Solivagant (adj.) Wandering alone

June 30, 1989

Near the Acker's Inn

5:03 pm

Bella walked down the small still road that led to the Acker's. She arrived back to the Inn a lot sooner than she intended. Bella spent her morning exploring around London, but decided to return early since it was her first day in the city and she had enough time. She had managed to see Big Ben and some other famous touristy sights, but something was obviously missing. There were a lot of things she and Jasper had intended to do together. Wandering around London alone was not what she imagined it would be.

"Miss Swan?" Bella turned to find Edward Caron striding a few paces behind her impeccably dressed in a dark suit with a fedora on his head. He was the picture of a young, handsome, businessman with his expensive looking briefcase.

"Hi Mr. Caron," she called with a dainty wave. Her face heated, remembering their embarrassing first encounter the day before. "Heading back?"

"I thought that was you getting off the bus," he said as he caught up.

"Oh really. I didn't even see you." She certainly did not. Bella's mind had been preoccupied with thoughts of Jasper. Not knowing where he was and if he was okay was really troubling.

They strolled in pace with each other. He was quiet for a moment and she could tell he was searching for something to say. "So tell me," he said conversationally. "What brings to England?"

She took on a teasing tone. "Brings me here? How do you know I'm not from here?"

"The accent Miss Swan," he pointed out dryly.

"Oh yeah," she laughed, feeling stupid. She placed her hand over her mouth as if that would hide the accent. "Speaking of accents where are you from?"

"I am a Frenchman," he answered playfully. "I am here on business. Now back to you." The Frenchman was smooth and had a way with words.

"I'm American, obviously," she said pointing at herself. "I'm backpacking across Europe."

He let out a loud laugh. "What? Is that funny?" she asked, feeling a little self-conscious.

"No, I just wasn't expecting that," he laughed waving her off. "I should have but I didn't."

"What do you mean you should have?"

"With my business," he explained. "I meet a lot of backpackers or people just passing through France looking for work. I apologize for laughing. It is a strange situation for me. Something in my head."

"Oh okay," she said looking at him inquisitively. He seemed a bit bizarre. She supposed it might have been a French thing.

"Where are you off to next?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said. "It was supposed to be Paris at first but that might come later."

"Plans changed?" Edward seemed genuinely interested.

"Kind of," she said, thinking of Jasper. "My friend was supposed to meet me and we would have gone together."

"Oh. How long are you in Europe for?"

"Maybe a year."

"Well, you have time."

"Yeah, but I have to go to France anyway. I had something lined up to do. I don't need to be there until August or September though."

"Well, you have time and if the friend doesn't come go without her." He suggested as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"I guess I will have to do that," she sighed. They were both silent for a while. "Where in France do you live?"

"Dordogne. Do you know where that is?"

"I don't."

"I figured," he laughed. "Are you just staying in Paris?"

"No, I'm going somewhere near Bordeaux I think." Bella had a picking job lined up for when she got there she would be staying with a family.

"Ah," he said. "I am not very far from there."

"Maybe we might run into each other again," she joked. The Acker's place came into view.

"Perhaps we will," he said with a light shrug. "It is a small world. You never know who you will run into. Good luck Miss Swan."

Edward left the Inn early the next morning. Bella saw him from her second floor window as he entered his hired car and rode off into the distance.

Friday July 7th 1989

Acker's Inn

9:00 am

Bella folded her last pair of pants and stuffed it into her duffle bag. She had stayed in London much longer than she had wanted to and she was ready for the next leg of her journey. She could no longer wait for Jasper.

Although she was worried about him, something in her gut told her he was okay. He had to be okay. He undoubtedly got into something and either lost track of or disregarded the time. She opened up her worn map looking at what was supposed to be their next stop.

Paris, France.

If he came back to find her, the Acker's would tell him where she went. She couldn't sit around and wait on him forever. If a month passed and she has not heard from him, she'll let their parents know.

There was a knock at her door.

"Are you all packed?" Ms. Acker asked as she opened the door.

"Uh…" she looked over her shoulder. "Yeah. Just about."

"Good." Ms. Acker smiled. "Richard wanted to leave at about half past nine, but now…"

"What is it?" The woman had an expression that was a mixture of apprehension and delight.

"There's a young man here to see you. He said he goes by, what was it? Jazz?" Ms. Acker asked playfully. She had made it known in the past few days that she believed Bella should wait on Jasper. She had been very worried about Bella travelling on her own.

"Oh my god," Bella gasped. She dropped the map and ran passed Ms. Acker and down the stairs to the lobby.

"Jasper?" she yelled as she reached the last step.

Jasper Whitlock stood in the lobby alongside Mr. Acker. They were engrossed in conversation and both men looked up at Bella's frantic entrance. "Hey Babe," he said with a grin. "Missed me?"

Bella gasped, taking a step back once she finally noticed Jasper's face.

There was a dark purple bruise under Jasper's left eye. His bottom lip was swollen and looked like it had been split open recently. "Oh my God Jasper!"

Bella hurried towards him taking his face in her hands. "What happened to you?"

"It's nothing," he said trying to pull away from her fluttering hands. "I fell coming off a train. It's not a big deal. I wasn't watching where I was going."

Anger flooded through Bella. Not only was Jasper missing for weeks, he is now blatantly lying to her. They never lied to each other. As if it had a mind of its own her hand came up and her palm connected with Jasper's face with a loud smack.

"I can't believe you," she hissed. "Where the hell have you been and what are you involved in?"

He sighed, taking a step back shifting his gaze to the Acker's who looked on with identical shocked expressions. "I'll tell you later alright? It's not a big deal though."

Jasper and Bella stuck around for six more hours. They made a quick trip around the city before returning back to the Inn. Bella couldn't hide her disappointment in Jasper. A few weeks into their trip and things were not going as planned. And in the worst way possible. The trip felt like less of an adventure and more of a babysitting job where the babysitter loses the child. It angered her even more that he was pretending like his disappearance was a non-issue.

Bella began giving him the silent treatment eventually. She considered him a traitor that shouldn't have the pleasure of conversing with her. He had a lot of making up to do. She stayed mostly quiet as he joked with the Acker's while they tried to ignore the giant bruises on his face. When it was time to leave she felt an odd relief.

"Goodbye dears," Ms. Acker said, embracing Bella and Jasper, as they got ready to leave the Inn for the next leg of their journey. "It was nice having you here and I will see you when you return."

"Thanks for having me. It was a real help."

"It was no problem at all," Mr. Acker said. "We should get going. We wouldn't want you to miss your train."

Review and you will get a preview! Let me know what you are feeling about this story. The chapter was short but another will be coming very soon.

Of course they will meet again. But how soon? We shall see. ;)