Shifting gears

~Compton Estate~

James woke and looked at the calender. He needed to me at work in about an hour. He kissed Jessica and wrote a little note telling her where he had gone. He showered and got dressed, then headed down into the garage. He smiled when he saw his truck. Bill's mechanics had been able to get it running better so he did not have to borrow a car anymore. He climbed in the seat and started her up. As he passed out the gate, he waved at the guards and turned the truck toward Bon Temps. He flipped on the radio and laughed at the song that was playing. He thought back to seeing Jessica dance around in her room as he sped toward Merlotte's.


As he pulled in the back, he smiled. It was good to be getting back to normal things again. He loved spending time at the mansion but there was so little for him to do. Jessica was spending a lot of time training now and there was not much to maintaining the garden, so Sam had been kind enough to give him work shifts here. OK, he was washing dishes, but it was honest work and he liked that.

She fumbled with her keys and hit the lock button on her car, digging in her purse for her watch as she walked towards the employee entrance in the back. "Damn it, I know I had it--" Her words cut off quickly as she slammed into something and dropped her purse and keys, stumbling back and falling. Her head was not on her body apparently. Looking up, she saw someone she never before seen.

"Sorry, I didn't see you. Well, I wasn't payin' any attention either." She sighed hard and shook her head, pushing herself up to stand.

He smiled at the redhead bumped into him. He suppressed a laugh and offered his hand to help her up.

"Hi, I'm James. I'm kind of new here. Sam was kind enough to let me pick up a few shifts helping with the dishes. You have got to be Arlene. Jessica told me about the people she worked with over here."

She took his hand and noted it was cold, but everything about the place was cold with the Arctic weather they were getting. She rubbed her hands together and smiled when he introduced himself. Both her brows rose. "Oh, Jessica...you're--you're a friend of Jessica's? The vampire girl?" She saw his face and stepped back slightly. She had been awfully cruel to Jessica and him knowing about her might not be a good thing. "I just came to help unload a truck and do some waitressin', please don't bite me."

James could not help laughing.

"I have no intention of doing so, good lady. I am here to work...and I brought my lunch."

He opened the lunchbox and showed her a thermos.

"I am just a guy trying to work, that's all. Why don't you let me deal with the truck when it comes in. I'm sure the customers keep you busy up front. The dishes won't stack up too much while I bring the kegs in and that was you can focus on keeping those customers happy and coming in."

He smiled and opened the door for her.

"After you, Miss Arlene."

She sighed a relieved sigh and forced a smile. Looking down into the lunchbox he showed her, she wondered what was in there but if he was a vampire, it sure wasn't hot chocolate. She gave a mmhmm and smiled, picking her purse up from the ground. At his offer, she thought a moment. Sam had been closed all day but decided to open for dinner since the ice had began to melt.

She listened to his explanation and was shocked that he was so nice. Well, it was different is what it was. Seeing him open the door, her jaw nearly fell open. "Th-Thank you. I um...well, sure if you don't mind it. Thank you for helping." She gave him a smile and passed him through the doors, looking back over her shoulder wondering if she heard him right. What had happened since she had been out of work?

James smiled and followed her inside, going to the kitchen and getting started putting things together. Lafayette had already been cooking up a storm so there was plenty to keep him busy. He cleared the pile and kept things running smoothly until the truck came in. He walked out to see the driver cleaning some glass from the trailer.

"Had a case of bottles break mid-trip. might be a bit messy."

"No problem, Sir. I'll deal with it."

James smiled, stripping off his shirt and handing it from the door handle. He put a case in front of the door to hold it open and started walking the kegs inside.

She stumbled into Sam's office and shook her head. Vampires were gettin' nicer or that was just rare and she was lucky. She didn't really like vampires because of how they thought they were better than everyone else and loved to suck on people against their will. She pulled her apron on and grabbed a pen off of Sam's desk. She was ready to come back to work, ready to be around people. It would be hard, but sittin' at home had only given her a headache. It was time to move on, Terry would have wanted that. She was still waiting to hear from the life insurance company so her brain was always thinking. Maybe work would clear her mind.

