Sometimes in life, nothing hits you better than a slice of pizza and a Coke.
It wasn't how any of us had expected our night to end, but that was where we all found ourselves after an evening of tux fittings and of course, Edward's bombshell of a revelation.
All of us had remained on the porch of The Rec with the door opened wide, hesitant to walk past the threshold as if we were afraid of the onslaught of memories and their threats of unwelcomed assaults. There were years of memories tucked neat inside of this building, full of both teenage angst and wild recklessness.
I didn't know what would break my heart more: seeing the inside tainted with years of abandonment or seeing it exactly as we had all suddenly left it. How many times had we all at one point left a homework assignment or a jacket inside? A bookbag? That was why I had stayed on the porch, not moving, for as long as I did. I did not know what was going to be on the other side of the door.
Rose was the first one of us to walk beyond the open door and into the semi-darkness of The Rec. There was still an ounce of daylight peaking beyond the quilt of night, but it was just enough to cast an eerie glow among us all. Emmett had followed in behind her, both of them slowing their pace as they strolled around the room, taking it in. Jasper and Alice were next, leaving Edward and I outside on the porch. He was still leaning against the loose railing, looking out into the dark horizon of tall trees.
"You bought it?" I somehow managed to find my voice. Edward nodded, putting his hands into his back pockets. He looked hesitant to show his true feelings but I saw the edges of excitement he tried to hide.
"I know, right?" He shook his head, either at himself or the whole situation, I wasn't sure. He knew it was a hard concept for us to wrap our heads around. After a moment, he continued. "It was just something I had to do."
I knew that. I understood that. More importantly, I understood why. I think all of us did, understood, why it had to be Edward of all people to attempt to bring this place back to life.
"I get it," I added, nodding my head in agreement. "It's just – "
"Crazy?" Edward interrupted, running his hands through his hair with a loud exhale.
"Unexpected," I corrected. Totally unexpected but it was something that made all the sense in the world to me.
I moved so I was leaning against the broken railing near him, ignoring the chill of the evening air and the unheated building in winter that stood before me. We sat in silence for a couple of beats before he nodded his chin towards the open door where the Eviction sign had been. Even though the sign was no longer there, it would always be imprinted in all of our minds. The sign, small in its simplicity, weighed heavier in our hearts even though The Rec had been closed for almost longer than it had been open.
"Three months after it closed, I knew this was something I needed to do." Edward's voice echoed slightly on the empty and ragged porch, and for a second I wondered if it was even sturdy enough to hold our weight. The floorboards creaked under our shoes and I could hear the railing squeak if we even looked at it too hard.
"Needed to do?"
"For me."
For his healing. It definitely wasn't the time or the place; our history was wound too tightly in the tapestry of those early years without The Rec. I knew on my trip to Forks we would go there, Edward and I, and revisit that dark place but I did not want to go down that lane with an audience, even though they were our longest and closest friends.
No offense, guys.
"Come inside?"
To anyone else it would be just an invitation. But within those two words, bubbling at the surface, I heard the voice of a man who, for possibly the first time in his life, had something of his own to be proud of.
With my mind spinning already, I didn't think I could handle my heart beginning to melt.
Walking inside, it really wasn't like anything that I had conjured up in my brain. The layout was exactly the same. The back corner where the couches and TV had been was still there minus the electronics and ancient furniture. To the left was still the corner where we had stored our books and magazines, except now the shelves were bare minus excess sawdust. The waist high wall partitions separating the lounge area from the eating area were still intact, as was the large open window looking into the kitchen.
It was definitely not heated, though we were pretty warm through laughter and pizza. It was like once we were all back inside, we had no desire to leave. Fuck hypothermia. We ordered pizza and a couple liters of Coke instead of trying out that Mexican place like we had originally agreed on.
Freezing our asses off, sitting on the floor in the middle of an old building, surrounded by greasy food, battery operated overhead lights, and best friends was definitely the way to go.
"So what are your plans with this dump, bro?" Emmett asked at some point way into the evening, tossing a pizza crust into the empty box. Edward reached into the center of the circle we had settled ourselves into and moved the box to the outside of our circle. Edward shrugged.
