Going to the Chapel

SMALL-TOWN WEDDING
BY CHARLAINE HARRIS

There are a lot of people to thank, for a relatively short work! I forgot to mention my
CSI niece Danielle, who helped me on a previous piece; so here’s to you, Dani! And Ivan
Van Laningham offered me help on that same piece. My college buddy, Dr. Ed Uthman.
Victoria Koski, my continuity queen, who struggles against my tide of fuzzy thinking. And
the many people who were kind enough to help me attempt to pronounce Dutch: Geja
Topper, Dave Bennett, Hans Bekkers, Jochem Steen, Leighton Gage, Sarah Bewley, and
Simon Wood. And Duane Swierczynski, who is standing by to help me dispose of a body.

Chapter One

It was May, I had a great tan, and I was going on a road trip, leaving vampire
politics behind. I felt better than I had in a long time. Wearing only my underwear,
I stood in my sunny bedroom and went down my checklist.

1. Give Eric and Jason address and dates
I’d done that. My boyfriend, Eric Northman, vampire sheriff of Area Five of
Louisiana, had all the information he needed. So did my brother, Jason.
2. Ask Bill to watch house
Okay. I’d left a letter pushed under my neighbor Bill Compton’s door. He’d
find it when he rose for the night. His “sister” Judith (sired by the same vampire)
was still staying at his place. If Bill could tear himself away from her company, he
would walk across the cemetery separating our properties to have a look at my
house, and he’d get my mail and my newspaper and put them on my front porch.
3. Call Tara
I’d done that; my pregnant friend Tara reported all was well with the twins she
was carrying, and she’d call or get her husband to call if there was any news. She
wasn’t due for three more months. But twins, right? You never knew.
4. Bank
I’d deposited my last paycheck and gotten more cash than I usually carried.
5. Claude and Dermot
My cousin and my great-uncle had decided to stay at Claude’s house in
Monroe while I was gone. Claude had been living with me for about a month, and
Dermot had joined him only two weeks ago, so Dermot said he still felt funny
being in my house without me there. Claude, of course, had no such qualms, since
he’s about as sensitive as a sheet of sandpaper, but Dermot had carried the day.


All my clothes were clean, and I thought I was packed. Though it would be a
good idea to review my packing list, which was completely separate from my
“things to do” list. Since my friend and boss, Sam Merlotte, had invited me to go
with him to his brother’s wedding, I’d been in a nervous tizzy about forgetting
something essential and somehow making Sam look bad in front of his family.

I had borrowed a pretty dress, sleeveless and blue, like my eyes, to wear to the
wedding, and I had some black pumps with three-inch heels that were in great
condition. For everything else, I packed the best and newest of my casual clothes:
two pairs of good shorts, an extra pair of jeans. I threw in a yellow and gray skirt
outfit, just in case.

I counted my underwear, made sure I had the right bras, and checked the little
jewelry pouch to be sure my gran’s pearls were there. I shut the bag, triumphant.
I’d done my best to cover every contingency, and I’d fit everything into a hanging
bag and a weekender bag.

Just as I reopened the bag to make sure I’d included my blow-dryer, I heard
Sam’s truck coming up the driveway that wound through the woods. In thirty
seconds I pulled on my khaki shorts and a very thin white tank top with a teal tank
layered over it. I had a little gold chain on, and I slid my feet into my new sandals.
My toenails were a happy pink (“Run Run Rosy”). I felt great. I hurried to the front
door and opened it just as Sam was about to knock.

