn't take it anymore and made plans for a bar and grill.
Moving to Mississippi was not an attractive idea at first, but Charlie was quite the negotiator. If I helped him set up and run "The Inn", then I could open up another branch in the location of my choosing. Charlie was guaranteed to succeed for three strong reasons. There are no chain restaurants in the town. Many have tried, but the locals only like to shop local. There is one other restaurant, but it's a deli. Let's face it, southern men prefer meat, potatoes, and a strong beer. Secondly Charlie was the Chief of Police, and the community loved him. During the Christmas season he dressed up like Santa Claus. Families no longer had to travel 2 hours to the closest mall for their picture with Santa. The final reason was that Charlie never spent a dime that he didn't need to. A love for fishing and cheep bear resulted in Charlie sitting on a large amount of cash. There were going to be no loans or any other bank involvement.
The final clincher is that Charlie even found me a place to live. Grandma Swan had passed a few years ago, and Charlie had been renting the house to one of his deputies who needed a roommate. I was shocked that Charlie was encouraging me to live with a guy, but it seems that Charlie trusted the guy – even with his daughter.
Before I knew it I was packed and moving to Mississippi.