Wolves of the Pacific

by greenpeach20

In 1902, Renesmee Cullen grew tired of the tedious life of moving around with her family and decided to make the journey west as a mail order bride. Yet a chance encounter with a reddish brown wolf would change her life forever.

60. Chapter 60

Chapter 60

The summer progressed normally until Kevin and Kyle returned to Connecticut. Kevin returned home to two letters: one from a photographer with all the pictures he'd requested of his family and himself at his graduation as well as a picture from another photographer with a picture of Kevin and Alfonse standing right outside the Hampton mansion. The second letter was from Amber. She congratulated him and said she wished she could have been there. She affirmed she wished to have pictures the moment he could send them and told him about some events that had occurred since her last letter. Kevin wrote a letter back and sent it with the pictures he had promised. Later in the week when Kyle returned to school, Alfonse and Kevin began searching for law firms of which their options were copious given their good professor recommendations. They found employment with a law firm that Dr. McCarthy had personally recommended them for that a good friend of his owned and operated. Alfonse was the first to be met with and his credentials and schooling earned him a position almost immediately. Kevin's interview, however, was just a little bit more complicated. At first, Dr. McCarthy's friend kept putting off seeing Kevin making up excuse after excuse. Eventually, Kevin showed up for one of his interview times anyway and, rather coincidentally, the 'meeting' that had prevented the interview was decidedly canceled.

"So, Mr. Black," Dr. McCarthy's friend, a Mr. Geoffrey Huntington, said as soon as Kevin had sat down. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to see you."

"So long as you were able to see me," Kevin reassured.

"Indeed," Mr. Huntington said. "I heard quite a bit about you from Dr. McCarthy."

"Yes, he mentioned that he'd told you about me."

"Indeed and he had quite a lot to say. Not the least of which being your military background, which I admit I quite admire. However, your…let's say 'ethnicity' was brought up."

"You mean that I'm Native American?"

"An Indian, yes," Mr. Huntington nodded.

"I've proved to every superior I've ever had that my 'ethnicity' is completely irrelevant to my ability to work hard. I proved to my commanding officers at the front as much. So much so that I earned the rank of Sergeant at 15 and a Medal of Honor. I've proven that to Dr. McCarthy as well and earned my law degree and license from Yale University. I can prove the same to you if you were to hire me."

"It's not whether or not you're capable that I'm concerned about, Mr. Black. What I'm concerned about is the reputation of my Law Firm. See, most of our clients, in fact all I would assume, have no knowledge of your military training, the medal and rank you won, the lives you've saved or how capable you've proven yourself to be. What they will know is you're an Indian and, ultimately, that will speak for itself."

"How might they even find that out unless they're told?" Kevin enquired.

"Well, in truth, I'm not positive. I'm most concerned about the possibility. I admit, had Dr. McCarthy not mentioned it, now that I've met you, I would have never guessed."

"Then, Mr. Huntington, I would think that speaks for itself. If no one has any reason to assume I'm Native American and I don't appear so, then I can't imagine it would be a problem. I've had a number of people, yourself being added to that list, that have told me they would never think me Native American if I'd not told them. So I would think the solution to your concern would be to not bring it up." Mr. Huntington appeared thoughtful a moment. He reviewed Kevin's transcripts again, particularly the details of his previous internships with his professors. He couldn't deny they were impressive.

"Perhaps it is as simple a solution as you say," Mr. Huntington said more so to himself than to Kevin as he continued to look at Kevin's transcripts. "Your professors speak highly of you."

"And I've worked hard to earn the honor," Kevin answered.

"That's what it says here," Mr. Huntington agreed. "How old are you?"

"18," Kevin said. "19 this coming October."

"Young to say the least," Mr. Huntington said.

"It's the same as my ethnicity, sir. So long as people don't ask, they're none the wiser. And I've no problem lying about my age to those that ask if it will bring you some reassurance."

"No, that won't be necessary," Mr. Huntington said and closed Kevin transcripts. "You would do well to remind people of your age so as to prove a point. If there's one thing lawyers love, it's to one up one another. I can think of no better way to one up your peers than to tell them you've accomplished as a mere boy what it took them to their mid to late twenties to accomplish." He began to chuckle and Kevin joined.

"You make a valid argument, sir," Kevin smiled. Mr. Huntington appeared to speculate on something a moment, but eventually sat up a little straighter.

"I'll give you one thing, Mr. Black: you're persistent. I admit I'd had no intention of meeting with you."

"I suspected that was the case," Kevin said, but continued confidently. "All the more reason, I thought, to bang down your door and make you meet me."

Mr. Huntington chuckled, "All the more reason indeed. You're a hard worker; anyone looking at your transcripts can see that. I also notice you're fluent in three languages?"

"Four, actually," Kevin smiled, "English, French, German and, of course, my native language, Quileute."

"Yes, of course," Mr. Huntington nodded. "That must have come in handy during the war."

"During the war, I was only fluent in French besides the two languages I grew up with. Knowledge in German came after I returned home."

"I see," Mr. Huntington nodded. "And what motivated you to learn German if I may ask?"

"During the war, there was a young woman I'd saved during the battle of Chateau Thierry when the Germans pushed through. Her family was dead so I helped her find shelter. The plan was for my family to take her in, but due to a change of plans, she was adopted by a German family and they took her home to Munich. I wanted to be able to keep in touch with her, so I learned German. She already knew French, but she's since become favorable towards German rather than French."

Mr. Huntington's face changed and he nearly chuckled, "A lady, then? A man would be willing to walk through hell and back for a lady."

"For her, yes," Kevin admitted, but he ensured his smile remained confident and to the point. Mr. Huntington appeared thoughtful one more time before opening his desk and removing cigars and brandy. "I see you know the password too," Kevin joked.

"Pardon?" Mr. Huntington asked and Kevin pointed at his drink. "Oh," he started to chuckle. "Yes, my dear boy, I know the password to a lot of things. I'm just removing them in anticipation. You've made quite a positive impression, Mr. Black."

"That was only part of my goal," Kevin smiled.

"Yes, obtaining a position here being the other." Kevin nodded at Mr. Huntington's statement. "Well, Mr. Black, I would say I'm happy to invite you to work at my law firm."

"Thank you sir. I'm to understand the salary is $6000 a year," Kevin said and Mr. Huntington appeared a little stunned.

"That's quite an ask," he said.

"Given that it's the Baronet Heidelberg's salary, I don't see why that would be. I'm only asking for equal pay."

After a moment, Mr. Huntington chuckled. "I should have guessed you would have found out about that. Very well; $6000 a year. Just like everyone else that starts."

"Excellent," Kevin smiled. "I assume I start tomorrow?"

Mr. Huntington laughed again. "I would suggest Monday. It will give us time to get your office together. I'll even give you an office near Mr. Heidelberg. You two are friends I gather."

"Yes, sir, we're friends. Though I assure you that will not affect either my job performance or his."

"Well then, Mr. Black," Mr. Huntington said, pouring the brandy into two separate glasses. "Welcome to the team."

"Thank you, sir. You'll not regret it," Kevin said.

"I know," Mr. Huntington said and the two drank to Kevin's new position. Immediately after his meeting with Mr. Huntington, Kevin located Alfonse's office and his subsequent office and relayed the good news to Alfonse that they would be co-workers come Monday.

"Good," he'd said. "I admit I was starting to worry."

"Nothing to worry about," Kevin said. "I charmed him into hiring me."

"I bet you did," Alfonse chuckled. "Is that the man's bourbon I smell on your breath?"

"I assume he had it with you too?"

"Actually no," Alfonse said. "Word around the firm is he only shares his booze with people he likes."

"I'm sure you're exaggerating," Kevin chuckled.

The two shared one more laugh before Kevin let Alfonse know he was expecting the office next to him and to make sure Mr. Huntington stayed true to his word about it. As intended, Kevin began working at the Law Firm that following Monday. He even got the office he was promised. He was surprised, however, when he found a note on his desk. It was a note from Dr. McCarthy that he opened. Inside he found a message:

Congratulations for your recent employment.

Dr. McCarthy

There was another message inside as well. This one was signed by two people and it made him smile.

Give em' hell, your highness.

Sincerely,

Sgt. Henry Stanley

Lt. Alexander McCarthy

He couldn't think of a better way to start a new job.

