CHAPTER FOUR
(BPOV)
I wasn't brave enough to place the call and Renee didn't seem to want to push the issue. She merely tended to the three pans of lasagna and grinned all the while she was preparing them for the oven.
"You know we should make your grams homemade rolls to go with this! Wouldn't that be good?" Renee excitedly asked, her eagerness over this meal making me pause before searching the cupboards for grams recipe book she still kept.
"Those take a while." I reminded her, but she just shrugged and pointed to the mixer in the corner.
"I bet we can get them in the oven in under an hour. Perfect timing if you ask me. Good thing I invested in that double oven huh!?"
"Yeah, I'd say!" I replied, holding up the index card to her with grams recipe scribbled on it.
Renee grinned and wiped her hands as she reached for it.
"Okay, I think I have everything we need to make two dozen of these."
"Two dozen!? Wha-"
"Oh, just so we have left overs. I mean, we can always freeze some of them along with the lasagna. It's meal prep, Bella. Come on, get with the times my girl." She huffed to me with a wink.
I couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm for cooking this huge meal when it was just the two of us.
I had soon combined all the needed ingredients into the mixer and turned it on, watching the dough start to steadily form in in bowl.
"You haven't made these rolls since...- gosh-... I can't even remember the last time, mom."
"It's been a while yes. The last time I made them was for Christmas day when you were ten. Guess I just haven't had the time to do it since."
"Maybe we could take some to the homeless shelter up the road that just opened. They seem to always be in need of extra food."
"That's a great idea. We'll see." She obliged, carefully slipping the last two full lasagna pans into the bottom oven and setting the timer. "There all set to start on those rolls."
"You have a lot of Grams recipes." I observed.
"Yes, I saved all of them. She loved to cook and so do I. Your dad used to love these very rolls even for breakfast years ago. He used to put butter and jam on them all the time. I think it was one of his comfort foods."
"Well, they are good." I admitted.
"That they are."
After the rest of the cooking was finished, we quickly washed the many dishes and looked at the feast before us.
"Gosh mom, I think we overdid it a bit." I teased.
Renee merely nodded as if she'd only half heard me. She seemed oddly preoccupied with gazing out the kitchen window toward the driveway.
"Well, leftovers are good!"
"Yeah, we have enough for a few weeks worth. Will save us on cooking dinner at night for a while anyway." I added, fetching two clean plates and handing one to her.
"Um- I think I'll take a quick shower before we eat. Is that alright with you?"
"Yeah, I'll wait for you."
"Okay, I won't be long. Why don't you find another good movie for us to enjoy?"
I nodded as she headed for the bathroom, her steps quick and almost anxious.
I scrolled through what seemed like endless movie options without finding anything that looked appealing. Most of them we had already seen at least twice and I truly wasn't up for a third, so I settled in with a book and waited for Renee. My eyes grew heavy before I made it to the second chapter and I fell fast asleep there in the sunroom overlooking the ocean waves.
It was some time later when I was awakened by the sound of Renee's cell phone ringing in the kitchen. She answered it on the third ring, and though her voice was low, it carried out to me.
"Yes, are you still coming in tonight?...-no...no, I haven't told her yet. I don't know what to say...-hope you're all hungry. We made enough food...-okay, sounds good. Don't forget to give the uber my address I sent you. We're the second beach house on the left. Blue with white shutters...-yes, okay. See you soon. Bye."
I pretended not to hear her for as long as I could. When she ended the call, I met her in the kitchen.
"Who was that?" I asked.
"Oh, Bella! You jumped me!" Renee startled. "I thought you were still sleeping."
"Who were you on the phone with just now?"
"Um, a friend of mine from one of my old jobs. They are in town for a few days and I thought maybe we'd invite them over here for dinner."
"Who? What friend?"
Renee pretended not to hear me as she began to set the table. Her place settings now accommodating enough for five instead of just the usual two.
"Oh, no one you'd know."
"Well I don't mind making myself scarce for the evening while you entertain. It will be nice for you to be around some of your old friends, mom. I can take the car into town and do some job searching while you host. Those tickets to Washington won't be cheap or pay for themselves."
"Well, I planned to cover most of the cost."
"I can't let you do that, mom. Really, I want to help." I countered.
"I appreciate that, but we can always go looking tomorrow for jobs around town. I'd like it if you stayed here with me tonight. No need to make yourself scarce on my account."
"Mom, I'll be fine. Have time with your friends. Honest." I replied, heading for my room to change so I could get going before her company arrived.
"Bella, I don't need you to leave. My friends would like to meet you." She continued outside the door while I hurriedly changed into jeans and grabbed my jacket.
"I'll be back before ten."
"There's not enough gas in the car." She sighed, as I headed towards the front door. "You'll need to put some in."
"That's okay. I don't mind."
