Wolfie and Bella at Starbucks
Boston was busy. The city was beautiful and rich with history and culture. It was full of intellectuals; students, teachers, doctors. In New York there were seemingly endless troves of financial experts, stockbrokers and bankers. In Boston, the people seemed more interesting and purposeful. I liked it.
Logan International airport was always moving and shifting. I had never minded having it as a home base as I worked, but today's trip to the airport wasn't work related.
I was picking up my Jacob, who was coming to live with me.
"Miss, this is an incredibly valuable piece", the woman said hesitantly. She kept inspecting it to make certain that she was not incorrect in her initial determination.
I had just presented the tiny blonde woman at the Jewlery Outlet with the red and gold box from Sami; the one I hadn't opened in Cairo.
"Miss…"
"Call me Bella, please."
"Bella, what you have here is a two-hundred and seventy thousand dollar emerald and diamond ring."
"Okay" I said.
Clearly, it wasn't the response she had expected.
"Doesn't this piece of jewelry hold some meaning for you? It must me a gift from someone very special and engagement ring perhaps? It isn't old; Cartier put this design out only last year. This was one of their pricier rings in that collection."
"I just want to unload it." I had told her flatly. She arched an eyebrow, and looked me over closely.
"This is a special piece" she reminded me again, and I saw what she was thinking. What kind of unassuming, plainly dressed girl of my age and appearance would walk into an estate jewelry buyer's shop on a Tuesday with a ring worth a quarter of a million dollars? And who, with the kind of money to hold such an item, would need to or want to sell it?
"I have proof of ownership, madam."
"Of course."
I smiled at her, and the discomfort between us dissipated. No need for me to make a stink.
"Bella, I don't usually buy jewelry of this….caliber without having some advance notice. Perhaps we can come to some arrangement. I can pay only one hundred and seventy thousand, but if you'll accept then I can write you a check today. You'll have the money now."
I accepted the arrangement, and handed her the identification and information she needed to record the transaction and write out the check.
As I received the large check over the counter, the small woman addressed me again.
"I imagine you'll be doing something very special with this money."
"Very" I assured her.
When I saw Jacob Black emerge from the tiny walkway that connected the gate with the airplane, I laughed out loud. His massive frame made the doorway and the other passengers look ridiculously, comically small.
I began waving as him exaggeratedly, since I would not be as apparent to him in the crowd as he was amid the rushing mass of passengers coming off of flight 276. When he saw me, he smiled broadly, and my heart skipped. I literally felt a pang in my chest.
Of what?
Relief? Joy? Lust?
He looked amazing.
Bad thoughts Bella. No. You mustn't even think… anything.
"Isss-a-belllla!" he sang to me as he ran up and grabbed my waist. He had dropped his carry on ten feet back.
"I missed you a lot" I told him sincerely, burying my face in his shoulder. And he just held me for who knows how many minutes.
As I withdrew from him, I began to think procedurally. We needed to get his checked luggage, and return to the parking area within the hour in order to avoid being charged the extended parking rate. Even though I was now moderately wealthy, I couldn't see wasting thirty five dollars.
When I asked him which baggage carousel we'd need, he laughed.
"I just brought the carry-on. Don't have that much in the way of clothes bells. I've ruined most of them."
I gaped at him.
One bag? Everything he owned in one bag?
"How, I mean what happened to your pants? What about the jeans I bought you at Christmas? Jake, you had…"
"I ruined most of them phasing. I really tried not to" He said with a smirk.
"Oh. Oh, of course" I said, and my thoughts shifted from confusion to amusement. How could I have forgotten that my very handsome best friend was, in fact, a huge, apparel-destroying werewolf? Pants had clearly been a poor gift choice. I laughed lightly, and he joined me. Jacob grabbed m y free hand as we began walking through the terminal.
When I stopped at the Starbucks kiosk on the way out, Jacob lingered behind on a nearby bench. I noticed that he was rifling through his bag, an annoyed expression on his face.
I ordered a skim-latte and a fudge brownie. I had thought to order an additional snack for Jacob; perhaps three or four bran muffins and a bottle of water. It occurred to me after I paid that if he wasn't phasing anymore, Jake may not be as… hungry as he had once been.
Better safe than sorry; the guy was still huge.
I sat next to Jacob on the wooden bench, and handed him one of the paper bags.
"Bag of muffins," I told him. He chucked warmly.
"What kind?"
"Bran muffins. Three of them."
"Sounds perfect."
"So you aren't... um… less hungry, huh?" Was this a personal question?
"Nope."
"But you don't phase now" I asserted.
"Not usually," He said, averting his eyes.
I turned my entire body toward him and shot him an accusing glare.
"Jacob, you said you weren't phasing!" My tone sounded a little harsh in my own ears, so I softened it a bit.
"You can't just shape-shift here Jake, there's nowhere for you to go…no place to run hidden." He looked like he was about to speak, but I cut him off.
"And there aren't wolves here; I mean not like that. Not big wolves. Maybe coyotes or something. Not that there's wolves like you anywhere, but it Washington people were used to hearing about weird large animals."
He looked at me solemnly for a moment, then smiled.
"Weird large animals?" His face expressed mock-insult.
We both laughed.
"But seriously Jake. You can't go…"
"Bella, I get it. Don't worry. I haven't shifted, often. Or recently. I did two weeks ago, but I was able to control it entirely."
