Fathers

Charlie

Part Five

By Simon

Charlie stood in the doorway, clearly uncomfortable and with his police hat held awkwardly in his hands. All that was missing was his feet shuffling as he coughed to gain attention. He resembled nothing so much as a junior high student in the principle’s office.

Carlisle looked up, though he’d heard and smelled Charlie as soon as he’d walked in through the emergency rooms outer doors. “Chief Swan, this is an unexpected pleasure; what can I do for you this morning?”

“I’m sorry to interrupt but I was hoping that you might have a minute.” Carlisle was sitting at his desk, cool, calm and collected as he did some paperwork. Jesus, the man was pale; he almost looked like an albino with that blond hair and that skin. At least his eyes weren’t pink. Charlie felt at a disadvantage. Okay, a movie star version of an albino, but still…

“Of course, come in. Close the door. ‘Something’s on your mind?” Yes, there was something on his mind. In fact, Carlisle likely knew what it was and was hoping that between the two of them they might be able to diffuse this before it became a bigger problem than it already was. “Am I wrong in assuming that this is about your daughter and my son?”

“Well…yes. I mean no. It’s about them, yes.” That caught Charlie by surprise; even if the doctor knew about the kids, he hadn’t thought that he’d consider it a problem. Hell’s belles—a son was a lot different than a daughter and that’s all there was to it. Reality and all of that; boys don’t get pregnant. “How long have you known about this? What’s Edward said to you about it, if you don’t mind my asking.”

Carlisle leaned back and took a deep breath. “I’ve known, well, Esme told me about it about two weeks ago. It seems that he confided in her, told her that there was a new girl in school he’d taken a fancy to and she told me in private a day or so later and it seems that his brothers and sisters have known all along. That isn’t a surprise, I guess. To be honest, I was happy to hear about it. Edward is still, in a number of ways, adjusting to being part of my family and I saw this as a healthy step for him.”

“I’d heard that he, that all your kids are adopted.” Of course they were, the doctor and his wife looked like neither of them were older than thirty, tops, and that was pushing it. Five teenagers? Yeah, they were adopted.

“You have some reservations about the two of them seeing one another?” He carefully stacked his paperwork, putting the pages in a neat pile. “Is it because of the fact that they’re friends or do you have a problem with Edward in particular?”

Charlie fidgeted on his chair. Christ, there was no way in hell that he could just blurt out the kid gave him the creeps. “No, no problem, it’s just that…well, it’s that, I mean…” He trailed off but started again. “It’s just that I’m concerned that Bella may end up getting hurt.” He stopped, afraid that he may have insulted the doctor. “There’s nothing wrong with the boy, that’s not what I mean, it’s just that he seems—I don’t know—he seems a lot older than Bella does, more mature somehow and that worries me.”

Yes, well ninety-seven against seventeen was a large gap. “I see.” He shifted in his chair just a bit. “I suppose he does seem older than some of the other youngsters but, forgive me, you have to remember that he’s been through more than most kids have and so I’d expect that. His parents died, leaving him alone and disorientated. Then he’s, unfortunately, been forced to move around with me and the rest of the family as I’ve changed jobs over the years so it’s been difficult for him to fit in, make friends. He’s, of necessity, been forced to largely interact with people who are older than he is; I’m afraid it’s marked him a bit.”

“Yeah, sure but that’s not really what I was talking about.” And didn’t really address anything he’d said, either. Besides that, Edward wasn’t used to dealing with kids his own age? He was in high school ‘f’the love of God. What was that about? He ‘interacted’ with them every day.

“I’m sorry, Chief, what are your concerns; that Bella may be harmed?” Charlie nodded. “You’re afraid that Edward may be toying with her or using her somehow?”

“It’s crossed my mind.” Charlie cleared his throat. “Has he dated much? ‘Had many girlfriends? He’s a good looking kid, he must have.”

“To the best of my knowledge, Bella is his first serious crush or attachment.” He smiled. “’Hard to believe, but true. For what it’s worth, I believe that he’s never been with a young lady or even seriously kissed one, for that matter.” Carlisle toyed with a pen then looked over at Charlie, pen still in his right hand. “As far as I know, he’s still a virgin.”

Charlie blinked; he hadn’t seen that coming. With the kid’s looks and confidence he’d taken him for a player.

“Yeah, well, that’s the problem. He was over at my place—he’s there all the time, every evening ‘doing homework’ with Bella and the two of them don’t seem to me like either of them wants to put on the brakes, if you know what I mean. Have you ever talked to him about this kind of thing?”

Carlisle looked like he was suppressing a smile. “I am a doctor, Chief. I assure you that he understands the facts of life.”

“Does he understand consequences? Cause and effect, maybe?”

Carlisle let the smile out. “I’m sure that he does, yes, and his real parents were rather conservative regarding this sort of thing. He told Esme that he and Bella aren’t doing anything you’d take issue with and I take him at his word. There’s was only so much, as a father figure, I can do.” He rolled the pen between his hands. “Even if I believed this might end badly, Edward doesn’t always take my advice—or anyone else’s for that matter.” The simple fact was that Edward might be in some ways a teenager, but in others he’d been a grown man for decades and wasn’t about to respond to any kind of parental controls. “I have spoken with him, as I did with all of my children, about practicing safe sex, though Edward had scoffed at the idea, insisting they weren’t sleeping together. He’d been a bit scandalized at the thought, no doubt a hold over from his upbringing.” Actually, he’d even intimated that Bella was the one pushing for sex and he was the one holding off, insisting he didn’t believe in premarital relations—something that had almost made Carlisle laugh out loud.

“So you’re okay with this?” Charlie wasn’t convinced, not by a long shot.

“I think that the two of them are normal youngsters and will do what they’ll do. I don’t mean to be flippant, honestly, I don’t, but they’re not toddlers, they’re both driving and are largely going to come and go as they please. I trust my son, I hope you have reason to trust Bella. Beyond this all we can do is advise and watch then, if necessary, step in.”

“You’re serious?” Something about Carlisle’s assurances didn’t ring true. It was like Edward; he was hiding something, something that wasn’t quite right, something dangerous.

“They have to find their own way in this, just as we all do.” Of course, Carlisle knew Bella was in mortal danger and Edward was terrified of killing her, but other than that, they were just your standard high school couple with surging hormones. “May I suggest something, Chief Swan?” Charlie nodded. “Would you and Bella join us tomorrow evening after your shift, come over to the house, meet the rest of my family? Perhaps that will help us all get some perspective and insight on this.”

Charlie couldn’t think of any reason not to and maybe, just maybe he’d get to the root of whatever was really going on.
 

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