He only brought two things from home to have on his desk: his framed Medal of Honor (newly reframed following its last parade) and Sergeant's badge from his uniform, and a picture of Amber. It was the most recent one he'd received in which she was standing beside a friend that had just had her Bat Mitzvah. As soon as he received a new picture, he'd replace it with that one. The medal was the thing everyone noticed and they would demand Kevin recount his time at war. Being Native American never seemed to come up among his co-workers, much to the relief of Mr. Huntington. He was treated the same as anyone else save for those that praised his heroism at war. And that was all Kevin really wanted. Kevin eagerly awaited another letter from Amber and when he finally did, after reading her letter, he wrote her back telling her everything new that had happened. He told her about the graduation, he told her about summer, about his new job: everything. His letter came out to several pages front to back. Before work the following morning, he dropped off the letter to the post office and waited for a reply.

Everyone at the tribe was proud to hear about Kevin's new job. He and Kyle continued to share the house and promised they would until they returned home following Kyle's own graduation in another 6 years following completion of medical school. Renesmee simply couldn't help herself but to brag just a little from time to time. She was so proud of them both and Jacob found he was extremely proud of them too.

Upon returning home, Jae had returned to work as normal for Hailey. Now that he'd gotten a taste of making a living, he rather liked it. Embry, even if he wasn't thrilled with his bosses, did like his co-workers at the very least and he was still making enough money to suit any needs he had. One thing he really wanted, though, was to be on his own. Granted he would still be in the tribe and he would still be part of the pack and see his parents every day, but he wanted a home that was his. The Cullens offered to build him one which he agreed to on a few conditions: 1) he paid for it, that being materials and anything else 2) he helped them build along the way which would mean they would build on his time and his time only, leaving only the weekends and nights being times to build. The Cullens returned to Washington early in September to begin construction. Even if it was only a little extra privacy, Embry chose the spot for his home to be further in the woods. After they cleared some wood for the home and cleaned up the area, the Cullens helped Embry plan out a little trail that they would use rocks from the beach to fill out.

With Embry willing to work nights and weekends on the home and with additional assistance from the Cullens, Embry was able to have the house itself built by the end of the month and for little money save for windows and knobs and hinges for the doors they'd built. He was so proud of himself when it was done. It was a single floor, so rather modest compared to a few other houses the Cullens had built, but Embry didn't want very much room. He'd agreed to building three total rooms 'just for future use' hinting heavily towards kids, but Embry was hardly thinking about that. He just wanted a roof over his head and that was truly and unequivocally his. Once the home was built, he obtained furniture for a decent price refusing to go too high in cost for anything. He had a table for his kitchen, but since he still ate at home every day, its present could almost be called sarcastic. All Embry really needed was a bed and he was happy, though he was convinced to include a few other things.

After the home was completed, Travis requested he be able to stay with him since there was more room there than at Renesmee's and Jacob's house. He was currently sharing a room with Nathan which was fine, but he always had to move whenever Kevin and Kyle visited and he preferred the idea of not having to. Embry agreed that so long as he kept the place clean and fixed anything he broke he could live there. It was a cozy arrangement that allowed for Travis to, at most, nap there whenever he wanted and the two sharing coffee in the morning before Embry left for work.

"So how do you like having your own room?" Natalie asked.

"Own room is nice," Travis said. "Was that right?"

"Say,Yes, it is nice to have my own room," Natalie said.

"Yes, it is nice having my own room," Travis repeated and Natalie clapped.

"Very good! You're doing great, Travis. We'll have you fluent by winter I guarantee you."

"That might be a little optimistic,"Travis said in Quileute.

"Well, maybe, if you have that kind of attitude," Natalie teased. They left Travis's room and went to the front where a couch, a fireplace that Embry had built with Jasper's expertise to guide him and the single table in front of the kitchen set up. "How have you and Embry gotten along so far?"

"Do you mind if we take a break?" Travis asked, referring to English practice.

"Okay, but only for a little while. The more you practice, the better you'll get,"Natalie smiled. "So anyway, how are you and Embry getting along since you moved in?"

"Alright,"Travis said. "Most of the time, I stay out of his way and he stays out of mine. I hardly see him here unless its breakfast and we're having coffee. I think the only time I see him besides that is on patrol."

"That seems to be the case,"Natalie said. "So when are you visiting your parents next?"

"I don't know yet,"Travis said. "Either later today or tomorrow at least."

"That'll be nice to visit them,"Natalie smiled. "I know you visit all the time, but they really do miss you when you're not home."

"I'm never gone that long for them to miss me,"Travis smiled back. "So did you and Jae do anything before he left for work?"

"No,"Natalie blushed. "He's always busy during the day ever since he started working for Uncle Hailey. It's always late when he gets back so we don't get to see much of one another save for the pack."

"Maybe you should go into town and visit him,"Travis suggested. "In fact, I think he would like that a whole lot if you did that,"he continued to tease and Natalie blushed profusely.

"I can't do that, Travis, he's working."

"Not when he's eating lunch, now is he?" Travis said with a laugh. "Go on and visit him. You can always come with me back home any time anyway."

"But what if Jae gets in trouble? I don't want him to get in trouble."

"What trouble? Honestly, what's the worst Hailey will do to him? Yell? The man's all bark and no bite anyway, even if he were to get nasty. Just go and say hello to Jae at work. I guarantee you, he'll be happy to see you."

"Well,"Natalie thought nervously, but eventually smiled. "Alright, I'll go. You have fun back home okay?"

"That's assuming I go today, but you have fun. Not too much fun though,"Travis teased and Natalie went beet red.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Natalie asked.

"You know exactly what that's supposed to mean. Now go."

Natalie finally left, but it wasn't without her head held down in embarrassment. She had to walk to town rather than run so she could get a hold of herself again and no longer be red from blushing. When it was taking too long to get into town, Natalie did eventually break into a run. It was chilly outside anyway and she wanted to get inside. When she arrived, she saw Jae's bike by the horse stable in which Hailey's horse was nibbling on her hay. She shook her head and made a slight sound, but almost immediately returned to her food. Natalie walked up behind the store and petted the horse's head. Afterwards, she went up to the back door and let herself in.

"Onkel Hailey?" Natalie heard, but then Jae seemed to realize it was the wrong smell and looked around to see Natalie. "Oh, Natalie? What're you doing here? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Natalie said, getting embarrassed again. "I was just coming over to say Hi. I'm sorry if I'm bugging you."

"No, you're not bugging me," Jae was quick to say. "Come up front with me."

Natalie did so but rather slowly. Somehow, Natalie had always guessed Jae liked her. She liked him too. It was changing into wolves that had finalized everything as far as how the two of them felt. They'd not imprinted, but that didn't matter. Yet even knowing how the other felt, they were still rather shy about the matter. They were teased endlessly for it and both their fathers did little to quell the teasing. When she was up front, Natalie sat on a stool behind the counter where Jae was standing.

"Is it okay if I'm back here?" Natalie asked.

"It'll be alright," Jae reassured. "So long as I'm still working, Hailey won't mind."

"Where is he by the way?"

"He went home for lunch," Jae said. "He likes having lunch at home with Leah."

"How is Leah? I haven't spoken to her in a while."

"She's doing alright," Jae said. "She came in this morning with Hailey and helped organize a few things before she went back home. Did she go back to the tribe today?"

"I didn't see her today," Natalie said. There was a moment of silence before Jae finally broke it.

"Natalie, I was hoping I could ask you something."

"What's that?" Natalie asked and sat up a little straighter.

"Would you….if I asked you up to the city for an afternoon, would you want to go?"

"I would love to," Natalie smiled. "When did you want to go?"

"How about tonight?" Jae asked. "I'll make us something for dinner before we go and then we can run up to the city together. I know there's a park there that we can walk around in. Maybe we can even go to a moving picture too."

"That sounds like a lot of fun," Natalie said. "Do you think daddy will be made if we're late coming to patrol?"

"I….I actually already asked your dad if it was okay for us to skip tonight."

"What did he say?" Natalie asked nervously.

"He said that he was alright with it, he said for us to have a good time, and he said if you get pregnant that I'll get a little ride on the 'Hanging Tree'."

Natalie, both of them really, blushed horribly. "I can't believe daddy said that," she mumbled.

"He was just kidding," Jae defended.

"Still," Natalie replied, barely able to speak now. Just then, Hailey stepped into the shop, realized Natalie was there, and looked at Jae.

"I recall saying to fraternizing on the job," Hailey said.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dauer, I just came to visit is all. I wasn't here for very long."

"We haven't hit the rush yet," Jae said.

