Chapter 26: Please Mr. Postman

Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight.

Bella's POV:

Renee stayed over the next day and it was awesome getting to have girl talk with her sans my keyboard on my ancient computer. I still didn't want to burden her with the news about Jacob, but being Renee, she could sense that there was something I was withholding from her. I guess I didn't fool her one bit yesterday. I finally broke down and proceeded to dish up the gory details. Surprisingly, she remained calm.

"I'm glad Miki had that restraining order drawn up. It sounds like that kid needs a little straightening out to do. If that doesn't work, your dad still keeps that magnum 45 lying around somewhere, doesn't he?" Her azure eyes crinkled up as she smiled at me. "I never thought I would ever say this, but sometimes it's so nice to have a cop around the house.'" We both giggled at that.

Holy cow, we were having so much fun and failed to notice that the time had slipped away from us. Charlie was going to be coming home soon and I hadn't even thought about dinner. Renee and I cobbled together a cheese quiche, and put a pot of green beans and bacon on to boil. Mom set out the plates and utensils while I tossed up the salad.

Charlie ambled into the kitchen, as soon as he arrived home, following the aroma. He sniffed the air and let out an appreciative, "Mmn, something smells good."

We all sat down at the table for the last time today, chatting and laughing, enjoying the moment. I looked over at my mom realizing that she'd be flying home tomorrow. Why do people have to go away, or die? Heaven will be such a great reunion with our loved ones. In the meantime, we suffer with our losses, and cope with the empty spaces left in our hearts. Renee's visit kept away the sharp pangs of loneliness that I felt with Jacob's absence. It was going to come back at me in deuces when she flew out of my life again.

Morning came too soon, and it was time to say goodbye to Renee once more. Charlie had gone to the station earlier, already getting in his goodbyes. I knew he was in a hurry to leave. He didn't want to break down in front of us. I wondered if mom was aware that Charlie was still in love with her ... as much as he was when they were a couple of love struck teenagers.

The cab drove up to the house, and the driver and I helped put her luggage in the trunk. My throat constricted painfully as I kissed her goodbye and whispered that I loved her. Two of my greatest treasures ripped from my arms in the last few days ... it wasn't fair. We both waved at each other teary eyed, as the cab made its way down the street.

It had been a whole week and I had yet to read a word from Jacob. Did he even get my letters, I wondered? No matter; I was itching to write another. I had been browsing through the book that Angela had given to me, and found some inspirational quotes that I wanted to share with him. There was one in particular about enduring adversity that especially spoke to me. I hoped that it would speak to Jacob as well.

Leah and I started at Peninsula, and sure enough I ran into the bane of my existence, Mr. Pepsodent! Every time we bumped into each other, he would stare—or smile—his ice- blues eyes following me wherever I went. I would just look away, pretending that I didn't see him. One day Leah and I were on our way to the English Lit. building when I spotted him again.

"Hey, who's the handsome stud eating you up with his hungry baby blues," Leah asked. She gazed at me with one eyebrow raised.

"That's the reason that Jake's rotting in prison," I replied sarcastically.

"Really? No offense, Tink, but I thought he'd be more like that golden retriever that used to follow you around. Next time you see him introduce us. I think I may like to have a little fun with him."

Leah gave me a sly look, and all I could say was, "Huh?"

Three weeks had slipped on by and still no word from Jacob. I had been writing him practically every other day, sending him my love, and pleading with him to answer my letters. I even sent him a care package with his favorite sweets—homemade divinity and penuche. I would literally run out to the mailbox when the postman came by. I was so pathetic, waiting like a faithful dog for the mail truck to arrive. And every day, I left the box, despondent that I continued to come up empty handed.

Two days later, I got an unexpected knock on my door. It was Embry, looking embarrassed to be here. I peered up into his big brown eyes trying to fathom the reason for this visit. He shuffled his feet, in uncomfortable silence. Oh no, did something happen to Jacob? I held my breath waiting for him to say something.

"May I come in?" he asked politely. This was not like Embry at all.

Sure, Embry, you know you're always welcome here." I motioned for him to come and sit down.

I tried to sound nonchalant, but failing miserably. "So, Embry, what brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"I have a message from Jacob." He stated it so quietly that I almost missed it. When I realized what he said, my ears pricked up immediately. My heart accelerated and I jerked to attention. I walked over to where Embry was sitting and fairly fell at his feet, hanging on each syllable coming from his mouth.

