Chapter 40 Chapter notes
It's time for the annual Halloween bonfire on First Beach.
The chapter title belongs to Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
Chapter 40 You've Really Got a Hold on Me October 28th Saturday morning
When Bella wakes, it is raining. She pulls a pillow over her head and moans. Today is the picnic/bonfire on First Beach at the reservation and she wonders what the Quileute's alternate plan might be. On the Olympic Peninsula, there's always an alternate plan for anything you've intended to do outdoors.
She gets up and dresses quickly. Once downstairs, she checks for Charlie's fishing poles, and finds them there. The note on the kitchen table says he's with Maya again. Bella impudently thinks about what they'll be up to today, because yesterday she'd come across a box of condoms when she was putting away his laundry. A big box.
Charlie had told her a few days ago that he was bringing Maya to the party at the reservation tonight. He'd said that Maya had grown up in La Push but hadn't been there in many years.
Bella goes to the refrigerator and bags their food items. She'll fix them at Jake's house. She drives slowly, keeping her eyes off the water as she passes it, but it isn't calling to her today. This cheers her up, and as she pulls up in front of Jacob's house, he runs out to meet her and helps her down out of her seat.
Two chipped mugs of hot tea sit on the table with a plate of chocolate chip cookies. "I made them for the bonfire tonight. These are extra." He says this proudly, as if he were the only person in the world that had ever baked cookies.
Bella takes one. Jacob tips the plate at her and she takes another. "They're delicious," Bella says through a mouthful of crumbs. "But we can't have a bonfire in the rain." It almost sounds like a question.
"No silly, we can't." Jacob smiles his huge toothy smile. "We'll meet at the Town Hall if the weather doesn't clear. It's big and we'll all fit. We already have tables ready if we have to go that route." He takes another cookie and eats it in one bite. "But the weather forecast said it's probably going to clear up by tonight."
"You know Charlie is bringing his new girlfriend, right?" Bella licks her fingers but doesn't want to eat another cookie. Well, maybe just one more.
Jake nods. "Billy said he hadn't seen Maya since she was in high school."
"Yeah, she told Charlie she grew up here. She's related to your Chief?" Bella stirs sugar into her tea and sighs as she wraps her hands around the warm cup.
"She's Chief Littlefoot's niece. Her father is his brother, Tomas, but he died a few years ago."
"So, are you bringing Lydia?" Bella tries to make this sound casual but doesn't know if it came out that way.
Jacob averts his eyes and picks up plates and cups. He places them in the sink and says, without looking at her, "Um, no. She's out of town with her family."
Bella thinks this is odd. The bonfire is an occasion here on the reservation, but she doesn't comment.
They finish their tea and start to prepare the food. Around noon, the rain stops, and Jake is able to put the fat chicken he's marinated on the tiny barbeque grill in his yard. Bella takes out the Ziploc bag containing her chicken thighs and Jake squeezes them next to the hen.
Three hours later, the food is done and properly refrigerated and they have a minute to relax. The sun has tried to peek through the cloud cover and Bella is hopeful that it will stay dry tonight. She's never been to a bonfire on the reservation, but there's an underlying mystery about this place that's intriguing, and she imagines it will be interesting.
Charlie and Maya are in the shower together. He's in heaven, as he's never showered with another person in his whole life. Not with Renee, not with a girlfriend before Renee. And there was nobody after Renee. So.
He shampoos her long hair and she soaps his back. When she soaps his front is where it gets interesting, and pretty soon, it's heaven times two, as foreplay in the shower is just as much fun as it sounds, although two grownups have to be careful of slippery soap and hard tile.
They hurriedly dry off and run to the bedroom, giggling like kids. Maya gets on top this time and rides him like an unbroke mustang until a cataclysmic climax overtakes her. Charlie grins and rolls over on top. He kisses her sweet mouth until he is similarly overtaken.
Charlie brushes out Maya's mane of hair, still trying to figure out why the Universe has bestowed this gorgeous woman upon him. He is totally under her spell and she seems equally smitten.
He never imagined that a relationship would be this easy. Maya is a contented person. She likes her job and she's not needy or possessive. There seems to be no problems with debt or lack of money. She's not a drinker or a partier. They have a lot in common, and there's no angst when a game comes on the TV, as she's just as invested in it as Charlie is.
They both work full time, but she has a rotating schedule. Charlie fishes with his buddies when she works Saturday and Sunday mornings and when she has other plans, like visiting her sister or shopping. When she's off during the week, she brings lunch to the station. There's never any tussle over what to do.
Maya's concern for his daughter is endearing. Charlie grins every time they plan an outing and Maya says, "Make sure to invite Bella." He knows that Bella would rather gnaw off her own foot than be stuck in the day-trip-trap with her father and the new girlfriend. He sobers slightly when he recalls Bella's own words to him. I'm never being the third wheel again.
"Will Bella be driving with us to the reservation?" Charlie looks at Maya and sees that this visit to La Push, a place she hasn't been for many years, is concerning her.
"Nah, she went up early this morning to help her friend Jake prepare. She took food up with her. Said they were cooking out on the grill and setting up chairs and stuff." Charlie thinks for a moment. "I like Jake. Nice kid. A couple years younger than Bella, but they get along. Helps her forget about what happened with Edward Cullen, anyway."
Maya, in the process of pulling her hair back, freezes. She turns slowly to look at Charlie. "Edward Cullen wasn't Bella's boyfriend." She says this as if it couldn't possibly be true.
