Chapter 3
I drove home from the hospital on autopilot, too tired to care that I was going several miles over the speed limit. It had been a grueling day after being up all night waiting for Tara to give birth followed by the fiasco with Mr. Northman. I was exhausted and grateful that I had the day off, Amelia would still be at the hospital for awhile, so I could enjoy having the house to myself. A nice, long, hot bath followed by an even longer nap was all my heart desired.
Arriving at the house I could hardly get up the stairs fast enough to the master bath. I quickly started the water running in the tub, added some relaxing salts to the stream and debated about music before opting for silence instead. My clothes had been on so long that I had to practically peel them from my skin. I considered burning them but tossed them in the hamper instead and slowly stepped in to immerse myself in the relaxing liquid. I took a hand towel, folded it, laid my head back and closed my eyes to revel in my “Calgon, take me away” moment.
My mind could not find respite; it raced from one emotion to another without relief. My pride wanted me to be angry with him for the way he spoke to me. Who did he think he was dismissing me from his room like that? Didn’t his mother teach him better? And speaking of family, where were they? Where were his friends? I didn’t know what had caused his injuries, but I felt sure if I ever suffered something like that, someone would be at the hospital with me for the duration. Why was he alone? And then I recalled those eyes; those big beautiful blue eyes. My own began to water just remembering them. How could something so beautiful hold so much hurt and despair? Sookie, get a hold of yourself, why do you even give a damn? But for some reason I did.
I had laid there long enough for the water to begin to turn cold, so I quickly got out, dried off and put on a tank top and pajama bottoms and went downstairs to get a bite to eat before heading to bed. I would probably be asleep when Amelia got home from the hospital; I considered staying up to wait for her and see what she could tell me about Eric, but she was working a double and would definitely be exhausted when she got home. Amelia is a great girl with a heart of gold, but when she’s tired, she can be a real witch. I decided to just wait and talk with her in the morning.
I crawled in bed around 4:00 p.m. and was dead to the world before my head could hit the pillow.
The next morning I came barreling downstairs around 7:30 with my hair still wet from the shower. Amelia was more than a little shocked to see me so early.
“Well, good morning sunshine, what has you up and at ‘em so early?” She asked while reaching for the coffee pot to pour me a cup.
“Amelia, I have finally discovered that I could be a morning person like you if I would just go to bed everyday before dinner!” I took the coffee from her and began adding my sugar.
“Don’t you think that might put a damper on your social life?”
“Social life? Slinging burgers and serving swill to the customers of Merlotte’s does not constitute a social life.” I sighed slightly depressed that my comment was more truth than joke.
Amelia was quick to change the subject. “So what’s on your agenda for today, I think the weather is supposed to be pretty good, are you going to layout?”
There has never been a bigger sun worshipper than yours truly, if the sun is shinning and I’m not at work, you will find me stretched out in the back yard with the Ipod cranked and the tea on ice. But I decided to forgo the solar adoration today; I had something else in mind.
“I’m off today and I have the dinner shift for the next several days after that so I was wondering if you could still use some help at the hospital? I mean, I will probably be up there any way checking in on Tara and the baby, so I thought if you could use a couple more hands, then I would be glad to help.”
“Oh Sookie, that would be fantastic, I could really use your help with supply inventory and restocking some shelves.”
“Um, I was thinking maybe I could help with the meals again if that is alright with you. I’d be happy to help with Mr. Northman again.” Sookie, you’re sounding too eager! “And any other patients that may need help.” Please, Please don’t ask me how it went yesterday.
“You want to help Mr. Northman again?” She sounded somewhat shocked by my request.
“Well, I mean… I’ve already met him and you’ve shown me how pull the trays and such, so I’ve already been trained therefore you could be free to do other things.”
Amelia laughed, “Sookie, it doesn’t take any ‘training’ to feed a patient; what’s there to learn? Put the food in their mouths and don’t spill any, it doesn’t take genius to figure that out.”
Apparently it does. “I just thought that since this was something I was already comfortable with, maybe I should just stick to it. Is that ok?”
“Sure, whatever help you are willing to offer, I am willing to take.”
“Amelia, tell me about Mr. Northman, how did he get hurt?”
“Sookie, you know I can’t tell you any of that, when I started working at the hospital, I agreed never to discuss those types of things. Which reminds me, if you are going to be working there, you will need to stop by the office and sign a confidentiality agreement too. You can do it on your way in.”
“But since I am going to be working there doesn’t that mean you can tell me?”
“Sookie, I don’t really know the extent of his injuries, and as far as any other information, that’s up to Mr. Northman to tell you what he wants you to know.”
It’s times like these that I wished I was telepathic and could hear what she was thinking, but I knew she took her volunteer position at the hospital very seriously and she was not going to allow some idle chit chat ruin that.
“OK, what time do you need me to be there?”
“Well, I’m heading there shortly, if you want to just come on now, that will give you time to see Tara and the baby before starting your duties. I guess we’ll have to drive separately since you will probably be ready to leave long before I will.”
“Alright, I will be ready in just a few minutes.”
I ran upstairs to finish getting dressed, my hair was almost dry now so I just pulled it up into a ponytail and put on a little make up. I had already had several occasions to lay out this year, so my face was beginning to get that summertime glow and I really didn’t need much make up. I stood at my closet door for much longer than usual trying to decide what to wear. I considered a sundress, but decided against it just in case I wound up doing any bending or stooping while helping Amelia no need to put on a show. Instead I pulled on some jeans and a tank top with a small short periwinkle sweater just in case it got a little cool in the hospital.
My mind was racing during the entire drive to the hospital. I knew I wanted to do this, Eric and I hadn’t exactly parted on very good terms yesterday, so I was a little nervous that he would not give me the chance to make a better impression on him but I needed to try.
When I arrived at the hospital I stopped by the office to fill out the Volunteer forms and then I went straight up to see Tara and the baby. Both were sleeping when I arrived, but Tara woke shortly after I walked in. I handed her the small teddy bear I purchased a couple of weeks ago, grateful I had not waited until closer to her delivery date to shop for a gift. I figured the rest she was getting in the hospital right now was probably the only good rest she would get for awhile, so I used my volunteer responsibilities as an excuse to leave, but I assured her I would be back the next day.
I made my way back down to Amelia’s area over by the nurses’ desk while the kitchen staff was just beginning to roll out the carts with the patient’s meals. After checking in with Amelia, I headed down the hall toward Eric’s room.
I stood outside of his room holding the food tray and with my heart pounding out of my chest, I knocked.
“Come in.” I heard him call in soft voice.
I took a deep breath and crossed the threshold to his room. “Good Afternoon, Mr. Northman.” I decided I’d better address him a little more formally today. “Are you ready for your lunch?”
Instantly his countenance changed from one of peace to pain. “For the love of God Ms. Stackhouse, am I going to have to get a restraining order? Why in the hell are you back in my room?”
“Please Mr. Northman, I know things did not go well yesterday, and I understand that some how I offended you, but I need for you to understand I am sorry, I’m not usually clumsy and I really would like for you to forgive me.” I smiled a sincere smile.
“OK, fine! I forgive you. Now will you please just get out and leave me alone? I don’t think I am hungry anymore.”
He turned his head away from me, but I could hear the hurt in his voice.
A rational person would have just chalk this up to a bad experience and walked away; unfortunately I was rarely accused of being rational. I could not shake the feeling that there was more to this situation and something I could do to help him. Even as a child I was always bringing home strays and my friends often accused me of believing I could fix anybody that was broken. And Eric Northman was broken.
I placed the tray on the bedside table and began to pull it over to the side of the bed. “Look, I’m already here, if you wait for someone else who knows when they will get around to feeding you. Let me help you with lunch, I really want to make it up to you for yesterday.” I was prepare for him to scream at me to get out again, but instead he just sighed heavily and nodded.
“Very well, but I would prefer we do this in silence if it’s all the same to you.”
“As you wish, I won’t speak unless absolutely necessary.”
I quietly finished removing the covers from his food and then went to the sink to get a towel. I came back and spread the towel out over his chest tucking it carefully under his chin and over his shoulders. I leaned over him slightly to reach his right shoulder being mindful of his brace and the straps that lead to the traction unit over his bed. I heard him take a sudden deep breath; I turned quickly to his face, scared that I had accidentally touched him in some way and caused him pain. But his head was leaned back on his pillow; his eyes were closed with a hint of a smile on his face. Why Mr. Northman, did you just sniff me?
“Are you ok, did I hurt you?” In a snap his eyes were open again and any indication of a smile was gone.
“I’m fine Ms. Stackhouse.” Again, with his dismissive tone.
I didn’t bother to tell him what they had sent for his meal, I was determined not to give him any reason to get upset with me again. We sat in silence for about 30 minutes while I fed him. Once he was done, I carefully wiped his mouth fighting the urge to touch it with something other than the napkin; I removed his towel and pushed the table back to the far side of the room. After gathering up all of the trash, I picked up the tray and headed toward the door.
He was staring straight ahead out the window when I stopped to tell him good bye.
“I hope you have pleasant afternoon Mr. Northman, I will see you tomorrow”. He didn’t respond so I turned to leave but took one last look at him and without a doubt saw a small smile on his face.
Ah, Gotcha!
TBC
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Heart's Desire Ch 2
Chapter 2
Oh, My God! Those eyes!
Never in my life had I seen someone so...beautiful!
The normal person would have been taken aback by seeing a huge, 6’4” man with his body almost completely wrapped in plaster from his neck to his toes lying in a bed incased by a monstrous steel frame with bars, chains and straps keeping both legs, his right shoulder and arm suspended in mid air in a pose that could only be described has free falling. But those images barely registered in my mind as being seen at all. No, what caused my sudden intake of air when I cleared the privacy curtain just past his doorway was simply…him! His large frame almost completely dwarfed the hospital bed, yet somehow he looked tiny and defenseless lying there. But those eyes. I had never seen eyes quite that color before. Were they contacts? No. I don’t know how I was sure they weren’t but I just somehow knew he was not the type to indulge in such vanity. Here I stood completely mesmerized by beautiful, radiant pools of sapphires staring up at me with such sadness and vulnerability that I immediately felt the need to comfort him. But in the amount of time it took my audible gasp to leave my lips and reach his ears, they were gone; replaced only by cold, icy blue slits revealing nothing but anger and hurt.
I tried desperately to recover from my ill mannered reaction by plastering on my patented “Crazy Sookie” smile. Way to go Sookie Girl, that’s how you nail a first impression! My Gran would be so disappointed in my apparent lack of proper upbringing. Amelia seemed oblivious to our nanosecond interlude and went about pulling the adjustable table over to the side of the bed for me to place his lunch tray on.
“Mr. Northman, I’ll be back later this afternoon to check on you, in the meanwhile enjoy your lunch and let Sookie know if you need anything else”. Amelia barely finished her statement before she was out the door and headed down the hallway. Thanks Amelia, just leave your girl hanging out here.
I took a deep breath and exhaled.
“Well Eric, do you mind if I call you Eric? I don’t believe I’ve ever fed anyone before, but I’m sure we’ll figure this out.” I said while trying to look helpful and reassuring.
Eric had shifted his gaze and was staring straight ahead out the window. “If you don’t mind, let’s just get this over with.” He stated coldly without even bothering to look my direction.
Ouch!
OK, maybe I deserved that. I’m sure my initial reaction when I walked in the room pissed him off and left him with the wrong impression, but it’s not like I can say “I’m sorry I was so rude when we were first introduced, I thought ogling was the appropriate reaction when meeting a god!” No, I’ll just have to find another way to smooth things over between us; I just have to make it through lunch. Right? Right!
“Alright then, let’s get started.”
After washing my hands at the sink by his bed, I began removing the plastic lids and wraps from his lunch taking extra care not to inadvertently put my finger in something. Years of being a waitress had instilled the importance of cleanliness and being keenly aware of where my fingers were.
“Well, this doesn’t look too terribly awful. It appears that you have turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, carrots with a dinner roll and for dessert, the Pièce de résistance…chocolate pudding!” You know it’s amazing anybody survives a stay in the hospital; the food alone is enough to make someone critically ill and if I wasn’t feeling bad for Eric before, I was now.
“Look Ms. Stackhouse.” Eric finally spoke, louder and definitely more agitated. “If it weren’t for the fact that without consuming the poor excuse for nourishment that this fine establishment you locals so lovingly call a hospital has to offer, I wouldn’t gain enough strength to get my ass discharged and back to Shreveport, we would just forgo this little exercise today. But as it is my most fervent wish to get out of here as quickly as possible, I would appreciate it if you would just cease with the narrations, get me fed and then get the hell out of here!”
Well damn.
“Well, let’s get started then.” I said void of as much emotion as possible.
Maneuvering around to find a comfortable way to do this was not going to be easy. Because his right shoulder and arm were in traction, as well as his legs, I would have to approach him from his left side, which meant it was going to be difficult to feed him with my right hand and since I can barely wave with my left hand, this was not going to be easy but I was bound and determined to do this without causing him any further trauma.
