Chapter 6: A Letter at Last
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Bella was bored out of her mind sitting around on the beach, especially since Renee fell asleep. It was a good thing she brought along a book to read: The Age of Innocence. She didn't seem to be able to immerse herself in it, however. Her mind's eye kept conjuring up a vision of a tall Native American, with eyes the color of onyx, glistening black hair, and that million dollar smile. Why did Renee have to live so far away from La Push?
When Renee woke up, they ate lunch on the sand and decided to call it a day. Bella cleaned up after they got home, and as a promise to herself, went grocery shopping.
Derek dropped by the house when he saw that Bella had left in the car. Renee was surprised to see him at the door. "Well, Derek, how nice of you to come by, but Bella's not here right now. She should be back in about an hour."
"Actually, I was hoping I could talk to you, Mrs. D. Mind if I come in?" You betchur barettes I need to talk to you.
Renee held the door open, and motioned for him to step inside and sit down.
"Would you like something to drink?" she offered.
"No thanks, I want to get this over with quickly." He rubbed his leg, nervously.
She sat across from him smiling, and leaned forward slightly. "Okay, so what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Well, it's about Bella. You know I really like her . . . I mean reeaaaally like her. But that's just the thing. I'm falling head over heels for your daughter, and you left out some important details . . . like the fact that she has a boyfriend back home. You've been pushing me at her all this time—and even before that. I don't think that was fair—to either of us."
Rolling her eyes, Renee thought, Oh, here we go again . . . Jacob Black. "If you're talking about Jacob—they've known each other all their lives. I don't want her settling down with someone just because she's comfortable with him."
"I don't think comfortable's the right word. She's in love with this guy. You can see how her eyes light up when she talks about him."
Her smile was fading fast. "You know, I married a boy from a small town, and look where it got me. I don't want my daughter making the same mistake."
Derek sat up a little straighter. He was starting to get annoyed. "Don't you think that should be her decision?" Boy, this woman is a control freak.
"You are getting out of line here, Derek. I think I know what's best for my own daughter." The nerve of this kid! And here I thought he was such a nice boy too.
"I mean you no disrespect, Mrs. D., but Bella is eighteen years old. She doesn't need her mother interfering in her life. She's old enough to make her own choices."
Why you little . . . Do you have anything else to add before you need to go." I should say before I throw you out.
"Only that whatever plans you had for us are not going to work. I'll be her friend even though I'd like to be more than that, but this relationship is as far as it's going to go."
Thanks for setting me up for all this heartache, lady.
He stood up, ready to leave. "I'm sorry if you think I've overstepped my bounds, but I had to get this off my chest. You're very lucky to have a sweet daughter like Bella. I mean that sincerely. Well, I better go before she gets back. She probably already thinks I'm stalking her. Bye, Mrs. D."
Renee closed the door behind him. I can't believe he talked to me that way. Well, no matter, he's young. I can fogive his brashness. Anyway, he still has five weeks to grow on her.
The next day was horrible. Renee had a bee in her bonnet the whole time, and Bella was clueless as to why. Gosh, she wished Phil was here to act as a buffer. There was such tension in the house, it practically zinged aloud. So, it was actually a welcome relief when Derek phoned.
"Hey, Bella, I've got the whole day off, and I thought you'd like to go to the movies with me . . . just as friends. Gotta warn you though, my brother will be with us. I promised I would take him, so I'm stuck. Whaddya say?"
"Sounds great." She crossed her fingers. Would she regret this?
It was hard to keep the excitement out of his voice. "I'll pick you up in an hour." I can't believe it; she said yes.
When Bella answered the door, another introduction was in order. The grey-blue eyes on Derek brightened, and his lips curled up in a smile. "Hey, there she is! Frank, I'd like you to meet Miss Bella Swan."
"Hi, Frank." Bella put out her hand in greeting.
Frank had a scowl on his face, and his arm remained at his side. Derek nudged him to comply by squeezing the back of his neck.
"Hey—ow!" He extended his hand unwillingly. "Yeah, hi." Turning to his big brother, he complained, "I thought you said she was pretty."
