Folktale

Chapter 27

Jacob's P.O.V

I take the locks out and raise the curtain to the shop, ready for another day of business in Forks. It's pretty late and Emmett will come back for his Jeep around three and I better get hands on it if I want it to be done by then. I wave hi at some of my neighbors as they continue with their everyday routine. Today is one of those rare days where the sun is out. The air is cool, the wind nice and breezy. Not a bad day for work.

I give my Pops a quick call as I fix Emmett's Jeep. He sounds a little off, but even when I ask him if something is up, all he asks is if I talked to Charlie. The last time I talked to him was about a week ago when the cruiser was making an odd noise. It came down to be something that could easily be fixed. We had lunch together and a few beers before we each head back to work. So Pops doesn't give me much of a choice but to drop whatever it is that makes Pops sound off.

I do miss being able to see him every day. It's been about a year and a half since I moved officially into Forks. As much as I love the reservation, there's wasn't much of a use for a mechanic shop there when everyone knows about mechanics. Forks is more... Diverse. I rent a nice little studio house a couple blocks down my shop at the Folktale roundabout. The business is growing, my life has been more stable-like and I think I sort of have an idea as to where I'm heading with my life. It took me a while, but I'm getting there.

By noon, Alice's car parks outside my shop as I'm making the final touches to Emmett's Jeep. I don't know what expression I expected from her exactly, maybe a red face stained with tears, but she looked rather serene for a person who just signed her divorce papers.

"Hey," I greet her from my spot beside Emmett's tires. I grab a clean rag and clean the oil off my hands as she slowly approached me. "Are you okay?" It's a stupid question to ask, but I don't know what exactly to say in this situation.

Alice sighs and raises her left hand, showing the clear absence of a wedding ring. "I'm officially a divorced woman." She drops on my couch, pouting her lips and lets out another deep sigh. "I'm not gonna lie, I really thought we were going to make it through. I never thought I'd be divorced before I was thirty."

I get off the floor and drop on the couch beside her, wrapping my arm over her shoulders and giving her a reassuring hug. I thought they were going to pull through as well. I mean, they were Alice and Jasper. They've been together since high school, they went to college together, they were the perfect couple. But for the last two years, their relationship became strained. They were drifting apart. Well, Alice said they didn't drift apart, they just grew up and they came to realize they weren't going in the same direction anymore. Since the divorce papers were drawn, Jasper has been seeing a woman named Maria who lives in Port Angeles and Alice has been having a hard time coming to terms with what has happened to her marriage.

I pick my last piece of Kit Kat chocolate and offer it to her. "Kit Kat?"

"Thanks." Her voice is low, sad. She takes the chocolate from me and takes a small bite from it. Even her bite is depressing. "You do know I'm gonna need more than this," she said with a mouthful.

"Oh, I know, but I got to wait until Emmett comes to pick up his Jeep before I can go buy you a whole tub of chocolate ice cream."

Alice sighs. "I think I can wait until then." She takes a small pause, looking out at the busy life in the Folktale roundabout and then looks up at me through her eyelashes. "Have you talked to Charlie?"

Why is everyone asking me that?

"No, but I'm starting to think I should because this is the second time today I've been asked. What's going on?"