Hey guys, thanks for sticking with me. Sorry it's been a while, but I was visiting family with no internet and cable. Please let me know what you think… reviews are great!
I was in a better place when I drove home up our dirt driveway. The talk with Jessalyn helped, a lot. I knew however that Sookie would be up by now and I'd have to work extra hard to make sure there was nothing that she could accidently hear in my mind. It's not that I liked having secrets from her. In fact I hated it, but it was one more thing I knew she didn't need on her plate, so why put it there. Not that I needed it on my plate neither, but what choice did I have at this point. I saw our friend Tara's car in the driveway. She loved to stop by in the morning. It wouldn't have anything to do with Sookie's ho-cakes, no not that I thought with a grin. Sookie did have a way around the kitchen, just like Gran. If I didn't just have breakfast with a werewolf, I'd be begging her to make some for me. Breakfast with a werewolf… how many people can say they did that today? Actually, more to the point, how many did, but just didn't know it?
"Girl, you need to stay away from those vampires. They are going to be the death of you. And I can't even believe that you're dragging your little sister into your mess." I could hear Tara saying rather loudly to Sookie in the living room as I entered through the screen porch door.
"Tara, Bill is NOT like that. He would NEVER even think to hurt me or my family. And as for my sister, I can't help that Eric walked into Merlotte's and decided to claim her. That could've happened anytime. It's not like I could control that." Sookie said with her hands on her hips, but then added as she turned and finally saw me enter, "Oh Arabella, you're home. You left so early this morning. I thought the house may have been on fire cause lord knows you don't get up for much." She was obviously in somewhat of a bad mood but also curious about where I dashed off to this morning. She knew I was NOT an early bird.
"Yeah I know, but I had some stuff to take care of and seeing as I'm starting tonight at Merlotte's, I didn't know if I'd get it all done before my shift." I replied. I didn't know if she bought my story, but she didn't press any further.
Shifting gears, Sookie said, "Well, Tara here just told me that she is moving in with Maryann." Sookie then added telepathically "Please talk some sense to her, that lady is creepy and I can't talk her out of it."
"Who's Maryann?" I had been in town for a little while now, but I hadn't heard her name come up before and for sure couldn't pick her out of a line-up.
"Oh, she's this great lady I met that moved to Bon Temps recently. She's actually amazing Bella. Her house is to die for and she has all sorts of help that cook her food, clean her house. Oh my God girl, it's like living on permanent vacation. And you know I could use a vacation, after living with my crazy alcoholic mama all these years. I don't know why Sookie's panties are all in a bunch about her. Maryann has been nothing short of a godsend to me. Really Sookie, you hang with vampires and you're going to give me shit about hanging out with a 40-something year old lady who been like a second mother to me. Shoot, she's been like the mama I never had. Please." Tara said as she held up her hand to Sookie's face.
Swatting Tara's hand from her face Sookie said, "Tara, it's not normal for people to be that… generous … to someone they barely know. It almost seems like she's trying to buy you. She's just… creepy, okay there, I've said it. She gives me the creeps." Sookie sincerely hoped she could get through to her oldest friend.
"Oh, so now I can be bought. Sookie Stackhouse, I never in a million years thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth. I'm outta here. Bella, I'll see you later. Maybe you can get your sister to pull her head outta her ass." Tara said as she began to storm out of our house, but before doing so stopped at the door and said, "Bella girl, you need to be careful around those vampires, they'll bring you nothing but trouble." And then she finally slammed the door and drove off with her tires kicking dirt and gravel all over the yard. Shit, we're going to have to clean up that mess.
"You could've helped me out there Arabella." Sookie said dejectedly to me as I stood there with my mouth open and eyes wide.
"Ummmm, I'm not sure what just happened here. So Maryann is some creepy middle-aged lady trying to entice Tara to live with her with the promise of permanent vacation living?" I asked wondering what alternate universe my ass had landed in lately.
"Yup, that's about it." Sookie replied.
"Wow. Do you think Maryann wants to, you know, sleep with Tara?" I asked not knowing what other reason someone would go out of their way to be someone's sugarmama.
"No. At least it doesn't look like that. I don't think so. Tara's been talking about this guy Eggs that's already living at Maryann's like she's interested in him though." Sookie replied.
