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Chapter 189
Questions and Answers
Jake
Leah had finally come around again. I was so happy, so relieved and therefore just in a good mood. Nothing would be able to spoil my mood today. Absolutely nothing! Even if Mike Hanks showed up here, I'd probably fling my arms around his neck and offer him a piece of the cake that Mom had just taken out of the oven.
"Don't get carried away, Jake!" Dad suddenly stood beside me - chuckling reprovingly.
I sat on the high back of the sofa and looked at my favorite sister.
My twin. My other half. She already looked much better than this morning, although it was just noon.
"Yes. She does. Carlisle is pleased with her current readings. I'm very confident she'll recover quickly from these days," Dad said softly as he gently stroked over her temple.
Unmistakably in the same mood as me.
My cell phone rang, and I hurried to my phone so Leah wouldn't be woken up.
"Akai?", I answered the call. I was kind of surprised that he called. Vampires in the forest. Help with bio or chemistry. Maybe something was going on with Kate ... The motives of his call could be manifold, as Dad would surely say.
The latter shrugged his shoulders, chuckling.
"Did something happen?", I therefore asked directly afterwards.
"What? Why? No," he said, slightly confused. "How's Leah?"
I breathed once and went to the kitchen so I wouldn't disturb Leah with my chattering.
"Better. She finally woke up from her apathy this morning," I said gleefully. "Akai," I said quietly to Becky, who looked at me questioningly.
"That's great! ... And does she know what happened? Can she remember?" he was first excited and then cautious.
"She had no way to forget anything. What happened in the woods, she relived over and over again. My dad suspects that she had these seizures whenever she reached the end. When Nanuk was in her arms."
"That must have been pretty bad for her," Akai muttered.
"I guess so, but I think she's doing pretty well for that," I countered, though. I really thought so now. She wasn't bursting into tears and sobbing or was at the end of her will to live. She did cry from time to time, but I found that rather understandable. For Leah, I'm sure it was as if Nanuk had just died yesterday. On the other hand, she had even smiled warmly once or twice today. However, I did not know how it looked inside her. "And how is Kate?", I asked. She had lost the man she had been with for over five years and was about to marry. Without wanting to downplay her grief, if it weren't for the imprinting between Leah and Nanuk, I definitely would have said Kate had to take Nanuk's death the hardest.
"No one really knows," Akai replied.
"Huh ...?"
"Well ... She went to her parents' house after the funeral and hasn't been back to see us since and hasn't been in touch. Yesterday a girlfriend of hers was here, but she was just to pick up some things Kate had in his room. Earlier I drove to see her, but her father said she was already on her way to Boston with her mother."
"Okaaay ...", I only said to that. I kind of understood. If I lost Becky and had been with her and her family most of the time, I wouldn't necessarily want to go there anymore either and let any house inventory remind me of Becky. But not getting in touch at all, I thought was kind of unfair now too. They must have been worried about her. "Is there any particular reason why you're calling?" I asked, after we both seemed to be at a loss as to what to say.
"Oh yeah," Akai seemingly remembered. "Didn't you once tell me that Jasper and Emmett trained with you as wolves?"
"Yes, they did. They still do when the opportunity arises," I replied.
"And ... um ... I mean ...", Akai suddenly became at a loss for words.
I smirked and Dad was already pulling out his own phone.
"And you want to ask if they would also train with you a little," I then brought his stammered words to the point.
"Yes," he admitted. "What happened with Nanuk got me thinking. Maybe if we'd taken the wolf thing more seriously, he'd still be alive. If we had prepared for something like that."
"They'd be honored, and they have time," Dad murmured to me, who was hanging up.
I passed it on equally.
Akai would leave in a moment.
"Is he bringing Phoebe?" asked Becky quickly, leaning against the phone so she could listen in.
I passed this question on as well.
"Actually ... she wanted to stay here," he hummed and hawed a little.
"Afraid of vampires?", I asked with a smirk.
"Mmm ... mmm ..." he confirmed.
"Bring her along. We'll get the fear out of her!" Becky said loud enough that Phoebe probably heard it, too.
Becky went back upstairs to get dressed properly while I started getting undressed in the dining room.
Ced took the opportunity to frolic in my fur.
Without consideration for losses! His parents had forgotten to teach him decency in this respect. But since he always looked for a suitable place to cuddle in the end, one could hardly be angry there.