"Hey can I take your order?" They stopped whispering when she approached the table and she looked to see what they were looking at. Her gaze went to the vampire James, shirtless in this weather, with a large keg on his shoulder like it weighed nothing. The women were swooning and Arlene was just baffled. She shook her head and blinked, looking back at her customers. "Your order? Can I take it..." She reminded them.

He brought the rest of the order in, grabbing his shirt and pulling it back on, he took the receipt to Arlene. As he handed it to her he smiled.

"Well...back to the dish room for me. I imagine there is a nice pile by now. I'll probably take my lunch after I knock them out if that is alright with you, Miss Arlene."

She looked around and took the receipt from him, confused as all hell.

"Uh...you must think I'm someone else. I'm not a manager or anything, you take your break when you want to." She moved past him, not understanding why he was being so nice to her.

"Yeah that's the one. Said he died in her arms out back, could you imagine?" She came up to the table just as Maxine finished. Arlene heard her, but she ignored it and swallowed the rock in her throat.

"Can I get you something." Maxine looked at the other two ladies who were dining with her and then back to Arlene.

"Oh honey, I'm awful sorry about Terry. He was a weird but sweet man. Are you doin' alright?"

The tears pricked her eyes and she pressed her lips together tightly, about ready to burst into tears. Why did they all have to bring him up, why?

He glanced after her when she moved to the tables.

"I'll try to remember that, Miss Arlene."

He headed back into the back rooms and finished the dishes off, then walked over and warmed the blood in his thermos, pouring it back into the thermos and carrying that and the red lid/cup out to the dining floor. He sat at one of the back tables and began pouring about a half cup at a time into the cap so he would not attract as much attention. He set the lunch pail and thermos both on the table since he really had nowhere else to put them.



He just sat quietly and drank from his cup as he watched the crowd come and go. When he finished, he went back and caught the dishes up. No big deal, just another guy making a living. It was nice not to be judged simply because he was a vampire. They did not seem to care here. It was a welcome change.

She did her best to take Maxine's order and skip around the questions of her husband that was shot in the back of Merlotte's. Apparently, it was still talk of the town. She bit back the tears and put the ticket on the wheel for Lafayette, hurrying off to the back of the bar. Throwing the door open, she stepped outside in the cold and inhaled deeply. Her heart still hurt for him. She really thought she was ready to come back, ready for this....Looking over at the dumpster as tears fell from her eyes, she just stared at the spot he died in her arms. Her voice in her head as she sang to him to comfort him.

He saw her rush out the back and was a bit concerned. He followed to make sure she was alright. Seeing her there crying, his heart went out to her. Jessica had told him about Terry's death. He walked out slowly, making no quick movements, and walked up to her. He gently rested his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright, Miss Arlene?"

She nearly jumped out her skin because she was so lost in her thoughts and didn't hear him approach. Quickly wiping her eyes after she let out a gasp, she sighed and turned to him. "I'm fine, I'm....fine okay. I...You don't even know me and you're being nice to me. I was never nice to your friend Jessica...and Terry...he always said...." She couldn't finish her sentence as her hand came up to her mouth and she felt more tears fall. Here she was, falling apart in front of a vampire. This was her life now....

He smiled softly, pulling her into a gentle hug.

"It's ok, I won't tell anyone; you're secret's safe with me. A very old friend used to tell me that kindness costs nothing and returns double."

He held her lightly, sensing her nervousness.

"You can let it out, nobody is going to see it out here. I'll even shut my eyes so I won't see it if you want."

He smiled at her.

She crumbled in his arms, sobbing hard for the man she loved that was no longer there. Who would have thought she'd find comfort in a vampire....cryin' on a vampires shoulder. "He was a good man....he was a great father..." She said in between sobs. She sank to her knees and he followed, burying her face in his chest as she cried.

"It's all my fault, it's all my fault. I asked that vampire to take his pain and memories away so we could be happy, so he could be normal....it's all my fault." She cried as she spoke, finally letting out her thoughts and saying it out loud.

He sat on the ground, cradling her to him, stroking her hair gently as he listens to her confessions. He let her finish and let things go quiet for a minute before speaking.