"Quil, Leah and I went to SeaTac two days ago. They finally let Jake have visitors. He's okay. He's working in the garage over there. He misses everyone, but especially you. Two of the guards are friends of Charlie's, so he's been treated pretty well—but you know, he's a native boy. He's gotta get out and feel the air on his face and move around. He's going stir crazy."

I was growing impatient. I wanted to throttle Embry and shake him till he spewed out the message he was carrying for me. Come on, Embry, spill! I'm about to bust a gut waiting. Gah! I was starting to sound like Jacob!

I tried—diplomatically—to encourage Embry to deliver my message. I was getting older by the minute. "So, you said you had a message for me?"

He blew out a lungful of air, and nervously ran his hand through his dark brown locks. "Okay, here goes ... Don't get mad now ... remember I'm only the messenger. He said: and I quote: Don't you love me anymore, Bells? I haven't heard from you, even once. I'm getting worried here. "

Shocked silence filled the space between us. I was the first to break the spell. "What? I... I ... don't understand."

Embry shrunk down in the chair, and lifted his hands in the air—palms out—to ward off any angry reaction I might send flinging his way. When he saw that I was confused, his hands returned to their relaxed position on the arms of the chair. He leaned forward and asked, "What don't you understand? He wants to hear from you. He poured his heart and soul into his letters and you never answered one of them."

"Embry ... I wrote to Jacob every other day. I never got any letters from him. And now you're telling me that he never received any of mine either?"

"Whoa, that puts a different spin on things. Jake's not going to be too happy about this."

I don't think Jacob could be any more irate than I was. I wanted to march down to that prison, and find the person responsible for tampering with OUR mail! Now where did Charlie put that 45?

Jacob's POV:

After the tour of the prison, Curro led me straight to the mess hall for breakfast. He introduced me to the kitchen help and told them to give me double portions. Crap ... that was really gonna endear me to the other guys. They'd probably be waiting with bated breath just to get their hands on me. I was gonna get creamed—I just knew it. I hoped my body guards stayed close by. I healed pretty quickly, but damn, the initial pain still stung like all hell.

The other inmates began to trickle in. Some of them eyed me with curiosity. I kept my eyes down, not wanting to draw any attention to myself. I picked up a tray and started down the line. When the server piled up my plate, one of the men yelled, "Hey, how come chief here gets more food than the rest of us?"

I heard a chorus of, "Yeah, how come?"

"Orders!" was the only response from the server.

I turned to the guy behind me and asked, "Do you think you could take some of this food off my plate?"

He gave me a look of disgust and snorted, "I wouldn't eat any of that food if you paid me."

I shrugged my shoulders and sat down at one of the long wooden tables. Some one crept up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. "Mind if I join you?"

"Do I have a choice?" I looked up and was surprised to see another tall, well-built Native American standing there.

"Not really, but I thought I'd offer anyway." He presented his hand to me, "Esau Nosie— Makah nation. And you must be the new guy, Jacob Black." His smile extended from ear to ear. "It's about time we got some native blood in here. All these palefaces are a sobering sight." He flung his long black hair back as he let out a hearty laugh.

"So why did you land in here? Steal a girl from some rich white boy?"

"No. Actually, I beat the sh** out of him for messing with my girl."

His white teeth suddenly made their appearance. "I knew there had to be a girl involved. Was she worth it?"

"Hell, yeah, and I'd do it again, damn the consequences. She's the best thing that ever happened to me."

Esau leaned his head in closer. "Sounds like somebody's got a bad case of love sickness."

"I admit it, and I don't care who knows about it. I hope I never get cured either." I looked down at my fork, and started twiddling with it.

My eyes met Esau's again. "So, what's your story?"

"I killed a man." My face must have betrayed my shock. "Don't look so surprised. It was an accident, and anyway he deserved it. That dirtbag was selling drugs to my mother and my little sister. My cousin had recently died of an overdose, so I had my fill. I confronted him. He pulled out a gun. We struggled, the gun went off and he died. Was it worth it? Well, let's just say my mom and sister are still alive and sober—so yes I'd say so. Like you said, I'd do it again to save them. His paleface partner testified against me, and what's a poor native boy supposed to do. It's a good thing the judge reduced the charges to manslaughter. I only have another six months to serve out my sentence."

He took a deep breath, and continued. "There is a silver lining in all of this, believe it or not. By the time I get released, I'll have a degree in counseling from the University of Washington. How 'bout that? A free education compliments of the citizens of Washington State. You should look into it, Jacob."

"Hey thanks, man!"

We finished eating and Esau asked me where I'd be working. "I'm hoping they put me in the garage. That should keep me from going crazy."