Only reluctantly did he release me and make room for Becky.
Only after a kiss from her on the cheek, as I noted with a growl. At the same time he smiled at her again so incredibly. 'Dad, can't you even teach your son some manners?!'
"That already didn't work with my first son," he countered.
I stuck my tongue out at him for it and forgot how ridiculous that looked as a wolf. So I was also laughed at.
I bit into Becky's jacket and pulled her to the door, sulking. Only in the forest did she stop laughing.
Somewhat at least.
Soon I heard Akai's thoughts as well.
That with the thought sharing under Alpha wolves functioned splendidly. We were both a good distance away from our houses, but still quite far away from each other. We made a meeting place in the proximity of my family, at which I naturally arrived before him. For one thing, he was still unpracticed with Phoebe on his back and ran quite carefully. For another, his run was about twelve miles longer than mine.
So I tossed Becky off when we arrived in the Hollis area at the agreed upon spot.
'Ouch!', Akai commented on Becky's departure.
The little snow dune had been too inviting, I just had to let her fall into it. She was still chuckling.
I placed myself as a wolf above her.
"I'm sorry," she whimpered.
More with laughter than with surrendering apologies.
I growled.
'One can't stand to see what Becky has to suffer with you as a boyfriend!' Akai interfered once again, teasingly, in my thoughts, which had actually revolved around how I could make my star stop laughing.
I couldn't think of anything I could have done to 'punish' Becky, but I had an idea of how she would think of other things than continuing to laugh at me.
I phased back, lying on top of her, and with one hand on her chin, pulled her lips to mine.
What began playfully turned into making out, which was based on pure lust. We had not slept together in days. First I had not been physically in the condition to it and then both of us with Leah in the back of our minds had not been up to it. On Thursday while cooking we had been quite boisterous, had kissed quite devotedly, but that had had little to do with what Becky and I usually did together. Yesterday, too, we hadn't been in the mood for love, lust, and passion; instead, we'd been sitting with the vampires for a long time. Now it was as if we were demanding compensation from each other, wanting to make up for everything we had missed the past few days. Stormy and lustful. Unfortunately, Akai was also not so slow that we would have had long enough.
"Are we disturbing?", unfortunately we heard him much too soon with us.
"I'm sure you'll figure that out on your own!", I mumbled through our kiss, which I was very reluctant to let fade. That was so understated.
Becky was still smiling at me like she was completely blown away.
"Later, we'll continue at this exact spot. Promise!" I vowed in a whisper, whereby the stars in her eyes twinkled at me excitedly. Why couldn't it be later now?
I sighed in frustration, but we rose from the snow.
We greeted Phoebe and Akai with a casual handshake, both of us having our girls standing in front of us.
We were not really embarrassed that we were naked, but we did not want to hug the girls in our birthday suits. Compared to Friday, Akai looked really good. Relaxed. Not quite as cheerful as he usually was, but definitely in a good mood.
We ran to the main gate.
Akai had already had trouble getting over the fence on his own with the help of the rocks during the last visit. With Phoebe on his back, I didn't even want to let him try. Admittedly, it had taken me a while to get Becky over the fence without any problems and without her getting any more bruises from falling.
We ran straight to the main house of the estate, where a large platter of all kinds of snacks was already waiting for us.
In addition to six vampires.
Therefore, Phoebe practically hid behind Akai.
That Edward was also a vampire, with whom she had had a rather long, pleasant conversation up in the Native American village, she must have somehow forgotten. On the other hand, she had only seen him - since she knew the truth - at the funeral.
After the small refreshments, without which Esmé wouldn't even let us start any training, Emmett was already getting jittery.
He had absolutely no patience for such things as competitions, training sessions, and the like.
Phoebe followed us, clinging tightly to Akai's hand as we walked to the front door, which made me smile.
"You better stay here, Phoebe," I advised her at the door.
She looked at me really horrified and then up at Akai.
"Don't be nervous. I'll bring Akai back to you in one piece and absolutely nothing can happen to you with my family," I assured her seriously.
"The worst that can happen to you here is that you get re-dressed by Alice or Esmé forces so much food and drink on you that you get sick," Becky said smiling from the living room doorway.
Phoebe peeked a little skeptically.
"I'm not forcing anything on anyone! I'm just being hospitable!" Esmé raged from the kitchen.