“How do you prefer I do this, do you want one thing at a time or everything together?”
Eric’s eyes flew open wide with the look a shear panic on his face. Poor fella, for a moment there, he thought I was going to try to shove all of this food at him at once. I realized then just how dependent and at my mercy he was and I couldn’t help but feel a little sad for him again.
“No, silly,” I grinned trying to lighten the mood in the room, “I’m not going to heave all this food at you all at once, I was just asking if you preferred to eat one item at a time or would you like for me to rotate the items?”
Eric’s face relaxed somewhat but there was no reprieve in his voice. “Ms. Stackhouse, just put the damn food in my mouth already!”
Alright, now he was pissin’ me off! I knew I had made a bad first impression, but what was his problem? I mean damn, I was volunteering to feed his ass; he didn’t need to go all psycho and shit.
I decided to pull myself together, I was truly too tired to get worked up over this any further. I’m not arrogant, but I have pretty good people skills and now that I’m older people generally like me; I thought his reaction was probably the result of all the medication he was on. At least I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I took a fork full of turkey and dressing and leaned over him to begin feeding and was instantly aware that I was still wearing the exact same close I had been wearing for the last 30 some hours. Well Mr. Wonderful was just going to have to get over it if I didn’t smell like the first rose of spring today.
In order to reach his mouth, I had to lean over the side of the bed somewhat and I could feel the heat from his body up against mine. Nice. Each time I brought the fork to his mouth, I could feel his soft breath on my hand. Sookie, what the hell is your problem? The man’s an invalid for piss-sake. Get it together!
He ate in silence while I watched his mouth slowly and rhythmically chew every bite with fascination. It only took about 15 minutes for him to finish his lunch. I tried to pace each bite so he had ample time to chew and swallow without feeling rushed. It was when we got to dessert that I wished I had spent more time babysitting or feeding babies during my teenage years, maybe then I would have mastered the “spoon swipe”. You know the thing mothers do after they pull the spoon out of the food, where they kind of wipe the bottom of the spoon along the edge of the container to remove any remnant that would drop off? Yeah, that. Well I did not possess that skill yet so the very first spoonful of pudding that I pull out of the bowl was followed with a loud “splat”! Did I mention that Eric is lying in bed without a shirt or hospital gown on? I looked down in complete embarrassment at the large brown splatter on his chest. Well no good deed goes unpunished.
Apparently I had been staring longer than I realized because it took Eric’s voice to break my distraction.
“Ms. Stackhouse, in the name of all that is Holy; will you please get this off of me and then get the hell out of my room?”
“Oh Eric, I’m so sorry! I will get that off of you right away, just let me get a wash cloth so you don’t end up with a sticky spot.” Great, and just when we were becoming such good friends. Will this day never end?
I quickly got him cleaned up. I moved the table back over to the wall and picked up the tray and walked to the door.
“Eric again, I am so sorry for spilling the pudding, I hope you’ll forgive me.” I really did want him to forgive me, it was an accident, but he had obviously been through enough lately without having something as stupid as this happen to him.
“Ms. Stackhouse, Leave!”
TBC
Oh, My God! Those eyes!
Never in my life had I seen someone so...beautiful!
The normal person would have been taken aback by seeing a huge, 6’4” man with his body almost completely wrapped in plaster from his neck to his toes lying in a bed incased by a monstrous steel frame with bars, chains and straps keeping both legs, his right shoulder and arm suspended in mid air in a pose that could only be described has free falling. But those images barely registered in my mind as being seen at all. No, what caused my sudden intake of air when I cleared the privacy curtain just past his doorway was simply…him! His large frame almost completely dwarfed the hospital bed, yet somehow he looked tiny and defenseless lying there. But those eyes. I had never seen eyes quite that color before. Were they contacts? No. I don’t know how I was sure they weren’t but I just somehow knew he was not the type to indulge in such vanity. Here I stood completely mesmerized by beautiful, radiant pools of sapphires staring up at me with such sadness and vulnerability that I immediately felt the need to comfort him. But in the amount of time it took my audible gasp to leave my lips and reach his ears, they were gone; replaced only by cold, icy blue slits revealing nothing but anger and hurt.
I tried desperately to recover from my ill mannered reaction by plastering on my patented “Crazy Sookie” smile. Way to go Sookie Girl, that’s how you nail a first impression! My Gran would be so disappointed in my apparent lack of proper upbringing. Amelia seemed oblivious to our nanosecond interlude and went about pulling the adjustable table over to the side of the bed for me to place his lunch tray on.
“Mr. Northman, I’ll be back later this afternoon to check on you, in the meanwhile enjoy your lunch and let Sookie know if you need anything else”. Amelia barely finished her statement before she was out the door and headed down the hallway. Thanks Amelia, just leave your girl hanging out here.
I took a deep breath and exhaled.
“Well Eric, do you mind if I call you Eric? I don’t believe I’ve ever fed anyone before, but I’m sure we’ll figure this out.” I said while trying to look helpful and reassuring.
Eric had shifted his gaze and was staring straight ahead out the window. “If you don’t mind, let’s just get this over with.” He stated coldly without even bothering to look my direction.
Ouch!
OK, maybe I deserved that. I’m sure my initial reaction when I walked in the room pissed him off and left him with the wrong impression, but it’s not like I can say “I’m sorry I was so rude when we were first introduced, I thought ogling was the appropriate reaction when meeting a god!” No, I’ll just have to find another way to smooth things over between us; I just have to make it through lunch. Right? Right!
“Alright then, let’s get started.”
After washing my hands at the sink by his bed, I began removing the plastic lids and wraps from his lunch taking extra care not to inadvertently put my finger in something. Years of being a waitress had instilled the importance of cleanliness and being keenly aware of where my fingers were.
“Well, this doesn’t look too terribly awful. It appears that you have turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, carrots with a dinner roll and for dessert, the Pièce de résistance…chocolate pudding!” You know it’s amazing anybody survives a stay in the hospital; the food alone is enough to make someone critically ill and if I wasn’t feeling bad for Eric before, I was now.
“Look Ms. Stackhouse.” Eric finally spoke, louder and definitely more agitated. “If it weren’t for the fact that without consuming the poor excuse for nourishment that this fine establishment you locals so lovingly call a hospital has to offer, I wouldn’t gain enough strength to get my ass discharged and back to Shreveport, we would just forgo this little exercise today. But as it is my most fervent wish to get out of here as quickly as possible, I would appreciate it if you would just cease with the narrations, get me fed and then get the hell out of here!”
Well damn.
“Well, let’s get started then.” I said void of as much emotion as possible.
Maneuvering around to find a comfortable way to do this was not going to be easy. Because his right shoulder and arm were in traction, as well as his legs, I would have to approach him from his left side, which meant it was going to be difficult to feed him with my right hand and since I can barely wave with my left hand, this was not going to be easy but I was bound and determined to do this without causing him any further trauma.
“How do you prefer I do this, do you want one thing at a time or everything together?”
Eric’s eyes flew open wide with the look a shear panic on his face. Poor fella, for a moment there, he thought I was going to try to shove all of this food at him at once. I realized then just how dependent and at my mercy he was and I couldn’t help but feel a little sad for him again.
“No, silly,” I grinned trying to lighten the mood in the room, “I’m not going to heave all this food at you all at once, I was just asking if you preferred to eat one item at a time or would you like for me to rotate the items?”
Eric’s face relaxed somewhat but there was no reprieve in his voice. “Ms. Stackhouse, just put the damn food in my mouth already!”
Alright, now he was pissin’ me off! I knew I had made a bad first impression, but what was his problem? I mean damn, I was volunteering to feed his ass; he didn’t need to go all psycho and shit.
I decided to pull myself together, I was truly too tired to get worked up over this any further. I’m not arrogant, but I have pretty good people skills and now that I’m older people generally like me; I thought his reaction was probably the result of all the medication he was on. At least I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I took a fork full of turkey and dressing and leaned over him to begin feeding and was instantly aware that I was still wearing the exact same close I had been wearing for the last 30 some hours. Well Mr. Wonderful was just going to have to get over it if I didn’t smell like the first rose of spring today.
In order to reach his mouth, I had to lean over the side of the bed somewhat and I could feel the heat from his body up against mine. Nice. Each time I brought the fork to his mouth, I could feel his soft breath on my hand. Sookie, what the hell is your problem? The man’s an invalid for piss-sake. Get it together!
He ate in silence while I watched his mouth slowly and rhythmically chew every bite with fascination. It only took about 15 minutes for him to finish his lunch. I tried to pace each bite so he had ample time to chew and swallow without feeling rushed. It was when we got to dessert that I wished I had spent more time babysitting or feeding babies during my teenage years, maybe then I would have mastered the “spoon swipe”. You know the thing mothers do after they pull the spoon out of the food, where they kind of wipe the bottom of the spoon along the edge of the container to remove any remnant that would drop off? Yeah, that. Well I did not possess that skill yet so the very first spoonful of pudding that I pull out of the bowl was followed with a loud “splat”! Did I mention that Eric is lying in bed without a shirt or hospital gown on? I looked down in complete embarrassment at the large brown splatter on his chest. Well no good deed goes unpunished.
Apparently I had been staring longer than I realized because it took Eric’s voice to break my distraction.
“Ms. Stackhouse, in the name of all that is Holy; will you please get this off of me and then get the hell out of my room?”
“Oh Eric, I’m so sorry! I will get that off of you right away, just let me get a wash cloth so you don’t end up with a sticky spot.” Great, and just when we were becoming such good friends. Will this day never end?
I quickly got him cleaned up. I moved the table back over to the wall and picked up the tray and walked to the door.
“Eric again, I am so sorry for spilling the pudding, I hope you’ll forgive me.” I really did want him to forgive me, it was an accident, but he had obviously been through enough lately without having something as stupid as this happen to him.
“Ms. Stackhouse, Leave!”
TBC
Heart's Desire Ch 1
Chapter One
“She is beautiful!” I told Tara through tearful eyes.
I was having a hard time expressing my feelings at that moment. Tara had been my best friend for almost as long as I could remember, all too often she had been my only friend. Although my grandmother loved me and Jason, my womanizing brother, with all of her heart, the loss of my parents was hard and not a lot of children were willing to overlook my unprovoked fits of rage when grief would rear its ugly head. It was not surprising when I was bestowed the name “Crazy Sookie”; I would have probably described myself that way too back then. Tara, however, seemed to see through all that, maybe because she had her own demons, but for whatever reason, we became best friends and we have been so ever since.
And now here we were celebrating the birth of her first child. Little Nava had been born 7 weeks premature, but she was perfect. We had all breathed a collective sigh of relief when the doctor told us that although she was definitely small and would have to stay in the hospital for a few weeks to get her weight up, she would be fine.
Everyone had been at my house for a late spring BBQ when Tara’s water broke, she was not due for almost another 2 months and her panic stricken face said it all. I quickly wrapped her in an old afghan from the back of the couch that everyone complains is hideous, but I love it for sentimental reasons, and helped JB get her into his car. Jason and I followed close behind them to the hospital (if you can call a 32 room facility a hospital). Bon Temps is a small town with small resources, the hospital is not much to speak of, but they can usually stabilize a patient well enough to get them transferred to one of the bigger hospitals in Shreveport or New Orleans. Fortunately their neo natal unit is pretty impressive so Tara was in good hands.
It was almost lunchtime the next day when we finally decided to leave Tara so she could get some rest, my adrenalin rush was wearing off and if I was tired, I knew Tara had to be exhausted. I kissed both of them on the forehead and made my way out of the room. Hoyt had come by earlier and picked up Jason, so I could head straight home to bed, fortunately I had the dinner shift at Merlotte’s and I had some time to take a nap before having to be lucid again.
I stepped out of the elevator and almost ran smack into my housemate.
“Hey chic, where are you off to in such a hurry?”
“I’m so sorry Sookie, I didn’t mean to run over you, we are swamped here today and I’m bustin’ my ass to get these patients their lunch served before it’s dinner time.”
“Did everyone call in sick?” I smiled at my poor attempt at hospital humor. Amelia was not fazed.
“No, it’s been like this for a couple of months now; with the economy so bad and the nursing shortage, almost our entire nursing staff has moved to Shreveport. Add to that the lack of volunteers due to schools being out on vacation, and we hardly have the manpower needed to get the trash cans emptied”.
Amelia was good people. She came from money, but you would never know it to see her. She had relocated to Bon Temps from New Orleans during Katrina although with her family’s money she hardly needed to be evacuated, she could have gone anywhere during the recovery, but felt she could be of assistance and signed up to help the Red Cross and FEMA. It was during this time that she and I met. I had just lost my grandmother, my last living parental figure, and I needed something to get my mind off of my problems so I threw myself into helping others get over theirs. She and I became fast friends and I offered to let her move into my home to help drown out the silence of being the only one in that big old house and that’s where she has lived since. She had been a great friend to me and I would do anything for her which is why I shouldn’t have been surprised when through my sleepy eyes I asked, “is there something I can do to help?”
