Inseparable

Chapter 1

Renee

The air was hot and dry, bright golden rays of sun beat down, drenching the desert in light as heat radiated off of the blacktop in shimmering waves. I rolled the windows down as Phil and I drove the kids to the airport, relishing the last few minutes we'd be spending together. Life had been hectic in the past few months- Phil's baseball career progressed promisingly and I found myself splitting my time between traveling with my husband and staying home with my two teenagers.

I glanced at the kids in the rearview mirror. Beau slumped against the door, his head resting on his arm, his elbow poking out the window. He's always looked like me, so much so that we've been mistaken for siblings. Beau's eyes are the same shade of bright blue as my own, his hair the same dusty brown color. He must have grown another few inches in the last few months, making him look more like a young man than the sweet little boy I still pictured in my mind. My Beau, kind and gentle- but also stoic and logical- so much like his father. He's been my rock throughout the years, keeping track of bills, making repairs around the house, reminding me to make appointments and attend parent/ teacher conferences. I worried that he'd feel a bit put out when Phil came into our lives, but Beau accepted his transition from man-of-the-house to teenage boy easily.

My daughter Bella sat beside her brother, her dark chestnut hair waving down past her bare shoulders and twisting in the wind from the open windows. She had a book propped open on her lap, but she stared out into the desert as the road signs and Joshua trees whipped by, a frown playing at the corners of her lips. Bella- my best friend, my partner-in-crime, always joining me at art classes and yoga retreats and pottery workshops. We'd hardly been apart in 17 years, and then a month ago she and Beau suggested that they move to Forks to be with their father. Of course, I knew they must miss Charlie, but I also got the feeling they were getting tired of me running back and forth, trying to spend time with them while keeping up with Phil's crazy schedule.

Bella and Beau had never liked the town where they were born. Dreary, green and grey, cold and wet- thoroughly depressing- Forks held little appeal to me decades ago. I was young and foolish when I met Charlie Swan. We fell head over heels for one another and got married shortly thereafter. When the kids and I left he was heartbroken, the memory still tugs uncomfortably at my conscience, but deep down I think he must know that our children, like me, belong in the warmth and sunshine of Arizona. When the kids first came to me with their idea to relocate I intended to talk them out of it. I resolved to spend less time on the road and more time home with them, but Charlie had been nearly ecstatic at the thought of his children living with him in his hometown; I couldn't take that away from him, not again, and it would be good for the kids to really get to know their father. I would miss them terribly, but once Phil signed with a team we'd settle down, hopefully someplace here in the South...

Bella turned and I caught her brown eyes- Charlie's eyes- in the mirror. She gave me a reassuring smile and picked up her book. I couldn't help but sigh sadly, turning off the highway and heading for the terminal where a plane waited to take my children to Washington.

Charlie

It'd been nearly a year since I'd seen my kids, damn near 3 years since I'd seen them here at home in Washington State, but there they were, walking side by side through the airport, shouldering duffle bags and dragging luggage behind them. They asked to stay with me for a while, not sure how long, but hopefully through the rest of highschool. When Renee called and said the kids wanted to move to Washington I thought something happened with her new husband- maybe they didn't like the guy- but she swore that they just missed me and that they were looking for a change of scenery. It was hard to believe they were here now, even as we pulled each other into awkward one-armed hugs and I helped them with their bags. I noticed Beau must've grown a foot since I saw him last.
'Handsome kid, looks a lot like his mother' I thought as we headed toward the doors that led to the parking lot. Even Bella looked different, pretty with her dark hair and pale skin, but more grown up than she did last summer. Hard to believe that these were my little kids who lived here years ago.

As we neared the door the bag Beau was carrying hit someone that was walking in the opposite direction. The man who had been hit- short and stocky with poorly done tattoos on his arms and neck- looked like trouble. He rounded on Beau and said something I couldn't make out. Bella froze, looking between Beau and this young guy and his companion- a tall, thin woman with piercings and scarlet hair. I strode over quickly, aiming to keep things from escalating. The tattooed couple took in the uniform I wore and glanced at one another, muttering as they headed off in the opposite direction.

We packed the bags into the trunk of the cruiser and started making our way toward Forks, Bella up front next to me and Beau sitting in the back. It was quiet inside the cruiser, neither of the kids were big talkers.

"I sure don't like seeing you in the back of an officer's car, Beau," I joked, hoping to lighten the mood a little.

Beau laughed a little awkwardly. "I'm sure it's not a good feeling," he said.

I saw Bella smile and thought that now would be a good time to bring up their welcome home present.

"So, uh, I have something for you guys at the house," I started, "Beau, I know you just got your license, and Bella you'll be needing to get around I'm sure, and you know you two can't take this because it's my work vehicle... Anyway, I, um, I bought a car for you to take to school and whatnot." I couldn't see Beau's face in the rearview, he'd turned to look out the window, his baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. Bella twisted around in her seat to get a better view of her brother.

"Ch- Dad. You didn't have to. I've been saving up to buy a car, and I figured I'd share with Beau if he needed it," Bella looked nervous as she said this, her hands twisting a lock of hair, her eyes still shifting toward Beau in the backseat.

"Bells, it's no trouble. It's a good car, well, it's a truck really, anyway, it's good for you two."

"What kind of truck is it?" Beau asked from the back of the car.

"Well, I'm not sure of the model, it's older, sure, but the thing runs great and it's in good shape. I bought it from Billy Black over in La Push."

"Beau," said Bella quietly, "Do you know much about fixing older trucks?" Beau didn't say anything, but I heard him shift uncomfortably in his seat.

"Billy's boy, Jake, he put a lot of work into this truck. I think you'll like it."

"We will, of course. Thanks Dad." Beau reached forward and squeezed my shoulder as he said this.

"Thank you Dad, can't wait to see it," said Bella. She smiled at me then and just for a second she looked like she did when she was a kid, riding next to me on the way to the diner in town for breakfast on Saturday morning. I let the memories replay for the rest if the drive.

We pulled up to the house a while later. The kids seemed pretty pleased with their new truck- they stayed outside to look it over while I went in with the pizzas we picked up on the way home. They came in just as a misty rain started to fall and we ate together at the kitchen table for the first time in years. I helped them upstairs with their bags and left them to get settled in. I tried to spruce up their rooms before they arrived, picking up a new bedspread for Bells and swapping Beau's little twin sized mattress for a larger full-sized bed. Good thing, too, his feet would've been hanging off the end of his old bed.

I heard them moving around in their rooms for a while, then one of them turned on the shower and the other put on some rock music. The house felt less empty, more homey that night than it had in years. I thought about this, and the prospect of coming home to them tomorrow, as I drifted off to sleep.