Author's Note: All characters belong to Charlene Harris.
Jason had brought out his boom box and all the adults were dancing to the tunes flowing out into the summer air. It reminded me of summers long ago. Sookie was sandwiched in between Tara and Pam, wiggling and giggling. What was the most interesting part of that whole scenario was all three were completely sober.
Sookie saw me leaning against an old cotton wood; Copley and Amelia were lying on a quilt nearby. I had taken over the child rearing duties; giving Sookie a few minutes to herself. Tray and Tara had been the kid's favorite adults at the party so far. The couple had been around them enough during the week that I didn't want them to get overloaded with the kids. The rug-rats were just lying down on the quilt tracing the patterns which Gran had sewn so many years ago.
A broad smile stretched across her face as I looked up from the kids. She left the other two girls who mockingly acted angry that she was leaving the sandwich. Pam was quick on her feet and drug Tray the few steps so he could be the meat in the sandwich as the girls danced. I just shook my head at her bold move. Once the trio found the rhythm of the music Jason had returned from the port-o-potty, spotted his intended. Making a mad but funny dash across the park he reached Pam's backside swatted it once in a playful fashion and picked her around her middle; spinning her away from Tray and into Jason's awaiting arms. It was all in good fun. Tray had always considered Pam too much of a sister to ever think of her sexually.
Sookie finally reached my side as a slow song started up. Taking my hands in hers, she pulled me away from the tree. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Corbett cross his arms over his chest, Gran slapped at her son and ushered him to some woman who was standing on the other side of the picnic table.
Pulling Sookie in my chest I inhaled deeply. Her blonde hair smelled fresh like lemons and sunshine, resting under my chin. Our bodies fit together perfectly. She curled her arms around my torso and I loosely clasped my hands behind her back, resisting temptation of placing them on her nice backside.
"I like this song." She whispered; her breath caressing across my bare arm. I had discarded my button down shirt, in favor of playing a little 'touch' football with the rest of the guys after dinner. My wife beater underneath was suitable for an afternoon picnic with the family. The button down was more for the office anyhow. Well, unless I needed it to help me hide a tent in my pants.
"Hmmm, who is singing?" I wasn't too interested in the music; just the woman in my arms was enough to keep my attention.
"She is actually a Disney actress, her voice is surprisingly pleasant."
"Is it that Hannah Montoya, girl?" I asked thinking of the only girl from Disney that I knew.
"Montana not Montoya, plus her name is really Miley Cyrus." She was laughing into my chest; her breasts were rubbing along my rib cage.
"Huh?" I thought to myself I must have been really out of touch with pop culture.
Her voice was buzzing in between my ears I was trying to concentrate on the problems of the Middle East.
"Eric!" Sookies blue eyes were locked onto my face. "Have you heard a word I just said?"
"Truthfully? No. I need to sit down Sook."
"Why are you being so distant right now?" She started to pull away from me in a huff.
I yanked her against my chest and ground my pelvis into her. "I was trying to think of anything but how nice you felt rubbing up against me. Specifically I was trying to solve the Middle Eastern problems. You have to either let me sit down so your father, whom I might add, has been staring daggers at me for the last two minutes, doesn't come over with a shot-gun and a priest. Your other option is to grab the kids and head back to the house for some hot monkey sex. Your choice, but don't leave my arms until you decide." I growled into her ear, loosening my grip she leaned back against my arms I saw the shock and lust in her eyes.
"You get the kids, I'll go tell everyone the kids are tired and we need to get home." She had taken two steps away from me when she turned around and looked at my pants. "You need to switch to briefs if we are going out in public anymore."
I could hear the trill of her laughter as I ushered the kids towards the Buick.
Last week in Salt Lake
Day One:
We had arrived into the parking lot where Sookie doped me up some more so my head wouldn't throb as I sat with Lafayette. It was a nice gesture but after about two hours of sitting next to my black and blued buddy, I slowly drifted off to sleep. It wasn't until hours later I heard Sookie's voice penetrate the almost comatose sleep I was in. At first I thought it was the remnants of a dream I must have been having because I heard Lafayette's voice speaking back to her. They were both hushed whispers which, at the time I thought was funny in the context of my dream, but still I couldn't really make out what they were talking about.
"So if you don't want to talk about what happened to you, tell me why Eric gets super migraines. He just said he was jumped when I asked him about it on the drive here." Sookie's hushed voice caressed the air.
"Darling, that is a long story. Some bitch I knew fell for him hard and told him he was the daddy of her unborn child. Now, him being such a handsome man he figured he must have slept with her because she was half way attractive."
"Why would he assume that? He has always been…cautious about whom he was with sexually."
"How do you figure that? Who told you?"
"Pam, had said he was careful about who he slept with."
"He was but that was before…"
"Before what Lafayette?
"You ain't gonna like it."
"So, I may not like it but I am curious as to what made him well… unthinking."
"It was you."
"Me?" Her voice spiked and pierced my brain, I felt myself let out a snort and I tried to roll over on my side but it didn't work.
