Turnings (Southern Vampire Mysteries)

Chapter 5 - Another Page Turns

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Sookie lay in her bed after Jason left. Fran had offered her brother a place to sleep in the house, but he declined. Sookie's brother didn't travel much and Sookie was pretty clear that a night drinking his way across Boston was more enticing than spending a night with two women and tea. That left Sookie alone with her sure knowledge that she needed to call Sam before Jason got home.

Twice she picked up the phone and thumbed up Sam's contact information. Twice she pushed the button only to dismiss it. Finally, looking at the clock, she knew she couldn't delay any longer. It was late here, but Sam would just be headed back to his trailer in Bon Temps. Merlotte's would be closed. Sookie could see him as clearly as if she was standing there. Sam's ginger hair would be ruffled and standing on end. His shirt would be stained with the sweat of closing and cleaning after turning the air conditioners off. It was just too expensive to run them once the customers left for the night. She could smell him, musty and slightly sour. She remembered thinking it was a relief to smell Sam after the dry, sawgrass scent of Eric, but she had been angry.

Sookie brought up the number, stabbed the call button, and closed her eyes as she raised the phone to her ear. It rang, and then it rang again. "Hello?" a female voice answered.

"Can I talk with Sam?" Sookie asked.

"Who is this?" the woman asked, her voice sharp.

"No one you need worry about," Sookie sighed, "Just an old friend."

There was a sigh in return, and Sookie wondered if she was going to have to try to reach Sam at work when she heard Sam's voice say, "Who is it, Cher?" Hearing him call another woman the same endearment he used for her put steel in Sookie's spine. A minute later, Sam was on the phone asking, "Hello? Who is this?"

"It's Sookie, Sam." Sookie didn't feel shy or awkward. This was now just a job that had to be done and done right, because the only man in her life who mattered was sleeping just across the hall in the converted sitting room, his fist jammed in his mouth.

"Sookie?" Sam sounded happy to hear from her at first, then, "Well, hell girl. What do you want?" Sookie figured the rapid change in tone must have been when Sam caught the stink-eye from his new girlfriend.

"I have something I need to tell you before you hear it from someone else," Sookie told Sam, "and I'm not sure how you'll feel about it."

"You want to come back and start working at Merlotte's again?" Sam guessed. He didn't say it happy. He didn't say it happy at all.

"No, Sam, that's not it," Sookie let him off the hook. "Truth is; I don't ever want to come back to Bon Temps. I've moved on with my life, and from what Jason tells me, you have, too."

"Jase said he was coming up to find you," Sam's voice was friendly enough. "I guess he did."

"Saw him tonight," Sookie confirmed. "I told him what I just told you. I'm happy here. But there's something else. You see, when I came up here I had a baby." Sookie didn't know what else to say, so she waited.

Sookie could hear Sam moving and then she heard the trailer door slam, so she figured he'd walked outside. "Well," he said cautiously, "I guess that's good news. You told me you didn't want children, but I'm guessing you changed your mind."

Sookie could hear the unasked question and she didn't hesitate, "I guess I owe you an apology. I should have told you sooner."

Now the silence stretched longer. She figured Sam had been hoping she'd say it was someone else's. When the silence continued, Sookie said, "I think you should know I don't want anything from you. I don't want money. Truth is, I just want to live here like I've been living."