A/N: Alright, I’m back! Thanks for holding out these past few weeks, everyone! Hopefully, we won’t have any further delays! Also, the previous two chapters have been edited because I realized while doing this catch-up that I got my dates screwed up. Therefore, the previous two chapters have been adjusted to reflect we are at MIDTERMS not FINALS. So, we’re actually on Spring Break, not quite the end of the semester, but not to worry! I won’t spend too much longer on our couple’s forced separation.
-Andi
Chapter Twenty-One: Pictures and Memories
“I guess last minute help on that math test helped a lot,” Eric chuckled as he looked at Claudine’s paper.
“I can’t thank you enough for that,” Claudine mumbled as she shoved the page back into her carry on and leaned back in her seat. “I know you had your own stuff to study for.”
Eric shrugged, “It’s fine. Since I don’t party much, I have plenty of spare time.”
“Why is that?” Claudine demanded softly as she vaguely paid attention to the flight attendant demonstrating the safety procedures for the flight.
“I’m not big on drinking, and I don’t find college parties all that fun. I get sick of being hit on. I can’t stand people trying to convince me I should get trashed,” Eric explained.
“What if I had hit on you at a party?” Claudine teased.
Eric laughed, “I probably would have gawked for a moment and then turned you down.”
“Aw, you think I’m pretty?” Claudine stuck her tongue out at him.
“Saying no is an obvious lie, and we both know it. You’re gorgeous, but you’re not my type,” Eric laughed.
“You’re too pretty for me too. You remind me of a straight, blond version of my brother,” Claudine joked. “I need a woodsy man. Someone to throw some ruggedness into my vibe.”
“I know a couple of those,” Eric told her as the airplane began to rattle. “The question is, do you want simple or complex?”
Claudine chuckled, “I don’t want one that can’t hold a conversation. I get treated like a bimbo way too often!”
“Alcide definitely isn’t a superficial type,” Eric suggested. He liked Claudine, and he could definitely see himself putting up with her presence in his dorm room for the rest of the school year over Debbie.
“Alcide Herveaux?” Claudine asked in surprise.
“Yeah, he’s my roommate. Do you know him?” Eric asked in surprise.
“I know of him. He’s my friend Debbie’s boyfriend,” Claudine frowned. “If you’re his roommate, you should know his girlfriend.”
Eric grimaced, “You’re friends with Debbie?”
Claudine shrugged, “She’s fun at parties, and she’s nice enough.”
“To you, maybe. Debbie keeps trying to get me to cheat on my fiancée,” Eric grumbled.
“Seriously?” Claudine raised her eyebrows. “How does she do that?”
“Mostly coming on to me, but she keeps trying to convince me to go to parties and prove that another woman couldn’t turn my head. Secretly, I think she’s hoping I’ll get drunk enough to get some compromising situation on me,” Eric explained.
Claudine paused, “Would she purposefully send a girl at you?”
“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Eric snorted. His newest friend bit her lip and looked away thoughtfully. Frustration crinkled the corners of Claudine’s eyes. “What is it?”
With a long sigh, Claudine confessed, “Just before Midterms I mentioned I was having trouble in my statistics class to Debbie. She told me there was a hot guy who practically lived in the library, and if I were pleasant to him without flirting, he’d help me. It was obvious you were the guy she was talking about when I got there.”
“You think Debbie was trying to set us up?” Eric guessed.
“Well, you’ve made it abundantly clear that she knows you get immediately turned off by girls who flirt with you, and that’s usually how I get what I want out of strangers,” Claudine laughed at herself. “The fact she told me not to flirt? It makes me suspicious.”
“I would have helped you if you flirted a little,” Eric shrugged. “It would have meant I wouldn’t have hung out with you other than to tutor you, though.”
Claudine nodded in understanding, “Because I’d keep coming at you?”
“I’d have been worried about that, yeah,” Eric agreed.
“Well, I’m glad that Debbie told me not to flirt with you,” Claudine smiled widely. “You really are becoming a great friend.”
“I’m glad her plan backfired,” Eric laughed. “But, on that note, Debbie’s boyfriend really is a great guy, and I’d hate for him to be stuck with someone like her.”