"No time stamp on it, but," Edward stopped, taking another sip of soda from a red solo cup, "eventually, I want to bring it back."
"The Rec?" Jasper questioned.
"You've…" Rose said, trailing off as she took in her surroundings.
"Got some work, I know. But it's happening." Edward responded, pointing towards the floors and the walls that had definitely been reworked since Edward had taken over.
"Yes, it is." I offered to Edward with a smile, enjoying the feeling taking over my body when we clinked our red cups in solidarity.
"Whatever you do, please keep the wooden beam with the chip in it from Jasper's head." Emmett roared with laughter, another ghost of a memory making its way to our circle. A memory, long forgotten, would come up every so often as if the six of us were conjuring spirits of times long ago.
"Why keep the beam? Pretty sure there's a piece of wood still lodged into the back of my skull," Jasper laughed too, rubbing the back of his head over the bump of a scar left behind.
"I always liked this little nook over here," Alice said, motioning over towards the little library and its empty shelves.
"Me, too. And the back patio," Rose stated, our eyes following her suggestion. The screened door was still there, somewhat dilapidated, yet still holding the promise of rejuvenation.
"Do you plan on keeping it as it is?" I asked, finishing my not first slice of pizza.
"I have a couple of new ideas but nothing too drastic. Maybe open up the floor space over here," Edward answered, his arms and hands opening with expression as he imagined it in his mind.
"I still can't believe you did all this," Alice repeated, wiping her fingers with a napkin before standing up to take another walk around.
"Well, it's taken me this long to even get here," Edward said in exasperation, and for a second I could only imagine the legal mess it must have been to buy it. "I've only had it for a couple of months."
"No offense, man, but what have you actually done in here? Besides the floors," Emmett grinned, taking a finger to drag a line behind in the sawdust.
"You should have seen this place," Edward moaned before launching into his recount of the state in which he stumbled into The Rec again after a ten year absence. Eventually, he continued, "I spent that whole first month getting all of the pest control companies in the county out here."
"Aaand there goes dinner," Rose retorted, chucking her pizza onto the plate in front of her.
"It got better after that. A lot better, actually. I have a to do list that's a mile long but I'm just taking my time and crossing off one thing at a time."
"What was the first thing you did? Once you got this place to somehow pass inspection," Jasper joked.
"I sat down with a piece of paper and I went from room to room, space to space, just trying to remember what we did in each of the places." He paused for a moment. "Then I thought about what I want this space to bring to the kids today."
"Certain things I can never change," he continued, standing up and walking over towards the other side of the large, empty and hollow space. "This wooden beam, for one."
"You remember what happened here?" Edward asked Jasper.
Emmett interrupted, "Lauren and Jessica lost a bet and made out for two minutes?"
"Really?" Jasper questioned, his interest piqued. "I mean, that's disgusting," he amended after an accusatory look from Alice.
"Nintendo tournaments."
"Some serious fights went down right here," Emmett commented. We were all up on our feet, dinner long forgotten, all of us dispersed around the room physically but scattered amongst different times.
"Over here is where Bella came over with her soccer ball," Rose said with a laugh, and for a second I saw myself with my little soccer ball with Rose and Emmett on the couch in the corner while my mom had talked to Felix in his tiny excuse of an office.
"Fifth grade," I said quietly, thinking of how I thought it was the end of the world when my parents plucked me out of my hometown and into a new, dreary town without any other friends or family to grow up with.
Funny how things work out.
"Any plans for outside?" Jasper had walked over to the windows, and tried to peer through the brown film that covered most of the glass.
"Luckily we have enough land to have a decent amount of options," Edward said.
"Definitely keep the fields open for sports. Maybe add a little basketball court?" Emmett suggested.
"Yes, that was definitely missing back in the day," Jasper agreed.
"Keep the book nook," Alice added.
"And the spare room," Rose contributed. We all shared quick looks between us before bursting out in laughter. All of us couples had spent some time alone in that spare room which, when I thought about it, was a horrible idea to even have a spare bedroom in a place for teenagers.
"Definitely no spare room this time around," Edward declared.
"Triple check for any old porn on VHS," Alice remembered.
"Oh God, who has it? One of us has to have it still," Rose said.