"It'll be rushing in a few more minutes. I passed a dozen people asking me to put something aside for them."

"Did you want me to do that?" Jae asked.

"Don't be silly," Hailey laughed meanly. "First come first serve. Besides, I don't remember who wanted what and when they planned to come in."

"Alright," Jae shrugged. "How's Leah?"

"She's alright. She's was leaving for home when I left. I think she's spending the night with Seth and Charlene."

"That'll be nice," Jae said.

"How's the little squirt doing?" Hailey asked.

"You mean Uileila?"

"That is the only squirt they have right?" Hailey joked.

"Yes," Jae laughed.

"She's doing alright," Natalie said. "She's teething now, so she's been at our house a lot recently. Mom's been giving her ointments and medicine to relieve the soreness."

"How old is she now?"

"She'll be turning three," Natalie said.

"Ick," Hailey said, scrunching his nose.

"Oh come on, Uncle Hailey, she's a sweet kid," Jae defended.

"Given her age, I don't believe that for a second," Hailey protested and then looked at Jae. Then he finally looked at Natalie. "Alright, Natalie, you get home and let the boy work."

"Alright," Natalie said and left the stool sad that the visit had been so brief. "Should I come back here later?"

"Yeah, I finish the day around six, so just let yourself in through the back and I'll get the place locked up before we leave."

"Okay," Natalie blushed. "I'll see you tonight, Jae," she said and left the shop. When she was gone, Hailey smiled at Jae proudly.

"That a' boy," he said. "You finally asked her on a date."

"Stop," Jae protested while he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"So what are you two going to be doing?"

"I suggested we go into the city together and walk through the park and see a moving picture."

"Aw," Hailey teased. "That's adorable."

"Shut up," Jae kept blushing. Hailey laughed and patted Jae on the shoulder.

Natalie returned home, then immediately went to Alice telling her about her and Jae going out that night. Natalie had not finished her sentence before Alice took Natalie upstairs to try on dresses. Alice had gotten into the habit of buying dresses that reached her feet in hopes that a dress might fit Natalie. If she were to try getting Natalie into one of her dresses, what with Natalie's height, it would be downright obscene. After rummaging through her closet, Alice got Natalie in a pair of Mary Jane shoes and a long dress barely managed to be below her knees that was white and pink. Alice had suggested Natalie wear a hat, but she immediately shook her head at it already feeling as though the dress might be too much. Instead, Alice helped Natalie braid her hair so it laid over her shoulder.

"Really, Alice, I don't think we need to go to this much trouble. Jae will probably be wearing what he'd been wearing today already."

"Well, Natalie, I can't necessarily control what he wears. That doesn't mean I can't make sure you're dressed appropriately. This is the time if ever to overdress. It's your first date."

Natalie blushed, "I just don't want to make him uncomfortable."

"Don't worry, Natalie, you won't make him uncomfortable. But if it'll make you feel better, I have another dress you can try that's a little less fancy."

"Please," Natalie answered and followed Alice to the closet again.

They found a dress that was more casual although it was the same cut as the other dress. The dress was a lighter reddish brown color with sleeves that reached below her elbows and a skirt that went just below her knees, so she would have to be mindful when sitting. There was a little sash that accompanied the dress that was blue and Alice tied it around the smallest part of Natalie's waist. The dress was so shapeless otherwise. She kept her hair in the side braid that Alice had put it in before. Natalie remained at the Cullen house until it was getting close to Jae's last hour of work. The shoes she ran in weren't the most comfortable, so she stopped home and put on a pair of her normal shoes before going to the General Store. When she arrived, she let herself in through the back door just as Jae was locking up the shop.

"Did Mr. Dauer already go home?" Natalie asked when she arrived. Jae turned around and smiled at her.

"He left about five minutes ago," Jae said and walked over to her once the door was locked. Once they were in the back kitchen together, the two hugged one another before Jae continued to speak. "You look beautiful."

"Really?" Natalie asked.

"You do," Jae said, blushing while Natalie smiled. "Now that everything's locked up, how about we get to the city?"

"Don't you need to lock the back door?" Natalie asked.

"I'll lock it once we leave," Jae said and led Natalie out the back door by gently placing his hand on her back but only momentarily. Once they were outside, Jae locked the door, placed the keys in his pocket and they began running to the city together.

Both were able to run really fast in their non-wolf forms, so they made it up to the city in about 30 minutes. By the time they arrived, it was already nightfall and the lights were shining brightly into the sky. Since he'd not made them dinner, they went to a corner shop and got a few loaves of bread to eat while they were in the park. That was their first destination. The park was dark because of the night so for anyone else it would be hard to see. For them, it was fine.

"How was work today?" Natalie asked when they were in the park together.

"Alright," Jae said. "The rush came in a little after you left. We got a visit from the innkeeper to get her order of coffee. She has a monopoly on this one brand, so if you want the 'good stuff' as everyone calls it; you have to go to the inn. But do you want to know a secret?"

"What's that?"

"We always order a little more," Jae smiled. "Hailey orders enough to have at his house and Embry used to bring home some of it all the time. Now I bring it home and give Embry some."

"So you can only get that coffee if you go to the inn or you work for Mr. Dauer?" Natalie giggled.

"Exactly," Jae chuckled and took bite of bread. "I don't know if I'd call it the best coffee in the world, but it's definitely the town favorite."

"Does anyone else know about this little privilege?" Natalie teased.

"Of course not. If they did, there would be riots in the streets," Jae laughed. "Honestly, I think Hailey was the one to start pocketing coffee for lack of a better word. Mitch never really did that."

"Sounds like Mr. Dauer has a habit of being a bad apple," Natalie giggled.

"To the core," Jae joked and they laughed together. They looked around the small park at the trees that had begun wilting in the fall and Natalie sighed.

"This is a cute little park," Natalie smiled. "I think being fall makes it that much better."

"Maybe we should see it during the winter," Jae suggested. "I'll bet this place is beautiful when there's snow."

"We'll come again when it's snowed, then," Natalie said and took a bit of her bread. "Thank you for buying me dinner."

"It's the least I can do for forgetting to cook," Jae blushed. "I'll make something for sure next time."

"You don't have to," Natalie smiled and blushed. "I feel a little weird."

"Why?" Jae asked, suddenly really nervous.

"I feel like we should be asking each other about family or what we've been up to the past few days or our favorite things, but we already know all that about each other."

"Yeah," Jae smiled awkwardly. "I guess when you're in someone's head every night, there's nothing we don't already know about."

"I'd ask if you've heard about Kevin's new job, but you already know about that."

"Do you think Kevin's learned the 'password' yet?" Jae attempted to joke and Natalie giggled.

"You mean the illegal alcohol password? I don't even think he needs to. It seems to be handed to him on a frequent basis. I don't know how he can stand that stuff. At least from what his mind thinks of it, it seems vile to drink."

"Kevin just doesn't want to upset or offend the one offering. Every day, he's walking on eggshells whether the people around him are trying to make it that way or not. One false step and Kevin could be in trouble."

"I guess that's true," Natalie shrugged. "I can't wait for him and Kyle to finally come home. I know it'll be easier for them both. I'm glad Kyle's loving it as much as he is."

"Do you think anything will happen with that woman from the library?" Jae asked.

There was a young woman working at the library that Kyle had met recently. She was a nice girl and she'd gotten to talking with him one day when he was studying. A few weeks later after talking almost every day when he came to study, he stayed at the library later than usual and…one thing led to another and they were sleeping together against the Greek epics, poets and philosophers. Renesmee was, of course, not to be told about this. Kyle and especially Jacob were rather adamant about it. Jacob knew that while such an occurrence in his mind was certainly nothing to be concerned about, Renesmee would not see it that way. Unfortunately, ever since Nathan came of age, at least on the more physical degree, there was beginning to be a growing number of things that Renesmee was not to be told about.

"All teasing aside, I don't know if Kyle really sees anything in that relationship worth pursuing. She seems nice, though, at the very least. Maybe we'll be wrong."

"Maybe," Jae shrugged and bit into his bread. "Did Kevin say he and Alfonse were beginning to work on that business of theirs?"

"Kevin said they were saving up," Natalie recalled. "If I remember correctly, they'd decided they'd save up $10,000 between the two of them."

"That'll definitely push back going to Germany," Jae sighed. "Do you suppose your grandparents would be willing to gift him the money if he went again?"

