Bella:
"Danny! I'm headed off to Sue's to pick up something for dinner, what do you want?" Since Danny started school again I have been the only one left to work on the farm. Because of this I was sore and could barely walk, it had been a long time since I've had to do this much work without help. I knew it wasn't really in our budget to get food from the diner, but at the moment it was that or heating up a can of beans and franks. I had little energy to do anything else.
"Cheeseburger, onion rings not fries!" I didn't bother trying to yell back at him, as soon as he got home and finished his homework I set him to work fixing up the back porch. There had been an old washer there when we moved in. The kind that you had to fill with water yourself and had a ringer attached to the top. He was in the middle of cleaning that thing up and I could hear as he started the old motor. It would not surprise me if he was deaf by time I got back.
The sound of the bell on the door of Sue's place was beginning to become very familiar. It was strange how quickly I was starting to think of this place as home. I slid off my jacket and hung it on the coat and hat rack by the door. My eyes setting on a worn black Stetson with a silver wolf pin on the side of the hatband. Billy Black's hat.
I saw Billy sitting at the counter as I turned around. He gave me that sideways smile of his as I came over and sat down. Before either of us could even say 'hello,' Sue came out from the kitchen with a fresh pot of coffee which she used to refill Billy's cup.
"So, have you thought about it?" Billy's face immediately dropped, the annoyance now in the set of his jaw almost made me laugh.
"Yes, I have. And I assure you my answer is the same as always." Sue huffed and set the coffee pot on the counter a little harder than she should have as a small about sloshed out. She was about to respond when she noticed me and her face immediately cleared. She pulled her notebook from her pocket and grabbed her pencil.
"Bella! It is good to see you, since you fixed your fridge you haven't been around much. How is everything going?" As normal Sue placed her hip on the counter, and though she still held her pencil I knew she wouldn't take my order without an update. I wondered if she did that with everyone, or just me.
"Going good, we've got a good deal of the house itself fixed up. Working on the barn and the old washer right now." I leaned on the counter myself and ran a tired hand through my hair.
"Sorry for not coming by sooner, but you will probably see me more for awhile at least. Danny has started school again, so I'm doing everything myself. I'm not sure right now if I have the energy to even open a can of pop." She clicked her tongue, but thankfully held it. She had already offered out the help of most of the rez guys, but I refused. It wasn't that I was too proud, more that I had nothing to offer them for their help. I certainly didn't have the money to pay them.
"So what will you have then?" She placed the pencil to the pad and gave me a small smile.
"Just two cheeseburgers with onion rings, to go, thank you." She jotted it down and gave Billy a look that clearly said that whatever they had been talking about wasn't finished, and went to hand the order to the cook in the back.
"You know, my son and a few of his friends are pretty handy when it comes to fixing things. If you need help I'm sure they wouldn't mind coming out." I turned to look at Billy, he wore his long hair today pulled back with a thin leather thong. It allowed me to really see his face. It really isn't surprising that so many of the women on the rez were hoping to turn his head.
"Thank you, but I'm sure Danny and I can manage." He just nodded and let it go. We sat in silence a moment before Sue came back out to tell me it would be a few moments and settle my bill. As soon as she finished she glared at Billy and I swore I saw him stiffen a little.
"You know Leah told me that her and Jake are thinking about getting rid of their truck. It is only five years old and in pretty good shape." Billy sighed and picked at the food on his plate before looking up at Sue.
"I'm not getting rid of my truck, and that is final. Would you stop pestering me about it?" Sue placed her fists on her hips and glared at the man beside me.
"Your truck is a worthless piece of garbage! Come on Billy, that thing is so outdated. That thing was old when you got it in high school! I think it is high time that you put that poor thing out of its misery." Well she did have a point, I've seen his truck. One more than one occasion I have wondered how it was still running.
"It is a piece of history Sue, our history. She may not look like much, but she still runs just fine. I plan on driving her until she falls apart on the road. And even then I'm keeping her, so just get that notion of me getting a new truck out of your head right now. You are the only one that complains anyway." She just rolled her eyes and turned to grab the bag of food the cook held out from the kitchen. She set it before me and gave a quiet goodbye before going to help a couple of other customers.
