Charlie's POV
Closing the deep freezer I turn around. My eyes land on my daughter who is standing on a chair in front of the stove, stocking the cupboard with canned goods while she happily talks on the phone. She's been talking to that boy, Edward, for about twenty minutes now with no sign of stopping. It was amazing in a very silly way to see her walk around the kitchen, going as far as the phone cord would allow, while she helped me put the groceries away.
"No. I didn't mean it like that." Bella giggles. "That's funny though. Never thought of it that way." She pauses, listening to what is being said on the other end of the phone. Seconds pass and she erupts into a fit of teenage girl giggles.
"Well something sure is funny." I playfully shake my head. She turns with a look of surprise on her face and I grin at her.
"Dad! I'm on the phone." She whispers in horror, away from the receiver as she stares at me. "A little privacy please."
"Sure kid." I chuckle. "When the food gets here then it's time to end the call."
"I know." Bella goes back to her task of loading up the cupboard and talking on the phone. "Um, that was just my dad. So what were you saying?"
I'm quiet as I notice that she's acting like her conversation is the most important thing on the planet. And to her it probably is. I think back to my high school days of being on the phone with my girlfriend and quickly come to the conclusion that I should probably buy a cordless phone for her. That way she won't have to use the kitchen as a phone booth since our only phone is mounted to the wall and has a cord.
Wanting to give her some space I walk over to the kitchen table, right where a paper bag that I bought at the hardware store on our way home is placed. I grab the bag and walk over to the drawer by the sink and grab a screwdriver before walking out of the kitchen to go upstairs.
Teenage giggles in between chatter envelop the kitchen as I walk out. I have no idea what she's talking about. Even though I had been in the kitchen throughout most of this conversation while putting groceries away, I wasn't trying to keep up with what they were talking about. I've been focusing on the items I've been putting away and tuning out her part of the conversation that seems to go on forever.
I'm glad I managed to use the phone to order Chinese food not long after we got home, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to make a call anytime soon. No sooner than I hung up the receiver after ordering our dinner, the phone rang. It was Edward of course, I answered it and was taken aback by how formal that kid is. After talking to him for thirty seconds I felt like I was listening to a book on tape of Shakespeare. That kid must read a lot of classic books because he sure uses some words that are very outdated. The only other person I've ever known to use fancy old timey words in a plain old sentence is Bella. She also reads a lot of the classics and it seems that she met someone who might share the same interests she has. That's good because not many kids do.
After telling him he could call me Charlie instead of "sir" a couple dozen times, I yelled for Bella who was upstairs. Once she heard who was calling her, she ran down the stairs and right into the kitchen, tripping over a couple grocery bags before she finally made it to where I stood. I handed the receiver to Bella who was so excited it was funny in a way. She could barely speak the word "hello".
"She really is growing up." I say to myself as I reach the top of the stairs.
Making my way to her bedroom to replace the door knob, awareness creeps into my brain. My little girl is no longer so little.
'She's a freshman in high school when it seems like she was only in Elementary School last week. Has a boyfriend now, though I'm still confused about how that happened. And now I'm getting ready to install a door knob with a lock on her door, for reasons I rather not acknowledge.'
My thoughts race as I kneel down on the floor in front of her door and begin to use the screwdriver to remove the screws from the old latch. On our way to the supermarket I had been thinking about going to the hardware store and buying a door knob with a lock and key that I can keep in case of emergencies. In fact, this had been on my mind throughout our shopping trip.
With the screws unfasten I put them on the floor and begin to take off the handle that has been on here since Bella was a baby. Placing that one on the floor and taking the new door handle out of the paper bag, I remove it from the package and listen to the familiar sounds of the house. Almost mechanically I go about my task as I hear my little girl talk and laugh with the kid on the phone that is now her boyfriend.
She seems very happy and in a way I'm unprepared for this new milestone. I didn't think she would have a boyfriend so soon. Suddenly a thought creeps into my mind as I hear the doorbell ring, I hear Bella end her call and run to the front door.
"Dad!" Bella calls, breaking me out of my thoughts. The front door shuts. "Dinner is here."
"Okay. I'm finishing up. I'll be down in a few." I reply, as my previous thought comes back to me.
"I'll put the food on plates then." Bella announces as the front door closes.
"Sounds good." I call down as I place the new handle on the door and tighten the first screw.
