The Far Reach (Southern Vampire Mystery)

Chapter 6 - Catching the Anchor

Nautical Note: Catching the anchor is what it implies. You have anchored with an unknown bottom and while you have managed to catch against an object and now feel relatively secure, there is a risk that the anchor will not release when you are ready changing you from secure to snagged, or captured.

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The packing had gone so quickly. One minute she and Eric were sitting together at the table surrounded by their things; a happy couple living a happy life. And then, in an instant the cottage looked more like what it was; a temporary place for temporary living. Most of the clothing had been boxed and sent by van to New Orleans last night along with photos and other small items. Picking up and handing over the books and knick knacks had brought to mind all the things that had been the setting for her life in Gran's house; all the things that were lost forever. Sookie had had to leave at one point and find a bench in the quiet garden under the night sky to collect herself. She would never have the furniture of her childhood sitting in her rooms. She would never pull out the shoebox of photographs and share them with her children or grandchildren. She would never again be able to run her hand over the cool surface of the old wooden rolling pin that had been in her family since long before her grandmother. All those things had been lost in the fire. Sookie looked into the sky and felt herself adrift; rootless. There was a great unknown in front of her and she found herself questioning her ability to face it without the things that reminded her of who she was and where she came from surrounding her.

Eric found her there. He sat beside her and took her hand in his. "Nervous?" he asked. Sookie glanced at him. He was looking ahead, his eyes clear and focused on some point on the horizon. He seemed anything but nervous. Holding his hand Sookie felt that she was being silly; Eric was her fixed mark.

"Not as long as you're here," she said and laid her head on his shoulder. He drew her closer, his arm wrapped around her.

"You are my good luck charm," he said above her. "Things are only right when you are beside me." Then he had turned his face and smiled that wonderful, open smile that made her feel warm all the way down to her toes.

Their lovemaking that night had been slow and wonderful. Every moment had felt like a promise between them. When Eric had cried out, "Detta är bäst!" Sookie had found herself in full agreement. This was best.

Sookie woke up well after noon. She grabbed her swimsuit and a peanut butter sandwich and headed outside to lie on a lounge chair. She and Eric were almost done reading The Lord of the Rings and were debating what book to pick up next. Eric had nixed Austen and Sookie had nixed The Art of War. Sookie wondered where they would find themselves reading at the palace.

Sookie found herself running through memories of what she remembered of the building in New Orleans. She had seen recent photographs and it didn't look like it had changed much. It was still the same funny four-story office building she remembered. It was kind of futuristic in an old-time science fiction kind of way. It had been built in the 1950s and had been considered pretty progressive at the time. It was located in the Garden District about three blocks from the Old Quarter. It seemed out of place since it was surrounded by residences or former residences converted to commercial use. The building itself took up the whole block and there had been barricades that kept people from walking on the same side of the street. At night the roads around the building had been blocked off as well. Sookie figured that Eric would probably keep all that in place.

Sookie flipped over and found herself smiling as she thought about Rasul. He had been a guard then in the retinue of Queen Sophie-Anne. Russell had told her that Rasul was now the king of Michigan. She remembered the way Rasul had laughed with her and how he had come with Eric to save her when she and Quinn had been kidnapped by the Pelts. 'Wonder if he'll come to the coronation?' she thought. She wondered if becoming king had changed him.