ASL Chapter 15

Shock

EPOV:

Mom was shocked when she came home from their trip to the museum and found me at the house. Mom, Dad, and I sat and had a long conversation over dinner that evening and I told them everything that I had been feeling. They had had no idea that Tanya and I had problems that ran so deep. As soon as Mom was satisfied that I was really alright, she grabbed the phone and called to check on Tanya. I left the room to give them some privacy for their call. I was glad that Mom was looking after Tanya. I may not love her enough to be with her, but she doesn't deserve to be left without any moral support or a sense of family nearby. That would be wrong on every level. I knew that my parents were really torn about it, and I told them that I didn't want the divorce to affect their relationship with her negatively. We were just doing what was best and trying to remain on friendly terms. It would help if the rest of the family supported both of us on that as well.

Mom, Dad, and I decided that as amazing as Bella was, she was getting a little to close to the situation to be truly objective, so they were going to pay for me to start seeing an actual psychiatrist. I was still going to be working with Bella on my recovery; I just needed to talk to someone who was totally detached from the situation.

Ethan threw a fit the first couple of nights, wanting me to come home and put him to bed. Tanya called me and let him talk to me, and I promised that he would see me all the time and he could call whenever he wanted. He seemed pacified by that and by the third night he was calmly asking to call me to say good night.

I was planning on talking to Tanya about the possibility of using some of the money from our savings account to buy myself a cheap used car, but Dad decided that it was time for Mom to get a new car and was going to keep her old car for me to drive until I was able to get on my feet. It really made me stop and think what Bella kept trying to tell me about my family not being disappointed in me. We sat down and talked for hours about me staying with them for as long as I needed to and deciding what I wanted to do. Mom wasn't necessarily sure that going back through college was the right decision for me, though.

Bella was due to fly home to Seattle this afternoon and I was to go pick her up, take her home to drop off her stuff, and then go to meet Em and Jas at the bar to watch the game. I was waiting, as planned, at the luggage carousel for her to make it in from the gates. I was shocked when I first saw her. She had most definitely spent a lot of time in the sun while in Florida. I grabbed her and hugged her as soon as she got to me, "How was your trip?" She wasn't too close to me and my situation. Nope.

"It was great and very relaxing, which is surprising since I was with my mom. She redefines the term "hyperactive". How was your Christmas? Did Santa bring you everything on your list?"

"Yeah, actually he did. Tanya filed for divorce." Ok. Perhaps that wasn't the best time to tell her that. I ended up startling her so much that she walked right into the door, knocking her on her butt.

"She what?" Bella exclaimed as I helped her get to her feet.

"She hired a lawyer and left me."

"Oh my God! Where are you living? What about Ethan? I….I…wow…just wow."

I told her about moving in with my parents and all the decisions that had been made, and the fact that I had an appointment to talk with a psychiatrist soon. She agreed that is was a good idea, considering everything that I was going through. She simply did not have enough training to help me with all of my problems.

I had yet to tell my sisters and their husbands. I hadn't really talked to them on the phone and they were all busy working so I hadn't seen any of them. When Bella and I walked into the bar and I realized that my sisters had tagged along with their husbands, I knew that there was no time like the present. To say that they were shocked was an understatement. I didn't take it as hard as my family did which, as I pointed out to them, should show that this was the right decision. This was the first time that we had all gone out as a group, well that I could remember, anyway. We had a great time cheering on the Seahawks and drinking.

I came back to the bar a few nights later on my own to just have a drink after my first session with my psychiatrist. After a long talk with Garrett, the owner of the bar, I left so excited that I went straight over to Bella's apartment. She was the first person that I thought of that I wanted to tell. I should have thought this through and realized that she might not be alone, and I really shouldn't have been surprised when Seth answered the door.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your date. I just, I just didn't think. I just wanted to share some good news with Bella."

"Seth? Who is at the door?" Bella called from the kitchen.

"It's Edward. He says he has some good news," then he turned back to me, "come on in, man, she was just about to force me to watch Rugby."

I walked in Bella's living room as she came out of the kitchen, "You want a beer?"

"Nah. I really can't stay. I wanted to tell you that I got a job."

"That's great Edward! Where at?"

"Garrett's. I'm going to be a bartender." After a lot of congratulations from the two of them and three drinks that they both demanded that I stay and have, I was finally able to leave and go home to share my good news with my family. It was so weird, it was like neither one of them wanted me to leave them…and leave them alone with each other. I probably would have laughed at them if the situation hadn't scared me just a little bit.

