46If you recognize it then I probably don't own it.
Prologue
I had never really given much thought to how I would die. Sure, there was the abstract suicidal thought I got when driving over a bridge. The eternal restlessness of waiting in line and wanting die. The wish of death during any humiliation but this was different. Those times, with exception of the random 'hey you drive right over the side of the bridge', I wanted to die. Temporarily at least. But this time. This time, it was different. I didn't want to die. I don't want to die. Not yet away. As I felt my heart beat rapidly in slow motion watching him watch me. Knowing he heard every thump of my heart, every swish of my blood as it moved across my veins. This death would not be temporary. This death would mean a closed wooden coffin slowly lowered in the ground. This death would mean worm food. I can't believe it came to this.
Chapter One: Peachy Keen
"You really don't have to go, sweetie." Mom said in that honey-irritable voice. The one she used when she tried to remain calm, the one she used when she didn't want to cry, the one she used when we talked about my dad.
"I know." I sipped the green tea I got in the airport coffee joint. Things had been tense between us, since the screaming match a couple weeks ago.
We were sitting in the airport terminal 12-A. Waiting for her husband to get her the cinnamon roll with blue jellybeans and honey on top. She stroked her swollen belly absent mindedly. Subconsciously letting everyone know her condition and angering me all over again. I turned away from her.
Ten minutes later her husband joined us, he held the Cinna-bon box in one hand and the jelly beans in the other. He sat down across from mom, his stomach protruded out more, and his rain coat was still zipped up. It wasn't even raining out.
"Did you get it?"
"I got it." He opened the Cinna-bon box and placed a napkin and the cinnamon roll on top of the table on his left. He opened the jelly bean packet (blueberry) and popped some in his mouth. Then he took the left over honey packets that came with my tea and smothered the cinnamon roll in it. He sprinkled the jellybeans on the cinnamon roll. Making it look like a weird cinnamon-y blueberry scone. "Here you go, Renée." He carefully handed it to her.
She took a bite, smacking her lips as she did so.
"Flight 12-A delayed for half an hour." Nasally fell through the PA system.
"Peaches, we still can go home if you want." He told me.
"No, I'm fine." Cursing internally at his casual use of my childhood nickname. "I want to go."
…
My flight was boarding, finally.
"Bye, Peachy Cream." Mom whispered tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear.
I walked toward the boarding dock/ loading dock. Whatever it's called… then turned around to get one last look at her. Her Nordic features: blonde hair, blue eyes, white skin with pink undertones. All marred by her most recent choices in spouses and hard round belly. She looked like she was going to cry.
"Bye, Mommy." I mouthed knowing she was the only who could read my lips. I turned to leave handing the flight attendant my ticket.
"Wait! Peaches!" She called, my heart lifted… maybe…. "I forgot! Don't move!"
She rushed me, capturing me in a hug just before I turned around. She kissed my cheek smearing her lipstick more, wrapping my nose in the smell of nail polish that surrounded her. "I can't believe I almost forgot!" She pushed the bag into my hand. "Don't open until six fifty-six tonight, okay."
I nodded. "I have to go now."
"Call me when you get there safely." She commanded.
I boarded the plane.
…
The flight was relatively short one, an hour and a half – two hours tops. When I landed in Seattle I would take connecting flight to Port Angeles. Then I would drive an hour to Forks with my dad. I was kind of excited, I hadn't seen my dad since the summer and even though we had bi-weekly phone calls it was still like he was my part time dad.
When I called him two weeks ago, begging to live with him, he sounded excited. He told me last night, that I didn't have to move today, but I wanted too. It would be my first birthday with just me and my dad. Maybe he and I could watch Thelma and Louise or Terminator or something. Last night he told me he already registered me for school!
…
When I finally arrived in Port Angeles it was raining. Not a heavy rain, a light mist. The kind of mist that made my hair frizz out slightly. I grabbed my suit cases from baggage claim, and checked my watch five o'clock on the dot. My dad said he would be there no later than five fifteen. So all I had to do was wait.
He called me at five oh-eight letting me know he'd arrived, and where to meet him.
…
"Hi dad."
"Peach!" He broke out in a smile and smothered me in a hug. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to wrinkle the bag."
"It no problem!" I smiled. I liked my dad I really did and when we spent time together we got along.
"Before you get in the car, I just want to let you know that Priscilla came with me." He picked up two of my three suitcases.
"Oh, okay." I said mildly surprised. I didn't expect his girlfriend, the nurse, to be here.
"Don't give me that face, Peach, she didn't get to meet you during the summer and I really wanted you to meet each other."
"Okay." We loading up my things, leaving the present from my mom with me.
…
"Hi! You must be Peaches!" Priscilla bubbled, "Your dad has been talking about you nonstop! Charlie, she looks just like you!" I guess was somewhat true, I had my dad's brown eyes, and brown hair but where his skin had yellow undertones I had blue. I was tall like him too, and we had the same quick metabolism.
My dad shifted the car into gear and pulled out of the airport, "One hour until we reach Forks."
"Oh, Peaches. I love your nails. Did you do them yourself?"
Jesus what am I a five year old child.