"I'm sure they'd be happy to, but I think Kevin really just wants to pay for it himself. Him and Embry. They both seem to want to do things themselves since they've been financially independent."

"There is something nice about it," Jae smiled. "There's something nice about getting what you want with money you earned yourself."

"Well, maybe I should get myself a job then," Natalie smiled.

"What job would you want?" Jae said.

"I don't know," Natalie giggled. "Maybe I should get a job at the General Store or somewhere else in town."

"I can try to put in a good word for you, but I doubt Hailey would budge," Jae joked.

"You're right. The thought of working for Mr. Dauer is enough to make me cringe."

"He's not that bad," Jae laughed. "He's really nice when you get to know him."

"I'll take your word for it," Natalie smiled. Jae finished his loaf of bread while Natalie was still working on hers.

With the moon high up in the sky, almost full but not quite, Jae and Natalie continued to walk side by side through the park. They were quiet for a few seconds, but it wasn't awkward at all. It was pleasant and comfortable. Deciding to be bold, Jae reached down and took Natalie's hand in his. It surprised her, but only briefly before she went a step further and adjusted their hands so their fingers were laced. They shared a brief look and smiled at one another before looking ahead again. As they continued through the park and Natalie finished off her bread at last, they happened upon a little jazz club and overheard the instruments coming from inside. Intrigued, Natalie pulled Jae with her to the other side of the street and into the nightclub where they paid a nickel per person to enter. Once inside, there were tables everywhere surrounding a large dance floor filled with people dancing to the loud, fast paced, infectious music that was playing. Natalie found she was tapping her feet the moment she saw all the people dancing to the music. Jae glanced at Natalie and saw how her face lit up. So he grinned and led Natalie with him to the floor.

Some of the people around them were doing elaborate swings and twists and turns to the music with long beaded necklaces flying around and women in their boxy dresses and feathered hats with short hair and their dates in suits. Natalie and Jae weren't quite so flashy. Rather they basically spun around with one another enjoying the loud sounds of the saxophones, bass and anything else that was playing a smooth, yet somehow simultaneously hap hazardous rhythm that Natalie and Jae couldn't find follow because they couldn't find a pattern. Yet, somehow, they discovered that was the whole appeal. You were never sure what you would hear and that made the music exciting.

After thirty minutes of just dancing their own way, a couple walked over to them practically insisting on teaching them to dance like everyone else. By the end of two hours, that couple had Jae and Natalie and a handful of other couples joining in on a routine they seemed to have made up themselves. By the end of three hours in the jazz club, a huge group of couples was taking up the dance floor with a routine that even went so far as Jae lifting Natalie into his arms bridal style and tossing her legs over her head to land on her feet beside him. It was easily the most fun either of them had had in recent memory. They lost all track of time and only left when the owner of the club announced they would be closing soon. It was only then that the two of them realized it was eleven in the evening. Exhausted, Natalie and Jae walked out of the Jazz club hand in hand like they'd been in the park.

"Jae, that was so much fun!" Natalie skipped, never letting go of Jae's hand. "I don't think we stopped dancing for a single second!"

"It certainly feels like it," Jae laughed and spun Natalie around without warning like he'd done earlier when they were dancing. Natalie caught her balance quickly enough that she was able to complete the spin and land against Jae's shoulder.

"When can we do this again?" Natalie asked.

"Whenever you want," Jae smiled and wrapped his arm around Natalie's shoulder, becoming bolder yet again. The longer the night had worn on, the less nervous he was becoming. He was starting to wonder why he'd ever been scared at all. Everything felt natural with Natalie and care free. "The hours said they're open every night but Sunday and Monday night."

"Maybe we'll go again when you don't have to work the next day," Natalie said. "I imagine you'll want a good night sleep after all that."

"I might say the same about you," Jae joked and tightened his hold on Natalie's shoulders momentarily to hug her.

"You know, I'm not actually tired," Natalie said against Jae's chest. "I thought maybe we could try getting in that moving picture."

"Nah, they'd be closed by now," Jae said sadly. "We got carried away in the Jazz club."

"It's hard not to," Natalie giggled. "That couple we danced with was really nice."

"Did we happen to catch their names?"

"You know, I don't think we ever got a chance to ask," Natalie said and the two shared a laugh.

Jae and Natalie continued to walk along the streets together, not in any hurry to return back home. They were enjoying each other's company, even during long periods when they didn't talk. They passed a theatre and, as Jae figured was the case, it was closed for the night, so they went on. Normally, Jae might have thought that since two out of their three plans didn't come to fruition that the night was a failure. However, the walk in the park they did have coupled with the hours they'd spent together in the Jazz club dancing and made any forgotten or missed endeavors trivial. They did, eventually, have to leave the city, but it wasn't until a few hours later. Wanting to avoid any teasing at least for the time being, rather than return home, they went to the General Store. Jae unlocked the door so they could get in and then locked it back up once they were inside.

"I know Leah has a change of clothes up in the master bedroom," Jae said offhandedly. "I should have some clothes too. Did you want to use the bath before going to bed?"

"I think that sounds nice," Natalie nodded. She followed Jae upstairs and stood in the doorway of the bathroom while Jae got the water going and to a good temperature.

"I'll take a bath in the morning," Jae said, more so to himself but loud enough that Natalie could hear.

"I admit I'm still not very tired," Natalie said. "Does Mr. Dauer have cards lying around that we could play with?"

"I'm pretty sure he does, but I'll check. Even if he doesn't, we have some on sale we can use."

"Are you allowed to use unsold inventory?" Natalie giggled.

"Eh," Jae shrugged with a smile. "So long as they're back on the shelf come Monday, it'll be fine."

"I'll trust your judgment," Natalie smiled. Jae laughed a little more while testing the water until it was hot. When it was, he stood up from the lip of the tub.

"I'll look for some cards while you're bathing. Do you want anything?"

"I could actually go for coffee," Natalie smiled. "Okay, I'll get us some coffee."

"And bring it all upstairs. I don't want to risk falling asleep at the kitchen table."

Jae chuckled a little nervously, as did Natalie, but he eventually agreed and left the bathroom to look for cards while Natalie bathed. She found the spare clothes Jae had mentioned and placed them to the side. She was taller than Leah, but she could fit in her dress well enough. A little big, but nothing unmanageable. After undressing and seeing herself in the small mirror, Natalie felt just a little unladylike when she saw herself. She looked so little like her mother or even her grandmothers for that matter. While all three of them had varying sizes, all three of them had a relatively large chest that made their clothing fit well and just made them look more feminine. While Natalie had filled out a little since changing, it was nothing compared to what she'd been hoping for. Her breasts were full and perky, but still rather small and her hips weren't quite as wide as she wished they were. She wished she could have her mother's hips, tastefully wide and feminine looking with a butt that curved beautifully.

Carlisle had suggested that she start eating more seeds with her usual meals. While it had helped a little, it wasn't quite what Natalie had been hoping for. All the same, Carlisle always told her the same thing: "You need to eat more!" She seemed to hear that every day and it drove her insane. If she had a dollar for every time she'd been told that, she'd be wealthier than the Baronet Heidelberg. Of course, life doesn't work that way. Even when Jae tried encouraging her it would still aggravate her. Although she was usually more receptive to him even if only for the fact that he didn't nag her so much as 'encouraged' her. Eventually, Natalie decided she was thinking too much and went into the tub, instantly relaxing and forgetting about what had previously been bugging her.

Natalie made a point not to take too long even if the water felt so nice. Once she was clean, she left the tub, dried off, put on the dress she was burrowing from Leah and left the bathroom to look for Jae. She looked to her left towards the master bedroom but didn't see him so she walked to her right towards the guest bedroom. Jae was in the room with the lamp on shuffling a fresh deck of cards sitting on the desk chair positioned in front of the bed with the desk in the corner between him and the bed.

"I see we're using inventory?" Natalie teased and Jae chuckled.

"As long as we put them back, no one will be the wiser," Jae smiled back and Natalie sat on the edge of the bed with the table between them.

"So what are we playing? I admit I don't know poker."

"I know it but I'm terrible at it. Do you want to play a matching game?"

"What kind of matching game?"

"I know of a game called Go Fish," Jae suggested. "Basically, you just have a hand of five cards and we ask each other if there's a card in our hand that matches and we take turns asking. After each one, we take another card and keep going until the deck is gone and whoever has the most pairs wins."

