May 24, 2013

After the meltdown, Renesmee straightened up; she knew how close it was to seeing Jacob at campus. Edward wanted Ness and me having "a girl trip," and made an excuse he had errands to run during our time in Seattle. We packed earlier today and were on the road by noon.

Traveling southeast toward Seattle, we made stops along the way alike to what Mom and I did on our road trips. With her, it was never the destination; it was the journey. There are times I think my Mom was born in the wrong era; she would be such a hippie chick. A lot of what we saw were wooden carvings and dream catchers, which didn't interest Ness much, but if anything, it was a break from the three and half hour drive.

The Union and Portage Bays and the Olympic Mountains create the Seattle atmosphere; however, the Estrella Mountains and the Ahwatukee Foothills create a fortress around Phoenix. In the past twenty years, I lived in opposite lands and opposite lives. This is just one thing about me that I am realizing every day of this existence.

We settled in our hotel, and Ness wanted to primp before seeing Jacob. She must have brought an entire salon with her—like her Aunt Alice. Electric cords and travel makeup kits covered the sink. As she chose her outfit and the appropriate hairstyle, I decided to call Jake to see where he was.

Jacob had just finished one of his finals, and he was heading back to the house. He had just finished a Logic final that would had made anyone crossed-eyed; Jake didn't even want to think of another syllogism. He thought a hot shower and clean clothes would make him feel a little. We planned to meet at Red Square in the center of the campus in an hour.

The hair dryer was on full blast when my phone rung. "Hello?!"

"Hey, Beautiful." I didn't even look at the phone before or I would have known already who was calling.

"Hi."

"What is the racket?"

"Nessie grooming…" He giggled at my sarcasm. "So what's up?"

"Just calling to see if you've kept your sanity."

"On the edge as a matter of fact."

"Why don't you open the door?"

"Why?"

"Just open the door."

I opened the door, and Edward was standing there with his phone. His eyes could make me forget about the noise. In fact, I was thinking of fantasies of him being a delivery boy. Anyway…

I kissed him. "Hey, why are you here?"

"I didn't want to miss seeing Jake and Nessie together."

"You suck at lying. You want to make Jake and Nessie behave."

He didn't argue. "I won't until I give her away at her wedding, and maybe after that."

Renesmee came out the bathroom and noticed Edward, "DADDY!" She hopped into his arms. Even though she had the body of a fourteen year old, she was still daddy's little girl.

"Hey, Nessie monster…" I hated Edward's nickname for her. I almost killed Jacob and Seth for that. "You're ready to see Jake?"

"Yep," she grabbed her purse, "Mom, how do I look?"

"Pretty as a peach. Now, Jake is tired. He just had a hard test, and he has another one tomorrow."

"Saturday?"

"It's college. It doesn't follow regular school hours. Let's go."

Edward had been here years ago, and he knew the campus well enough. "I studied medicine here in 1967. A lot has changed from then."

"I never got why you didn't start a practice like Carlisle."

"My appearance couldn't fool a lot of people, especially over time. Carlisle can alter his looks, so he appears older. You really can't change a seventeen year old body to look thirty. Actually, going here was more of a challenge. I had to study and work hard for the degree. I could handle blood, but I had to feed daily just to function."

As a student, Edward purchased a house off 17th Avenue, and he computed around campus. Now, Jacob and any other Quileute were able to use the house as they attended Washington, so they didn't have to worry about housing or finding places to study. From where we were and Jacob, the Red Square was the middle.

In the middle of the campus, next to Suzzallo Library, is the Red Square. Edward mentioned in the late sixties they would rally against the Vietnam War and anything else that helped a party to happen. Jake perched on the top stairs of the library waiting for us. Nessie sprinted into Jake's arms half way down the stairs, and he twirled her near the pyramid display.

"I missed you, Jake!"

"Me, too, honey, me too." Looking up, "Hey, Bells, Edward, we made it."

Edward smiled, "Ness worked really hard to be here, right, Ness?"

"Most definitely! I got my door and my phone."

"I see you're wearing my sweatshirt."

I tried to cover a grimace, knowing it was a trigger of disgust for me. "I sleep with the husky every night!" I was glad she didn't want to talk about the sweatshirt either.

"I'm starving. Let's get pizza," and with a wink, Jacob smiled, "and some blood popsicles."

Both Edward and I weren't amused. We headed west to a local pizza place, when a college girl stopped us.

"Jake!"

"Kelly, hey."

"That logic final sucked."

"Yeah..I'm still defragging right now. I'm spending time with friends." She was a brunette, maybe nineteen, five-seven, and cute. Joy.

She waved, "Thanks for helping me. I don't think I would have survived it."

"Not a problem." She hugged Jacob and walked away.

It was a problem. We've got a jealous hybrid on our hands.