He was wearing his usual jeans and Merlotte’s Bar and Grill T-shirt, but he was
sporting ancient cowboy boots. Yep, we were going to Texas, all right. His red gold
hair was shorter these days, and I could tell he’d taken special care shaving.
“Sorry I’m a little late,” he said. “I had to give Kennedy and Terry some extra
instructions.” The two substitute bartenders were going to be in charge while Sam
was gone, and Sam was pretty nervous about it.
“No problem. I’m ready.” He picked up my overnighter while I got my
hanging bag and locked the door behind me. Luckily, Sam’s pickup had an
extended cab, and we were able to put our clothes on the backseat.
“You looking forward to this?” I asked him, when we were on the interstate.
We were going across the state line from Louisiana into Texas to a small town
called Wright, south of the interstate past Dallas, where Sam’s folks had settled
after his dad got out of the service.
“This is the first nice thing that’s happened in my family in months, and for a
while I didn’t think this wedding would ever come off,” he said. “I really
appreciate your going with me.”
“Are they putting pressure on you to get married?” I should have realized
before that there might be another reason Sam wanted me to accompany him,
something beyond the pleasure of my company. Some women have long careers as
bridesmaids; I had a long career of being a pretend girlfriend. I hoped that wasn’t
going to be a perpetual pattern.
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Charlaine Harris☥ The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
“That might be overstating it,” Sam said. He grinned at me. “But my mom and
my sister sure are ready for me to show them I’m thinking about the subject. Of
course, the shifters going public and my mom’s troubles kind of put my own
marital status on the back burner.”
The Weres had revealed their existence on television a few months before,
following the vampire model. Many of the other two-natured (or “twoeys,” as the
pop-culture magazines had immediately started calling them) had shown
themselves at the same time. Oddly, the American public seemed to be more upset
about the werewolves and werepanthers living among them than they’d been when
they found out vampires were real.
“Does your mom try to set you up with nice shifter girls all the time?”
“So far she hasn’t been able to find another pure shifter like me, though my
sister, Mindy, told me Mom had gone online trying to track one down.” Sam could
turn into anything: lion, dog, raccoon. His kind was pretty rare.
“Gosh. Are you sure you shouldn’t have brought Jannalynn? She may not be
exactly who your family wants you to bring home—at least, that’s what you said—
but she’s a werewolf, and that’s better than a human like me, right? At least to your
mom. If your mom’s looking for a woman for you online, that’s kind of…
desperate, huh?”
Sam laughed. “Definitely. But Mom means well. She was really happy with my
dad, and their first date was a setup. If she can find an unattached female shifter
the right age, she’s hoping lightning will strike twice in the Merlotte family.”
“You told me that you’d almost gotten married once.”
“Yeah, when I was in the army. She was a good ol’ girl, regular human. My dad
would have liked her. But it just didn’t work out.”
I wanted to ask why, but I knew it was none of my business.
He asked, “You think you and Eric might get married now that it’s legal?”
I started to tell him we were married already, according to my big blond
vampire boyfriend, but decided it would be better to skip that discussion entirely.
“He hasn’t asked me,” I said, which was the truth. He hadn’t asked me about
the vampire marriage rite, either. I’d handed him a ceremonial knife in front of a
witness without asking a single question, which proves how little sense I could
have when I was around Eric.
As the miles carried me away from Eric, the bond between us stretched but did
not break. Eric was a silent presence. Miles of Texas interstate rolled by, and though
I knew Eric was in his bed, dead to the world, I couldn’t help thinking about him. It
wasn’t nearly as bad as it would have been if he’d been awake, though.
“A penny for your thoughts,” Sam said.
I jumped because my thoughts weren’t family-rated at that moment.
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Charlaine Harris☥ The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
“I was hoping Bill recovers from the silver poisoning. I found a vampire sibling
of his, and I got her to come visit. He’d told me if he got some blood from a sib, it
would really help him heal.”
Sam looked a little nonplussed. “How’d you do that?” he asked.
When I told him how I’d tracked Judith down, he shook his head. “How’d you
know he wouldn’t get mad at you?”
“I was doing it for him,” I said, not understanding Sam’s point. “Why would he
get mad?”
Sam said gently, “Sook, Bill obviously knew where this Judith was, and he
didn’t call her on his own. He must have had a reason.”
I knew that. But I’d gone ahead and contacted her anyway. I’d only thought
about how worried I was about Bill. I could feel myself tearing up. I didn’t want to
admit to Sam that he was right.
I looked out the window so Sam wouldn’t have to watch my eyes brim over.
“Sook?” he said, and from his voice I could tell he had leaned forward to try to
see my face. “Sook? Hey, I’m sorry. Listen, I was just blowing hot air. You were
watching out for him, and I’m probably just jealous.”
I could read his mind enough to know he wasn’t being entirely truthful—but
he did sincerely want me to feel better, and he was truly sorry I was upset. “You’re
right,” I said, though my voice wobbled in a pathetic way. “Sam, you’re absolutely
right. I’ve made so many mistakes.”
“Don’t we all? I’ve made more than a few, and I don’t seem to stop making
them,” Sam said, and there was bitterness in his voice.
“Okay. We’re both human; we got that settled,” I said, making myself smile.
“Or, at least, we’re mostly human.”
He laughed, and I felt better. I rummaged around in my purse for a Kleenex
and patted my eyes carefully to keep my makeup intact. I got a Coca-Cola out of
the ice chest behind Sam’s seat and popped it open for him, and got myself one,
too. We talked about the sorry season the Bon Temps Hawks baseball team was
having, and I told Sam about watching the softball team practice the week before. I
felt good when I was confident everything was back to normal between us.
When we stopped to get gas outside Dallas, I watched a black Ford Focus shoot
by. “That’s funny,” I said to Sam, who was punching his PIN into the pump.
“That’s the same car I saw when we pulled over to find out what that noise was.” A
branch had caught under the truck and had been making an alarming whap-whapwhap.
Sam glanced up. “Huh,” he said. “Well, the interstate is always busy, and the
Focus is a popular model.”
“This is the same one,” I said. “There’s a place on the driver’s side of the
windshield where a rock hit.”
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Charlaine Harris☥ The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
Then I went inside the station to visit the ladies’ room, because I could tell Sam
didn’t want to be worrying about a Ford Focus. I didn’t, either, but there it was.
I kept a sharp eye out for the car after that, but I didn’t bring up the subject
