The rain beat down on the windshield of my silver '99 Dodge Ram extended cab. Even though I had the wipers on high, it was still nearly impossible to see the road. Lola, my stepsister, not always the best on a long ride, kept fiddling with the radio. We had left our home town of Pocahontas Arkansas six hours before in a last-ditch effort for a new start. I didn't want to leave, but after the car accident that robbed us both of a parent we loved, we could no longer take refuge in the familiar surroundings of our home. To say that we were running from our feelings would be on point, but really Lola wanted to leave and wouldn't go without me.
"Astrid, why didn't you get new wiper things before we left? I can't see anything." Lola complained, finally settling on one station. The sound of Annie Lennox's voice singing Sweet Dreams made me smile.
"You're the one that said we just had to leave today!" I bit back. That is how I have gotten accustom to talking to my sister. She had a bit of an attitude and sass could only be answered with sass.
"We've passed like a million places that we could've stopped and gotten it and now it's like that scene in Big Fish where that guy was driving his car and ended up in the lake." Lola pointed to the windshield.
It really was like the scene in Big Fish where Edward Bloom was driving his red car and got caught up in a horrible storm resulting in his car getting stuck in a big tree. I am and have always been a big movie buff. I read a lot to top it off. For years I had given Lola an education in movies/literature...she only picked up on things that interested her...i.e. Ewen McGregor.
"Maybe we should pull over. You know you can't see crap." Lola laughed knowing that I in fact couldn't.
I started to pull over when Lola's long arm reached over she poked me with her index finger. "Don't pull over here!" she yelled. "If we can't see, then I don't want to get hit by someone who can't see us."
Out of the window, I noticed a driveway and turned left. I finally found a safe place to park and shut off the engine. "I think we're gonna have to sit tight until the weather lets up."
"Thank you for that brilliant statement Captain Obvious." Lola cracked leaning her seat back to nap.
After a few moments of silence, I looked over at my sister. She was asleep. Sometimes she can be a real pain in my ass, but I love her. Lola looks like Megan Fox and is very proud of that fact. She didn't always look that good. She is what my dad classified as a classic ugly duckling. When she hit puberty it was like BAM...a Megan Fox look-a-like. She developed the attitude to match her looks.
Me on the other hand, I look nothing like anyone really. At least not anyone that is still alive. I'm short-ish (if you think that 5'5" is short) with long red hair and pale skin. I'm considered pretty, while Lola is the knockout. That is okay with me, seeing as I'm not a vein person (I swear I'm not) but just between the two of us, I have noticed that Lola has become more fixated on her looks. I guess that is just the way that she has coped with the death of her mom and my dad. I just haven't been dealing. I will be the first person to admit that. My real mom died in child-birth and my dad married Debbie a few years later. Debbie had Lola from a previous relationship. The baby daddy ditched after Debbie found out about Lola. My dad was more than happy to be her daddy.
Thinking so much usually stresses me out, but for some reason it knocked me out. I wasn't really sure how long Lola and I had been asleep, but a knock on the window sure woke us up with a start.
"What the hell Astrid!" Lola screamed still mostly asleep.
"Hush it!" I screamed back. The rain had finally stopped. I looked out the window and a beautiful middle-aged woman in a white shirt with fire engine red hair smiled. I rolled down the window.
"Make her go away!" Lola cried burying her head back in the pillow she had propped up against the seat.
"You will have to excuse my sister, she doesn't do well unless you let her wake up." I smiled at the woman.
"Well not tryin' to sound like a bitch, but ya'll can't sleep here." She nervously told me.
"It's alright. We didn't mean to fall asleep, but the rain was so heavy that we couldn't really see the road. You wouldn't mind tellin' me where we are by chance would ya'?" I asked her.
"Oh honey, you're in Renard Parrish." she smiled proudly. I leaned my head forward with a questioning look on my face. She sighed. "You're in Bon Temp, Louisiana."
I started laughing. I couldn't help myself. Yes, I admitted to myself, she looked a lot like Arlene from the True Blood series, but Bon Temp isn't real. I know. I tried to find it on a map and surprise, surprise, it wasn't there. Now this is about the point where I start choking. I have asthma. Sometimes when I laugh too hard or something tickles me just a bit too much, my airways tend to close. The Arlene Fowler look-a-like looked like she didn't know what to do, but lucky for me Lola is use to me and my medical history. She shot up from her slumber and reached in the glove box for my emergency inhaler (also known as a rescue inhaler) and made me take three long pulls.
This is why I love my sister so much. She may be a bitch sometimes, but overall I know that she loves me. Lola told me once when we were like six or so that it scared her when I had an attack. She said that she didn't want me to die, so she made it her mission in life to make sure that I could breathe. You should have seen her when I tried to start smoking...I have never seen her turn that shade of red before. She loves me, so I can't begrudge her.
"Are you okay?" "Arlene" asked me.
I still hadn't caught my breath and was going through my breathing exercises to calm down. Lola answered for me. "She has asthma and sometimes she has attacks. She'll be okay, but I would feel better if I got some coffee in her. It'll help."
She woman smiled. "That I can help with. We have coffee in Merlotte's, if ya'll wanna come in. I need to get back to work anyways."