"I probably have it buried somewhere," Emmett replied.
An hour later, once all remnants of dinner had been taken care of, we stood on the porch saying our goodbyes. Once again we all stayed with each other until the late hours of the evening, proving that while we remained close over the years, there was nothing like reminiscing with old and true friends. Time got lost, stood still, whatever one would call it. The six of us together again was like wrapping yourself into your favorite warm, cozy blanket.
I relished in it.
"So you just come over here after work?" Rose asked. Her breath from the cold seeped into the air in front of her.
"Pretty much. Weekends, too. " Edward answered, rubbing his hands together to keep in any warmth.
"By yourself?"
He shook his head, "Carlisle helps out every now and then when he can."
Emmett hopped off of the step, turning towards Edward with a hand pointing towards The Rec. "Could you use a hand? I don't want to step in if you don't want – "
"No, yeah. Definitely could use a hand," Edward said, and once again I heard the pride bubble subtly in his voice. Emmett and Edward shared a fist bump.
"Us, too!" Alice exclaimed, speaking for both her and Jasper.
I looked over to see Edward sneaking a glance in my direction, and I felt my body begin to melt again, even though I fought against it. I wondered when I would stop fighting it.
"Of course."
"I'm feeling this whole, 'Kevin Costner: Field of Dreams vibe' you've got going on," Emmett said when we all began to disperse.
"'If you build it, they will come'." Jasper finished Emmett's train of thought. He laughed before him and Alice disappeared into the night. "Ain't that the truth?"
-tr-
As late as it was when Rose finally dropped me off back home, I had trouble falling asleep. It was a lot to take in, and the tossing and turning I did in bed gave me an awful lot of time to think about everything. I assumed that the majority of my thoughts while being back home would be devoted to the wedding, so I wasn't prepared for a revelation of this magnitude. It temporarily blew Alice and Jasper's wedding out of the picture for the time being, and instead of thinking about how I wanted to style my hair for the wedding or what color to paint my toenails to match my dress, I was thinking about The Rec. And Edward. And all the trouble he must have gone through to even get The Rec into the shape it was in tonight, which really wasn't saying much.
The reopening of The Rec would make a huge impact in this town, if not for the current children, then possibly for their parents who most likely had been frequent fliers in The Rec's heyday.
That alone would invoke emotions into a good majority of the people of the town. Good times, bad times, it didn't matter. It would all be brought up to the surface, welcomed or not.
I reached towards my phone in the darkness of the room in hopes it would lull me into sleep eventually, maybe I would find something to browse through that would numb my senses enough to put me to sleep. Before I could stop myself I scrolled through to find Edward's name and sent a quick message to him, not really expecting a quick response.
I can't believe you're really doing this.
It wasn't a bad thing that he was resurrecting our favorite childhood place to be. It was just a part of my life that I had firmly sealed into my story of growing up. I had made my peace with its abrupt departure from my life, from all of our lives, and to have it reappear so suddenly was giving me whiplash.
My phone chimed back not even a minute later, and reaching for it again from my nightstand, I settled back into the softness of my pillows and adjusted myself into a comfortable position.
I can't either sometimes. I've wanted to do it for so long that it just doesn't seem real.
He sent another text right after his first. What are you still doing up?
I sighed out loud in my bed as if he could hear me. Can't sleep. A lot to take in. Never in a million years did I think I would ever step foot into The Rec again.
This time I didn't have to wait long for his reply.
I knew I'd be back in there. I wasn't anticipating how hard it would be to make it happen.
How long exactly were you planning on all of this?
His response left me with my mouth hanging open. I knew from the minute I saw the sign on the door that one day I would be the one to take it down permanently. Tossed the idea around for a couple of years before I started to take it more seriously. I started the process about six years ago.
Six?! Wow.
Yes, six. Insane, right? Six years of roadblock after roadblock.
So is this considered the fun part of this whole thing? The restoration?
Wasn't this part of The American Dream? Buy a home and mold it into your vision of a perfect dream?
I think so. I'm sure it will get rocky again between now and reopening but for now I'm enjoying the hell out of bringing it back to life.