What was he saying? Could he not stop? Maybe he just didn't want to. Phasiing was a part of who he was. It was a connection to his tribe. I felt that it was prudent to ask how he felt about it all, since I was the one that had dragged him to the crowded east coast, and off his res.
"Do you still want to be able to sometimes?" I half-whispered.
He looked at me sweetly.
"Maybe. I don't know. I sort of felt like, I don't want to lose it completely. But I can wait, or control my urge, until I'm somewhere where I can get away with it. Like a wildlife preserve, or something."
We both laughed again. It almost seemed too ridiculous.
"I wonder if you'll be able to hear them from here" I mused.
"Maybe," he said, "I'd like to hear Seth sometimes."
"You have a cell phone" I reminded him.
He laughed, and shoved half of a bran muffin into his mouth easily.
"I can't hear people's thoughts and emotions through a blackberry Bella."
He had a point. Suddenly, I was jealous of the wolf-connection. I wanted to know every thought in Jacob's mind.
I did not want him to hear mine.
The mood in the car was different; lighter, less emotionally charged. It was as though we had never been away from one another. I was glad to see Jacob smiling.
Just as I was about to start the vehicle, Jacob presented me with a small unwrapped gift box.
"Jake…"
"Really, it's nothing Bella. Just a little something I meant to give you last time you were up."
Inside the paper box was a thin silver ring nested on a cotton pad.
"Emily helped me choose it for you. We got it at La Push Native Gifts."
The ring was amazing; it was only a thin band, but was inscribed with what could only be Quileute words.
"It's perfect."
The ring was so large that I could only keep it on my thumb, which I rather liked. I considered the irony; I had just hocked a much more expensive ring to take Jacob on vacation, and he replaced it with a ring that I'd value much more.
I couldn't wait to tell him, but for some indescribable reason, I was nervous to ask my very best friend to take this trip with me. On the other hand, I had a feeling he'd be genuinely pleased.
"Jake, I know you just got here…"I fidgeted in the driver's seat, but smiled mischievously.
"Jeez, Bells. What's got you so amped up?" He chuckled.
"I actually got you…well, us a present. Sort of."
He smiled, and his brown eyes glowed with warmth. I felt so safe, and so, so happy.
"I hope you'll want to go" I continued.
"It's a surprise trip? Are we going to Disney or something? You know, I've always sort of wanted to go on the Tower of Terror."
I shuddered. He laughed.
"Ya, not exactly," I grimaced.
Not at all.
"Well…"
"Well, I haven't been on a real vacation forever. You know how I travel, like, daily" I laughed lightly… "but I never see anything while I'm away. So when I was in the Netherlands a few weeks ago, I was thinking about, maybe a vacation. And I sort of need a travel buddy, so…" I smiled over at him.
"A travel buddy, huh?"
"Yuppers."
"Where to Miss?"
I reached over his enormous lap, and wrestled with the latch on the glove compartment door. Without taking my eyes off the road, I reached inside and felt for the envelope. I pulled out a handful of napkins, which I promptly ditched on Jacob's lap, eliciting laughter. Then I felt a small packet, and I was certain I had the right one. I handed it to Jake.
A moment passed while he read the little packet that the travel agent had left me with. I heard the shuffling of paper as he opened the tri-fold, and removed the printed copy paper that displayed our particular travel plans.
"Holy shit! Wow Bells, I…just wow."
"You coming?"
"Oh my god, I mean…Italy. For that long? I mean, how can we afford this?"
I winced, and hoped it had gone unnoticed.
"I'm a rich old bastard," I declared humorlessly. "I can afford it just fine, and I don't want any complaints from the peanut gallery."
I had planned the trip meticulously, so that we would have too much to do. I wanted Jacob to have the opportunity to hike; sightsee, and eat lots. I wanted to sightsee too, but I also planned to spend a fair amount of time strolling through vineyards and laying in the sun. Which reminded me…
"I don't know if you saw this, but the last six days are a Greek Islands cruise. It's on that other sheet there. You can take a look at the ship."
He turned a piece of paper over, and studied it carefully before eliciting some sort of gleeful squeaking noise. I laughed at him, and he seemed embarrassed.
"Oh Jake, no. I'm sorry." I reached out and grabbed his knee. "It's just that I think you're insanely cute when you're excited." I smiled for him without looking in his direction, and in my peripherals, I could see that he was looking at me with want. In a moment, I realized what I had just said; how I had sounded.
Maybe excited was an unfortunate choice of term.
Insert foot in mouth.
"Sorry. I'm so sorry Jake." I didn't know what else to say, and now I was thinking about this cruise and about my concerns that in said situation, I would not be able to keep away from my "travel buddy."
Still, I could count on Jacob to be cool, and forgiving of my stupidity.
"Bells, thank you so much. This is so great." He grinned at me, as he spoke in the softest and most sincere tone imaginable.
"Just coming here, to you was enough of a gift. It's so great to be able to get away, and to have someplace safe. You are my safe place."
I thought of the irony; that this huge man-wolf felt safe with me, because of my friendship. I looked over at him, and he held nothing but love and sweetness in his big dark eyes. I wanted to love him so bad, in every imaginable way. I just didn't know if I had the capacity for love at all.
"You're my safe place too." And as I said it, I felt a part of my cold heart warm tremendously. I breathed deeply, and smelled ocean air.
"We're almost home, Jake."
"That sounds wonderful."