I stood on the porch for a little while longer, unsure of what to do. I knew it was late, I just wasn't sure how late. I turned to close my front door shut and strolled through the forest to the graveyard that lay between my house and my ex-boyfriend, Bill's, house. I found my grandmother's grave easily, even in the dark. I sat next to her headstone and cleaned the natural debris off. I missed her so much, I wished I could talk to her personally about all my problems.
"Gran, what do I do? Eric's maker was killed for good and since then he's been unbearable so I told him I was taking a break. But now Eric is mopey and Pam says he does nothing almost every night, just sits in his office at the bar and stares off into space. She says he barely even has any blood now. I can't go back on my word, but at the same time the separation is killing me too. I'm feeling my pain and Eric's. I just don't know what to do Gran!"
I curled into a ball on my grandmothers grave and cried for a while. No thoughts came to me on how to deal with the situation, my mind didn't shift to favour one side of the situation any better than the other. Eventually I wiped the tears off my face and headed back to the house. I had to pass Tray Dawson's gravestone on my way back. I stopped and lay a hand on the cold marble stone for a moment. I missed Tray, he was a generous and kind man that had been dating my friend Amelia when she lived with me. She'd since moved back to New Orleans and I missed her just as much as I missed Tray. I kept heading for the house, suddenly worried something might pop out of the darkness to et me. But I felt no brain patterns at all, or any holes to indicate a vampire.
After letting myself back into the house, I realized I wasn't tired at all. Glancing at the clock mounted on the fireplace mantle, I saw it was just after four in the morning. The sun would be up soon enough. Deciding not to force myself to go back to bed to just have myself lay there and stare at the ceiling, I ended up cleaning the house, even the places that didn't need cleaning at all. I did five loads of laundry in between scrubbing the floors and baseboards. I vacuumed every corner of the house. I even ventured upstairs and cleaned Claude and Dermot's rooms, making sure not to use my lemon scented laundry detergent on their clothes or any lemon scented cleaners in their rooms. Just before seven, I stood in the middle of the living room, surveying the damage. You could almost hear the clean sparkle. I sat down on the couch for a moment to relax and the next second the sun was bright and someone was knocking at my door. I scanned the brain pattern and found it was Alcide again. I opened the door and he chuckled.
"You look like shit," he told me. Gee thanks!
"Please come in," I said.
"Go jump in the shower and get dressed. I'm here to take you to lunch," he said. I opened my mouth to ask how he had the nerve to demand I do something but he held up a hand to silence me.
"I promise, I'll explain it all on the drive to Shreveport," he said. Satisfied enough with the answer, I headed to my own bathroom, looking at the clock on the fireplace mantle again and noticing it was after noon. I glanced in the mirror above the sink when I arrived in the bathroom and had to agree with Alcide, I did look like shit. My hair was smushed up on one side of my head, I had a big smudge of dirt on the side of my face from laying on my Gran's grave, there was tear tracks in the dirt on my face and because I'd never officially gone to bed I hadn't done my nightly routine of washing my face, so the make-up I'd worn yesterday was creased all over my face. I looked anything but nice. I jumped in the shower and washed quickly, making sure I got all the grim off. Unsure of where we were going for lunch and what to expect afterwards, I changed into a simple enough sundress that was both casual and a little dressy. Paired with the right shoes and accessories, I could go either way in this dress. I blow-dried my hair and let it fall loose down my back and then padded into the living room to ask Alcide where he was taking me.
"Nothing super fancy. I do have to get back to work later this afternoon," he explained. I told him I'd only be a few more minutes. I dabbed on a touch of mascara and slid my feet into some plain white sandals that matched my dress. I grabbed my purse and off we went. Climbing into Alcide's truck in a dress has always been an interesting adventure. The forty minute or so drive to Shreveport was silent except for the radio that Alcide turned on shortly before leaving Bon Temps. I knew it wasn't right but I tried reading Alcide's mind once or twice on the drive over, simply because I was curious what was going on. All I met was the usual tangled mess of shifter brain I couldn't translate.
Eventually, we pulled up in front of a plain looking restaurant called Summer Nights. Upon entering, I saw it was almost as plain looking as Merlotte's only more restaurant and less bar. The girl who acted as our waitress seemed fresh out of high school. She seemed jittery enough, so I didn't dip into her brain. After ordering our drinks (and iced tea for me, a beer for Alcide), I looked at my lunch companion.
"So what's this all about?" I asked. He had promised me answers on the drive over and after patiently waiting for them and not getting any, I was a little annoyed. Alcide gave a very small sigh I barely even caught. I heard him mumble something about how he should have said no to begin with and the only reason he had said yes was because it was me. Concerned, I grabbed his massive hand and squeezed it.
"Alcide?" He looked up at me. No tears in his eyes, thankfully, but he wasn't exactly happy either.
"I was asked to take you to lunch today," he said. I immediately went on the defensive. My mind went into overdrive trying to read everyone's minds at the same time to see who I should be weary of. With only a handful of people out to a later lunch, it wasn't that difficult but I didn't catch anything of use.
"What? How could you Alcide? I thought I could trust you!" I almost shouted, trying everything to keep myself in check in a public place where I was in danger.
"No, Sookie, you've got it wrong," he said. "Eric asked me to take you to lunch. He explained your situation briefly and asked that I take you to lunch, to keep you company. He knew you needed a friend." Eric had hired me a babysitter, how lovely.
"What situation would that be?" I asked.
"Just that you and he were having some troubles and were taking a break. He made me swear up and down that I wouldn't make a pass at you." He smiled at that. "I didn't ask for any more details, just the basics. He said he was asking me to do this because he was concerned for you. I know he's asked Sam as well and he's trying to track down Tara and Amelia." Oh boy! I thought. I calmed down, no matter how much it bugged me that Eric was trying to find people to keep me company until our break was over. At least I wasn't in danger.
"Thank you Alcide. You should have explained earlier. I'm sorry I got angry with you. Did Eric say why exactly he was asking everyone this?"
"He just said he could tell you were lonely and hurt and he was concerned," he explained. I thanked Alcide again and we made small talk during our meal, neither of us mentioning Eric again. After the meal that Alcide paid for (claiming he was going to chalk it up as a business expense and to quit insisting on helping to pay for everything) was done, I told him I wasn't ready to go home. He dropped me off at the Target around the corner from his office, explaining how to get to his office building in case I was bored before he came to pick me up. He promised he'd be back in two hours and off he went. I browsed each and every section of the store three times before debating heading over early. As I was waiting at the registers to pay for my few items I picked out, Alcide texted me, saying he was waiting outside for me. He drove me home, our conversation fun and light. I asked him about the pack and if he was seeing anyone. He asked about home life, work and how life was living with two fairies.
Soon, I was home and as I was sliding out of the truck, Alcide promised me he wouldn't call as often as Eric wanted him to, but he still would because we were friends. I thanked him and watched as he drove off. By the time Alcide had dropped me off it was shortly after my usual dinner time. Letting myself into the house, I dropped my shopping bags on the table and checked my phone messages. There was one from Tara asking me to call her when I got in and a similar one from Amelia (of course) and one for Claude regarding work. I left a note for Claude about his message and moved my bags to my bedroom. I unpacked and changed into a T-shirt and some comfy shorts I sometimes wore to bed. I padded back into the kitchen and made myself a couple slices of toast with peanut butter and homemade raspberry jam. After eating every last bit and cleaning my mess, I checked all of the locks and headed to my bedroom. It was shortly after nine but I was exhausted, having not slept much the night before.
I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.