The World Is Not Enough

12: The Dancin' Cow

ERIC

I'd moved back to Sweden the year before. I quit the business after we caught Victor Madden and moved back in with my mother. It gave her peace of mind to have me close. I missed my pub in Ireland, but my home was in Sweden, it always would be. My heart... well, I'd gotten word that my heart was in Sweden too.

At least that was what I heard around the rumor mill, which consisted of the local pub. There was word of an American moving to our quiet little town and opening a business. I had my suspicions of who it was, given the name of the B&B, but I had to see it with my own eyes.

I'd thought a lot about going to the US to find Sookie. I figured she'd moved on and forgotten about the old man that followed her around Europe. When I left Oslo that night I did it the way I did because if I'd waited for her to come out of the bathroom I would have broken down like a little boy and pleaded for her to stay. I'd fallen in love with her and watching her leave would have been nearly impossible. So I did the next most impossible thing and left without her knowing. It could have been considered cowardly, but I knew that if I had stayed in that room both of our lives would have been ruined in one way or another.

When I pulled up to The Dancin' Cow I parked off to the side. I got out of my car and made my way up the walk toward the front door. I stood there staring at it for a good three minutes before I finally got up the nerve to ring the bell. I stood there with my hands behind my back while I waited.

The door opened and an African man was standing there.

"Hallå," he said.

"Hi, is Sookie Stackhouse here?" I asked in English.

"She is. Can I tell her who's here?"

"Tell her it's the Swirish man she met in Ireland," I replied.

Immediately he seemed to know what that meant.

"Oh you the baby daddy who got away. Bring yo' beautiful buns in here," he said. "The name's Lafayette, but you can call me The Future."

"The future?"

"The Future Mrs. Northman," he winked, stepping back to let me in. "Have a seat in the parlor. I'll go find Sookie."

He was an interesting one. Sookie hadn't mentioned him, which was surprising given how much personality he had. I was standing there with my hands behind my back looking around when I heard her footsteps. I wasn't expecting that sound to make my heart skip a beat. It had been five years since I saw her last and she still made my stomach feel like it was filled with butterflies.

I couldn't turn around. I was frozen in my spot.

"Holy... It's really you," she said in disbelief.

I turned around slowly to look at her. She looked just as beautiful as the first time I saw her.

"There's my pretty American girl," I said softly. I couldn't seem to find my voice. I didn't realize just how much I missed her until she was standing right in front of me. Five years was a long time.

"How did you... Why are you here?" Sookie seemed a bit dazed by my presence.

"I could ask you the same thing." She was in my home town after all. "I'm here to see the pretty American girl that got away."

"I'm sorry, I'm just surprised. You didn't seem to be interested in ever living here again so..." Sookie stepped a little closer but then stopped herself. "I guess if you're living here again you don't need a room."

I just need you...

"No, I'm here to see you," I confirmed.

"That's good. Our rooms are all booked up so Lafayette would probably try to get you to bunk with him," she smiled. "Would you like a tour or something to drink?"