Chapter Eleven: The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Him

As she picked Maya up from daycare, Tara thought back to dinner with Sam yesterday. It had been fun and very relaxed. After their heart-to-heart talk earlier that day, there was a newfound understanding between them that both enjoyed. They had laughed and joked, and for the first time neither of them was waiting for “other shoe to drop.” It was the most enjoyable evening she’d spent in Sam’s company. Well maybe not the most enjoyable, she thought with a blush as she recalled some of their previous evenings together. But they weren’t walking on eggshells around each other for once, and she felt this was a major turning-point for the two of them. In fact, she could hardly wait to see Sam again. On a whim, Tara decided to drop by the restaurant to surprise him.

Except for a few people at the bar, the place was mostly empty when she arrived. It was too early for dinner and there wasn’t much of a happy hour crowd this early in the week.

“Tara! Long time no see!” Arlene rushed over to give her a hug and kiss. “Hey Maya!” she squealed, pinching the baby’s cheek.

This enthusiastic greeting was definitely a surprise to Tara; she and Arlene had never really been close.

“Sam promoted me to assistant manager today so he could spend more time with the two of you!” Arlene gushed. “I got a raise, and I don’t have to wait tables anymore! I swear, y’all are the best thing that ever happened to him.”

Tara smiled. That explained her good mood. “Thanks Arlene. Where’s Sam?” she asked.

“He had to run over to the warehouse for something; he’ll be back in a minute. Why don’t y’all have a seat and I’ll get you something to drink.”

“Thanks, I’ll take lemonade.”

“Sure thing,” Arlene smiled, then turned and barked the order to one of the new waitresses. Tara bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. Same old Arlene; she got a little bit of power and queened it over others.

“Hey Tara!” She glanced up to see Terry Bellefleur approaching. “I thought I heard your voice.” He scooped Maya out of her lap and blew a raspberry against her cheek, causing her to scream in delight. Then Holly came over to speak, and they got so caught up in their conversation that none of them noticed Sam’s arrival.

“Why isn’t anyone working?” he asked.

“Because you have visitors,” Terry said, turning towards Sam with a grin.

Sam was surprised to see Maya in Terry’s arms and Tara seated in the booth. As soon as she saw Sam, Maya began giggling and reaching for him.

“Maya, you’re leaving me for another man?” Terry asked as he handed her over. “I’m hurt.”

Tara laughed. “Don’t feel bad Terry. The minute she sees her daddy it’s like the rest of the world don’t exist.”

They all laughed. Sam leaned down and kissed Tara. “What’s up?” he asked.

“I didn’t feel like cooking tonight, so I decided to drop by for one of Terry’s monster cheeseburgers.”

Terry grinned. “With a side of onion rings?” he asked.

“You know how I like ‘em.”

“You want that for here or to go?”

“For here. And make it two,” Sam said.

“You got it,” Terry said as the little impromptu party broke up.

Once they were alone, Sam returned his attention to Tara. “Is there any other reason you came by? Is everything okay?” he asked, slightly concerned.

“Everything’s fine. I just wanted to see you.” She looked a little apprehensive. “That’s not a problem is it? I know you’re busy and I don’t want to get in the way.”

“No problem at all, I’m never too busy for my girls,” Sam hastened to reassure her. It made him feel on top of the world that Tara had made a special trip just to see him. He leaned in to kiss her, but was interrupted by a waitress bringing a high chair for Maya.

“Arlene said y’all are gonna need this.”

When the waitress left, Tara chuckled. “Arlene seems to be taking her new role as assistant manager very seriously.”

Sam smiled. “That was actually Sookie’s idea. I wanted to give the job to her, but it would have cut down on the time she spends in Shreveport with Eric.”

“Well Arlene is very dependable,” Tara admitted. “Just keep her on a short leash or you’ll have an employee mutiny on your hands.” They both laughed.

They’d just begun to eat when Jason Stackhouse came over to speak. “Is it okay if I take my niece over there with me?” He indicated the booth across the restaurant where he, Hoyt, and Crystal were sitting. “Crystal hasn’t seen her lately.”

Like 90% of the female population in Renard Parish, Maya was completely smitten with Jason. She bounced in her seat, clearly eager to go.

“You can take her Jason, but don’t feed her French fries. I have a hard enough time getting her to eat vegetables as it is,” Tara said sternly.

“French fries are made from potatoes, and a potato is a vegetable.”

“Jason!”