"Hey Peach, do you have your license?" Dad asked changing the subject.
"Yeah, I got it two months ago. Why?"
"I found a car for you, a good car. Cheap too."
"A car?" What the hell was he talking about?
"It's actually a truck. A Chevy."
"What?"
"Do you remember Billy from La Push? You met him six – seven years ago, I think." A great story teller my dad.
"I don't think so… What's La Push again?"
"La Push is the small Native American reservation outside of Forks." Prissy told me.
"Remember Billy and I took you and his kids camping over visitation."
"I remember we went camping." And I couldn't figure out where the bathroom was and peed my pants. My throat burned at the memory.
"Well, he's in a wheel chair now. He got Lyme disease a while back, and he didn't get treatment until it was too late. Side warning for you: if you walk in the woods when you get home take the hottest shower you can then let Priscilla or me know. I don't want you getting sick." Arguably the best storyteller. "Anyway, Billy can't drive it and sold it to me. I know it's not six fifty-six but it's yours."
"Six fifty-six… you mean it's a birthday present?" I asked.
"Yup." My dad nodded the same time Prissy screamed "Surprise!"
"Aren't you excited? You got a car!" Prissy squealed. Her coppery curls (made by a curling iron, no doubt) bounced as she shook her head.
"Dad, that's… that's…" I couldn't find the right words. The rules of six fifty-six, four thirty-two, and somewhere around noon didn't cover a car, sorry truck. "Too big, I can't let you do that. What about the rules of somewhere around noon." Ha got you there.
The Birthday Rules were simple, you had to get the Birthday Baron/ness (my mom's term) a present that they'd love. You Baron/ness would have to present the gifter with a list at least two weeks before the actual birthday or else get something they wouldn't want (insert horrified gasp) Then you have to present the present to the Baron/ness at the time of their birth otherwise it doesn't count. This meant waking up on May 12th at four thirty-two in the morning to give my mom her birthday present. There was also a song and dance that went along with it but they had to be saved for the sun to come up around ten.
"Those are mom's stupid rules, it's your birthday all day. And you'll like the car, it runs great, but if you're stuck on the goddamn rules I give you the keys at six fifty-six."
"What year is the truck, hon?"
"Uh, I think Bill bought it in '83 or '85... Or was it '84?"
"But what's the car's year, Charlie." Ooh, Prissy was not backing down.
"Sweetie, Peach, the thing runs great."
"Dad, answer the woman." I used my best game show voice.
My dad turned onto the Forks Exit. "I think it came off the lot in the sixties…" He said sheepishly. "It runs great, really, classic American made. Some collectors wanted to buy it from Bill and store it in a garage. But I convinced him to sell it to me it really is a beautiful car."
"So it's perfect then!" I said brightly, dad was losing his hard sell. "Thank you for thinking of me, I really appreciate it."
It was kind of weird though, that was a full time dad thing. Buying your kid a car, a part time dad should have let me take the bus… maybe I was the part time kid while he was a full time dad. I only showed up, like, twice a year, we talked on the phone often, and emailed a lot. But I never really thought of him as DAD all caps, but I was still his KID all caps. In the past he was sort of an I-can-live-without-you kind of thought. I only really thought about him when I had to. I realized I never actually thought 'hey my dad would be proud of this 'A'' like I would with my mom. Meanwhile he probably thought about me a lot. He bought me a car! His friend could have made a small mint by selling it a collector and he bought it for me instead. My throat started to burn.
"This place is really green…" I said placidly.
"Yeah, it's from all the rain we get. If you look carefully at the leaves of the trees you can see where they slant to brace themselves." Dad told me.
"They do that?"
"Yeah, it's so they leaves don't fall off the branches when the rain hits 'em." Dad explained.
"He just loves the nature channel." Prissy giggled, resting her arm around the back of his chair.
I decided I liked Prissy for the moment. She seemed to genuinely like my dad.
…
Eventually we got to my dad's house. He still lived in the small two bedroom that he bought with my mom when they were first married. Their parked on road just past the mail box it sat. All rounded and orange. With bubbled metal at met at every corner, and large eye-like head lights and tail lights.
"What do you think?" Dad asked as he pulled into the driveway, right next to his police cruiser.
It's orange, is what I thought. A peachy orange.
"Well, Peach." My dad hip checked me, as I stared at it.
Peachy orange.
"Peachy orange." I whispered.
My dad smiled proudly. "I knew you'd like it."
…
After I had loaded my suitcases into my room, which laid on the south west end of the house. I went down stairs to the kitchen where my dad and Prissy were waiting.
"So, Peaches what do you want to eat?" Prissy asked.
Was I ever going to live that fucking nickname down? "What's here?"
"We have mostly mom and pop restaurants, yes there is a Mickey D's but I don't think you want to eat there." Prissy told me.
"Okay poppa," I addressed them both, "What's momma cooking?"
"There's Filippelli Pizza, if we go there you have got to try the garlic bread crust. Um, Hunan Palace they have the best vegetarian dumplings in the state. They keep a sign in the window. The Rammer Jammer, but that's really a bar. Forks & Knives Diner, is really good." Prissy ticked off the restaurants on her fingers, "They have a Tex-Mex place just outside of town called the Alamo with handmade tortillas and guacamole, and we're getting a Cabaret!"
