Bella's Sun 2

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Permalink Reply by JJ on February 7, 2012 at 1:47am

Author's Note: This chapter is highly influenced by two songs, so I wanted to give both singers credit for them and to mention that no copyright is intended.

The Box by Randy Travis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-EEynSrD5s&feature=results_main...

Love Me by Collin Raye http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMgMi3wA3C0

WARNING – Tissues needed.

Chapter 30 – THE BOX

Thunder rumbled in the distance and the sky was filled with dark black clouds. I stood on the sacred grounds before a large hole that had been dug and filled so that a large brown mound covered the surface. As chief, performing funerals was always one of the hardest things that I did. Typically I would do what the family wanted me to do and read a poem, scripture, or blessing for them and there wasn't a single family that did not want Dad to be standing by my side. I was always grateful that he was there, giving me advice of what to say and do for the grieving family.

But today, that grieving family was my own and buried beneath the chunks of dirt was my father.

Three months after the camping trip with the family he had a massive heart attack. Rachel called Sue and Leah and they did what they could, but he died in the back of Charlie's cruiser on the way to the hospital. It was amazing to me how one man was able to touch so many lives. I doubt there was a single person in the tribe that hasn't heard him tell stories or that he hasn't taught to fish or carve. He never let being in a wheelchair keep him from doing the things that he loved.

The past several days have been extremely difficult making arrangements. The younger kids do not really understand, but know that everyone was sad. The older kids all considered him to be their “grandpa” and he treated them all like they were his grand kids regardless of if they really were. It had been such a hard day on everyone. The entire tribe blew me away with their generosity and the way that they gave tribute to my dad. The pack united together and danced, the same that we did for Sam's funeral. Then everyone went back to their own home, except for Rachel's kids, who went with Kim to her house and my kids went with Seth to his house.

Lightening streaked across the sky as big fat drops began to fall over me. I didn't care, but I also knew that Rebecca and Rachel were waiting for me back at the house. Neither of them would appreciate me arriving completely soaked. With heavy steps I turned and began to walk back towards Rachel's house. It was like God waited for me to get there before the skies opened completely and a hard rain beat against the roof of the house.

“Hey Jake.” Paul said quietly as I came inside.

“Hey,” I replied as I took my shoes off, placing them by the door.

“Kwan and myself are going to go help with kid control.” Paul said as he put on his rain jacket.

“Alright, thank you.” I said to both of them.

“Even though I didn't know him as well, he called Rebecca every week and spoke to Sarai over the phone. We will miss him very much.” Kwan zipped up his coat, and opened the door for Paul to leave with him.

“Again, thank you.”

I could feel a lump in my throat gather as they both left and Bella came to me, hugging me tightly which I reciprocated with a sad smile. Charlie and Sue were sitting on the couch, holding on to each other. The TV was on, but I'm not sure that either of them were really watching it. Rebecca and Rachel were sitting at the kitchen table, each with large mugs of coffee and their eyes were red and swollen.

In the middle of the table was an old brown box. I had seen it several times inside the bottom drawer of the desk that Dad sat at to carve and I assumed that it was knives or tools that he used.

“Do you know what this is?” Rebecca asked, when she noticed me looking at the box.

I shook my head. “Not specifically, no.”

I poured myself some coffee and joined them at the table, pulling Bella into my lap. I needed the comfort that her being near me would provide. Bella sat comfortably, resting one arm across my shoulders at times running her hand through my hair that came down to the middle of my back.

Rachel opened the box and immediately I could see an assortment of papers, books, pictures, and several things that appeared to be random at first.

“Oh my gosh . . .” Rebecca whispered, pulling out a folded paper. “Do you know what this is?”

I shook my head and she handed it to me. The paper was yellowed from age and the creases were thick from being opened and then refolded the same way many time. Right in the middle there was a small hole that had been punctured through it. I opened it and read.

If you get there before I do, don't give up on me. I'll meet you when my chores are through. I don't know how long I'll be, but I'm not gonna let you down. Darling wait and see. And between now and then, till I see you again, I'll be loving you. Love me.

The words were vaguely family, but I couldn't place them. “What is this?” I asked.

“It is a letter that Mom wrote to Dad.” Rachel answered.

