Chapter Four
By five o'clock, Bella found herself squeezing through the hoards of people at the airport in Seattle. Alice wasn't kidding when she said that she was sending Rosalie on the first flight out of New York. After talking to Alice on the phone, she apparently called the airlines at quickly as her fingers could tap at the numbers. Not to mention, the flight that Alice booked for Rosalie was a non-stopper with a non-refundable ticket. Bella chuckled at Alice's persistence.
Bella finally made her way through the airport as she found the right terminal. Sitting down on one of the blue plastic chairs-the one's that make your ass hurt-Bella waited and people watched.
People watching had been something that she and her Squints used to do when they were kids. They'd find someone interesting looking and guess something about the person. Usually, it was the same people that lived in Forks, but each time they guessed something different.
She laughed at the memory…
"I think she's a fairy."
"She's not a fairy, Peaches."
"Is too."
"Is not. She doesn't have any wings."
"Yes she does. Look on her back. There's wings."
"That's her backpack."
"Yeah. And Tinker Bell is on her backpack. So, she has wings."
"Okay. I guess she does."
"What about him?"
"He's a soldier."
"How can you tell?"
"His boots."
"His boots don't make him a soldier."
"But they could."
"I guess you're right, Squints."
"I'm always right, Peaches.
As Bella thoughts lingered, she was pulled away by cries and sobbing at the far end of the terminal gates.
Off to the far left of the vast room, a woman was weeping, throwing out her arms-tossing the welcome home sign aside- as a very tall man threw himself at her, engulfing the woman's entire body with his large arms. He was dressed in military attire. His hair, from what Bella could see of it, was a tinted brown, almost looking as though it was growing back from its buzz cut that Bella was sure the military had required him to have. His large, green utility bag was tossed to the ground with a pair of black issued boots tied around the straps.
Bella watched in rapt fascination as the woman cried and clung to the man, while another gentleman with lighter colored hair stroked the woman's back in a soothing manner. Bella noticed that he was crying as well.
Cheers and claps could be heard around the terminal gates, as patrons and passengers applauded the soldier. It was a cadence of sound that was a combination of joy and appreciation from the onlookers.
The soldier and his party slowly made their way across the terminal gates, trying to reach the baggage claim. As the trio passed by Bella, the soldier briefly looked at her. Bella couldn't help but stare back at him as a flood of emotions washed over her entire body. He looked familiar. So familiar. But she couldn't place his face or his jade green eyes that were gazing at her. The man looked at her quizzically but then shook his head, knitting his eyebrows, and smiling at Bella as he drifted off into the sea of people.
Bella was brought out of her musing when she realized that another flight had just landed, sending its crowd of passengers from the gate. As soon as Bella saw her, much to her horror, she began to shake her head. Fucking Alice.
"Bella! Bella!" Rosalie yelped, waving her arm in the air, dragging herself toward her boss.
As Bella looked over her assistant, she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips. "Nice outfit."
"Alice picked it out for me! You like it? She said that I'd need it out here. But, I don't know. The weather looks great outside," Rosalie said, peering through the airport window. "Oh well! She was only trying to help."
Rosalie was dressed-courtesy of one Alice Brandon-for a blizzard. Her long blonde hair was completely pinned up covered by a purple furry hat with furry ear flaps. Her purple ski jacket seemed to engulf her petit frame, making her head look like that thing at the end of the movie Beetlejuice. Even her purple galoshes were a sight to behold. And let's not forget the oversized purple ski pants. All in all, poor Rosalie looked like something Barney the dinosaur had crapped out. It was a hideous sight.
"Everyone's staring at me, Bella," Rosalie said, as they made their way from baggage claim to the airport exit.
Bella squeezed her eyes shut and smiled. "It's the hat Rosalie. That hat rocks," she lied, shoving Rosalie's bag in the car.
During the car ride, Rosalie ditched the hat and the coat, saying-in her own words-that it was too stinkin' hot in the car and that she was going to melt away like the Wicked Witch of the West.
"So Bella, where are we heading?" Rosalie asked, twirling a lock of her blonde hair between her fingers.
"Actually, I've got this party to attend. Thought you'd like to go with me," Bella said.
"Ooooh! A party! How exciting!" Rosalie bounced in her seat, giggling like a school girl. "It's going to be so much fun. Who's party is it?"
"A friend of mine. He owns a bar in town. It's his brother's welcome home party."
"Where did he go?"
"Who?"
"Him."
"Who him?"
"The brother. Where did he go?"
"Oh," Bella said, already feeling dizzy from the line of questioning. "Iraq."
