SM owns twilight.
Spooky granny stuff is about to happen, please be prepared, Bella's in for a rocky ride!
Chapter ten.
I loaded Bertha up, leaving the ice box with the two frozen salmon in the truck's tray, so I could stop and stock up on more ice and fuel, before heading down the highway.
I kept Rufus and his toy mouse zipped up inside his carrier and my clothes, i Pad, saliva monitor, phone and a nice big bag of toiletries inside the cab.
I was getting spoiled with all of my nice new products. It was easy to enjoy the difference that I felt everyday with my hair and skin, and even my teeth.
All of Rufus' other stuff was packed away inside the cab of the truck too.
I had watched as he'd used the litter tray before we left, but I was hoping he didn't need to go too often, and that he would let me know if he wanted to go, instead of piddling inside of his carrier.
Once out on the highway things were going great dong a top of sixty miles an hour, until Rufus meowed in warning, to let me know that he wanted to use his tray.
We stopped at a park beside the highway. Rufus was a real trooper easily adapting to the concept of doing his business, while in slightly unfamiliar surroundings. He got into the swing of it, without so much as a single grumble. I praised him and patted him, telling him that he was the best cat ever.
I fed him while we were stopped too, just to make sure he was not starving or thirsty. I pulled out a thermos I'd filled up with hot water earlier at home and made a cup of nice, hot tea, and bit into my cheese salad sandwich.
Big red Bertha chugged along, guzzling gas. I had to fill up regularly, and it made me start thinking, perhaps one day soon I should upgrade and get a car which was more fuel efficient and easier to handle.
The old girl, had no power steering, ABS brakes, air bags or even a working radio.
I had to sing aloud, in order to entertain myself. Thank heavens Rufus wasn't human,or he would have been complaining loudly at my lack of ability! And also I didn't know the words to most of the songs I sang, and ended up making up crazy lyrics, to belt out at the top of my lungs instead.
It might be nice to have a car with a sound system that worked, and didn't cost a small fortune in fuel.
Rufus and I pulled into Leah's place, a log cabin which was standard issue forest ranger's accommodation. A hound came bounding out, barking and Leah followed, pulling me out of the cab, holding me above the ground and squeezing tight.
"Oh My God! Look at you! Something's different about you!"
"Leah, put me down! You seem to be as strong as ever, and you've adapted well to being a ranger-girl. How's it going living here in Devil's Elbow, Oregon? Getting enough action?" I razzed her back.
"Marcy get down you crazy girl!" Leah yelled at her dog.
Marcy was sniffing the truck's cab, and jumped up inside to get a closer look at Rufus, who was zipped up safely inside his carrier.
I heard a hiss, and Marcy whimpered, sniffing some more at Rufus, who was now fluffed up to three times his normal size, trying to show the dog, just how big and scary he was.
Rufus hissed some more, trying for some more size to intimidate Marcy.
I patted Marcy, "Marcy, hey sweetie this here is my little, baby Rufus. Are you going to help me look after my little kitty? You want to say hi?"
Marcy whined and whimpered some more, licking the front of the carrier.
"What do you think, is Marcy trustworthy? She won't try to eat Rufus will she?"
"Nah, she's a funny, old thing, remember when I told you how she tried to adopt a rabbit? And the other time when she took a liking to a lamb and followed it around, guarding it? She just misses having babies, don't you girl?"
Marcy yipped and whined as she wagged her tail furiously.
"Ok here goes nothing", I pulled the carrier out of the cab, and unzipped it.
I pulled a hissing, fluffed up Rufus into my arms, and he scrambled up onto my shoulder and looked down at the dog and then hissed and howled for all he was worth."
Marcy sat at my feet and looked up steadily, focused on Rufus.
"How about we go inside and get settled?" Leah chuckled.
"Ok I'll grab my things in a tick, but first you hold Rufus and I'll get his food and tray organised. Can I set his stuff up in your laundry or bathroom?"
"I've got just the spot; it's in the spare room with you Bella."
"Great thanks show me the way." I gave Rufus to Leah, who cooed and tickled his ears and kissed his head. Marcy wanted in on the act; she wanted to show him her love too. I went to the other side of the truck and pulled out of all his gear.
For such a small animal, he sure did travel with a lot of stuff!
Once we were inside, Rufus sat on the top of the lounge and hissed some more at Marcy. She came up carefully and sniffed him, he tried to defend himself, by pulling his claws out and trying to swipe Marcy's wet nose.