"Sounds simple enough," Natalie said. Jae smiled and started shuffling the cards again. He cut the deck in half, bent the cards with his fingers and, using his thumbs, released the cards to slap on top of one another. Once all the cards were between each other, he pushed the cards together slightly and bent the cards upward again, securing the top card, and let the cards fly together until they were a full deck. "Can you teach me how to do that?" Natalie asked suddenly.

"You mean how to shuffle?"

"I mean how to shuffle like you. That's impressive."

"Sure," Jae smiled and brought the cards a little closer so she could see. "What you do is you have to break the deck in half." He proceeded to cut the deck until he had two equal halves of cards. "I usually tap them a little so they're even," he continued as he gently tapped the cards on the table. Then he rested them on the table with his fingers and thumbs on one side of the cards and foot of his palm on the ends. "You use your thumbs to pull the ends of the cards upward like this." Jae demonstrated, lifting the edges of the cards and then bringing the cards closer together. "Once they're really close together like this, you just gradually release the cards." Jae demonstrated again, releasing the cards from his thumb one by one in a blink of an eye. "Then, all you do is push them together just a little bit and bring the topmost card forward so it's covering both sides." Jae brought the cards together so they were lined up while intertwined and, using his left thumb, brought the topmost card forward so it was evenly covering both parts of the deck. "Using that top card as the seal, you bend the cards upward in your hand," Jae did just that, "and release," and allowed the cards to fall into place, making the deck whole again.

"Okay, I think I've got it," Natalie smiled and took the cards from Jae. It was slower than what he'd done, but she cut the deck in half, used her thumbs to intertwine the cards, brought the topmost card at the center and pushed the cards so they were a deck again.

"You did it," Jae said proudly. "Why don't you hand out the cards? We each get five cards and the deck goes in the middle." Natalie nodded gave them each five cards and placed the deck between them.

The game proceeded innocently. They would ask one another if they had a Queen of Diamonds, an Ace of Spades and so on. If there was a match, the winner would take the pair and keep it to the side. Once they ran out of cards, they counted the pairs and Natalie came out the winner by four pairs. They played another round and Jae won the next round, but only by one pair. He won the round after that with about the same equilibrium. They played cards well into the night until Natalie was finally getting tired.

"Did you want to sleep in here or the Master bedroom? I'll take whichever room you don't use."

"I'm alright to sleep in here," Natalie smiled. "You work here, so you should get the master."

"Honestly, the word 'master' isn't very accurate," Jae smiled. "The bed's a little bigger, but it's more cramped."

"Yes, I've noticed," Natalie giggled.

"I'll go put these back and get to bed," Jae said as Natalie yawned. "You get to bed too."

"Is Hailey coming in tomorrow?"

"No, the shop's closed until Monday," Jae said and put away the cards in their case. Then he moved the desk and chair back where he'd originally found it before saying goodnight to Natalie and walking out, leaving the door slightly ajar.

Though it was ill-advised to do so, Natalie gulped down the last of her coffee and laid in bed. Even though she was tired, it took forever for her to fall asleep. She was jittery and still excited about the night. She had the Jazz music stuck in her head and she kept remembering the delightful dizzy feeling from when she was dancing with Jae. She managed to fall asleep eventually, but it didn't last. She was awake again in the wee hours of the morning before the sun was even poking out. Rather than waste her time trying to fall asleep again, she woke up and took her coffee cup, as well as Jae's which he'd left there by accident, downstairs. Before going down, she glanced into the master bedroom through the open door and saw Jae sound asleep. The site made her smile.

When she got downstairs, she started rummaging through the kitchen as quietly as possible looking for the coffee beans. The other coffee items were already out from last night. She looked through the pantry and found oats and her mother's spiced apple butter. She decided to repay Jae the favor for buying her dinner and got ready to make breakfast. Her first thought was oatmeal, but that was boring. So she got creative and allowed the oats to soak in water for an hour before she used a masher to mix the oats and water as best she could. Then she added a little more oats and her mother's apple butter and some sugar she found and got a pan hot to make little pancakes. Making sure they weren't sticking was a nightmare, but she managed. By the time she cooked up all the batter into pancakes, the sun was finally rising, but Jae was still asleep. She thought she'd surprise him and got everything on a big plate with forks while balancing everything in her arms including the very hot coffee pot. The pot was the first thing she put down along with the coffee cups and a serving cup of sugar. She put the large plate of pancakes on the foot of the bed and that's when Jae finally started to stir.

"Morning," Natalie said. "Sorry for waking you. I made breakfast and I thought you'd want it while it's still hot."

"It smells good," Jae smiled and pushed himself upright in bed only wearing a thin shirt without sleeves. "You made pancakes?" Jae asked, a little surprised.

"I made those oat pancakes Esme taught me how to make," Natalie said.

"Oh, those," Jae said. "I like those. They're really gooey inside."

"I like them too," Natalie smiled and pushed the plate forward so she could sit on the end of the bed, but Jae didn't want her sitting so far away. Without a word, Jae took a hold of Natalie's wrist and led her to his side while he pulled the plate of pancakes forward so it was in front of them.

"That's better," Jae smiled and looked at the counter. "You made coffee too?"

"I did. Hailey only had cow milk, so I just brought but sugar. Is that okay?"

"That's fine," Jae said and reached over to poor each of them some coffee. He didn't add anything initially and handed Natalie her cup and sipped from his. Natalie scrunched her nose.

"I screwed it up," Natalie whimpered.

"No you didn't," Jae reassured and took the serving up of sugar. "It's just more potent. The stronger it is, the more alert you are."

Natalie blushed, "You don't have to try to reassure me. I know it's bad."

"Well, I think it's good," Jae smiled and added only a tablespoon of sugar, perhaps less than it needed, and mixed it in before taking a sip. It was still too bitter, but Jae didn't care. "Just how I like it."

"You're such a liar," Natalie giggled and added a lot of sugar to her cup.

Regardless, Jae laughed with her and leaned against her a moment before eating a pancake. Natalie picked at it more than really ate until Jae started picking out cakes he claimed were especially good and telling Natalie to take a bite of it. Even if he ate most of it, Natalie still helped him get through the whole plate of pancakes and the whole pot of coffee. They remained at the shop until they finished eating breakfast and only returned to the tribe around mid-morning. As one might expect to happen, Natalie and Jae were berated with teasing questions asking how their night had gone and, of course, pointing out that they only came home the following day. Although Renesmee did find the latter question irritating to say the least, she was relieved when Natalie insisted over and over that nothing of the sort happened. She told about the park, their bread for dinner and the Jazz club, but that was all. If she were being honest, she was no one to talk all things considered. She kept her mouth shut while everyone teased and Natalie did her best to fend it off. Jae was in much the same position and did the same thing Natalie did. That night on patrol was much of the same. Embry Jr. (more so than Embry Sr.) and Travis teased the two and kept asking about their date even if they had all the information the instant they all changed until Jacob eventually told everyone to drop it and focus.

Natalie was correct in that Kevin was putting money aside for the business he and Alfonse discussed. However, he was putting more money aside for something far more important: another trip to Germany. Not to mention several more to come. He was even trying to plan a course of action for Amber coming to America. She was only four come 1922 so she was still far too young. He wasn't positive if he would be able to see her again anytime soon, either. He needed to work on ensuring he was seen as a commodity and a necessity by his employer before he even thought of requesting a month off so he could go to Germany. So he settled for writing her letters. He also began sending her parents letters here and there. He expressed that, while he was unsure of when his next visit would be, he was currently putting money aside with the intent of visiting as soon as possible. He promised he would not make plans until they expressly wrote that he was welcome to come and also requested that this all be kept from Amber. He wanted to surprise her. In addition to his usual letter back from Amber, he also got an answer from her parents, particularly Anna, who wrote:

Dear Sergeant,

As always, you're welcome to visit as soon as you are able. We look forward to your next visit and know that Amber will be delighted to see you when you can. As you have asked, Levi and I have not spoken a word to Amber and will remain silent on the topic unless you say otherwise. Until then, while I'm sure I don't need to tell you to do so, continue sending Amber your letters. Every time a new letter arrives, she always has a little skip in her step and it's rather cute.

Until We See You Again,

Anna Dymek

With a smile, Kevin kept that letter on his desk and proceeded to read Amber's letter before writing her his reply and keeping her letter with all the others tucked away in his desk drawer.

