Disclaimer: the Sookie Stackhouse Series is the creation of Charlaine Harris. Don't sue me Charlaine! I love your books.
IV.
The next morning, I awoke well after 10 am, starting with alarm when I looked at the clock on my nightstand, thinking I was going to be late for work. I turned to get up only to find Claudine in lying on my bed with a stack of Amelia's Witch Monthly magazines.
"Sweetheart, where do you think are you going? You're under strict orders to rest."
"Claudine, I think I'm going to work, where I'm on the lunch shift in about all of 10 minutes."
"Sookie, you have several days off from work, starting immediately. Already a done deal. Some woman named Tanya is covering for you." She smiled warmly at me. "Now, what shall we have for breakfast?" she asked excitedly. "Pankcakes? Belgian waffles? Beignets? French omelettes? Fruit?"
I simply stared at her. This was surprising. Could Claudine actually cook? And who asked Sam to give me time off, anyway? Back to the idea of Claudine cooking… how surprising was that?
She giggled, as if reading my thoughts on the matter, and said "Oh, no. But I'm still thinking… pancakes with strawberries!" With a snap of her fingers and a pop, two trays appeared in the bed, loaded with pancakes, butter, syrup, strawberries and fluted glasses of juice in a really odd color- bright magenta. "You're going to love the juice" she said with a giggle. "Don't go telling Niall I got you drunk, okay?" She clinked her glass with mine.
The magenta juice was incredibly sweet and delicious and flooded me with feelings not unlike sunlight and fresh spring air. I felt suffused with happiness from drinking it. Suddenly, I was ravenous. The pancakes were delicious. Claudine looked very proud of her culinary efforts. When I'd stuffed myself, with a snap of her fingers the trays and their remnants disappeared.
"I just can't imagine dealing with dishes." sighed Claudine. "So what would you like to do on your first day of leisure?"
I stood up and looked out my windows to see a yard blanketed in snow. After a quick survey of myself, I decided a long, hot shower was the first order of business.
I emerged from my bedroom 25 minutes later feeling better than I had in days. I had changed into a pair of soft gray sweatpants, and a warm LSU sweatshirt that Jason had given me and headed out to the living room. Claudine, Amelia and Octavia were speaking in hushed tones over on the couch and stopped speaking as soon as I entered the room.
Amelia rose and gave me a quick hug and pointed toward the dining room. "You had a delivery while you were in the shower."
I turned and went to the dining room. Two dozen long stemmed red roses stood in a beautiful crystal vase in the center of the table. I walked over guardedly and took out the card. I opened the envelope to find a card written in a firm, old fashioned style- "Yours. Really. ~E." I felt a curious warmth spread over me, from the inside out. I thought to myself that this seemed, given the vampire sense of possessive pronouns, to be a rather strong statement. But I smiled and folded the card closed and put it in the pocket of my sweatpants. I turned back toward the living room. Claudine, Amelia and Octavia had been speaking in hushed voices and again broke off as soon as I entered. I resisted the temptation to try to read Amelia, who was an especially strong broadcaster. However a quick glance at her suggested that she was already on guard against any telepathic incursions.
Claudine rose and said, "Sookie, let's go get some fresh air. We can play in the snow."
"Is this so I don't get a drift of what you're talking about?" I said rolling my eyes.
Claudine giggled and gave me a hug. "It is indeed, little one. So move it and change into something warmer."
I went back to my room and changed into a pair of dark corduroy slacks, a light cotton shirt and a soft lavender cashmere sweater that had been Gran's. I put on my boots, grabbed my jacket and headed back out.
Claudine was still in a lightweight frothy outfit that clung to her every ample curve. Sensing my questioning, she snapped her fingers and was immediately clothed in warm outfit from head to toe. Bright pink with some sort of soft fur trim that she quickly assured Amelia and Octavia was fake fur. She pointed to the door and out we went. After more than thirty minutes of running, throwing snowballs and sliding on a few drifts, I was laughing and Claudine seemed happy with the pink in my cheeks. We built a small snow man and she named it Claude, laughing heartily. I hadn't played in the snow like this since I was a child.
We returned to the house and spent the rest of the afternoon playing Scrabble with Amelia and Octavia, painting each other's nails, and watching an old movie. I fell asleep on the living room couch as Claudine gently brushed my hair. I was happier than I had been in weeks.
Shortly before 5 pm, Amelia and Octavia announced they were going out. Tray was meeting them for dinner. Claudine looked a little edgy, first looking at the clock and then glancing at the fading light outside. It got dark early in January. I sensed that she was expecting the arrival of someone. Based on the time and her edginess, I took it she was expecting to be relieved by a vampire. It had become abundantly clear throughout the day that I was not to be left alone other than bathroom time. I had noted that even my razor was missing from my bathroom when I took my shower. Yesterday seemed so far away. I couldn't imagine what I had been thinking, let alone saying up on that roof at Fangtasia.
Around 5:20 pm, when the last of the light was gone, a knock at the door startled me. Claudine rose. I looked through the peep hole to see Bill. I opened the door and Bill walked in and kissed me on the cheek. He was wearing a flannel shirt and khakis. No jacket. I casually looked out at the snow. Brrrr! Quite a walk across the cemetery from his place to mine.
"You look much better!" he said, confirming that my middle of the night vision of him in my rocking chair was real.
Bill paused and glanced across the room at Claudine. He nodded politely and then looked studiously away. His nostrils were flaring a bit as he caught her scent. Best not to go after Sookie's cousin…
I walked over to Claudine to give her a hug and a kiss. "Thank you Claudine. You're really already an angel to me. You've warmed my heart. Thank you for caring for me."
She smiled softly at me and snapped her fingers producing another flute of the magenta juice. "Have another one, just to be safe." After handing it to me, she kissed my cheek and popped.
Bill looked at the juice curiously. "What is that?" he asked.
"Honestly Bill, I couldn't begin to tell you", I laughed. "It's like sunshine, spring air and happiness in liquid form." I sipped from the glass and felt flooded with warmth, even more so than in the morning.
Bill gasped softly. "That is some fae concoction, Sookie. It makes you give off a glow a bit- all rosy."
"Well, whatever it is, it's like balm to the soul. I guess Claudine wouldn't give it to me if it was bad for me. Can I get you a Blood?"
Bill and I sat down at the kitchen table and played Scrabble for about 45 minutes, drinking slowly, laughing and talking like old buddies about all the Bon Temps news and Bill's recent travels. We had history, Bill and I, but we were finally working our way past it. We could, perhaps, be truly easy friends. Bill was suddenly silent and appeared to be straining to hear something. He nodded a bit, then stiffened and seemed all business again.
"Eric is here, so it will be time for me to leave. Sookie, I hope that you'll continue to feel better." He kissed me tenderly on the cheek. He rose and opened the kitchen door. Eric filled the doorway. He was wearing a simple black T-shirt and jeans. No jacket. Just like Pam. Just like Bill. These vamps and their resistance to cold!
Bill nodded his head to Eric deferentially. They seem to confer silently and then with a nod, Bill departed.