A/N: I don't particularly like the song this story is centered around but when I heard it it did have a certain something about it. I then challenged myself to search deeper and write a story that wasn't so glaringly obvious and unimaginative. I hope I succeeded. The song made me feel different emotions every time. During the first part of the song I felt sadness, then resolute, then reflective, then sad again but usually by the end (it's a very long song), I'd come to terms with my grief and learned to embrace it – pain and all. It's the kind of beauty that's only realized after something is over - only when the song ends am I able to see the whole picture and love the longing. So with all these similar and not so similar feelings in mind I wrote this story, which actually seemed to write itself. So I guess it must have always been inside of me, just needed a way to come out. Here's the song: http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3Y2h5iYB0vk
A special thanks to Jakejunkie for beta'ing (is that a word?). She really knows how to tone my shit down lol. You're awesome, girl!
Enjoy!
~* ~ * ~ Family Tree ~ * ~ * ~
Jacob had never really noticed certain things before. He looked around the home he and his father used to occupy, the one he had grown up in, and realized he has always taken it for granted. Walking around his nearly vacant old room, things looked different, smaller. Has that wall in the corner over there always been cracked? he wondered. When did that happen?
Jacob stood there in stunned silence. The events of the day still hadn't sunk in yet. He went to the hallway that connected his old room and Billy's and looked towards his dad's open door. He walked toward it and looked inside. The room looked lonely and bare – a shell of all the things it used to hold. This reminder only made him sadder. His dad was gone. It all happened so suddenly, Jacob didn't even get to say goodbye. The ceremony was completed that very day. As Jacob stood in the doorway in his suit, his tie hanging loosely around his neck, he was still in disbelief. He cried at the church but not nearly as much as he thought he might, not even as much as everyone else. I wonder if that's normal?
You didn't have to be psychic to see how Jacob was holding up, it was all over his face.
There were still some boxes and clothes hanging in the closet that hadn't been put away. There were also some photographs and bits of paper scattered on top of the dresser, the lone piece of furniture that remained in the room. Feeling like he should do something, he set about taking the clothes he found and folded them neatly into the box.
As he folded up a denim shirt that had been hanging on the closet doorknob, Jacob noticed his dad's scent. The scent forced a rush of memories of things he'd long forgotten and how - it'll never be the same again.
It had been 10 years since the wolves fought the vampire newborns in the clearing. Since then, Jacob had grown up, gotten married, even had a couple of kids. That left his dad all alone. It was really just a matter of time when Jacob knew he was going to get the call about Billy, the one that would change Jacob's life and all of their lives, forever. Jacob hoped his dad would come live with them eventually, but it seems God had his own plans for Billy.
When he was done with folding and packing, he turned around and began to search through the photos for a certain picture. He found it and tilted his head as he remembered the story behind it.
When Billy was young he used to love climbing trees. It was one of the things he loved best about his little world. It was foolish, risky business climbing trees that were covered in wet moss but being a kid you don't think about things like that. That was part of the challenge.
The tree he was particularly fond of was the one his father and his father's father planted some 80 years before in remembrance of Billy's grandmother who passed away in childbirth. That tree grew and flourished. It withstood many storms and continued to stand strong through the generations. But as it was located in a secluded spot nearly impossible to reach by car, along with his subsequent confinement to a wheelchair, it had been a decade or two since Billy last saw the tree.
The pictures Jacob held were of Billy when he was young and strong, sitting high in the tree. Although stolid, Billy had a look of accomplishment on his face and just the sight of him, knowing Billy's strong legs were what got him up that tree, pulled tears from Jacob's eyes as it did his father's when he recounted this story. The pictures, some in black and white, some in color, showed Billy at varying stages of life, but the tree always seemed to remain the same, silent but strong.
A few weeks ago, while moving things around in his room, Billy came upon the pictures and called Jacob. Finally feeling like it was time, they planned to take a hike into the woods for the sole purpose of seeing that tree, when a freak storm blew through soaking them both. They came back to the house to dry off when Billy left his shirt on the doorknob where it was forgotten. Jacob put the shirt to his nose taking a whiff and smiled slightly.
That storm ended up causing quite a bit of damage as it blasted through the area and blanketed the reservation in snow, ice and rain, all concurrently. The rain melted the ice just enough, then the temperature would freeze and snapped the trees and electric poles into twigs. Billy's tree was one of those trees. It was a sign of things to come, a sign of change.
Billy's heart broke when he learned of the tree's fate. He didn't want it to end like that, he at least wanted to see it once more but it wasn't meant to be.
Looking at the photo of the tree and his intrepid father sitting regally on its branches, Jacob knew right then and there what he had to do. He took off his clothes and ran through the front door making a bee line for the trees. By the time he reached the treeline he had transformed into the giant russet-colored wolf, his alter ego. He ran as fast as his four legs would carry him, until he came upon the spot of the fallen Hemlock. He hadn't seen the tree himself for years and was glad that his dad wasn't there to see this.
It was one ugly sight. Most of the limbs had broken off and the trunk had split into two, lengthwise. Only a few branches remained and were now dangling precariously from the one side of the trunk that remained standing, while the other side lay on the ground amongst its broken limbs. The wood was wet and water literally trickled down the exposed trunk.
The wolf no longer helpful for the task at hand was put away for another time as Jacob turned back into his human self. He stood there gazing upon the remains as ideas churned in his mind. Finally, he found an idea he liked. He picked up a few good sized pieces and trudged on back to the house.
The project took days to complete, but after drying the wood and chopping, carving, sanding, and cussing one cuss word after another, he was finished. Jacob held up the finished product and admired it from all angles, it was probably his best work yet.