No doubt already preparing the next treat.
"That's exactly what I was trying to say," Becky improved with a smirk.
So Phoebe let her wolf leave, but not without looking after him for a long time.
We stayed on the grounds, but retreated far enough that we could not be seen from the house.
If the girls watched us, they would have nervous breakdowns.
The first thing Jasper wanted to find out was what Akai could do by himself. How he moved and reacted in an emergency - attack and defense. After that, there was something like basic training, which they had also done with Leah and me previously. The essential differences between our species in terms of a fight and how to counter it best. How you could take advantage of those differences.
A good hour later, I was on the ground panting and holding my ribs.
I was not sure if they were still complete. Akai was literally handled with kid gloves, while I was pushed to the limit. At least that's how it seemed to me. I demanded to see my doctor, but he was denied me. By the way, I had also tried with a nurse, but only Emmett showed up. Grinning. When I'd threatened with Dad, wondering what he'd do if I didn't arrive home in one piece, the grinning had stopped. For a whole three seconds! I shouldn't make such a fuss.
Nevertheless, we let it be for today and walked back to the house, where we got dressed again in the little room.
Jazz praised Akai, but also criticized him.
Akai was quite enthusiastic after this first practice.
In the dining room there was already a little extensive interim feast ready.
Waffles, muffins, filled pancakes. Everything still warm. Fantastic!
Esmé handed us cold Coke.
Carlisle and Dad were of the opinion that Coke would be good for blood sugar balance after a strenuous exercise session.
"Thank you, Esmé," I hugged her and gave her a peck on the cheek.
"I know how hungry my wolves are," she smiled meekly.
Akai and I sat down and took hold of it directly.
Jazz and Emmett watched us in fascination as we get stuck in over the food.
"You don't starve here, do you?" asked Akai with his mouth full.
"No!", I stated, chewing.
"Well, how did Akai do?", Carlisle entered the room curiously at one point.
"Not bad, but not particularly good either," Jazz summarized.
Akai choked.
He had been praised earlier, after all.
Jazz put the box of syringes on the table and pushed it toward Carlisle. Carlisle took a casual look inside.
"Jake took it like a man!" Emmett stated with a grin that none were missing out of it.
But it sounded more like he was trying to express the exact opposite.
I puffed in offense.
That had really hurt! But it had not been as bad as a shot in any case.
Jazz began to explain his opinion in a little more detail.
Leah and I had been much better during our first practice with him. But that would be no reason for me to be proud of it and no reason for Akai to resign. We had learned to deal with the wolf. With Seth, when we were in La Push. It would have been just a little bit of a head start that we would have had with it. But for that, Akai was doing well, apparently. He still looked lumbering and awkward because he hadn't figured out for himself how to use his proportions. Jazz had no doubt that Akai would soon be able to hold a candle to us. Figuratively speaking.
"What about this Tom guy?" asked Jazz.
The third wolf of the Cornish pack. Oh no. Now they were only two wolves. My family had only ever heard of Tom, but had never met him.
"He would have liked to come along, too. But I didn't know what you would say. Besides, I should check out the situation first. Whether it would be useful at all and whether you would agree and so on," Akai said.
"So, does it do anything?" wanted Carlisle to know.
"And did you check out the situation?" asked Em.
"So ..." he began to hum and haw sheepishly again. "I survived for over an hour with you guys. With people I was supposed to be hunting. I also found it very educational, and I already think it's going to help me as a wolf. Making my own life safer ... I'd like to do it again on occasion, if I'm not keeping you guys from anything."
"In order for it to show some effectiveness, we should declare the practice a permanent institution for the time being. Always with different opponents, so that you get to know different attack variations. Just as every human or even wolf differs in their fighting actions, this is also the case among our kind. Some rely on power and strength, others on precision, and still others are nimble and skilled. You must learn to deal with all of them. Once a week. Since you spend a lot of time in this Native American village on the weekends, as Jake and Leah told us, I might suggest Friday afternoon," Jazz explained.
"Uh ...", Akai didn't quite understand, I guess, that it was getting so specific now, whereby I smirked.
I had already expected such an answer from Jazz. He was the strategist of the family and had probably already thought up a very precise workout plan down to the smallest detail.
"And Phoebe you bring then obligingly again!", I heard behind us Rosie determining.
"Exactly!" agreed Alice to that unequivocally.
