Chapter Six
I check the detailed schedule that Edward gave me before Jake and I left for the millionth time. 'Musical Children's Annual Charity Ball' is only three days away. It's Wednesday and I am driving to Seattle to buy a dress for it in an hour. I check my bags one last time, making sure I have everything of mine because I'm not coming back. I'm going to stay in Seattle for the next two nights in a hotel as I shop for the things I need for my stay with Edward.
Jake comes bursting in the door, grease stains covering his hands, arms, and face. It's a sight I've seen for the past eight years. He's on his lunch break and has come by to see me off. He's going to come stay with me at the hotel Thursday night and see me off Friday morning before having to drive back here to work the late shift at the garage.
"I'll be so glad when I can finally make my own schedule." He murmurs, going to the sink in the kitchen so he can wash his hands.
"Just one more month until we start planning." I remind him. "I'll be back before you know it and we can start looking for a place for the garage. The first half of the money is supposed to be deposited into our account Friday morning and you can start counting the 30 days till you don't have to work for Joey anymore."
I mentally recall what Edward said about him turning down offers from the other garages but decide not to bring it up. I don't want to fight with him just before I leave.
"I'm already counting." He chuckles, drying his hands on a towel.
"Well, I'm all packed. There is really only one thing left to do." I look down at my engagement ring and slip it off my finger, my heart breaking a tiny bit with the action. My eyes sting and a small tear makes it way out of my eye. I reach out and hand it over to him. "Just put it in my sock drawer in the little zip pouch in there." It's where I put everything of value I have, not that there is a lot of that.
"I know," Jake says, taking my hand after he sets it on the kitchen counter. He sees the wetness on my cheek and brings his thumb up to rub it away. "Everything will be fine. This month will go by so fast. Don't' worry about me, okay? Just try and enjoy a taste of the good life."
"I already live the good life," I tell him vehemently. "I don't need all that stuff to make me happy. I just need the man I love and a roof over my head. It's all I've ever wanted."
He pulls me in for a kiss and I can feel everything we want to say each other in it. I'll miss you. Everything will be okay. I'll be waiting for you. He pulls back. "I'll help you carry out your bags and I'll be down there tomorrow night."
Entering the boutique on the list I was emailed, I barely see any clothing. All I can see are two racks of sparse clothing, a desk, and two chairs. Before I can go back outside to make sure I'm at the correct address, a tall red-headed woman comes from a door in the back with a wide smile. "Welcome to my shop. I'm Siobhan. How may I help you?"
"I'm Bella. Nice to meet you." I shake her proffered hand. "Um…I need to find a dress for a charity event on Saturday. I know it's short notice, but I've only known for a few days. I think this is the right place; where I am supposed to go."
"Which event?" she asks.
"Musical Children's Annual Ball."
"You wouldn't happen to be who Mr. Cullen called about, would you? Miss. Swan?"
My cheeks flame a bright red. "Yes, I am."
"That's wonderful. Why don't you follow me and we'll get started." She motions for me to follow her, leading me to the back of the store and through the door she came through. Once the door is shut behind me, I look up and see a room filled with a seemingly never-ending selection of gowns, organized by color. It looks like a rainbow, the colors organized by the ROYGBIV spectrum.
"Now," Siobhan says as she spins around. "You already have a spectacular figure, so I don't have to worry about anything I have being too small. Is there any specific color that you would like to try?"
"Can I just look around for a moment?" I ask, moving to where I see a beautiful white dress at the beginning of the room.
"Of course."
I only get to the color green in the spectrum before I decide I have too many dresses to try on. I look up sheepishly as Siobhan watches me with a friendly smile. "Everything is just so beautiful."
"Thank you so much, Bella. I'm glad that you like my designs."
"Oh my gosh. You designed all these?" I look around the room and over at the dresses I've picked out, hanging by a large dressing room. "That's incredible. You have such a talent."
"Or so they say." Siobhan waves her hand flippantly and with a roll of her eyes. "I just make what my mind thinks up when I'm daydreaming. People make too big of a deal out of clothes in my opinion."
I smile at her, liking her more and more by the minute. "I guess I should probably try those on before I get ahead of myself." I nod to the dresses I've picked out.
Twenty minutes later and I still can't decide between three dresses. I like the color of one but not the fit. Another one the cut is great, but the color almost blends in with my skin. The last one is just too beautiful to not keep in the running, even though it's not completely in keeping with my personality.
"May I bring you something to try on?" Siobhan asks softly as I stare at the dresses in my underwear. All of my modesty went out of the window by the fifth dress she helped me put on.
"Of course. Maybe you can figure out what I'm missing."
She disappears on the other side of the door and comes back only half a minute later. "I thought of this dress for you the moment I saw you." I'm mesmerized when she pulls out a blue dress covered in a very delicate lace.
"Wow. That is beautiful." I whisper in reverence of the piece of art in front of me. "I really need to try this on….like, as soon as possible."