After shaking Bella's hand, he wiped his own on his pants as if to rid himself of girl cooties. Derek in the meantime gave her a look of, sorry, but I told ya so.
Frank ran ahead of the two, his light brown hair flopping onto his forehead with each step. He yelled, "I've got shotgun!" as he sailed into the front seat.
Pulling open the door to the passenger side, Derek entreated, "Why don't you let Bella sit in front? Remember we talked about this earlier."
With his lips twisted into an ugly sneer, Frank retorted, "Why do I have to sit in the back? This isn't her car. You guys gonna be kissin' or somethin'?"
Bella shifted her weight uncomfortably. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."
Echoing Bella's sentiments, Frank agreed, "Yeah, what she said. Three's a crowd."
Derek spoke through his clenched teeth. "No, d'arvit, now get in the back seat, Frank!" I'm gonna kill this kid any minute now.
"I've got an idea. How about we both sit in the back seat."
His pale blue eyes were accusing her even as he surrendered. "Oh, all right—but just because I wanna see this movie sometime today."
The battle was over, but Derek didn't like the outcome. He was sitting all alone up front while Bella was in back with his ornery little brother—geesh!.
When they got to the cinema, there was a round of musical chairs since Frank wanted to sit between the two of them. As the movie began, Derek finally got up and moved to an empty seat on the other side of Bella.
The movie was a scary offering with weird alien creatures. Frank got so scared at one point that he latched onto Bella's arm. As soon as he realized what he had done, he quickly pulled away, embarrassed.
Bella jumped in her seat a couple of times herself. Derek put his arm around her shoulders, and she didn't complain or draw back from him. He was just trying to comfort her, she told herself.
During the big battle scene, Frank became animated in his excitement. He knocked over his cup of Sprite—right into Bella's lap. Startled, she stood up with a horrified gasp, and immediately rushed through the aisle with Derek following.
His hand grabbed her shoulder, and spun her around in the darkened theater. "What happened," he asked hurriedly. "It wasn't that scary, was it?"
"No, it's not that. I've got to get to the ladies' room. Your brother dumped his cup of pop all over me."
Closing his eyes in humiliation, Derek announced, "You go find the ladies' room. I'll run out to the car and get my sweater, to cover you." He turned to head out to the parking lot. "I swear, I'm gonna kill that kid," he muttered.
He returned with the sweater, and rapped on the restroom door. "Bella, you still in there?" An older lady left the room nearly hitting him in the chest with the heavy door.
"Young man," she hissed. "The men's room is on the other side of the hall."
Bella peeped outside the restroom, and Derek handed her his sweater. She wrapped herself in it like an apron and stepped out into the lobby.
Derek was beyond mortified. "I . . . I don't know what to say. I can't apologize enough."
"It's okay; believe me, I've had a lot worse. I'm actually feeling sorry for you. Is he always like this?"
Nodding his head, Derek sighed. "Pretty much. This is even one of his better days. Oh, my gosh, Bella, this was a disaster. I'm taking you out to dinner tomorrow night. I won't take no for an answer. It's the least I can do to make up for Frank's behavior. You wanna help me plan his murder over steak and lobster?"
All at once, the laughter bubbled up out of her throat, and Derek joined her. They were laughing so hard that they almost failed to notice that the people were filing out of the auditorium. The movie apparently had ended.
"D'arvit! We missed the ending. You wanna stay and watch it again?"
"No thanks. I'll wait for it to come out on blue ray," she answered in between her laughter.
"C'mon, let's go collect my little brother."
Taking her hand, he dragged her back to their seats, but the seat where Frank was sitting was now empty. He was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, good grief. Now what? Where did he go?" Thinking quickly, Derek said, "You go out front. I'll take the rear exit. Then we'll meet back in the lobby."
They were both gone for several minutes, but returned empty-handed. Derek was looking a little pale. He sat on a nearby chair rubbing his chin. How could he tell his parents that his brother got lost while under his care? Sure, he'd like to murder him sometimes. But the thought of some low life carting him off—he didn't even want to think about that possibility.
Bella sat down beside him. Could things get any worse? "Maybe we should call the police."