Finishing up my task I just can't seem to shake off this horrible thought out of my mind that I don't care to have. Which is, was Bella's yoga session caused by the boy? After all, it happened the same day she mentioned that there was an incident involving his "boy troubles" where she might have embarrassed him. And with what happened after they ended their hug in the store, it might be possible. The boy was clearly embarrassed of his noticeable arousal that everyone ignored. He seemed like he wanted to turn around and run out of the store but didn't. If he would have I probably would have thought he was a very odd kid. After all, who would run away because that happened to them? I remember being that age, it would just happen randomly. That's why I ignored it instead of thinking badly about his intentions with my daughter.
"Nope. Nope." I say out loud as I slip the spare key into my pocket. At once I collect the screws and other items from the floor. "He had a flashlight in his pocket." With my task complete and all the items in the paper bag, I get up off the floor. "It was just one of those pocket size ones...a big pocket size flashlight. Yeah. That's all it was."
With that conclusion I no longer am thinking about those horrible thoughts. My mind is now on dinner as I make my way down the stairs. Taking a deep breath, the wonderful aroma of Chinese food fills my nostrils with every step I take. It smells so good and I can't wait to eat.
Entering the kitchen I noticed right away that Bella put a nice blue and red checkered tablecloth on the table that was bare the last time I was in here. She also has neatly arranged our food out on our good plates that we don't normally use until Thanksgiving, and sometimes for when we have company over. Complete with the good silverware and fancy cloth napkins. She also has a wine glass out for me that's filled with beer. While she sits at the table innocently sipping on a can of Dr. Pepper.
'Oh. Clearly this kid wants something.' I think as I place the paper bag on the nearest countertop.
"Ready to eat?" Bella asks, sounding too innocent as I sit down across from her.
"Yes." I answer, looking at the table. "I like the way you arranged everything. It looks like a picture in a magazine."
Bella smiles. "Just trying to make take out look fancy."
I chuckle at that as I pick up my wine glass of beer and take a sip. She begins eating.
"Alright, let's have it. What do you want to ask me?" I ask, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Why do you think that I want to ask you something?" Bella's face turns pink.
She can play coy all she wants but I know there's something she wants from me. I have a gut feeling about it. I'm betting it will be an advance on her allowance.
"Because," I wave my hand around the table. "The last time you turned take out into a fancy dinner I ended up having to work a lot of overtime. Just to pay for a three week session of Equestrian summer camp for you."
"I was eleven and I really wanted to ride horses and go to an overnight summer camp." She mutters. "I didn't know I would end up sliding off the saddle, getting my foot caught in the stirrup and dangling upside down before I even rode the horse."
"It was a very good thing that the camp counselor and the horse instructor were right there to come to your rescue." I try to keep my laughter about that memory to myself.
At the time when I received that call from the camp nurse, it was frightening and not funny at all. In retrospect I can see the humor behind the incident, especially since she did not get injured. However, Bella still doesn't think of it as a funny memory at all.
"Dad, I know you want to laugh." She rolls her eyes. "It really wasn't funny."
"No, of course not." I agree, grabbing my fork and getting ready to pace some beef and broccoli on it. "So let's have it, Bells. What do you need or want to ask me? I know you want something."
Nervously Bella bites her bottom lip. She doesn't seem to be ready to talk so I take a bite of food. I chew and swallow and repeat, all while Bella sits there nervously fiddling with her napkin. Now I'm starting to get worried. I no longer think this is about wanting an advance with her allowance, but what could it be?
"On Friday I have a date with Edward." Bella blurts out. "We're going to play mini golf. He's going to ask his dad if he could drop him off and well, I was wondering if you could drive me to Seattle."
"Seattle?" Is the only thing I can think to say.
A date was the last thing I thought she would be talking about. Well, I guessed I should've seen that happening. After all, she does have a boyfriend now, these things are to be expected. But why Seattle? That's so far away.
"Yeah." She says. "There's nothing to do in Forks but go to the Library. And we're going to go there after school tomorrow."
"Couldn't you find another place that's closer for your first date?" I try not to sound high strung. I take another bite of food.
"Um...well…" She stammers. "Friday is a half day at school and there's this really fun amusement park in Seattle. It has mini golf and rides and an indoor arcade. You can take off work early and we can head over there right after school."
Shaking my head, I chuckle. It never fails to amaze me how children that are too young to drive and don't have any money of their own make big plans for their parents to carry out and pay for.
"That's too far." I say and she frowns. "I'm sure his parents will agree that Seattle, which is a big city, is too far for two fifteen-year-olds to go for their first date. Why not suggest another mini golf place closer to home?"
