Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters. I am just living vicariously through them.
A/N: Long-hang kip – The gymnastics move in which Bella described how her heart was reacting to Edward. A long hang-kip is swing to a kip, rather than a glide kip. With the long hang kip, the gymnast keeps her legs down and hips open until the leg-lift portion of the kip. Watch one on you tube: .com/watch?v=2a0WBm14i_4
Trust, Loyalty, Commitment
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
Matthew 3:8
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. – 2 Peter 3:9
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter 4 – TLC: In Keeping With Repentance
BPOV
Bella could not believe Edward had the audacity to question her judgment and challenge her authority at the Center. She did not build that program into the success it was to have a chauvinistic, egotistical, but unbelievably sexy outsider tell her how to handle the business of running the Center. After fixing herself a serving of pasta and shrimp and a Caesar salad, she settled on the floor in front of her sofa and picked up her well-worn copy of Pride and Prejudice to read and sought to immerse herself in the world of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. But there was no concentration to be found.
She spent the early part of the evening vacillating between reading and fuming over their disagreement and then feeling ambivalent about whether she had reacted too strongly. Shouldn't she be thankful that he was responsive and determined to do a good job? He was only trying to protect her, right? She didn't see herself as some damsel in distress that needed saving and she kind of resented him treating her that way. She had grown up in that community and understood its people; perhaps he did not. However, she had seen him interact with them and he was not rude or overbearing, but seemed as if he really wanted to change the way the residents at City of Hope viewed the TPD.
Maybe her feelings were too subjective. She hoped the objectivity she craved could be found in talking to her Dad. Charlie had been a police chief before he became a pastor. He would know if Officer Cullen's interpretation of his authority was a valid one.
She set her book on the coffee table and grabbed her cell phone. Charlie picked up in a couple of rings.
"Hello." Charlie's rich baritone was comforting.
"Hey Dad." Bella smiled. She hadn't bargained on being so pleased to hear his voice. As a matter of fact, she hadn't talked to him in more than a week because she had gone to church with Alice an Jasper last Sunday and missed seeing him.
"Bells!" Charlie might have been just a little more pleased that she was.
"What's going on, Padre?"
"Just the usual. We just had dinner. Your mom's in her office now, preparing to bring the wrath upon some doomed soul in the courtroom tomorrow. And, I'm watching ESPN trying to glean some profound illustrations from the sports world to use in my next sermon."
"Yeah, right. And I'm entering a convent tomorrow to train to be the next Mother Teresa," Bella said wryly.
"Make fun of me all you want. God gives me some really good stuff when I'm watching sports, especially baseball games. Don't knock it until you've tried it."
"Sure, Dad. I'll get right on that."
"You do that." He chuckled heartily. "So, Renee told me you were good at the Center until you finish your masters."
"Yep, I'll give you two years until I re-assess. Who knows, I might still go on to teach English Literature in the hallowed halls of some yet-to-be-named institution of higher learning."
"And you can do it, kid. You got all your mom's smarts and then some," Charlie said, the pride evident in his voice.
"I'd like to think I got a decent portion of that from my Dad too, together with his loyalty, integrity and compassion."
"You really know how to stroke your old man's ego. So, how's it going at the Center? Is that new community liaison from TPD working out?"
I wondered how he knew about Edward and why he would bring this up. I tentatively said, "I kinda wanted to talk to you about that."
"Is there a problem with. . .uh, Officer Cullen, right? He came highly recommended by Billy Black. Was on the force somewhere in Indiana before he came here, I understand."
"I don't know, Dad. He is 110% better than Officer Padgett was, but we had a difference of opinion today and I'd like to get your take on what happened."
"OK, shoot."
"A couple of 8th-grade boys got into a fight, and we tried to handle it like we usually do, but I was standing a little too close to one of the boys and I got pushed down in the heat of the scuffle. Then Officer Cullen arrived on the scene and was a little more forceful with the kid than I think was necessary."
"Did one of those delinquents hurt you?" Charlie growled. His vehemence was startling. "I told the Board the age limit should have been twelve years old."
"Dad, calm down, you're acting just like Officer Cullen right now. It was an accident."
"Bella, I may be a pastor, but no one messes with my only little girl."
"Dad…" Bella whined in exasperation.
"We probably need to see about getting a couple more male volunteers over there. Some of these thirteen-year-olds are bigger than me."
