Namaste! Here is the deal, people. In order for this story to work and make at least a small amount of sense, we all have to pretend it's hot in Washington. Thank you, and enjoy your stay!
Bella and Mom
"Are you sure you want to do this, Bella? I have no problem staying home with you, honey." A reluctant Renee was still trying to convince her daughter to stay home in Phoenix with her. "I don't understand why you want to leave!"
"Mom, please." Bella sighed as she ran her hands through her hair, frustrated already. "I don't need you sending me on a guilt trip or anything. I made this decision, and I'm sticking to it."
"Sweetheart, I know it's hard...to be around me right now, but I'm really trying here. I'm trying. Can't you at least try and put up with me for a little longer?" Renee started to furiously rub at her eyes as she grasped her only daughter into a tighter hug. Her baby was leaving her now. "Please? I promise, I'll stop the treatment if you'll stay! I can't...I don't know if I can do this if you leave!"
"Come on, mom. You've waited for this your whole life, I think." Bella bit her lip, trying her best to keep her shoulders from shaking and just flat out crying. "And as much as I love you and all, I want to go stay with dad for a while. I know you want me to stay, your insisting for the past two months hasn't made me doubt that for an instant, but you need to do this on your own."
"But baby, I-" Renee hushed up quickly when Bella pecked her cheek softly.
"No, mom. I will call you when my plane lands. Let me know how your appointment goes, alright?" Bella fought back tears as she pulled her carry on bag over her shoulder, "Please remember to charge your phone when you get home, it's bad enough I had to staple it to the wall. Oh, and you already have my email! Be sure to hit that up, too! Don't forget you have to pick up Watson from the clinic! I'll send pictures of Holmes soon!"
"B-Bye, Bella!" Renee began to tear up as her daughter turned her back on her and continued to walk away without a glance back in her direction. Numbly, she turned around and climbed into her car, eying the soft jacket that laid forgotten on the passenger's side seat.
She took it into her hands quickly and brought it to her nose, nuzzling into it and cuddling it. The scent of her daughter was comforting. Bella was the only certain thing in her life, and now that she was gone...
Renee began to sob with a fury unseen as she thought of the past six months of her life. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. Bella wasn't supposed to leave. She was supposed to stay and hold her mother's hand through the hardest and most exciting time of her life.
But she didn't. She ran away, just like everyone else did. Renee figured that her ex-husband wouldn't want to deal with her life-changing decisions, and if Bella didn't want to either, she could go with him. He had enough stability to take care of her little middle-aged, somewhat reluctantly spoiled princess, even though that princess was old enough to care for herself at this point.
She couldn't find it in her to be angry at her daughter, so she did the next best thing. She found herself missing her, and wanting her to come back home. She couldn't wait for the opportunity to go and see her baby girl as soon as she could.
"Oh...my Bella..."
Bella
"Oh god, that was hard..." Bella shoved past a middle-aged woman who was exiting one of the stalls in the airport bathroom, wheezing. She put her bag down and dug around in it until she produced her inhaler. She shook it a few times and yanked the cap off, putting the end to her mouth and taking two lungfuls of the medicine. She held it in for a few seconds and huffed back out, the pain subsiding. "God, I've listed my regrets. Add this to it."
'Flight bound for Seattle, Washington now boarding on Gate 12 B. Seattle, Washington now boarding on Gate 12 B.'
'That's my ride.' Bella tossed the inhaler back into her bag and rubbed her eyes again. 'I hope I don't cry like a baby once I get there...or at least I hope I get there before the waterworks start...'
Bella, not thinking anymore of her mother and her impending doom, rushed out of the bathroom, brushing past that same woman from before, and handed the stewardess her ticket, straight onto the plane. With hope, the plane would crash land and she would die a horrible, painless death in the ocean, surrounded by the blue water that continued to terrify her.
'One can only hope.' Bella grimaced. 'one can only hope.'