"God bless you," Rosalie said, smiling and staring out the windshield as they drove down the highway.
"What?" Bella was fucking clueless by that point.
"You sneezed. I said God bless you," Rosalie said, rolling her eyes at Bella's obvious brain fart.
Bella slapped her forehead. "I did not sneeze. I said, he was in Iraq."
"Who was in Iraq?"
"Never mind, Rosalie. Never. Mind."
As they reached the Port Angeles city limits, a thought crossed Bella's mind.
"Roaslie?"
"Yeah, Bella?" Rosalie answered, bopping her head to Katie Perry's California Girls.
"Did Alice help you pack for the trip? Or did you pack your stuff?"
"Oh gosh no!" Rosalie answered.
Bella clenched her teeth, ready to smack the woman upside the head for her short, confusing answers.
"What do you mean gosh no?" Bella asked, afraid of the answer.
"Well, Bella, it's simple. I don't have a sense of fashion. We all know that," she said, giggling at her own words. "So, Alice said…"
Fucking Alice!
"Please don't tell me that she packed them for you," Bella said, almost begging the woman to confirm this was so.
"Sure she did! She said that she'd pick out the bestest wardrobe she could find," Rosalie said, looking at Bella and placing a hand on Bella's arm. "I trust her totally!"
I will kill Alice later! I will kill Alice later!
As they passed the only mall in Port Angeles, Bella asked, "What color were the clothes?"
"Um," Rosalie said, tapping her finger to her chin. "Purple."
"And you didn't see anything wrong with that?" Bella asked incredulously.
"Well, at first I was like "Boy Alice, you sure do like a lot of Purple" and she was like "Well, purple is a…" wait, what was the word she used? Oh yeah! Devine. Anyways, she was like "Well, purple is a divine color on you, Rosalie" and I was like "You are so awesome Alice!" and she was like "I know!"
And I was like…And I was like…And I was like…Shut the fuck up!
With a monstrous headache on the rise, Bella took a deep breath and let her next words slip out of her mouth very, very slowly. "Do all the clothes look like the ones you are wearing right now?"
There she goes with that Goddamned chin tapping again!
"Um…Yep!"
As quickly as the words left the Rosalie's mouth, Bella was hitting her breaks and making a u-turn. Two point five seconds later they were pulled into the mall parking lot.
"What are we doing here, Bella?"
"Shopping. It's on Alice."
One hour and four hundred dollars later, Rosalie finally had a decent and expensive wardrobe. Bella had made Rosalie change in the women's bathroom in the mall, seeing as though they were an hour late getting to the party at Emmett's bar. She was slightly peeved that she hadn't gotten a chance to change her clothes, but instead figured that the outfit she was already wearing, jeans, a white cotton t-shirt, and her white Chuck's, would have to do. She would also have to make do with brushing her hair and freshening up her make-up in the car as well. I will kill Alice later!
They made it to the bar exactly an hour and twenty minutes late.
The parking lot in front of the bar was packed. It seemed like all of Forks finest was out in droves tonight to welcome home the small town hero. Luckily, Bella found a parking spot close to the entrance. Walking a mile was not an option after the day she had.
Before they entered the bar her cell phone beeped. Alice.
Did the creature from the Ditz Lagoon get there yet? A.
Yes she did. And you owe me 4 Benjamins! B.
For what! A.
New clothes for Rosalie, asshole! B.
Oh that! LOL… A.
Laugh it up! B.
Before Alice could respond, Bella ended the call. She was not in the mood for Alice's Rosalie bashing session, especially if she was going to be in a room with a bunch of people she didn't know. Well, besides Emmett.
There were wall to wall people inside the bar as soon as Bella and Rosalie entered. Bella immediately pulled Rosalie over to the bar stools. Behind the bar, mixing drinks, was a tall man with jet black hair. The black t-shirt he wore was snug fitting to say the least, defining the muscles on his arms and, as he turned around, Bella's mouth went dry. He was hot!
"Well, hello there, ladies," the black haired hottie said. "What can I get you?"
Even though he was asking them both, his eyes were glued to Bella.
"I'll take a Shirley Temple. Please and thank you!" Rosalie said, smiling like a buffoon. "Can you add an extra temple to it please?"
I swear to God, how can one person have so much air between their ears?
As Bella sat with her head turned in Rosalie's direction, trying to figure out where the nearest clinic was to get the bitch some meds-hopefully to set her right-she didn't hear the bartender talking to her.
"Hello? Miss?"
Bella's eyes snapped forward. "Oh, shit! Sorry. Um, what were you saying?"
"I was saying. You're friend over here…" the bartender began, as his eyes raked over Bella's face down to her lips, "really likes the temples."