"That may not be a bad idea, especially if it will keep Officer Cullen out of the Center wreaking havoc. You know he said he could enter the Center anytime he felt there was probable cause that a crime had been committed. Dad, is that true?"
"Well Bells, he is a law enforcement officer and as such, even as community liaison, he retains the right to interpret the law and act accordingly."
"So you're taking his side?"
"If his actions were to keep you safe, then I'm his champion."
"What's it with you law enforcement types? What about our obligation to those children?"
"Officer Cullen didn't physically harm the boy, did he?" Charlie sounded skeptical.
"No. He just grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, threatened to 'end him,' and warned him not to touch me again, or else. I wasn't standing close enough to hear what the 'or else' was."
"Bella, you know as well as I do, many of those children see much worse than that every day. It's unfortunate, but we can't control everything over there. Our duty is to give them a reprieve at the Center, to show them another side of nurturing that they probably don't get at home. But when they act out, we also have a duty to discipline them. Granted, Officer Cullen may have come on a little too strong, but I still can't feel bad about it, not when he was doing it to protect you. I'll guarantee you that boy won't lose his temper around you anymore."
Bella was repentant. "I guess I owe Officer Cullen an apology, then. At the very least I need to say thanks."
"That's the Bella I know and love."
"Thanks, Dad."
"You remember my friend from Seminary, Dan Hall and his wife, Laura? They're gonna be in town this weekend. He's looking at filling the pulpit at the Reformed Baptist Church here in town."
"They're thinking of moving from Atlanta then, huh?"
"Yeah, it's looking good, especially since the church is sweetening the deal by offering their son, James, a position as Music Minister."
"Really? Good for them. I wonder if James is still wearing that pony tail. I met him when I was at Spelman. Rev. and Mrs. Hall had me over for dinner after church quite a few times. James was practically bipolar. He was so stand-offish sometimes; he made me feel like I had leprosy or something. But he just stared at me most of the time."
"He always was a quiet kid, don't judge him too harshly. Dan says he comes alive when he's in front of a congregation leading worship, though."
"He is talented, musically."
"Well, we were hoping you might join us for dinner on Saturday and Sunday for lunch while they're here."
"Angela's going to be out of town, so I was planning to help Alice and Jasper host a youth thing at their house Saturday Night. Sunday's good though."
"Bells, I'd hate for that young man to have to hang around with us old fogeys all night on Saturday. Take him with you. Alice and Jasper would love to have him. He could help with the music and he's no stranger to these types of church functions, so I'm sure he'd enjoy it."
"Alright, Dad. I'll take him, but if he starts acting all weird and stuff, I'm going to bring him right back to you in Nrth Tallahassee."
"Knew I could count on you, Sweetheart. See you Saturday."
~888~
Officer Cullen reported for duty at 2:30 pm exactly, just as he had done the day before, but was immediately accosted by a resident who said she'd had a home invasion sometime during the day between dropping her child off at school and returning from errands a while ago. When Bella pulled into the parking lot, she noted that Edward showed no sign of being angry. However, he seemed a bit apprehensive when he greeted her, somehow sensing that she also wasn't satisfied with the way things had transpired the day before.
"Ms Swan." He was amicable and polite, notwithstanding his apprehension.
"Officer Cullen." Her acknowledgment of him was perfunctory and professional.
Bella left him to take the resident's statement and to do whatever investigating of the apartment's premises he had to do. She would find time to talk to him later. As it turned out, Edward was busy for the first couple of hours he was there, because she didn't see him again until she was working her reports during the last half hour of the day. There was a knock on her office door and she looked up from her laptop to see him standing there, in all his beatific glory, at her office window. She didn't call out, because the children and the volunteers were still in the common area of the center finishing up and the door to the common area was open. She motioned for him to come in and he stepped through the door, searching her eyes as if to get an indication of her current mood.
They both began to speak at the same time.
"Bella…"
"Edward…"
They laughed nervously.
"Ladies first," he said softly.
She took a breath and began. "Edward, I want to thank you for coming to my rescue, so to speak, yesterday. I also want to apologize for misunderstanding your intervention. It is your job to enter the Center if you deem it necessary. Officer Padgett parked in the shade in a vacant lot behind the complex most of the time, and we hardly ever saw him. I…we had gotten so used to handling everything ourselves, we…I didn't know …"
"Bella, I also owe you an apology. I already apologized to Marcus when he arrived today, because even though what he did might have caused you bodily harm, it didn't. He needed discipline, not to have the crap scared out of him by an angry white cop who was totally out of control." The pain in his green eyes was excruciating. "I just feel very protective of you…" And almost as an afterthought, he said, "And Alice."