"There isn't one." She grumbles, looking down at her plate of food.
"There is," I say brightly, remembering an article I read about in the morning paper. "There's an indoor mini golf place that recently opened in Clallam Bay."
"Clallam Bay?" She repeats.
"Yes. That's only a half hour away, I'll drive you there." I say and quickly add. "It's dinosaur themed and looks like a lot of fun."
"You'll drive me there but not to Seattle?" She questions, taking a drink of her soda.
"Exactly." I take another bite of food.
"But what if he doesn't want to change the plans we already made?" She wonders.
Bella seems very worried about that. It's in her nature to want to please others and to put everyone else's needs above her own. I have Renee to thank for that since her scatterbrain behavior trained Bella to be this way and when it comes to boys, my little girl's sweet over caring demeanor can easily be taken advantage of. Which is something I don't want to ever see, as I've seen that happen to too many women in my line of work over the years.
I look at Bella. She obviously sees this little setback with changing the location of their date, as a disappointment. I however see it as the perfect teachable moment.
"Well, if he's not willing to be flexible then he's not the guy for you." I say very matter-of-fact.
"Why would you say that?" She asks, looking a bit upset.
"Let me put it this way," I begin to try to explain what I mean. "A good guy will let you choose places to go on a date and won't get upset if things don't go his way. Like changing the place you kids were hoping to go to. In a relationship it's fifty/fifty. Don't let him make all the decisions."
Bella's eyebrows pull together. I can tell she's thinking about what I said.
"You got that, Bells? Things don't always have to be his way." I check to see if she was listening.
"Yeah." She nods her head.
"So…" I prompt, drawing out the word.
"Okay. I'll ask him when I call him back after I finish eating." She squeals and picks up her fork.
"Good." I smile, grabbing a spring roll.
Time ticks by and we go about eating our dinner with minimal talking. Both of us are enjoying our food and lost in our own thoughts. But I'm not too thrilled about where mine are going. I'm now thinking that I need to have a talk well, "The Talk" with Bella in preparation for her first date. Of course, she already knows about sex, I explained that to her with the help of a book a couple years ago. So this talk would be more of the do and don'ts with a boyfriend. I don't want her to do anything she's not ready for just because some kid pressures her into it. I know how teenage boys are and what's on their mind since I used to be one, years ago.
Picking up my fancy beer glass, I take a sip and try to figure out how to start this. Placing it back on the table I decided to ease into it.
"So, mini golf?" I randomly say and she looks up at me. "Who's idea was that?"
"I think Edward likes to play it." She shrugs. "He suggested it."
"Interesting." I grin. "Just be careful, I don't want you getting hurt."
Bella raises one eyebrow. "Dad, it's a safe game that even little kids play. Of course I won't get hurt."
Her tone is disbelieving and her expression is a bit hurt that I would even say something of that nature. She's clumsy but of course she doesn't like to be reminded of that. I'm guessing she must really like the kid if she's agreed to play a sport.
"Now Bells," I begin as she grabs a spring roll that is placed on an oval plate in the middle of the table. "I want to talk to you about a few things that go along with having a boyfriend."
"Oh no." she sighs. "Your not going to give me a sex talk? Are you?" Mortified, Bella drops her spring roll onto her empty plate.
I nod my head. Her eyes get big and her face turns bright red.
"No. I thought the first talk was going to be the last talk." She whines in horror.
"Believe me," I say, feeling my face grow hot. "It's not exactly a fun conversation for me to have either. But there are things that I want you to know. For one, it's okay if you don't want to kiss him or anything else he might want to -"
"Dad, Let me stop you right there." Bella interrupts me. "I already know about all that. I learned about it in last year in eight grade Sex Ed class. I am perfectly aware that I don't have to give in to what a boy wants if it's not something I want."
Feeling better about what she says and seeing that there's no need for a talk right now, I nod my head.
"So, we don't have to have that talk? Right?" Bella wonders as she gets up, taking her plate to the sink.
"No, not right now." I reply. "Just one more thing, while I'm not home I don't want Edward to set foot in this house. The two of you are not to be unsupervised, do I make myself clear?"
"Edward can't be in the house when you're not. Got it, Dad." Bella responds, taking a bite of the spring roll.
Satisfied with our little talk, I go back to eating my food. I take a drink out of my beer fancy wine glass while she quickly washes and dries the plate and her fork.
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Thank you for reading. :))
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