4. The Orchid
The beginnings of a new relationship were some of the best feelings in the world. Every time Bella would receive a new text or a phone call, the butterflies in her stomach would do summersaults. Just thinking back on their date made her heart beat faster.
But her friends were not going to let her jump into a new relationship without being fully informed. Her date was the first thing on the agenda.
The group sat in a circular booth at their favorite local restaurant. Eric and Angela were noticeably sitting close to each other at one end of the booth, followed by Jessica, Tyler, and Bella.
"Alright Swan, who's this guy Jessica keeps going on about?" Tyler asked through a mouth full of french fries.
"Do we finally get to know his name?! Jessica added.
There was no way they would let her get away without spilling any details this time, so she gave in.
"His name is Edward."
"Kind of an old fashion name," Angela commented.
"But it's a good name. I know a handful of Edwards, and they are all great," Eric directed towards Angela instead of Bella. Bella laughed, the two were so absorbed with each other, it was hard to believe they didn't notice before.
"Yes, Edward is a great name, but now date talk!" Jessica was practically bouncing out of her seat.
"Leave out all the dirty details. Only PG for these innocent ears," Tyler joked. Bella lightly slapped the side of Tyler's head.
"It was all very sweet." Bella summarized the date with enough detail to satisfy Jessica but left out everything that would make Tyler pretend to vomit. "It was romantic. He's really a funny, great guy."
"When are you going to see him again?" Angela enquired.
"Sometime this week; he's helping me with a little project."
"Oh yes, a little project," Tyler mimed putting up a circle with one hand, and a finger from his other hand inserting the circle. Bella slapped him on the head with a lot more force this time. "Ouch! You know you're making me lose brain cells, right?"
"Didn't know you had any to begin with."
Tyler mocked outrage before changing the subject.
"Now that girl talk is out of the way, can we discuss something we're all interested in like drinking?"
"Yes! Two weeks till our little Bella turns 21!" Jessica whooped.
"Can we please not make a big deal out of this?"
"We've had this talk already. You are going to embrace 21 with open arms, woman. We at minimum need to do go to a bar!"
"Maybe you can invite Edward too," Angela suggested.
"Too soon. I'm just getting to know him. Do you think I want to scare him away by having him meet you crazies?"
"She's talking to you," Jessica and Tyler said to each other at the same time.
After a little more bickering, snacking on food, and coercion, the details for Bella's birthday were finally coming together. Against her will, her group and several other friends were going to meet at a local bar in downtown. Even though she was dreading all of the planning, small talk, hosting that comes with throwing any type of event, it did make her feel happy that her friends would go to the trouble of forcing her to do it.
...
Bella looked around the table, Jessica and Tyler arguing about who was going to buy Bella her first drink, Angela and Eric not so secretly holding hands under the table; she felt so lucky and happy to find a group of such genuine friends.
Bella had an unofficial date with Edward in the library this week. She was taking him up on the offer for translation help.
Bella was the first one to reach the sixth floor of the library. She found the book and dropped off her things in the same armchair as last time. She figured she had a little bit of time to kill, so she wandered around the floor.
It still amazed her that no one else ever seemed to be on this floor. Considering how the students claimed tables downstairs, she would expect no less up here. Yet, here she was, room to herself.
Bella glanced at several titles and pulled books off of shelves at random. There were a large majority of books entirely in Latin, but there were also many others that were written in a multitude of languages. Just by the feel and smell of the books, you could tell they were all very old. She flipped through pages, not understanding anything but still appreciating the beauty of the penmanship and the detail work that came along with – what she assumed was – hand printed books.
Suddenly, Bella's view went dark as a pair of hands covered her eyes. She jumped slightly at the unexpected contact, but quickly relaxed as she registered who it was. She peeled one of the hands off her face and turned around.
"How the hell can you sneak up on people without making a sound?"
"It's a gift," he smiled. He was dressed very casually again today, but he made casual look good. Bella placed the book she was looking at back on the shelf, and moved to let go of his hand, but Edward intertwined his fingers with hers, and she was more than happy to keep her hold on him.
Before they reached the end of the row, Bella surprised Edward by abruptly turning to face him, and giving him a quick, affectionate kiss.
"Whoa, what's that for?"
Bella shrugged coyly. "A thanks for your help, I guess"
"If that's how you say thanks, I'm going to have to help you a lot more often," Edward smirked.
They walked back to the armchairs. Bella moved her belongings to the small table nearby as that would be better suited for two people. Edward sat opposite from her at the table.
"Let's get to some Latin! What are we reading today, my star pupil?" Bella rolled her eyes.
"I asked for your help, I didn't necessarily mean I wanted to learn from you. How would I know if you were any good as a teacher?"