Oh please, oh please say ‘no’.
“Oh Sookie, I love you, are you sure you’re not too tired?” She asked while pulling me down the hall not waiting for a response. “I could really use your help getting some patients fed”.
OK, well at least it’s not bedpan duty, I thought, I can do this, I’m a waitress for Pete’s sake, I can sling grub with the best of them!
“Sure, just show me what I need to do”.
She led me further down the hall to the last section of rooms at the end and stopped outside of one of the room to pull a tray of food from the large rolling cart stationed in the hallway.
“Here is the food for the patient in Room 29B, he’s recovering from a bad accident and is his injuries make it impossible to feed himself right now, so if you will just help him with that I will love you forever!”
Wait! What? Did she say I was feeding this guy??
“Amelia, wait! I can’t feed someone! I thought you needed me to pass out the trays! I don’t know anything about feeding somebody. Here, you take the tray and you feed him, give me something else to do to help you.”
“Sookie, please; I need you to do this for me. I have too many other things that need my attention right now; I don’t have time to sit with him for an hour while he eats. You’ve got to help me out here. Pleeeease?”
Jeez, how could I say no to that face? I could see in her eyes just how desperate she was for my help so I knew I couldn’t turn her down.
“OK, Amelia, but I get to pick the flick for the next 2 movie nights.” I stated I might as well get something out of this deal.
“Deal! Thanks Sookie, you’re a lifesaver!”
We walked over to the door to 29B and Amelia knocked a couple of times on the door, to warn the patient inside we were coming in. I can only imagine some of the sights you could walk in on in a hospital; I hoped we gave this guy enough notification.
“Sookie Stackhouse, this is Eric Northman. Eric, Sookie will be helping you with your lunch today, is that OK with you?”
I rounded the corner of the room and looked up to see who was going to be my lunch date today and OH MY GOD!
TBC
“She is beautiful!” I told Tara through tearful eyes.
I was having a hard time expressing my feelings at that moment. Tara had been my best friend for almost as long as I could remember, all too often she had been my only friend. Although my grandmother loved me and Jason, my womanizing brother, with all of her heart, the loss of my parents was hard and not a lot of children were willing to overlook my unprovoked fits of rage when grief would rear its ugly head. It was not surprising when I was bestowed the name “Crazy Sookie”; I would have probably described myself that way too back then. Tara, however, seemed to see through all that, maybe because she had her own demons, but for whatever reason, we became best friends and we have been so ever since.
And now here we were celebrating the birth of her first child. Little Nava had been born 7 weeks premature, but she was perfect. We had all breathed a collective sigh of relief when the doctor told us that although she was definitely small and would have to stay in the hospital for a few weeks to get her weight up, she would be fine.
Everyone had been at my house for a late spring BBQ when Tara’s water broke, she was not due for almost another 2 months and her panic stricken face said it all. I quickly wrapped her in an old afghan from the back of the couch that everyone complains is hideous, but I love it for sentimental reasons, and helped JB get her into his car. Jason and I followed close behind them to the hospital (if you can call a 32 room facility a hospital). Bon Temps is a small town with small resources, the hospital is not much to speak of, but they can usually stabilize a patient well enough to get them transferred to one of the bigger hospitals in Shreveport or New Orleans. Fortunately their neo natal unit is pretty impressive so Tara was in good hands.
It was almost lunchtime the next day when we finally decided to leave Tara so she could get some rest, my adrenalin rush was wearing off and if I was tired, I knew Tara had to be exhausted. I kissed both of them on the forehead and made my way out of the room. Hoyt had come by earlier and picked up Jason, so I could head straight home to bed, fortunately I had the dinner shift at Merlotte’s and I had some time to take a nap before having to be lucid again.
I stepped out of the elevator and almost ran smack into my housemate.
“Hey chic, where are you off to in such a hurry?”
“I’m so sorry Sookie, I didn’t mean to run over you, we are swamped here today and I’m bustin’ my ass to get these patients their lunch served before it’s dinner time.”
“Did everyone call in sick?” I smiled at my poor attempt at hospital humor. Amelia was not fazed.
“No, it’s been like this for a couple of months now; with the economy so bad and the nursing shortage, almost our entire nursing staff has moved to Shreveport. Add to that the lack of volunteers due to schools being out on vacation, and we hardly have the manpower needed to get the trash cans emptied”.
Amelia was good people. She came from money, but you would never know it to see her. She had relocated to Bon Temps from New Orleans during Katrina although with her family’s money she hardly needed to be evacuated, she could have gone anywhere during the recovery, but felt she could be of assistance and signed up to help the Red Cross and FEMA. It was during this time that she and I met. I had just lost my grandmother, my last living parental figure, and I needed something to get my mind off of my problems so I threw myself into helping others get over theirs. She and I became fast friends and I offered to let her move into my home to help drown out the silence of being the only one in that big old house and that’s where she has lived since. She had been a great friend to me and I would do anything for her which is why I shouldn’t have been surprised when through my sleepy eyes I asked, “is there something I can do to help?”
Oh please, oh please say ‘no’.
“Oh Sookie, I love you, are you sure you’re not too tired?” She asked while pulling me down the hall not waiting for a response. “I could really use your help getting some patients fed”.
OK, well at least it’s not bedpan duty, I thought, I can do this, I’m a waitress for Pete’s sake, I can sling grub with the best of them!
“Sure, just show me what I need to do”.
She led me further down the hall to the last section of rooms at the end and stopped outside of one of the room to pull a tray of food from the large rolling cart stationed in the hallway.
“Here is the food for the patient in Room 29B, he’s recovering from a bad accident and is his injuries make it impossible to feed himself right now, so if you will just help him with that I will love you forever!”
Wait! What? Did she say I was feeding this guy??
“Amelia, wait! I can’t feed someone! I thought you needed me to pass out the trays! I don’t know anything about feeding somebody. Here, you take the tray and you feed him, give me something else to do to help you.”
“Sookie, please; I need you to do this for me. I have too many other things that need my attention right now; I don’t have time to sit with him for an hour while he eats. You’ve got to help me out here. Pleeeease?”
Jeez, how could I say no to that face? I could see in her eyes just how desperate she was for my help so I knew I couldn’t turn her down.
“OK, Amelia, but I get to pick the flick for the next 2 movie nights.” I stated I might as well get something out of this deal.
“Deal! Thanks Sookie, you’re a lifesaver!”
We walked over to the door to 29B and Amelia knocked a couple of times on the door, to warn the patient inside we were coming in. I can only imagine some of the sights you could walk in on in a hospital; I hoped we gave this guy enough notification.
“Sookie Stackhouse, this is Eric Northman. Eric, Sookie will be helping you with your lunch today, is that OK with you?”
I rounded the corner of the room and looked up to see who was going to be my lunch date today and OH MY GOD!
TBC
Northman and the Nanny Ch 2
Chapter 2
EPOV
“Good morning cousin.” Bill said as he walked in to my office and placed a much appreciated cup of coffee on my desk.
“Morning…thanks.” I said barely getting my words out before putting the cup to my lips.
“Hey, did you hear the Threewitt-McKinney case settled?” He continued.
“Thank God. I understand why we do pro-bono cases, and I’m glad that we do but timing would have been really bad had that case gone to trial. It was a drain on resources we didn’t need right now.”
“Yeah, but have you noticed, somehow all those pro-bono cases seem to work out. I don’t know it may be corny but you have to wonder if it’s the universes way of saying thanks for helping these people out.”
“Hmm…I don’t know, could be.” I said somewhat absentmindedly as I pulled up my schedule for the day.
“So I see we have two more nanny interviews today. Anyone look promising?” I knew as soon as the words left my mouth I was about to catch hell.
“As opposed to 15 promising applicants you have already interviewed?” Bill quipped.
“I know, I know man…I’m sorry. It’s just so damn hard… I mean what if I choose the wrong one? I don’t want to keep putting Holly through stranger after stranger. I just want to make the right decision the first time and I just haven’t felt like any of the previous applicants were the right decision.”
I hated how whiney my voice sounded but I suppose I was having a pity party. I was pissed. Pissed that I was having to make these decisions alone. Pissed that Holly didn’t have a mother that loved and cared for her enough not to make these decisions necessary in the first place and most of all pissed that I had ever I loved that woman to begin with. OK scratch that last one. If I had never loved her then I would not have Holly and although the last two years of my life have been nothing short of pure hell, I would gladly do it all over again just for the love of that little girl.
“Eric you don’t have to justify yourself to me. I’m sorry about what I said yesterday, I was out of line. This is a big decision and it was wrong of me to make you defend your decisions. Look, when it’s the right one, you’ll know.”
“Yeah, well I thought I had the right one.” I said a little more sarcastic than I intended.
“Eric, don’t start that. You know Amelia would have never put you in this situation if she didn’t feel like it was something she absolutely had to do.”
Amelia was Bills wife of five years and one of my best friends for the last eight. She and I met in college and hit it off right away; we dated briefly but mutually decided we were more suited to just be friends. We saw each other through countless bad dates and bad relationships each leaning on the other when necessary. Shortly after I got engaged to She Who Will Not Be Named, I introduced Amelia to Bill and at the risk of sounding cliché; it was love at first sight for the two of them. A year later they were married and a short year after that she found out she would never be able to bear children, a fact that was even more devastating to her since SWWNBN was due any day with our child.
Once Holly was born, I feared Amelia would shun us because being around a baby would just be too painful for her but she surprised all of us with the exact opposite reaction. Instead, Amelia was, and still is for that matter, the most doting person in Holly’s life, outside of me of course. She spent countless hours at our house when Holly first came home from the hospital; she volunteered anytime we were in need of a babysitter and often came to spend time with Holly while I was at work just to give my wife a break. The devotion she showed toward my child was nothing short of that which a mother would possess. So when She Who Will Not Be Named decided she no longer wanted to be a mother or a wife and I found myself with a job that required sixty or more hours a week and a 2 ½ year old that required 168 hours a week, Amelia was the logical choice to step in and take care of Holly. Which is exactly what she did for the next year and a half.
During that entire time I never once had to wonder or worry whether my daughter was safe and happy, I knew Amelia was the one other person that would gladly lay down her own life for the safety and care of my child. So imagine my devastation when she announced she and Bill were planning to adopt, a process they were expecting to take about two years to complete and she felt like she needed to go back to work now while she could because she didn’t plan to work after the arrival of their child. I admit I struggled with her decision and was bitter at first; I knew they didn’t need the money so I didn’t understand her need to return to the workforce for only two years but soon realized it was not my place to determine what it takes to make another’s life fulfilling.
“I know man, I just miss the peace of knowing Holly was safe and happy. But Amelia’s going to make a fantastic mother and she deserves to do whatever is going to make her happy. I’m just so glad she was there for me as long as she was.”
“She’s still there for you, cuz.”
“I know.” I agreed. “So who do we have today?”
“Well, Ms. Stackhouse is your first one; she’s scheduled for 10 a.m. She’s probably the youngest applicant we’ve had. Apparently she is working on her Master’s over at the University.”
“A student? Are you crazy? Look, I know you think I’m trying to find someone from the Geritol Gang for this job, but a student?” I said incredulously.
“I don’t know man, I wouldn’t discount her, she has everything you were looking for except for age and experience, but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t do a good job. Besides I was really impressed with her cover letter. She’s very articulate and professional. Just hear her out and interview her with an open mind, what do you have to lose?”
“An hour of precious time I will never get back.” I mumbled.
“Eric.” Bill said with a stern look.
“Ok…ok…what about after that one?”
“Yeah, I have Mrs. Bingham scheduled at 2:00, she looks okay on paper but Ms. Stackhouse is the better of the two in my opinion.” My cousin was nothing if not persistent.
Bill left my office saying he would return at 10:00 with the first interviewee of the day and I spent the next couple of hours reviewing my case load and sorting out my calendar.
I was lost in reviewing judge’s orders when I heard Bill knock on the door again sometime later.
“Eric, Ms. Stackhouse is here are you ready for her now?”
“Sure, come on in.”
Bill barely waited for my response before coming into the office with Ms. Stackhouse close behind and immediately I was struck by her professional appearance. After interviewing law clerks, interns and such, I had become accustomed to the fact that people just did not bother to dress up any more. The definition of business casual had quickly morphed into jeans without holes and t-shirts sans obscenities, no one bothered to dress to impress these days. So the fact that she came in dressed in a nice fashionable suit, as opposed to one three years old pulled out from the back of the closet for interviews and funerals, already scored her points in my book.
“Ms. Stackhouse, this is Eric Northman. Eric this is Ms. Sookie Stackhouse.” Bill made the introductions as he handed me her resume and took a seat on the couch in the back of the office.
“Nice to meet you Ms. Stackhouse.” I said while offering my hand.
“Nice to meet you sir, but please call me Sookie.” She said shaking my hand confidently.
“Thank you Sookie, please have a seat.” I motioned to the seat in front of my desk and I took a moment to review her resume while she got situated.
“So Sookie, while don’t you tell me about yourself and why you are interested in this position.” I started.