again. As a result, we made pleasant conversation past Dallas and Fort Worth, all
the way to the turn off the interstate that would lead us south to Wright.
I’d offered to drive, but Sam said he was so familiar with the route that he
didn’t mind being at the wheel. “I’m just glad to have company making the drive,
for once,” he said. “I’ve had to go over to Wright so often since the announcement.”
Sam’s mom had had a huge crisis the evening of the big two-natured reveal,
broadcast worldwide; her second husband had been so startled by the fact that his
wife could turn into an animal that he’d shot her.
“But you’ve got the one sister and the one brother,” I said.
“Yeah, Mindy and Craig. Mindy’s twenty-six. She’s married to Doke Ballinger.
She went to high school with him. They have two kids, Mason and Bonnie. They
live about thirty miles away in Mooney.”
“What’s the name of the woman Craig’s marrying? Daisy? Denise?”
“Deidra. She’s from Wright, too. She and Craig have both been going to UT
Dallas. She’s a real pretty girl, only nineteen, and Craig’s twenty-four. He went into
the army before he started college.”
“Lots of military service in your family.” Sam and Craig’s dad had been retired
army.
Sam shrugged. “Because of Dad, we’re all used to the service as an option. It’s
not a huge leap like it is for some families. Craig always liked Deidra, but when he
was in high school, she was way too young for him to think about as a date. He did
call her when he found out another kid from Wright was going to UT Dallas, and
he says they were gone on each other after the first date.”
“Aw. That’s so sweet. I guess all this trouble has been really hard on them.”
“Yeah. Craig was pretty mad at me and Mom for a while, and then he accepted
it, but Deidra’s folks freaked out. The wedding got postponed a couple of times.”
I nodded. Sam had told me how his brother’s fiancée’s family had reacted to
the news that her about-to-be mother-in-law sometimes ran on four feet.
“So instead of sending out new invitations, the Lisles just put a notice in the
Wright paper.”
“How big is Wright?”
Sam laughed. “About as big as Bon Temps. Except in the tourist season. There’s
a river that runs a little west of Wright, and there’s a lot of rafting and camping. At
night, those rafters and campers are looking for something to do, so there’re a
couple of big bars that have live bands. And there’s a western-wear store and a
riding stable for beginners on up, for when people want to take a break from the
water. Stuff like that. Wright’s a pretty conservative place, though. Everyone’s glad
when the tourists leave in the fall.”
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Charlaine Harris☥ The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
“Has your mom had any trouble with the rest of the town since the shooting?”
Sam had been the target of one protest in the Merlotte’s parking lot, but since then
things had died down—for good, I hoped.
“I’m reading between the lines, but yes, I think people haven’t been as friendly
as they used to be. Don’s a local guy. He’s got cousins and stuff all around Wright.”
“He’s in jail now, right?”
“Yeah, he couldn’t make bail. He never denied he shot Mom. I don’t
understand why there’s any sympathy for him.”
I didn’t say anything, but I could sort of understand feeling sympathy for
someone who’d suddenly discovered his wife changed into a different creature. Of
course, shooting that wife was a gross overreaction, but watching your wife
transform into a dog . . . That would shake any man. However, that was not my
problem to solve, and I was certainly sorry the whole incident had happened.
I was not walking into a normal, happy family wedding. I already knew some
of what Sam was saying, but maybe I should have asked more questions before I
got in the truck. I thought of the shotgun my brother had given me, sitting uselessly
in the closet in my house.
“You look kinda worried, Sookie,” Sam said, and I could read the dismay in his
brain. “I wouldn’t have brought you if I thought there was a way in the world
something bad would happen to you.”
“Sam, I hope you have the whole picture of what’s going on in Wright,” I said.
“I know you asked me to go with you before you started dating Jannalynn, but I
really wouldn’t have minded if you’d wanted to take her.” He understood the
subtext. Though he’d told me Jannalynn’s habits and manners weren’t familypleasing,
she had excellent natural defenses. In fact, she was the enforcer for the
Shreveport pack. What was I going to do if we were attacked? Mind-read someone
to death?
“This isn’t any mob situation,” Sam said, and he laughed. “I finished high
school there when my dad retired from the military, and Mindy and Craig did even
more of their growing up in Wright than I did. People will get used to the new
things in their world, even the people in a conservative little place like Wright.
These are just regular folks. They’ve known us for years.”
Pardon me if I felt a tad skeptical.
I saw the black Focus one more time, and then I didn’t spot it again. I told
myself that there were hundreds of cars on this section of interstate, and a hell of a
lot of them were going west like we were.
The landscape got less and less green, more and more arid. Trees were smaller,
rocks were more plentiful, and there were cacti in the scrubby brush. After the
turnoff south, towns were fewer and farther between. They were small, and the
stretches of road were lined by fences of all kinds. This was ranching country.
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Charlaine Harris☥ The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
Wright looked very normal when we rolled in. The highway ran through
Wright going north–south, and it was the main drag. In its stretch through Wright,
it was called Main Street, which made me smile. It was a one-story town.
Everything was low and long and dusty. I looked at the people we passed, the gas
stations, the Sonic, the Dairy Queen, the McDonald’s. There were three motels,
which seemed excessive until I remembered that Sam had told me about the river
west of the town. The trailer park was full, and I saw a few people walking west,
flip-flops on their feet and towels over their shoulders. Early vacationers. We
passed a rental place for canoes, tubes, rafts, grills, and tents.
“People can grill on the sandbars in the river,” Sam said. “It’s fun. You take
your ice chest out there, a tube of sunblock, drink your beer, and grill your meat.
Get in the water whenever you want.”
“I wish we had time to do that,” I said. Then, thinking that might sound like a
complaint or a hint, I said brightly, “But I know we’re here to get this wedding
done! Maybe you can bring Jannalynn over here sometime later in the summer.”
Sam didn’t respond. I’d seen Jannalynn be aggressive, physical, even savage.
But surely she had a softer side? I mean, it couldn’t be all skull-cracking, bustiers,
spike heels, and kill-my-enemies. Right?
It was a warm feeling, seeing the town where Sam had done a lot of his
growing up. “Where’s your school?” I asked, trying to picture the young Sam. He
turned east to take me by the little high school where he’d played sports and been
named Mr. Yellowjacket. Yellowjacket Stadium was about the same size as Bon
Temps’s Hawks Stadium and in much better repair, though the old high school had
