Sookie's 7th birthday came and went. She was making steady progress. We continued our little "spying missions" around Bon Temps. We still hadn't learned the secret to Caroline Bellefluer's cake, but Adele held out hope. Sookie began to try using her shields when I wasn't around. Adele started planning play dates with some of the local girls Sookie's age. At first parents were a little apprehensive, but Adele was well respected and a wonderful hostess. Sookie had her feelings hurt by the thoughts of some of the mothers at first, but got along with the girls well.
Adele and I sat in the porch swing one evening after a successful play date. "She has come a long way, hasn't she?"
"She has. I am very proud of your granddaughter. If she keeps learning at this rate, she may be ready for school in another year."
"Do you really think so?"
"I do," I answered with a smile.
"Before we know it she will be all grown up. Just today she was prancing around the living room in her dress up clothes, pretending she was getting married."
"I am sure she will grow up to be a beautiful young woman, inside and out."
"Just like her Gran?" Adele asked with a grin. She paused and looked me right in the eye. "Promise me something, Eric?"
I raised my eyebrows. No promises unless I knew what I was getting into, even with Adele.
"If you decide to pursue Sookie romantically, promise me you will wait until she is grown. I know she is just a little girl now, but some day she will be 16, 18… Give her a chance to meet a boy, gain some experience, before you lay on the Northman charm."
I smirked, then became serious. "You have my word, Adele, that I won't pursue a romantic relationship with Sookie until she finishes college. I would like for her to choose me, not be mine by default because I am already in her life." Adele smiled.
"Thank you, Eric."
"Although, you may never need to worry. Sookie is a smart girl; she may be wise enough to choose someone else. I can't eat breakfast with her or spend a day at the lake or give her children. " Having a human companion often meant the human had to make a lot of sacrifices. "I will give her enough time to make a decision with her eyes wide open." We sat in thoughtful silence for a few moments.
"Do you really find me charming?" I asked Adele slyly. She blushed a little. I pulled my hair out of my pony tail and shook it out. "Would you like to run your fingers through my hair?"
Adele laughed like a loon. "Will you never forget that? You are just too much sometimes, Eric."
Two nights later, Adele called– she certainly wasn't laughing. Sookie's parents had been caught in a flash flood, the car was washed off the road, and Corbett and Michelle drowned. I wrapped up the meeting I was in as quickly as I could and flew to Bon Temps.
Adele met me at the screen door, her eyes red from crying. I embraced her and she sobbed on my shoulder. She pulled herself together after a few minutes. "Sookie is in her room." I squeezed her hand as I headed toward the hall.
Sookie was curled up on her bed, a box of tissues next to her and used tissues scattered around her. This was a slight improvement from wiping her nose on her sleeve. I sat down beside her and stroked her hair. "Gran told you?" she asked.
"Yes, little one. I'm very sorry."
"I wish I could have done something to save them."
"Are you a weather predictor as well as a telepath? A psychic perhaps?" I asked.
"No, just a telepath."
"Then, you couldn't have done anything. At least you weren't with them. Where is Jason?"
She raised her head and "listened" for him. "He is outside throwing walnuts at the shed. My parents dropped him off here for the night so they could go out. I guess he will be moving in with Gran too."
"Will you like having him around?"
"Mostly he is a pain in the but, (just gotta love that honesty) although I have missed having him around. I won't mind it." She crawled onto my lap and cried herself to sleep. Crying really makes me uncomfortable, but for Adele and Sookie... I don't think I had ever been the go to shoulder for human women before. My undead life would never be the same.
I found Adele on the porch swing. I sat next to her, then pulled her onto my lap. She sniffled. "Cry all you need to, Adele. When I became a vampire I had to leave my family behind. I wept for the loss of my children." She nodded into my shirt and began to cry in earnest.
I joined Sookie at the funeral home two evenings later. She was having a hard time with her shields, even with my presence. I took her home early. If anyone had a problem with that, well they could deal with me. I stopped by the farm house the evening after the funeral; she was a wreck. I held her and stroked her hair until she fell asleep.