Marcy stayed watching Rufus, as I sat him in front of his food and milk. After Rufus did some growling and hissing at poor Marcy, he turned towards his dinner and ate like a greedy pig.
Marcy sat by watching. When he finished licking his plate clean, Rufus moved over to his litter tray, ruthlessly ignoring Marcy.
Marcy lay down and kept watch. Leah and I quietly observed, from the corner of our eyes. She offered me some beer, I declined saying I wanted some tea.
"Tea? You never used to drink tea! What's going on with you Swan?"
"Nothing...much, I'm just trying to look after my health, that's all."
"Huh, really? She cocked her head to the side eyeing me up and down.
"No, I'm not buying it...it's something else....something like...wait a minute! Are you knocked up?"
"What! Pregnant? ...you...you think I'm pregnant? Why do you say that?" I needed to know what she thought, before I 'fessed up to her. It had always been hard keeping secrets from Leah.
"You look kinda different, I just know something is up with you. Come on tell me!" she nudged me.
"Ok! I'll tell you the whole story, as I cook this salmon out of Charlie's freezer. Do you want fillets or a whole baked fish?"
Leah shoved me out of the way and started working on the fish with a lethal looking knife, that girl could fillet a fish perfectly in seconds. She'd spent many summers working on fishing boats to help pay her way through school.
"I'll fillet, you talk, and don't leave anything out!" she ordered.
I puffed my cheeks out, and rolled my eyes.
"Ok, ok it all started when I got turned down from my summer teaching job, due to the university's funding for new positions being cut back..."
I detailed all the horrible, desperate feelings I had experienced, and my complete melt down in the hospital, as Charlie was told about the surgery he couldn't afford, and all the bills which were due.
Then I talked about Charlie attempting suicide, and him eventually dying in the ICU, his funeral and then all the weirdness exhibited by some of the locals towards me.
And then finally, I told Leah, about my discussion and eventual agreement to become a surrogate for a childless couple, who I had gotten to know.
Leah blinked at me and took a big breath, luckily she put down the knife before letting me have it.
"Shit Bella! What did they do...for you to actually agree to do this for them? ...I don't even know what to call this crazy situation you've got yourself into!"
"Leah..."
"Bella...don't you value your health and well being, and what about your sanity? What if in the end, you really, really regret giving up your baby?"
I was shaking.
"Leah, please just sit down for a sec, I want you to understand it's not like you think...well it sort of is, but I did have a choice, a really hard choice."
I took a deep breath, Leah looking at me like I was mad.
"The choice was...I could say no...and go on living in poverty, stressing out in low paid work, trying to pay back huge debts, without a house to call my own and unlikely to be ever able to go back, and finish my honors course, and then be denied a lecturing position, or able to do any research ...Or to say yes, and have a fresh start, financially speaking, with every one of mine and Charlie's debts paid off in full, and giving hope of a new life for a loving couple, who desperately want a baby and to be parents more than anything in the world."
Leah was silent, and took a big long sip of her beer.
"So you are relaxed and at peace with this decision Bella?"
"Yeah, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I'm really hopeful about the future, for the first time in years."
"And if you managed to get pregnant, and actually have a baby, could you hand it over... without pulling your heart out and dying a little inside?"
"I only agreed to have their baby, if they promised to cherish and adore any baby that I had, even if it was disabled or had some special needs. Did you know that Esme is trained as a special education teacher, and still loves all of her old students, she works as a volunteer remedial reading teacher at schools in Forks."
"You never answered my question Bella."
"I made them promise those things, because I would only regret being a surrogate, if I wasn't one hundred percent sure, that any baby would be completely loved, and they would make excellent parents. I wanted to know that I could go ahead and live my life fully, doing what I love and opening up rather than closing down, ending up just like my Dad."
Wow, I finally said it. I spoke my hardest, deepest fear, my fear of becoming so depressed, that eventually I would have gotten driven to commit suicide.
Leah pulled a skillet out and started frying the salmon. I threw together a salad.
I looked around, wondering why Rufus wasn't crying out for a share of the fish. It was his favorite.
I pointed, showing Leah the direction of our pets.
I stifled a giggle, as we spotted little Rufus, lying fast asleep across Marcy's front paws. Marcy was resting her face close to Rufus' furry little body, her eyes fixed in adoration at her new charge.
"Oh, she's got a new baby to love! Look at her eyes, she doesn't want to move." I lined up my phone and shot some photos. I emailed them to Angela and Esme.