“Dad read this note at her funeral.” Rebecca, took a shaky breath and wiped the tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

“Oh yeah . . .” I nodded, starting to remember.

“Did Billy ever tell you the significance of that letter?” Sue asked.

I turned and looked at her, as all four of us shook our heads 'no'. She was still sitting on the couch, holding Charlie's hand.

Sue smiled sadly, taking a deep breath. “It seems so strange to think of someone not liking Billy, but Sarah's father didn't want her to marry him. She came from a pretty wealthy family and her father had wild dreams of her getting out of La Push and doing something different with her life. He didn't feel like Billy could provide those opportunities for her. He also didn't stop to think that Sarah loved La Push and had no desire of ever leaving. So Billy and Sarah decided to run away and get married at the first place they came to. Nailed to the tree where they were to meet was that letter, and Billy waited five hours before Sarah came and they did exactly as they planned. Billy kept the letter for years as a reminder that Sarah would always come to him and that he would always wait for her. But even more, it was a promise that whether they were together or apart they would always love each other.”

“Wow,” I whispered with tears streaming down my face. Bella was sobbing into my shoulder and Rachel and Rebecca had both gone through an entire box of tissues.

“You do not see love like what they had very often.” Charlie added. “I have only seen it one other time.” Charlie looked at Bella sitting in my lap and we both smiled weakly at him.

“What happened after they were married?” Rebecca asked.

“It was hard for them for several years. Billy wanted to prove that he could provide and that he was worthy of Sarah. It took some time, but before her father died he had given them his blessing.” Sue answered.

We all knew that Dad had loved Mom very much and that her death was hard on each of us.

We rarely ever talked about her and going through this box gave us the opportunity to do that.

There was a dried flower, placed inside of a plastic bag. “Oh wow . . .” Rebecca mumbled. “He kept it.”

“What?” Rachel asked.

“This flower is from when I got married and he flew with us to Hawaii. I didn't want him to come because of it being so expensive and him being in his chair.” She looked down, feeling guilty. “I didn't think that he would be able to actually help.”

I reached across the table to her and took her hand. We all had moments that we looked back on and regretted what we did. She squeezed my hand and then continued. “He was stubborn and insisted on coming and these flowers were scattered all over the front of the house so I picked one and told him to keep it. I placed it in the baggy so it wouldn't get lost on his way back home. I never dreamed that he actually kept it.”

I took a drink of my now cold coffee, grimacing. Standing up, I reheated it in the microwave. As I waited for it to heat, I listened to the rain pound on the rooftop. Looking out the window lightening tore across the sky, followed quickly by a loud clap of thunder. The microwave dinged and I returned to the table. We continued to go through the box, sometimes we didn't understand the significance of something, but often we would smile or cry softly. I knew that Dad was private, especially with his emotions, but at the same time I knew that he loved us all. He always told me that I had Mom's smile, but I always felt like I smiled like my dad.

There was a picture of Mom and Dad standing by the first truck they ever bought.

“Oh my gosh!” Bella gasped, looking at the picture. “Is that my truck?”

“Yep.” I smiled at her.

“It's so pretty and new.”

I laughed lightly. “Yeah, most vehicles do start off that way.”

Bella rolled her eyes playfully and smacked my chest. “Well, duh.”

“Well aren't you Ms. Smartypants.”

“I learned from the best.” She smirked.

“So Quil taught you.” I grinned.

“Actually . . . yes.” Bella smiled, leaning her head on my shoulder and I gave her a short squeeze around her waist.

There was a large crack of thunder and the house shook softly.

“It is really getting intense out there.” Charlie said, standing at the window. As if to respond there was an even larger flash of light and then everything went dark.

“Whoa!” I looked around. “Do you have flashlights?” I asked Rachel.

“Yeah, I do.” She got up from the table and grabbed one from the coat closet and then used it to find two others inside the house.

“There is a lantern with the camping stuff do you want me to get it?” I asked.

“Sure. Where is it?” Rebecca replied.

“In the garage, I'll need to go outside.”

We decided to wait a few minutes to see if the power would come back on and used the flashlights. Sue got some more coffee for herself and Charlie from the coffee pot, before it got cold and they both joined us at the table. We continued to go through the box.