seen better days. The town library was brand-new, and the post office was proudly
flying the flag. It whipped in the warm wind.
“Why’d your dad decide to retire here after he left the service?” I asked. “What
do people do here besides cater to tourists?”
“They ranch, mostly,” he said. “A few of them farm, but mostly the land’s too
rocky, and we don’t get much rain. A lot of people make the bulk of their income
during the tourist season, and they just coast along on odd jobs the rest of the year.
We get a big influx of hunters when the tourists run out, so that’s a major source of
income, too. My dad commuted to Mooney, where Doke and Mindy live now. He
had a job doing security for a big plant over there. It manufactures wind turbines
for wind energy. Doke works there now.”
“And you-all moved here instead of Mooney because . . . ?”
“My dad wanted us to have the whole small-town experience. He thought it
would be the best way to finish out my teen years and to bring up Mindy and
Craig. Some of my mom’s family was still living in Wright then, too. And he loved
the river.”
I looked at the people coming in and out of the businesses we passed. There
were lots more brown faces than I was used to seeing, though even Bon Temps had
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Charlaine Harris☥ The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
experienced an upsurge in its Spanish-speaking population in the past decade.
Some were identifiably Native American. There were very few black faces. I’d
really traveled somewhere different. In addition to the differences in skin color,
there were more people in western-style clothes, which made sense. We’d passed a
rodeo ground on our way into town.
We took a left when we were within sight of the south boundary of the city
limits, turning onto a narrow street that could be anywhere in the United States.
The houses were small ranch styles, one or two had a trailer in the backyard where
maybe a mother-in-law or a newlywed child lived, and most had a prefab toolshed
tucked into a corner of the yard. There were lots of open windows. People in
Wright didn’t turn on their air conditioners as early as we did in Bon Temps.
Instead of garages, there were carports attached to almost every house, some to the
side, some added on in front.
At Sam’s mom’s home, the awning extended over half of the front of the house,
covering enough area to park two vehicles. Unattractive, but efficient. “This is the
house you lived in after you-all moved to Wright?” I asked.
“Yeah, this is the house Mom and Dad bought after Dad got out of the army.
Don moved in here when he and Mom got married. By the way, she’s still
Bernadette Merlotte. She never took Don’s name.”
Bernadette Merlotte’s home was a modest house, maybe twelve hundred
square feet, with white siding and ornamental dark green shutters. The little yard
space had barely any grass because it was almost entirely given over to beds
containing flowers, smooth river rocks, and concrete statues, which were various in
the extreme. One was a little girl with a dog, one was a large frog, and one was a
creature that was supposed to be a fairy. (Any fairy I knew would want to kill
Sam’s mom after a good look at that statue.) From the dry state of the patches of
grass and dirt, it was evident that Sam’s mom cared for her flowers lovingly.
There was a little sidewalk winding to the front porch from the covered
driveway, and the “porch” was flush with the ground. This was a slab house.
After an almost imperceptible sigh and a moment of bracing himself, Sam
jumped out. I didn’t stand on ceremony. I slid out, too. I wanted to stretch my legs
and back after sitting in the truck for so long, and I was almost as nervous about
meeting Sam’s family as if I were his real girlfriend.
A screen door slammed, and Sam’s mother hurried down the sidewalk to hug
her son. She was about my height, five-six, and very slim. She’d had his hair color,
but the red gold had faded now. She’d obviously spent a lot of time out in the sun,
so at least we’d have that in common. Then she was in Sam’s arms and laughing.
“It’s so good to see you!” she cried. After giving Sam a final, hard hug, she
pulled away and turned to me. “You must be Sookie. Sam’s told me a lot about
you!” The words were warm and welcoming, but I could tell how she really felt . . .
which was more like cautious.
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Charlaine Harris☥ The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
Shaking hands seemed a little too distant somehow, so I half hugged her. “It’s
good to meet you, Mrs. Merlotte. I’m glad you’re doing so well.”
“Now, you just call me Bernie. Everybody does.” She hesitated. “I thank you
for taking care of the bar while Sam came down when I was shot.” It was an effort
for her to so casually mention what had happened.
“Are you going to let them come in, Mama?” said a young woman standing in
the doorway.
“You just hold your horses,” Bernie said. “We’re coming!”
There were a few moments of confusion as we got out our hanging and
overnight bags. Finally we went into the house. Bernie Merlotte’s right-hand
neighbor, a man in his sixties, came out into his yard—ostensibly to check his
mailbox—while all this was going on. I happened to catch his eye, and I gave him a
friendly nod. To my amazement, he looked right through me, though I knew from
his thoughts that he could see me plainly.
That had never happened to me in my life. If I’d been reading a Regency
romance, I would have termed it “the cut direct.” No one else had noticed, and he
wasn’t my neighbor, so I didn’t say anything.
Then we were inside, and I had to stuff my bafflement into a corner of my mind
because there were more people to meet. The small house was crowded. First there
was Sam’s sister, Mindy, a young mother of two. Her husband, Doke Ballinger, was
as thin and laconic as Mindy was plump and chatty. Their children, five-year-old
Mason and three-year-old Bonnie, eyed me from behind their mother. And finally I
met the groom, Craig, who was like a more carefree clone of Sam. The brothers
were the same in coloring, height, and build. His fiancée, Deidra Lisle, was so
pretty it hurt to look at her. She was lightly tanned, with big hazel eyes and reddish
brown hair that fell to her waist. She couldn’t have stood five foot two, and she
was all compact curves and femininity.
She shook my hand shyly, and her smile showed that her teeth were as perfect
as her complexion. Wow.
She was pregnant. She was hoping she wasn’t showing, that no one could tell.
Now that I knew, I could sort of sense that other mind floating around inside her,
but it was a weird read—no language, no thoughts.
Well, another thing that was none of my business. More power to them. I was
the only one who could sense that other presence in her womb.
By that time Bernie was showing me to a very small room that contained a
pullout couch, a sewing machine, a computer desk, and a card table that was
cluttered with scrapbooking materials. “We’re not fancy here,” Bernie said. “I hope
you don’t mind sleeping in what the magazines call the all-purpose room. Course, I
just call it the room-Mindy-finally-left-out-of-so-I-could-have-it-back.” There was a
hint of challenge in her voice.
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Summaries