I grabbed my bag and stood in order to head back home. I was so tired I was actually thinking about eating in bed so I could just pass out as soon as I finished. As soon as I pulled on my jacket the door opened and I looked over to see Billy holding it open for me. When I stepped up into my truck I swore I saw him wink at me as he tipped his hat, but I couldn't be sure.
Billy:
I stapled the bag of pills shut and handed them off to Mary Ann. She just smiled and left with a reminder that I still needed to make up that game of Bridge. I shook my head and moved off to unpack a box of candy bars. As I passed by the window I could see as Sue's small blue car pulled up. I couldn't help the smirk I knew was spreading across my face as she slid out of the driver's side and slowly shut the door.
I may have gone a little far, but I was tired of her constantly getting on me about my truck. I bought that thing when I was a senior in high school. Dad refused to buy me one, said it would do me good to earn the money and buy one. I saved up for two years, working odd jobs here and there. I was as proud as a peacock when I handed over the money for that truck.
When I told Sue that it was a part of our history I wasn't lying. Before any of us had gotten married we used to park that truck down at the beach, sitting in the bed or on the hood and watch the bonfire a few feet away. I had won a race against Harry with it. The first time I made love to Sarah had been in the bed of that truck. She had even given birth to Jake in the cab, that boy had always been impatient.
I opened the door and stepped out as I watched Sue stare at my truck with her mouth hanging wide open. I had set up poles around my truck when I had gotten here this morning, tied ropes to them until I had barricaded my truck in. On a sign nailed to the overhang of the store I had painted in large bright letters; 'Save La Push's Oldest Truck!' And on one of the poles I had nailed a box labeled; 'Donations.' The funny thing was when I had come out to go get some lunch there was actually twenty dollars in there.
"Oh my God! Billy!" I cringed at the sound of her voice. Sue had this way of screeching that could actually make dogs whine. She marched up the rest of the way and I was expecting her to slap me. It looked like she was about to but her hand stopped part way and fell to her side.
"Fine, I get it. I'll stop bothering you about that truck. Now would you take that ridiculous thing down?" I should have thought of this awhile ago, would have saved us both a lot of headaches.
"It will be gone by the morning. Now what was it you needed?" The annoyed look melted from her face as she took on that impish look she always got when I knew she was going to do or say something stupid.
"I just wanted to talk to you about Mrs. Swan-Hunter. I saw you open the door for her yesterday, and Mary Ann told me you were flirting with her at the bonfire last week." Great, this was all I needed. It had been years since I was the subject of the local grapevine.
"I was not flirting with her, she was introducing me to her son." She eyed me a moment before leaned back against one of the pillars of the porch.
"Danny wasn't with you at that time." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. She really was hoping to find something gossip worthy out of this.
"That was because Danny had gone down to be with his friends. I was just assuring Mrs. Swan-Hunter that she had no need of worry when it came to her boy's friends. Since Sam had taken them under his wing and all. In fact I am sure Sam will do the same to Danny soon, now that he is hanging out with the twins." She was silent a moment and then let out a soft huff.
"You are so boring some times Billy. Would it hurt you to actually try to find you a woman? Bella is a wonderful girl and she…" I cut her off with a raised hand.
"And she doesn't need the likes of an old man running after her. There are plenty of young men here that she has caught the eye of, and I dare say some of them are worthy of her. I know Paul was hoping to ask her out." She shook her head and reached out to take a hold of a bit of my hair. She tugged a little on it before flipping it away. That had been a habit of hers since we were young. It had never been anything sexual, we had never seen each other that way. She was simply my sister, albeit an annoying sister.
"She doesn't need some young buck to come blazing into her life. She is a single mother trying to make a life for her and her son. She needs someone steady, someone that will care and love her the way she needs to be. Just think about that Billy.
"I've got to go, see you later." She smiled and waved as she got into her car and drove off. Her words echoed in my head as I went back inside. The problem wasn't me seeing Bella that way, it was her seeing me as more than an old man.