“Well, I’m 23 years old and a student at the university currently working on my Master’s in English Literature. I plan to pursue a career in writing but right now I would like to find stable full time employment that did not require me working until all hours of the morning in a restaurant or at a bar on a continuous basis. I am a certified lifeguard and have my CPR certification and unlike most people, I’ve actually had to use my skills.” She paused when she saw the questioning look on my face.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I’m from a small town about 90 miles southeast from here and we rely primarily on volunteers for fire and rescue and I have been a volunteer with my home town squad since my junior year in high school. So I not only know how to handle an emergency situation, I have actually done it on a few occasions.”
“Look, I’m sure you’ve heard this multiple times during your interviews, but I’m good with children, but more importantly, I actually enjoy being around them. I am a dedicated, loyal employee. I’m responsible and I’m a hard worker and I think you would be happy with my service in this position if you give me the opportunity.”
I was impressed, as much as I didn’t want to be, she had spoken confidently and without begging or false bravado. I was still gathering my thoughts, when Bill spoke up.
“Ms. Stackhouse, you realize our main concern is the well being of the child. It is important to us that we not only make the right selection, but also that we don’t put Holly in a situation where she gets attached to someone and then have them leave six months later.”
“I can appreciate that and would expect no less and I assure you that is not my intention. I will tell you I am engaged, however, because my fiancé was needed at the family company he took a year off from school to work, so that put him a year behind me. We have both agreed not to get married until we were both out of school and established and since he is planning to get his Master’s as well, we are looking at least 3 years before any wedding.” She explained.
I couldn’t help but notice her nonchalance about the topic, while most women would be all lit up and excited about discussing their pending nuptials, Sookie seemed somewhat ambivalent about the matter. It made me wonder why they chose to get engaged so soon if the wedding date was so far in the future.
“You know the position is a live-in nanny, depending on my work load, some nights can get quite late as well as some pretty early mornings, not to mention the occasional trip out of town. Are up for that level of obligation?” I continued.
“I am. My fiancé is on a pretty vigorous school schedule and between that and the time he spends at his family company, I really don’t see this as a conflict.” She answered.
“Would you be willing to sign a contract with a time commitment?” Bill asked. As an attorney, he knew this type of agreement held little power, but to someone without legal knowledge, the threat of monetary penalty was usually enough to get someone to comply or at least gauge their commitment level.
“If we came to an agreement on all other matters, I would consider a contract, yes sir.” Sookie replied, again her confidence not wavering.
“Well Sookie, I appreciate you taking the time to come in this morning. We have a few more interviews we need to conduct, but we are hoping to make a decision soon. Once we have made our decision you will be notified either way, okay?”
“Thank you Mr. Northman, I appreciate the opportunity to have met with you and regardless of your decision, I wish you luck and I hope to hear from you soon.” She said while standing and offering her hand to me.
I shook her hand then Bill escorted her out of the office but was back in just a few minutes.
“So?” He asked walking back through the door.
“Well, I have to admit I admire her confidence. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and she knows what she wants. I think she could have a positive influence on Holly. But I’ve got to tell you, the idea of going through this again in two or three years makes me nauseous.” I groaned.
“First of all, you have no guarantee that any of the applicants, young or old are going to stay for more than two years and second of all, do you really see yourself still single by then? I mean you could fall in love and be married inside of a year and not have the need for a nanny anymore.”
“Not bloody likely.” I snapped, the idea of remarrying making me almost as queasy.
“Well, I like her, I think she would be great for Holly, but this is your decision. Anyway, we have another interview at 2:00, I’ll see you then.”
Ugh, this was going to be a long day.
SPOV
I got home after the interview feeling pretty good about how things went, but dreading the waiting game that had just started. I decided to get some laundry started and clean a little before lunch.
After lunch I was in desperate need of a distraction so I grabbed my books and Ipod and headed to the library. It was about 3:00 when I felt my cell phone vibrate, I knew even without looking that it was Sam, his last class had ended and now he would head over to ‘Merlotte and Son’ to work. I quickly got up and made my way outside not wanting to disturb the others in the library before I opened my phone to answer.
“So?” He asked without even a ‘hello’.
“So what?” I could be just as cryptic.
“Damn it Sookie, how did the interview go?” His frustration more than obvious.
“It was fine.”
“Just fine?”
“What do you want me to say Sam? I liked them…I think they liked me, but did I get the job… I don’t know!” I hoped he could hear my frustration too.
“I just don’t understand why you are so hellbent on this, why this job?” He snapped.
“Sam, we have been over this a dozen times. This would be the best option for me both for my schedule and for my checking account. I don’t know why you’re having such a hard time understanding that!” I was really getting pissed.
“Sookie I have told you before, money is not an issue; I will gladly support you while you finish school. You can go ahead and move in with me and then you can just concentrate on your classes and writing.”
“But I don’t want you supporting me financially; I need to make my own way. Why can you see that?” I could feel my nails digging into my flesh as my hand was squeezed tightly into a fist.
“I’ll be supporting you after we get married, I don’t see what the big deal is about me supporting you now.”
“Who said you will be supporting me after we’re married? I don’t want you supporting me then either.” I was sure I was drawing blood in the palm of my hand by now.
“Look Sookie will talk about this more later. But in the mean time, if it’s offered, I don’t want you to take that job.”
“Well Sam, unfortunately that is not your decision to make. I’m going back to the library; I’ll talk to you later.” I said as I hung up the phone not giving him the opportunity to respond. I knew he was going to be pissed, but tough! I was pissed too.
I looked around, grateful that the crowd outside the library was lighter on Friday afternoons, at least there were less people to witness my meltdown on the phone. As I turned to go back into the library, I felt my phone vibrate again. I reached to hit “ignore” when I noticed the name on the caller id as ‘Compton and Northman Law Firm’.
“Hello.” I said trying to control my breathing and calm my nerves.
“Sookie?”
“Yes.”
“This is Eric Northman, have I caught you at a bad time?”
“No, this is fine, I’m just a little surprised to be hearing from you so quickly. I hope that’s not a bad omen.” I said and then I heard him chuckle.
“Not at all. I’m actually calling to offer you the position…that is of course contingent upon things going well when you meet Holly.”
“Are you serious?”
“I am. I understand if you need to take some time to think it over but if you could get back with me as soon as possible, I would appreciate it.”
“Actually Mr. Northman, I’ve already done a lot of thinking about it and if it’s all the same to you I would like to go ahead and accept the position now…of course I understand Holly still has a say in this as well.”
“Great! Well, if you’re free tomorrow, maybe we could get together at some point to go over the details. I could introduce you to Holly and you could see the house and such.”
“Sounds perfect. I’m free all day, so what time would work best for you and Holly.”
“How about 10:00 again, I’ll email you the address and you can just come to the house, does that work?”
“That sounds good. So I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Great Sookie, I’ll see you then.”
Sam, I hope you’ll forgive me.
EPOV
“Good morning cousin.” Bill said as he walked in to my office and placed a much appreciated cup of coffee on my desk.
“Morning…thanks.” I said barely getting my words out before putting the cup to my lips.
“Hey, did you hear the Threewitt-McKinney case settled?” He continued.
“Thank God. I understand why we do pro-bono cases, and I’m glad that we do but timing would have been really bad had that case gone to trial. It was a drain on resources we didn’t need right now.”
“Yeah, but have you noticed, somehow all those pro-bono cases seem to work out. I don’t know it may be corny but you have to wonder if it’s the universes way of saying thanks for helping these people out.”
“Hmm…I don’t know, could be.” I said somewhat absentmindedly as I pulled up my schedule for the day.
“So I see we have two more nanny interviews today. Anyone look promising?” I knew as soon as the words left my mouth I was about to catch hell.
“As opposed to 15 promising applicants you have already interviewed?” Bill quipped.
“I know, I know man…I’m sorry. It’s just so damn hard… I mean what if I choose the wrong one? I don’t want to keep putting Holly through stranger after stranger. I just want to make the right decision the first time and I just haven’t felt like any of the previous applicants were the right decision.”
I hated how whiney my voice sounded but I suppose I was having a pity party. I was pissed. Pissed that I was having to make these decisions alone. Pissed that Holly didn’t have a mother that loved and cared for her enough not to make these decisions necessary in the first place and most of all pissed that I had ever I loved that woman to begin with. OK scratch that last one. If I had never loved her then I would not have Holly and although the last two years of my life have been nothing short of pure hell, I would gladly do it all over again just for the love of that little girl.
“Eric you don’t have to justify yourself to me. I’m sorry about what I said yesterday, I was out of line. This is a big decision and it was wrong of me to make you defend your decisions. Look, when it’s the right one, you’ll know.”
“Yeah, well I thought I had the right one.” I said a little more sarcastic than I intended.
“Eric, don’t start that. You know Amelia would have never put you in this situation if she didn’t feel like it was something she absolutely had to do.”
Amelia was Bills wife of five years and one of my best friends for the last eight. She and I met in college and hit it off right away; we dated briefly but mutually decided we were more suited to just be friends. We saw each other through countless bad dates and bad relationships each leaning on the other when necessary. Shortly after I got engaged to She Who Will Not Be Named, I introduced Amelia to Bill and at the risk of sounding cliché; it was love at first sight for the two of them. A year later they were married and a short year after that she found out she would never be able to bear children, a fact that was even more devastating to her since SWWNBN was due any day with our child.
Once Holly was born, I feared Amelia would shun us because being around a baby would just be too painful for her but she surprised all of us with the exact opposite reaction. Instead, Amelia was, and still is for that matter, the most doting person in Holly’s life, outside of me of course. She spent countless hours at our house when Holly first came home from the hospital; she volunteered anytime we were in need of a babysitter and often came to spend time with Holly while I was at work just to give my wife a break. The devotion she showed toward my child was nothing short of that which a mother would possess. So when She Who Will Not Be Named decided she no longer wanted to be a mother or a wife and I found myself with a job that required sixty or more hours a week and a 2 ½ year old that required 168 hours a week, Amelia was the logical choice to step in and take care of Holly. Which is exactly what she did for the next year and a half.
During that entire time I never once had to wonder or worry whether my daughter was safe and happy, I knew Amelia was the one other person that would gladly lay down her own life for the safety and care of my child. So imagine my devastation when she announced she and Bill were planning to adopt, a process they were expecting to take about two years to complete and she felt like she needed to go back to work now while she could because she didn’t plan to work after the arrival of their child. I admit I struggled with her decision and was bitter at first; I knew they didn’t need the money so I didn’t understand her need to return to the workforce for only two years but soon realized it was not my place to determine what it takes to make another’s life fulfilling.
“I know man, I just miss the peace of knowing Holly was safe and happy. But Amelia’s going to make a fantastic mother and she deserves to do whatever is going to make her happy. I’m just so glad she was there for me as long as she was.”
“She’s still there for you, cuz.”
“I know.” I agreed. “So who do we have today?”
“Well, Ms. Stackhouse is your first one; she’s scheduled for 10 a.m. She’s probably the youngest applicant we’ve had. Apparently she is working on her Master’s over at the University.”
“A student? Are you crazy? Look, I know you think I’m trying to find someone from the Geritol Gang for this job, but a student?” I said incredulously.
“I don’t know man, I wouldn’t discount her, she has everything you were looking for except for age and experience, but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t do a good job. Besides I was really impressed with her cover letter. She’s very articulate and professional. Just hear her out and interview her with an open mind, what do you have to lose?”
“An hour of precious time I will never get back.” I mumbled.
“Eric.” Bill said with a stern look.
“Ok…ok…what about after that one?”
“Yeah, I have Mrs. Bingham scheduled at 2:00, she looks okay on paper but Ms. Stackhouse is the better of the two in my opinion.” My cousin was nothing if not persistent.
Bill left my office saying he would return at 10:00 with the first interviewee of the day and I spent the next couple of hours reviewing my case load and sorting out my calendar.
I was lost in reviewing judge’s orders when I heard Bill knock on the door again sometime later.
“Eric, Ms. Stackhouse is here are you ready for her now?”
“Sure, come on in.”
Bill barely waited for my response before coming into the office with Ms. Stackhouse close behind and immediately I was struck by her professional appearance. After interviewing law clerks, interns and such, I had become accustomed to the fact that people just did not bother to dress up any more. The definition of business casual had quickly morphed into jeans without holes and t-shirts sans obscenities, no one bothered to dress to impress these days. So the fact that she came in dressed in a nice fashionable suit, as opposed to one three years old pulled out from the back of the closet for interviews and funerals, already scored her points in my book.
“Ms. Stackhouse, this is Eric Northman. Eric this is Ms. Sookie Stackhouse.” Bill made the introductions as he handed me her resume and took a seat on the couch in the back of the office.
“Nice to meet you Ms. Stackhouse.” I said while offering my hand.
“Nice to meet you sir, but please call me Sookie.” She said shaking my hand confidently.
“Thank you Sookie, please have a seat.” I motioned to the seat in front of my desk and I took a moment to review her resume while she got situated.