LIFE IN BON TEMPS
BY VICTORIA KOSKI
Dead Until Dark
Timeline
SATURDAY, JUNE 12, 2004. Sookie Stackhouse, telepath, is working the
evening shift at Merlotte’s bar when a vampire comes in to order a drink. Although
vampires have been “out of the coffin” for two years, Bill Compton is the first one
to come to her little town of Bon Temps, and she is delighted by the new
experience. Local lowlifes Mack and Denise Rattray soon move to Bill’s table,
where Denise flirts with the vampire. Worried by their avid interest in Bill, Sookie
“listens” and finds, to her horror, that the Rattrays have been in jail for draining
vampires, a practice that involves forcibly restraining a vampire (a feat unto itself),
draining its blood to sell on the black market, and leaving the vampire to die in the
rising sun. When Bill leaves with the Rattrays, Sookie dithers

Short Stories

THE SOOKIE SHORT STORIES AND RELATED
MATERIAL
BY CHARLAINE HARRIS
Writing short stories is not like writing a very short novel. The pacing is
different, the timing is different, and the way you end the story is really different.
At this moment, there are seven Sookie short stories and one novella. They
weren’t published in the order in which they should be read if you’re trying to stick
to Sookie’s chronology. I backtracked and filled in a little as ideas came to me. For
clarity, I’m discussing them in the order in which they fit chronologically between
the books.
By the way, the first five of these stories can now be found in one volume: A
Touch of Dead. Before my publisher put the collection together, you had to buy
separate anthologies to read about Sookie’s adventures. I think that’s a good thing,
because then you get to sample a lot of outstanding stories by other writers, but
there’s no denying it’s convenient to have the one book.
On to the discussion.
Though not the first short story I’d ever written, “Fairy Dust” was the first