The year progressed as always. Ana would occasionally send their servant, Diane, to the office with Anastasia to visit Alfonse. Since her birth in December, she'd begun to grow like a weed. She was already sitting up all by herself and seemed to love nothing more than to sit on Alfonse's lap and be bounced up and down on his knee, always giggling jubilantly. Unfortunately, whatever truce Kevin had managed to start between Alfonse and Ana fizzled out by Anastasia's first birthday. Ana's complaints continued and grew in number to a point where Alfonse couldn't stand to appease her anymore. Of course, Alfonse being Alfonse, he did little if anything to improve the situation. It had not become uncommon for the two of them to argue for hours about her disdain for Connecticut, wanting to return to the Hamptons, preferring to return to Paris instead, and so on. It was not unlike Alfonse to work as late as possible if only so he wouldn't have to go home. There were even nights when he would spend the night with Kevin and Kyle so he wouldn't have to deal with Ana. It was the reason Diane had begun bringing Anastasia to the Law Firm with higher frequency as the year progressed. Sometimes it was the only time he got to see her. Alfonse was not shy about relaying his problems to Kevin who made himself a willing ear. Alfonse complained of Ana endlessly and, the few times Kevin ever did see the two of them together anymore, all they did was either argue or ignore one another.

"This is turning eerily similar to your parents and how they are," Kevin said one day while Alfonse was having dinner with Kevin and Kyle at their little house.

"I'm not sure it's something worth being surprised about," Alfonse said. "Monkey see, monkey do as they say."

"And that doesn't worry you?" Kyle spoke up.

"Of course it does," Alfonse said defensively. "Why do you think I usually avoid her? I don't want Anastasia to see us like that so I'd rather she not see us at all."

"I'm about to ask a stupid question," Kevin said. "What about divorce?"

"Out of the question," Alfonse said, though there was no lacking of bitterness in the statement. "The money aside, if we divorced, she'd return to France, she'd take Anastasia with her and I'd probably never see my daughter again."

"Perhaps an agreement could be worked out where she's required to allow you visitation," Kyle suggestion and, for some reason, that set Alfonse off in a way that no other question could have.

"That woman wouldn't allow me anymore right to visit my daughter than she'd allow a wayward mouse to stay in the kitchen. Even if I could get the courts to agree to that, she'd ignore them and return to France anyway." Alfonse went quiet for a moment and even started shaking a little. Kyle was about to speak, but Kevin looked him dead in the eye and, pushing the thoughts into his head, told him to say nothing. Eventually Alfonse took a deep breath and pulled himself together. "She's asked over and over again to at least go back to New York. She much preferred staying in the Hamptons. Spoiled brat wouldn't be happy unless she lived in a God Damned palace."

"Why not let her?" Kyle asked.

"Kyle, the drive to the Hamptons is five hours."

"And he'd never see Anastasia," Kyle finished Kevin's thought with a sigh. "Though you could see her on holidays at least or long weekends."

"No," Alfonse said. "I'll not be a temporary figure in her life. If we didn't have her, then I'd let Ana go up to live with my parents gladly. I'd gladly be rid of her obnoxious nagging. But if it means I can see my daughter every day, I'll tolerate whatever she sees fit to complain about. I want Anastasia to be able to reach out to me no matter what. I want to be able to be available in an instant. I just want to be a good father."

"You're a great father, Alfonse," Kevin reassured.

"And I'll be damned if the princess forces me to be otherwise," Alfonse said bitterly.

The following day, Diane brought Anastasia to the office to visit yet again. Kevin was relieved the others in the office were so open to Anastasia being at the office so frequently. She was becoming known around the law firm as Alfonse's secretary. Come December, Kyle returned home immediately after completing testing while Kevin remained behind, having been unable to get a longer vacation like he'd wanted, though he would be coming to visit for a weekend closer to Christmas. He was able to spend a weekend in the Hamptons with Alfonse's family for Anastasia's first birthday. It was the smallest party that Lady Heidelberg seemed to have thrown, at least from what Kevin had been part of. It was family only as well as a handful of the Baronet's business partners and, of course, Kevin. Kevin had bought Anastasia a little toy as did a few others, but what her Grandma Kastorov had given her was a little more outlandish to say the least. She gave Anastasia her very own tiara that barely fit her tiny head. Ana thought it was adorable. Alfonse found it stupid, but said nothing.

Back home was a far more pleasant situation. Sadly, Bernadette's husband was being transferred to Florida come fall. She brought little David, who had grown into a very independent little toddler, to Forks to say goodbye for now to her parents and, of course, to Aidetzi. She swore they would return whether it be due to Captain Presley being transferred back to Washington or if they were doing a family visit. Natalie and Jae, since their first date, had many more after that. Their favorite thing to do was go into the city, especially if it meant they could go to that Jazz club. They finally discovered the couple they'd danced with, a young Miss Bernice Wilkins and her fiancé John Price, were good friends with the owner of the Jazz club and went there nearly every night, their jobs be damned. Evidently Bernice was a secretary at a realtor while John was a mechanic at the local train station. Jae and Natalie had little more in common with the couple besides a love for Jazz and dancing, but when they were at the Jazz club, that's all they needed to have in common.

By that Christmas, Jae and Natalie were no longer teased about finally seeing one another formally. Now, Jacob teased the boy cruelly by asking when he planned to ask his daughter to get married. At first, Jae was embarrassed as was Natalie and they wouldn't answer, leaving Renesmee to rein Jacob in. Although it wasn't long before Jae was confidently telling Jacob, "I'll ask her tomorrow if you'll let me". Unfortunately, his attempt to one up Jacob fell short when Jacob replied, "Why tomorrow? Renesmee can do a moon ceremony now." Natalie at that point told Jacob to stop teasing Jae before he could give or think of a proper retort. Travis had come a long way as well. He visited his tribe virtually every day so they could hardly have a chance to miss him. As promised, the pack remained very silent about Travis's preferences, though unfortunately it did inevitably result in Rachael telling Travis to make his uncle find him a good wife, sooner rather than later.

His English was coming along well. What had at first been an uncomfortable and confusing chore and shifted into an easier, though still confusing at times, task. By summer of 1923, Travis could confidently call himself fluent and his reading and writing had improved a great deal as well. Kevin continued to send letters to Amber, but something happened. Come September, Kevin sent his usual letter to Amber. Yet, when December came and he'd still not heard back, he started to worry and sent another letter. He spent all of December worrying about the lack of response. When he spent the weekend at home for Christmas, they tried to reassure him she was probably distracted with something and having trouble answering, but it was nothing to worry about. He finally did receive an answer, but it wasn't until February of 1924. He got a letter from Amber as he'd been desperately hoping for, but he also received a letter from her father. What he found strangest is the address of sender was in Berlin, not Munich. Worried, Kevin started with her father's letter.

Sergeant Black,

Amber will apologize for not writing sooner. She was very upset about it and wrote as soon as we were finally settled. As Amber will be telling you a great deal, I shall keep the explanation brief. Do you recall that man I'd complained to you about from the National Socialists? Hitler was his name if you remember. Regardless, it seems back in 1923 some time he took over the party from its original holder. I can't recall the man's name at time of writing this, but frankly his name is irrelevant. What is relevant is what happened in November and the reason for our prolonged silence. Mr. Hitler, with his party, had attempted to overthrow the Bavarian government in Munich. I only found out about the matter when I attempted to go to work and Amber was walking to the Synagogue when a large cluster of men were marching the streets with Swastika banners in hand. They ended up before the police who open fired on them. Amber and I went straight home from there. Unfortunately, this man had caused problem after problem in Munich and he's gone from being a thorn in my side to a legitimate menace and danger to my wife and daughter. As such, I've seen fit to uproot Amber and her mother to Berlin. We had been planning to go to Berlin as I'm sure we've discussed with you, but recent circumstances have forced the move far sooner than planned. Our new address is now in your possession. You needn't worry. The villain has been imprisoned for treason serving 9 months. I'm confident we will be safe in Berlin.

Levi

Kevin had to read the letter several times but eventually needed to stop so he could calm down. Levi promised he'd gotten them somewhere safe. He'd promised it. Yet now Kevin was determined to make this the year he visited Germany again. He'd go with what little money he'd put aside for it. He'd gamble at the horse tracks if he needed to. Mr. Huntington adored Kevin by now, so he could easily convince the man to give him a month off.

"What's the matter?" Kyle asked after seeing Kevin appear to suffer a mini panic attack.

"You should know," Kevin sighed.

"You know I don't read minds as a general rule," Kyle sighed.