"We all knew coming in here that this would be a hard place in which to work. What we might endure every day for a few hours a day is a walk in the park compared with what some of these children face every day twenty-four seven."
"You're right. I of all people should know something about that." He cleared his throat nervously. "I'd like to spend some time with Marcus and Kwame, maybe a couple of Saturday mornings a month when I'm off duty, sort of in a big brother role, if that's OK."
"We'd have to get a permission slip signed by a parent, but I don't think that will be a problem. I'll make sure they take one home today." Bella was blown away by his humility.
"Well, guess I'll sweep the perimeter again. I'll be back right before the children are dismissed."
"Still friends?" Bella asked with a smile.
His answering smile was breathtaking. "Still friends."
~888~
The rest of the week flew by. A calmness settled over the community for the next several days. The children were well-behaved. There was a noticeable drop in reportable incidents. Bella and the volunteers were firing on all pistons. Edward fell into the rhythm as liaison. The residents became accustomed to having him around and the behaviors of some of the most notorious hell-raisers changed considerably. The program at the Center became a well-oiled machine.
Saturday morning, Bella arose at an ungodly hour to take her best friend and her boyfriend to Tallahassee Memorial Airport. Even the entrance to the airport seemed to yawn at them as they drove through. Bella hugged Angela and Ben goodbye and drove back to her apartment clutching her Latte like it was a lifejacket. She climbed back in bed when she got home, only to be awakened by another of her non-masturbatory, hyper-orgasmic dreams, starring her favorite bronze-haired demi-god. She immediately took a shower and began cleaning her apartment.
She wondered how Edward's first day with Kwame and Marcus was going. He planned to take them to Meyers Park to shoot some hoops, watch his soccer team practice, and then take them to Wendy's for lunch. She probably didn't need to worry. If the way he dazzled her was any indication of his potent charm, he'd have those boys eating out of his hands in no time.
Her mother called to remind of her of dinner at five with the Halls, and Alice called to remind her to bring baked goodies for the youth tonight and to bring her drink of choice for the adult party later.
"Hey, Alice, I almost forgot. My parents have friends visiting this weekend and they have a son a couple of years older than me. I can bring him, right?"
"As if you even have to ask, Bella."
Bella could feel the epic eye-roll through the phone. "OK, I just didn't want to assume."
"You're helping me with this youth thing. It's the least I can do."
"See you at 6:30ish, then?"
"Yeah, and it should only last about an hour and a half. Our party guests will probably start arriving at about 8:30."
"You are incredible, girl. Leave it to you to plan two events in one night."
"I've got mad hostessing skills."
"OK, mad hostess, see you later."
"Later."
~888~
Bella's parents had moved out of south Tallahassee when her mother's law practice took off, right before Bella had gone to McClay School when she entered 6th grade. They'd had a third home invasion and Charlie had become totally exasperated with cleaning up litter dropped along their street by passersby. Her Dad had been traveling a lot, too, filling other pulpits at the invitation of his wide group of pastor friends. Charlie did not want to leave his family unprotected while he was away so much. He had grappled with moving out of the community where he ministered, but in the end they found the practicality of moving outweighed all his misgivings when Renee required a larger home to entertain clients. They lived in a gated community off McClay road with copious security.
Bella pulled her car into the circular drive in front of her final childhood home at 4:30 pm. There was an SUV parked in front of the garage with Fulton County, Georgia, license plates. The Halls had already arrived. Bella found her key unnecessary as she opened the ten foot oak door to enter her parents' home. Renee had classical music intermingled with the heavenly smell of a home-cooked gourmet meal wafting through the foyer. Bella followed the voices and laughter she heard coming from the kitchen. Her Mom and Laura Hall were almost finished setting the table. Renee saw her first.
"Hello, Lovely." She set a dish down and hurried over to give Bella a hug.
"Hi Mom," Bella took her bottom lip into her mouth, blushing profusely, silently wishing her Mom would dispense with the pet name.
