Edited July 2019

AN: Thanks again for all of you who are reading this. A hug and a little pimping go out to MissyDee for my first review. Go read The Surrogate if you aren't all ready cause it is great. Sadly, you won't find any of her stuff on ffnet now it, is all on her WordPress site. I have put up a poll on my page to for you all to help me figure out what Sookie should dance to for her audition so please go vote. Anyway, onto the chapter.

Disclaimer: I am like playing with Charlaine and Alan's toys, but I will give them back when I am done, I promise.

Chapter 5

"Sookie dear, how about this one it has a nice tone to it, not much to look at but well it will at least be something. You have found something wrong with most of them. You just have to remember that it is only temporary, so you don't have to get attached, you just use it for practice." Mrs. Hyde handed me the cello. "Sit downplay a little see how it sounds."

I walked over to the chair, sat on the edge. I got into the all too familiar position; I rested the cello between my legs. It did not feel quite right, but this was the last cello that was the right size. I rested the bow on the strings and started to play Suite No. 3 in C major Prelude. I just let the music flow out of me and the cello. I got lost in the sound, closing my eyes trying to imagine that it was my cello. I opened my eyes to clapping when I finished. The few other customers in the store had come over to watch when they heard the music. I looked over to Godric and his mother with a blush rising on her complexion.

"Sookie I think this is the best one you are going to find today so take it." Godric smiled reassuringly. I nodded my assent. Talbot took the cello to put back in its case. He added the bow and some rosin.

"I think that will about do it my dear, so I will call when I know just how long the repair is going to take," Talbot said handing me the cello in a shiny black case. Godric stepped in and took the case from my grasp and offered me his arm to walk out of the store to the car. His mother stayed behind for a moment to say something to Talbot. We got into that car very much the way we did when we left school. Godric stayed quiet while we waited for his mother to come out of the store. I figure I will pull a "Scarlett" and think about it tomorrow; I mean there is nothing I can do about it right now. We left the school around 2:00 pm and it was now ten till five. We needed to get going if I was going to have time to cook. I know that the guys will be bringing extra close to change into. They would usually come over still reeking from practice and take showers at the house. They could each bathe a few times and still stink.

"Sookie you said earlier that you wanted to stop and get some groceries to cook dinner. I know that when I had a house full of boys to cook for, I needed an extra set of hands in the kitchen. Would you like it if Godric and I came over to help? His father has been away on business for the last few days, so it has been just the two of us. His older brother is off at school, so I miss getting to cook for a crowd. What do you say?" Mrs. Hyde asked entering the front seat preparing to drive off.

"That would be nice Gran is at the church doing some charity drive thing I forget the name of and she won't be home till late. As long as you don't mind putting up with five smelly teenage boys that will be hungrier than pigs when they hear the slop pail. I guess that would make eight of us for dinner. Is there anything either of you are allergic to? I was going to make a casserole of some kind because I got some hamburger to use in the fridge. I also have to make something for dessert cause those guys will be expecting pie or something. Jason and his friends will eat anything so if there is something you want …" I trailed off with both of them looking at me trying to no laugh.

"Mom is no allergic to anything but I can't touch seafood or shellfish. Mom's got a great pear and plum cobbler recipe that I think the guys would love. As she said, she is used to cooking for a house full of boys because when Victor and his friends would come over to the house for practice and eat everything in the house, they could get their hands on. I like tatter tot casserole." He said.

"I would love to make my cobbler for dessert if you want?"

"That would be great. I am going to need tatter tots and some veggies, but I think that I have everything else for the casserole. I will probably make two cause I know the guys will eat one on their own and if we want to eat anything I'll need to. Could we stop and get that along with what you need for the cobbler?" Mrs. Hyde nodded as she pulled off the I-20 E and onto LA-147 S heading towards Bon Temps. We stopped at Wal-Mart to get the groceries and then headed home. I had got some junk for the guys to devour while we made dinner.

When we pulled up to the house at about 6:30 pm the boys were running around outside throwing a football around. I would have thought that they would be tired from practice. Eric looked up smiling at me just in time to have John plow into him and knock him to the ground. "Time, Sookie is back." Shouted Jason. "What did you bring me?" He asked pilfering the bags from my hands. He carried them into the kitchen and stealing the Oreos to start munching. Godric came in with my replacement cello. His mother bringing up the rear with a few more bags.

"You can take those and the rest of that junk for the guys to eat in the living room. I think it is going to be about another thirty or forty minutes till I am done with the cooking. So, shoo." I shoved him and the bag out the door.

"Sookie I can get started on the cobbler why don't you show Godric where you want the cello." She started to unpack the rest of the groceries. I walked over to the oven to start it preheating so it would be ready to take the casseroles when I was done.

"Um well with the guys in the living room I think that my room is safer, follow me it is upstairs." I headed out into the hall and up the stairs to my room. Godric followed quietly. When we reached my room, he sat down the case in the corner by my dresser. I was a little self-conscious of my room cause it was still painted in the baby pink color I pick when we moved in with Gran. The room used to be my aunt's room when she was little. I had a twin bed covered in quilts that Gran had made. I had tried to cover my walls with some of the drawing and paintings I did, but you could still see the pink sticking out here and there around the room. I looked over to Godric he had stepped over to look a painting I did of the trees at the back of the house. I had done it last fall when the colors where changing and some of the leaves had begun to cover the ground.