Claudine raised her eyebrows suspiciously, “Are you seriously asking me to hit on Debbie’s boyfriend?”
“No,” Eric shook his head. “I was hoping you could tell me if you’ve noticed Debbie using drugs? Or maybe fooling around behind Alcide’s back?”
“Well, normally, I try to stay out of other people’s affairs, but seeing as you’re my friend and Debbie tried to set me up– I’ll make an exception,” Claudine’s face transformed into a frown. “I know she’s been drinking a lot, but I’ve also noticed that she’s seemed more than just drunk at some of the parties lately. If I had to guess, I’d say she’s doing Ex. It’s been popping up at some of the Greek parties recently.”
“Anything else?” Eric pressed.
“I don’t know if she’s cheating on Alcide, but she tends to leave the parties with a small group of people. It’s always the same two guys and two girls,” Claudine continued. “I figured they were all going somewhere else to get high or something. The weird thing is, most of them seem too old to be at college parties.”
The flight to Shreveport seemed short as the two friends discussed Debbie’s betrayal, and Eric occasionally dropped flattering stories and descriptions of his roommate. Every time he mentioned Alcide, Claudine would laugh and punch Eric’s arm.
Soon they were landing at the airport, and Eric saw his brother waiting near the gate for him.
“Hey, Godric,” Eric grinned at his brother.
“Good flight?” Godric asked before he realized that a striking, dark-haired woman was standing very close to his brother.
“Yeah, Claudine got me through it,” Eric chuckled as he gestured to his friend. “Claudine, this is my older brother, Godric. Godric, this is Claudine, one of my friends from school.”
Godric’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, “Is that right?”
“Don’t give me that look,” Eric rolled his eyes. “We’re just friends.”
“Whatever, Eric,” Godric turned away and started heading toward the exit.
Claudine frowned, “Wow, do I look like a tramp or something?”
Eric shook his head, “No, it’s not you. It’s me.”
“What’d you do?” Claudine asked.
“I’m not sure if I did anything, but I don’t really know for sure,” Eric replied as they followed a distance behind Godric. “Where’s your ride?”
Claudine stared in confusion for a moment before she glanced around, “I don’t know. Claude was supposed to pick me up.” She lowered her voice to a whisper, “Did a girl he like fall for you instead?”
“There are payphones over there if you want to call home,” Eric pointed over to the row of phones, effectively ending the conversation.
When Claudine nodded and headed toward the line to call her brother, Eric saw Godric stop suddenly in front of him and then storm over.
“Mind telling me what your problem is all the sudden?” Eric demanded when his older brother stood before him. “Do you think I’d cheat on Sookie? Do you have that little faith in me?”
“I’ve known you a lot longer than she has,” Godric snapped angrily. “And bringing that girl home-”
“I’m not bringing her home! We ended up on the same flight because we both live up here! She’s from Monroe!” Eric hissed impatiently.
“Save it, Eric,” Godric growled back. “God knows you can’t keep a promise to me, so why should you be able to keep one to Sookie? I’ll applaud you for keeping it this long, though! It took you until the following weekend to sleep with Naomi after I told you liked her!”
The younger brother’s jaw tightened at the accusation. “How about you run back to Bon Temps and tell Sookie all about Claudine then?” Eric gave up trying to reason with his brother. “Ask her yourself if I’ve ever mentioned her. Sookie will even tell you we were taking the same flight home.”
“Fine!” Godric shouted back and flung his arms into the air before storming out of the airport. Neither brother realized that they’d created an audience, and as Godric left, Eric became uncomfortably aware of his spectators.
“Uh,” Claudine waved nervously. “Claude’s on his way. My mother said he left a while ago. Maybe he got caught up in traffic.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Eric sighed before throwing a glare at the gawkers and making the group break apart and continue on their own journeys.
“Seriously, what’s wrong with your brother?” Claudine asked worriedly.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Eric stated quickly, making Claudine nod slowly in acceptance.
Claudine suddenly shook her head and laughed, “I guess I’ll have to ask Claude if he’ll give you a ride home, huh?”