I rubbed my temples trying to grasp everything going on. Between the lack of sleep and all the weird shit going on around me my head was beginning to hurt. "Huh, well, I got nothing. I haven't met this Maryann yet so I don't know what to tell ya. She hasn't tried to hurt Tara right? Well, maybe we just need to see where it goes. I mean, you know what people think about you and Bill. Maybe she's not so bad? Tara's seen a lot of bad stuff. She could use something, nice for a while, I guess. So Tara likes a guy named Eggs? Who names their kid Eggs?" I said to Sookie with an eyebrow raised in confusion.
"Yeah, I know. Eggs… I thought the same thing too. You're right though, Maryann hasn't done anything that I know of, yet. It's just…I get a weird feeling when I see her. Something's not right, but I can't put my finger on it. Well, whatever. I can't be worrying about this now. Oh hey, I wanted to let you know that I switched shifts with Arlene tonight so I could work your first night back at Merlotte's with you." Sookie said with a little more happiness than before.
"That'd be great Sook. " I said grateful that she would do that for me.
"Well, I need to do my own errands now, but I'll be back in time to drive us to work. I left a uniform on your bed for you. It should fit fine. Not too short, not too tight, but enough of both so you should get some good tips. Oh, wear make-up, that helps too. You know how these rednecks like to see us women-folk. They may be as dumb as the grass is green, but they leave nice tips when they like what they see." Sookie said a roll of her eyes as she grabbed her purse. She hated to have to play the part, but the bills had to get paid.
"Thanks Sook, but what about tonight. You know, Eric?" I asked.
"Oh Sweet Jesus, I can't believe I forgot to tell you about that. Well, I talked to Bill last night and he got the meeting moved to 3:00 am. We'll still have to go, but I'm hoping that it will be uneventful." Sookie said trying to make it sound better than it probably was.
"Great… First night on, I'll be exhausted and I get to go meet up with the crazy vampire who thinks he owns me. Perfect." I said.
"It'll be fine. I'm sure of it. Plus, Bill and I will be there. Look, I gotta go. You need anything from the grocery store?" Sookie asked as she looked at her sister with sadness in her eyes. She knew that Arabella may be walking into something dangerous with Eric, but it was out of her control now. This was Eric Northman we're talking about here. He's a sheriff and older than sin. Who were they going to go to for help? No one. And besides, it looks like tonight he just wanted them to fish out a crook. Hopefully the crook won't be as dangerous as Eric.
"No, I don't need anything from there, but Sook..."
"Yes Arabella." Sookie said holding the porch door open.
Thinking about the events of late got me to one question in my mind that I wanted to make sure to ask Sookie.
"Do you ever wonder if WE are something else? I mean, if vampires exist, and who knows what else, maybe we're not exactly just human? You know, we have our unique abilities. Those don't just happen everyday and to lots of people. Maybe we're not just freaks of nature, but something else? Eric asked me what I was when we were in the back room. At first I thought 'what a stupid question, of course I'm confused' but now, I'm kinda wondering if that question had a different connotation."
"Bill asked me that question too when we first met. I don't know Arabella. I don't know. He doesn't know either and he would tell me if he did. If we are something… else, then I suppose the answer will come to us someday." Sookie replied as honestly as she could. She had wondered too what they could possibly be, but to no avail.
"Yeah, I hope you're right. See you later Sook."
"Bye Arabella."
…
I fell asleep after Sookie left and had gotten up just in time to jump in the shower and get ready for work. I was looking forward to it really. Seeing all the regulars and getting some much needed cash flow was high on my to-do list for tonight. So I brushed my blonde wavy hair into a high ponytail using the curling iron to make the curls more defined, applied my makeup to accentuate my bright blue eyes and wore my best push-up bra. I really wanted some good tips tonight.
The drive to Merlotte's was quiet while Sookie and I sat in silence listening only to the sounds of the night as we drove with the windows down. It was a beautiful night with no need for the air conditioning to be on, quite the luxury in our part of Louisiana. The quiet could be so comforting, especially knowing how loud Merlotte's was going to be, literally and telepathically. And tonight would be no exception. So, once we got there, we each took a deep breath and walked into the restaurant bracing for the loudness.