"I like this one. I love the use of light bouncing off the ground. What time of day did you start this it looks like the sun had moved before you were done?" He asked.

Stepping closer to him I pointed and said, "I started it in the early afternoon. The thing with the light was because the sun kept going under the clouds. So, every time I thought that I had it the light would change. It is still one of my favorites but this one I like more." Motioning to one to the left if it, I continued. "This one is from a picture Mama took of Daddy and I a year before they died. We had been outside their old house running around after lightning bugs. Daddy helped me to catch one in one of Mama's old canning jars."

"You look happy." He smiled. "Do you mind if I look at the rest? I am sure I will just be in the way in the kitchen between the two of you. I also don't think that the guys would be too happy with me crashing their friend time."

"That's fine if you want, it won't take me to long to get the casseroles in the oven. Once I am done, I want to show you some of my sketches." I said as I ran back downstairs. Not looking where I was putting my foot, I missed a step. I thought for sure I was going to crash down the last few when I felt big warm arms circle my waist to catch me. I looked up blushing.

"We got to stop meeting like this Sookie. Are you all right?" He asked setting me down on my feet at the bottom of the steps carefully.

"I am ok, I just need to look where I am going. Do you guys need anything? I was just going to go start on dinner." I asked stepping around him.

"No, they are currently seeing who can get the most Oreos in their mouth at one time. That is unless you have a camera handy. I would love to have a picture of Quinn with his cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk's strictly for blackmail of course." He said with a devious look on his face.

"As a matter of fact, it is in the hall closet over there on the top shelf under the table clothes. Gran put it up there so Jason would not find it and ruin the picture she has of him from this summer when he fell asleep outside on the ground helping her weed. He was all covered in dirt and curled in a ball holding the weed he had pulled out like a teddy bear. Feel free to use it, just don't tell Jason where you found it or let him get a hold of it." Pointing to door in a hushed tone.

"I will if you make me a copy of both, it will just add to the fun to have one of both of them." He hurriedly grabbed the camera as to not miss his chance at the picture. I walked into the kitchen ready to start cooking. Mrs. Hyde had her cobbler finished and ready to go into the oven. She even had the hamburger in the pan browning for me.

"I thought that I would start this for you so we could get dinner on the table faster. Is there anything else that you need to be done?" She inquired me looking up from the stovetop.

"If you finish browning the hamburger like you are then I can get the vegetables cut up and ready to sweat down. I usually make it with onions, carrots, and celery. I also use green beans when they are in season. Oh, I need to go grab the canned soup out of the pantry." I rushed off to get the soup. We worked together well getting the casseroles done and in the oven in ten minutes. We decided to slip the cobbler in after the casseroles where done so it would still be warm when we were done eating.

Once the casseroles were out and cooling, we slipped the cobbler in to bake. I got the plates down out of the cupboard. I then pulled out the flat wear and sat them all on the counter. I then walked into the living room to ask the guys what they wanted to drink for dinner. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Alcide and John sitting on Jason pinning him to the floor. Eric and Hoyt were in the corner of the room both shaking with laughter. Eric was snapping pictures wildly. "Not that he doesn't deserve being pinned to the floor, but what did he do?" I asked looking around the room.

"Well, you said not to let him have the camera. So, when he saw me snap a picture of Quinn, he launched himself at the camera. I told the guys what you said about the picture and they were all too happy to help keep him away." Eric said handing me the camera.

"Ok, I am going to go put this away while I do that think about what you all want to drink for dinner. We have water, milk, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, and iced tea. I will be right back. Oh, and could one of you go help Mrs. Hyde set the table for me please?" I asked over my shoulder. I decided to go put the camera in Gran's closet. Jason was banned from going into her room after she found him digging for presents three Christmases ago.

When I was done, I went back up to my room to get Godric. Being so busy in the kitchen I forgot to come back up to show him my sketches. I found him lying on my bed looking up at my ceiling. I had gotten tired of looking at the white, so I had painted a setting sun that turned into the night sky on it. I walked over to the bed and laid down beside him. "I am sorry I forgot you were up here. I got distracted by dinner it's ready."

"That is ok I got lost in looking at the art you have in here. I love what you did to your ceiling. How long did that take you and what did you use as a reference? I can make out different constellations, but I don't know what time of year you can see them." He rolled over looking at me.

"It took me a month to do. I used some pictures I took over the year. Most of the constellations are winter ones because Orion the Hunter is visible. See those three in the line there, those are his belt. That one over there is Taurus the Bull." I pointed. There was a knock at the door.

"We got the table set and are waiting on you two to eat," Eric said as he turned and walked away back downstairs.

"I think we better go, or we won't have anything to eat, even after eating all that junk they will still be able to eat both casseroles and the cobbler and still have room for more." I got off the bed and walked to the door. When we got downstairs the only two spots left at the table were across from each other. One was in between Eric and Jason and the other one was between John and Alcide. I was going to take the one between my brother and Eric because I knew they would give me more elbow room. I felt bad that it left Godric to jam himself between the two piles of muscle on the other side. "John, could you move to the middle so Godric doesn't have to cram in there between you two, Please?" I fluttered my eyelashes at him. He moved over with a smile. We ate mostly in silence, apart from the scraping of forks on the plates. I knew the food was good when the guys were too busy eating to talk.