Siobhan chuckles and begins to help me into it. Once on, I look in the mirror and barely recognize myself. It's form fitting, hugging my curves till it flares out slightly at my knees, the material hanging down till it pools at the floor. The neckline is low but still very classy. The lacy straps rest on the edges of my shoulders and the material dips down in the back, exposing my skin to just below the middle of my back.
"The color is absolutely stunning on you." Siobhan states.
"Thank you. I couldn't agree more." I smile as I turn in the mirror. "I think this is the one."
"I agree 110%. I'll have it wrapped for you and sent to Mr. Cullen's home."
I'm momentarily surprised by her statement before my brain catches up with me. "Yes. That's where I need it to be sent."
Friday morning…
Jake drags his hand down my back once more as he kisses me. He's still shirtless while I'm completely dressed and trying to leave. "I have to go, Jake," I tell him, pulling away from him. No matter how hard I've tried, I can't stop thinking about the job opportunities he turned down. I hate to admit that I have been letting it fester there since Edward mentioned it. I know I should have said something but I...
"Why are you in such a hurry?" he asks.
"Because I have to be there in 45 minutes. I really need to leave if I'm going to make it on time."
He rolls his eyes at me and huffs out an annoyed breath. I don't know why, but those two little actions push me over the edge. I snap. "Why did you just do that?" I ask him. My voice is hard and terse. "You know what time the contract starts. After all, you were the one encouraging me to sign it."
"That's only because we really need that money."
"If you were so worried about money, then you would have taken some of the jobs you were offered in Port Angeles!"
He rolls his eyes again. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you brought that up." I glare at him, too upset to speak. "I didn't see the point in telling you about the offers because I didn't want to give up the senior position I have at Joey's."
"But if the offer was more money, then it would be a step up, no matter what title was on your work jumper. You would have had more exposure and with your talent, you would have been able to move up quickly in the ranks." I sigh, trying to expel some of my anger. "But the main reason I'm mad is because you never even told me about them. Never discussed the pros and cons with me."
"That's because, at the end of the day, I'd be the one that would make the decision because I was the one who was offered the job."
"So, you're saying that my opinion, in the long run, doesn't matter?"
"No, that's not what I'm saying at all." He sounds mad now, his tone turning bitter. "What I'm trying to say is that I would be too far away from my dad. I wouldn't be able to run back to his place for lunch or check on him."
"Well, what do you think is going to happen when we open a garage in Port Angeles? That has always been the plan." I'm trying hard to keep my cool because his reasoning is so flawed it's childish. "Plus, he has a phone. If he needed something, he could call. He's not a complete invalid. He's in a wheelchair. You baby him too much."
"None of that matters now because now that we have all that extra money, we can get a bigger place where he can move in with us. That way, I won't have to worry about him being on his own."
My eyes blow wide. This revelation has the ability to completely stun me. Not once has Jake ever mentioned his dad moving in with us. My mouth opens and closes a bunch as I try to push words out of my mouth.
"I figured we'd talk about the details once you got back." He says.
"You have never mentioned your dad moving in, Jake. I'm really not okay with that." I run my hand through my hair and take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. "I love Billy, I really do. You know that. But I don't think it would be good for any of us if he were to move in with you and me."
The thought of Billy giving me daggers every time Jake and I had a fight was not my idea of a relaxing home environment.
"Listen," he says, moving towards me and grabbing my hands. His voice is soft and his eyes are apologetic. "We don't have to talk about this now. We can discuss everything when you get back. I don't want to part on bad terms."
"Neither do I." I close my eyes and try to let go of my anger. "But I do want you to know that I want to talk about all this when I get back. You can't just make decisions for us without consulting me."
"But I know you better than anyone. I know what you want and…."
"Shhh, Jake. No more. It has wait because I really have to go." Resting my forehead on his bare chest, I breathe deep, taking in his musky scent. Heaven knows there is so much more I want to say but I'm probably already going to be late. Instead, I wrap my arms around his waist. "I'll miss you like crazy."
"Ditto." He says softly. His hand comes up, his fingers finding my chin and pulling it up. He places a few chaste kisses on my lips before stepping back. "Just let me put a shirt on and I'll walk you down."
I know this is a short chapter but that's because my seven-year-old accidentally deleted HALF of my documents when she was trying to do homework on my computer. There was a whole 6,000 more words to this chapter but no matter what I did (I even contacted Microsoft Word Support and they tried to recover them), I couldn't recover the documents. I might have cried...a lot. I lost about 20-25 hours of work.
So, that being said, I will be slaving away on the computer for a long time and will try my best to have another chapter up by the end of the weekend. Sorry this one couldn't be longer but it was all I was all I had left. :'(
Anyway, thanks so much for reading and don't forget to follow and review!
Btw, thanks so much for recommending my story, SunflowFran. You are a GODDESS!
Up next, Bella arrives at Edward's home and they get to know each other better. Maybe her walls come down some?