Friday, August 3, 2001
And that's when I know it's over. As soon as you start thinking about the beginning, it's the end. -Junot Diaz, This Is How You Lose Her
"Honey, you're going to have to talk to him eventually!"
My mother's voice faded more the faster I pedaled. My father had called for me three times since the day before and I had no interest in talking to him. Being cooped up in the new house had been bad enough but that was the last straw. I didn't care how hot it was. I was determined to ride my bike until my legs were too tired to take me any farther. I was on my sixth or seventh lap around the neighborhood when I was startled by a blur of blue and orange. I squeezed the handlebar breaks and looked behind me as my bike slowed down.
A kid that looked about my age was standing, smiling with a basketball under his arm. His blue shirt read Forks Little League and his white shorts looked a few sizes too big as they hung low on his waist.
"You just moved here right?" he shouted as I turned my bike around and began riding over to him. I nodded yes, wondering what this kid could possibly want. "Since you don't look like a six year old girl, I'm guessing you're the twelve year old boy?" he asked and I nodded again. He smiled real big before turning around and waving for me to follow and, for whatever reason, I did.
I hopped off and walked my bike over to his lawn before resting it on the grass. When I looked up he tossed me the ball.
"So... New kid... Can you talk?" I smiled and shot for the hoop on his garage.
"Sorry. I'm Edward." The ball bounced off the rim and I winced. Basketball wasn't really my thing. The kid chased after the ball, catching it before it rolled into the street. He turned around and took a shot from the end of the driveway, relieving me of any embarrassment when he missed by several feet.
"I'm Emmett. I suck at basketball and we're in the same class." He threw the ball back to me and I laughed.
Emmett continued to fill me in on how his dad was the chief of police and that's how he knew who I was, though he followed that up with the fact that he probably would have known anyway because "everyone knows everything about everyone else in this god damn town." We exchanged some information about Forks and Chicago. He told me I should sign up for the baseball team and I told him one day I'd show him what real pizza was like.
I wasn't sure how long we were playing for but eventually we were interrupted by the front door of his house opening.
"Em, dinner's ready. Say goodbye to your friend and come inside."
That was all it took.
A simple glance of jean shorts and skin and I was stunned in place while Emmett ran by me to snatch up the ball that was somehow no longer in my hands.
"Sorry, man. My sister made lasagna. Like, the kind with the meat. It's my favorite. But you should come over tomorrow. My dad has the day off and he's taking me and my friend Garrett to La Push to go to the beach." I nodded my approval, still unable to speak. "Sweet. Just come over at like nine."
Then he was gone, leaving me alone with the images of smooth legs and bare toes following me as I walked to retrieve my bike.
By the time I'd reached my house I had convinced myself I was acting crazy. My new friend's sister was just like every other teenage girl and I needed to stop picturing her stupid legs. I was distracted from these thoughts when I walked through the door and to my left I saw mom on the floor of the parlor, surrounded by pieces of wood and empty box with a picture of a TV stand on it. It was obvious she hadn't heard me come in. Her head was cradled in her hands, one of which held a screw driver. My gut twisted and I cleared my throat. She looked up in surprise before plastering a large smile on her face that quickly turned into confusion when she noticed my sweaty appearance.
"Sweetie, what on earth have you been up to?" I shrugged and made my way over to her, sitting down on the floor next to her and picking up the directions she'd tossed aside. I cringed as I felt my t-shirt stick to the skin on my back.
"Met a boy from around the corner. We were just playing basketball in his driveway for a while. He asked me to go to the beach tomorrow?"
Her responding smile was so big that I felt more grateful for her that I'd made a friend than I felt for myself.
"That's wonderful, honey. As long as there's a parent present, I don't mind," she paused and I nodded quickly. She smiled again. "You should invite him over here sometime, too. I didn't buy a house with a nice big pool for it to stay empty all the time." I shrugged again and held my hand out for the tool she was holding. "Oh, you don't have to help, Edward. Why don't you go upstairs and get cleaned up?"
"I will. After we get this done." She opened her mouth to argue but I cut her off. "Mom. I can't watch the Cubs on the little TV anymore." She smiled and sighed, giving into the exhaustion that was written all over her face.
She normally hid it pretty well, but I was young, not stupid. Even a twelve year old can see that a husband leaving his wife and children for another woman is going to take a lot to come back from. If it weren't for some nurse at the hospital in Chicago having known that they needed a new pediatrician in her old home town, mom would have been stuck having her nose rubbed in the whole situation day after day. Anger built up in my chest just at the thought of my dad but I squashed it down. She didn't need to deal with me being angry on top of everything else.
Forty-five minutes later we were finished. She was smiling and looking on proudly as I picked up the extra screws I was praying weren't supposed to have been used at some point.
"You go shower. I'm gonna go check on your sister and I'll have dinner waiting for you in the kitchen when you're done." She patted me on the head as she passed.