Bella
"God, I've listed my regrets." Bella muttered as she stepped off the puddle skipping plane that had taken her to a small airstrip outside the city limits of Forks. She spotted the police cruiser and groaned inwardly. He couldn't drive a normal civilian vehicle to pick his only daughter up? Not even once? She always felt like a damn criminal being driven around in it! "Add this to the list."
"Bella!" Charlie grinned, his black mustache sticking out like sore thumb. Maybe with time, she would find that he looked rather handsome in it?
Bella tilted her head to the side and thought on it for a moment. 'Nah.'
"Hey dad." She rocked on her heels nervously, "To the house with us?"
"What, no hug? Here I thought you were still my baby, who loved to give hugs." He chortled, and Bella blushed darkly. "Though, you aren't much of a baby anymore, Bells."
"No, definitely not." She felt the corners of her lips turn up slightly, and she tried to not smile, but it wasn't working. A startled howling filled the air, and Bella turned in surprise. "Holmes! Quiet down!"
A whining followed Bella's command, and Charlie was clutching at his gun belt.
"Sorry, dad, that was Holmes. He didn't like the flight much." She bent in front of the large cage as the luggage person put him down in front of her. "Sorry about him, this was his first flight."
"Don't worry, we've had worse." The man winked and continued on to his job.
"You said you were bringing a dog, not a horse!" Charlie frowned as he eyed the size of the crate. "I don't know, Bells..."
"Dad, I said that I would be bringing him with me if I was going to live here permanently. It doesn't matter what size he is, he is my best friend, and I refuse to leave him where I won't be." She leashed him quickly and let him out, "He's a little woozy from the tranquilizer I gave him..."
"Wow, that's some dog. He's beautiful." Charlie admired the dog for a moment before coughing and titling his face up. "Anyway, he'll have to ride in back, he won't fit in the front."
"Perfect. He's my little criminal anyway." She hugged the large dog and smiled when his tail thumped against the floor before curling in excitement. "Oh, I'll bet he'll be really happy to see snow for the first time in winter! I felt bad having him in Arizona, because it hardly ever snowed in Phoenix. Imagine that, a snow dog in a place where it doesn't snow often! That, and he has bronchitis."
"Well, then, let's not keep him waiting." Charlie led the way to the police cruiser and opened the back door for Holmes, throwing her suitcases into the trunk. "Get comfortable. It's a bit of a bumpy ride back to town."
Bella
"My room hasn't changed at all." Bella had just pushed the door open and she could tell that her dad hadn't even stepped foot into her bedroom. "I need to go shopping."
"Oh? What is it missing?" Charlie looked around and frowned, "You're right. It's boring in here."
"Glad to know you agree." Bella rolled her eyes, "I guess I can start unpacking right now. Holmes is probably going to fall asleep pretty soon. He's still out of it."
"Are we going to need to buy...stuff for him?" Charlie was uncomfortable buying things that weren't edible. "And for you?"
"No, don't worry about it." She turned and pushed her dad out the door, "Now out! I have unpacking to do."
"Alright, alright. Sorry to be in the way." He grinned and turned away, "I'm leaving for a while. Be back before dinner, though. Have to go see a man about a monster."
"I won't pretend to know what that means." Bella laughed after him and when her bedroom door was shut, she leaned against it and slid down its frame, hugging her sides as she shook with sobs. "Oh, mom..."
A soft snout pressed into her and she reached out instantly for her best friend, "Holmes, do you miss Watson already? I know I do."
Bella and the Pet Store Girl
"You're expensive." Bella said to the dog who was sitting in the cart that was a tad too small for him, "And you're huge."
The brunette looked at the large bags of dog food. She tried to find the brand she usually bought, but couldn't find it. "Do they not sell it here?"
"Are you looking for something in specific, Ma'am?" A girl with straight black hair and black frame glasses asked her sweetly. "Or can I give you a recommendation?"
"Ah, yeah, I was looking for Evanger's. You don't carry it?" The brunette touched the dog's head as he leaned back for a pet, and sighed. "That's all I've fed him since he was a puppy."