Renee saw the blush when she pulled away. "Oops." She whispered, and then mouthed to Bella only. "I'm sorry."
Bella forced a smile and turned to their guest. "Mrs. Hall," she said in greeting. "It's so good to see you again."
Laura Hall pulled Bella into her arms. "Same here, Bella, and if this weekend goes the way we've been praying it will, you'll be seeing a lot more of us."
"Dad told me about that. I'll be praying towards that end for you guys."
"Thanks, Bella. His will and His timing, right?"
"Right." Bella looked around. "Where are the men?"
Renee rolled her eyes. "Charlie's got them worshipping in front of the flat screen. Do me a favor, Bella. Tell them dinner's served."
"OK." Bella walked through the familiar hallway to the family room.
The men were watching an FSU baseball game.
"Gentlemen, dinner is served," Bella announced without preamble. Six sets of eyes left the flat screen and turned to her. They all stood. "Rev. Hall, James…welcome to Tallahassee. Hello Dad."
They all began walking towards the door where she stood. Rev. Hall got to her first, burying her in a big bear hug. "Good to see you, Bella. Charlie, I think she's gotten even more beautiful since she left our fair city."
"I bet he says that to all the girls," Bella ribbed good naturedly.
"I'll have to agree with Dad," James chimed in. The ponytail was gone. His blonde hair was cut in a short crew gently spiked at the top, and his cool blue eyes were twinkling.
Bella's mouth fell open inelegantly. James swooped in for a hug and Bella was enveloped by his strong arms briefly. She hoped she'd recovered quickly from her surprise that he'd actually paid her a compliment.
"Of course you would agree with him." Charlie quipped, hugging his daughter to his side. "You Halls have always stuck together." Charlie released Bella and led the way to the kitchen. While Rev. Hall and Charlie talked more about the game, Bella and James were giving one another sideways glances.
Bella had always thought he was cute in an angsty kind of way, but this new makeover and this change in demeanor was very new, and quite disarming. What happened to the weirdness that was James two years ago? However, Bella didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe taking him to Alice and Jasper's tonight wouldn't be quite as unpleasant as she thought.
Renee had done an exceptional job on the meal. They began with a Romano Swiss and Parsley Round of Bread with Italian Wedding Soup. The main course was Tuscan style baked salmon with oven-roasted Tuscan style vegetables. Desert was an Amaretto Cheesecake, which Bella politely declined because she'd cheated earlier with some of the cookies she was taking to Alice's. Conversation was warm and friendly. Having sat next to James during the meal, Bella's blush had been almost a constant fixture.
They moved to the sitting room and while their parents were discussing what is was like living in Tallahassee, James joined Bella on the sofa where she was sitting.
"So, what's the social scene like here in Tallahassee, Bella?" His pearly white smile against the tan of his skin was spellbinding.
"Nothing like Atlanta, trust me." Bella suppressed an eye-roll.
"How's that?"
"You did see Tallahassee driving in, right?"
"Yeah, it strikes me as most Capital cities, small town rural dressed up as city slick."
"Dad likes it because it kinds of reminds him of the Pacific Northwest, where he was born, and Renee and I were born here, so it's home. But Tallahassee is definitely nothing like Metropolitan Atlanta."
"There's got to be something to do here though, am I right."
"Well, there's an extremely vibrant college social scene, with FAMU, FSU, TCC and a few specialty colleges, which makes for an interesting dynamic for young professionals trying to move away from the college social scene. My friends and I have found a few local haunts we frequent that seriously card and have been largely undiscovered by fake ID carrying college co-eds. The colleges do fill a void for the arts. I enjoy the plays, dance, music recitals, college-hosted speakers, and FSU has an awesome film school."
"Sounds promising," His eyes were riveted to her lips as she'd been talking. Bella nervously changed the subject.
"My friends, Alice and Jasper Whitlock, are having a youth fellowship at their house tonight. Jasper is the Youth Pastor at Oakdale Church in North Tallahassee. After the youth leave, they're having an adult get-together with some friends. Would you like to join us?"
"Sure, sounds great."
"Um, actually, we should probably leave now if we're going to be on time."
They made short work of ditching the parents and were in Bella's car and headed north to the Whitlock home. James was funny and oddly easy to talk to. After years of thinking he was not a Pastor's son, but the spawn of Satan, Bella was glad he had made peace with whatever issues he had been dealing with back then. As if he had read her mind, his next question was right on queue.