Author's Note: Ok, as I have said while I am going along mostly with the movie, there are some things that I am changing for this story. This chapter is one of those. In the movie Bella's part, Emma is actually getting a business licence while Billy's part, Murphy is paying his parking tickets.
As I am not having Billy have the same nice car, but his old beat up truck I thought to change it. Also the second half isn't anywhere in the movie, but I thought it was funny.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Chapter Four: Bonfires And Bachelors
Bella:
What I was thinking when I thought to buy this place I could never tell you. Everything was in shambles, even the rubble had rubble of its own. Ok maybe that was going a little far, but you get my point. We had finally gotten the kitchen and most of the downstairs fixed up, well as well as we could with little money to work with.
I would be going into Forks in two days, I already had an appointment set up at the bank. If all went well we would have enough money to practically gut half this place and start over. Until then, it was lots of elbow grease and sore hands and knees.
And itchy eyes. If there was one thing about ranching and farming that I hated, it was the hay. Mostly old hay, and the stables were full of it. That and petrified horse shit. Danny got off from having to help me today as it was his first day at his new school.
He had hooted and hollered this morning, I knew he hated being the new kid. A bus had come for him early this morning in order to bring him into Forks in time for classes. He had tried to convince me to allow him to enter the school on the reservation, he had already met some of the kids at the Diner, sadly he didn't like the fact that he wasn't allowed even if I liked the idea of him closer better.
I watched from the doorway of the stables as the old yellow school bus pulled up just outside the gates of our house. Danny practically leapt out onto the ground when the door opened up. He at least looked in one piece, if not a little annoyed. He didn't even bother with opening the gate, just climbed over it and started trudging my way.
"So, how was school?" My voice was a little scratchy from all the dust and hay, but at least I was able to yell loud enough that he could hear me. He dropped his bag beside him and let it drag in the dirt. Great, something else I was going to have to wash tonight before going to bed.
"Okay I guess, that school doesn't even have a computer though." I rolled my eyes, ever since he went to that school in Colorado he has been talking about nothing but those annoying things. He had even once tried to teach me how to work one during a Parent/Teacher night. Too many buttons.
"Did you talk to anybody?" He shrugged his shoulders, dragging his bag through a puddle of mud. I hope none of it got inside. We didn't have the money to replace ruined school books.
"Yeah, one kid. They aren't as interesting as the kids on the reservation though. I still wish I could go there, I like Collin and Brady." Ah yes, the twins. Danny had met up with them one night at the Diner and the three of them hit it off really quickly. They seemed like a good sort.
"I'm sorry, but you know why you can't. But hey, you can see them tonight. I got a call from Sue and she invited us down to First Beach tonight. I guess there is a weekly bonfire there, many of reservation and some of the people from Forks come out to dance and eat.
"So why don't you go and do your homework?" He picked up the muddy bag, a smile finally forming on his face.
"I did that on the bus already." At least he was smart, unlike his father. James wouldn't be able to draw water from a boot even if there were instructions on the heel.
"Ok then, go in and have some milk and cookies and come out and help me finish this so we can get going." He nodded as he made his way towards the house. I cringed as I remembered what I picked up at the store this morning.
"Damnit! I forgot milk, so have some water and cookies….bring me a cookie!"
Even though the sun had set about an hour ago, First Beach was as bright as a sunlit afternoon. Several fires along the beach were the main source of that light, but most of the tables that had been set up along one side of the beach also had large burning tiki torches as well. I even saw on the far end that someone had set up a portable generator and strung up Christmas lights.
Sue had been right, most everyone from the reservation was already here. I could even make out a few faces I knew from Forks. People were laughing and talking, fixing plates of food and generally having fun. This had to have been the first place I had ever been where the entire community actually got along.
Danny jumped a bit to my side, I looked at him and where he was looking and saw a table set up with several containers of ice-cream. I pulled out a couple of dollars from my purse and handed them to him.
"Go on." He smiled widely and took off at a run. I glanced around me a bit more, I could see Sue at a table a ways down. She was handing out plates of food, laughing and joking with an older man at her side. I was guessing that was her husband, with the way he reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
I had never had that with James. He had been all passion, all eight cylinders a runnin', only stopping when he was going on fumes. Of course he had been a gas guzzler, it always ended pretty quickly. He had never really been the romantic type. There were no soft caresses, whispered words of love, just persistent gropes and questions of when the next time we could fuck would be. It makes one wonder why I had ever married the fool.