"Bitches, it's about time ya'll showed up. This place is busting at the seams with hungry and thirsty rednecks. Now let's get those tight little asses working those tables before I go and done lose my mind." Lafayette said as he pushed aside Tara to pour himself a vodka tonic from behind the bar while a rather large man wearing overalls with a white wife-beater underneath looked on at him waiting for his own drink order which Tara didn't seem to be in a hurry to fill. "Oh, hey there big fella. You know I likes me a large man. You could be my Santy Clause, ummhmmm." The large man lifted his eyebrow at the remark and smiled a small smile. "Yeah, ho ho ho" Lafayette said slowly as Tara finally made the man's drink and slammed it on the bar in front of him. The man quickly drank his drink, left some money, got up and walked out the restaurant faster than you could say boo.
Sookie and I laughed at Lafayette's antics and said hi to him and Tara. Thank God Tara seemed to have simmered down from earlier and was actually pleasant to Sookie. We were both relieved because if she was working and pissed, well, let's just say it would not be pretty. We took a quick look around. Lafayette wasn't joking. The place was packed. Sam was even waiting tables. Well, it was his place so I guess I shouldn't feel too bad for him. We weren't late or nothing and nobody called us to come in early neither.
Sam quickly took an order and then came our way. "Oh, thank God you two are here. The place just got packed in the last five mintues. After the football game let out everyone came here. I had to get Lafayette out to sit tables as well as deal with the cooking. He's not happy with me."
"Sam, don't worry about it, we've got it covered." Sookie said to Sam as we immediately went to our stations and began taking care of customers. Since I had worked here years ago, it was like getting back on a bike, which I was grateful for. He looked relieved to say the least.
As I was delivering some beers to a group seated by the pool table I saw Arlene and her fiancée Rene. Rene was playing pool with Hoyt (my brother Jason's best friend since the first grade) and appeared to be pretty sober. Arlene however seemed to be really enjoying her night off.
"Girl, I can't tell you how excited I was when Sookie asked to switch shifts with me. It feels like I haven't had a night off in like forever since Dawn was killed. And between you and me, that new girl Daphne is horrible. I know if she wasn't doing Sam she be outta here." Arlene slurred and then proceeded to take another sip of her beer.
"Daphne and Sam are getting it on?" I asked. I had only met Daphne once since coming back to Bon Temps so I didn't know much about her. She seemed nice enough, if not a little dim, but I was still a little surprised that Sam was with her though. It was obvious that he still held that torch for Sookie, but I suppose he was trying to move on then. As he should, I guess. Sookie was clearly in love with Bill.
"Yeah. I accidently walked in on them screwing in his office." Arlene half whispered.
"Ohhhh. How awkward." I replied.
"For me, yeah. I do not ever want to see my boss's ass bouncing like that again." Arlene said while making a funny face.
Not wanting to hear more about Sam's sexcapades, I turned to Hoyt and asked, "Hey Hoyt, have you seen Jason around?"
"Yeah, uhhh, he was at work today. He's supposed to come by later on though." Hoyt replied sheepishly. He was such a nice guy, but way too shy for his own good.
"Thanks Hoyt." I said smiling at him. He started blushing.
"Oh my word Bella, I don't think I've had a chance to introduce you to Rene, my fiancée. Rene, this is Arabella, Sookie's and Jason's little sister." Arlene said as she grabbed me and Rene almost forcing us into a hug.
"Hello you. Arlene has no-ting but nice words about your family." Rene said with a very noticeable Cajun accent.
"Hello Rene. It's nice to finally meet you too. You work with Jason and Hoyt, right?" I asked Rene.
"Yeah. I try to keep those two in line you know." Rene said with a smile. He seemed nice enough, but my spidy senses were tingling. I tried to go into his mind, but it was jumbled with phrases, words out of order. Like a maze. I couldn't make anything out really. That was strange.
"Well, time to get back to work." I said taking my tray and heading to the next table that was seated in my area. Unfortunately it was just seated with three of the worst kind of rednecks there were, stupid and loud.
"Hi, you boys know what you want to drink?" I asked with a grin on my face even though I felt anything but happy to be serving these idiots.
"Yeah, we'll take a pitcher of Dixie beer." The guy with the red plaid shirt said and he mentally thought, 'it'd be great if you could serve that up on those perky tits of yours'.
I wrote down their order and tried to ignore red plaid guys' thoughts, but as I turned around to go to the bar to get their drink order he slapped my butt and laughed. Much to my surprise, Rene of all people ran up to the table, grabbed the guys' arm backward and said, "Maybe you and your friends should find someplace else to eat yeah." I stood there shocked at what had just happened. The guys at the table were pretty shocked too and just looked at Rene. Rene then followed up with, "Don't look at me, you. Just get out." The three got up and left, thankfully.