And you're sure you don't want to keep this journey to yourself? Now that we all know about it, chances are one of us will be there on a pretty consistent basis.
To be honest, I was going to tell them all. Soon. It would be almost impossible to keep something like this from them, especially when we're all somewhat still local.
I knew I wasn't included in 'them'. Originally. I understood why, though. I was in New York, not speaking to Edward and avoiding him at all costs.
I didn't have a plan to tell you, though.
His honesty was one of my favorite qualities about him, especially when his upbringing could have really jaded that quality specifically.
I replied, It's okay. Why would you? You and I weren't exactly speaking to each other until a few days ago.
Days? It seemed like years. I forgot how Edward and I were together. Effortless. We fell right back into who we once were. Edward and Bella. Peas and Carrots. Peanut Butter and Jelly.
I was going to tell you, though. I don't know how or when but I wanted you to know. The Rec was just as important to you as it was to the rest of us.
If it wasn't two in the morning with sleep dancing upon my eyelids, I could have let my eyes water at the thought of some of our time together at The Rec.
I'm glad you thought of me. No idea how I would have reacted, but it's nice to see that you wanted to include me.
I couldn't deny that a part of me was buzzing with the proof that Edward had thought of me at some point while I was in New York. I know I had spent too much of my time thinking of him when I had no business to.
How could I not? He sent first, followed by a quick second message in succession. How could I think of The Rec and not think of you?
Ah, there was that feeling all over my body again.
I know what you mean. Being in there brought back a lot of stuff.
Before he could reply, my fingers flitted over the screen quickly. Speaking of stuff, have you thought of anything you may need? I know my dad has a ton of stuff in the garage that you could look through. Definitely some things a Rec Center could use. Mom's been nagging him for years to get rid of it all.
Yeah, I could definitely use any donations I can get my hands on. Can I swing by some time tomorrow to look through?
Absolutely. After work?
I took the day off tomorrow so I'm pretty flexible. Tell me what works for you.
We ended up talking into the later early hours of the morning, and decided to set up a time once we had caught up on some sleep. Being unemployed allowed me that luxury, and for the first time since I had been let go, I was happy.
-tr-
"He used to keep a bunch of stuff back here. Let me check," I said over my shoulder to Edward as we pushed and shoved our way into the corner of the garage the next day. I moved aside an ancient labeled box to reach the pile of junk ready for donation. "Ah, yeah. Here it is."
I had stumbled out of bed around noon, feeling like I was a teenager in 2003 again. I blamed it on the late night conversation I had but I felt like my brain needed some time to reconcile with Edward being such a strong force now back into my life. I welcomed the rest, welcomed the late night conversation, and was currently absolutely welcoming Edward wearing an unmarked black hat backwards on his head.
I had to stop myself from staring.
Edward and I worked silently next to each other, occasionally handing over one thing or another for one of us to keep or discard for The Rec. We mostly agreed on the items we wanted to keep, each of us relying on our own experiences and interests during that time in our lives when The Rec was everything.
"You know, for as long as I've known you, I don't think I've ever seen you use any of this stuff once." Edward chuckled and tossed a hockey stick into the pile we would eventually lug over to The Rec. "Why would Charlie hang on to all this shit?" He laughed again as I tossed a weathered and mutilated volleyball into the discard pile. "I mean that in the nicest way possible."
I shrugged and rolled my eyes in mock annoyance. "Who knows? My dad has a tendency to just collect stuff in case it can come in handy one day."
"I think that day is today," Edward muttered, excitedly adding a box of whiffle balls and bats to the growing pile. "This stuff is in pretty decent shape, actually."
"Happy we can get some use out of it," I mentioned, stuffing my hands in the back pockets of my jeans when I saw that we had pretty much come to the end of our rifling.
We?
I watched Edward look over from the items we were taking over and smile before averting his eyes to his Nike's.
"It means a lot to me that this means something to you," he said sincerely, and for a second I was lost in his voice, lost in the green gaze that had found the confidence to look at me and not at his sneakers.
"How could it not?" Feeling bold by his gaze, I repeated the words he had sent through texting last night.
"You need any help getting these things over, Edward?" My dad's voice cut through the air of the cold garage, and suddenly I felt more embarrassed now than the time my dad had found a pair of my underwear stuffed into the depths of the couch.