Vamps, Weres and Fae O My

VAMPIRES, TWO-NATURED AND FAIRIES, OH MY!
SOOKIE DISCUSSES THE CREATURES SHE’S MET
BY CHARLAINE HARRIS
The last couple of years have been one big learning curve. I got nothing against
change. Considering I wasn’t a happy camper before I met my first vampire, I have
to say that change is a good thing. Some days I just feel like I have learned as much
new stuff about the world as I can handle. However, so far I’m coping.
There is one real positive thing about my hometown of Bon Temps, Louisiana:
Though it isn’t all that big, it can sure adapt.
Back in high school we were studying Shakespeare, and there was this quote in
Hamlet that seems to describe the last few years: “There are more things in heaven
and on earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Everyone trots that
out in bad horror movies, but there’s a reason for that. It really does say it all.
I always thought that life, and society, wouldn’t change in my little corner of
Louisiana. That was before the whole world got shocked one evening when we
found out that vampires were real and not just something that you saw in cheesy
late-night movies.
Two years later, a real vampire walked into my life one

Trvial Pursuit

SOOKIE STACKHOUSE TRIVIA
— How much of a Sookie Fan are you? —
BY BEVERLY BATTILLO AND VICTORIA KOSKI
As Sookie herself might say, “The devil’s in the details.” We’ve assembled a
whole host of trivia questions to test your knowledge about Sookie and the people,
places, and things in her world. The first set is pretty easy, and then we’ve thrown
in some stumpers later on. Turn to pages 236–44 for the answers. Have at it, and
have fun!

Recipes from the South

WHAT’S COOKIN’ IN BON TEMPS
— A Selection of Down-Home Southern Recipes —
Southern cooking has a style—and a flavor—all its own. When I decided to
include recipes that would celebrate the tastes of Louisiana, not to mention the
entire South, I decided to throw the doors open to my fans, who had already
created a cookbook under the auspices of Charlaine’s Charlatans.
I was wonderfully surprised by the response—the recipes came pouring in!
After taste-testing all of them, we selected a range that showcased Southern
cooking, from breakfast to dessert, including drinks. I hope you have the chance to
try and enjoy some of these true down-home Southern recipes—I know I sure did!

AB on TB

INSIDE TRUE BLOOD
— Alan Ball Answers Questions from the Fans —
Although True Blood certainly wouldn’t exist without Charlaine’s celebrated
bestselling novel series, there’s no doubt that the driving force behind the sexy,
sassy television show is its creator, producer, and writer, Alan Ball, who was
captivated with Charlaine’s wonderful characters at first sight and has reimagined
them for television while staying true to their original versions at the same time.
When I approached him for an interview about the series and his work, Mr.
Ball said yes quickly and graciously. Rather than ask him questions that have no
doubt been covered in other venues, I decided to allow the fans a rare chance to ask
Mr. Ball questions about his work on True Blood and just about anything else
Sookie-related that they desired. The response was overwhelming, and I selected
the best questions to pass along to him. I’m pleased to reveal his answers here.
How did you first discover the Sookie Stackhouse series?
— RACHEL KLIKA

Mysteries

FROM MYSTERY TO MAYHEM
— The Works of Charlaine Harris —
BY BEVERLY BATTILLO
Long before a telepathic waitress served the first beverage to a handsome
vampire at Merlotte’s Bar, Charlaine Harris was creating compelling characters and
plots that have excited her fans’ imaginations and fueled their fantasies.
Ever since the fourth grade, when she began composing poems about ghosts,
Charlaine wanted to write. Her formal writing career began, however, after her
marriage in 1978 to her second husband, Hal. As a wedding present, the
understanding groom presented his bride with an electric typewriter and
encouraged her to follow her longtime dream of becoming an author. Charlaine’s
first novel, the mystery Sweet and Deadly, was published in 1981 and marked the
beginning of a distinguished career that has now spanned thirty years.
FIRST STEPS
With the publication of her first novel, Charlaine was

Recollections

RECOLLECTIONS AROUND THE DUCKPOND
— The Fans of Charlaine Harris —
BY BEVERLY BATTILLO
Fan clubs are very dangerous things. I should know; I started one, and my life
will never be the same.
My story began fifty years ago with my best friend Ellen and I playing our
favorite game—school. Since Ellen was four years older, she got to be the teacher,
and a terror she was! As the hapless student, if I didn’t learn my spelling words,
Ellen would energetically apply her ruler to my backside. I was soon a most
exemplary student and kept my excellent study habits for the remainder of my life.
The greatest tribute to Ellen’s tenacious teaching style was that by the time I was
five years old I could read at first-grade level. Doors began opening in my mind,
and reading became my greatest pleasure and one I pursued voraciously.
Ironically, Ellen now works for the IRS and continues, at least metaphorically, to
apply her ruler.
Reading became my addiction. I took another quantum leap in junior high
when I registered for a speed-reading course. Now I not only read a lot, but I read a
lot really fast. In addition, my ability to completely block out all activity when
reading was a talent that drove my parents totally crazy. If we ever have a nuclear
war, I doubt I’ll know it until the universe is completely annihilated and I complete
whatever I happen to be reading and find angels playing harps all around me.
My taste in literature has always been rather eclectic. If it’s in print, I’ll read it,
whether biography, romance, mystery, cereal boxes—I’m sure you get the idea. I
can’t say my reading has led me to any great revelations or astounding insights. My
life in general has remained boringly normal. I have discovered many friends in
books—ones that I revisit again and again with great pleasure—and I marvel at the
talent and imagination of those who can create worlds within worlds for us to
enjoy. It wasn’t until late in life that I discovered something that led me to stray
from my steadfast and steady existence.
My first breach into a different world came in 1964 when a favorite teacher
introduced me to the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
were literature the likes of which I had never experienced—a realm filled with
astounding characters and a new language of its own. Dipping into fantasy a bit in
later years, I happened upon a book by a new writer named Laurell K. Hamilton.
Hamilton’s first book, Nightseer, caught my fancy, and I still believe it to be one of
her best works. I discovered Hamilton’s Web board and began to explore her Anita
Blake series. These books were part of what was being described as an emerging
new fictional genre. Booksellers didn’t quite know where to put them—some
232