Charlie is surprised. "Well, yeah, he was, for a few months, but I think that by the time she introduced us, their relationship was well established." He's confused. "That's what happened with her. He left during that big storm in September. Broke her heart. I thought you knew."
"So, that's when she fell apart? Quit eating?"
Charlie nods. "Yep. You didn't see her the first time I had to bring her in. Middle of the night, and she'd torn the wound open. Blood everywhere." He shakes his head as he recalls walking into her room and the overpowering scent of blood, Edward, panting beside him like he'd just run a marathon.
"I'd been called out and Edward had come over to check on her. I got home around 2 am and he was in a state. There was no way for him to get in touch with anyone. He told me he was getting ready to carry her to the hospital."
"He was there with Bella in the middle of the night? How did he get there?"
"Said he'd been at a friend's house on the next block. But, here's the thing. I know everyone in town, and there isn't anyone within three streets that's even a teenager. I have no idea what he was talking about." Charlie remembers how shocked he'd been, seeing Edward there, and how his story hadn't rung true.
"And did you like him?" Maya combs her hair in a gesture of calm, but Charlie can feel that she's agitated.
"Um, yeah, I guess I did. He was always kind to Bella, and they seemed devoted to each other." He looks over to Maya, who is still staring at him, hair tie in hand.
"Why? Do you know the Cullens?"
Do I know the Cullens. Maya finally pulls her hair back. "They didn't live here when I did," she says, evasively. What else can I say? It was all rumor and speculation. I can't tell Charlie. It would only worry and upset him.
But Charlie is an astute observer. He frowns. "What does that mean, exactly?"
Maya thinks for a moment. "La Push isn't like Forks, Charlie. Native American tribes have legends and beliefs that are not mirrored outside of the insular walls of their reservations."
"Legends and beliefs," he repeats. "Can you tell me how this ties in with the Cullens?"
Maya stands before the bathroom mirror, Charlie behind her. Their eyes meet in the mirror, and she can see his worry. He was born here, had grown up here, had lived in this area much longer than Maya had. What legends had he heard, possibly from a parent or grandparent? Folks like Charlie, that believe only what they can see and hear, sometimes internalize the emotion behind the words that are uttered by people that they trust.
What does she tell him?
Charlie waits behind Maya with his arms crossed. She knows he'll stand there until hell freezes over before he'll walk away. Maya started something; now she has to finish it.
"Just legends and stories, like I said. And don't forget, Charlie, you've lived here a lot longer than I have." She turns and kisses him. "I think we'd better go or we'll be late."
Bonfire Saturday October 28th
Bella nudges Jacob. "There. With Charlie. That's Maya."
Jacob nods slowly. "My dad knew her and her family, but she left when I was a little kid." Maya turns around and they both get a good look at her and Charlie.
Jacob leans forward and squints. "That is the woman that Charlie told you was 'the pretty nurse'? He said she was beautiful? Gorgeous?"
Bella nods. "I know what you mean."
They both watch Charlie and Maya through their napkins full of pumpkin cake. Bella fidgets. "I mean, it doesn't matter to me what she looks like. She's really nice and Charlie loves her. But…" Bella shakes her head at her father.
"Her face is kind of flat." Jacob turns to get a better look. "And, honestly, her eyes are too close together."
Charlie had gone on about Maya's hair, but in reality, it's a dull, dark brunette, without much body, pulled back into a classic ponytail.
Bella thinks about this for a minute. Charlie is in love with this woman, and to him, she's the most beautiful thing in the world. He honestly cannot see that, by any objective standard, she's not only not beautiful, she's not even pretty.
Suddenly, Edward's unrealistic and implausible determination to find her beautiful makes sense. When he had loved her, it hadn't mattered that she was plain, pasty-skinned and flawed.
"Her mouth," Jacob says, as if he's just solved a piece of a puzzle. "Now, that's impressive." Maya is much nearer now, and her pink lipstick, applied over lips that are perfectly formed, makes her whole face light up. Tactfully, he doesn't mention the size of her breasts, which are absolutely straining against her rather loose sweater.
"Those are new," Bella says, as she points to the chairs placed around the long tables, piled high with foods of every kind.
"Yeah, I saw the guys unloading them a while back. Other stuff is going on, too." He tells her about the buildings and roads, in various states of repair. "I wish I knew where they were getting the money for this stuff," he mutters.
After everyone has eaten, the bonfire is lit. The wind comes up and whips the flames high into the sky. Bella leans back against Jake and falls asleep. She dreams of Edward in the desert. Her desert. She sees him next to towering saguaros and thorny acacias. It's hot, but he wears a hoodie and big, dark sunglasses.
When Jake moves his leg, she starts, opening her eyes to the bonfire and the crowd. Someone is smoking a cigarette and little kids dash in and out of the crowds, giggling. She blinks a few times, surprised to see stars.
The heat from the blaze soothes her, and for the first time in a long time, she feels at peace. Jake sits behind her, radiating warmth. Just a few days ago, he would have reached out for her hand, but not now. He's found a girlfriend. Bella wishes he would want to take her hand, and then realizes how unfair that is. She's gotten used to the idea of Jake as a puppy dog, following her around for a pat on the head, but he deserves much more than that.
She had made no secret of the fact that she wasn't interested in a romantic relationship, and he'd simply gotten tired of waiting.