Surprised because we hadn't heard them coming, we turned to the four girls.
Alice had braced her hands at her sides to emphasize her point. Rose her arms crossed imperiously in front of her chest. And our two girls were smiling and looking adorable.
Okay, I always thought that with Becky, but they had new hairstyles.
Upon closer inspection, we could see very intricate braided hairstyles that would be appropriate for a wedding.
And namely as a bride!
They sat down with us, nibbled on the delicacies, and talked about their past hour, while Esmé also joined us.
They had shown Phoebe part of the house. Only a part, so that the entire property would not make her dizzy. Besides, it would give her a reason to come back. They had obviously gotten along very well, and Phoebe didn't seem scared now with all the vampires around her.
Akai and Phoebe said goodbye after Carlisle drew copious amounts of blood from him.
He would make the same remedy for pain for him as he did for Seth, Leah, and me.
In addition, Akai had given me something else for Leah from Phoebe's bag. A framed photo of Nanuk. The Latham family wasn't sure if Leah had a picture of Nanuk, for one thing, and if she wanted it now, for another.
With Becky I then also disappeared. Into my room in our house here on the Saco River.
It was only afternoon, so we had plenty of time before I had to drop Becky off with her family again for a change.
We stumbled, smooching up the stairs and across the hall, but I had to get in the shower.
The practice in the forest stuck to my skin. Blood streaks, dirt, something from the shrub hung certainly in my hair, in which I had flown. Or from the fir tree.
I hurried to shower, hardly waiting to be back in my room. I quickly dried myself and tied the towel around my hips. With another I hurriedly rubbed my hair, so that it was at least not completely soaking wet, and hurriedly combed through it. Then I went back through my closet into the room.
I stopped there for a moment and let the picture that presented itself have a pleasant effect on me.
Becky had turned on some music.
Quiet jazz music. Yes, I knew that direction. From my dad. And Becky was lying in the middle of the bed. In a pretty yellow negligee with lots of lace on it, whereby her intricate braided pigtail hung over her shoulder and reached down into her cleavage. She wore the star-heart necklace with it. Nothing else.
"You have one more promise to keep!" she demanded in a beguiling voice.
Oh yes. I would!
And I took my time with it. I explored and caressed every inch of my girlfriend as if it were the first time.
A well-toned body encased in velvety skin that tasted of milk and honey. Adorned with three tattoos and a belly button piercing. A clef next to her breasts, a wolf between her groin and belly button, a star tribal next to her pubic mound. A few well-proportioned grams of fat rounded out the overall look and didn't make her appear scrawny. She was perfect! And she was mine!
Sensually she lolled on the sheets, looking at me with an excited look and I apologized with perseverance and devotion for the neglect of the last few days.
And what did my star do? Instead of just enjoying it today, to be spoiled by me from head to toe according to all - known to me so far - rules of love, she paid me back with the same exciting coin! However, I did not manage to get upset about it. For this, her skillful lips and playful fingers were much too exciting ... I felt afterwards as happy as I have not felt in a long time.
I lay on my back, a pillow under my head, and Becky snuggled against my side with the thin sheet, in which her fingertips stroked over my torso. Mine slid over her back, her tight ass, her shoulders.
Being around Becky has always been very fulfilling for me, regardless of what we were doing, but today it seemed to take on new dimensions. But perhaps this impression was only due to the last few days, which had been rather gloomy. I was plain and simply in love with my star.
As we lay there, feasting on each other's closeness, Becky suddenly chuckled adorably.
"What's so funny?", I inquired.
"Nothing," she lifted her head a little to look at me. Her eyes were beaming. "I'm just happy," she laughed. "Happy and totally in love with my wolf, who is finally himself again," she kissed me.
"Totally myself," I repeated thoughtfully. "I've been in a pretty bad mood this week, haven't I?"
She nodded.
"I'm sorry!", I said, gently stroking over her cheek as I did so.
"I don't want to hear an apology from you for that! I was just worried and I'm glad you're back. Wherever you've been exactly mentally," she said, sliding on top of me and giving me a very gentle kiss on the lips.
A delicate touch that made me shiver pleasantly.
"Yes, I'm back," I confirmed. "That Leah has come around has straightened out a lot of things in me. Now I can completely look forward again!"
"And what do you see before you?"
