Chapter 1/part 2
The next day I’m riding shot gun in my mom’s Explorer. She drives along a trail that should lead us to one of the beaches in La Plush. I’m forlornly looking out the window inspecting the woods and realizing how much moss it has. The trees twist at odd angles and intertwine with each other reaching up, almost if they are all racing to reach the sky. And down below are the inferior creations of nature: bushes, and mushrooms followed by more fungi and moss.
I stop looking out into the forest and look ahead where the trail is about to end. I can see smooth sand and rocks, followed by a turquoise ocean that stretches out into the deep blue. I’m fascinated and I realize I found a bit of home here in this foreign land. Because there’s nothing more beautiful to me then the ocean.
I feel my wrist for my charm bracelet feeling the out line of star fish, turtles, and sea cows. Then I feel on my neck for my dolphin necklace just as my mom is coming to a deep ridge in the road and we go down for about ten seconds and then she turns to the left.
We’ve arrived, I can see many other people and their cars. Seeing so many people I realize that we’re invited to a community, almost tribal event. I feel somehow ashamed and out of place. And I wish that I wasn’t here.
My mother locks the car doors and pulls me along. And I’m getting more desperate to get out of this jam. I know it would be silly to take off running, but in my mind I’m already half way down the beach, wading in the water.
By the time we find Billy, a middle aged Quileute in a wheel chair, I’m cursing my imaginary self that has managed to escape. Billy smiles and introduces us to his older companions.
“Come on Aaralyn let’s go chat with the adults and Baby can go hang out with the younger one’s.“
My mother looks reluctant but agrees, and I’m off for adventures of my own. I find my self walking at a fast pace, and heading down the beach trying to catch a moment alone from all the strangers around me.
>>>
Ten minutes later, here I am sitting on the beach looking out onto the crashing waves of the ocean. My feet are covered in sand after I’ve went wading, and I love the feeling as I bury part of my legs. It’s almost therapeutic really. I love the way the sand sizzles against my skin and almost burns me. Which most people would probably find weird. Just as they would find it disturbing how hot I like my water in the shower, and how many blankets I use at night. For some reason I like a lot of heat, and I love to stay nice and warm. It’s just too bad I’m living in Forks, I’m not going to see another day like this for a long time.
“Hey there,” I hear a deep voice say behind me. I turn around and I see a pair of huge bare feet beside me. I look up to see a man of about six feet and a half tall, a Quileute who wears a friendly smile on his face.
“ Oh, uh hi…”
“You must be Babette, Aaralyn’s daughter right?”
“That’s me, but just call me Baby please.”
“I’m Embry, welcome to La Plush Baby.”
I smile at him, there was something about him that made me feel at ease.
“Thanks.”
“So why are you sitting here all by yourself? You should join the party, the foods almost gone.”
“Okay.”
Five minutes later we reach the tribe. Everyone is sitting on a wooden benches helping themselves to hot dogs, hamburgers, and an abundance of things that I didn’t know people ate at barbeques. Embry leads me to a table full of other men his age, with women and children.
“Everyone this is Baby, she’s new to Forks and La Plush, and she is also a distant member of the Quileute tribe.” Embry announces and everyone stares at me and examines me with their eyes, except one stranger who has his back turned to me.
“Baby, I’d like you to meet Quil and Claire.” Quil gives me a nod and a smile, then he smirks as he teases Claire, who I suppose is his younger sister.
“Sam and Emily over here.” Embry says pointing me to a another young man, but maybe one of the oldest with a beautiful woman who Embry tells me is his wife. She has only one flaw on the side of her face, a huge gash that runs into her eye and down her cheek away to her hand. I try not to stare and Embry moves along with the introductions.
“This is Seth, Jared, Paul…” I can tell that Quil, Jared, Seth, and Paul get along really well there’s something about them….They seem so close, sitting here smiling and clowning around with each other.
Then I look at the women, they seem so in love with their husbands. There’s Kim, Charlotte, Katy, Susana, and Amy. The way they sit beside their husbands and look up at them….Seeing them here now, it gives me a weird feeling…a good feeling. Which I never get when meeting new people.
I wonder why some of them are married so young…And then there’s Leah. Even though she smiles at me, I can tell she is a head strong person. She holds a small boy in her lap, demanding him to sit still. I think he must be her son, but his father doesn’t seem to be here tonight.
I was about to grab a plate and sit down, but Embry didn’t forget the forlorn shadow of the group; the one with his back turned to us. I had for a moment forgotten about him too.
“Hey Jacob, I’d like you to meet Baby.” He kept his back turned away from us . There was shivers in the air as day turned into sunset, and finally Embry got impatient with this man.
“Would you turn around already, and say hello?”
I heard him sigh as he set down his bottle of beer onto the sand. “What kind of name is Baby ?”
I grinded my teeth in anger, “It’s my name.”
He spun around to look at me glowering. Then suddenly I gasp, I feel like I was getting hit with a lighting of pleasure. I feel like I’m looking at a gorgeous crystal that I dug up in the muddy confines of South America. I feel like, like I’m in love, because I’ve never seen anyone as wonderful as him.
His deep set black eyes bore into mine, and his hair hangs attractively around his face. Even though he glowers back, he has nice wide lips, and a broad chin. He wears no shirt and his muscles look as if they were a Indian woman’s clay sculpture. Perfect and bulging in all the right ways.
As he glazes upon me he stops glowering and takes on a look of surprise and I love the way he looks, just the way he is. Its more than just mere physical attraction.
Everyone around the fire is still quiet and Embry stabs the silence with his words.
“Well…uh yeah Baby like I was trying to say this is Jacob…”
A tiny little pitiful sound comes out my mouth. Jacob and I can’t take our eyes off each other. Not for a while because we each feel like something important will be lost if we look away. At least that’s how I feel.
“Baby…” He gasps and finally he looks away standing up heading into the forest.
I look after him and then I glance around at everyone else.
“And we thought it would never happen.” I heard Quil say but I didn’t look at him, my eyes were still locked on where Jacob had disappeared.
Then I heard Seth laugh, “We thought he might be queer too…”
“Shut up! It’s a relief…” Sam says as he eats finishes off his burger.
I look at Sam in confusion but he just smiles closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. I turn to look at Embry beside me holding Amy’s hand.
He smiles, “Finally we found you Baby.”
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