Chapter 36 Chapter notes
This is a short chapter from Bella's point of view. She's concerned that Jake is taking a serious interest in her. She hears about The Gold Foundation. And she finally finds out what's going on with Charlie.
Due to Chief Littlefoot's errant spell, floating over the area, Bella has her first odd, colorful dream.
The chapter title belongs to the Association
Chapter 36 Cherish Saturday October 14th
Bella has been rethinking her pledge to stay away from Jake and First Beach. She's lonely without him, and all she has to look forward to is choosing which kind of ketchup to serve with supper.
Deciding that she'll just act like his friend, and promising herself that she'll ignore the insistent pull of the ocean, Bella calls Jake to ask if he wants to get together. Billy answers and tells her that Jacob is not feeling well, that he thinks the boy may have the flu. Bella says she'll call later to check on him and frowns as she hangs up the phone.
Since she has a few unstructured hours, she spends the morning going through her wardrobe. She pulls everything out of her closet, dumps out all the drawers of her dresser, and sweeps under her bed. After fetching the two boxes of 'Phoenix clothes' she'd packed and put in the shed, she sits on the floor, surrounded by every piece of clothing that she owns.
It takes her about an hour to sort the items. She folds all the summery clothes and places them back into their boxes and starts hanging up sweaters and hoodies. A few months ago, she'd been unable to find the blue sweater she'd bought in Phoenix.
She paws through the unfolded clothes, but the item does not appear. Bella racks her brain, trying to imagine where it might be. She hasn't stayed over at anyone's house since she got to Forks.
She checks Charlie's drawers and closet, thinking it might have been placed there by mistake, but all she finds are flannel shirts and more flannel shirts. As she pulls them out of the closet, she's distressed by the sad state of them, deciding at the first opportunity to get him a couple more. Even if she purchases them used, she can probably find some in better shape than most of these.
Bella returns to her room and finishes sorting and evaluating her clothing, but with less enthusiasm. She'd been certain she would find the missing sweater, and now she's a little freaked out. Where is it?
After another hour she's finished, making up her mind to visit the thrift shop and peruse their warm clothing. She'd purchased some hoodies and sweatshirts before she'd arrived in this damp, cold place, but she needs a couple more pieces to round out her wardrobe.
After checking her bank balance, Bella finds she can spend a few dollars. She arrives at the Going Twice thrift shop a couple of hours before closing, and has plenty of time to look through the women's section. She finds two hoodies and a pinkish sweater, but it isn't nearly as pretty as the one that's MIA. She tosses these items in her basket and walks to the men's section, where she finds three flannel shirts that look new and one that still has its tags. It's a beautiful mustard, with thin black vertical stripes.
She's home in plenty of time to cook supper. After a quick marinade, chicken thighs are popped in the oven to bake while she takes a shower. There are some dirty clothes in the hamper, so she throws the new purchases in with them and starts a load. By the time supper is ready, the clothes have finished tumbling in the dryer and she's hung Charlie's shirts in his closet, right in front so he can't miss them. She's decided not to tell him so he'll be surprised. He probably doesn't get very many gifts.
Bella sits at the kitchen table with her calculus, still trying to make sense of it, when she finally hears the cruiser pull up. She slams her book shut and looks over to the stove. Everything is ready except their drinks. When the front door swings wide, Charlie calls out her name, the same as he does every single time he walks into the house.
Charlie hangs up his raincoat. His face is flushed and there's an odd excitement in his eyes. "Hey there, Bella." He stands there, by the coat rack, flexing his fingers.
"Hey." She pauses. "Are you all right?" A faint whiff of a flowery perfume wafts toward her and she narrows her eyes. He's been with a woman and he doesn't know how to tell me.
He nods slowly and a bright smile lights his face. He takes a deep breath and then says, "Yeah," on the exhale.
Bella frowns. She raises her eyebrows and points to the living room. With wide eyes and a somewhat bemused expression on his face, Charlie stumbles into the little room and sits in his chair. He places his hands on his knees and stares at her.
"Am I about to find out what's been going on?" Her tone is disapproving. She realizes her arms are crossed over her chest and she relaxes them. She's not the parent here.
Charlie nods again. "Yeah. I…" He stops and gives her a pleading look. "I…" He falters. His gaze is pleading.
Bella takes the reins into her own hands. "Have you been seeing someone?"