"What a coincidence, I'm working there too. Well, great to meet you. I gotta get to work—here comes Delaney. Looks like he's scanning the place for you."

"Oh, there you are, Jacob. Good news—I already talked with the warden—the job in the garage is yours. Let's head on down there, alright?"

We walked a little ways and I noticed Cisco leaning against the wall, watching me with amusement lighting up his dark eyes. He was combing his greasy brown hair, and gathering it into an elastic band. His hair hung in a thick tail between his shoulder blades, exposing his neck and consequently, a tattoo with the head of a colorful rattlesnake, ready to strike. We passed by him and I heard him say, "Hola, Pocahontas !" He pursed his lips, making kissing noises again.

Matt tossed him a dirty look and barked out, "Can it, Cisco. Get your butt over to the mailroom."

Cisco ran his tongue over his lips sensuously, and never breaking his gaze from me, sauntered toward his destination, still making those sickening sounds.

The garage was a far cry from what I was used to. It actually had the right tools for the right job. What a concept! The tools not in use were locked up as a precaution, rationed out as needed, and counted at the end of the day. But wow, what an assortment. I felt like I was in a candy store.

I guess the warden's old truck kept stalling whenever he would brake for a light or stop sign. It probably needed a new carburetor. No sweat, I could handle that with one hand tied behind my back. Then I remembered those handcuffs, and changed my train of thought. I wouldn't want to try that out any time soon.

Lunch time came around and Esau and I washed up and headed for the mess hall.

Cisco stood in line with his cronies, and just had to make a comment. "Mira hombres, it's the Bible twins ... Jacob and Esau." They all laughed. Big joke ...

"Ignore them, Jacob. I always do. They're ignorant. I'm surprised that Cisco even knows anything about the good book. He probably used it as a door stop."

I heard the grumbling from the men behind me as once more the server dished up an extra healthy serving on my plate. I could feel their eyes on me, full of envy.

I tried to ignore the comments and the dirty looks aimed at me. "My mom could practically quote the scriptures, cover to cover," I told Esau. "I hope she's doesn't turn over in her grave every time she hears me cussing, or fighting. My girl hates it when I curse too. I've come up with some substitutes though. Maybe after she hears them a few times she'll stop complaining about it"

"Let's hear some," Esau replied. He shoveled a mouthful of food into his mouth as he waited for my answer.

"Okay ... how about this? Phooey fudgesicles. And if I get really angry ... double phooey fudgesicles. Here's another one that I borrowed ... cheese and rice, and then there's the ever popular son of a biscuit."

"Wow, that's even scarier than the real thing. If I had a girl, she'd probably frown about cursing too. Maybe I should get myself a girl—when I get out, I mean. I'm pretty shy around the opposite sex. Maybe you could give me some pointers. Do you think I could check out the women on your rez? Would any of the Quileute girls give me a second look?"

"How would I know? Girls are a total mystery to me. You're fairly good looking though, and sometimes girls are attracted to the shy type. Hey, how old are you anyway?"

"I turned nineteen two months ago."

"It just so happens that I have a sister that age. Her name is Rachel. Why don't you write to her and tell her that I told you to."

"I don't have to work fourteen years for her do I?" he quipped, smiling.

"If you hit it off and get married, you'll be working longer than that."

I peered around, and the lunch room was emptying fast. "Back to the salt mines," I sighed. Esau and I pushed our chairs away from the table and headed back to the garage.

Bending over a greasy engine and tinkering with automotive tools, made the hours fly by. Before I knew it, my stomach was growling again. "C'mon, Esau, time for some chow."

"You go on; I want to finish putting in these spark plugs. I'll catch up with you in a few."

I was halfway through the yard on my way to the cafeteria when I heard those annoying kissing sounds. I noticed Cisco near the back of one of the storage sheds. I started walking to the right trying to avoid him but three of his friends appeared from that side. I glanced to the left, and there were now four more. They all converged on me, a hair's breath between us, with Cisco in the lead.

My mouth went dry. "What do you want, Cisco?"

"What do you think? I'm sooo lonely ... I need some lovin'. I didn't want to be selfish, so I invited along algunos amigos. We could all enjoy a little love fest. What do you say, Minihaha? Are we gonna do this the easy way or the hard way?"

My heart was pounding in my chest. There were too damn many of them. I knew I couldn't hold them off. I took a deep breath.

"Why don't you leave the kid alone," I heard Esau shout as he ran toward me. He was followed by two of the garage attendants.

Cisco answered obviously irritated at being thwarted. "Well, Nosie, being nosey again I see. Why can't you mind your own business?"