Over the next few days I spent my free time studying the recipe cards that Garrett had loaned me. He told me that most people that come in will just order beer but a few will want fancy drinks. Mom and Dad were thrilled that I found something that excited me this much. Mom and Dad were helping me by tasting the drinks as I attempted to make them. There were only a few that were complicated and took a few tries to get them right, but Garrett told me that I could always look at the recipe cards if I was in doubt. He still keeps them under the bar because he needs to peek once in a while himself.

My first night was on Thursday and it felt like I was jumping into the deep end of the pool. I would either sink or swim and I was determined to swim. It was busy because there was a game on. I made a few mistakes throughout the night, but Garrett was happy with my work and we made a good amount of tips. I even had a few girls slip me their phone numbers. I wasn't sure if I should be interested or not, or if it was alright to be interested. They were cute girls, but Tanya and I had to wait ninety days to finalize the divorce so surely I should at least wait until then. Right? Maybe not. I don't know. Life was so confusing.

After only a week of working for Garrett, I knew that bartending was my new career path in life. Now that school had started back I would pick up Ethan after class everyday and keep him until Tanya got off work, except for Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Those were my nights off and I kept Ethan till bedtime before taking him home. He was going to get to stay with me for the whole weekend starting right after school on Friday. Tanya and I knew that we were going to need to sit down and put everything to paper and figure out what we were doing. We had plans to meet for lunch next weekend. I think we were both ready to move on.

BPOV:

There was a part of me that never want to get on that plane and return to Washington. That part was currently lying on the warm sunny beach drinking her third watermelon daiquiri of the afternoon. I moved my feet off the lounge chair and buried them into the hot sand, "Are you rethinking living in the deep freeze up North?" Phil was Mom's latest boyfriend. He was alright but not the kind of guy that she usually dated. She usually went for younger guys, but Phil was older than her and a pharmaceuticals salesman and on the road a lot.

"Nope. I'm just enjoying the warmth and sunshine while I can." Like Mom, he could not understand how I could choose the icy cold of the north over the warmth and sunshine of the south.

I spent some time catching up with a few friends from college while I was in Florida. I went out one night to a bar that my good friend Angela and I liked to frequent. When I turned to question her when she ordered a soda instead of a beer, I was shocked to see a smile on her face.

"But you broke up with Ben three months ago! How? When? How far along are you?"

"I'm four months along. And he is still going to marry Heidi and doesn't want the baby."

"What a jackass! I'm sorry but really! To think that once upon a time, we both thought he was a good guy." I couldn't believe that Ben was just going to turn his back on Angela and his child. "If I ever find him, I am going to castrate him. I'm sure that I would be able to get Emmett and his brothers-in-law to help me."

"Emmett? As in the high school Emmett that I've heard so much about? Something you want to share with me?"

I laughed, "I literally ran into him at the hospital when I was assigned to help his brother-in-law, Edward, after a bad car accident. Emmett is happily married."

"So are you seeing anyone?"

"Not really." I didn't want to get into whatever it was that I had going on with Seth with her. I didn't think it was working out as it was, so there really was no point in talking about a semi-relationship that was most likely going to be very short-lived.

My mother reluctantly let me board the plane a few days later, but with a lot of tears. She outright laughed at me when I reminded her that she was always welcome to come visit me in Washington. She had not ventured north since she fled Washington with me when I was a baby. I wondered if I'd be able to convince her to come to Washington if I ever got married. Maybe I'd have a winter wedding just to force her to endure snow again and see how wonderful it was.

I didn't realize that I had not actually talked to Edward or anyone in his family since I left for Florida. I had thought about them frequently. I was worried about him and his situation, but I didn't know what I could do to help him. Professionally, marital issues were not something that I would deal with. Personally, I was invested because of my friendship with Emmett that had expanded to include Edward. I had grown to care about all of them very much and I didn't want to see anyone miserable or hurt. It was really becoming quite difficult to maintain my professional distance from the situation. Thankfully Edward wouldn't need me much longer and then I would just be their friend, and everything would be simpler. It wasn't until I got off the plane and saw Edward there waiting for me that I realized just how much I had missed all of them.

I totally embarrassed myself by walking in a door when Edward announced that Tanya had filed for divorce. I totally did not see that one coming or the door apparently. I wondered what had spurred her into that decision. It seemed to come completely out of nowhere. I would have to talk to her soon, but I was also having relationship issues of my own right now.