"I'm sorry. I don't think we get that at all..." She tapped her chin, "But I do have EVO one hundred percent meat dog food. No grains or fillers. Will that be alright? Not many people will buy it because it's a little pricy, but I think it's worth it. Our furry friends deserve the best."
"That's right." Bella kissed Holmes' head and sighed, "You're lucky your handsome, or you'd be out of here!" Bella walked to where the EVO dog food was and grabbed the biggest bag. "He'll go through this in less than two weeks."
"He's rather big. What's his name, and how old is he?" The girl touched her bud's head, and Bella felt a flicker of something in her stomach, "He sure is handsome."
"Yeah, his name is Holmes. He turned six a few weeks ago." Bella sighed, "His other best friend is back in Arizona with my mother."
"Oh?" She blinked in confusion, "Why are you so far away from your mother?"
"Complications." Bella smiled sadly, "Anyway, I only have about an hour before I have to get home, so I should probably let you get back to work."
"No problem. If you need anything else, or have any questions, I'll be at the front counter." She winked before touching Holmes once again and walking away, swaying her hips.
"Anyway, Holmes, you know how I feel about you attracting the ladies!" Bella laughed, "Well, we got what we needed, so let's hit it."
Bella and the Boss
"Is there a specific reason you're looking for a job?" The man asked as he looked over her application. "Any kind of obligations your facing? This job is rewarding, but not very fast paced. We're relatively relaxed here, and if you're looking for someplace that gets fired up, this isn't the place."
"No, no. I only need a job so I can spoil my dependent rotten." The man cocked his head to the side, and frowned.
"You have a kid?" The man pursed his lips and sighed, leaning back.
"No! I don't have a child." She chuckled, "I have a dog."
"What kind of dog?" The man leaned forward, now interested. "I love dogs."
"I have a Siberian Husky." Bella reached into her bag and pulled out a folded picture of Holmes. She always kept it on her, in case he ever got lost. She handed it to him when he held his hands out.
The man squealed, and clapped his hands. "He's adorable! You're hired!"
"Really?" Bella had never been more thankful for owning Holmes.
"Yeah. You can bring him to work, too. Just make sure he stays on the floor away from food. Like I said, this place is really relaxed, and if he can add to the chill factor, he's welcome here." The man shook her hand after handing her the picture back. "You start on Monday."
Bella and Jessica and Holmes
"Alright, listen here, rookie." A girl laughed as she tied her apron on, "Sweet dog, by the way."
"Thanks. He landed me this job, if I can be honest." Bella blushed and glanced at Holmes, who was being a total chick magnet again.
"I believe it." The girl shrugged, "Anyway, time to start your training! Here at SandShack Deli, we pride ourselves in our promises. We always promise to bake fresh bread every few hours. We always promise to have fresh cuts of meat ready for customers. We always promise to have soups hot and shakes and smoothies cold when ordered. We always promise to have fresh greens ready for salads any time throughout the day." The girl tapped her head, "Think you can remember all that?"
"No, but keep going." Bella laughed and paid great attention when the girl explained how to bake bread, and make soups and cut meats. She was proud to say that at the end of her first work day, she was excited for the next day.
"So, did you hear about the surfing competition that's coming up? I heard the competition is going to be fierce. Especially with the Rez boys participating." the girl squealed, "My Paul is going to be amazing at the competition!"
"You're dating someone from the reservation?" Bella had never really met anyone but Jacob Black and his dad from the reservation. She heard that they were relatively nice.
"Yeah, he's great. Got a bit of an anger problem, but aside from that, he's a sweetheart." She gushed as she chopped vegetables to throw into the soup she was currently let stew. "What about you? Got any boy on your heart?"
"No, not really." Bella looked over at Holmes, who was getting tossed cuts of meat, "None but that boy over there."
"He's a dog, not a boy." The girl giggled, "But I understand. He's like your baby."
"Of course he is." The brunette grinned, "He's my boy. So how exciting does the surfing competition get?"