"Miss Arlene, it sounds like you loved each other very much and you were trying to help him. Death comes for us all, and we rarely know it is coming. Even we, vampires, eventually will face that fact. It sounds like you did what you could to help him. I do not see that you have anything to feel guilty about. It sounds like you loved him a lot, to be willing to put your concerns aside and take that step for a chance to make him happy."

He fell silent, rocking her gently, letting the quiet of the evening work it's soothing magic on her troubled mind.

She listened to his words and found solace in them. It did help to hear, but the guilt lingered. Her sobs softened as she remembered the man that made her heart flip flop in her chest. He was at peace now, he did what he thought he had to. Her Terry, such a stubborn marine. Her marine. She closed her eyes and pictured his smiling face leaning against the bar. His memory lived here, his presence was everywhere. She had to get a grip and get it together. She needed the money and needed to work, for her kids. Sam saw her like this and he'd surely send her home.

"I do...I love him so much. Still do. I don't think I'll ever love anyone else as much as I loved that man." She sniffled and moved back slightly, looking up at him. "I may have misjudged vampires. Not all are...bad. Y'all are just scary." She laughed and pushed herself to stand, with his help. Dusting herself off, she sighed. "I know you vampires live a long time, most of the time, but for humans...life is so precious. It can be taken so easily. It's hard to live carelessly when you know it could be your last. Terry was different, he lived for the day." She smiled, remembering his words as she repeated them. "Arlene, we ain't promised tomorrow, so let's make the best of today."

He smiled and stood as well, listening to her talk about Terry.

"He sounds like an amazing man. I wish I could have known him."

He thought for a moment and smiled again.

"If it is any help, I've known humans that terrified some vampires. We may live longer, but he can die just as easy. Even more so sometimes."

He thought back to Nicole for a moment and her choice to go to the sunrise and sighed.

"It is never easy to lose someone you love. Nicole, my maker, was fond of a saying..."

He struck a regal pose and spoke in a hushed tone.

"Eternal life is nothing if you do not choose to live every moment of it. Living forever without living is pointless."

He dropped the pose and smiled at Arlene.

"I'd love to keep talking but they probably need us both back inside by now. Any time you need to talk though, I'm willing to listen."

She listened to him and he even pulled a smile and small laugh from her with his imitation of someone he called a maker. That must be who made him a vampire. "You're right...your....maker was right." She wiped at her eyes again and blew out a breath, seeing a small cloud of smoke. It really was balls to the wall cold outside.

"You're not so bad, James. I think we'll get along fine you and I." As they walked back inside, she wondered where Jessica had been lately. Stepping inside, she looked over at him and walked towards the kitchen area with him. "Where is your friend Jessica anyway, did she quit? I mean, it's none of my business..so you don't have to tell me."

He smiled, and thought a moment before answering.

"To my best understanding, she is currently grounded. Not aloud to leave the estate and all that. Not sure the details but do not see that changing anytime soon. Did you want me to pass any message along to her?"

He smiled and followed her back inside. As he did, he saw Lafayette waving for his attention and pointing to a large pile of pots and dishes waiting to be washed.

She knew he had to get back to work and shook her head. "Oh, no, no...it's fine. I hope she gets free soon. Must be awful." Bill must really have a hold on her, well the term James used, Maker...he really had her locked up and away. She wondered why, but didn't pry. Smiling, she thanked him for his time and kind words. Taking the pen from her ear, she gave Lafayette a wave of her hand and yelled. "Oh, hold your horses Lafayette. We'll be closing soon anyhow."

"Says who?"

"Says me. No customers and tips are almost non-existent. Sam says something you tell him to talk to me." She muttered something about being the only waitress tonight and but on her best Arlene is alright face, walking back into the restaurant area. There were no new customers and Maxine was done stuffing her face, she was just gossiping. Did that woman ever cook her own meals?

James could not help laughing a little at their banter. He watched as she walked back out to check on the customers and then went back to washing. He knew she was still hurting, but maybe talking it out had helped. He moved the pots to their stands and slowly worked his way through the small pile of plates while Lafayette 'supervised' while smoking a joint. It had been quiet tonight but that was OK. He was just glad to be doing something 'normal' again.