"The rest of my life!", I murmured, gently covering her lips and playing with them. "You, my star. With you I want to spend the rest of my life. And it will be a wonderful life. I promise to love you and cherish you every day! In the overwhelming good days and the hopefully very few bad days. Provided you're okay with that!"
Becky chuckled happily at first, but then bristled and sat upright on me.
"Was that a marriage proposal?" she asked, slightly irritated.
She peeked quite cutely.
"Uh ...", I said in the heat of the moment. But I hadn't planned it that way. "Let's call it a general rehearsal," I said lightly, shrugging my shoulders.
"General rehearsal? Like in a theater, yes? ... And what are my lines?" she smiled.
"Improvise!", I urged her.
She acted very thoughtful, looked up, put an index finger over her mouth.
I turned with her and buried her under me indignantly.
"You have to think about it that long?", I asked, played indignant, tickling my star out.
She begged for mercy, and I was in a very merciful mood today.
"I was just looking for a not-so-boring answer," she defended herself.
"What's the boring one?", I then asked with interest, whereby l braced myself with my hands on the bed next to Becky's head.
"Yes, I do. But that's what everyone says," she opined.
"Well, there are supposed to be girls who also answer that question with 'no' or run away in a hurry," I stated.
She chuckled a little more, but then the cheerful mood was suddenly gone. A respectful mood brushed against me. She leaned toward me, propping herself up with an elbow on the pillow, put a hand to my cheek and looked at me quite seriously.
"But I don't. I want to marry you! Today rather than tomorrow. No matter how young we really are. I love you, Jake!"
"I love you, Becky!", I replied, and we let ourselves fall back again into the blankets, kissing.
It may not have been appropriate, but inwardly I smirked.
The general rehearsal had gone almost without a hitch. But I could make serious! Right now! I had an engagement ring for Becky. Right here. In this room. Not one from a gumball machine, like the one that was incorporated into the little plush wolf as a heart. No. A real one. It had been a pretty spontaneous idea of Marcus and I to walk into the jewelry store and then actually buy those two rings as well. It was when we were in Portland playing paintball with his friends while Leah and Becky were out strolling together ...
Flashback
January 2.
After meeting his friends, who we had mercilessly skunk in the paintball hall with our combined forces, we drove downtown.
In my car accident with Dad's Maserati the day before, I had rather involuntarily parted with a pair of shoes. Among other things. The clothes were not so tragic, through Alice I now had plenty to wear, but with shoes it was a different story. So I needed a replacement.
Besides, after the fight against Marcus' friends, we had also gotten hungry, and dinner would take a while.
So we strolled through the city center, hoping to maybe run into our girls by chance.
We had no luck with that, but we also didn't want to call them to ask where they were.
They could spend a day without us. And we without them. Tonight at the latest, we would have the two back.
We were standing in front of a jewelry store.
Actually just a coincidence.
We didn't want to walk into the sporting goods store across the street with the Pulled Pork wraps in hand.
Yes, David's Pulled Pork was unbeatable, but we could hardly convince him to make it every week. So we had to settle for the stuff from the snack bar. It tasted okay and was filling. What more did we want?
Rather out of boredom, we looked at the shop window. Of course, we were standing in front of the window, of all things, behind which marriage, engagement, and friendship rings were displayed.
"That's a cute one," I pointed to one that caught my eye.
It was an oval stone that had a slight pink glow to it, and there were sort of two rings underneath it. One completely unadorned, without any embellishments or anything. A naked silver ring. Right next to it, the second ring under the other end of the stone. A dainty and squiggly thin 'string' that also formed some loops.
"It would be perfect for Becky ... For Leah, though, it would have to be plainer. She likes that filigree, but not on something she would wear every day," Marcus opined.
He was undoubtedly right about that. The jewelry she got from Dad was quite gracile and Leah liked it a lot. But she would never wear it every day. She had gotten that - or rather, we both had - from Mom. She had raised us to be practical rather than stylish. Leah, for example, would never go to school or out on the town in high heels, knowing full well that eventually she wouldn't be able to walk in them. And with such delicate jewelry, she would have to watch how she moved. It wasn't worth it to Leah. Still, she liked to dress up when we went out.
"This is Leah's," he then stated with conviction.
A simple ring, with the stone embedded in a round silver setting.
Classic elegance, I guess Dad would call it. Pretty.
"I'm pretty sure she'd like it," I confirmed, being a bit amazed at how well Marcus knew my sister. They had only been together for two months after all.