Eric grimaced, “I could call Sookie to pick me up.”
“Aw, don’t be stupid,” Claudine smirked as she pushed her friend toward the exit. “You can just buy us dinner. Besides, I’d like to meet the girl you never shut up about.”
Groaning to himself, Eric let himself be shoved out of the airport to wait for his friend’s brother.
“I’m sorry my brother made such a scene,” Eric told her as they stood outside.
“It’s cool. Believe me, my brother and I know all about the family making a scene,” Claudine rolled her eyes. “My Uncle Dermot has a step-daughter named Sophie-Anne and step-son named André. Dermot’s wife isn’t so bad to be around, but her daughter and son are impossible.”
“Oh yeah?” Eric turned his head toward Claudine curiously. “Come on, tell me. Make me feel better about the situation,” He nudged her playfully.
“Okay, so,” Claudine took a deep breath, “my grandpa has three kids: Dermot, Fintan and my father Dillon. My dad was a huge surprise; they thought grandma was going through menopause, not pregnancy. She was almost fifty. So, there’s a twenty-five-year gap between my dad and Uncle Fintan.
“Uncle Dermot,” she continued, “wanted kids of his own but Josephine said she was done having kids. Grandpa was cool, treated his step-grandkids just like me and my brother. Uncle Fintan never had any kids.”
“This is sounding a lot less interesting than I was hoping,” Eric frowned.
“Hold on, hold on,” Claudine encouraged. “So, grandpa let Uncle Dermot take over his company, and Uncle Dermot hired Sophie-Anne and André when they were old enough. Now money keeps going missing. Sophie-Anne’s department is hundreds of thousands of dollars overdrawn, and grandpa Niall is beside himself. Now he’s pressuring me to get my degree in business so he has some hope of protecting the company.”
“What about your brother?” Eric asked.
“Eric, my brother is a gay stripper in Monroe,” Claudine looked at her friend in exasperation. “Believe me when I say that he has no desire to run Elfyria.”
“Talking about me behind my back, Claudine?”
Eric looked up to see a tall, lean man approaching them. Like his sister, Claude had dark hair and eyes. He held himself like a model, and Eric couldn’t help but amuse himself by agreeing that women and probably men alike would enjoy seeing him naked.
“You must be Claude,” Eric shook the man’s hand.
“And you must join me for dinner some time,” Claude grinned salaciously.
“Sorry, I’m taken,” Eric laughed. “But my fiancée and I would happily feed you and your sister any time.”
“Your friend didn’t strike me as a suck up,” Claude stated pointedly to his sister.
“He needs a ride home to Bon Temps. I think he’s trying to play nice,” Claudine laughed as they walked toward the airport parking lot.
When the trio arrived at Claude’s car, Eric found himself trying to puzzle out something he hadn’t realized was a mystery until now.
“Did you say your grandfather is the founder of Elfyria?” Eric asked as he slid into the backseat while the siblings took the front.
“Yes,” Claudine could not disguise the hesitation in her response.
“Elfyria Mergers and Acquisitions?” Eric pressed.
“Yes,” Claude grumbled. “So what?”
“The founder’s name is Niall Brigant, right?” Eric asked.
“That’s our grandfather alright,” Claude replied impatiently.
“So, if he had all sons, why is your last name Crane?” Eric wondered.
“It’s our mother’s maiden name,” Claudine explained softly.
Before Eric could ponder further, he stopped and considered the possibility that the difference in their last name from the rest of the family might be a sensitive topic. Deciding that it was none of his business, Eric instead shrugged and said, “Oh, okay,” and left the conversation at that.
The tension in the car slowly dissipated, but the conversation was still a bit awkward the remainder of the way to Bon Temps. When they arrived in front of the Stackhouse farm, Eric asked them to wait so he could introduce his friend to his fiancée.
Eric’s long legs launched himself from the car and bounded over the steps to the back door near the kitchen. When his arms flung the door open, Sookie jumped in her seat in surprise at her fiancé standing by the fridge.