“So Sookie, while don’t you tell me about yourself and why you are interested in this position.” I started.
“Well, I’m 23 years old and a student at the university currently working on my Master’s in English Literature. I plan to pursue a career in writing but right now I would like to find stable full time employment that did not require me working until all hours of the morning in a restaurant or at a bar on a continuous basis. I am a certified lifeguard and have my CPR certification and unlike most people, I’ve actually had to use my skills.” She paused when she saw the questioning look on my face.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I’m from a small town about 90 miles southeast from here and we rely primarily on volunteers for fire and rescue and I have been a volunteer with my home town squad since my junior year in high school. So I not only know how to handle an emergency situation, I have actually done it on a few occasions.”
“Look, I’m sure you’ve heard this multiple times during your interviews, but I’m good with children, but more importantly, I actually enjoy being around them. I am a dedicated, loyal employee. I’m responsible and I’m a hard worker and I think you would be happy with my service in this position if you give me the opportunity.”
I was impressed, as much as I didn’t want to be, she had spoken confidently and without begging or false bravado. I was still gathering my thoughts, when Bill spoke up.
“Ms. Stackhouse, you realize our main concern is the well being of the child. It is important to us that we not only make the right selection, but also that we don’t put Holly in a situation where she gets attached to someone and then have them leave six months later.”
“I can appreciate that and would expect no less and I assure you that is not my intention. I will tell you I am engaged, however, because my fiancé was needed at the family company he took a year off from school to work, so that put him a year behind me. We have both agreed not to get married until we were both out of school and established and since he is planning to get his Master’s as well, we are looking at least 3 years before any wedding.” She explained.
I couldn’t help but notice her nonchalance about the topic, while most women would be all lit up and excited about discussing their pending nuptials, Sookie seemed somewhat ambivalent about the matter. It made me wonder why they chose to get engaged so soon if the wedding date was so far in the future.
“You know the position is a live-in nanny, depending on my work load, some nights can get quite late as well as some pretty early mornings, not to mention the occasional trip out of town. Are up for that level of obligation?” I continued.
“I am. My fiancé is on a pretty vigorous school schedule and between that and the time he spends at his family company, I really don’t see this as a conflict.” She answered.
“Would you be willing to sign a contract with a time commitment?” Bill asked. As an attorney, he knew this type of agreement held little power, but to someone without legal knowledge, the threat of monetary penalty was usually enough to get someone to comply or at least gauge their commitment level.
“If we came to an agreement on all other matters, I would consider a contract, yes sir.” Sookie replied, again her confidence not wavering.
“Well Sookie, I appreciate you taking the time to come in this morning. We have a few more interviews we need to conduct, but we are hoping to make a decision soon. Once we have made our decision you will be notified either way, okay?”
“Thank you Mr. Northman, I appreciate the opportunity to have met with you and regardless of your decision, I wish you luck and I hope to hear from you soon.” She said while standing and offering her hand to me.
I shook her hand then Bill escorted her out of the office but was back in just a few minutes.
“So?” He asked walking back through the door.
“Well, I have to admit I admire her confidence. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and she knows what she wants. I think she could have a positive influence on Holly. But I’ve got to tell you, the idea of going through this again in two or three years makes me nauseous.” I groaned.
“First of all, you have no guarantee that any of the applicants, young or old are going to stay for more than two years and second of all, do you really see yourself still single by then? I mean you could fall in love and be married inside of a year and not have the need for a nanny anymore.”
“Not bloody likely.” I snapped, the idea of remarrying making me almost as queasy.
“Well, I like her, I think she would be great for Holly, but this is your decision. Anyway, we have another interview at 2:00, I’ll see you then.”
Ugh, this was going to be a long day.
SPOV
I got home after the interview feeling pretty good about how things went, but dreading the waiting game that had just started. I decided to get some laundry started and clean a little before lunch.
After lunch I was in desperate need of a distraction so I grabbed my books and Ipod and headed to the library. It was about 3:00 when I felt my cell phone vibrate, I knew even without looking that it was Sam, his last class had ended and now he would head over to ‘Merlotte and Son’ to work. I quickly got up and made my way outside not wanting to disturb the others in the library before I opened my phone to answer.
“So?” He asked without even a ‘hello’.
“So what?” I could be just as cryptic.
“Damn it Sookie, how did the interview go?” His frustration more than obvious.
“It was fine.”
“Just fine?”
“What do you want me to say Sam? I liked them…I think they liked me, but did I get the job… I don’t know!” I hoped he could hear my frustration too.
“I just don’t understand why you are so hellbent on this, why this job?” He snapped.
“Sam, we have been over this a dozen times. This would be the best option for me both for my schedule and for my checking account. I don’t know why you’re having such a hard time understanding that!” I was really getting pissed.
“Sookie I have told you before, money is not an issue; I will gladly support you while you finish school. You can go ahead and move in with me and then you can just concentrate on your classes and writing.”
“But I don’t want you supporting me financially; I need to make my own way. Why can you see that?” I could feel my nails digging into my flesh as my hand was squeezed tightly into a fist.
“I’ll be supporting you after we get married, I don’t see what the big deal is about me supporting you now.”
“Who said you will be supporting me after we’re married? I don’t want you supporting me then either.” I was sure I was drawing blood in the palm of my hand by now.
“Look Sookie will talk about this more later. But in the mean time, if it’s offered, I don’t want you to take that job.”
“Well Sam, unfortunately that is not your decision to make. I’m going back to the library; I’ll talk to you later.” I said as I hung up the phone not giving him the opportunity to respond. I knew he was going to be pissed, but tough! I was pissed too.
I looked around, grateful that the crowd outside the library was lighter on Friday afternoons, at least there were less people to witness my meltdown on the phone. As I turned to go back into the library, I felt my phone vibrate again. I reached to hit “ignore” when I noticed the name on the caller id as ‘Compton and Northman Law Firm’.
“Hello.” I said trying to control my breathing and calm my nerves.
“Sookie?”
“Yes.”
“This is Eric Northman, have I caught you at a bad time?”
“No, this is fine, I’m just a little surprised to be hearing from you so quickly. I hope that’s not a bad omen.” I said and then I heard him chuckle.
“Not at all. I’m actually calling to offer you the position…that is of course contingent upon things going well when you meet Holly.”
“Are you serious?”
“I am. I understand if you need to take some time to think it over but if you could get back with me as soon as possible, I would appreciate it.”
“Actually Mr. Northman, I’ve already done a lot of thinking about it and if it’s all the same to you I would like to go ahead and accept the position now…of course I understand Holly still has a say in this as well.”
“Great! Well, if you’re free tomorrow, maybe we could get together at some point to go over the details. I could introduce you to Holly and you could see the house and such.”
“Sounds perfect. I’m free all day, so what time would work best for you and Holly.”
“How about 10:00 again, I’ll email you the address and you can just come to the house, does that work?”
“That sounds good. So I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Great Sookie, I’ll see you then.”
Sam, I hope you’ll forgive me.
Northman and the Nanny Ch 1
Chapter 1
EPOV
“Thank you Ms. Thompson, we’ll be in touch.” I said for the umpteenth time today.
I could see the growing frustration on Bill’s face but I could really give a shit.
“Damn it Eric! That was the sixteenth applicant this week and the only ones you have even remotely been interested in are the ones that will be eligible for Medicare by the end of the year.” He spat.
“I don’t give a flying fuck how many applicants I have to go through, I will not have my daughter staying with just anybody and certainly not the Jessica Simpson wannabe bimbos you keep bringing in here for me to interview.” I could spit too.
“Look cousin, I love you like a brother, but this has gone beyond ridiculous. We cannot continue having the firm staff look after Holly. They love her, you know they do; but these people went to law school for a reason and I doubt any of them want to add babysitting to their curriculum vitae as one of their job responsibilities while employed here.” He paused behind one of the leather wingback chairs in my office, leaning over the back of it before he started again.
“Listen, you’re one of the most sought after attorneys in the state, hell the country for that matter, but you can’t keep turning down multi-million dollar cases because you don’t have adequate childcare. What are you going to do with the Ferguson case goes to trial in 3 or 4 months? Don’t you think you should find someone now so Holly has time to adjust to them before you are gone for weeks at the time?”
He was right, damn it. Fucker. But it didn’t mean it was any easier to handle.
“I know! I know…damn it! But knowing I am going to have to leave her in the care of a virtual stranger just makes the whole selection process that much more of a challenge. I’ve got to get this right the first time because we really don’t have time for a do-over if I screw it up.” I groaned leaning back in my chair and rubbing my temples praying for some clarity.
“Alright, no worries ok? We still have two more applicants and if neither of these work, then we’ll start again. I don’t want my little cousin staying with just anybody either…we’ll find the right person for her, I promise. Besides in my opinion the interview we have scheduled for tomorrow morning is the best applicant in the lot. She has everything we are looking for and at least on paper, she’s perfect.” Bill said sounding a little more sympathetic to my plight.
“Well I guess we’ll start this again in the morning then. I’m going to go grab Holly and head on out for the evening. This will be the first night this week she’s had a shot at getting to bed at a respectable hour, I’d like to take advantage of it.” I said as I was placing files in my brief case to review at home.
“I don’t blame you. Give her a kiss for me and I will see you in the morning. Goodnight.” Bill said as he made his way to the door.
“Night, Bill…and thanks.”
He didn’t say anything else just a nod of the head to let me know he heard me.
I grabbed my brief case, turned off the desk lamp and made my way down the hall to one of the unused case prep rooms where we had made a space for Holly to be able to draw and play. She had everything that she needed, there was even an old laptop set up so that she could play her favorite computer games but what was intended to be a temporary situation had turned in to a much too familiar routine for the past year.
Hearing voices, I stopped outside of the prep room door to listen.
“So Holly, who has been in to play with you today?” I wasn’t sure but it sounded like Michelle from accounting’s voice.
“Ms. Sue, Ms. Carol and Mrs. Margaret all came in today.” Holly answered sounding like she was calling out the roll.
“Wow. It must be nice to have so many playmates, huh?” Michelle asked her trying to engage her in conversation and I found myself leaning closer to the door so I could hear her response.
“I guess, but no one really gets to stay very long, ‘bout the time we decide what we are going to play with they have to go, so most times I just play by myself.” My daughter answered with painful nonchalance.
Bill was right. This wasn’t fair to Holly, being raised by secretaries and law interns that were roped into doing so because they were too afraid to piss off the boss. She deserved better. My need to keep her with me because of my fear and lack of trust of anyone else had only managed to put her in the exact situation I tried so desperately to avoid.
I made up my mind. Enough dickin’ around. Hopefully one of the applicants tomorrow would have everything I was looking for and if not I’d go back through the previous applicants in earnest and I’d find someone suitable to take care of Holly.
I peeked around the corner and within seconds two of the most beautiful blue eyes spotted me.
“Daddy!” She screamed as she came running full force and jumped into my arms.
“Hey Precious, are you ready to go get some dinner and head home?”
“Can we get pizza?” If I didn’t know better I would swear the child was part Italian.
“Again? We’ve already had pizza once this week.”
“Please?” Like I could say no to those eyes.
“OK, but this is the last time this week. Deal?”
“Deal!” She squealed as she grabbed her things to leave.
I thanked Michelle for her time and Holly grabbed my hand as we headed to the parking garage.
o~O~o
SPOV
“Look Sam, I don’t want to keep going through this. This is would be the perfect set up for me and you know it. The hours are perfect for my classes; I would be able to give up my apartment and no more late nights working while waiting for ‘last call’ before I could drag my ass home to study. The pay is great, not to mention the fact that I won’t have to pay rent any more…this is a dream job and I can’t understand why you don’t see that.” I was getting frustrated with making my usually understanding fiancé understand the value of this opportunity.
“And just where exactly do I fit in to all of this? Huh? I mean I doubt very seriously your new employer would take kindly to sleepovers between his au pair and her fiancé…and don’t give me that shit about the benefit of giving up your apartment, I’ve been asking you to move in with me for over a year now so that dog don’t hunt.” Sam’s expressions always seemed to turn redneck when he was pissed, but he did have some valid arguments.
Sam and I had started dating halfway through my sophomore year at college. We met through mutual friends and since our group was always together, it was almost seamless to fall into a relationship with him. Our connection was perfect, void of all the drama that appeared to plague the relationships of those around us so when he proposed my senior year it just seemed like the natural next step. Accompanying his proposal was a request for us to live together as it seemed wasteful to pay rent on two places when we were always together at one or the others. And while I had accepted his proposal, I had not yet been willing to move in with him a subject that had become the topic of about 90% of our conversations. Sam couldn’t understand my reluctance and honestly I couldn’t explain it to him, it was just not something I could commit to just yet and I planned to explain it to him as soon as I understood it myself.
“Look Sam, having this discussion is ridiculous. I don’t even have the job yet. It’s just an interview and from what I gathered from the agency this man has already gone through more than a dozen applicants already and hasn’t found anyone to his liking, I have no reason to believe I will fare any better.” I could only hope, but honestly if all these others didn’t have what he was looking for then I doubt very seriously I had anything that would appeal to him either.