I wondered if it was easier for her to be around my sister than it was to be around me. Everyone always said I looked just like dad. We had the same brownish-red hair, same nose, even the same name. I think it hurt her to look at me whereas Vicky didn't look anything like him. Her hair was bright red and her round little face was covered in freckles. She looked like the pictures of Nana mom used to keep in the hall of our house back home.
After cleaning up I headed back downstairs where I was met with the smell of my mom's spaghetti. My mind wandered back to the pretty girl who made her brother lasagna. The only time I could remember feeling even close to this was when a girl at my old school kissed me on the mouth after her friends dared her to. It was kind of warm feeling that spread through my chest whenever I thought about it.
I walked into the kitchen and pulled three cups from the cabinet before grabbing milk from the fridge. I felt mom kiss the top of my head before she passed and placed a plate of sliced bread on the table. We'd had spaghetti for dinner the past three nights but I wasn't going to start complaining.
I maneuvered all three glasses in my hands before carefully dodging Vicky as she shuffled her small slipper clad feet to her seat with a giant, blue stuffed animal clutched tightly under her arm.
I sat down and started loading up my plate when mom started her interrogation.
"So, this new friend, what's his name? Where does he live?"
"Emmett. He lives on the next street over. His dad is-"
"Oh honey, the chief of police's son? I definitely approve," she laughed.
"But how did you know Emmett was-"
"I met Charlie the other night at the grocery store. He introduced himself and said his son Emmett was in your class. Such a nice man."
I shrugged and took a piece of bread before Vick started going on an on about how she and the rest of her stuffed animals had spent the afternoon saving Stitch, the little guy she was holding onto so fiercely, from the evil aliens who had been trying to abduct him. I rolled my eyes and silently thanked the interruption because now mom was distracted from badgering me anymore.
I excused myself early and went directly to my room to play the new MLB video game one of my friend's had given to me for my birthday right before we moved. The next thing I knew I woke up on the floor of my new bedroom with a sore neck and the music from my game softly filling the room. I stood up and stretched, looking at my clock to see I only had a half hour before I said I'd be at Emmett's.
I threw on my bathing suit and ran downstairs to grab some poptarts where I noticed a note from my mom. She went to sign Vicky up for dance classes but wished me a fun day at the beach with my new friend. I pulled the sticky note off the cabinet and the phone started ringing. Without thinking I walked over and answered.
"Junior, that you?"
I suddenly felt the urge to throw up.
"Son, are you there?"
I stood for a beat longer before hanging up the phone. Poptarts forgotten I went upstairs to get a towel, threw on my favorite hat and left the house.
I had no idea what time it was but I knew I was early when I knocked on Emmett's door. I took note of the mailbox hanging from the house with Swan written on the front. Immediately after reading the word the door opened with the scariest man I had ever seen in my entire life.
His dark eyes and mustache both twitched as he stared down at me.
"You must be Edward?" he asked and I nodded. "Gotta tell you kid, I don't know if I can let you into the house with that," he said pointing to my hat.
I was pretty sure I was about to crap my pants when I quickly removed it from my head.
"That's much better," he laughed while standing aside to let me in. "Emmett's in the kitchen finishing up his breakfast. Just straight in and your first left."
I practically ran by, leaving him chuckling after me. I found Emmett at their kitchen table, sloppily shoveling waffles into his face. He grunted a greeting before I sat down next to him, putting my hat on the table in front of me.
"Dude, did my dad see that?"
I nodded, still slightly terrified at the entire situation.
"I should have warned you. This is strictly a Mariners house," he whispered while shifting his eyes to the doorway.
"Yeah. I got that," I answered just as quietly while grabbing and shoving my Cubs hat into the pocket of my bathing suit.
Emmett started laughing and continued eating. My stomach growled reminding me of the poptarts I didn't end up eating. Luckily he offered me a plate and I accepted. He got up and grabbed the yellow box from the freezer before popping a couple in the toaster.
He had started telling me all about La Push when another kid walked into the kitchen.
"Hey, Gar. This is Edward, the new kid. Edward, this is Garrett."
I uttered out a quiet "hey" while he just nodded and walked over to the fridge where he pulled out some waffles for himself. He looked small. Maybe a few inches shorter than me and really scrawny, though that may have just been accentuated by the way his clothes seemed a few sizes too big.
After Emmett had his second helping we were ready to go.
I found that on the drive there, it seemed Garrett and I had the whole, speak when spoken to, thing in common... Which ended up being all right because Emmett talked enough for all three of us. It took him a couple hours at the beach and laughing at the expense of Emmett losing his shorts to a rough wave for things to start feeling less uncomfortable between us. After that the rest of the afternoon was actually really fun. It was the first time since my dad had sat me down "man to man" to tell me what he'd done that I'd really felt like myself again.
On the ride home the two of them were telling me all about the rest of the kids in our class and in that moment, with the two of them laughing about something that happened in the beginning of the summer with some kid Tyler, it was starting to sink in that maybe moving to Forks wasn't such a bad thing after all.