"Oh, believe me, it gets amazing!" She waved her arms around, knife in hand, until the man who interviewed her shouted at her to quit her shit. "I mean, the guys get really into it. Once they got into a fight with a rival troupe. But that was years ago."
"I don't know how people can do that and live off it." Bella glanced at the door when a bell rang and the two of them said in unison, "Welcome to SandShack Deli!"
"It's a sport, Bella. People live off of basketball and golf, why not surfing?" She shrugged, "Besides, surfer boys are hot."
"Yeah, right. What's so hot about tall, tan boys with bleach blond hair and baby blue eyes walking around with muscular arms and washboard abs?" Bella snorted. If anything, she would ask for those days off so she wouldn't need to hear much about the competition at all.
"Does business get better during the competition? Do the surfers come in sometimes?" The look on the other girl's face was answer enough.
"Of course they do! They love this place, they pretty much only eat here!" She laughed aloud, "We serve free food to surfer troupes."
"Shit." Bella sighed, "Is there any way I can avoid mixing up in all this competition high?"
"Nope. You're stuck here." The girl stuck her tongue out at her friend, "Best get used to it."
"Yeah, yeah." Bella waved her off, "Show me how to make the bread again."
"You got it."
Bella
"Hey, Bells." Charlie looked up from his recliner, "How was work?"
"It was great. Someone gave Holmes the left overs of their mango smoothie. I now know he's a mango-holic." She pulled said dog into the house and closed the door behind him. "He's been trying to steal mangoes from the kitchen now."
"Well, if that isn't crazy, I don't know what is." Charlie shrugged before turning back to his game. "Can't wait for all those yahoos to come into town and leave it. The sooner the better."
"What yahoos?" The girl perched on the arm of her father's chair, catching his attention.
"The surfers. They come into town, make all the teenagers go crazy with the drinking and the drugs and the sex on the beach and the streaking through town. I just don't handle all the crazies all that well. The sooner they come, the sooner they leave, as I like to think." He brought his beer to his lips and took a chug. He gasped and burped loudly, "Don't need more boys coming a knocking for you. Bad enough I gotta beat the boys from town back with my shotgun."
"Dad, really." Bella rolled her eyes and laughed, moving to the kitchen to start dinner. Once dinner was made, and was steaming on the dinner table, Charlie began his very much put off interrogation.
"So...how is your mom?" He chewed on a piece of meat as he looked right at her.
"Dad, I don't think-"
"Bells, I care about her. I'd like to know how she is." The man put his fork down and sighed, "Can't you at least tell me what this is all about? It's not that I'm not happy you're here, kid, I am. I just want to know why you suddenly want to live in small town Forks."
"Mom is getting a procedure done. I want her to be able to do what she wants without having to worry what I think of it. I don't want her to think that she can't do it because her teenage daughter has no clue about how to feel about it." The brunette glanced at Holmes, who was practically glaring at her for not sharing her food with him. "It's complicated."
"I think I can keep up." Charlie wiped his mouth with a napkin and picked his fork back up, scooping up some mashed potatoes and bringing them to his mouth.
"Alright. You wanted to know, I'll tell you." She pressed a piece of meat to her dog's muzzle, happy that he didn't bite her hand. He had a habit of doing that when he was younger. "Mom wants to be dad."
"What?" He paused in his movements and blinked in confusion.
"Mom wants to be a dad." Bella repeated, running her hands through her hair, "She wants to be a man. She's getting a sex change."
"Why? I thought...well, I figured..." His bottom lip trembled, "What about you? Doesn't she know how this will affect you?"
"I don't think it matters. If that's what she wants, she's go." Bella held her hands up in a thumbs up fashion and sighed again, "I just didn't know how to react when she told me and started taking the hormone treatments. I guess that, with time, I'll be able to get used to it."
"She'll be a man, Bella. You can't get used to that." Charlie snorted, "She won't be your mom anymore. She'll be...I don't know what she'll be, but she certainly won't be your dad."
"She'll always be my mom." Bella hissed, her eyes narrowing, "And if she wants to be my dad, she can be. She actually raised me from scratch, don't forget that."