“So what time is your interview?” Sam asked now trying to sound like he was being supportive.
“Tomorrow morning at 10:00.” I answered skeptically.
“OK, let’s just talk about something else for now.” Ah, so it wasn’t really support more like a covert way of finding out when to postpone the conversation.
Great, either way, tomorrow is going to suck!
TBC
EPOV
“Thank you Ms. Thompson, we’ll be in touch.” I said for the umpteenth time today.
I could see the growing frustration on Bill’s face but I could really give a shit.
“Damn it Eric! That was the sixteenth applicant this week and the only ones you have even remotely been interested in are the ones that will be eligible for Medicare by the end of the year.” He spat.
“I don’t give a flying fuck how many applicants I have to go through, I will not have my daughter staying with just anybody and certainly not the Jessica Simpson wannabe bimbos you keep bringing in here for me to interview.” I could spit too.
“Look cousin, I love you like a brother, but this has gone beyond ridiculous. We cannot continue having the firm staff look after Holly. They love her, you know they do; but these people went to law school for a reason and I doubt any of them want to add babysitting to their curriculum vitae as one of their job responsibilities while employed here.” He paused behind one of the leather wingback chairs in my office, leaning over the back of it before he started again.
“Listen, you’re one of the most sought after attorneys in the state, hell the country for that matter, but you can’t keep turning down multi-million dollar cases because you don’t have adequate childcare. What are you going to do with the Ferguson case goes to trial in 3 or 4 months? Don’t you think you should find someone now so Holly has time to adjust to them before you are gone for weeks at the time?”
He was right, damn it. Fucker. But it didn’t mean it was any easier to handle.
“I know! I know…damn it! But knowing I am going to have to leave her in the care of a virtual stranger just makes the whole selection process that much more of a challenge. I’ve got to get this right the first time because we really don’t have time for a do-over if I screw it up.” I groaned leaning back in my chair and rubbing my temples praying for some clarity.
“Alright, no worries ok? We still have two more applicants and if neither of these work, then we’ll start again. I don’t want my little cousin staying with just anybody either…we’ll find the right person for her, I promise. Besides in my opinion the interview we have scheduled for tomorrow morning is the best applicant in the lot. She has everything we are looking for and at least on paper, she’s perfect.” Bill said sounding a little more sympathetic to my plight.
“Well I guess we’ll start this again in the morning then. I’m going to go grab Holly and head on out for the evening. This will be the first night this week she’s had a shot at getting to bed at a respectable hour, I’d like to take advantage of it.” I said as I was placing files in my brief case to review at home.
“I don’t blame you. Give her a kiss for me and I will see you in the morning. Goodnight.” Bill said as he made his way to the door.
“Night, Bill…and thanks.”
He didn’t say anything else just a nod of the head to let me know he heard me.
I grabbed my brief case, turned off the desk lamp and made my way down the hall to one of the unused case prep rooms where we had made a space for Holly to be able to draw and play. She had everything that she needed, there was even an old laptop set up so that she could play her favorite computer games but what was intended to be a temporary situation had turned in to a much too familiar routine for the past year.
Hearing voices, I stopped outside of the prep room door to listen.
“So Holly, who has been in to play with you today?” I wasn’t sure but it sounded like Michelle from accounting’s voice.
“Ms. Sue, Ms. Carol and Mrs. Margaret all came in today.” Holly answered sounding like she was calling out the roll.
“Wow. It must be nice to have so many playmates, huh?” Michelle asked her trying to engage her in conversation and I found myself leaning closer to the door so I could hear her response.
“I guess, but no one really gets to stay very long, ‘bout the time we decide what we are going to play with they have to go, so most times I just play by myself.” My daughter answered with painful nonchalance.
Bill was right. This wasn’t fair to Holly, being raised by secretaries and law interns that were roped into doing so because they were too afraid to piss off the boss. She deserved better. My need to keep her with me because of my fear and lack of trust of anyone else had only managed to put her in the exact situation I tried so desperately to avoid.
I made up my mind. Enough dickin’ around. Hopefully one of the applicants tomorrow would have everything I was looking for and if not I’d go back through the previous applicants in earnest and I’d find someone suitable to take care of Holly.
I peeked around the corner and within seconds two of the most beautiful blue eyes spotted me.
“Daddy!” She screamed as she came running full force and jumped into my arms.
“Hey Precious, are you ready to go get some dinner and head home?”
“Can we get pizza?” If I didn’t know better I would swear the child was part Italian.
“Again? We’ve already had pizza once this week.”
“Please?” Like I could say no to those eyes.
“OK, but this is the last time this week. Deal?”
“Deal!” She squealed as she grabbed her things to leave.
I thanked Michelle for her time and Holly grabbed my hand as we headed to the parking garage.
o~O~o
SPOV
“Look Sam, I don’t want to keep going through this. This is would be the perfect set up for me and you know it. The hours are perfect for my classes; I would be able to give up my apartment and no more late nights working while waiting for ‘last call’ before I could drag my ass home to study. The pay is great, not to mention the fact that I won’t have to pay rent any more…this is a dream job and I can’t understand why you don’t see that.” I was getting frustrated with making my usually understanding fiancé understand the value of this opportunity.
“And just where exactly do I fit in to all of this? Huh? I mean I doubt very seriously your new employer would take kindly to sleepovers between his au pair and her fiancé…and don’t give me that shit about the benefit of giving up your apartment, I’ve been asking you to move in with me for over a year now so that dog don’t hunt.” Sam’s expressions always seemed to turn redneck when he was pissed, but he did have some valid arguments.
Sam and I had started dating halfway through my sophomore year at college. We met through mutual friends and since our group was always together, it was almost seamless to fall into a relationship with him. Our connection was perfect, void of all the drama that appeared to plague the relationships of those around us so when he proposed my senior year it just seemed like the natural next step. Accompanying his proposal was a request for us to live together as it seemed wasteful to pay rent on two places when we were always together at one or the others. And while I had accepted his proposal, I had not yet been willing to move in with him a subject that had become the topic of about 90% of our conversations. Sam couldn’t understand my reluctance and honestly I couldn’t explain it to him, it was just not something I could commit to just yet and I planned to explain it to him as soon as I understood it myself.
“Look Sam, having this discussion is ridiculous. I don’t even have the job yet. It’s just an interview and from what I gathered from the agency this man has already gone through more than a dozen applicants already and hasn’t found anyone to his liking, I have no reason to believe I will fare any better.” I could only hope, but honestly if all these others didn’t have what he was looking for then I doubt very seriously I had anything that would appeal to him either.
“So what time is your interview?” Sam asked now trying to sound like he was being supportive.
“Tomorrow morning at 10:00.” I answered skeptically.
“OK, let’s just talk about something else for now.” Ah, so it wasn’t really support more like a covert way of finding out when to postpone the conversation.
Great, either way, tomorrow is going to suck!
TBC
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Be Mine
“What are you so chipper about this morning?” Amelia asked somewhat stunned by my cheerful entrance into the kitchen much earlier than usual. Keeping up with the vampires in my life had drastically altered my internal clock; unless I had the lunch shift at Merlotte’s, I hardly rose before noon any more.
Grateful that my witch housemate was an early riser and already had the coffee brewing, I poured myself a cup before responding. “Why I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” I replied in my best Scarlett O’Hara voice.
“Sook, you’re never up this early and if you are you sure as hell ain’t happy about it. You know I’ve been working on a new truth spell, do we need to try it out?” Her lips turned up in a sly grin.
My body released a small shudder as memories of Bob crossed my mind. Being one of Amelia’s test subjects could have less than desirable results. “Hmm…uh, no thanks, I’ll pass”. I put a bagel in the toaster and went to the frig for cream cheese. “I’m just happy, that’s all”. I caught my bagel as it shot from my old toaster with a loud ‘pop’. I really need to replace that thing before it propels my pop tarts across the cemetery to Bill’s one morning. I sat down at the table and began spreading cream cheese on my perfectly torched bagel. Yep, that toaster is history.
“So, what has you so happy?” Amelia jumped down from her perch on the counter and joined me at the table.
“Well, if you must know, I have a date for Valentine’s Day! And while I realize that may be no big deal to you, I’ve never had one before so I’m just a little excited about it.”
“Sookie, that’s great, who’s the lucky guy?” She smirked. Witch. She knew Eric and I had been seeing each other for the last few weeks, although not very often. He had come by shortly after Felipe and his entourage had returned to New Orleans; we talked and agreed to attempt dating for awhile and see where it took us. I was surprised by Eric’s willingness to agree to such a human tradition but he was still quite busy proving his loyalty to the new regime, and I was still trying to reconcile this Eric with ‘my Eric’, so it seemed like a reasonable compromise for now. That decision alone seemed to put my mind at ease, it seemed the less I resisted Eric, the more comfort I took in the connection we shared through the bond.
“Very funny” I said trying to match her sarcasm. “Seriously, I want tonight to be memorable; would you go shopping with me? I want to hit the mall in Shreveport and maybe even Tara’s to find the perfect outfit.”
“Sure sounds like fun, we’ve not gone shopping for awhile it will be great to spend some time together”.
We cleaned the breakfast dishes and got ready to leave. We were in the car and on the road to Shreveport in record time, both of us glad to have some quality girl time together. We shopped for a couple of hours and I found the perfect hot pink dress to wear for the evening with complimenting shoes. We stopped in at a new lingerie shop that was having their grand opening sale and I snagged a cute bra and panty (if another word for ‘swatch’ is panty) set that matched perfectly. Thrilled with my purchases, I suggested we take the rest of the afternoon and get a little pampering. We were able to walk right in and get appointments for manicures and the works at one of the nail salons in the mall and we were doing so well on time I was able to squeeze in a tanning session. Girls gotta take care of her tan.
“So, where is Mr. Tall, Blonde and Breathless taking you this evening?” Amelia asked while mulling over what color polish to select.
“He wouldn’t tell me, he wants it to be a surprise. All I know is that I am to meet him at Fangtasia at 7:00.”
“Wow, Fangtasia? He knows how to plan a good time doesn’t he?”
“No, smartass! It’s Valentine’s Day, they have a big night planned at the bar and he needs to make an appearance for a little while before we start our evening.” Amelia snickered knowing she had pushed just the right button to get a reaction out of me.
We finished up at the mall and headed back to Bon Temps; it was still early so I had time to soak in the tub and leisurely get ready before heading to back to Shreveport. I was really putting the miles on my Malibu today, but I was sure tonight would be worth it.
I arrived a little before 7:00, early by bar standards but Fangtasia already had a large crowd inside and more waiting at the door. Pam greeted me at the front entrance, “Sookie love, you look so tasty all pretty in pink.”
“Thanks, Pam, is he in the office?”
“Oh no, not tonight; he’s sitting up on his throne in all his glory tonight.” She rolled her eyes and continued “He’s been running around giddy as a school girl for the last two nights. I don’t know what he has planned for this evening, but it has him wound a little tight.”
Great,exactly what does that mean? Pam led me in and up to the bar and before my eyes could adjust to the change in lighting, he was there. Pressed gently up against my back with his mouth just behind my ear Eric whispered “Lover, you look absolutely delectable this evening.” What was it with vampires describing me like a buffet? If it were any other vamps, I would wonder if I was going to dinner or if was going to be dinner tonight.
“Thanks Eric, you look quite handsome yourself.” He grinned and raised an eyebrow. Bless his heart; I hope one day he will get over his inferiority complex.
“Come, sit with me on stage.”
Oh I don’t think so, I just bought this dress, I’m not about to have it ripped up by some jealous Fangbangin’ Hoochie. “Eric, you go ahead and do your time on your throne, I really don’t want to start this evening having to fend off evil thoughts. I’ll sit at your table and catch up with Pam for awhile, if that’s OK with you.”
I could tell he was not happy with my suggestion but he decided not to push the issue. He got me a gin and tonic and led me to his table, then gave me a gentle hug and kissed me lightly on the forehead. Oh man he was working it tonight. I was really beginning to get a little nervous about his plans for the evening. He wasn’t being his usual ‘grab me like a caveman, rush me back to his office to have his way with me’ self; no, he was being…what’s the word?...romantic! He held me there for several moments just taking in my scent, which was fine with me because I was inhaling as deeply as I could while still remaining ladylike myself. I was almost already on sensory overload and it was only 7:15, how was I going to survive the night?
“Lover, I promise we will stay not one minute longer than we need to tonight. I want this to be a special evening for you.”
I pushed him toward the front, “You go, do your thing; I’ll be fine.” He raised his eyebrows and started to say something, but again refrained, turned and headed back to the front of the dance floor to his chair. What is up with him?
I sat down at Eric’s table and within a couple of minutes Pam came over and sat across from me. We talked like old friends for awhile, I told her about the new lingerie store at the Shreveport Mall and she agreed she would check it out the next time she was out shopping.