Deciding it was time I just forget James and had fun I walked over to Danny who had just given his order to the woman at the table.
"Wait, I meant to have you get me one." He smiled as he reached out and took the two cones of ice-creams from the woman.
"I know, here." I took the scoop of what looked like vanilla bean and hooked my other arm around his shoulders. I lead him further down the beach, weaving in and out of people. We stopped here and there as people stopped to ask us how we were doing. It seemed everyone did already know who we were.
We walked closer to where the lights had been set up only to see that they had been used to light a stage and dance floor. I directed Danny towards a large piece of driftwood where two guys were sitting. With their russet skin and oil slick hair it wasn't hard to tell that they were from the reservation.
They were both what one would call beautiful men, in tight jeans and button down white shirts. I was sure all the woman here and in Forks were vying for their time. The tallest of the two stood up after Danny sat down. He flashed me a bright and wide smile and held his hand out towards the driftwood.
"Have a seat Ma'am. Jared and I were just about to go and get something to eat anyway." I knew when I was younger I would have been melting with the way he was looking me over. Call me jaded, but after my experience with James I was a little wiser in the guy department.
"Thank you….?" The guy next to me, Jared I was guessing, gave me a wink and walked off.
"Paul, Ma'am, Paul Meraz." He picked up a cowboy hat from a corner of the driftwood, placed it on his head and tipped it at me.
"Thank you, Paul." The smile never left his face as he turned with a soft 'you're welcome' and left towards the food tables. My attention then turned back to the stage where the band was playing up some sort of jig.
My eyes widened as I noticed the fiddler in front of the group. Billy Black stood before a microphone, a fiddle under his chin as he played. He was smiling out at the crowd of dancers, turning back towards the rest of the band every now and then. He had looked happy when I had seen him in his pharmacy, but the smile that graced his face now was shining. He truly looked like he was having fun.
After another song he called out for a ten minute break, set his fiddle down on a wooden stool and hopped off the low stage with more energy than a man his age should. Well a man of whatever age he was.
He weaved his way through the crowd and the moment he saw us he turned from the direction of the food tables to us. He sat down on Danny's other side and gave us both a huge grin.
"Mrs. Swan-Hunter. It is good to see you. Are you enjoying the bonfire?" I looked out over every one around before looking back at him with what I was sure my own bright smile. Maybe all the hard work at the farm was worth it.
"Definitely. So what, are you moonlighting or something?" He laughed a bit and turned on the driftwood so he could see us better.
"Nah, just letting off some steam. As you can see there is not a whole lot to do around here, these bonfire nights give something for everyone to look forward to." He looked down at Danny and held out his hand.
"Am I right in guessing this is your son?" Danny wiped off his hand to make sure there was no ice-cream on it and took Billy's hand.
"Danny Hunter, Sir." Billy grasped Danny's hand and gave it a shake.
"Billy Black, and it is nice to meet you. And please just call me Billy, I've always hated Sir.
"So you going to school over in Forks?" Danny's face fell immediately at the mention of school. Of course I doubted there was ever a kid's face that ever lit up at the thought.
"Yeah, just started today." I rolled my eyes to Billy over my son's shoulder. He just smirked.
"I take it then you don't like it very much?" Danny shook his head and looked down at his lap.
"He is a bit upset that he can't go to the rez school. He made friends with two of the kids here. A Collin and Brady." Billy's face lit up at the mention of the twins.
"The Harris twins. They are good boys, couldn't have picked two better friends." Danny nodded, though his face was still down I could see a hint of a smile on his face. He hadn't really had any friends in awhile, it has been just the two of us for so long.
"I see them down over by the water, a few of the other young guys from the rez with them." Danny's head shot up and looked around until he found the twins playing around by a fire that looked to be set too close to the water. It was a wonder they got that thing lit.
