Authors Note: Thank you so much for all the response to chapter two. Thanks again to my beta: FreeMoment for beta'ing another chapter of ETE!
Eric had stayed with me until he had to leave before the sunrise. We had made love several times and we both had felt our strange and weirdly comforting connection grow. He had also given me the dreaded mobile so we had a form of communication.
Did you know phones have cameras on them? Or am I that behind the times and uninterested in technology that I didn't even notice? I think I got maybe three/four hours of sleep before Tara came to pick me up. I phoned her on the house phone this morning after I woke up and I also did not feel comfortable opening the bar up on my own.
When we got to the bar the first thing we did was to check Sam's place out back to see if his truck was there or not. Then,unbeknown to Tara, I would send (Eric showed me how) a message to my man to let him know if the coast was clear or not. Not sure why this was such a big deal but hey ho. He would get the message when he rose.
I also felt different as a whole. I was no longer a virgin and shared a unique, magical bond with a man I was falling for scaringlyfast! I never thought I would date or be in a serious relationship like how mine and Eric's appeared to be, and the reason I had never thought it possible was because of my disability. I forgot if I had mentioned it or not, but I was born with the curse of Telepathy. Eric, on the other hand, seems to think it was a gift, but that was an argument for another day. We agreed to disagree.
I heard the sound of Tara's car engine and got up to walk down the porch steps to meet her. As I got in, she started her famous Tara rant.
"What the fuck happened last night, chick? And Sam's nose is for sure broken. Who was that guy? I bet money it was him who punched Sam. You were back there with them for a fair amount of time." I'd just buckled my seat belt and decided to reply.
"That was a business man from Shreveport. Things got heated and Mr. Northman did punch our boss after being provoked. He was the one that gave me a ride home and I asked him about it," I told her, fairly honest. I didn't know the real reason why, but I remember feeling Eric's anger.
"Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" Tara asked. "Did you get his number?" she then added in. I rolled my eyes.
"I don't date, Tara, and you know why," I told her.
"Surely men aren't that bad?" she asked, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen.
"Honestly, you have no idea." I was surprised she even brought it up, usually those closest to me just pretend that it wasn't there and those who don't know me, if I slip up, think I'm plain ol' crazy. She didn't push the subject, knowing it was a touchy one. We arrived at Merlotte's at ten fifteen and did a walk around the building.
Sam's truck was gone. I would wait to send Eric a text when I was on my own. I had the thing in my bag on silent (Eric did it for me) so I don't think about it. It's not like I would get any calls or texts until sunset anyway and Eric was the only contact I had so... ya know!
When we reached the front door, I grabbed the keys from my bag and unlocked them, opening them up. I looked to Tara. "What did Sam say after I left?" I said, as we entered. She rolled her eyes.
"He came in with the ice pack on his nose after you left and told us he is taking extended leave and leaving you in charge until he comes back." My jaw dropped. The fuck?
"WHY THAT..." Tara looked at me with raised eyebrows. I didn't get angry often...
"I'm guessing that's not what he told you?" she replied with narrowed eyes.
"No, he said I'd be covering him until the weekend."
"Fucking asshole," was her response. "He told me I am in charge of the bar, Laffayette and Terry are in charge of the kitchen, and you're in charge of all of us, plus waitressing, ordering and whatever the fuck else he does." Livid would be in an understatement.
"Come with me to his office, I believe the jerk has left me a note if memory serves me correctly." We locked the doors behind us as we moved into the bar and headed for Sam's office. It took a couple of tries with the keys before I found the right one.
Once we entered we immediately noticed a difference. He'd cleared some stuff out! What the actual? Moving forwards into his office, I looked on his desk to see the letter in question with my name unfortunately on it. Tara and I shared a glance before moving around. I sat down on Sam's seat, lifting the letter off of his desk to open it up as Tara perched on the arm.
Dearest Sookie.
I'm so sorry to have left you like this. I am sure by now you've heard or seen I'm gone, I am not sure how long I will be gone due to a unforeseen family situation. I know I told you completely different the night before but as I've already said, something new has come up that I cannot ignore.
I'm leaving the bar in your charge while I am away from town. I don't know when I will be back but I know you are the one who I can trust the most. You've never let me down once.
I'm sure the others will fill you in on what I've told you.
Until I return,
SM.
"What the fuck. Well, when you return, Merlotte, you are gonna feel the real wrath of Tara Thornton and you can't deny you will damn well deserve it." Tara fumed.
"Ditto," I said in shock/anger. I secretly wondered if it had something to do with Eric and if he was running away to avoid his problems, rather than solving them. I had a feeling my man was gonna be furious, that Sam would be a no-show tonight when he turned up. I would not be texting him this, he could see for himself.
The rest of the morning till about eleven thirty flew by and between us, we had managed to figure some things out. The two of us also decided we would work through things together and keep Merlotte's Bar and Grill afloat. We even contemplated about changing it to Sookie and Tara's Grill. Just to see what Sam's reaction would be when the asshole decided to return.
This better not cut back on my time with Eric; after all, we only have a certain number of hours before dawn. I know we won't always be able to spend time together, but I'll be furious if Sam's ditching us was in fact connected to Eric and, as I said before, I'm pretty damn sure he was going to be angrier than me or Tara combined. It was going to be an interesting night for sure.