Seth was a great guy with a great career as a radiologist, but I just don't feel any romantic connection with him. We had met at the hospital cafeteria and got to talking. We hit it off great at first, but when we tried to take it to a romantic level something was way off. I knew that I was going to have to deal with it soon because he was too nice of a guy to lead on. I decided to give it one last chance so I invited him over for dinner.

Staying in, alone, may have been my big mistake. From the moment that he arrived, things were weird between us. Neither of were able to really hold a conversation beyond two or three sentences. The tension in the room was getting thicker by the minute. Unfortunately, it wasn't the good kind of tension. I was two seconds from feigning a migraine so that he would leave. I was horrible to even consider that. I think we were both relieved when Edward showed up. When Seth nearly held the man hostage to get him to stay and hang out with us, I nearly started laughing. I mean, it would have been funny if the two of us hadn't been so pathetically desperate for a buffer.

Once Edward escaped, Seth and I sat down to have a long talk and basically just stared at each other until I started laughing. Seth looked at me like I was crazy for all of a minute before he was laughing with me and then said, "I don't think that I've ever been on a more awkward date. Seriously, I was just begging another guy to stay and join our date!"

"I know!" I exclaimed. After I had a chance to calm down a little I sighed as he took my hand in his.

"Yeah. So…friends?"

"I like friends. Dinner's ready. Do you still want to have a friendly dinner with me and then watch the game?"

"Definitely." The rest of the evening was calm and relaxing and we were really able to enjoy each other's company. He left that night with both of us confident that we'd made the right decision.

As for Edward, I was thrilled that he not only found a job but one that he was so excited about. He had a great personality and would make a great bartender. I was so proud of him for the way that he was getting his life in order. He didn't know, but I came to the bar on his first night at work. I sat in the corner where I could watch him and still be out of his range of sight. I just wanted to make sure that he was alright. I smiled as I watched him succeed. Even though he made a few mistakes, all in all his night was a success. I wasn't all that happy when these tramps kept slipping him their numbers. I didn't know why it was bothering me so much. Tanya filed for divorce so he was free to do what he wanted, and it was probably good for him to mess around a little with those women while he attempted to 'grow up' again. But there was just something about it that was irritating me.

I left the bar when Alice texted me, asking where I was. I really didn't want to tell her that I was stalking and spying on her brother. That wouldn't be weird at all. I went straight over to Alice and Jasper's house. She wanted me to look at a couple of things that she designed with me in mind. Rose was there when I got there. She was sprawled out on the couch and told me that Alice would be down in a minute. She was just putting Aiden to bed.

"I feel weird though that she designed something for me."

"Get over it. She does it for all of us. And I can guarantee you that it is some things…plural. She's a real good judge of people and what kind of clothes they like to wear and are comfortable in, and won't go against it. Her motto is 'happy customers who like to wear the clothes they buy will come back to buy more." It was evident that Alice was very good at business. She was also able to save herself a lot of money by making her children's clothes instead of having to pay outrageous prices to buy things that the kids would only wear for a couple of weeks before they outgrew them.

Alice came downstairs a little while later carrying a bunch of garment bags. My shock must have been written on my face because Rose just snorted and said, "Told you."

"Be quiet, Rosalie, because some of these are for you." Alice opened the first bag to reveal a couple of pairs of jeans and a couple of casual shirts. The jeans were deep purple in color and fit me perfectly. There was only one problem, "Alice these are amazing, and I love them, but I have nothing to wear with them."

She said nothing but smile as she walked over the next bag and opened it to reveal an absolutely gorgeous lavender, hand crocheted, sweater. "Oh! I am so jealous. I want one of those! When did you learn to knit anyway?" Rose complained.

Alice rolled her eyes, "It's crocheting, not knitting. There is a difference." I didn't know what that difference was but I loved the sweater. "I learned while I was pregnant with Aiden and I've had an instructor helping me. It's really quite easy. This took less than a month to do."

"Yeah. With you anything that has to do with sewing comes easy."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, little sister," Alice laughed as she opened the rest of the bags, "I'm starting yours next. I chose deep blue for you because of your hair, eyes, and complexion."

We spent the next two hours trying on clothes and drinking beer while Alice made little adjustments here and there. By the time I left I had two new pairs of jeans, five new shirts, and three new, very beautiful, and very, very sexy nightgowns.