He emerged from his workshop, tired and hungry.
"Bells? Bells, where are you?" he asked excitedly as he walked into his modest home in Forks.
"I'm here," Bella called, as she poked her head to the side to try and peer out at her husband rounding the corner. She placed the marinated steaks and potatoes on the table in front of the kids and the whole house smelled delicious. Jacob stood in the doorway and smiled at the scene in front of him.
"Hey," she said smiling. "What's up?"
"I finished."
"You did? Let me see!"
Jacob held up the 10-inch sculpture and Bella gasped, "Oh my goodness, it is gorgeous!"
The kids heard the commotion and forgot the food instantly, "I want to see, I want to see!" they exclaimed. Bella moved out of the way as the dark-haired boys ooo'd and aww'd over the piece.
Bella sighed, "I wish he was here to see this with us," she said remorsefully, tears stinging her eyes.
"Me too," Jacob agreed.
"So, when does their plane land?"
"In a couple of hours," Jacob said hopefully. "I can't wait for him to see it."
The kids, overhearing things as usual shouted, "Yay! Grandpa's coming home!"
"And grandma – you guys are going to have to get used to saying that now," Bella added.
"Yeah, that's gonna be weird," one little boy said.
"No it's not," said the other one. "We've known Sue forever, she's kinda like a grandmom to us already."
"That's right," Jacob agreed. "Sue's always been like a mom to me and a grandma to you. I blame dad for being the one to take so long to make it official. I mean he's been living at her place for nearly a year and he's just now marrying her?"
"Jacob," Bella warned, and looked over at the kids.
Jacob smiled a huge smile in the boys' direction, and saying through gritted teeth, "I'm just saying, he should have married her years ago."
"Your dad's a very proud man, Jacob. It's one of the reasons why it took him so long to go see that tree. He couldn't make it on his own. I think that tree dying was one of the things that made him realize there's no such thing as perfection; perfect place, perfect time, perfect situation...it's what made him get off his butt and ask Sue to marry him in the first place."
"Yeah, good thing, too, 'cause I think she was about to give up on the ole coot."
"Well I'm glad she hung in there and convinced him she was the right one for him," Bella smirked and wrapped her arms around Jacob, hugging him sweetly. "People need a nudge in the right direction sometimes. You know how stubborn some people can be."
Jacob kissed her forehead, "Yes, I'm well aware how some people can be." She giggled into his chest.
The plane arrived on time and Jacob was there to greet them at the tiny airport. Sue was pushing Billy in his chair towards Jacob who was waiting at the entrance.
"Hey, how was your flight? How was Hawaii?"
"Oh, Hawaii was wonderful. Rebecca really spoiled us," Sue exclaimed, beaming.
"And how was the honeymoon?" Jacob asked his dad coyly.
"Everything went along swimmingly," and winked at his son.
"That's my dad," he said proudly, patting him on the back.
Sue shook her head, embarrassed.
"Oh yeah, sorry we took off so soon at the reception," Billy said. "I wanted to say goodbye but we were already running late for our plane."
"It's okay. I gotta admit, I was a little hurt at first but I understand."
Billy nodded. "So what do we have here?" he asked, seeing the package in Jacob's arm.
"Oh, this is for you," and handed the package to Billy.
Billy pulled the shiny, tan and dark brown object out of the box of tissue padding and gasped upon seeing it. It was a wooden sculpture of a tree with what looked like a person sitting in the branches.
Billy was speechless.
"Do you recognize it? I thought the likeness came out pretty good, if I do say so myself."
Billy did recognize it, but the lump in his throat prevented him from speaking. He was in awe. It was an exact duplicate of the picture of Billy in his tree with that same sort of stolid, yet triumphant look on his face.
"I can't believe you...how...when did you do this?"
"While you were on your honeymoon. I went back to the old house and was feeling pretty nostalgic. I was remembering the old days of when it was just us bachelors and kind of missed it. I was happy for you but it also sort of felt like I'd lost something."
Jacob then looked at Sue and smiled, "I realize now how wrong I was to think that."
Sue smiled at Jacob warmly.
"What kind of wood did you use?" Billy asked, appreciating the grain, turning it over and over. "Western Hemlock?"
Jacob was impressed. "It is, you sure know your trees, dad. In fact, you knew this tree really well."
Billy looked confused and then looked back to the carving and then back again to Jacob as he pieced it together, "Is this..." He never finished the sentence or looked at Jacob, again. He didn't have to. His lip trembled, overcome with emotion as he stared at his gift with new eyes. His voice was completely gone now. Tears sat on the rim of his eyes as he realized the full depth of the situation - knowing that his son took the mangled pieces of wood from the same tree Billy's grandfather planted for his grandmother, and used it to create a beautiful sculpture of him in the tree - both in their full glory. Four generations of his family's love were all here, in one package. Jacob put his hand on his dad's shoulder and Billy covered Jacob's hand with his own and squeezed.
"Thank you," Billy choked out. "From all of us."
"My pleasure, dad," he said and bent down to hug his father. He then rose and hugged his new mother, as she had been cheerfully waiting to hug her new son.
~ * ~ * ~ The End ~ * ~ * ~
A/N: Because the song is sad I thought this would be a good chance to try a little misdirection. Frankly, that's how I think half the time anyway (here, there and everywhere), so I hope you don't mind me playing with that a bit in this story. As I'm sure you've figured out by now, you're supposed to think Billy died, which I hope makes the ending that much sweeter, at least that's what this writer was trying to do. You'll forgive me, right? Hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I had writing it :) All my love, JS