“Hey, cool.” I picked up an old single blade pocket knife. “I gave this to Dad for Father's Day, but then later he used it to first teach me how to carve.” I flicked open the blade and ran my thumb across it, surprised when it cut my finger. “Ouch!”

“Jacob!” Bella jumped out of my lap and tugged me to stand with her.

“Jeez Bella, it's just a minor cut. No big deal.” I washed my hands at the sink with soap and cold water and Sue made me put some antibiotic cream and bandaid on it, before sitting back down.

“Why did you run your finger over the blade?” Charlie asked.

“I didn't expect it to be sharp. Dad taught me with this particular knife specifically because it was dull and so I wouldn't cut myself. Dad must have sharpened it at some point.”

Rachel pulled out an old leather Bible. “Wasn't that Mom's?” Rebecca asked, taking it from Rachel.

“Yeah, I think so.” Rachel answered.

Bella took it from Rachel and began flipping through it. “Did Billy read this as well?”

“Not that I know of.” I answered. “Why?”

“He has stuff written in it, dates when the kids were born, Quil getting married, and several others.”

“He must have done that for Sarah.” Sue smiled. “Each morning she used to read her Bible and would write down small things like a diary.” It was really great having Sue and Charlie here because they were able to fill in some things that we didn't know about, especially about the early years of Mom and Dad's life together.

“Do you think that Dad stayed in love with Mom even after she died?” Rachel asked.

“I do.” Charlie answered.

“Did you ever encourage him to date again?” I asked Charlie.

Charlie glanced at Sue for a moment and then looked down, shaking his head. I always knew that Dad had a lot of respect for Sue and honestly I expected them to get together at some point. Sue went through a lot when she lost Harry and both of her children became wolves, so it created a natural bond between them. However, I also know that Bella felt like Charlie also liked Sue and so I think that the three of them never did anything about it in order to not destroy their friendship.

Sue gave Charlie a sad smile, placing her hand over his.

Bella cleared her throat awkwardly. “Um, I'm going to see what is in the pantry for dinner.”

“I'll help you.” Rebecca volunteered.

Rachel used her cell phone to call around at the other houses making sure that everyone was alright. Emily still had power at her house so Kim was going to take her family there. Apparently it was a good thing we called because it made us realize that Bella's cell phone had died and I didn't bring mine with me. Bella apologized and was able to tell Seth where the missing doll for Cindy was located. Amber said that everyone was fine at their house, they made a large pallet in their living room for all the kids and had a gas stove top so she could still prepare a warm meal for the evening. Paul and Kwan planned to come back once all of the kids were asleep, unless they fell asleep on the couches before the kids went to sleep.

Bella and Rebecca prepared peanut butter and honey sandwiches for us here. We ate around the table with the box still open in the middle of the table.

“Do you wish that we had gone through this while Dad was alive?” Rachel asked.

I shrugged, not really knowing what to say. Part of me knew that Dad wouldn't want us to go through it if he were here and that made me wonder if we should have at all. Despite feeling guilty I wouldn't trade this experience for anything and I felt like I met a different side of Dad that I didn't know was there.

Three hours later and still no power I decided to head out to the garage for the lantern.

“Do you want me to come?” Bella asked.

“Nah, hopefully it will just be a few minutes. Unless the camping stuff got moved I should know where it is.”

I looked out the window as I zipped up my jacket and pulled the hood over my head. It was pitch black and while the thunderstorm had past, I could still hear rain falling against the glass and the wind as it blew through the trees.

I gave Bella a quick kiss and then went outside. It was really cold with the wind blowing against my face, so I ran at a brisk jog to the garage, opening it quickly. I flicked the light switch, forgetting that was why I was here in the first place and turned on my flashlight instead.

The single beam of light shown over several cardboard boxes, spare parts and tools, as I walked around the garage looking for several old plastic milk crates that held the camping supplies. Paul must have put them away because they were in the top shelf in the back. I got them down, filtering through fire starters and random things until I found the lantern.

I put some matches in my jacket pocket and then placed the crates back on the shelf. I then walked out, closing the garage door behind me. A harsh wind blew from the trees and with it a smell that I knew well and my body stiffened. The lantern shook in my hand.

“What are you doing here?”  