The line of adoring fans, or “vermin” as Pam so lovingly calls them, in front of Eric was growing longer by the minute. One particularly noticeable female had made her way to the front of the line and was being quite loud in her adoration for Eric. I tried to just push her out of my thoughts, but she was getting louder and louder and it was getting harder to ignore. Pam apparently noticed my frustration and her lip turned up in a devilish grin. “Something wrong Sookie?” She asked. I knew she was baiting me and I was not ready to give her the satisfaction of thinking I was in anyway bothered by the tramp.
“No, I’m good.” I said draining the last of my gin and tonic.
“You know, that’s the third time this week that cows been in here, human’s can be so persistent.” Pam continued her attempts to get me worked up, she thrived on drama but I was determined not to give in to her tonight.
“Well, you have to admire her taste, I mean look at him, who wouldn’t want him?” Touchdown! Score one for the away team.
Realizing I was not going to be a willing participant in her fun and games, she backed off. “Aw, Sookie, you know I’m just messing with you. Eric wouldn’t screw her with Bill’s dick!”
“Pam! That is enough!” Pam tried to look shocked by my reaction but within seconds we were both giggling hysterically at the visual image her comment had provided. About that time curiosity got the best of Mr. Northman and he strolled over to the table leaving the offending bovine standing in the middle of the dance floor cursing that she didn’t get “her time” with the Master. Without a glance in her direction, Eric threw his hand up back toward the girl and with a blink of an eye two vampires were at her side and had her silenced while quietly ushering her to the back corner of the bar. I wasn’t sure whether to be glad she was finally out of my line of sight or to be worried about what they were going to do to her.
“She’ll be fine, Lover.” Eric said sensing my concern. “They will buy her a few drinks and before the night is over she will be convinced she got everything she came for this evening.” OK, I was still not getting warm fuzzies from the incident, but I was determined not to dwell on those things tonight.
“Now, what have you two ladies been over here giggling like a couple of school girls about?” Eric wanted to get the conversation back on a more lighthearted topic.
“Nothing Master, just girl talk” Pam answered and we began snickering again.
“Alright” realizing he was not likely to get any where with that line of questioning, Eric moved on to another topic. “Pam, Sookie and I have reservations at 8:30, and we will not likely be back this evening. I know we have a larger than usual crowd, but I’m sure you are capable of taking care of things.”
“Yes Master, everything will be fine. You and Sookie enjoy your evening.” I knew Eric was not leaving Pam without back up, she had mentioned earlier that Eric had called in additional vampires for the evening to help “work the crowd”. Apparently one of the vampires summoned for duty was Bill as he strolled up to the table just as we stood up preparing to leave.
He gave a slight nod to Eric and then to Pam. You could see by the look on Pam’s face that she was still suppressing the urge to laugh and I could already tell it was going to be a very long night for Bill. “Sookie, you look…” please, please don’t describe me as food … as stunning as ever this evening.”
“Thank you Bill, Eric and I have plans this evening and I wanted to look nice.” Bill stiffened a little but smiled and gave me a small nod.
Eric took this as his cue to begin ushering me toward the door. “Compton, I trust you will assist Pam tonight with anything she needs for the bar.”
“Of course.” Bill replied.
Eric placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me toward the office and out the back employee entrance. Once I was in his car and safely buckled in, I was hit with an overwhelming wave of excitement through the bond. I knew that I was excited to be with him tonight but these feelings weren’t coming from me. “Eric, what’s going on, the feelings I’m receiving are like a child waking up to his presents on Christmas morning?”
“Lover, I’m just glad to be with you tonight, I’ve missed you and I have a very special evening planned for us.” He reached over and took my hand softly rubbing his thumb across the back of it.
“So, will you tell me where we are going now?”
“Certainly, we are going to a new restaurant that has recently opened down close to the waterfront. They cater to both human and supes and are rather exclusive. Then I thought we could take a walk down by the water if the weather remains cooperative or you may wish to go back to Bon Temps and show your gift off to your friends.”
Panic! Gift? Once again I was consumed by overpowering feelings, but these were all mine! Oh God, Oh God, what is he doing? It’s only been a few weeks; I’m not ready for that! Oh God, what am I going to tell him? OK, Relax girl, you can handle this. Breathe dammit. I was finally able to get myself under control and begin breathing normally again, I was grateful the he was driving and the car was dark, maybe he didn’t notice the panic stricken look on my face.
“Lover, are you OK? For a moment there it felt like you were going to spontaneously combust. Do you feel alright?”
“I’m fine; I guess I’m just excited about being with you too.”
“Well I don’t think your blood pressure can handle you getting that excited too often, so maybe you should save that for later this evening.” There went those damn eyebrows again.
“I’m fine, really.”
“Good, because we’re here.”
Eric pulled up to valet parking; the doorman opened my door while Eric got out and gave his keys and a tip to the attendant, which from the look on the attendant’s face must have been a really good one. Eric walked around the car, took my arm and headed for the entrance.
The Maitre D recognized Eric immediately. “Mr. Northman, welcome back, your table is ready, right this way.” Welcome back? I thought he said the restaurant recently opened. Just who else has he brought here?
“Welcome back, huh? Bring all your girls here do ya big boy?”Jealousy could take a Southern girl from belle to bitch in 3 seconds flat, and in that moment, belle had left the building.
“Relax Sookie; the owner is a friend of mine. I assisted him with getting this place open, and have been here many times on business. This is the first time I have been here for pleasure.” Alright, when you say pleasure like that …
Our waiter brought our menus over and I realized just how hungry I was. I had not eaten since the burnt offering of a bagel I had consumed late this morning and all of a sudden, I was starving. We placed our orders and I took a look around the room to take in the beautiful décor. The dining area was lit completely with what had to be thousands of tiny candles. They were every where, on the walls, hanging from ceiling in wrought iron fixtures and on free standing candelabras around the room. I could only imagine having the job of lighting them each night. The tables were rich dark woods and the chairs were soft dark leather high backs that helped to give the feel of privacy
“What do you think?”
“Eric it’s beautiful, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any place like this one. Thank you for bringing me here tonight.”
“Glad you like it, now eat your salad; you need to keep your strength up. I don’t want you passing out on me just yet.”
We spent the rest of our meal laughing, talking and enjoying a lighthearted evening together. For the first time in quite awhile, I had been able to completely let down my shields and not worry about having my mind violated by a barrage of jealous, narrow-minded, evil dealing thoughts. I was happy, truly happy.
I looked up at Eric and realized he must have been watching me sitting there with a psycho grin on my face. Yep Crazy Sookie is in the house! “Lover, I don’t know what you are thinking about, but with a look like that, I can only hope it’s me.”
“Who else?”
“Well, I have something I want to give you for our first Valentine’s Day together.”
Oh shit! Please, please don’t let this be what I think it is. Please no little boxes, not yet. It’s too soon! I could feel myself beginning to panic. Things had been going so well, I was happy with the relationship the way it was. Why couldn’t things just stay the same for awhile? Not that I didn’t love Eric and see a future with him, but I was just not ready for everything that would go along with that level of commitment.
“Sookie, I wanted you to have something that would tell everyone that saw it how special you are to me; I want every time you look at it shining there, that you feel the love and appreciation that I have for you.”
“I know how you are about gifts, but I hope on this special occasion, you will accept this in the spirit and love in which it is given”.
He began to slowly reach in his coat pocket and I could feel the biggest rush of panic I have ever experienced. Oh God, please let him pull a toaster out of his pocket. I need a toaster. Eric pulled out the box and pushed it across the table to me. Well, there’s no damn way there’s a toaster in there.
I took a deep breath and slowly opened the box; nothing could have prepared me for what was inside. Eric had given me a key chain! Not your average ordinary key chain; this was a stunning platinum key chain with two small tear drop rubies embedded in it. I would have laughed at the corniness of the sentiment had it not been for the beauty of it. Do they even make platinum key chains? Eric had to have had this made especially for me. Engraved on the front were two words that up until the last few weeks would have made my blood boil, but tonight Be Mine where two of the sweetest words I had ever heard.
I began to giggle. The relief that there had not been jewelry in the box was consuming me and all I could do was giggle.
“Well that was not quite the reaction I was expecting, but at least it appears you are happy with my gift. I must say, you never cease to amaze me Lover.”
“Oh Eric, I’m sorry. It’s beautiful, certainly unexpected, but beautiful nonetheless.”
“Well, I am pleased that it pleases you.”
“It does, again thank you, I love it.”
“Good, then let’s get out of here so I can show it to you.”
“Oh, you want to show it to me now?”
“Of course, aren’t curious to know what color it is?”
Wait! What? “Eric what are you talking about?”
“Your gift. Don’t you even want to know what color it is?”
I grabbed the box again and opened it back up. I had been so stunned by the keychain and relieved that there was not a ring in the box, I had completely overlooked the set of BMW keys beneath the key chain. Eric had bought me a car!
Damn Vampires. I just wanted a toaster!
Grateful that my witch housemate was an early riser and already had the coffee brewing, I poured myself a cup before responding. “Why I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” I replied in my best Scarlett O’Hara voice.
“Sook, you’re never up this early and if you are you sure as hell ain’t happy about it. You know I’ve been working on a new truth spell, do we need to try it out?” Her lips turned up in a sly grin.
My body released a small shudder as memories of Bob crossed my mind. Being one of Amelia’s test subjects could have less than desirable results. “Hmm…uh, no thanks, I’ll pass”. I put a bagel in the toaster and went to the frig for cream cheese. “I’m just happy, that’s all”. I caught my bagel as it shot from my old toaster with a loud ‘pop’. I really need to replace that thing before it propels my pop tarts across the cemetery to Bill’s one morning. I sat down at the table and began spreading cream cheese on my perfectly torched bagel. Yep, that toaster is history.
“So, what has you so happy?” Amelia jumped down from her perch on the counter and joined me at the table.
“Well, if you must know, I have a date for Valentine’s Day! And while I realize that may be no big deal to you, I’ve never had one before so I’m just a little excited about it.”
“Sookie, that’s great, who’s the lucky guy?” She smirked. Witch. She knew Eric and I had been seeing each other for the last few weeks, although not very often. He had come by shortly after Felipe and his entourage had returned to New Orleans; we talked and agreed to attempt dating for awhile and see where it took us. I was surprised by Eric’s willingness to agree to such a human tradition but he was still quite busy proving his loyalty to the new regime, and I was still trying to reconcile this Eric with ‘my Eric’, so it seemed like a reasonable compromise for now. That decision alone seemed to put my mind at ease, it seemed the less I resisted Eric, the more comfort I took in the connection we shared through the bond.
“Very funny” I said trying to match her sarcasm. “Seriously, I want tonight to be memorable; would you go shopping with me? I want to hit the mall in Shreveport and maybe even Tara’s to find the perfect outfit.”
“Sure sounds like fun, we’ve not gone shopping for awhile it will be great to spend some time together”.
We cleaned the breakfast dishes and got ready to leave. We were in the car and on the road to Shreveport in record time, both of us glad to have some quality girl time together. We shopped for a couple of hours and I found the perfect hot pink dress to wear for the evening with complimenting shoes. We stopped in at a new lingerie shop that was having their grand opening sale and I snagged a cute bra and panty (if another word for ‘swatch’ is panty) set that matched perfectly. Thrilled with my purchases, I suggested we take the rest of the afternoon and get a little pampering. We were able to walk right in and get appointments for manicures and the works at one of the nail salons in the mall and we were doing so well on time I was able to squeeze in a tanning session. Girls gotta take care of her tan.
“So, where is Mr. Tall, Blonde and Breathless taking you this evening?” Amelia asked while mulling over what color polish to select.
“He wouldn’t tell me, he wants it to be a surprise. All I know is that I am to meet him at Fangtasia at 7:00.”
“Wow, Fangtasia? He knows how to plan a good time doesn’t he?”
“No, smartass! It’s Valentine’s Day, they have a big night planned at the bar and he needs to make an appearance for a little while before we start our evening.” Amelia snickered knowing she had pushed just the right button to get a reaction out of me.
We finished up at the mall and headed back to Bon Temps; it was still early so I had time to soak in the tub and leisurely get ready before heading to back to Shreveport. I was really putting the miles on my Malibu today, but I was sure tonight would be worth it.
I arrived a little before 7:00, early by bar standards but Fangtasia already had a large crowd inside and more waiting at the door. Pam greeted me at the front entrance, “Sookie love, you look so tasty all pretty in pink.”
“Thanks, Pam, is he in the office?”
“Oh no, not tonight; he’s sitting up on his throne in all his glory tonight.” She rolled her eyes and continued “He’s been running around giddy as a school girl for the last two nights. I don’t know what he has planned for this evening, but it has him wound a little tight.”
Great,exactly what does that mean? Pam led me in and up to the bar and before my eyes could adjust to the change in lighting, he was there. Pressed gently up against my back with his mouth just behind my ear Eric whispered “Lover, you look absolutely delectable this evening.” What was it with vampires describing me like a buffet? If it were any other vamps, I would wonder if I was going to dinner or if was going to be dinner tonight.