"Can I go Mom?" I nodded knowing he would just whine and annoying me the rest of the night if I told him no. I watched him run off and holler down to the group of boys. I was happy to see how the twins smiled and waved him down as soon as they saw him.
"You have nothing to worry about if he is going around with them. The twins help out around the rez a lot, Sam Uley, the tallest and only adult in that group, took them under his wing when they were about Danny's age.
"Sam is one of our police officers and sort of unofficial role model for the boys around here. We've had our share of young misfits, but far fewer of them since Sam grew up." I looked at Billy who was gazing out to the group of boys. I tried to imagine him at their age, his hair would have been shorter and I was sure he would have greased it back. I could see him wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans with his boots and all the girls just falling over themselves to even earn a look from him.
From the corner of my eye I could see an older woman walking our way. She looked to be maybe in her fifties, her hair still slightly black though the majority of it was grey. She stopped just in front of Billy.
"Hey Billy, you in for a game of Bridge tomorrow night? Alice wanted to know so she could bake you a raisin pie if you were." Billy took her hand and gave her a sweet smile.
"Nah, sorry Mary Ann. I already promised Emma that I would be by for her chili." Mary Ann nodded her head, winked and walked off as soon as she got a promise from Billy to pencil her in for next week.
"I'm taking it you don't watch too much late night television?" I swore I saw him blush a bit, though it could have been the lighting.
"I'm a widower, in a place where the women outnumber the men, a man like me is like catnip to a cat. But I promise, I only keep to the harmless ones. Mary Ann is a widow herself, Emma just never married after her boyfriend died when they were teens. When you get to be my age, you take what company you can get." I looked him over, head to toe.
"Oh I don't know, you can't be that old. How old are you?" He lifted a brow and shifted on the driftwood.
"Old enough. I have a few grandchildren. My son, Jake and his wife Leah have a four year old they've named after me." He stood up after that, dusted off his pants and tipped his hat to me. I could really get used to that.
"Well, I think everyone has had their bathroom break so I better be getting back up there. I hope to see you around. Goodnight Mrs. Swan-Hunter." He turned and headed back towards the stage to take back up his fiddle.
"Goodnight Mr. Black."
Author's Note: Sorry about not updating last week, we pretty much all took a break to gather the muse. But hopefully there will not be anymore breaks from me.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
What I was thinking when I thought to buy this place I could never tell you. Everything was in shambles, even the rubble had rubble of its own. Ok maybe that was going a little far, but you get my point. We had finally gotten the kitchen and most of the downstairs fixed up, well as well as we could with little money to work with.
I would be going into Forks in two days, I already had an appointment set up at the bank. If all went well we would have enough money to practically gut half this place and start over. Until then, it was lots of elbow grease and sore hands and knees.
And itchy eyes. If there was one thing about ranching and farming that I hated, it was the hay. Mostly old hay, and the stables were full of it. That and petrified horse shit. Danny got off from having to help me today as it was his first day at his new school.
He had hooted and hollered this morning, I knew he hated being the new kid. A bus had come for him early this morning in order to bring him into Forks in time for classes. He had tried to convince me to allow him to enter the school on the reservation, he had already met some of the kids at the Diner, sadly he didn't like the fact that he wasn't allowed even if I liked the idea of him closer better.
I watched from the doorway of the stables as the old yellow school bus pulled up just outside the gates of our house. Danny practically leapt out onto the ground when the door opened up. He at least looked in one piece, if not a little annoyed. He didn't even bother with opening the gate, just climbed over it and started trudging my way.
"So, how was school?" My voice was a little scratchy from all the dust and hay, but at least I was able to yell loud enough that he could hear me. He dropped his bag beside him and let it drag in the dirt. Great, something else I was going to have to wash tonight before going to bed.
"Okay I guess, that school doesn't even have a computer though." I rolled my eyes, ever since he went to that school in Colorado he has been talking about nothing but those annoying things. He had even once tried to teach me how to work one during a Parent/Teacher night. Too many buttons.
"Did you talk to anybody?" He shrugged his shoulders, dragging his bag through a puddle of mud. I hope none of it got inside. We didn't have the money to replace ruined school books.
