The Heat of You
by Wizardtho
Chapter 11:
Paul POV:
Once Bella sat down next to Charlie, she said seriously, “Start the oven for the fries first. 425.”
I dutifully started the top oven, then went back to wash my hands. As I did, Bella explained, “You need a bowl big enough to combine everything in.”
I dried my hands on the dish towel, rested the towel on my shoulder, then pulled out a stack of nesting mixing bowls. After bringing them over to show Bella, she grinned and tapped her finger against the largest bowl. I placed the rest back in the cabinet.
My little mate then said, “Now break up the burger into the bowl, not too big of pieces, because you want everything to incorporate evenly.”
I did as she instructed, showing her when I was done. She grinned, “Not too shabby, Lahote. Since you have burger hands, I’ll season everything.”
She leaned over the bar, salted and peppered the meat, then grabbed the bag of crumble cheddar we bought. She pulled 2 overflowing handfuls of cheese from the bag, sprinkling it into the bowl as she said, “Now mix this around with your hands until it looks pretty even. No squishing. Fold it.”
I chuckled, “Yes, Ma’am,” as I got to work.
After 2 minutes or so of gently folding the mix together, I was pretty pleased, so I tipped the bowl a bit in her direction. She nodded, “Good. Form a ball just under the size of a baseball, squish it down to about as thick as your middle finger, then pat in the edges to make it neat.”
As I did so, I asked, “Where does the bacon come in?”
Charlie chuckled, “Goes on top, with the lettuce, onion, tomato, and pickle, of course.”
I nod, “So I can add as much as I want. I looove bacon.”
Bella grinned, “I know. You told me that 3 times as we were grabbing the bacon. That’s why we got enough to make you breakfast skillets at least twice, plus the whole 2 pounds we got for tonight.”
Charlie laughed out loud, but Bella’s eyes got wide as she told him, “I thought he was going to grab the whole bacon section at one point. I swear, Dad, he was practically drooling when I mentioned my plan for dinner.”
Charlie gave me a grin as he shook his head, then said, “I’ve seen how much the kid eats, Bells, so I’m sure you thinned out their bacon stock a bit.”
She nodded, then whisper-yelled, “I had to talk him down to 7 pounds of bacon!”
I shrugged before grinning, “What can I say? I told you I loved bacon.”
She got up, came around to hug me from behind, then handed the tomatoes and lettuce to Charlie. After grabbing the cutting board and knife, she walked back to her stool. I couldn’t hide the smile on my face, since she had now initiated our hugs more than once. She was learning that it was okay for her to take.
Charlie caught my smile, so I mouthed, “Later,” to him as I got back to burger making.
Bella made quick work of the lettuce and tomatoes, and soon I had a bowl full of burgers ready to go. She spied my handy work, saying with a smirk, “Not bad for your first try, Lahote. Next time I’ll show you my pat-and-twist method.”
I chuckled, “Okay, Sassy. I’m going to put these on the grill. Do you want to get the fries going? Charlie, why don’t you grab a couple of beers from the fridge and meet me out back.”
Bella nodded, handed Charlie a clean platter for the burgers, then told him the beer was on the bottom shelf.
I had just placed the last burger on the grill and closed the lid when I heard the cap being popped from both beers. I turned to see Charlie walking toward me. I took the beer he offered, then said softly as I watched Bella through the glass windows, “Today has been a learning experience. She has a hard time asking for anything.”
Charlie nodded silently, so I said, “I told her more than once, if she needs anything from me, to take it… or at least give me some sign that she needs something, so I can figure it out. The hugs she was talking about earlier? It was because I sensed her becoming overwhelmed or her panic growing. Just now, though… that hug she just took? She’s done that one other time since we got home. She’s learning it’s okay to take what she needs. That I won’t let her get lost in that place she goes to in her mind. That was a proud smile.”