Me and Lola climbed out of the truck and looked around. "Thank you ma'am. I'm Lola and this is my sister Astrid." she smiled. "You know, Astrid here is a big Charlene Harris fan, so it's kinda funny that this place is called Merlotte's."
"Well I'm Arlene, don't know who that is, so can't help ya there. Just follow me." she started walking and we followed. Lola and I slowed our pace and she grinned at me.
"Did you hear? Her name is Arlene and she does look just like Carrie Preston." she giggled.
"And how is it that you can't remember to hang up your towel, but you can remember the actress that is Arlene on True Blood?" I asked in all seriousness. I mean she always leaves her towels on the floor and once you've slipped on one and busted something...well you would feel the same way.
"Well duh!" Lola started. "The show is totally bitchin', but Carrie Preston is also Elsbeth Tascioni on The Good Wife and that show is better than Lindt chocolate."
"Well something weird is going on here. There is no way that we are really at Merlotte's in Bon Temps." I laughed nervously.
"You wish." she busted out "Then you could get Sam Merlotte." Lola laughed as she opened the door for us. Looking around I kinda freaked out. The place looked exactly the same.
"Pinch me." I yelped.
I'll be damned if she didn't smack me in the face. "I said pinch not slap!" I yelled at her gaining the focus of just about everyone in the bar, including what looked like Sam Merlotte.
"Let's not make a scene, pretty. I want to know exactly what is going on before we do anything." I told her in a hushed voice.
"Okay. Let's calm down and refuel. Then we can figure out what is going on. Right now we have a decision to make. Bar, table, or booth?" Lola contemplated.
I nervously looked around expecting to see Sookie Stackhouse, but I didn't. I did see Arlene waiting tables. She waved and smiled at me. She looked a couple of months pregnant. I can't believe that I didn't notice it before. I turned in a full circle, soaking in the place. I really did love it. It was just so homey. Lola had wondered off and was chatting with a few people. Unsure of what to do, I walked up to the bar and took a seat.
"What'll it be?" a voice asked me.
I looked up into the most handsome face, I have ever seen. He kept looking me in the eyes and this made me a bit nervous. I know that Sam Trammell portrays Sam Merlotte and thus is a fictional character. I know that to have a crush on someone who isn't real isn't healthy, but I'm damaged anyways.
"Something wrong?" he asked. Then I realized that he probably smelled my nervousness. I opened my mouth to say something and lucky for me Lola chose that time to reappear.
"She's just nervous because of the asthma attack she had. We will have two sweat tea's, a coffee, black, and a large order of french fries." she smiled at him.
Sam disappeared and I turned to Lola. "I'm freaking out. Are we still asleep? Maybe we got in a car accident and don't know it and somehow are in a shared coma of some sort." My eyes were watering.
"Astrid, honey, you really need to calm down. You'll have another attack." she put her hand on my back. "I'm your sister and I love you, but for the love of Pete, calm the f down."
I nodded weakly and Sam came back with our drinks. He wiped his strong hands on the backside of his jeans. (that fit rather well, I might add) "Fries'll be a few minutes." he smiled.
"So ya'll passin' through or here visitin'?" he asked ever so politely.
Lola took this as her que. "We don't know yet. I'm Lola. Me and my sister Astrid are searching for a new place to put down roots. We're from Arkansas."
"Well," Sam started. "Bon Temps is as good a place as any if you don't mind a small town." I smiled.
"I can't do the big city thing." I said taking a sip of the coffee. I made a face. "Don't much care for coffee either, but whatever works." I shrugged.
A bell dinged in the distance and Sam excused himself to grab our fries. Lola seemed to suddenly remember something and started to bounce in her seat. "What?"
"If we are somehow in this world, we should totally milk it. Like we could go to Fangtasia tonight. I can find Eric." she smiled.
"No. Thank. You. First off, if this isn't some sorta weird dream and it is real, then we need to be careful..." I lowered my voice. "Vampires exist here, as do witches, shifters, weres, and fairies and gosh knows what else."
"God, Astrid. We should be taking advantage of a good situation. Think of it this way...if it is a dream then why not go after your dream guy." She did have a point there.
"I don't think so. Knowing my dreams, I wouldn't get the guy anyways." I stopped talking when Sam came back from the kitchen with our fries.
"Thanks." I said meekly. I wouldn't leave an impression, I just knew it. "Can we have two small bowls? One of ketchup and one of ranch dressing?"
Sam quickly supplied the condiments. "So," He said to me. "Astrid...right?" I nodded. "It would be nice to have some new faces around here, if ya'll decide to stay that it."
Lola grinned. "You gonna rent us a place Sam?"
"How'd ya know that I had rent houses?" he asked.
Just then the door swung open and Maxine Fortenberry waddled in and sneered at us. "If ya'll know whats good for ya' you wouldn't be talkin' to no Sam Merlotte." She walked closer and gave us a once over. "He doesn't think twice about shootin' his kin."
Without thinking I blurted "Well maybe Tommy shouldn't be such a thievin' pup" Lola looked at me mouth open and then laughed.
"Astrid, I think we need to leave now." she said quietly realizing that I had just talked about things that I shouldn't have known. She threw a twenty on the counter. We rushed out before anyone could so much as blink.
"Darn, I didn't even get to eat my fries." I sighed. "We stickin' around?" I asked Lola.
"What do you think?" she smiled.