Permalink Reply by Dantezgirl on February 7, 2012 at 3:26am

*Tear* Twas a beautiful send off JJ! Loved the bits of information in the box. Hhmm, Who is the mystery person? What do they want?

Permalink Reply by JJ on February 14, 2012 at 12:37am

Thank you, I knew I wanted to do something special for Billy, but I really didn't want another huge funeral (like Sam's).  So I felt like this would be a great way to keep it character focused and also give a great tribute to Billy. 

Permalink Reply by Anita Newbill on February 7, 2012 at 3:43pm

Beautifully written chapter honoring Billy Black's life!    NOW the cliff-hanger!!!!  OMG - ' .. a smell that I knew well ...' could only be a vampire!!!  Right??

Permalink Reply by JJ on February 14, 2012 at 12:38am

I love Billy Black!  He is such a great father and doing alone for most of the children's lives would have been so difficult. 

Vampire is a very good theory. 

Permalink Reply by Patricia on February 8, 2012 at 1:43am

wonder which vampire it is

Permalink Reply by JJ on February 14, 2012 at 12:38am

Sorry, I can't say, :D 

Permalink Reply by Erin Smith on February 8, 2012 at 9:39pm

This was a beautiful upddate, but sad.

Permalink Reply by JJ on February 14, 2012 at 12:40am

Yeah, I know it was sad.  I knew when I decided to take Jacob and Bella into their adult life that I would have to deal with Billy's death.  I felt like he deserved more than a short paragraph saying Billy died last year, blah, blah, blah.  This seems like a great way to be interesting and still show respect to Billy.  Glad you liked it. 

Permalink Reply by eftiola lautner on February 11, 2012 at 12:08am

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HAD SO MUCH TO CATCH UP ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OK, TO SUM UP ALL THOSE (O srry, caps was on :P ) other chapters : whoa!thats a lot of kids...good thing for the summary and such cuz i had to go bac to see wat child was whose lol

omg!!!! i feel bad for amber, jackie, bella, jacob, seth and embry :'( so they can still imprint huh? boo......

thank god jackie came bac, embry was so <3 broken :(

awww, the last chapter was so cute and funny with the whole but grabbing thing lolz, glad everyone had fun :)

now, for this chapter: WAT???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AS SOON AS U SAID THE TISSUE WARNING + the stuff from last chapt. i kne it was sumthing with billy :'( i really hope they will be alright :( the box stuff was cute and was really sweet how they were learning bout their parents love <3

also........ I KNE IT I KNE IT I KNE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I KNE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i just absolutley kne SOMETHING wooould happen. the whole garage stuff seemed a bit too...i dont kno? innocent? bland? and therefore, cliff hanger * sigh*  its a vampire right? i would think so.....but its a smell he kne well, so i dont think its the volutri, hes never seen them rite? yea.... so who????????// edward? nawh, they ok........alice? doubtful.....any other cullen? i highly dont think so........

so yea, the only ones i can think of is the volturi......but that still makes no sence.............. oh well i shall see on tuesday rite ? lolz AWESOME JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh and  p.s.plz dont think there are ppl losing interest, cuz all who read like :) its a great story too, so i really would like to get a full story out of it.......like The Hunger Games.....(srry really love those books, as i like this tory XD )

 

Permalink Reply by eftiola lautner on February 11, 2012 at 12:08am

ohhh, thats long ....................lol :3

Permalink Reply by JJ on February 14, 2012 at 12:54am

Yep, Jackie sort of came back.  I felt like there should be someone who wasn't "ok" with the whole wolf thing and I really did want them to divorce and not be together.  But I couldn't do it.  And ultimately neither could Jackie because she loves Embry and Embry loves her.  

I felt like a fun lighthearted chapter was really needed so that was the goal of the camping trip.  

I know :(  Poor Billy.  I knew that when I wanted to go into Jacob and Bella's adult life that I would be dealing with his death at some point.  Going through the box seemed like a perfect way to make tribute to him.

You are very smart :D And I loved reading your comment. Yeah it was hard to decide how much detail to put into his search for the lantern because I agree it was suspicious, but at the same time it was needed. Yep another cliffy.

I'm glad that you are still enjoying the story.  I am still enjoying writing the story, it just has grown to be much bigger than I imagined it to be when I started.  Good times. :D  

 

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