"Yeah, one kid. They aren't as interesting as the kids on the reservation though. I still wish I could go there, I like Collin and Brady." Ah yes, the twins. Danny had met up with them one night at the Diner and the three of them hit it off really quickly. They seemed like a good sort.
"I'm sorry, but you know why you can't. But hey, you can see them tonight. I got a call from Sue and she invited us down to First Beach tonight. I guess there is a weekly bonfire there, many of reservation and some of the people from Forks come out to dance and eat.
"So why don't you go and do your homework?" He picked up the muddy bag, a smile finally forming on his face.
"I did that on the bus already." At least he was smart, unlike his father. James wouldn't be able to draw water from a boot even if there were instructions on the heel.
"Ok then, go in and have some milk and cookies and come out and help me finish this so we can get going." He nodded as he made his way towards the house. I cringed as I remembered what I picked up at the store this morning.
"Damnit! I forgot milk, so have some water and cookies….bring me a cookie!"
Even though the sun had set about an hour ago, First Beach was as bright as a sunlit afternoon. Several fires along the beach were the main source of that light, but most of the tables that had been set up along one side of the beach also had large burning tiki torches as well. I even saw on the far end that someone had set up a portable generator and strung up Christmas lights.
Sue had been right, most everyone from the reservation was already here. I could even make out a few faces I knew from Forks. People were laughing and talking, fixing plates of food and generally having fun. This had to have been the first place I had ever been where the entire community actually got along.
Danny jumped a bit to my side, I looked at him and where he was looking and saw a table set up with several containers of ice-cream. I pulled out a couple of dollars from my purse and handed them to him.
"Go on." He smiled widely and took off at a run. I glanced around me a bit more, I could see Sue at a table a ways down. She was handing out plates of food, laughing and joking with an older man at her side. I was guessing that was her husband, with the way he reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
I had never had that with James. He had been all passion, all eight cylinders a runnin', only stopping when he was going on fumes. Of course he had been a gas guzzler, it always ended pretty quickly. He had never really been the romantic type. There were no soft caresses, whispered words of love, just persistent gropes and questions of when the next time we could fuck would be. It makes one wonder why I had ever married the fool.
Deciding it was time I just forget James and had fun I walked over to Danny who had just given his order to the woman at the table.
"Wait, I meant to have you get me one." He smiled as he reached out and took the two cones of ice-creams from the woman.
"I know, here." I took the scoop of what looked like vanilla bean and hooked my other arm around his shoulders. I lead him further down the beach, weaving in and out of people. We stopped here and there as people stopped to ask us how we were doing. It seemed everyone did already know who we were.
We walked closer to where the lights had been set up only to see that they had been used to light a stage and dance floor. I directed Danny towards a large piece of driftwood where two guys were sitting. With their russet skin and oil slick hair it wasn't hard to tell that they were from the reservation.
They were both what one would call beautiful men, in tight jeans and button down white shirts. I was sure all the woman here and in Forks were vying for their time. The tallest of the two stood up after Danny sat down. He flashed me a bright and wide smile and held his hand out towards the driftwood.
"Have a seat Ma'am. Jared and I were just about to go and get something to eat anyway." I knew when I was younger I would have been melting with the way he was looking me over. Call me jaded, but after my experience with James I was a little wiser in the guy department.
"Thank you….?" The guy next to me, Jared I was guessing, gave me a wink and walked off.
"Paul, Ma'am, Paul Meraz." He picked up a cowboy hat from a corner of the driftwood, placed it on his head and tipped it at me.
"Thank you, Paul." The smile never left his face as he turned with a soft 'you're welcome' and left towards the food tables. My attention then turned back to the stage where the band was playing up some sort of jig.
My eyes widened as I noticed the fiddler in front of the group. Billy Black stood before a microphone, a fiddle under his chin as he played. He was smiling out at the crowd of dancers, turning back towards the rest of the band every now and then. He had looked happy when I had seen him in his pharmacy, but the smile that graced his face now was shining. He truly looked like he was having fun.
After another song he called out for a ten minute break, set his fiddle down on a wooden stool and hopped off the low stage with more energy than a man his age should. Well a man of whatever age he was.