Questions

CHARLAINE HARRIS ANSWERS QUESTIONS FROM
HER FANS
Thanks to all of you for your enthusiastic response to the opportunity to ask me
questions. If I didn’t get to answer your specific question, I apologize in advance
for your disappointment. Here’s the selection process we followed: BFF Paula, my
invaluable best friend and assistant, sorted the questions into categories. She
discarded some of the duplicates, since obviously there was no point in my reading
the same thing over and over. I read all her choices, and I narrowed the field down
to about fifty questions. Then I eliminated a few more after a second winnowing.
This wasn’t an easy process, so let me explain why I chose to answer some and not
others.
First, if I thought the answer was already in the books, I felt it would be a waste
of my time to reply to the question. Second, if I knew the answer would be
included in future books . . . I put those aside, too, for the most part. Third, if the
question was based on the television show mythology rather than the book
mythology, of course I wasn’t going to venture my opinion.
Some questions I bypassed simply because I didn’t know the answer, or
because I hadn’t made up my mind yet. In some cases, the development of the
books’ mythology hadn’t led me to a conclusion on the correct response, and in
other cases, I simply don’t know yet if (for example) Eric’s other child will be a
factor in Sookie’s story.
I’ve corrected some of the spelling and a bit of the punctuation in some of these
questions. I’m compelled to do that.
So, here goes.
Since the True Blood TV series began, do you picture your characters as the
actors? I mean, when you’re writing about Sookie, do you picture Anna Paquin?
Or in your head do they just look the way you’ve always thought of them?
— KIM HAMBLETON
They look the way I’ve always thought of them. I’ve been writing the books
much longer than the show has been on the air.
Here is my big general question for Charlaine. I’m curious about her
plotting. How much of it does she do in advance and how much of it is
spontaneous? It just amazes me how some seemingly minor details in one book
turn out to be huge later on. For example, Sookie mentions her cousin Hadley,
237