"Don't be that way. It wasn't entirely my fault she took you to live with her." He threw his napkin down on his place and stormed off to the living room, turning the TV on, searching for a game that must be on. When he found one, he raised the volume and popped open a beer.
Bella laid both plates down on the floor, smiling when Holmes began to tear into it all, mindful of the one fork that was still on Bella's plate.
Bella laid her head down on the table and sobbed as quietly as possible. How did all of this turn out so rotten? She shouldn't be here living with her conservative and stubborn father. She should be with her mother, who was going through a difficult, but life-changing time in her life. She should be there, holding her hand and talking her through it.
But here she was, unhappy, just like she knew her mother was.
Bella and Dad
"Here." Charlie muttered as he held out a pair of keys to his daughter, who was lacing up her shoes. She glanced up and titled her head in confusion.
"What are they for? The house?" She took them and looked them over, looking at him once again. He shrugged and grunted.
"I figured you needed some way of getting around without me." He left the house before she could thank him, and for that she was glad. The conversation they had last night had made things rather tense since then. He would barely look at her now, and she was happy that he wasn't. Then, he wouldn't be able to see the swelling and bags underneath her eyes.
"Well, Holmes..." She looked at her dog, who was lying rather provocatively on her bed, legs spread open and everything. "I am off to find furniture. Call me if you need anything, yeah?"
She snickered when his tail thumped and closed her bedroom door. She wouldn't be long...or at least, she hoped he would stay asleep while she was gone if she was going to be long.
She locked the front door of the house and stepped out, nearly walking into a big red behemoth that was parked on the grass next to where Charlie's cruiser was usually parked.
It was old. And the paint was peeling. She loved it.
"It is something I definitely see myself in. Mother would kill me for driving this." Bella sighed, in love, and climbed into the beast. "Let's see what you can do."
Bella
"Lovely." Bella thumped her head against the steering wheel as she threw her truck in park outside of the first store. "Had to drive all the way to Seattle for a freaking furniture store! At least it's an Ikea."
She climbed out and slammed the door shut, earning her looks from people leaving and going into the store. She frowned and grumbled about people not minding their own business. Once she was past the doors, she took a deep breath.
"God, I've listed my regrets." The brunette took a cart and started walking, "Add this to that list."
Bella and Jacob
"FINALLY!" Bella moaned as she threw her truck into park in front of her house. The drive was terrible on the way back, she was afraid her things would get wet or fly out of the bed, but thank God, no rains or bumps. "I know just the boy for this job."
Bella ran into her house and picked up the phone, dialing a familiar, forever unchanging number. It rang a few times before a familiar, husky voice answered.
"Hello?" The boy sounded upset. Maybe a fight with a girlfriend?
"Jake?" Bella grinned when she could practically hear the grin grow on his face. "Not bothering you, am I?"
"You? Bother me? Please." He snorted, "What can I do for you?"
"Funny you ask that." She tittered, "I just got back from Seattle. I went shopping for furniture, and I need an instruction smart boy to put the pieces together. I also needed to go shopping again for Holmes, so if you can come over and work on it while I'm out, that would be great."
"What am I putting together?" He sounded excited about a little job. "And what do I get if I do it efficiently?"
"We will talk about that later. For now, settle for an I.O.U." She glanced at her watch and frowned, "But you need to get here asap. I need to go pretty soon."
"Just leave the stuff in the living room, and I'll get in through the back door." He sounded as if he'd stood up and started to pull clothes on. "I'll be over in less than ten minutes."
"Alright, I'm going. Holmes is going with me, so the house will be empty." She glanced at the back of her truck, "Some of the stuff is heavy, so I'll have to leave it on the porch, if I park really close to it."
"That's fine. Nobody will touch it. This ain't Arizona." He crowed and hung up. Bella sputtered when he just hung up. Who the hell just does that?