Charlie tipped his beer to me, so I clinked his with the neck of mine. “Thanks for telling me. You could have just shook your head and brushed it off, but you’ve been really good at keeping me in the loop.”
I nodded, “I heard what you said when I lit the grill. There’s still a chance… I’m not stupid enough to think otherwise… but I’m going to let her have this relieved moment. It’s been one of my biggest fears, too. Honestly, what she told me that doctor did was still rape in my book, and I’ll be sure his precious surgeon’s hands are the first thing in the fucking fire when I catch up to him.”
Bella opened the back door just then, so Charlie’s reply was a mumble of, “Won’t hear me complain.”
She came right to me, wrapping her arms around me, her hands fisting in the back of my shirt, “How long do you think? Do you want to eat out here or in the house?”
I hummed as my arm wove around her, “It’s not raining, so we might as well take advantage of the night. Let’s eat on the patio. I’d say we have another 12 minutes or so, with how thick these burgers are.”
She nodded, then took a second to press her cheek to my chest. I kissed the top of her head, then she let me go to head back into the house. The second she was inside, Charlie noted, “I see what you mean. Baby steps.”
I nodded, “Even baby steps are huge right now. It’s something positive, which is a hell of a lot better than the sight of her scrubbing herself raw and crying so hard she could barely breathe. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget that sight. It was so bad I had to go into the shower -clothes and all- to grab the poofy thing from her hand, so she couldn’t do more damage. Tell me something?”
Charlie nodded, so I asked, “In all that you’ve read, how badly did they put her down?”
He shook his head, took a swig from his beer, then said slowly, “There’s not a single thing about her, Paul, that they haven’t put her down about. Do me a favor. The blue color she wore a lot… get rid of anything of hers that color. Tell her if you want, don’t if you think it will make her upset… but it was another way to control her.”
I thought back, then hummed, “She was always more subdued when she wore blue…and I never saw her wearing it here on the rez. It was always around Forks that I’d see her in blue. I’ll take care of it.”
Bella walked out with plates and silverware, which officially ended our conversation.
Paul POV:
Once Bella sat down next to Charlie, she said seriously, “Start the oven for the fries first. 425.”
I dutifully started the top oven, then went back to wash my hands. As I did, Bella explained, “You need a bowl big enough to combine everything in.”
I dried my hands on the dish towel, rested the towel on my shoulder, then pulled out a stack of nesting mixing bowls. After bringing them over to show Bella, she grinned and tapped her finger against the largest bowl. I placed the rest back in the cabinet.
My little mate then said, “Now break up the burger into the bowl, not too big of pieces, because you want everything to incorporate evenly.”
I did as she instructed, showing her when I was done. She grinned, “Not too shabby, Lahote. Since you have burger hands, I’ll season everything.”
She leaned over the bar, salted and peppered the meat, then grabbed the bag of crumble cheddar we bought. She pulled 2 overflowing handfuls of cheese from the bag, sprinkling it into the bowl as she said, “Now mix this around with your hands until it looks pretty even. No squishing. Fold it.”
I chuckled, “Yes, Ma’am,” as I got to work.
After 2 minutes or so of gently folding the mix together, I was pretty pleased, so I tipped the bowl a bit in her direction. She nodded, “Good. Form a ball just under the size of a baseball, squish it down to about as thick as your middle finger, then pat in the edges to make it neat.”
As I did so, I asked, “Where does the bacon come in?”
Charlie chuckled, “Goes on top, with the lettuce, onion, tomato, and pickle, of course.”
I nod, “So I can add as much as I want. I looove bacon.”
Bella grinned, “I know. You told me that 3 times as we were grabbing the bacon. That’s why we got enough to make you breakfast skillets at least twice, plus the whole 2 pounds we got for tonight.”
Charlie laughed out loud, but Bella’s eyes got wide as she told him, “I thought he was going to grab the whole bacon section at one point. I swear, Dad, he was practically drooling when I mentioned my plan for dinner.”