“Thanks Eric, you look quite handsome yourself.” He grinned and raised an eyebrow. Bless his heart; I hope one day he will get over his inferiority complex.
“Come, sit with me on stage.”
Oh I don’t think so, I just bought this dress, I’m not about to have it ripped up by some jealous Fangbangin’ Hoochie. “Eric, you go ahead and do your time on your throne, I really don’t want to start this evening having to fend off evil thoughts. I’ll sit at your table and catch up with Pam for awhile, if that’s OK with you.”
I could tell he was not happy with my suggestion but he decided not to push the issue. He got me a gin and tonic and led me to his table, then gave me a gentle hug and kissed me lightly on the forehead. Oh man he was working it tonight. I was really beginning to get a little nervous about his plans for the evening. He wasn’t being his usual ‘grab me like a caveman, rush me back to his office to have his way with me’ self; no, he was being…what’s the word?...romantic! He held me there for several moments just taking in my scent, which was fine with me because I was inhaling as deeply as I could while still remaining ladylike myself. I was almost already on sensory overload and it was only 7:15, how was I going to survive the night?
“Lover, I promise we will stay not one minute longer than we need to tonight. I want this to be a special evening for you.”
I pushed him toward the front, “You go, do your thing; I’ll be fine.” He raised his eyebrows and started to say something, but again refrained, turned and headed back to the front of the dance floor to his chair. What is up with him?
I sat down at Eric’s table and within a couple of minutes Pam came over and sat across from me. We talked like old friends for awhile, I told her about the new lingerie store at the Shreveport Mall and she agreed she would check it out the next time she was out shopping.
The line of adoring fans, or “vermin” as Pam so lovingly calls them, in front of Eric was growing longer by the minute. One particularly noticeable female had made her way to the front of the line and was being quite loud in her adoration for Eric. I tried to just push her out of my thoughts, but she was getting louder and louder and it was getting harder to ignore. Pam apparently noticed my frustration and her lip turned up in a devilish grin. “Something wrong Sookie?” She asked. I knew she was baiting me and I was not ready to give her the satisfaction of thinking I was in anyway bothered by the tramp.
“No, I’m good.” I said draining the last of my gin and tonic.
“You know, that’s the third time this week that cows been in here, human’s can be so persistent.” Pam continued her attempts to get me worked up, she thrived on drama but I was determined not to give in to her tonight.
“Well, you have to admire her taste, I mean look at him, who wouldn’t want him?” Touchdown! Score one for the away team.
Realizing I was not going to be a willing participant in her fun and games, she backed off. “Aw, Sookie, you know I’m just messing with you. Eric wouldn’t screw her with Bill’s dick!”
“Pam! That is enough!” Pam tried to look shocked by my reaction but within seconds we were both giggling hysterically at the visual image her comment had provided. About that time curiosity got the best of Mr. Northman and he strolled over to the table leaving the offending bovine standing in the middle of the dance floor cursing that she didn’t get “her time” with the Master. Without a glance in her direction, Eric threw his hand up back toward the girl and with a blink of an eye two vampires were at her side and had her silenced while quietly ushering her to the back corner of the bar. I wasn’t sure whether to be glad she was finally out of my line of sight or to be worried about what they were going to do to her.
“She’ll be fine, Lover.” Eric said sensing my concern. “They will buy her a few drinks and before the night is over she will be convinced she got everything she came for this evening.” OK, I was still not getting warm fuzzies from the incident, but I was determined not to dwell on those things tonight.
“Now, what have you two ladies been over here giggling like a couple of school girls about?” Eric wanted to get the conversation back on a more lighthearted topic.
“Nothing Master, just girl talk” Pam answered and we began snickering again.
“Alright” realizing he was not likely to get any where with that line of questioning, Eric moved on to another topic. “Pam, Sookie and I have reservations at 8:30, and we will not likely be back this evening. I know we have a larger than usual crowd, but I’m sure you are capable of taking care of things.”
“Yes Master, everything will be fine. You and Sookie enjoy your evening.” I knew Eric was not leaving Pam without back up, she had mentioned earlier that Eric had called in additional vampires for the evening to help “work the crowd”. Apparently one of the vampires summoned for duty was Bill as he strolled up to the table just as we stood up preparing to leave.
He gave a slight nod to Eric and then to Pam. You could see by the look on Pam’s face that she was still suppressing the urge to laugh and I could already tell it was going to be a very long night for Bill. “Sookie, you look…” please, please don’t describe me as food … as stunning as ever this evening.”
“Thank you Bill, Eric and I have plans this evening and I wanted to look nice.” Bill stiffened a little but smiled and gave me a small nod.
Eric took this as his cue to begin ushering me toward the door. “Compton, I trust you will assist Pam tonight with anything she needs for the bar.”
“Of course.” Bill replied.
Eric placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me toward the office and out the back employee entrance. Once I was in his car and safely buckled in, I was hit with an overwhelming wave of excitement through the bond. I knew that I was excited to be with him tonight but these feelings weren’t coming from me. “Eric, what’s going on, the feelings I’m receiving are like a child waking up to his presents on Christmas morning?”
“Lover, I’m just glad to be with you tonight, I’ve missed you and I have a very special evening planned for us.” He reached over and took my hand softly rubbing his thumb across the back of it.
“So, will you tell me where we are going now?”
“Certainly, we are going to a new restaurant that has recently opened down close to the waterfront. They cater to both human and supes and are rather exclusive. Then I thought we could take a walk down by the water if the weather remains cooperative or you may wish to go back to Bon Temps and show your gift off to your friends.”
Panic! Gift? Once again I was consumed by overpowering feelings, but these were all mine! Oh God, Oh God, what is he doing? It’s only been a few weeks; I’m not ready for that! Oh God, what am I going to tell him? OK, Relax girl, you can handle this. Breathe dammit. I was finally able to get myself under control and begin breathing normally again, I was grateful the he was driving and the car was dark, maybe he didn’t notice the panic stricken look on my face.
“Lover, are you OK? For a moment there it felt like you were going to spontaneously combust. Do you feel alright?”
“I’m fine; I guess I’m just excited about being with you too.”
“Well I don’t think your blood pressure can handle you getting that excited too often, so maybe you should save that for later this evening.” There went those damn eyebrows again.
“I’m fine, really.”
“Good, because we’re here.”
Eric pulled up to valet parking; the doorman opened my door while Eric got out and gave his keys and a tip to the attendant, which from the look on the attendant’s face must have been a really good one. Eric walked around the car, took my arm and headed for the entrance.
The Maitre D recognized Eric immediately. “Mr. Northman, welcome back, your table is ready, right this way.” Welcome back? I thought he said the restaurant recently opened. Just who else has he brought here?
“Welcome back, huh? Bring all your girls here do ya big boy?”Jealousy could take a Southern girl from belle to bitch in 3 seconds flat, and in that moment, belle had left the building.
“Relax Sookie; the owner is a friend of mine. I assisted him with getting this place open, and have been here many times on business. This is the first time I have been here for pleasure.” Alright, when you say pleasure like that …
Our waiter brought our menus over and I realized just how hungry I was. I had not eaten since the burnt offering of a bagel I had consumed late this morning and all of a sudden, I was starving. We placed our orders and I took a look around the room to take in the beautiful décor. The dining area was lit completely with what had to be thousands of tiny candles. They were every where, on the walls, hanging from ceiling in wrought iron fixtures and on free standing candelabras around the room. I could only imagine having the job of lighting them each night. The tables were rich dark woods and the chairs were soft dark leather high backs that helped to give the feel of privacy
“What do you think?”
“Eric it’s beautiful, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any place like this one. Thank you for bringing me here tonight.”
“Glad you like it, now eat your salad; you need to keep your strength up. I don’t want you passing out on me just yet.”
We spent the rest of our meal laughing, talking and enjoying a lighthearted evening together. For the first time in quite awhile, I had been able to completely let down my shields and not worry about having my mind violated by a barrage of jealous, narrow-minded, evil dealing thoughts. I was happy, truly happy.
I looked up at Eric and realized he must have been watching me sitting there with a psycho grin on my face. Yep Crazy Sookie is in the house! “Lover, I don’t know what you are thinking about, but with a look like that, I can only hope it’s me.”
“Who else?”
“Well, I have something I want to give you for our first Valentine’s Day together.”
Oh shit! Please, please don’t let this be what I think it is. Please no little boxes, not yet. It’s too soon! I could feel myself beginning to panic. Things had been going so well, I was happy with the relationship the way it was. Why couldn’t things just stay the same for awhile? Not that I didn’t love Eric and see a future with him, but I was just not ready for everything that would go along with that level of commitment.
“Sookie, I wanted you to have something that would tell everyone that saw it how special you are to me; I want every time you look at it shining there, that you feel the love and appreciation that I have for you.”
“I know how you are about gifts, but I hope on this special occasion, you will accept this in the spirit and love in which it is given”.
He began to slowly reach in his coat pocket and I could feel the biggest rush of panic I have ever experienced. Oh God, please let him pull a toaster out of his pocket. I need a toaster. Eric pulled out the box and pushed it across the table to me. Well, there’s no damn way there’s a toaster in there.
I took a deep breath and slowly opened the box; nothing could have prepared me for what was inside. Eric had given me a key chain! Not your average ordinary key chain; this was a stunning platinum key chain with two small tear drop rubies embedded in it. I would have laughed at the corniness of the sentiment had it not been for the beauty of it. Do they even make platinum key chains? Eric had to have had this made especially for me. Engraved on the front were two words that up until the last few weeks would have made my blood boil, but tonight Be Mine where two of the sweetest words I had ever heard.
I began to giggle. The relief that there had not been jewelry in the box was consuming me and all I could do was giggle.
“Well that was not quite the reaction I was expecting, but at least it appears you are happy with my gift. I must say, you never cease to amaze me Lover.”
“Oh Eric, I’m sorry. It’s beautiful, certainly unexpected, but beautiful nonetheless.”
“Well, I am pleased that it pleases you.”
“It does, again thank you, I love it.”
“Good, then let’s get out of here so I can show it to you.”
“Oh, you want to show it to me now?”
“Of course, aren’t curious to know what color it is?”
Wait! What? “Eric what are you talking about?”
“Your gift. Don’t you even want to know what color it is?”
I grabbed the box again and opened it back up. I had been so stunned by the keychain and relieved that there was not a ring in the box, I had completely overlooked the set of BMW keys beneath the key chain. Eric had bought me a car!
Damn Vampires. I just wanted a toaster!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
I Needed It! My First Fanfic
I needed it.
And the bad thing was, he knew it. He knew it, but he was not going to make it easy for me. Eric is nothing if not opportunistic and he was not about to let an occasion to remind me how much I needed him pass by. If I was addicted it was as much his fault as mine. (Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!)
Eric was not my first. No, that distinction belonged to Bill Compton, my neighbor from the other side of the cemetery. Bill had been my first; my first vampire, my first boyfriend (well if you don’t count Peter Sinclair in the second grade) and my first lover. He had been the one to open the windows of this new world to me. I don’t think I will ever forget my first time; I don’t believe anyone does. Mine had been perfect. Bill was acutely aware of my innocence; he had been so gentle and patient with me. Taking his time to bring me along slowly and to allow me to learn at my own pace then encourage me when I initiated a move on my own. If this was a drug, then Bill gave me my first fix. Oh yeah, I needed it.
Bill may have been my first, but he was definitely not the best. Nope. That honor belonged to the big Viking Vampire. Let me explain it this way, you don’t live to be over 1000 years old and not learn a few things. And boy did he know things. Eric is an all or nothing kind of guy; you know the type “anything worth doing is worth doing right”. He’s every cliché or other trite saying you might find on one of those positive thinking posters they put up in company lunch rooms. Eric doesn’t know how to do something “half assed” (and what an ass it is…hmmm…sorry, I got distracted). This was no exception.
Eric had shown me things I never knew existed. The things he could accomplish with his fingers could only be described as phenomenal (word of the day January 26). His experience and assurance instilled confidence in me. I discovered I didn’t have to be in the privacy of my home to experience the pleasure; I occasionally enjoyed doing it in public. That’s right, I, Sookie Stackhouse, telepathic barmaid from Bon Temp, Louisiana had even done it in the public library I had visited almost weekly since the 4th grade. My Gran would be shocked! Yep, I needed it.
But I was being denied. I hated this, I hated being dependent on anyone for anything. He thinks I’m just being stubborn and bullheaded or a pain in the ass but I consider it being independent; after all I am my own woman. But I needed it.
“Eric.” I said more like a moan.
“Yes, My Lover?”
“Eric, please.”
“Please, what Lover?”
“You know what.”
“Yes, I know, but if you want it you’re going to have to ask for it.”
“Eric, don’t do this to me.”
“Lover, nothing gives me more pleasure than to please you. But if you want something you’re going to have to tell me what you want.”
Damn, if I’m going to enjoy my evening, I’m going to have to give in. I needed it.
OK, OK! “Eric will you please fix the modem? The internet is down again.”
“Certainly Lover. Now was that so hard?”
What can I say? I needed it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)