“Eric!” Sookie yelped as she leaped from her seat and wrapped her arms around Eric’s middle.
“Hey, Sookie,” Eric greeted her with a quick kiss. “I want you to meet Claudine. Her brother gave me a ride home.”
“Godric?” Sookie inquired as Eric took her by the hand and tugged her out the door.
“What’s all the commotion down here?” Jason wondered as he came into the kitchen and grinned at his future brother-in-law. “Eric! Welcome home, man!” He clapped Eric on the shoulder.
“Thanks, Jason,” Eric smiled back. “Come with us and meet my friend Claudine and her brother Claude.”
Jason nodded and followed the couple outside. Two dark haired and dark eyed beauties stood leaning against the fenders of a nice Pontiac.
Sookie paused, staring at Claudine and let her arm be drawn out by Eric as she gazed unblinkingly.
While Sookie stared at Claudine, the other siblings were staring at Jason.
“Am I missing something here?” Eric wondered as everyone gazed dumbly at one another.
“He just looks strangely familiar,” Claude frowned, still appraising Jason.
“Like we’ve seen him before?” Claudine asked of her brother.
“I-uh- used to be the Bon Temps starting QB?” Jason offered. “And you two, I would definitely remember.”
“We never played against Bon Temps,” Claude frowned. “Do you have any family in Monroe?”
“My Great-great-grandparents on my Gran’s side were from there,” Jason offered. “Our Great Uncle lived out there too for a while, but no one’s seen him since…” Jason trailed off as he looked back at Sookie apologetically. He was surprised to see tears streaming down his sister’s face. “Sook, what’s wrong?” Jason asked worriedly and it was then that Eric turned to see his fiancée’s distress.
“I don’t remember,” Sookie choked quietly and wiped her eyes as if suddenly realizing she was crying.
“You don’t remember why you were crying?” Eric asked gently.
Sookie shook her head, “No.” She hiccuped and then wiped her nose with the back of her hand as she turned back toward the house. “Sorry,” she mumbled as she headed back to the kitchen.
“We didn’t mean to upset Sookie, ” Claudine worried her lip between her teeth.
Eric barely heard Claudine’s concerned statement as he turned back to the house. As he peeked into the kitchen, the young man found his fiancée sitting at the kitchen table, peeling an apple with intense concentration.
“Hey,” Eric greeted carefully. “Are you alright?”
“Her face,” Sookie began slowly, her knife pausing its work at removing the crimson skin of the fruit. The curly tail trembled, betraying Sookie’s worries. “Her face… It made my chest hurt.”
Eric sat beside Sookie and took the knife and apple from her. Godric’s accusations and warnings thundered in his ears. “You know that Claudine is only a friend of mine, right?”
Sookie looked up at Eric in surprise. “I’m not jealous, ” she assured. “I don’t know what it is I feel exactly, but I’m not scared of her taking you. You’d never write to me the way you do if she had that effect on you.”
Eric marveled at the way Sookie could now speak. It was still a novelty to hear her voice, and the fluidity of her complete statements floored him. How far she had come in just a few weeks! Sookie’s speech had healed far faster than her arm.
“Besides,” Sookie finally took up the fruit and knife to resume peeling her apple as the pulpy flesh began to tinge brown, “even if you were attracted to her, you’d never introduce her to me if you had that on your mind. You’re not a sadist.”
Eric relaxed at her point and finally sat with her at the kitchen table. “You really don’t know what’s wrong, do you?”
Sookie shook her head, “No, I don’t. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“Does she seem familiar?” Eric asked.
The young woman shrugged. “In that way that anyone could seem familiar? Like when I’d go shopping with the family and I’d wander away. So many women would look like my mama, but only for that brief moment,” she tried to explain.
Sookie’s fingers wiggled to rotate the apple against the knife her restricted hand was holding stationary until the curly tail fell off and she began to eat the fruit thoughtfully.
{†}
“So,” Claude cleared his throat uncomfortably, “we should probably get going. I know our parents are waiting for me to bring Claudine home.”
“Yeah, sorry everything got so weird,” Jason chuckled. “Sookie still gets a little hesitant around strangers, so maybe that’s why she got all weepy.”