Charlie gave me a grin as he shook his head, then said, “I’ve seen how much the kid eats, Bells, so I’m sure you thinned out their bacon stock a bit.”
She nodded, then whisper-yelled, “I had to talk him down to 7 pounds of bacon!”
I shrugged before grinning, “What can I say? I told you I loved bacon.”
She got up, came around to hug me from behind, then handed the tomatoes and lettuce to Charlie. After grabbing the cutting board and knife, she walked back to her stool. I couldn’t hide the smile on my face, since she had now initiated our hugs more than once. She was learning that it was okay for her to take.
Charlie caught my smile, so I mouthed, “Later,” to him as I got back to burger making.
Bella made quick work of the lettuce and tomatoes, and soon I had a bowl full of burgers ready to go. She spied my handy work, saying with a smirk, “Not bad for your first try, Lahote. Next time I’ll show you my pat-and-twist method.”
I chuckled, “Okay, Sassy. I’m going to put these on the grill. Do you want to get the fries going? Charlie, why don’t you grab a couple of beers from the fridge and meet me out back.”
Bella nodded, handed Charlie a clean platter for the burgers, then told him the beer was on the bottom shelf.
I had just placed the last burger on the grill and closed the lid when I heard the cap being popped from both beers. I turned to see Charlie walking toward me. I took the beer he offered, then said softly as I watched Bella through the glass windows, “Today has been a learning experience. She has a hard time asking for anything.”
Charlie nodded silently, so I said, “I told her more than once, if she needs anything from me, to take it… or at least give me some sign that she needs something, so I can figure it out. The hugs she was talking about earlier? It was because I sensed her becoming overwhelmed or her panic growing. Just now, though… that hug she just took? She’s done that one other time since we got home. She’s learning it’s okay to take what she needs. That I won’t let her get lost in that place she goes to in her mind. That was a proud smile.”
Charlie tipped his beer to me, so I clinked his with the neck of mine. “Thanks for telling me. You could have just shook your head and brushed it off, but you’ve been really good at keeping me in the loop.”
I nodded, “I heard what you said when I lit the grill. There’s still a chance… I’m not stupid enough to think otherwise… but I’m going to let her have this relieved moment. It’s been one of my biggest fears, too. Honestly, what she told me that doctor did was still rape in my book, and I’ll be sure his precious surgeon’s hands are the first thing in the fucking fire when I catch up to him.”
Bella opened the back door just then, so Charlie’s reply was a mumble of, “Won’t hear me complain.”
She came right to me, wrapping her arms around me, her hands fisting in the back of my shirt, “How long do you think? Do you want to eat out here or in the house?”
I hummed as my arm wove around her, “It’s not raining, so we might as well take advantage of the night. Let’s eat on the patio. I’d say we have another 12 minutes or so, with how thick these burgers are.”
She nodded, then took a second to press her cheek to my chest. I kissed the top of her head, then she let me go to head back into the house. The second she was inside, Charlie noted, “I see what you mean. Baby steps.”
I nodded, “Even baby steps are huge right now. It’s something positive, which is a hell of a lot better than the sight of her scrubbing herself raw and crying so hard she could barely breathe. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget that sight. It was so bad I had to go into the shower -clothes and all- to grab the poofy thing from her hand, so she couldn’t do more damage. Tell me something?”
Charlie nodded, so I asked, “In all that you’ve read, how badly did they put her down?”
He shook his head, took a swig from his beer, then said slowly, “There’s not a single thing about her, Paul, that they haven’t put her down about. Do me a favor. The blue color she wore a lot… get rid of anything of hers that color. Tell her if you want, don’t if you think it will make her upset… but it was another way to control her.”
I thought back, then hummed, “She was always more subdued when she wore blue…and I never saw her wearing it here on the rez. It was always around Forks that I’d see her in blue. I’ll take care of it.”
Bella walked out with plates and silverware, which officially ended our conversation.