"Yeah Rufus has found a nanny to keep him out of trouble until you leave tomorrow."
"Come on, let's eat, I'm starved!"
"Does Marcy want to eat?"
"Does she look hungry to you? No she's got other things on her mind at the moment!" Leah laughed.
We ate and chatted the evening away, I moved Rufus so that Marcy could eat and go outside for a loo break. She shot back inside quickly; to make sure Rufus hadn't disappeared on her.
He slept on, as I placed him back in-between her paws, she licked him. He purred and rolled into a ball. Marcy sighed and put her head down and closed her eyes to sleep.
"So just make sure you look after yourself Bella! And remember I've got your back if you need me for anything. I'm on your side, ok?" Leah said suddenly, looking serious.
"Thanks Leah, that means a lot."
"Hey, have you thought about having someone there, just for you during and after the birth?"
"Ahh no, not really, why?"
"Cause I'm pretty sure, the even though you think you'll be fine now, when it comes to the crunch, you'll want someone there to support you through the pain of handing it over, the baby blues and feeling all lost and vulnerable."
I nodded, "Leah do you want to be with me as my support person, that is if I ever get pregnant?"
"Hmm, I think you already are!"
"What do you mean... already are?"
"You heard me Swan! I think you are already pregnant, you kind of have a different aura about you."
"Aura? What is this? Since when did you start getting into stuff like auras? Do you wave crystals and cleanse chakras too?" I joked..."come on Leah, this is me you're talking to... the boring, hard-headed scientist Bella Swan, not some dope-saturated hippy like my crazy mother."
"Well, I'm willing to place a bet on you, really being pregnant, regardless of whether you believe me, or not."Leah replied.
"Ok, what if you are right, and I am up the duff?"
"Don't know, how about we work that out when you find out officially, in a few weeks time?" Leah giggled.
What the hell was in her beer?
"So Leah... do you often get these strange urges, which force you to reveal stuff to random women... about them being pregnant and their altered auras?"
Leah went quiet...she huffed.
"Its like this, I've always had this sort of gift, my mother, and grandmother had it too, it's a family thing ok? I somehow, have always had this thing that tells me stuff...I just know stuff! I don't know how it works, it just does."
"Why did we never speak about this before? We shared a dorm for four whole years?"
"I wasn't thinking it would ever come up between us, and you have always been such a straight-laced, hard-headed rationalist, but now that you're here and you know that I know stuff...there's some important news that my granny wants you to have, are you ready for it?"
"Ahh yeah I guess? ...is it bad news?" now I was totally spooked!
Leah took on a strange, far-away look on her face, drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes. I gasped; Leah's face smoothed out and had taken on an odd, ethereal quality.
"She says not to worry,
Your path has been set,
That you will receive
Far more than you get.
And in time you'll see,
That two can be fun,
And two it will be,
For more than just one."
Her voice was different, calm, warm and sort of old...And rhyming?
That wasn't Leah!
Leah was always a straight talker, not into poetry and that spooky-rhymey thing that she just did.
"Leah...what does that mean?"
"Granny's showing me the number two, doubles of everything...oh she's laughing at me now and telling me I'm rusty."
"What?"
"Ha! Ok, ok, I've got it! Sorry I'm so slow granny...There's going to be twins Bella, that's the news! You'll have one of each, a male and a female, one dark, the other light, one weak, the other strong. Polar opposites, yet remaining together and living life fully, and only together will they achieve their soul's destiny."
"Twins! Did you just say twins?" I sat in silence opening and shutting my mouth just like a guppy.
Twins...two babies...holey moley! I was going to be the size of a battleship, the size of a blue whale! A great, big, baby-making factory!
"Leah, promise me something?"
"Yeah?"
"Just promise to stay with me... when it's time to pop them out? I think I'm really going to be needing you... a whole lot more than I thought!"
"Bella, I know it's a shock, but granny says you'll be more than fine, you will be brilliant and you'll hatch a couple of fine lookin' babies."
"You'll come up to Forks and be with me right?"
"Bella, you couldn't keep me away!"
"Ok...right...Leah I'm really scared."
"Come on let's go to bed, you can crawl in with me. I'll make sure to chase away those bad thoughts."
I shrugged numbly in agreement.
I wasn't sure that I was strong enough, brave enough, or determined enough...
Leah's arms wrapped around my shoulders and she held me tight.
"Just close your eyes and sleep, I've got you. Nothing's gonna hurt you, I'm here. Sweet dreams baby cakes."