When everyone had arrived at around eleven - eleven thirty am (we set up for half an hour and Terry and Lafayette had started up in the kitchen at around eleven for the lunch rush. Once Arlene and Dawn had arrived I gathered everyone into the bar area and looked to Tara.
"So there's been a new development that none of us where expecting to have to deal with," I said.
"What's going on, Sookie?" Arlene asked.
"Sam's ditched us, basically, and doesn't know when he'll be back," Tara said before I could say anything. I glared at her! She stood with her arms folded over, leaning against the bar.
"That's not technically true. Apparently, something's come up with his family, so he's had to leave town for a time but doesn't know when exactly he'll be back so he's, unfortunately, left me in charge of Merlotte's whilst he's away."
"Why you? I've been here longer." Arlene fumed.
"And you're not one hundred percent reliable, are you?" Tara pointed out before I could speak.
"Tara!" I said. "Look, I'm not happy that we've ALL been put in this situation by Sam, but we should all work together. I will still do as much of my waitressing job as I can do. God forbid, no one will have to do any extra after all the times I have covered for you all." I left them hanging for a moment before continuing.
"So in theory, we should all carry on as normal, I just won't be able to cover your shifts as much as I used to because of Sam." I finished up by saying, "Now we've cleared all this up, I'm going to the office whilst y'all do your usual shifts, and if there is any REAL problem then please come to the office. But I have to figure out all the stuff Sam did as well as my own job, so please give me some breathing space so I can get an idea of my reluctant new roll." And with those parting words, I did not leave Sam's office. I found notes he had left and instructions for certain things, but no way to log onto the freaking computer.
This was going to be a hell of a nightmare. I barely knew how to use a mobile, let alone a computer. How the freak was I supposed to know how to log in if I haven't been left any way to access it? I laid my head on the smooth wooden-desk surface with my face facing the window. I hadn't actually realised I'd fallen asleep until Tara came in and woke me up.
"Jeez, chick, do not let Arlene see ya do this. It's taken me ten minutes to wake you up. I brought you a Lala classic and a glass of coke with a side of sweet potato fries." I stared at her in shock... shit. How long had I been asleep for? A good couple of hours, at least.
I glanced around the desk.
"Shit, thanks, Tara. I don't even remember falling asleep. What time is it?" I asked her.
"Four thirty. You have half an hour before you start your usual shift."
"Fudge. Cheers, T. I didn't even realise I had fallen asleep!" Tara frowned.
"Maybe between us we could work something out? I could open up and come in to set the bar up and get everything ready for the lunch shift with Laffayette, then maybe you come in at one or two in the afternoon to do whatever in the office before you start your evening shifts and lock up?" she suggested. "It's not fair that he has dumped all of this on you."
"I think that will work out well. It means I can still help Gran out with the house," I said.
"Yeah, and Dawn can work the bar too, so can the lazy bitch, Arlene. So y'all leave those two Moaning Myrtles to me. Sam always did let her walk all over his ass." Tara rolled her eyes as she said this.
"Then we have a plan. We will both be working longer hours, so I think we have a fairly well-worked out routine we can start tomorrow?"
She agreed and left me to eat my dinner. I looked around Sam's office and realised how unorganised and chaotic it was in here. I wouldn't be able to work in this. I then saw the phone on the desk and remembered my mobile. Shit, I had forgotten to text Eric. Quickly grabbing my bag, I checked for any minds coming to the door, found none and got it out.
Hey you,
There's been some new developments...
Don't think you are going to be too happy.
S xx
I knew I wouldn't hear from him for a while yet so I opened the window and finished my dinner before I made my way to the bar. I had arrived in my waitressing uniform this morning so I wouldn't have to worry about changing and I didn't really wear make-up, so I didn't have to think about fixing that. I wasn't one of those girls that needed makeup like they needed air to breathe.
I brought my tray back into the bar and placed it on the rack that gets wheeled into the kitchen to be washed every hour or so,depending on how full it is, and got on with my actual job. I was working on auto pilot and zoned out as the night grew dark.
"Sookie, SOOKIE, SOOKIE." I looked up in surprise from serving my customer to see Arlene standing in front of me, and behind her stood my man. I was shocked. Had I really been that zoned out?
"Yes?" was all I said.
"Mr. Supe said he has a meeting with Sam." I raised my eyebrows, glancing at Eric.
"Cover my tables between you and Dawn, please, whilst I speak with Mr. Supe in Sam's office. Have you been offered or would like any drinks, sir?" I asked, playing along.
"Just red wine," is all he said in a clipped tone. Arlene disappeared quickly. I felt Eric's concern even though his outer extra showed to be cold and disinterested. Arlene brought the tray over and I took it from her, thanking her before telling Mr. Supe to follow me. As soon as we were in the office and the door was closed, I placed the drink down and shut the window.
Eric had me in his arms in a second. He sat on a chair with me on his lap.
"What's going on, lover? What am I not going to like?"
Oh dear... What do you think about the whole Sam situation?
Thank you for all the response to ETE so far, decided to post early as my way of saying THANK YOU.
Hope you all have a fab week :) :)
Toria x