"Protecting a Quileute brother is my business."

Just about then, Matt showed up, with a radio in his hand.

"Situation under control, warden. These guys were just going to dinner." He glared at Cisco. "Weren't you?"

Cisco lied smoothly, saying, "Sure, Delaney. We didn't mean any harm. We were talkin' that's all ... isn't that right, Jacob?"

Relief washed over me as I spoke. "Sure, anytime, Cisco."

He winked at me and yelled, Vamanos, tengo mucho hambre. The men followed their leader to the cafeteria.

Matt scrutinized me making sure I was unharmed. "You okay, kid?"

"Yeah ... I thought I was a goner there for a minute. How did you get here so fast?"

"Esau glanced out the window and saw Cisco leaning against the storage shed. Anywhere Cisco goes, mayhem follows. The garage attendants radioed me immediately and I came running. I don't mind telling you that I didn't relish a dressing down from Charlie if something had happened. You should know that you have earned a special place in that man's heart. But man, that was a close call. I don't want you going anywhere alone. Curro was off today, and there are two days a week when neither of us is here to watch your back. So please be careful. Charlie is counting on Curro and me to keep you in one piece while you're here ... About gave me a heart attack," he mumbled.

"Alright, get to dinner, both of you!" With that, he took off back to the main building.

Two weeks went by. I was enrolled in courses, studying my butt off any time my head wasn't buried under the hood of the warden's truck. Outside of that, I continued to pour out my heart in my letters to Bella. My days weren't too bad; it was the nights that killed me. I hadn't heard a peep from Bella. What the hell ... didn't she care that I was missing her ... thinking about her ... crying myself to sleep night after lonely night? I couldn't stand it. Billy, Embry and Quil had all written to me, but not one word, not one single word from the love of my life.

Visiting day finally rolled around. Quil and Embry and the ever-pleasant, Leah all showed up to cheer me. Curro brought them into the visitor's lounge. He kept staring at Leah. "I have visitors for you, Jacob. I can see why you're so in love with this young lady. She is everything you said she was and more. Que bonita, he breathed.

Did I see Leah actually blush? She stared back at Curro, and the electricity in the air was unmistakable.

"Hey guys, I'm so glad to see you." I tried to hold back the tears that were forming. What a crybaby I was becoming. Curro was backing up, but I caught him before he could leave. "Wait, Curro, I want you to meet my friends. Curro, this is Embry Call, Quil Ateara and Leah Clearwater. Guys—this is my guardian angel, Curro Castillo."

His face suddenly lit up. He stepped forward, shaking Quil and Embry's hand, Mucho gusto, he kept saying. Then he reached for Leah's hand never breaking eye contact with her. He lowered his head down, still keeping his turquoise eyes focused on her. He delicately touched his lips to her wrist murmuring, Me encanta. He held onto her hand longer than necessary, but Leah didn't seem to mind at all. None of us spoke a word of Spanish, yet we all got the message loud and clear—Leah most of all. Embry looked at Quil; Quil looked at me. We all looked at Leah, who was still looking at Curro!

He backed out of the room, nearly knocking people over. Leah snapped out of her trance, and hastily wrote her phone number on a piece of paper. "Please ..." she exhaled, "give this to Curro."

We all chatted, catching up with the events here and at La Push. Then Embry asked the painful question, "So Jacob, whaddya hear from Bella?"

Looking down at my feet, I answered sadly, "Nothing ... not a thing."

"C'mon, Jake, you can tell us," Quil egged me on. "I bet those letters were real juicy. Can't you spare us a sentence or two? For your buddies ..."

Leah interrupted, "Can't you guys leave the poor boy alone? Those letters are private. If he wanted you to know what was in them, he'd tell you."

"I can't tell you anything. She hasn't written me one word. I'm utterly devastated. Embry I want you to give her a message from me. Tell her ... Don't you love me anymore, Bells? I haven't heard from you, even once. I'm getting worried. Have you got that?"

"Yeah—I got it, but why do I have to be the messenger?"

"Because you're gonna be my best man someday, I hope. And ... because Quil here seems to like her a little too much."

Quil rolled his eyes. "Oh right, like I'd ever poach on your love territory. Anyway, you'd kill me if I tried anything."

"I wouldn't kill you, Quil, but when I finished mopping the floor with you ... yeah, you'd wish you were dead."

Visiting hours went by too quickly. My friends all hugged me goodbye, and Leah whispered, "Be sure to give that number to Curro."

I showered and was escorted back to my cell. I went to my cot, facing another long sleepless night.