"Bella, you must have thought I was an uber-douchebag a few years ago, didn't you?
"Well, you did rate majorly on the douchebaggery scale."
His blue eyes looked tortured. "I'm sorrier about that than you know, Bella. That was a dark time for me. I was recovering from an addiction to painkillers resulting from a martial arts injury I suffered in my freshman year at Georgia State. I've been clean for almost three years now."
Bella felt a mixture of sadness and relief. It had not been all about her. "Now I understand. I'm sorry you had to go through that, James. I had my share of injuries when I was in gymnastics, and the drugs are so good…sorry, that was so lame of me…" Bella was sure she looked like a lobster at that moment.
He laughed and his eyes crinkled. Bella had never seen him look so handsome. "It's alright, Bella. I don't mind joking about it, now."
"So, did you go to a Rehab facility to get better, or what?"
"When you first came to Spelman, I had just gotten out of one, but neither my head nor my heart was right for a very long time. When you left after your sophomore year, I had completed another stay in a Christian facility and that's when I got clean, but I was still a mess spiritually. About a year before you left Atlanta, God did a major work in my life. I re-dedicated myself to Him. I finally got the breakthrough my parents and I had been praying for. I joined the Praise Team at my church and pretty soon our little praise team became like the 'Hillsong' of Atlanta."
"You've always been a great guitar player, and you have a singing range like freakin' David Phelps, with just a little more soul. I can totally see you leading worship at Reformed Baptist. That church has a huge college group that would really appreciate a younger music minister."
"Thanks, Bella. I seem to remember you having a gorgeous set of pipes, too."
"Um, thanks." Bella chewed her bottom lip in earnest then, her face warm and undoubtedly rosy. He brought his right hand up to her face, caressing her cheek softly with the back of his hand.
"I always liked that blush of yours, Bella. A lot of the women in Atlanta are too brazen, too plastic, and completely over the top. But you are quite the contemporary version of the Proverbs 31 woman." James' blue eyes were sincere.
Bella was momentary unable to get her tongue to move and her mouth to work properly. It had only been about a week since she had been royally ticked off with God that she had no man in her life, and now she had two of the handsomest men on the planet flirting with her, in the same week.
James smiled that crinkly-eyed smile of his again. "I didn't mean to render you speechless, Bella. You had to know I liked you, right? As a matter of fact, I sent you a bouquet of roses on Valentine's Day right before you graduated. I invited you to come sing with me, but I never heard from you, so I took it to mean you either had someone else in your life, or you weren't interested."
"You sent the roses?" Bella was stunned for a moment, and then she laughed. "I thought they came from James Bingham, this guy at Morehouse who wanted me to sing with his hip hop group. He not only wanted me to sing, but I was supposed to be like his music-video-dancer except on stage. I read him the riot act on the quad the next time I saw him. I'm sure he must have thought I was an eggroll short of a Pu-Pu platter."
James laughed too, just as they were pulling into the Whitlock's driveway.
~888~
A/N: So, a handsome, non-bad, non-vampire, former addict, version of James emerges. Do you hate it? Love it? Give me some feedback. I promise this is going somewhere. Reviews would be nice. :)
McClay School: A Private Academy in North Tallahassee.
FAMU: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
FSU: Florida State University
TCC: Tallahassee Community College
David Phelps: Contemporary Christian Singer/Songwriter.
Hillsong: Hillsong music is derived from the Hillsong Church in Sidney Australia. It has topped Australian charts, with albums achieving gold and platinum sales status. Hillsong has made its mark internationally with many travelling to Sydney for the annual Hillsong Conference, which attracts over 28,000 people yearly, as well as the sales of albums and teaching and the international reputation of its leadership.
Proverbs 31 Woman: Describes how a "virtuous woman" should behave as defined in Proverbs31, in the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible. She is described as being a business woman, educated and very capable.
Morehouse: The Male counterpart to Spelman College in Atlanta.
Pu-Pu Platter: A Pu pu platter, pu-pu platter, or pupu platter is a tray of American Chinese Cuisine consisting of an assortment of small meat and seafood appetizers. A typical pupu platter might include an egg roll, spare ribs, chicken wings, chicken fingers, beef teriyaki, skewered beef, fried wontons, crab rangoon, fried shrimp, among other items, accompanied with a small hibachi grill.