“Eric told me about her voice,” Claudine smiled sympathetically. “It’s just awful what she went through.”
Jason nodded sadly, “Yeah, but she’s tough in her own ways. She tries not to hold onto things now.”
“Maybe we’ll drop by again sometime soon, but actually announce ourselves beforehand,” Claudine suggested.
“Yeah, sure,” Jason nodded, hoping that the two wouldn’t stare at him so confused the next time they decided to drop in.
{†}
“Sookie,” Eric began suddenly, “there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”
“What’s that?” Sookie wondered.
“It has a lot to do with why Godric and Pam were really against the two of us dating at first,” Eric explained slowly. “Hell, maybe it has a lot to do with the way I used to act, too.”
Sookie rose to clean the paring knife in the sink as she considered the possibilities. “Will it make you feel better to talk about it with me, or do you think it’s something I have to know?”
Eric sighed and leaned his head back tiredly, “I thought after you and I made it through so much, Godric would have more faith in us… In me. Since he doesn’t seem to want to let it go, it would make me feel better if you knew as much of the story as I know.”
“Does Godric know the whole story?” Sookie asked.
“He wouldn’t listen to me about that night even if I tied him to a chair and screamed it into a bullhorn,” Eric laughed. “Besides, I doubt he’d believe me about it if I did get him to listen.”
“Well, I can’t absolve you of something between you and your brother,” Sookie pointed out. “If you need to talk about it or get it out, I’ll listen, but the only way to fix things with your brother is to talk to him about it.”
Eric groaned, “I know.”
“Am I still going to spend the week at Rosenfont with you?” Sookie asked now that she knew things weren’t so great between the siblings.
“Of course you are,” Eric grinned and pulled Sookie into his lap. “Why would you think otherwise?”
“Well, if there’s going to be blood in the Northman Household, I thought I might stay away,” Sookie teased.
“There is a possibility of some shouting and cursing, but you’re going to be a Northman soon. Besides, I want you nearby to help me calm down if things take a turn for the worst,” Eric’s arms tightened briefly around her waist.
“Oh, is that what this is all about?” Sookie laughed as she leaned over him and stole a kiss.
“No,” Eric confessed, “I mostly can’t bear the idea of not waking up next to you every chance I get.”
{†}
“Claude?” Claudine murmured as she stared at the passing scenery as the twins drove home to Monroe.
“Yeah?” Her brother’s voice felt as preoccupied as her own mind.
“I’m not crazy, right?” Claudine wondered aloud. “Jason Stackhouse does look insanely familiar, right?”
“Yeah,” Claude agreed. “It’s weird. I feel like I saw him ages ago just how he is now.”
“Didn’t he say his grandmother had family in Monroe?” Claudine remembered.
“You’re right!” Claude grinned. “Maybe we’ve seen a picture of his family somewhere?”
“I can’t think of anywhere we’ve looked at old pictures… Other than Grandpa’s house,” Claudine realized. “Mom only keeps pictures of us in the house.”
“Do you want to stop by Grandpa’s before going home?” Claude suggested as they pulled onto the highway at last.
“Yes, otherwise I’ll go crazy trying to figure out whom Jason reminds me of!” Claudine howled playfully, making her brother laugh.
{†}
“Come on, Sookie,” Eric tugged at his fiancée’s arm as he lifted her duffle bag over his shoulder. “Sorry, we’ll have to walk since Godric’s being a dick.”
Sookie shook her head amusedly as they strolled the familiar path up the road to Rosenfont Hall.
When they arrived at the old plantation, Sookie gave pause when she saw Tara and Pam sitting together on the porch swing, drinking iced tea. “Hi-i,” Sookie waved at the pair, her voice trembling a bit with surprise.
“Heya, Sook,” Tara greeted with her own wave.
“Is Godric home?” Eric asked of Pam as the couple walked up the steps to the porch.
“No,” Pam frowned. “He hasn’t come home at all. I figured you three were hanging at the Stackhouses’.”