"Should we ask about what we can be prepared for in terms of price?", I grinned.
Really interested me. I did carry that black credit card in my wallet at all times and used it occasionally by now, but I wouldn't let my dad pay for the engagement ring for the woman of my life! I don't know how to put it better, but that went against my honor! As a man! Even though I was only seventeen.
Marcus nodded.
We quickly finished our meal, threw the leftovers in the trash can and entered the jewelry store.
What can I say? The seller was born to be a salesman and was very businesslike. The silver turned out to be white gold and the stones were real diamonds on both. He had babbled something about carats, which I couldn't really relate to. But he pictured us all the more understandably the enthusiastic faces of our girls so pretty mentally, if we would ask the question of all questions.
So we took the engagement rings.
I had enough money in my savings account to which I didn't really go otherwise.
Accumulations from birthdays, Christmas parties, and from my paychecks when I had worked at the Prescot Institute during my summer vacations. Actually, I had been saving in that account for ages for a car of my own, but that had lapsed since Christmas. So I paid the $539 for the perfect engagement ring for the perfect woman.
For Marcus, however, it was not so easy.
His ring was priced at $459.
I swallowed instinctively.
I knew that Marcus actually only lived on the income he earned at the diner. From that he had to pay for clothes, school supplies, his bus and the like, but also when he went out with his girlfriend.
I was astonished when Marcus - without giving it much thought - pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket and from it a check.
His entire monthly salary.
The salesman accepted it gratefully, packed the ring in a pretty casket and produced the bill.
Marcus still got change back, but it wasn't much.
"Leah is more than worth it! ... Even if I'm a little short of cash for the next few weeks, I'm not completely broke as a result," he said encouragingly in response to my question about his liquidity.
I knew the word from business administration.
"Fortunately, board and lodging are free with us," I got in on his jovial manner.
On the way home we began planning, which already took on quite concrete proportions.
Leah's and my eighteenth birthday. Valentine's Day. The day of love, if you believed the flower stores ...
Flashback end
Yes, I would stick to our plan, even if I were going it alone right now. Valentine's Day. Our birthday. There were just under three weeks left. I could easily muster that much patience, especially since in those three weeks I had to talk to Becky's father. I was running out of time to ask the bride's father for permission or his blessing, but I wanted to do it anyway. The last time the subject came up between Becky and me, I had actually just said it like that I would talk to her father. It was when we had spent a few days at Esmé and Carlisle's house after her rape. Becky had told me in the meantime, however, that she didn't think this old-fashioned approach was bad at all. With all the emancipation and progressiveness, a touch of tradition would not be wrong and even appropriate. After all, I would be taking his daughter away from him, so to speak. Those had been her words. Literally! So I would have to do that. With this thought I would have no problem to wait three years instead of only three weeks.
We were still kissing devotedly, turning back and forth, when we heard a noise.
It was during the break between two songs, which is only why we had overheard it.
Something had clanked.
That ended our kiss immediately.
"How likely are burglars on this property?" pondered Becky.
"I would say the probability is not there," I returned, wanting to keep kissing her.
"Check it out, please," Becky asked, however.
It didn't really happen anymore that she was overly jumpy or anxious. She had really put her experience with Mike Hanks behind her. But noises like that here were actually a reason to check. After all, Mom wasn't in the house.
I gave my star a kiss on the tip of her nose and crawled out of bed.
The towel from the shower was on the floor. I took it and tied it around my hips.
I have to admit that I had a bit of a queasy feeling in my stomach when I left my room all alone and thus unprotected. At least until I recognized the burglars.
"Burglar? Really, Jake?" my father taunted me, who was sitting at the kitchen table.
Ced sat on the table in front of him and Dad held out a cup, which the short one just drank from.
"Jake!" my baby brother beamed, stretching his arms up enthusiastically, holding one of those children's cookies in his hand and with a distinct milk mustache.
"Did I have any idea anyone was going to come here?", I defended my reasoning, propping myself up on a chair with my forearms and high-fiving with Ced. It always looked so cute when he did that with his tiny hand. "And you're hungry again? Didn't they give you any of the cake at home?", I asked him, pointing to his other hand.
He grinned at me, but held out the little remaining of it to me.
Brotherly care. As was fitting! But this little bite made hungry for more.