"Oh that," Bella said, waving him off. "She's kinda two nails short of a job well done. Just give her something hard. I need her to be mute tonight."
The man laughed. "You got it, sweetheart. If mute is what you want, mute is what you'll get." The wink the hottie gave Bella didn't go unnoticed.
Bella turned in her bar stool, looking around at the party goers. Some were dancing and some were sitting at tables off to the left side of the bar eating what looked like chips, dips, and a wide variety of finger foods.
"Here ya go," the man behind the bar said to Rosalie. "Enjoy!"
Rosalie perked up, setting her cell phone on the bar top, tilting her head to the side, looking at the drink quizzically. She had the look of deer caught in headlights. "It's so pretty! What is it?"
"It's called an Adios Motherfucker. After this one, you'll be on your way to Snockersville, honey."
Rosalie gave the blue concoction another go over with wide eyes, licked her lips, and then looked at Bella. "Where's Snockersville?"
The bartender laughed at this, shaking his head from side to side in either disbelief or confusion over the bubbly, air headed blonde in front of him.
Bella placed her hand on her assistants shoulder. "It's not too far from here. Drink up and I'll show ya."
"Okie dokie, artichokie," Rosalie said, bringing the blue goodness to her lips, taking a generous slug. "Holy Cow! This stuff is good!"
"Glad ya like it, Rosalie. Now drink up," Bella said, patting the woman on the back. "There's more where that came from."
"And for you, sweetheart?" the bartender asked, throwing Bella a sexy wink.
"Hmm? Let me get a…"
Before she could continue, a familiar, booming voice spoke up behind her.
"Get her whatever she wants, Jake. The tab's on me!".
As soon as Bella turned around, she was met with big arms and an even bigger smile. "Well, don't we look chipper?"
"Ah, yes, my little bean sprout. We are ecstatic."
"I take it your brother's home?" Bella asked.
"Sure is. Taking a shower and should be here real soon," Emmett said.
Bella and Emmett talked about the bar's reconstruction for a bit, while Jake the bartender made Bella a drink. By this time, Rosalie was face deep in her empty glass of Motherfucker.
"Can I have another?" The sound of Rosalie's voice next to Bella immediately perked Emmett's ears. "Bella these are soooo gooood! You should really try one."
The laugh that ripped from Bella's lips was guttural as she watched her friends eyes glass over and heard a few hiccups escape her mouth.
"And who is this lovely creature?" Emmett asked, skimming his eyes over Rosalie.
Was that a twinkle, Emmett?
"This is my friend slash assistant, Rosalie," Bella said, making the introductions. "Rosalie, this is the owner of the bar, Emmett."
"Well hello, friend slash assistant Rosalie," Emmett greeted, extending his hand. "I'm Emmett Cullen. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Rosalie extended her hand. "Hello. It's nice to meet you too."
Did she just blush?
"Here's your drink, sweetheart," Jake the bartender said.
"What is it?"
"Sex on the Beach," Jake said, adding a pearly white smile.
"Hmm…that's one I've never had before." Bella was flirting and she knew it. It had been a long time since a man had showed any interest in her. This was fun and she was enjoying herself.
"So Bella," Jake said, grinning like an idiot. "You're husband gonna join you tonight?"
"I'm not married."
"Boyfriend?"
"Don't have one of them either."
Bella swore she heard him mutter "lucky for me" under his breath. Well, that was before Emmett piped in.
"Don't even think about it, Black. This one's strictly off limits," he said, throwing an arm around Bella. "B is here on business. Besides, I got someone else in mind to introduce her to while she's here."
"Alright, alright," Jake said, sticking his hands in the air, before leaning in towards Bella and whispering, "But if that doesn't work out for ya, you know where to find me."
"Back off wolf boy," Emmett poked.
Jake laughed at his friend.
"Jake here plays for the Forks summer football team. They're called the Wolf Pack. And they're pretty damn good, too."
"Jake!" Someone called from the other end of the bar. "I need some beer, man!"
"Duty calls," Jake said with another wink to Bella, heading off to take care of the patron.
As Bella sat watching Emmett and Rosalie make googlie eyes at each other a thunderous earthquake of cheers and hollers came from the entrance of the bar. A montage of "Welcome Home, bro" to "We've missed you so much" could be heard floating through the air.
Emmett's head tore away from Rosalie, a knowing look plastered across his face.
"He's here," Emmett breathed. "My baby brother's here."
Bella watched as Emmett bounded across the room, ramming his large body against the man she assumed was his brother. It was a sentimental and heartwarming scene as the two brothers exchanged hugs and stood for photos that some of the other party goers requested.