He weaved his way through the crowd and the moment he saw us he turned from the direction of the food tables to us. He sat down on Danny's other side and gave us both a huge grin.
"Mrs. Swan-Hunter. It is good to see you. Are you enjoying the bonfire?" I looked out over every one around before looking back at him with what I was sure my own bright smile. Maybe all the hard work at the farm was worth it.
"Definitely. So what, are you moonlighting or something?" He laughed a bit and turned on the driftwood so he could see us better.
"Nah, just letting off some steam. As you can see there is not a whole lot to do around here, these bonfire nights give something for everyone to look forward to." He looked down at Danny and held out his hand.
"Am I right in guessing this is your son?" Danny wiped off his hand to make sure there was no ice-cream on it and took Billy's hand.
"Danny Hunter, Sir." Billy grasped Danny's hand and gave it a shake.
"Billy Black, and it is nice to meet you. And please just call me Billy, I've always hated Sir.
"So you going to school over in Forks?" Danny's face fell immediately at the mention of school. Of course I doubted there was ever a kid's face that ever lit up at the thought.
"Yeah, just started today." I rolled my eyes to Billy over my son's shoulder. He just smirked.
"I take it then you don't like it very much?" Danny shook his head and looked down at his lap.
"He is a bit upset that he can't go to the rez school. He made friends with two of the kids here. A Collin and Brady." Billy's face lit up at the mention of the twins.
"The Harris twins. They are good boys, couldn't have picked two better friends." Danny nodded, though his face was still down I could see a hint of a smile on his face. He hadn't really had any friends in awhile, it has been just the two of us for so long.
"I see them down over by the water, a few of the other young guys from the rez with them." Danny's head shot up and looked around until he found the twins playing around by a fire that looked to be set too close to the water. It was a wonder they got that thing lit.
"Can I go Mom?" I nodded knowing he would just whine and annoying me the rest of the night if I told him no. I watched him run off and holler down to the group of boys. I was happy to see how the twins smiled and waved him down as soon as they saw him.
"You have nothing to worry about if he is going around with them. The twins help out around the rez a lot, Sam Uley, the tallest and only adult in that group, took them under his wing when they were about Danny's age.
"Sam is one of our police officers and sort of unofficial role model for the boys around here. We've had our share of young misfits, but far fewer of them since Sam grew up." I looked at Billy who was gazing out to the group of boys. I tried to imagine him at their age, his hair would have been shorter and I was sure he would have greased it back. I could see him wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans with his boots and all the girls just falling over themselves to even earn a look from him.
From the corner of my eye I could see an older woman walking our way. She looked to be maybe in her fifties, her hair still slightly black though the majority of it was grey. She stopped just in front of Billy.
"Hey Billy, you in for a game of Bridge tomorrow night? Alice wanted to know so she could bake you a raisin pie if you were." Billy took her hand and gave her a sweet smile.
"Nah, sorry Mary Ann. I already promised Emma that I would be by for her chili." Mary Ann nodded her head, winked and walked off as soon as she got a promise from Billy to pencil her in for next week.
"I'm taking it you don't watch too much late night television?" I swore I saw him blush a bit, though it could have been the lighting.
"I'm a widower, in a place where the women outnumber the men, a man like me is like catnip to a cat. But I promise, I only keep to the harmless ones. Mary Ann is a widow herself, Emma just never married after her boyfriend died when they were teens. When you get to be my age, you take what company you can get." I looked him over, head to toe.
"Oh I don't know, you can't be that old. How old are you?" He lifted a brow and shifted on the driftwood.
"Old enough. I have a few grandchildren. My son, Jake and his wife Leah have a four year old they've named after me." He stood up after that, dusted off his pants and tipped his hat to me. I could really get used to that.
"Well, I think everyone has had their bathroom break so I better be getting back up there. I hope to see you around. Goodnight Mrs. Swan-Hunter." He turned and headed back towards the stage to take back up his fiddle.
"Goodnight Mr. Black."
Author's Note: Sorry about not updating last week, we pretty much all took a break to gather the muse. But hopefully there will not be anymore breaks from me.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
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