"You could have come! There's still something left for you," Dad said.
"What are you guys doing here anyway?" came to my mind to ask.
"Ced wanted to go into the woods, so I thought I might get to see some of your practice. But all my siblings are gone and Carlisle and Esmé are ... busy. Ced got thirsty and hungry from the long walk, so we didn't want to disturb over there," Edward explained to me.
"Didn't you carry him?", I asked, confused. Surely this shouldn't be particularly taxing for the little guy.
"Yes, of course. It was a long way."
The answer seemed very familiar to me. It wasn't so long ago that I had said something like that.
We smirked about it.
"And what's broken?"
"Somehow a picture fell off the wall in the entryway. Gravity can be tricky, though," Dad smirked.
Ced put his hands over his mouth to cover a very noticeable giggle.
"And what was that really like?", I asked Ced therefore.
Dad made another inviting gesture to be silent, but sometimes siblings had a higher value than parents.
Ced put his fingers on my arm, and I saw the scene as they entered the house.
Dad had apparently seen the picture at first glance and sighed in frustration. A picture of Dad as a Native American. Nice inconspicuous, in the midst of our family pictures. Emmett was just resourceful sometimes. I hadn't noticed it when I got here with Becky. Mind you, I guess Edward could have been hanging on the wall in person, I wouldn't necessarily have registered it. Dad had then tried to explain to Ced that you had to attach something like picture frames with extreme precision. A small vibration would be enough, and it would fall to the floor. That he had then immediately demonstrated vividly. 'And if anyone asks, you say that Emmett doesn't seem to have hung it up properly!', Dad then instructed his baby.
"So you're already teaching my little brother how to lie?", I asked challengingly.
"That wasn't a lie, was it?" retorted Dad indignantly. "It's the whole truth! I barely touched the frame before it fell down. Emmett didn't put it on the wall very carefully!"
"Yes ... nah. It's clear," I smirked. It looked a little different in Ced's memory.
On the way to the refrigerator, I asked about Leah.
She woke up from time to time, stayed awake a little longer each time, and made an increasingly better impression. The shadows under her eyes disappeared, physical strength slowly gathered again, she talked more.
As I leaned against the kitchen counter with only the towel around my hips, Ced babbled something, pointed his finger at me, and looked at his father questioningly.
I bristled, Dad chuckled.
"Ced would like to know why you're not wearing anything in the middle of the day," Dad translated the babble.
"Uh ...", I merely made, while my little brother looked at me extremely interested.
So did Dad, who smiled rather insidiously.
"It's not the middle of the day. It's getting dark again," I first pointed through one of the windows, looking for an explanation acceptable to babies almost five weeks young. But I found none.
"I'm sure Jake didn't go swimming without you, and we should get back to Mommy soon," Dad interjected placatingly, wiping Ced's mouth with a cloth and sitting him down on the floor.
He crawled in the direction of his play corner.
Not that there was anything missing there while he hadn't been here. Okay, that Ced could be satisfied with such a simple explanation hadn't occurred to me. Showers!, came to my mind then, though.
Dad immediately put away the few things he had used with Ced. The milk bottle ended up in the fridge, the wet wipes in a drawer, the cup he washed out directly.
"Do I actually need to congratulate you on a general rehearsal?" he asked casually in the meantime.
Startled, I looked at him.
From where ...?
"We just got here when Becky interpreted your words that way. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I'm sorry, but at the words marriage proposal, I'm afraid I got curious," he apologized.
I let my head hang and ran indecisively through my long hair. I was a little embarrassed.
I was seventeen and planned a real marriage proposal. Without having talked to my parents about it. Whether they would approve. Whether they would forbid it because of my age.
"The rehearsal didn't really succeed," I mumbled to myself. I was also pretty embarrassed that Dad found out that way. While Becky had to think about an answer.
"Becky already knows her answer and is very confident about it. She was just teasing you," Dad reassured me about that at least.
He dried his hands and set the towel aside before standing in front of me and placing his hands on my shoulders.
"You don't need our explicit permission to ask your star this question. Bella and I already knew that this day would come and also that it is not in the too distant future. But we also know that no youthful exuberance or impulsiveness is urging you to ask this question. If we had any objections to it, you would already know this since we know you have a ring," he added softly.
"How do you know about that?", I dug deeper.
He told that he had packed up Marcus' things - also here in the house. In the process, he had found his ring.