Oh Cabaret! Shoot me. "I like the sound of garlic bread crust." I said.
"You'll love it!" Prissy squealed.
"Alright, everyone into the car."
"Give me a sec, please." I asked, "I just have to get gift bag."
"Why?" My dad gave me a weird look.
"Because it's almost six thirty…"
"And you need to open it by six fifty-six, got it. Go get it." My dad said as I ran up the stairs.
…
Mrs. Filippelli sat us down in the small rounded booth the back of the restaurant by the window immediately when she saw my dad.
"All right, Charlie you want the usual?" She asked looking at my dad right as we sat down.
"No thanks, Linda, this time I'm going to read the menu." My dad told her.
"I'll tell Bob to stop grating the Colby Jack." She said turning away from us with a wink.
We opened our menus, "I think I want a spinach anchovy with the garlic bread crust, does anyone want to share." Prissy said.
"No, that sounds disgusting P, I know what Peach want's though," My dad announced to the table. "She wants a green pepper pizza with the garlic bread crust!" He looked at me hopefully.
I blushed, my blotchy pink blush. "Yeah. That's exactly what I want."
"See, she has good taste." My dad told Prissy pointedly who scrunched up her nose and stuck her tongue out at him.
"All right, Love Birds. What'll it be?" Linda asked when she returned.
"Lin, Me and Peaches, here, will have medium green pepper pizza with the garlic bread crust you always boast about." My dad told Mrs. Filippelli.
"And I'll have my usual." Prissy told her smiling.
"And to drink?" Mrs. Filippelli asked.
"Since it is Peaches birthday," my dad slipped in none to casually, "I'll take a Coors Lite. Priscilla will have a white wine, and Peaches will have a Coke lite ice please and thank you." He handed Mrs. Filippelli our menus.
"Oh, Happy Birthday Peaches!" Mrs. Filippelli told me. I blushed all blotchy all over again. "I'll let Bob know." She told my dad and walked away. What the hell kind of secret…
My watch beeped twice… Six fifty-six. I put the bag on the red checkered table cloth.
"Six fifty-six?" My dad asked.
I nodded, pulling the white tissue paper out of the way to the small case. I pulled the tissue paper covered case out of the bag. It was haphazardly wrapped with tape, my mom must have redone it after they cleared us through airport security. I ripped the paper away and… Thelma and Louise. The DVD. I pulled the card out.
Open January 6 at 6:56 PM no earlier no later the envelope read.
I opened the card:
"On this day, and at this time I gave birth to a baby girl. 6 pounds 6 ounces. We watch this movie every birthday after dinner, now you have your own copy. Tell Charlie he has to watch it. Love mom and Steve." I read aloud.
"So we're Thelma and Louse-ing it tonight." Prissy said, "I'll make the popcorn."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's your birthday, and I don't have to work."
I gingerly placed the DVD back in the bag. At that moment the piping hot pizza and drinks we placed at our table. The green peppers on the pizza had been arranged to say 'HAPPY BDAY' and I blushed all over again.
…
It was 11:30 when I finally went to bed, we stayed at Filippeli's until seven forty-five, then at eight we arrived back home, at eight fifteen (I finally remembered to call my mom who talked to me in her honey voice), we settled into the couch with popcorn to watch Themla and Louise. The movie ending around ten fifteen. Then Prissy went to sleep (in my dad's room, yuck!), then my dad and I watched part of a documentary about the ancient Sumerian's Enheduanna (scientists think she's the first author in history! How cool is that!), and then I started yawning even though I liked the subject so my dad said "Enheduanna go to bed?" because he's a dad and has to make puns out of everything. So I went up to my room, moved the suitcases from my bed to the floor. Grabbed my toothbrush and paste for my carry-on bag and went to my separate bathroom. My dad's house was two and a half baths. One powder room by the kitchen, one adjoining master bath and my bathroom to the left and down the hall a little bit. I brushed my teeth, went back to my room. Where I feel asleep as soon as I hit the pillow.
…
First chapter down. Let me know what you think. This is a no Bella story because I don't think I can add depth to a character who doesn't really have any depth. She's already been written down in great detail so I can't really add my own spice without reworking cannon so I took her out. That acknowledged Miri is supposed to take her place. So it's technically a Bella/Edward. Also there are no real/really good Edward/OC stories out there so I thought I'd make my own. I also decided I wanted to add depth to the Swan Parents. Charlie should and is way more than a cop/dad who drinks beer at home, and I think that Bella's reason for leaving her mom was weak and that Smeyer couldn't think of a good reason. It's 2am, I have work in the morning. I'll explain more in the next chapter, like why Miri is called Peach (and variations of) and why I think she's a better protagonist than Bella (this is an opinion everyone is entitled to one). PS some characterization is altered, I'm operating under the anthropological principle of 'people of always been people' (which basically means times change, people have not.), and I'm going for a more subtle change reminiscent to times gone by (such as not using contractions)
If you haven't already checked it out, the sequel Non Lupus Emarcuit is up and available to read (and almost completed!)