"Yeah, after your trip home for Pam's graduation he was determined not to think about you anymore. You had grown up, fell in love with some hick. He ranted about that for days after his return to Cali." Lafayette took a labored breath and I tried to rouse myself to check on him but the medication was still in effect.
"Lala, do you want me to get the nurse?"
"No, the pain just comes in waves. I guess it is sorta like surfing." There was a pause from the conversation. "Okay it is better now. So Eric came back and he was changed somehow, angry at the world because he thought you would have waited for him. When I asked him about it he said, 'it was just assumed you and him would end up together as would Jason and Pam'."
"Jason and Pam?" Her voice spiked again but not as intense.
"Yes, they should be getting engaged sometime soon. Like you didn't know."
"I didn't." Her voice sounded deflated and I felt her sit down next to me. "I should have known, I should have realized they were actually together but I always thought it was just a phase but it wasn't; but back to Eric. Why would he believe we would have ended up together?"
"He has loved you for years but was just too stubborn and full of himself to admit it to anyone, but when you live with the guy for years on end, you kinda learn his in's and out's. You were definitely one of his in's. I figured that out after your Nickelback concert right before you went moved out to the East Coast."
"He has been infatuated with me since then?"
"Oh honey child he has been infatuated with you for longer than that but he just realized he was pretty much in love with you. Like I said he always assumed you two would end up together at the right time. Don't ask me how because the boy was about as skittish as a rabbit when he was with you."
I heard a very unlady like snort come from her mouth. "Yeah, right; Eric skittish."
"He was, he would only do things for you when he knew you weren't gonna be able to catch him at it."
"Like what?"
"Oh- like sitting with you after Quinn wiped the floor with you. He also was trying to figure out a way to nail Quinn to the proverbial wall after Pam told him what Quinn had done to you. He would call Gran once a week to get a check up on you and after you marriage to Bill he hired a private investigator to find out all he could about the Compton family. They have holdings all over the US, not just in Louisiana."
"There was no they, it was just Bill. Bill was the last Compton."
"No, he wasn't he had a sister named Susannah, she was born on the wrong side of the blanket. The father had a major tiff with his wife right before they kicked the bucket. He left more than half of his estate to his mistress and from Eric's estimation only a pittance went to Bill. It was mainly in a trust fund for him to fall back on."
"So Eric was poking his nose into my husband's life?" I felt a nudge on my arm and tried to surface to complete consciousness.
"No, he was trying to make sure you were taken care of. He loved you and was very hurt when you married. The whole year after he returned from Pam's graduation he tried to put you out of his mind. First he dated, and when I say dated I really mean screwed every woman he met. I bought him a dog that Christmas to try and remind him that people rely and care about him. It helped and in January when Gran informed him, you and Bill had taken a break, so did he from all the women. Then February you were back with Bill and Eric was out of control drinking. We had to move because both the dog had grown and therefore broken our lease and Eric had one too many times had become violent in a drunken state after a binge. One of the only people who would take us in was a friend of mine; Dawn Greene. But that proved to be just as damaging. Unbeknownst to me at the time, her boyfriend had just finished using her as a punching bag. Eric knew and felt obligated to protect her. She also had twisted Eric around her finger by lying to him that she was pregnant with his kid. Well the boyfriend showed up and did just about what Quinn did to me. But Eric fought back and realized the year of drinking and womanizing had drained his strength. In some ways it was good that he got his ass kicked thoroughly because he was straightened out after that."
"So was the baby his?"
"The DNA test showed that it wasn't, the woman had an illegal partial birth abortion right after we left the state and I heard from an old boyfriend of mine she died from complication afterwards but Eric doesn't know that and I would prefer it to be kept between us girls." Lafayette's words were confusing but his laughter soothed my reeling mind.
"Sure just between us girls." Sookie laughed too putting me further at ease. There was a pause and some shuffling sounds in my dream. "Why did you have to leave the state?"
"It was a condition in order to get the dog back." I could hear him fighting the tears; he had to clear his throat several times before he could go on. "Little Dog saved Eric like he saved me from Quinn, the state of California was going to put him down but I convinced them it would be in their best interest if we, Eric, me, and Little Dog, just disappeared from their sight. It worked because once Eric was released from the hospital we pulled up our stakes and headed for Oregon."
"So that is why he has the migraines?"
"Yep, and too boot if you hit him just right in his leg or if a dog bumps it wrong he'll collapse partly because his knee goes out and the other part is from the pain."
The room was quiet for a long time afterwards. I must have fallen into a dreamless sleep because when I finally woke up Sookie was curled up on the extra bed, Jesus was stroking Lafayette face, and I was sore from sleeping in an awkward position for hours on end not remembering anything about my weird dream I asked Jesus if Lafayette had awoken from his coma yet. A smile crossed the Latino man's face and he nodded.
Day Two:
Lafayette was awake most of the day and was in good spirits considering he had several broken ribs and a fractured skull. The bolt monitoring pressure in his brain looked like a great Halloween prop but seeing it in someone's skull outside of Halloween made my stomach turn a little. I had been at the hospital 24 hours straight talking to my buddy, making sure he realized how much I cared for him. We talked about unimportant things mainly avoiding the issue of Quinn.