"Let me assure you that I am a most skilled instructor. I have various talents ranging from teaching Latin to bowling instruction, which, judging by that last game we had, you might need lessons in as well," his eyes crinkled with amusement.
"Hey, old man, not sure if you remember, but I won the first game. So as far as I'm concerned, we're even."
"Old man at 24? You wound me," Edward mimed getting hit in the chest.
"You know, it's kind of weird that you're fluent in Latin, it's not as if it's a language choice in high school," Bella commented, just realizing for the first time how strange it was to stumble across someone who knew the very old language.
"Let's just say Latin is very important for my line of…studies."
"Planning to become the Pope?" Bella joked.
"I have too many impure thoughts to become the Pope," Edward winked at Bella before continuing, "Now, let's see this book."
Bella pushed towards him Sanguinem Mundi.
"Blood of the World, a classic."
"Come on, no joking this time."
"For once, I'm not. This actually is a classic book. I read this one a very long time ago. I can go through with you and translate passages, but maybe you want an overview about the book in general?"
"Actually, that would be great." Bella settled in as Edward began.
"There are two different types of people: ones who are more…connected to the world, and ones who aren't. This book starts at the beginning with the first families that were connected. It was said that each family derived their strengths from the four elements: water, fire, air, and earth. Each family would display physical and emotional trades derived from their element. People from fire can be hot headed and brutal but also fight with a fierce loyalty. People from water get along with others very easily, they are flexible, and kind hearted. People from air are passive and elusive while people from earth tend to be stubborn but strong and have very deeply imbedded values. Of course, over time, these families intermingled so there isn't just a pure elemental family. Many people display multiple traits from different families, but you can still, with a little searching, be able to trace back to a single original family."
Bella listened intently, entranced by Edward's tale. His voice had a soothing cadence and the material was strange but also, in a weird way, familiar.
"How do you know if you are "connected" or not? What does that even mean?" Bella asked. Edward took a minute to think before answering, obviously constructing a very deliberate explanation.
"That's harder to explain. The way the book describes it, it says you will just know."
"Do you know what specifically the earth part of the book covers?" Bella asked a bit shyly.
"A lot of what I just told you, but more detail and each chapter goes into very specific family lines, the history of the lines, notable figures from each line."
"Oh," was all Bella answered back. She wanted to know more, maybe see if her family was in there, if any name was familiar to her, but it seemed too intimate of a request to ask of someone she only just met. Edward could see she was having some kind of internal turmoil.
"Any other questions? Anything you want to go over? I really don't mind if you want me to translate a few paragraphs."
"Just out of curiosity, how did you even end up reading this book? Did your parents use it for story time before bed?"
"I had an unusual upbringing," he answered with an indifferent shrug.
Bella realized how silly she must seem to be focusing so hard on a book that was most likely full of fairy tales – fabricated and embellished. She laughed out loud to cover her embarrassment.
"It's probably all made up anyway. Urban legends or something like that," Bella tried to brush off.
"You know what I find with these types of stories, there are always notes of truths to them, sometimes more than you expect."
As wild and fantastical as the book was, Bella felt unusually happy that Edward did not make fun of her or put her down. It is a rare person who instead supports and encourages one to believe even in things that seem impossible. But what made the situation even more abnormal, was the way Edward looked at Bella, like he was holding back or knew something that he didn't want to share. If anything, though, it made him more intriguing.
Bella, as a child, was known to throw herself full heartedly into a puzzle, even if took days or weeks, because she was intent on always knowing what big picture was hiding in the small pieces. And she may have just found her most interesting puzzle yet.
...
Birthdays, by definition, are very self-indulgent events. People go to all lengths to celebrate themselves and their existence. While Bella was definitely not beneath celebrating, to her birthdays also meant something a little different.
When people die, they are usually remembered on either the day of their birth or the day of their passing. But for Bella, memories of her mother hit strongest on Bella's birthday.
Renee's love and strength nurtured Bella inside her. Bella was a literal piece of Renee; a living reminder of what kindness and affection can bring to the world. Every year Bella always dedicated a part of her celebration to her mother. Without Renee, Bella would not exist.
After class on Thursday, Bella drove to a local flower shop, one she had been going to every year around this time.
The tiny bell over the boutique's door chimed a greeting as Bella entered the store.
"Isabella! I was wondering when you would be stopping by."
Sue Clearwater was the owner of the flower shop and head florist. She was a woman in her mid-fifties with soft, warm brown eyes, black cropped hair, and copper skin. She had been a family friend since before Bella was born. Her flowers were the only ones Renee ever bought saying Sue's love for her flowers made them bloom longer.
"I have the perfect flower for you this year! I had it shipped all the way from a special greenhouse in California!"
Bella followed Sue to the walk in fridge in the back of the shop. There in the back corner, in a single vase, was a single orchid.