"Yeah, and look what good that did you," Kevin said sarcastically in reference to the Librarian Kyle had been seeing a while back. As it turned out, she'd been engaged and Kyle had found out in a rather awkward encounter with her and said fiancé in the quad. Thankfully, the fiancé remained blissfully ignorant of the affair, but that didn't stop Kyle from making it clear she was to never speak to him again.

"Don't try to change the subject, Kevin," Kyle said, but did open his mind to find out what was wrong. "If you want that time off, you'd best ask for it now."

"I'll speak to Mr. Huntington in the morning," Kevin said.

"I'm sure you could just ask grandpa to lend you some money," Kyle suggested.

"You know I won't," Kevin said, but then he sighed. "I will if I absolutely have to."

"Are you going to stay in tonight?" Kyle asked.

"Yes," Kevin said. Kyle nodded and finally left Kevin alone. Kevin left the living room and went to the bedroom and sat at his desk to read Amber's letter.

Kevin,

I'm so sorry for not writing you sooner. Daddy said he would try to find out if any letters you sent could be forwarded to our new address, but he didn't seem very hopeful about it. All the same, we've moved to Berlin this past November. It was very sudden to say the least.

There was a man that spoke at Beer Halls all the time called Hitler that attempted a coup! That is what my teacher had referred to it as at least. I spoke with a friend of mine whose father, she said, had been present at the time. There was a speech being given that night at the Beer Hall and apparently Hitler burst in with an army of men and held the whole Beer Hall hostage until morning. Apparently they were released by General Ludendorff I think was his name and Hitler took to the streets with his men. But they happened upon the police who shot at them. I remember seeing them stand off but the moment the police raised their guns, daddy grabbed my arm and made me come back home with him. You should have seen him! When we got back home, daddy screamed at mom, "Pack everything, Anna! We're going to Berlin!" I don't think I've ever seen him so angry. The next day daddy took a train to Berlin and a few days later, he picked us up and moved us to Berlin.

Daddy's been working for a huge bank since we came here. He bought a house that acted as a bakery, so mom and I are converting it to a candle shop. I'm also attending school now. It's only the beginning of senior school, but it's a nice change. So in all fairness, some good came of the uprising in November. Everyone thinks I'm fifteen here. It's so strange for everyone to think I'm so old but it's a much better feeling regardless. Mom is hoping we can have the shop opened and running by May God willing. She and I have already begun creating inventory. I've been making carved soaps at school during lunch and so many see me working and are enthralled by them. I think we may already have customers lining up for the shop. The shop is up front with a big window while the house is all in the back behind a separate door. I hope you can visit soon. I think you'll like the house. Make sure to congratulate mother when you see her. She'll appreciate that.

We converted a room in the house to a candle room for making the candles. Moving all of that was easily the worst part of moving. We have to build a whole new well for the candles to be dipped in. It's almost done, but mom really wanted a stone style that took time to get just right. Mom even suggested we hang some of our painting in the shop and see if we could make a little extra money from selling artwork. You should see mom. She's so excited about the shop. She's been wanting to come to Berlin for a while. Granted this wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind about how it happened, but she's happy we finally made the move.

The synagogue had a little going away party for us before we left. Some of them were even saying they planned to come to Berlin themselves, but I think of few were saying daddy was overreacting. I wanted to send you a picture of the house with all of us, but mom insisted she doesn't want a picture until we've fixed up the outside to look the way she wants. There's nothing wrong, but we still need to put the sign up. We're still trying to think of a name for the shop. I suggested Dymek Candles, but mom wasn't in love with it. She suggested Candles and Soaps, but I don't like that. It's too 'on the nose' I think. Daddy suggested Candles Co. which we've been buzzing in our minds, but we're still not in love. We'll think of something before the sign makers come I'm sure. We have a while.

How have things been going at the Law Firm? How are the plans with Alfonse coming along? How is his daughter, Anastasia? Please tell him I love that name if you've not already. She was so cute in that picture you sent me. Is she still visiting Alfonse at work every day? I love that he does that. I hope things are going better for him and Ana. How is everything in your family? How are Natalie and Jae doing? I admit I'm just a little jealous of the two of them. It sounds so romantic to go to a Jazz club together and walk in the park together. We have some Jazz clubs in Berlin, but they're very small. Some older people are calling it the Devil's music if you can believe it. It makes me laugh a little to hear someone say that. I haven't gotten to go to one yet. A few friends from school are saying they want to go, but daddy keeps saying no. He always says he doesn't want me out late at night by myself. I would be with friends, but that's never a good enough answer and he says I have to stay home. Mom suggested she and daddy could take me, but I'd rather go with my friends. When you're able to come back to Germany, we can go! I know daddy will be alright with you taking me.

Don't tell daddy I told you this, but sometimes he says you're like a bear. He says you're big and menacing from afar and scarier up close. Of course, I know you're a big softy. I can't wait to receive your next letter and I can't wait until I get to see you again. I know daddy sent you a letter almost certainly in a fit about what happened, but don't worry. We're all alright now.

Love,

Amber

Kevin breathed yet another sigh of relief. Whatever happened in Munich, Amber seemed to have well put the incident from her mind and was content to move on with the matter never to bring it up again. That was fine by Kevin.

Kevin took out his paper and started with his letter replying to Amber's father. He told Levi that he planned to come in summer, specifically June. He'd make sure he was there no matter what and to plan for him so long as the month was not inconvenient. He also asked Levi to keep Amber in the dark, wanting to surprise her. He told Levi to congratulate Anna on her endeavors with the shop, how she'd earned a chance to start her own business and expressed his relief that he and Anna and Amber were okay. He sealed that letter and copied down the address on the envelope then turned to his letter to Amber which was much longer. In his letter, he suggested that, perhaps, The Candle Gallery would be a cute name for a shop wanting to at least give them an idea. When his letter to Amber was written, he sealed it in an envelope and wrote the addresses down and had that in the mail the next day. He also spoke with Mr. Huntington the next day expressing his need to go to Germany, the urgent nature of the matter, and requested he be able to take off the month of June. Mr. Huntington was initially rather hesitant to allow it. Kevin, in his brief time in the Law Firm, had worked up quite a good reputation for himself. However, once Kevin explained the situation, Mr. Huntington eventually agreed to give Kevin that month off.

"Someone attempted to overthrow the Bavarian government?" Alfonse asked when Kevin told him. He seemed torn between amused and stunned. "Good God. He didn't succeed you said?"

"No. According to Levi, he was tried and convicted of treason."

"Oh," Alfonse said, shrugging. "So he was executed."

"No," Kevin said and suddenly, Alfonse was ONLY stunned.

"What? How? The punishment for treason is death. That's how it's always been."

"Not for Mr. Adolf Hitler apparently. He just got 9 months in Landsberg prison at least from what I've managed to find out about the story."

"Well," Alfonse said and was quiet for a moment. "Fuck me, then," he finally said. "So you're going to Germany this summer?"

"Yes, in June," Kevin said. "I sent Mr. Dymek a letter letting him know to expect me but I've asked them not to tell Amber. I still want to surprise her."

"I'm sure she'll love that," Alfonse said. "How long are you planning to be gone?"

"The month," Kevin clarified. "Much the same as last time. It gives me the spring to try and come up with some extra money."

"Did you want to burrow some from me?" Alfonse offered.

"No, you don't have to lend me money. We're already saving to start a business together."

"Yes, but that's separate money I've already put aside," Alfonse said. "Really, I'm just waiting on you to have raised your half."

"Well aren't you so high and mighty," Kevin teased and the two laughed. "I appreciate you offering, but I think I'll be okay."

"You certainly managed to raise plenty of money last time you went to the horse tracks, that's for sure."

"That might end up being what I do. I just hope it'll work."

"I don't see why not. You had angels flying out of your ass that time, why not this time?"

Kevin laughed, "I guess you're right. Did you want to join me?"

"I wouldn't mind seeing a miracle happen again," Alfonse chuckled and the two agreed to meet the following day at the race tracks. After work the next day, Alfonse went home telling Kevin he was going to get Anastasia and to meet him there. Kevin waited about thirty minutes before Alfonse finally arrived with Anastasia on his hip. "Sorry that took so long," Alfonse said. "Ana had a 'complaint'."

"No need to apologize," Kevin said. "We still have a few races to enter."