Eric sighed and shook his head, “He saw me get off the plane with my friend Claudine, accused me of cheating on Sookie and then abandoned me at the airport. Claudine’s brother had to drive me to Sookie’s.”
Pam raised her eyebrows. “Jeez. He’s not very subtle anymore, is he?”
“No, he’s not,” Eric agreed tiredly.
“Well, you reap what you sew,” Pam reminded. “Your word when it comes to girls is garbage to him.”
“I know what he thinks and why, but he needs to let it go,” Eric grumbled.
“Maybe he would have if you hadn’t broken your promise and fucked his crush,” Pam pointed out. Eric’s shoulders tightened. “Can you blame him for not trusting your word? You said you wouldn’t do it out of respect for him, and then you got trashed and did it.”
“That is not the story,” Eric scowled.
“So what is the story?” Tara sipped at her tea, raising her eyebrows at Eric curiously.
Eric paused, looked at Sookie and then remained silent.
“None of your fucking business,” Eric snapped and dragged Sookie into the house, leaving the girls laughing on the porch.
“Eric,” Sookie tugged at his arm carefully, “this doesn’t sound at all like what you were hinting at back at my house.”
Her fiancé’s shoulders slumped, and he turned to meet her eyes. “I don’t remember what happened.”
“How do you mean?” Sookie was very familiar with memory problems.
“I mean, I remember drinking. It was while we were in England, and I was still learning my limits. I remember crawling upstairs to shut my eyes,” Eric explained. “I remember waking up with my pants open. The next thing I know, I’m back downstairs at the party, and Naomi’s talking about my cock like she knows it. I don’t know if we fucked, or she just played with me a bit while I was asleep. I got tested afterward to be safe, but since I don’t know, she just got put on my list of twelve, just to be safe.”
“Eric,” Sookie began slowly, “are you saying you got raped by your brother’s crush at a party?”
Her fiancé snorted, “I didn’t get raped.”
“Did you want to have sex?” Sookie demanded.
“Sookie,” Eric laughed, “I’m not traumatized or something by it. I don’t even remember it-”
“There’s a lot of things I don’t remember, Eric,” Sookie whispered. “I can say for sure they can still hurt you. The body remembers things the mind doesn’t sometimes.”
Eric paused at her statement and pulled Sookie back into his arms. “I’m at peace with whatever happened, Sookie. I stay in control of my drinking. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“What happens when you drink too much?” Sookie asked softly.
“Huh?”
“What keeps you from ordering that next drink?” Sookie explained. “How do you know where to stop?”
Eric smiled, “Are you worried I won’t become an alcoholic?”
“What does it feel like?” Sookie pressed.
“Agitation,” Eric sighed. “I get agitated right before. That’s when I know to stop.”
Sookie nodded, “Because you feel your sense of control slipping?”
“Probably,” Eric released her from the embrace he’d maintained. “Come on. Let’s get settled upstairs.”
{†}
“Here, this one’s pretty old,” Fintan Brigant came to the coffee table with a thick, leather-bound photo album.
When Claude and Claudine had arrived at their grandfather’s house, they weren’t surprised to be told by the maid that Grandpa Niall was resting. They were, however, pleasantly surprised to find their Uncle Fintan all too happy to help them on their quest for old pictures.
“It would help if you had a name,” Fintan hinted.
“We don’t know Jason’s grandmother’s maiden name,” Claudine explained as she kept flipping through the album. “Ugh, this is just a bunch of super old baby pictures! We need pictures from around grandpa’s prime!”
“I think most of those would be dust by now,” Fintan joked as he rose to look for another album.
“Wait!” Claude shouted. “This guy! Who are these guys!?” His finger jabbed at the plastic laminate that protected the old photo.
Fintan sighed and returned to the coffee table to laugh. “Who do you think it is? That’s your dad,” he pointed to the baby. “That’s me,” he gestured to a young man with his arms crossed over his chest and smirking. “And that’s your Uncle Dermot,” he pointed at the man holding the infant Dillon. “Why?”
“The guy we met today looked like the spitting image of Uncle Dermot,” Claude told him.