"Sue, it's beautiful!"
"Calypso bulbosa, or better known as the fairy slipper orchid. I saw it in a catalog and knew Renee would absolutely love it."
It was a delicate flower with only a single bloom at the end. Small pink petals were curled around the center of the flower. The lip was a marbled pink and white with hints of speckled yellow. It really did look like a fairy's slipper.
"You're right, she would love this one," Bella agreed, inhaling the fragrant aroma. Sue brought the flower out to the front desk and transferred it into a carrying case. "What do I owe you?"
"Bella, you know your money is no good here. We do this song and dance every year. It is my pleasure to take part in this tradition, honoring a very special mother and a very special daughter."
Sue wrapped Bella up in a tight hug.
"Happy Birthday, sweet girl."
...
A few minutes later, the flower carrying case was safely buckled up in the passenger seat of Bella's car.
She began the slightly long drive to Renee's spot. Bella was a very rambunctious adventurer as a kid. She couldn't sit still to save her life. It became a tradition for Renee to take Bella to new places at least once a month so Bella could run around and explore. Both Bella and Renee had taken a particular liking to a spot hidden off of many side roads deep in the forest. They came back time and time again to play, for picnics, or sometimes somewhere to sit with a book and read or nap.
It was their spot. And even though there was only one of them now, instead of two, Bella still visited the place every year.
After several hairpin turns, and bumpy off-roading in her car that was clearly not made for this terrain, Bella pulled over to the side of the road. It was a densely forested area, but what marked the area as special was a single tree at least four or five times larger than any of the trees around it. The trunk was hollowed out, used by many animals as shelter over the years. The tree had huge limbs stretched out in all directions as if trying to reach the neighboring trees and ask 'how are you doing today?'. Bella's other favorite aspect of the tree, were the roots, they burrowed in and out of the ground, a natural jungle gym.
She walked a familiar path, over one root, under another, up the outside of the hollowed trunk, using knots in the trees as natural foothold up to a low hanging limb. Bella made herself comfortable leaning against the branches. She placed the orchid in her lap.
Leah, Sue's daughter who helped out at the flower shop sometimes, once asked Bella why she only picked up an orchid every year. Bella explained that Renee, although she appreciated all types of flowers, thought orchids were the most beautiful. Each orchid was unique and different. They had simplistic beauty on the surface, but could hide a complexity of orchid tribes crossbred to produce a singly one of kind bloom. It was for that reason Renee would affectionately call Bella 'my little orchid'. From there it only made sense to bring an orchid to honor Renee's memory to this place where Renee's ashes were spread, where their memories were strongest, where Renee's beauty was reflected in the nature of the area.
"Hi Mom, can you believe it's been another year already? 21. I know it's not a really that big, I get to drink legally and gamble, but I feel like it's going to be different. Maybe because Dad mentioned you thought this was going to be a special year for me. I got your book, but I can't figure out how to open it. Any hints?"
Bella waited for a response, but of course, just a few distant crickets. She laughed, an inside joke with herself.
"Yeah, I didn't think so. I met a guy. His name is Edward. He's a very different person compared to the guys I've dated before. He's intelligent and a huge joker, but also he can be so sincere. I've only seen him a handful of times, but maybe it could go somewhere? I don't know."
She let the silence of the forest envelop her. She always missed her mom, but for some reason she felt it more strongly today than in previous visits. Maybe it was the idea of Bella taking the huge step into adulthood without her mother's guiding presence. Maybe it was the nostalgia of being in their spot. Either way, the pain was especially strong in her heart. Bella could feel her eyes begin to mist over.
"I wish you were here," Bella whispered. "I wish I could ask for your advice. I wish we could gossip about guys, make fun of Dad, and just be together. I wish I could hear your voice again." Bella's voice became choked up.
Bella was not a fan of self-pity. It was very rare she would let herself get caught up in the emotions that came with losing her mother. She had a loving father who more than pulled his fair share of parenting duties. But in this unguarded moment, she let herself feel the emptiness of the hole Renee left.
"I miss you so much."
She let only a single tear slide down the side of her face, before wiping away the rest of the moisture. She would not wallow in the darkness. Even with what had happened, Bella had a blessed life and would not let herself forget it. But a small part of her - realizing she was going to be an adult, starting an adult relationship, moving into the real world soon - might possibly begin to forget the mother that helped her get here. And that was what scared Bella the most.
Bella closed her eyes and leaned back into the tree imagining the strength and stability and vitality of the earth seeping into her, making her strong again. It was a mental trick Bella used often and always made her feel better.
The sun soon started to move low in the sky. Bella had to leave herself enough light to drive out, otherwise she could easily get lost. She carefully placed the orchid on the branch in front of her.
"Te amo matrem."
I love you, mom.