Looking at her, he tried his best to remain calm. "Okay, let's not panic yet. We'll just wait a few more minutes."
As they sat there talking, a loud voice boomed behind them. "Does this kid belong to you?"
Derek stood up, craning his neck toward the voice. The man had his hand on his brother's shoulder. Frank seemed unconcerned, a big grin decorating his face.
"Thank god—where have you been, you little idiot?"
The man explained, "He was up in the projector's booth. He was interested in how the film got looped through the projector. His tutorial is over; he's all yours. Have a nice day."
"Too late for that," Derek uttered under his breath.
The mailman pulled up to the little red house in La Push. Jacob rushed out to greet him and was whooping with joy when he had in his hands the letter he was anxiously waiting for. He had to restrain himself from kissing the stunned man. Grabbing the rest of the mail, he raced into the house, tossed the remaining envelopes onto the kitchen table, and dashed back to his friends still drinking warm root beer out in the Taj.
After kissing the envelope a hundred times, and making a fool of himself doing his happy dance, Jacob brayed, "It's here, guys. The love of my life has penned a letter for her ever-luvin', Jake. Get ready to be jealous."
"Damn," Quil snorted. "You'd think you won the lottery."
Pressing the precious letter to his heart, Jacob crowed, "Let me tell you something, Ateara. I have won the lottery—the lottery of love."
Embry pointed to the paper sack that the root beer came in. "Hey, Quil, can you hand me that bag over there. I need to puke."
Quil walked over and holding the bag in his hand said, "Wait, let me make sure there's enough room for me to use it too."
Jacob sat down sideways on the front seat of the Rabbit, turning the envelope over, this way and that. In mock seriousness, he stated, "Jeez, maybe I should put some pepto bismol in with the root beer next time."
Embry spoke up. "Okay, Jake, the nausea has passed. So are you gonna read that thing or just stare at it all day?"
The two chums crowded around him as he read the letter. "Man, it sounds like she really loves the weather in Florida," Embry remarked.
"Probably reminds her of all the sunshine she misses in Arizona," Quil added. Then in a sing–song voice, he commented, "Oh, isn't that sweet, the sunshine reminds her of you—her air and her sun. God, I think I need that bag again."
Irritated, Jacob pointed a finger at Quil. "You know, you don't have to read this with me. Now shut up, I don't need your stupid comments."
"You tell him, Jake. I think it is sweet."
"Says Mr. Sensitive," Quil snarked.
"Damn, right. Now be quiet. I wanna know what she wrote to Jake."
Rising from the seat, Jacob seemed a little concerned, as he read the part about Derek. "Just a friend, huh?"
"What's wrong with that?" Embry asked.
"If you remember correctly, I was her friend at one time too."
Poking Jacob in the bicep, Quil pointed out, "But now, you're her friend—with benefits."
"Great big benefits," Embry muttered.
"Yeah, but this Derek is a normal guy. He probably has money too. And look where he lives. It's practically paradise. You know her mom has been itching for her to go to school down there."
"Get a grip. Hell, it's always the same old broken record. You need a new tune, my man. What are you so worried about. She's in love with you. She proved that the night before she left." Embry ended with an exasperated huff.
Quil looked around Jacob's shoulder, "What else does she say?"
Jacob yanked the letter to the side, obscuring Quil's view. "Nothing you need to know about. The rest is private. Get your own letter." He refolded the paper, placed it back in the envelope and slipped it into the pocket of his jeans.
That night, Jacob wrote back to his Bella. He updated her on the current events at La Push, which sadly didn't compare with her Floridian escapades. He made a few comments about her new friend, hoping to sound casual and not the jealous fool that he really was. Then he poured his heart and soul into the next part, letting her know how much she meant to him—how he could never erase that last afternoon from his memory—that afternoon they spent physically sharing their love for each other. He ended it by telling her that he looked forward to her call, longing to hear her voice once more.
How he missed her! Please god, don't let her stay away too long. And don't let her forget me. My heart couldn't take it.
He placed his letter in an addressed envelope, ready to mail tomorrow. Then he turned out the light, and laying his head on the pillow, willed himself to dream of his sweetheart so far away.