"Stupid..." Bella hissed and put the phone down, running out to take stuff down off her truck. She brought down box after box carefully, placing each down onto the floor of the living room. She'd come back with quite the haul. "Hopefully he can put this stuff together."
She shimmied the last box off her truck and leaned it against the wall on the porch. She wouldn't be able to move it further on her own. She wiped her forehead and sighed aloud. "Add this to the list."
She stomped up the stairs and threw her door open, to see Holmes sitting right in front of her bed, waiting for her.
"Let's hit it, kid." He jumped up and barked happily. "Yeah, yeah, I'm happy to see you, too."
Bella, Eric and Angela
"And your total is $394.82." The girl said cheerfully, and Bella's heart clenched at the number. Well, it was for Holmes, and was fairly worth it. She handed over four hundreds and smiled. "Would you like someone to help you take that out?"
"That would be great. Thank you." She held onto Holmes' leash and led him out, happy that someone else was pushing the cart behind her. It was really hard to even see around it, much less push it. "This is my truck, thanks."
"This is quite the haul, girl." It was the boy pushing the cart. "I've never seen a person spend so much on a dog before."
"They wouldn't, if their dog wasn't their best friend." She grinned, "And he is my best friend."
"That's cool." The boy was now visible, and Bella smiled in a friendly fashion. "I'm Eric, by the way."
"Awesome. I'm Bella. Just moved to town about a week or so ago." She shrugged and beamed when Eric gaped.
"You're the Chief's daughter!" He began to put bags into the back of the truck and continued to be in shock. At least it didn't get in the way of his job. "Why didn't you show up earlier? We could have gone to high school together!"
"I wasn't much of a high school type of person. I graduated early and everything." She wrinkled her nose, "College was much worse."
"Oh? Have you finished already?" He sighed, "I'm still working it."
"Yeah, I finished this past semester. I got my associates in accounting." The brunette frowned, "Its not a great job, but the pay is worth it."
"Yeah, totally." Eric grinned, "I want to be a journalist. Been working on that since my freshman year of high school."
"I probably would have avoided you for the sake of my sanity. I hated attention. Still kinda hate it." She shrugged, "So you work here?"
"Yeah. Have worked here for like...four years already." He rolled his eyes, "I love my job. Have to say it, because they've supposedly got cameras out here to catch us bad mouthing work."
"I doubt that." Bella glanced around and her eyes grazed against a shop that was what she would deem a 'hole in the wall' type of place. "What's that?"
He glanced in the direction she'd looked in and grinned.
"My favorite place. It's a surfer's shop. They sell the surfing skins, boards, wax, you name it, they sell it." His eyes seemed to glow after that explanation. "My girlfriend works there, and I'm only working this hard so I can get an awesome, super sweet board for the upcoming surfing competition. I probably won't though, because I'm really behind. They said its going to be wicked this year."
"So I've heard." Bella wrinkled her nose. "I'm surrounded by talk of it."
"You don't like surfing?" He looked hurt, as if he was a puppy who'd been kicked.
"Not that I don't like it. It's just that there's so much hype about it. My dad absolutely flips about the surfers coming to town. I think if he could, he'd make it illegal for them to step foot in town." She sighed, "But that's just Charlie."
"You should get a little more involved in it. Maybe then you'd like it. The boys...er, I'm sorry, I would say that surfer dudes are...handsome, I guess? But I'm not into guys, so I can only gush about hot surfer chicks. Those toned bodies and bronze skin..." He held his hands together under his chin and squealed. "God, I can't wait for it!"
"I think I'll go into the store..." She eyed the truck, "If I paid you fifty bucks, would you stay here and watch my stuff?"
He nodded, waving her off. "I won't even accept the fifty bucks. You might see something in the store you like. If I can convert you, that'll be enough of an incentive for me."
With one last grin, she turned, Holmes with her, and walked to the small store.
Once she came up to the door, she pulled the door open and walked in, Holmes behind her.
"Hey! Woah, girl! No dogs in here." A brunette haired girl with hazel eyes held her arms up and grinned, "I'm sorry."
