Home At Last

Sam finally gave us the okay to move back into the house I'd been renting from him for ages now. The Bellefleur mansion was nice and all, but it wasn't home. While Coby and Lisa stayed at the Bellefleur mansion, Terry and I had been working all weekend, moving stuff to the house and looking through the storage I keep all my stuff in from my early years of growing up and whatnot. All the stuff I couldn't bear to part with over my lifetime I always just shoved into the storage. Terry and I used every bit of our savings to furnish our home, and Sam told us he'd give us more hours at the bar to help us recover our savings. I thought that was nice of him, but I just know I work there more than anybody else does already! I hardly see Terry anymore as it is. Like now, here I am doing the last bit of unpacking, and he is off at work. I sigh, guess I cannot complain too much, we do need the money now more than ever.

I pick up the last box left, and, using a knife to cut through the tap, I open it and begin sorting through it, picking out the stuff we can use and what stuff can go back into the storage. I quickly realize this box is full of stuff from my previous marriage with Coby and Lisa's dad, but I continue digging through it just in case there is anything useful. About halfway through the box, I stumble across some old photos, mostly photos I had copied of Coby and Lisa as babies back when I was going to have scrapbooks made for them--before life got too busy and I got caught up in a divorce and working overtime just to keep up the bills. It became routine, marriage after marriage, divorce after divorce. The marriage I had with Coby and Lisa's daddy didn't even last long enough for them to know him. Only good thing I got outta that one was my kids.

Nearly closing the box to stack it up along with other boxes to go back to storage, I stumble across one final picture--the only picture I kept of that wedding day. I was still in a lot of heartache when I packed this box up and I couldn't bear to part with the picture. Sighing, I tuck the picture away in the drawer of my end table by my bed. I will destroy it tomorrow before Coby and Lisa come back home, the less they have to know about their daddy and him walking out on us, the better. After placing the picture in the drawer, I tape the box back up and stack it with the others, finally done unpacking.

After getting off from Merlotte's he called Arlene to tell her he was taking the last bit from the Bellefleur mansion back to their old rental from Sam. He was so thankful that everything was able to be repaired. Don't get him wrong, he was appreciative of his family opening the house like that but living with Andy...well it wasn't peaches and creme. Not after he came home with four screaming babies and no explanation except for rambling about the light. Arlene had later explained what happened since she was there. What she witnessed was interesting. The house suddenly became crowded.

He bent over to pick up the night table that stood next to Arlene's bed and carried it from the uhaul. They were so close to being done moving and couldn't wait to be home. They were able to salvage some things from the fire and replace everything else with the savings. The drawer came open as he set it down, a photo catching his eye. It was Arlene smiling in a wedding dress. He grinned and picked up the photo, his smile turned to a frown once he realized it was not him he was standing next to. It was another man, Coby and Lisa's father. Why was this in her night table? Was she thinking of him? Was she not happy? They were trying to work on their marriage after the fire demon incident. He sighed and placed it back in the drawer, shaking his head and praying it was a mistake...or she had some reasonable explanation.