Kevin and Alfonse walked into the track and a few women that were present stopped Alfonse frequently to see the baby and praise how cute she was. She was dressed up with a little pink dress with white stockings, black dress shoes and a little white fur coat and pink hat. If Ana had her way, Anastasia would have gone out wearing her tiara, but Alfonse expressly said no. They eventually made it to the poles following a parade of women wanting to see Anastasia. Kevin joked that after all the praise, Anastasia was holding her head up a little higher. Really, she was napping against Alfonse's chest. Kevin looked at the lineup of horses that were going to race and placed a substantial bet on a horse named Lilly Constable. Once he'd placed his bet, they went out to the track to see. Anastasia woke up to the sound of the people yelling and began to whimper. When she did, Alfonse started whispering to her, first in German but then in Russian. While paying attention to the horses, Kevin started rubbing Anastasia's back to try and help her relax. Eventually she relaxed a little, but mostly she cuddled up to Alfonse for safety. To put her at ease, Alfonse covered her ears in hopes the noise wouldn't bother her.

Finally, the announcer called for the start of the race and the horses were released. Kevin singled out Lilly Constable and pushed the thought of fire into her mind, hoping desperately it would encourage her forward. It gave her a jumpstart lead that had Kevin rather comfortable. So he stopped showing her fire. Eventually, one horse was catching up, so Kevin pushed fire in her mind again and Lilly Constable started running like the wind. She managed to beat the other horse by a good few feet and Kevin won the race.

"How do you do it?" Alfonse asked.

"Luck," Kevin said. "I think I'll bet on a few more. I'll be back in a second."

Kevin went back to the poles and discovered he'd tripled his money. With that reassurance, Kevin resolved he'd bet everything on one more horse. One in particular whose name immediately captured his attention: Black Orchid. With his bet in place, Kevin ran back to the bleachers where Alfonse was sitting with Anastasia, who'd calmed down now that she was used to the noise.

"Did you bet on Lilly?" Alfonse asked.

"Not this time. I bet on Black Orchid."

Alfonse chuckled, "Maybe it'll be a sign."

"Dear God, I hope so," Kevin said. When he saw Black Orchid, she was a really beautiful horse. A shiny black coat and the jockey sat on a royal purple saddle with yellow accents.

The horses were released and Kevin decided to hold off on pushing an image into Black Orchid's mind. She was doing excellent, but she wasn't winning by a huge lead. But on the second lap, Black Rose was being headed by another horse he remembered being named Pearl Dream. He started getting nervous, but still refrained from showing the fire, but he was sitting on the edge of his seat. Alfonse realized it was the first time he'd seen Kevin actually appear nervous when they were doing this. The Jockey riding Black Orchid encouraged her further to run faster and she started to get a lead. It seemed as though Black and Pearl were alternating between the lead. It came to the third and final lap and Pearl was very nearly beating Black Orchid. Kevin was very nearly ready to start showing her images out of desperation, but the jockey encouraged Black Orchid to run faster and, at the last minute, Black Orchid took the win by crossing the finish line just a nose ahead of Pearl Dream. Kevin released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and laid back in his chair laughing just a little, mixed between easing terror and overwhelming relief.

"Looks like Black Orchid was a winner," Alfonse smiled.

"Thank God," Kevin said. "With that win, I'll have enough money to go to Germany twice." Kevin sat back up and looked at Anastasia who'd started looking at him for some reason. "I'm sure you're the good luck charm that made me win today, Anastasia," Kevin said and started tickling Anastasia's neck, earning a fit of giggles from her until Alfonse told Kevin to stop because she was kicking his sides.

Kevin and Alfonse went to the poles together to collect his money, walking away with a small fortune all of which went directly to Kevin's 'Germany Fund' as he'd nicknamed it. Kevin gave Anastasia a $100 bill, telling her that she had better hide it away for safe keeping. She took it and started shaking it, but Alfonse did save the dollar before she could attempt to put the bill in her mouth. Kevin walked Alfonse and Anastasia home before returning home himself where Kyle was looking over his books.

"You know, Kevin, for all the money you earn off gambling, you wouldn't even need to work," Kyle said when Kevin stepped in.

"I'm not eager to bank my life on gambling," Kevin smiled. "I have enough money to go to Germany. That's all I care about. In fact, I won enough to manage two trips. Three if I really penny pinched."

"That's good news," Kyle said. "Amber will be happy to hear about that. Do you plan to make every visit a surprise?"

"Just this one," Kevin said. "Maybe now that I have enough for more than just one trip, I can actually plan for another trip next year."

"I'm sure she'll really appreciate that," Kyle agreed.

With the plans set that Kevin would be going in June, the remainder of time up to it seemed to drag. He eventually received two letters, one from Amber and one from her father, and Mr. Dymek confirmed he and Anna looked forward to his visit and that there was a room in the new house that he could use during his stay. Amber, as per his request, remained unaware of his impending visit. Amber's letter also contained a picture she had promised. The picture was of Amber and her parents standing in front of the shop/house. He felt a little tug at his heart strings when he saw the name of the store was Die Kerze Galerie, or the Candle Gallery as he'd suggested. The name was painted on the window of the shop in, what Kevin could plainly tell, was Amber's handwriting enlarged to fill the window. Anna and Levi looked much the same as he remembered, but Amber was clearly taller. She looked every bit of the age of 15-16 that she was claiming to be at her school. Her hair was cleared to frame her face and went down to her shoulders and her bright smile shinned through the picture. Anna and Amber were standing in front with Levi standing between them. Anna held a completed carved candle while Amber held three pieces of carved soap: a rose in her left hand, an orchid in her right hand, and a carved owl balanced on her wrists. He immediately had the picture framed and took that with him to work the following day to keep on his desk.

Come May, Kevin was already making preparations for his trip to Germany. He was packed by the end of May 1st and his suitcase waited patiently beside his bed. He got all the work done that he possible could so as to leave as little on Alfonse's shoulders as possible while he was gone and officially appointed Anastasia as his helper. They both got a good laugh over it, but Kevin did go to the store and buy Anastasia a little black dress and a man's tie so she would be dressed appropriately for her first day on the job. While Ana was, for some reason, not seeing the humor in joking about her daughter working, she would be wrong to claim that the little outfit Kevin had put together for her wasn't the most adorable thing she'd seen her daughter in, even if the tie was simply far too long.

When it was finally June, Kevin had everything ready at the port long before the ship was ready to set sail. He got all his things on the boat and Kyle, Alfonse, Anastasia, even Ana, saw him off. After the ship set sail, Kevin spent most of the two days out at sea on deck looking out at the front of the ship. He got a chance to speak to a few people while on the ship; in particular an English couple that was returning home from a visit with family. Apparently the husband had a handful of work colleagues that lived in Germany and had told him about the attempted coup back in November. They were just as shocked as Alfonse had been when they had heard the traitor lived with just a 9 month jail sentence. The husband referred to the ruling as 'utter nonsense'. According to his work colleague that had viewed the trial, Mr. Adolf Hitler had claimed he merely wanted to take back Germany and return her to its people. The proclamations had seemed to win the heart of the judge, who'd softened Mr. Hitler's sentence, or so he was told. Of course, what little Kevin did know about the man's political rhetoric, he highly doubted that.

Once the ship arrived in Le Havre, Kevin got onto a train a day later to make the trip to Berlin. The train ride to Berlin took about 6 hours from Le Havre. He slept most of the way there. By the time he arrived in Berlin, it was five in the afternoon. He grabbed his luggage and started walking in the direction of the Dymek's new house, asking for directions along the way. As he walked, he happened upon a little café where three young women were sitting together at a table outside drinking coffee and, at least two of them were, eating a pastry. Her back was to him, but Kevin realized immediately that it was Amber. She'd grown so much since he'd last seen her and even since the last picture she'd sent him. Her arms and legs were longer and she appeared much taller. Something happened across the street and Amber turned her attention to it momentarily before returning her attention to the two ladies at the table with her.

No matter how brief, Kevin saw her face. It was still Amber of course, but she changed so much. Her cheeks were just a little thinner and her nose and curved daintily. It was a very subtle change in her nose, but he could tell. Her eyes were the same blue that they'd always been and her lashes went on for miles. Kevin realized she looked a lot like her mother save for a few odd features. He remembered Amber's mother's nose bridge had curved upward while Amber's curved downward, but in a way that was barely noticeable. Kevin stood in on the sidewalk across the street and just up the road from the café and just looked at her for a moment.

"You really grew up on me, Amber," Kevin mumbled to himself and approached the café.