“Okay, okay.”

Dinner with Sam was very enjoyable. They didn’t get to talk much because of a steady stream of interruptions from people stopping by to speak, but they had fun, and Tara ended up staying later than she’d planned. She didn’t realize just how much later until she noticed Jessica at the table with Hoyt, Jason and Crystal. They were all laughing and trying to coax Hoyt into holding Maya.

“It’s easy. Just hold your arms like a basket. You won’t break her,” Jessica was saying as Tara and Sam approached.

“If it’s so easy you do it,” Hoyt snapped.

“I better not,” she said, glancing at Tara. Everyone knew she didn’t have much use for vampires.

“It’s okay, you can hold her,” Tara said, surprising them all. She was doing her best to overcome her prejudice against all things supernatural; after all, her own daughter might be one. Plus, she’d always secretly admired the young vampire’s spunk. Anyone who got Maxine Fortenberry so pissed off had to have something going for them.

Jessica carefully took the baby from Crystal and held her close, feeling the tiny heartbeat. For a moment she choked up; this was the one thing she could never give Hoyt, no matter how much she loved him. But she forced her tears back and smiled at Maya. “She’s beautiful, Tara.”

“Thanks,” Tara said, taking Maya back. She felt a brief moment of panic when she noticed a red stain on the side of Maya’s face, then her nose told her it was just ketchup. She glared at Jason, who at least had the grace to look sheepish.

“Well it’s past her bedtime so we better get going,” Tara announced. “It was nice seeing everybody.”

Sam walked her out amidst a chorus of goodnights and requests that she come back soon for another visit.

“Why don’t y’all spend the night at my trailer?” Sam asked once they got to her car. He hated to see them leave.

“It’s tempting, but we don’t have any clothes here and I have to go to work in the morning,” Tara said. She kissed him. “Maybe next time.”

Disappointed, Sam agreed. He kissed Maya goodnight, then gave Tara a much longer kiss. “Call and let me know y’all got home safe, okay?”

“I will,” she promised.

Sam watched her drive off. He stood there until he couldn’t see her car anymore, then he headed back inside. He went in through the kitchen, and was startled to find Terry in tears.

“I’m so happy for you!” he said, catching Sam in a bear-hug. “The three of y’all look so perfect together.”

“Thanks,” Sam said, patting his shoulder before moving to extricate himself.

“I’ll be happy to babysit when you and Tara need a night out.”

“Thanks man, but we don’t have many nights out. We have a baby you know.”

“Then how do you keep the romance alive?” Terry asked. “I always make sure to schedule date nights for just me and Arlene, no kids. Even if we just go get a cup of coffee, it’s our special time to be together and renew our relationship.”

Sam looked at Terry with new respect. “That’s a great idea,” he said, knowing he was in serious trouble if he was taking romantic advice from Terry Bellefleur.

“Thanks,” Terry said proudly. “Remember, if y’all need a babysitter just let me know.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

When Tara called, Sam had already formulated a plan. “What are you doing Saturday night?”

“Nothing special, why?”

“Let’s go see a movie. We can have dinner afterward,” Sam said.

Tara laughed. “Thanks, but I don’t think Maya is ready for the movies yet. You know she gets fidgety if she has to sit still for too long.”

“I meant just the two of us.”

“That sounds like fun, but we need somebody to watch Maya. I hate to keep asking Sookie and Lafayette.”

“I think I have that covered. Remember LaWanda, the new waitress you met tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“I asked, and she said she’d be happy to babysit for us.”

Tara was hesitant. “Is she responsible? She looks really young.” Tara wasn’t sure she wanted to leave Maya alone with some high school kid.

“She’s very responsible, and she’s a student at the junior college,” Sam said. “Tell you what; I’ll ask her to drop by your office so you can get to know her a little better.”

Tara had lunch with LaWanda a couple of days later and came away extremely impressed. She was a soft-spoken young lady enrolled in the nursing program and even had a CPR certificate, Her fiancé was currently stationed in Afghanistan; they planned to marry as soon as his deployment was over.

She called Sam that afternoon. “I like her. I have no problem with her babysitting Maya.”

“Does this mean we have a date?”

“Yes it does.”

“See you Saturday night then.”

Tara hung up, feeling excited. She told herself to stop being so foolish; she had a baby with this man, after all. Still, this was going to be their first “real” date and she couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. She deliberated for a moment, then called Lafayette for advice on what to wear. She wanted everything to be perfect.

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