I didn't want to tell Lala that Little Dog had to be put down and Sookie took the task over when I ran to the cafeteria for some nasty breakfast. His eyes were rimmed red when I walked back in. I didn't know what had happened and was instantly in a panic.
"What the hell is going on?" I roared to the nurse who was passing me. She must have jumped a foot into the air.
"Mr. Reynolds needed a mild sedative, he became distressed when he found out what happened to the animal which protected him during his assault." Her brisk tone and clipped words, actually made me feel calmer.
"Oh, so sorry I startled you; it has been a really…hard week." I finished lamely.
Patting my arm the nurse left the room. Sookie was holding Lafayette's hand, rubbing slow circles over his knuckles. I hadn't expected her to take such a liking to Lala but she had, it was as if they knew one another for years. Avoiding the chair I went and stood next to the window, leaning against the wall.
"He's gone, our baby dog is gone Eric."
"I know. He was in too much pain and the damage was too severe for him to recover. It wouldn't have been fair to ask him to fight the pain any longer." There were tears spilling over my cheeks and I brushed them away with the back of my hand.
"He protected us, both of us. He was an awesome dog." I was watching the heart monitor; his beats were coming at a rapid pace. Sookie took the morphine drip button and pressed it gently releasing a wave of pain medication.
"You need to rest and focus on healing yourself Lafayette. There will be time to mourn later. We need you strong, concentrate on your breathing. In and out…good, just breathe. Focus on the good air filling your lungs and the bad air is floating out into space." Her voice was peaceful and therapeutic. Slowly I watch him fall into a rhythmic pattern of breathing and within seconds his heart beat was back to normal.
Everyone was quiet in the room for a time; Sookie laid her head down on the bed still holding Lafayette's hand. Time continued and slowly both of them fell asleep holding hands. I smiled to myself thinking of the parallel from Copley and Amelia; one creamy white hand holding a chocolate brown hand in sleep.
About 7:30 that night, Lafayette had kicked us out of the hospital room just before visiting hours were over. Sookie and I were exhausted and found the nearest hotel. The bed was clean but that was about all I could have told you about the room. We fell asleep seconds after striping our clothes away. In the night I found her at the edge of the bed swaddled in all the covers. I stumbled to the air conditioner unit and turned the temperature to a comfortable 72 degrees and fell back into bed.
Day Three:
The swelling in Lafayette's brain had decreased dramatically in the night and the neurosurgeon decided to take the bolt out. I must have worn a nice path from the waiting area to the surgery ward, because the following day I saw the wax worn clean through to the tile.
Dr. Stan, a nerdy looking man with thick glasses and a heavy Texan accent, met us in the waiting room informing us the surgery went well and Lafayette should be released in about a week's time if everything went smoothly. Jesus went with the Doctor to monitor Lala's progress and I ran to call Gran; Sookie went and called Pam.
The day was more relaxing hanging out in the hospital room, no one constantly watched the heart monitor. We played Uno and Poker. Lafayette even tried to convince Jesus and I to play strip poker for his amusement and at that comment Sookie laughed so hard she almost peed her pants.
By the evening Sookie and I were ready to eat a regular meal, and Jesus along with Lala wanted a little private time too. She and I ended up eating at Three Margaritas, the food wasn't half bad and I nursed a virgin Margarita through our meal.
Out of convenience we showered together and fell asleep, wrapped in one another's arms.
Day Four:
I woke to the sound of Sookie crying in the bathroom. I knocked on the door but received no answer.
"Sookie, is everything alright?"
"No, nothing is fine. I'm dry."
"Then get in the shower." I was confused why she wanted to be wet but I cracked the door to find her standing in front of the mirror with her blouse unbuttoned and her flap of her bra down. I had no idea, those nursing bras were appealing but she wore it well.
"Eric, I dried up. I thought being away from Amelia for a day or two wasn't going to make a difference but I dried up." Her nose was all snotty and she had streams of tears flowing across her face. "I always wanted a ton of kids, but after Bill turned out to be such an… an…"
"Asshole." I finished for her.
"Well, yes an asshole. I just couldn't bear to let him in my bed anymore. So I held on to the one link of infancy with Amelia because I knew I would never have any more kids." Her last word came out in more of a wail than a sob.
"You could always find another husband to father your kids, Sookie." I caught her eyes with mine. She blinked twice and then nodded her head slowly.
"I could do that but it would need to be with someone who could love not me but Amelia and Copley too." We stood staring at one another before I responded.
"Also, someone who wouldn't be self-conscious about your money; or unable to feel you are too smart for them to talk with." She nodded her head, but tilted it to the side as if she were seeing me for the first time. It made me uncomfortable watching her face change rapidly, it was only then that I remembered the dream I had in Lafayette's hospital room where the two of them were discussing my infatuation with her. It was then too, I realized it wasn't a dream but I actually heard them speaking about me and the past.
"Do you know anyone like that Eric." Her voice was a siren's song to me. Standing there in front of me bare chested her hair curling over her shoulders and down to her breasts.
"I do." I answered her without thinking. Within a breath we were entangled in one another's arms in a frenzy to remove any barrier left in between us.