I wondered if Edward remembered that?
Edward seemed to have recovered much more gracefully from our interrupted moment than I was.
"Oh, no thanks, Mr. Swan. I borrowed a truck from a buddy of mine. I've been using it to haul pretty much everything out of that place," he said, walking over to where my dad was standing. He shook his hand like there hadn't been a ten year absence between them.
Seeing Edward stand tall and confident next to my dad was starting to do crazy things to me.
"I bet you saw some things in there…." My dad trailed off with a laugh and soon Edward's joined his.
"There are no words, Sir."
They spoke for a few more minutes, and I was able to contribute a sentence or two despite the word vomit that was happening inside my head.
"Well, give a shout if you need anything." Dad gave us a tiny nod and backed out of the garage and back towards the house. "Sad to see some of this stuff go but I know it's going to a great place."
There wasn't a better place for these things to be rehomed to.
"You sure you can manage this all by yourself? I don't mind going over there with you," I said as Edward and I tossed the last box into the back of the truck. Edward reached down and shut the door with a loud thump. His eyes swept over all of the stuff we had rummaged through.
"I guess I can use a hand, yeah. You sure?"
I nodded and laughed at myself self-deprecatingly. "I'm unemployed and temporarily living with my parents. Believe me, I am absolutely positive."
"Can I go upstairs and change real quick?" I hadn't planned on moving as much as we had managed to find and didn't want to move all of this into The Rec while being trapped in a pair of jeans.
"Yeah, no problem."
Once I had settled Edward into the living room with my dad, I disappeared upstairs to change into a pair of yoga pants and sneakers. I kept the short sleeved tee on that I had been wearing before, and stopped in front of the mirror to see my reflection. I didn't want to come downstairs looking like I had stopped for a makeover. I opted to do nothing except pull my hair off of my neck and into a ponytail. One little dot behind my ear with perfume wouldn't hurt anyone, though.
I was walking out of my room when a thought occurred to me.
"Edward, do you think you could use this? I've seen these be repurposed into storage cabinets," I called down the stairs, and listened for his footsteps a few moments later. The long dresser that I had used and emptied when I moved to New York years ago remained untouched in my old bedroom, collecting dust and preventing my mom from getting the Peloton she so desperately wanted.
He eyed it for a second, touching various places of the dresser and pacing back and forth in front of it, ready for inspection. He turned to look at me and pointed a finger jokingly in my direction.
"You're one of those Pinterest people, aren't you?"
"More like Pinterest Fail," I joked and nudged him on the arm while we laughed at my expense.
Nudging him was natural to me. Like breathing. We had done it so often growing up that it was our thing. Feeling his skin on mine ignited a reaction from me that I could barely contain.
"I'll definitely take it."
Needing an excuse to distance myself from him before I did anything stupid, I headed over to one side of the dresser.
Edward stopped me with a smack of his hand against the top of the dresser. "Woah, woah, woah. What are you doing?"
I nodded towards the dresser with my chin. "We're taking this over now. I've got my sneakers on and everything." I lifted one foot to show him and somehow managed not to faceplant onto the floor.
"You can carry this?"
"Yup. Easy."
"That thing is bigger than you."
"We got this. Just pivot when I say pivot and we'll be good."
He laughed. "Pretty sure stairs and the word pivot will never work together."
"Okay, Ross," I mocked, and sat down on the edge of my bed. "What's your suggestion, then?"
"Well," he began, bending over to tighten his shoes in preparation for a solo move of this dresser. But he never finished his sentence.
Instead, his hand reached over towards my nightstand and picked up the glinting object that I had been keeping there so I would not lose it.
I never planned on Edward being in my room.
I definitely didn't plan on him to be holding Tyler's engagement ring.
-tr-
I can't say enough how much your reviews and recs mean to me. I may not reply but please don't take it as being ungrateful. With two young boys and their sports and their schoolwork, plus my own students and their sports and their schoolwork, I surprise myself by even being able to write anything at all. Luckily for me, this story runs like a never ending movie in my mind, therefore getting the opportunity to write it all down becomes insanely therapeutic.
See you all next time!