“I’m sure you’re exaggerating,” Fintan shrugged. “Are you happy now? Mystery solved?”
“I suppose,” Claudine frowned. “I suppose I could ask Eric to ask Mrs. Stackhouse what her maiden name was-”
“What name did you say?” Fintan interrupted.
“Stackhouse,” Claudine repeated.
“Adele Stackhouse?” Fintan demanded impatiently.
“I don’t know,” Claudine confessed. “I just know the granddaughter’s name is Sookie.”
“Where do they live?” Fintan asked while simultaneously heading for the door.
{†}
“Damn, it’s quite the day for visitors,” Jason grumbled as he saw a dust cloud coming up the gravel driveway.
“Watch your language, Jason,” Adele snapped at her grandson while she worked in her garden.
“Yes, Gran,” the young man huffed as he went back to working on the lawn mower that had been giving him a hard time all week.
As the strange car rolled to a stop, Adele finally rocked back to her feet to greet the unexpected company. What she didn’t anticipate was to be transported nearly fifty years into the past.
The gentleman that exited the car might have been in his late sixties, but to Adele Stackhouse, he was still the handsome boy she had spent her summers with on her grandparents’ farm. Fintan Brigant was still the man who had stolen her heart but had been forbidden to give her his own.
“Fintan,” Adele’s voice trembled.
“Hi, Addy,” Fintan smiled gently.
Jason stared between the elderly before politely excusing himself. He didn’t miss the way the stranger, Fintan, watched him leave.
“Addy,” Fintan began slowly, acknowledging the family resemblance first hand, “is that boy my own?”
Adele nodded slowly, “He’s your grandson.”
“Does he know?”
Shaking her head, Adele confessed, “They have no idea.”
“Was it his father or his mother that was mine?” Fintan lowered his voice.
“His father,” Adele felt entranced as a forty-five-year-old secret was finally spilled from her lips.
Fintan took a deep, long breath. He had a son. Somewhere he had a son.
“Addy,” Fintan’s voice changed suddenly. It became cold. “Where is your brother?”
“Bartlett? I don’t know. Why?” Adele replied dazedly, jarred from her amorous memories by Fintan’s abrupt mood swing.
“No one’s ever come asking about him? Maybe eight and a half years ago?” Fintan’s voice became harsher, and Adele bristled in annoyance.
“Eight years ago?” She snapped. “If someone came asking about my brother eight years ago, I wouldn’t have had the time of day to tell them.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Fintan snarled back.
“Eight and a half years ago is when my… Our son was killed in a car accident!” Adele told him sharply and she saw the shock on Fintan’s face. “The accident killed his wife, and almost took our granddaughter too.”
Fintan leaned heavily against his car. “Is she alright now?”
“She’s fine,” Adele replied, calming down slowly and taking a moment to reflect. “Now that I’m stopping to think about it; yes. Someone did come by looking for Bartlett. It was while I was in the hospital with Sookie. They said they wanted to ask him about a little girl that had gone missing near the lake he lived on. He wanted to know if Bartlett might have seen someone out there. I told him I hadn’t seen my brother since the morning of the car accident when I left him to watch Sookie so I could run some errands.”
Fintan’s body tensed once more, “Bartlett was under investigation for the abduction of Claudette Brigant.”
“Your daughter!?” Adele cried.
“My niece,” Fintan shook his head. “She was one of Dillon’s triplets.”
“I’m sorry, Fintan,” Adele crooned sadly.
Fintan waved off her apology, “You don’t seem surprised by my accusations.”
“I have it on pretty good authority that he was hurting another little girl,” Adele couldn’t bring herself to say it was their Hadley that had enlightened her. “It was too late for me to do anything about once I knew. He’d already been missing for months.”
“Did you ever ask Sookie where your brother went?” Fintan asked.
“She doesn’t remember the accident, Fintan, or most of the day leading up to it,” Adele explained. “I’m sorry.” She couldn’t find it in her to share her suspicions about what had become of her brother.
“I wish I could have known my son,” Fintan ran his hand through his hair, feeling suddenly tired.
“You still have time to know your daughter,” Adele told him tentatively.