Charlie grimaces and nods really fast, and then the words race out of his mouth, as though he's been longing to say them to somebody. "Yeah. The pretty nurse that took care of you at the emergency room."
"Which time?" Bella asks, in all seriousness.
Charlie laughs, although it really isn't funny. "See, this is why we need a better systemto categorize these things. The last time. Little nurse named Maya."
Bella nods, although all she remembers is a short woman standing in front of her in a white dress, starting an IV and holding a really sharp needle. She works to keep her expression neutral and waits for Charlie to continue, but he's a man of few words on a good day. His expression is desperate. Bella knows he wants her support and understanding, and really, she'd dated a freaking vampire. Maya could have two heads, and as long as she's good to Charlie, Bella is okay with it.
They look at each other for a long moment. Finally, she smiles. "That's great." She grimaces at herself, realizing she doesn't have all that many words, either.
Charlie takes a ragged breath and nods. "Thanks."
As he seems disabled, Bella leads her father to the sink, where he washes his hands. He sits at the table and forks food into his mouth, although in a distracted way. Bella thinks she could have put a cow patty on his plate and he'd have scarfed it down. For the first time in a month, he didn't scrutinize her food consumption, which is a shame, because she eats an entire chicken thigh.
Bella washes up the dishes and sits down with her homework while Charlie wanders into the living room to watch TV. She's surprised to hear the news channel. It's usually just sports. "Hey Bells," he says, after about half an hour, "Come in here and watch this."
She stands, a little impatiently, as the announcer begins speaking. It's one of those human interest stories they put at the end of the program. She still has homework laying all over the kitchen table, but stops to listen when the announcer begins to speak.
With the holidays upon us once again, we each stop to give thanks for our blessings. Many of us will never know the pain and indignity of sleeping on the street, going hungry, or running to a shelter in the middle of the night with a child, after being beaten by our partner.
Governments, both local and federal, fund institutions such as shelters and food banks, but the train of human misery is long, and there are always more social problems than can be solved by the simple passage of laws.
This year, we can all give thanks for an anonymous donor who has formed a foundation to give many hundreds of thousands of dollars to food banks, animal shelters, child care centers in urban areas, environmental management, homeless shelters, outpatient clinics in rural areas.
Programs were funded first in Washington state and then filtered out to the rest of the country.
State and local officials are baffled by the sheer amount of money donated, totally anonymously. Individual recipients have begun to make plans for its use right away.
Let us all learn from this person whose generosity has brightened the lives of children, eased the minds of parents, improved the environment, saved the lives of pets, and provided homes to the disadvantaged, disenfranchised and the unlucky.
If you would like to make a contribution to these worthy projects, please call or text the number below, or you can mail a check to The Gold Foundation at the address below. Please indicate which charity you would like to support.
Charlie turns off the set and looks at Bella. "How about that? Thought you might want to see it."
Bella stands perfectly still, wondering if it's possible that Edward is the mysterious person, giving his money away. She'd known that the Cullens had money, but never how much.
But, why? Why would he give away his money to people he didn't know? She'd never found the Cullens to be overly generous. They had money and spent it lavishly, on cars, clothes, games, toys, furnishings.
She'd privately wished that someone in the family would donate some money to the Quileute, and to the animal shelter here in town.
"Bella?" Charlie is looking at her with a confused expression. "You okay, kid?"
She gives a fake laugh. "Um, yeah. Thinking about something. Yeah, that's a cool story."
His phone rings and he answers it immediately, again going outside to talk. To Maya, probably.
After she finishes her homework, Bella goes upstairs to bed. She stands by her closed window for a few minutes, trying to make out the upper branches of the cedar in the backyard, wondering where Edward is, hoping that he's happy. She opens the window, even though it's cold outside, and can hear Charlie's voice. He's still on the phone!
Bella slams her window shut. Edward isn't out there. He's not thinking of her, wherever he is. And Charlie is a grown man and can spend as much time as he wants to on his own telephone. Feeling at odds with everyone, she throws herself onto her bed and tries hard for sleep, but it just won't come.
After tossing and turning for half the night, Bella finally eases into a fitful doze. She dreams a single scene in bright color, of a slightly-built woman wearing her missing blue sweater. She'd know that sweater anywhere, as it has a neck that folds down and three wooden toggle buttons at the top. Bella can't see the woman's face, just her hair, a fiery red, flowing around her shoulders in a wild, unruly tangle.