After being so distracted by the scene, I started to unintentionally listen into Rene's thoughts again. This time I could make out a few things. 'She remind me of my sister. Don't want no-ting happen to her.' And then he verbally said, "Merlotte's is a nice place. We want to keep it that way you know." On the surface it seemed a sweet sentiment, but there was something off. Maybe that's how Sookie felt about Maryann too. I stammered out a thank you to Rene before heading off to the kitchen.
"Girl, those redneck country bumpkins been a bother since they've been born. Don't let them get you down suga." Lafayette said to me when I got to the kitchen.
"Oh, I know Lafayette, it's just, they shouldn't feel like they can touch me." I said.
"Honey, they wouldn't know what to do with all of that if you came with a map, GPS and roadside assistance if you get my meaning." Lafayette said as he pointed his finger in a circle around my body.
I laughed and said, "You know, your probably right."
Sookie came into the kitchen followed by Jason, who must have just arrived and asked, "Arabella, are you alright? I saw what those idiots did."
"Sook, I'm fine. Let's get back to work." I replied sincerely.
"You want me to go beat those guys up, because you know I would." Jason said entirely too enthusiastically. He was fidgety and sweating pretty bad. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought he was high on something, but from all I knew about my brother, he drank, he didn't do drugs, right?
"Jason, now would not be the time for you to be beating up people especially with the police on your case. And uhhhh, are you okay?" I asked looking at him worried.
"Oh, yeah, Shit. I forgot about that. Yeah, I'm good. Oh, I have someone here tonight that I'd like ya both to meet." Jason said.
I thought, 'Boy my brother can be a moron. How do you forget the police are watching you? Well, this someone, I have to assume is a girl based on my horn dog brother's track record, must be someone special. He's never introduced us to his conquests before. Maybe that's why he looks a mess.'
"Well, where is she?" Sookie asked before I could.
"She's sitting at the bar. " Jason said while moving and fidgeting even more.
"Well, let's not keep her waiting." I said as I walked toward the bar with my brother and sister in tow.
"Amy." Jason said getting the attention of the pretty brunette sitting at the bar. She was dressed like a hippie in a flowery dress and bandana on her head. It made her stand out a bit, but she smiled the most sincere smile at my brother, which he returned as well. This made me like her immediately. It was clear that they both were really into each other.
"Amy, these two are my sisters Sookie and Arabella." Jason continued as he gazed adoringly at her.
"It's nice to meet you both. Jason has said so much about the two of you. He really loves you guys." Amy said to Sookie and me.
"Uhhh, well it's nice to meet you too. So how exactly did you two meet?" Sookie asked echoing my thoughts.
"Well…" Amy started, but before she could say anything further Sam walked over to us looking frazzled.
"Hey you two, it's still pretty busy here. Can we cut the chatter down for now and get back to work?" Sam asked, not wanting to be rude, but needing us to get back to work.
"Sorry Sam. Amy we'll have to talk later. It was real nice meeting you though." I said as Sookie and I returned to our tables.
The rest of the shift was busy, but uneventful. Before we knew it 1:30am rolled around and we had finished closing up.
"You did great tonight Arabella." Sam said to me as he was locking up.
"Thanks Sam. Hey Sookie are you ready to head on out?" I asked loudly to get her attention. She was busy texting on her phone.
"Huh? Oh yeah. We need to get home and change." Sookie replied.
"Change? Where are you guys heading off to at this time of night?" Sam asked.
"Bill is taking us to Fangtasia tonight." Sookie replied, not wanting to lie to Sam, but knowing he probably wouldn't approve either.
"Sookie…." Sam said but before he could say anything further, Sookie cut him off.
"Look Sam, it's our lives, not yours. You can think what you want, but you can't change our minds." Sookie said. It seemed like this was a conversation they've had already.
"I'm just worried about you, and now you've got your sister mixed up in this life too." Sam said looking at me, pleading with his eyes to talk some sense into her. He had no clue about the situation though.
"Sam, goodnight. We'll see you next shift." I said taking Sookie's hand and leading her to her car, not looking to see Sam's face or waiting to hear his response.
So we headed home in another quiet ride to get presentable for our trip to Fangtasia. Lord knows what we were in store for there.