“I have a daughter, too?” Fintan asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Adele nodded, “and a second granddaughter.”
Fintan ran his hands into his hair again, “Did I knock you up every time?”
“No, just the two times,” Adele felt the old, familiar flush only Fintan could bring to her cheeks. It had been so long…
“Is that why you stopped coming by?” Fintan asked sadly. “Because you’d gotten everything you needed out of me?”
Adele frowned and walked slowly over to the car. As she leaned against the hood, she again felt time melt away as her hand laid over that of the first love of her life. “I loved my husband, Fintan. He was a wonderful father to our children, but I knew what your father would do if he found out they were yours. He’d practically buy them from me and ship them off to boarding school. I took solace in the pieces of you that the Lord let me have, and the completion you gave my family.”
“You hid them from me,” Fintan squeezed Adele’s hand, “but you were right to do so.”
“I’m sorry,” Adele choked. “It wasn’t fair for me to take so much and give nothing.”
“You gave me a lot, Addy,” Fintan assured her. “You gave me your heart, and I’ve always cherished that.”
“Lord, I have no idea how I’m going to explain to my child and grandchildren that I was an adulteress,” Adele moaned.
Fintan brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles gently, “You won’t have to do it alone, Addy.”
{†}
“Sookie,” Eric sighed with frustration, “I’m finished discussing this!” The topic of Naomi had followed them all the way from the foyer to his bedroom, and he was exhausted from it.
“How can you be finished?” Sookie demanded. “You just admitted that you were assaulted and-”
“And nothing,” Eric retorted impatiently. “It’s over, and even if I explained it to Godric, he wouldn’t believe me. If by some miracle he did, he’d think I’d brought it upon myself anyway. Just drop it. I got what I deserved.”
“What if it was me?” Sookie crossed her arms over her chest defiantly.
Pressing his hands against his eyes in fatigue, Eric growled, “It wasn’t you, and if it had been, it would be different.”
“How so?”
“Because you would care that it happened. Obviously, I would be out for blood,” Eric remarked.
“I care that someone did that to you,” Sookie closed the distance between them and took Eric’s hands in her own.
“Does it change how you feel about me?” Eric demanded.
“Of course not!” Sookie replied without hesitation.
“Then let it be, Sookie,” Eric pleaded. “It was almost four years ago, and if you still feel you can be with me after knowing, then I’m happy to leave it in the past.”
“If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here,” Sookie told him.
Choosing not to argue and rehash the discussion, Eric answered, “Thank you.”
In reality, Eric did have his wounds from the experience, and some of the scars were still pink and painful. At the party, he had been too drunk still to fully comprehend what had happened, and by the time he’d gotten home and eventually sobered up; it was too late for him to do damage control.
Drinking became something he partook in to avoid people asking more questions. He made sure to nurse a single beer throughout the night but surreptitiously pour it out along the way so he could crack open a fresh one now and again. Eric had mastered the art of appearing mildly buzzed and purposefully scoffed at the notion of competitive drinking.
“Sookie,” Eric tugged his fiancée back to his side when she moved to begin opening her duffle bag.
“Hmm?” She looked back curiously.
“The whole jumping from girl to girl thing,” Eric began slowly. “It’s possible I was doing that because I was angry, or maybe because I didn’t trust women after Naomi did what she did. She threw a wrecking ball at my relationship with my brother, and I couldn’t forgive that.” When Sookie wrapped her comforting arms around him, Eric let out a sigh. “I still don’t want to tell Godric.”
“Okay,” Sookie squeezed him a bit tighter. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” She sensed that the topic was closed once and for all for the evening, and she held him a bit longer before pulling away. “I’m going to unpack some of my stuff and then start on dinner.”
“You don’t have to cook for us,” Eric chuckled.
“I want to,” Sookie assured as she began taking her toiletries out to put in Eric’s bathroom. She hung her clothes in his closet and placed a few items in his drawers. With any luck, they could stay curled up in Rosenfont for the entire week of Spring Break until they had to return to the Stackhouse farm for Easter.
TBC
dream7me7to7sleep 