Bella couldn't see the other man's face. What she did notice was his hair. It was the same color as the man at the airport this afternoon.
"So, how ya doing over there, Rosalie?" Bella asked.
Rosalie's head twirled towards Bella, her eyes bloodshot as she swayed a bit on her stool.
Oh Christ! "Are you okay, Rosalie?"
Rosalie slowly shook her head from side to side as she blew air in her cheeks, making herself look like a fat ass chipmunk. It didn't escape Bella's notice that her assistant was turning green at the gills.
Shit! Shit! Shit! "C'mon, Rosalie, we need to go," Bella said, waving towards Jake. "Yo, bartender! Here's a twenty for the drinks. Goldilocks, here, is looking pretty shitty. I think she needs to consult the porcelain thrown!"
Jake barked out a laugh, waving of Bella's money. "Drinks are free tonight," he said, looking at Rosalie's fucked up demeanor. "Go on. Go take care of your friend." Jake smiled at Bella slipping her a small piece of paper. "Call me some time. Just, um, don't tell Emmett. He might feel the need to cute my balls off."
Bella smiled at Jake, as a small blush began to creep up her neck, thinking about how nice the guy seemed. Maybe I should take him up on his offer. Then again, it could just be the liquor talking.
"Thanks Jake," Bella said, stuffing the paper in her pants pocket, and lopping her arm through Rosalie's as to steady her friend. "Could you do me a favor and tell Emmett that I had to get Roudy Rosie out of here?"
"We'll do," Jake said, winking sexily at her. "Call me, Bella."
Smiling at Jake and gripping on to Rosalie, Bella made her way to the exit of the bar when she heard a loud boisterous voice boom behind her. Crap!
"Bella! Bella!" Emmett called out to her, weaving through the crowd. "Wait! Bella, Wait!"
Right after slipping through the exit door, Emmett came barreling out behind the two women.
"Hey, Emmett. Sorry but, um, I gotta get this party animal outta here before she blows her load everywhere."
Emmett looked from Bella to Rosalie, noticing that Bella wasn't shitting when she said that her friend looked sick. "Yeah, yeah, okay," he said, running his hand over his head. "Shit, I really, really wanted to introduce you to my brother. I'm sure I could find him real quick," he said in almost a panic.
"Maybe some other time, Hulk." Bella shoved Rosalie in the car and looked back to Emmett, giving him an apologetic smile.
"Let me at least call you a cab," said Emmett.
"I'm good. Only had one drink. Besides, I'd hate to have to pay extra for a cab in numbnuts over here throws up in it," Bella said, sliding into the driver's seat. "Don't worry, Hulk, I'm as sober as a nun."
"Alrighty, B," Emmett said, looking back at the bar door as if trying to find someone. "Well, do you think we could get together tomorrow? Maybe have lunch? I'd like to talk shop with you, if you have some time. Here's my cell number."
"Got it. Thanks," Bella said, slipping yet another piece of paper into her pants pocket.
Emmett was peering into the driver's side of the car. "Blondie really can't handle her liquor, can she?" he said with his brow perched.
"That's an understatement," Bella said playfully, looking over at Rosalie. "Oh God! Do not throw up in here, Rose! Emmett, I gotta go! Talk to you later!"
Before Emmett could speak another word, Bella threw the car in reverse and barreled out of the parking lot, screeching tires as she pulled out on to the street.
The sound of a door shutting broke Emmett's gaze away from Bella's car as it disappeared down Main Street.
"Damn, I was looking everywhere for you. What the hell, Em?"
"Uh, hey, I was just getting some air," said Emmett.
"So, where's this pretty thing you want me to meet?"
"Yeah, about that. She had to go, bro. Her friend was getting sick," Emmett said glumly.
"Well, fuck. That sucks big hairy sacks."
Emmett looked to his left and shook his head. "Dude. Hairy sacks? I think you've been around dick for too long," he shuttered. "We need to get you laid soon."
"Whatever, Em. It's just good to be home. I've missed this place."
Emmett wrapped his arm around the other man's shoulder. "I know. It's good to have you home, Edward."
"It's good to be home, big brother."
What the hell, Bella? Really? Your Squints was right there, girlfriend! Ugh!
I know some of you would like to spear me with pitch forks right about and that's why it's good that you are there and I am here...(Smiles sweetly)
Well, I may not get another chapter of this story up until after Christmas. Sad, I know. My kiddos will be on vacation and it will be a very busy time.
Just in case, I hope you all have a very, very Merry Christmas!
Until next time...
OzellaMarie