"But, Bella-" She insisted.
"Mom, I will be back-" I told her, grabbing the keys and heading outside toward her jeep. "I'll text you before I head back. Enjoy your dinner."
"Bella, I really-"
Our conversation was halted then by the blinding headlights that turned into the drive suddenly.
"Have fun, mom. Love you."
"No, you can't go- just wait-" She argued, stepping in front of me with a pleading look. "Please...-"
That's when I saw the back door to the uber car open and my father step out. His grin wide as he took his luggage from the trunk and headed my way.
"Hey, you can't leave! I just got here!" He exclaimed.
"Dad!" I half cried, running to hug him. "What are you doing here?"
He held me tight in the kind of hug that made tears well in my eyes as I embraced him.
"Oh, your mother and I, we've been keeping this a secret for the last week or so." He admitted, with a chuckle.
Renee joined us there, hugging him and I both.
"You got lucky. She was ready to leave right before you pulled in. I had all I could do to keep her here another five minutes." She mused.
"You never had plans with your friends tonight?" I hedged. "You were planning this with dad!"
"Guilty!" Renee admitted with a shrug. "Here Charlie, let me take that suitcase for you."
"Thank you, Renee. I packed light so no worries there."
"Well, it's a good thing." She teased him back, the two of them sharing a warm look that made me smile even wider.
"This is a nice place you guys have here. Right on the beach. I'm sure that's really something to wake up to."
"Oh, it is. It's my dream." Renee replied, leading the way inside "We still have a lot of work to do on it, but we're making progress little by little. Isn't that right, Bella?"
"Yeah, we've done a lot to it so far. I really love it here, dad."
Charlie kissed my forehead then and breathed in the ocean air with his reply.
"I can see why. Place like this is sure easy to love."
"It's heavenly to watch the waves at night." Renee told him.
Charlie seemed taken with our quant little beach house, and he voiced how proud he was of my mother for all she had done.
"Looks great in here, Renee. Really does."
"Thank you, Charlie. As you can see, we made plenty of food."
"Smells delicious! I see neither of you have lost your skills in the kitchen." Charlie complimented. "Table looks real nice, too."
"I can get us all a plate, dad! If you're hungry enough to eat now?" I offered, gesturing toward the set table and noting the other two place settings that were still empty.
"Oh, I can definitely eat now, but uh- I'd like to wait till everyone is here, Bella."
Charlie looked toward Renee then and raised his eyebrows in silent question.
"No, I still haven't told her."
"Told me what? Are you guys keeping more secrets?" I hedged.
Charlie wrapped an arm around my shoulders with a slight squeeze then.
"Maybe...-"
"Dad...-"
"Truth is, there's been a few others who have been missing you as much as I have since you left. Couldn't make this trip without them."
My heart raced and my eyes went wide as I peered up into his face. He merely smiled down at me as another set of headlights pulled into Renee's small drive.
"That'll be them now." Charlie mused. "Come on."
I stood frozen on the porch as Charlie and Renee headed outside to greet the second car now idling out front.
I couldn't move or think or hardly breathe as I watched the driver get out and pop the trunk, as he pulled the luggage out and retreated around to open the first rear door.
I didn't know I was crying until I felt the first tear drip slowly down my cheek.
Jacob emerged from the back seat and pulled a wheelchair from the trunk. His hair now long enough to be pulled back into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck.
My breath caught and my heart felt as if it would beat clean out of my chest at the sight of him.
I blinked several times, thinking that this was all a dream I'd wake up from any second. If that was the case, all I could do was beg for it to last longer.
Don't wake me up yet...please.
My legs felt heavy as I made my way down the porch steps, one at a time, stopping at the bottom to see the setting sun barely touch his face when he helped Billy into his chair.
Charlie took the bags from the driver and patted him on the back as Renee stood on her very tip toes to hug him.
Billy smiled wider than I could ever remember seeing him smile once Renee embraced him next, my mothers tears evident to see even from this distance. She had greatly missed my father and Billy.
Jacob turned his gaze my way then and I was unable to move or think.
He looked the same, but different at the same time.
Older somehow, though my mind told me that wasn't possible.
His face held the same beauty it always had since he was a child, only now, there was a slight hardness to it that I couldn't place but noticed instantly.
We both didn't move at first, the moment feeling almost surreal, as we stood there staring at each other.
Part of me wondered if he was feeling the same exact thing I was right now. That if we moved too quick or blinked one too many times, all this would fade like a vapor in a dream and we'd wake up to harsh reality.
The last time we'd seen each other was burned in the back of both of our minds.
That dance and the way he pleaded with me to see reason.
I should have listened to him.
We both took a step forward and then another, and before I could draw in another breath, he was reaching for me, his only words barely spoken above a whisper.
"Come here."
A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review ;-)