Marcus had betrayed me so to speak! I let this information sink in a little and considered appropriate revenge plans. Something like, that I would rub him with snow at our next reunion perhaps. Or let him jump in the diner at work with a few special requests.
"So you guys are okay with this? Even though we're so young and even though you said we should savor youth as long as possible?", I dug deeper again.
"More than that, Jake. We're happy. Becky is already part of our family, after all. And a marriage certificate won't take away your youth or change anything about the way you feel about each other. It just legitimizes your union and makes it unassailable and final," Dad said.
"And when are my parents getting married?"
He smirked.
"I think we've lost sight of the issue a bit," he reflected. "We'll see. I'll think about it when Leah is better. When nothing can cloud this joyous day."
So Dad gathered his baby back up, who had made himself comfortable with a puzzle game. Me he sent back upstairs before Becky wondered where I was for so long.
I gave a time for dinner when asked and I was already back in bed. With a hearty laughing star, whom I had just told how Ced had inquired about my extensive clothing.
But we didn't remain lying in bed for long.
It was already almost half past five in the evening when we gathered our clothes.
Well, Becky got dressed, while I just put my stuff in a bag. Therefore, I had enough time to help Becky get dressed.
"Play for me," I asked Becky as we strolled past Dad's grand piano and actually wanted to leave the house.
She never refused me this wish, but sat down immediately. So of course also today.
I watched my beautiful star with this so beautiful melody.
I really didn't know anything about music, but Dad had created something for us with this song that really moved something deep inside me. Especially when Becky played it.
But then we quickly ran back to Saco.
In the Young family, dinner was always at six o'clock sharp on Sundays.
We arrived just on time, but stood on the terrace.
We had already been in the house, I had already greeted her parents politely, so really we just wanted to say goodbye to each other.
Of course, we could have torn ourselves away from each other. The only problem was that neither of us really wanted to.
"Jake, how about you stay for dinner after all?" the front door opened behind me.
Becky's mom. She smiled with understanding. Actually, I had already declined the invitation.
"Well come on," she now prompted me again.
So this time I gave in.
Actually, I had wanted to spend a little time with Leah before our own dinner, but afterwards there was still time.
"You see. There you go," Becky's father commented that I was coming back inside after all.
The meal was very cheerful, even if the portions here - as in every other house - were not the wolf-sized. But it was delicious, and I would be full at home.
Bryan, Becky's younger brother, had a girlfriend recently, we were told cheerfully. Bryan was obviously very embarrassed as we asked all sorts of questions about the girl.
Her name was Conni. Actually Constance, but she probably didn't like that name very much.
Since I still had time, I let myself be persuaded to play a game of 'Categories' after dinner.
On Sundays, the family always sat together and played, as long as everyone was home. I had already participated a few times. It was always very funny. Like at home. However, I was not quite paying full attention. I thought about how I should best talk to Henry Young about his daughter, and my intention to marry her soon. When would be the most suitable time or how I should start. I expected a blanket rejection, simply because of our age, and looked for arguments. I knew only one thing: Not today. I would think carefully about what I wanted to say. Maybe Dad would have some tips for me. After all, he came from the time when this kind of thing was done. He had to know about it.
After one game, which Bryan won brilliantly, I went home after all. After a proper farewell to my star.
At home, the set dining table awaited me.
Even Leah sat at the table with us. She also began to eat on her own, but Dad had fed her the last few bites.
It strained her very much, which I could absolutely comprehend. She hadn't eaten anything proper for days, hadn't really moved, even today she had lain on the sofa all day and slept a lot. Her body would have to get used to the fact that there was more than just lying around and doing nothing. Just as I could only slowly awaken the wolf in me when I followed Leah into the forest on Thursday. Where had she gotten the strength for that?
Later I was lying with her in her bed.
I gave her the picture that Akai had given me for her.
Of course, she cried when she looked at Nanuk on it. But she remained completely calm about it.
We talked about Nanuk.
For a long time. At some point we also just chatted, and I got tired. But Leah didn't. Again and again, just as I was about to fall asleep, she would think of something else.
"Leah, you are my sister and I love you. But unlike you, I have to go to school tomorrow. I need to sleep!" I rumbled indignantly, climbing over her by doing so, almost falling out of bed and going to my own bed.
It was almost midnight!
Thank you for reading!