"No, no. I didn't know, I'm sorry. I just saw your store, and a boy who works at the pet store said it was pretty...awesome, in here. I just wanted to look." Bella's eyes widened when she looked around. She wanted to go further into the store.
"If you really want to look, I can hold him behind the counter here. But just for a few minutes." She reached out for the leash, and Bella handed it to her. "So you like surfing?"
"Can't say I do." She shrugged, "I haven't done it myself, and all the talk around about the competition around town has been driving me crazy."
"Well, it's getting really exciting!" The girl squealed, "Especially since the Cullens are coming here!"
"Who are they?" Bella flinched when the girl leaned over and palmed her forehead. "What the hell?"
"The Cullens have been all over the world! Surf Champions!" She reached up behind her and pulled a small 'O' down, unrolling a large vinyl poster. On it, was a goddess riding a wave on a bright yellow surfboard. "This here, is the Alice Cullen."
"She's pretty." Trying not to make ogling eyes at the girl on the poster, she glanced at the girl, who glared at her.
"She's beautiful, you mean." The girl sighed, "I can see you ogling. Anyway, she's one of two girls on their troupe. This bombshell-"
She pulled down the 'O' that was behind Alice's 'O' and another poster came down, this one a long poster, instead of a wide one. It was a picture of a blond, possible model, riding a large swell on a red board. "Is Rosalie Hale Cullen. Married to teammate Emmett Cullen."
"They like to keep it in the family, huh?" Bella snickered, "Anyway, do you have a copy of Alice's poster?"
"Yeah, I do." She reached underneath the counter and produced one, still wrapped in plastic. "I don't have anymore of her wearing the skin suit like this one." She tapped the one over her head, "She's wearing a bikini in this one."
"How much for it?" She pulled out her wallet and glanced at the girl, who looked shocked that she was actually going to buy it.
"Oh, uh...$150." Bella handed her the money and took her dog back, along with her new vinyl poster that would hang over her headboard. Her dad would flip. "Do you want to see the other posters?"
"I think I've spent enough money today. If I see any more of them, I'll be very tempted to buy them. Maybe next week." She grinned, "What's your name?"
"Angela." She grinned right back. "It was nice meeting you...?"
"Bella. Bella Swan." She nodded her head, "I have to get home now. You're boyfriend is watching my stuff for me. I think they might be wanting him back pretty soon."
"You've got that right." She winked, "Enjoy the poster."
"Right." Bella ducked out of the store and walked briskly back to her truck, balancing the heavy poster in one arm and her dog in the other. When she reached her truck, she stowed her poster and dog in the cab and grinned at the boy who looked at her in shock.
"You bought a poster?" He squeaked, eying it. "Which one?"
"Alice Cullen in a bikini riding a swell." Eric frowned instantly.
"Wait, I've never seen a poster of that!" He reached for it, and Bella laughed and shut the door before he could reach in. "Hey, no fair!"
"Say that to Angela. She's the one who gave me this one. Maybe she doesn't want you doing what you almost did just now. Suppose she only wants you to see her in a bikini?" Bella glanced in the direction of the surf shop. "You know what I mean?"
"Yeah, your right." He palmed his forehead, "God, I'm an idiot."
"You said it, not me." Bella laughed, "Now get back to work."
"Right." He walked back dejectedly to the pet store.
Hope you liked it. I've been working like crazy on this project. Can you imagine the amount of research, videos, and other types of things I had to do to even begin this? It was horrible, but I loved it.
To answer any questions like, 'Why didn't Bella stay with her mom?', its not that she didn't want to stay with her, it's just that she isn't sure how she's supposed to act around her mother, or how she's supposed to feel about her sex change. She decided to go off to her dad's for a while to think it over. She wants to get used to the idea, instead of being forced to it suddenly.
Anyway, Holmes is actually my dog. Only my dog is a year and a half old. Not six, and his name is Nanuk. I'll be uploading a few pictures onto my profile pretty soon, so you'll get the idea of what looks like what, and who looks like what.
Namaste!