Character Guide

A GUIDE TO THE WORLD OF SOOKIE STACKHOUSE
BY VICTORIA KOSKI
Codes for Sookie Stackhouse novels:
DUD: Dead Until Dark
LDID: Living Dead in Dallas
CD: Club Dead
DTTW: Dead to the World
DAAD: Dead as a Doornail
DD: Definitely Dead
ATD: All Together Dead
FDTW: From Dead to Worse
DAG: Dead and Gone
DITF: Dead in the Family
DR: Dead Reckoning
Codes for Sookie Stackhouse stories:
FD: “Fairy Dust”
DN: “Dracula Night”
OWA: “One Word Answer”
L: “Lucky”
GW: “Gift Wrap”
TB: “Two Blondes”
STW: “Small-Town Wedding”
IIHAH: “If I Had a Hammer”
If a character was deceased before the series started, the word “deceased”
immediately follows the entry. The novels and stories in which a character appears
are listed in the preceding codes. If a character is only mentioned in a work and
does not appear, the word “mentioned” precedes the code. If a character dies in a
work, the word “dies” precedes the code. Unless otherwise indicated, characters
are human... as far as Sookie knows. But she doesn’t always read everyone she
meets, so you just never know.
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Charlaine Harris☥ The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
A
Akiro (vampire): No other name given. Akiro takes Bruno’s place as Victor’s
second-in-command just in time for the assassination party at Fangtasia. He reacts
quickly when Eric attempts to stake Victor, bringing his sword down on Eric’s arm
and hewing through Mindy Simpson’s shoulder on the way, killing her almost
instantly. He is attacked by Thalia, who manages to do some damage before he cuts
off her arm, and is finally killed by Eric after refusing to surrender. (Dies DR)
Alain (vampire): No last name given. A former priest turned into a vampire,
Alain discovers Sophie-Anne and Clovis in the woods and, after feeding on Clovis,
promises to bring Sophie-Anne over but decides instead to use her in the same way
that Clovis had, selling her “services” when he needs money. When Alain is
captured in a village that he had visited before and now recognizes him for what he
is, Sophie-Anne seeks to rescue him but first has him fulfill his promise and turn
her. The village priest returns before she can rise to free Alain, and he meets the
dawn at the hands of the villagers. (Deceased; mentioned DD)
Albanese, Marcia: As a member of the Bon Temps school board, Marcia is
familiar with the teaching staff and offers to host Halleigh’s bridal shower at her
home. She is one of the few residents to see Bob after he is returned to his human
form, witnessing his awkward behavior when Sookie takes him to Wal-Mart. (ATD,
FDTW; mentioned DR)
All-vampire cast of Hello Dolly!, the: Enough said. (Mentioned ATD)
al Saud, Basim (wolf): Basim moves to Shreveport from the Houston pack after
accidentally killing a human friend of the pack who attacked him with a hoe.
Trying to earn the money to pay the blood debt he owes for the killing, he is pulled
into fairy Colman’s plan to implicate Sookie in a crime so that she will be sent to
jail. Basim decides he will not murder again and will instead find a body to fulfill
the bargain, but he is murdered by Ham and Patricia. In a twist of irony, it is his
body that is buried on Sookie’s land. Fortunately, it is found and moved before
local law enforcement arrives for a search based on an “anonymous tip.” (Dies
DITF)
Ancient Pythoness (vampire): The original Oracle consulted by Alexander the
Great, the Ancient Pythoness was so revered that she was brought over even in her
old age and is now cared for by her handmaidens. She sits in judgment at the trial
of Sophie-Anne at the summit in Rhodes, ruling in Sophie-Anne’s favor after
hearing Sookie’s testimony. (ATD)
Antonio (vampire): No last name given. Leather-clad Antonio and Luis are
mentally nicknamed the bondage Bobbsey Twins by Sookie as they take her, Eric,
and Pam to Victor’s table at Vampire’s Kiss. After the meeting, he and Luis usher
the trio out to the parking lot and make a claim of dissatisfaction with Victor to
tempt Eric into betraying their regent, but an astute Eric denies them, believing it is
a trap.
Luis and Antonio attend Bubba’s performance, entering Fangtasia first to
secure the bar for Victor’s arrival. Both are entranced as they watch the concert
from their positions guarding the front door. When the attack begins, Antonio
struggles with Palomino and is staked in the back by Maxwell Lee. (Dies DR)
Anubis Airlines: Established to fly vampires safely both day and night, Anubis
Airlines planes are designed and outfitted for sleeping vampires, who are
transported in their coffins in large bays that line the walls. Some planes have a few
rows of seats for the occasional human passengers and provide flight attendants to
check on their comfort.
After several “incidents” on board commercial flights, most vampires are
willing to pay extra for the additional security Anubis offers, which often includes
safe transportation of the coffin to its final destination once on the ground.
However, although security is tight, it is not infallible, as Sookie discovers when
she is accosted while waiting for Bill’s coffin to be unloaded in Dallas, and again
when his coffin is stolen in Mississippi. (LDID, ATD; mentioned CD)
Arlene Fowler’s aunt: No name given. Arlene’s elderly aunt lives in nearby
Clarice. (Mentioned DAG)
Arnett, Pinkie: Pinkie bought the Crawdad Diner and the original recipes from
Ralph Tooten with the provision that the name remain the same. (DITF)
Arrowsmith, Bart: Brother Arrowsmith is the pastor at the Gethsemane Baptist
Church in Wright, Texas, and presides over Craig and Deidra’s wedding. He is a
good man but is still questioning the revelation of the shifters and their place in his
theology. Whatever his own personal feelings, he is horrified when his son joins the
protesters and tries to throw a stink bomb into Bernie’s house. During the
ceremony, he leads the wedding party in prayer, knowing the crowd outside can
hear him over the speaker and hoping the words will sink in. (STW)
Arrowsmith, Mrs.: No first name given. Mrs. Arrowsmith forces her
humiliated and ashamed son to attend the Lisle-Merlotte wedding in a show of
solidarity with her husband. (STW)
Arrowsmith, Nathan: The only child of Pastor and Mrs. Arrowsmith, Nathan
attempts to throw a stink bomb into Bernie Merlotte’s house through the back door
while other protesters distract the family at the front of the house. The police are
called after his arm is broken by a baseball bat–wielding Sookie, and Nathan admits
his guilt. (STW)
Art: No last name given. A waiter at the Pyramid in Rhodes, Art dies in the
ruins of the hotel even as the rescuers are digging him out. (Dies ATD)
Arturo: No last name given. A room-service waiter at the Silent Shore Hotel,
Arturo is well trained to deal with the vampire clientele. (LDID)
Auberjunois, Bill: Arlene wonders if Sookie is dating Bill Auberjunois when
Sookie says she has been with Bill, but then Sam announces it is Bill Compton,
pulling down Sookie’s collar to show the bite marks. (Mentioned DUD)
Aubert, Christy: Christy works part-time for her husband, Greg. (L)
Aubert, Greg (witch): Greg, the local Pelican State Insurance agent, has a
thriving client list with very few claims. People say he’s a lucky man and that it
rubs off on his clients. Actually, Greg is a witch, a talent he inherited from his
mother, who educated him in spellcasting. He uses these spells to keep his clients
and their properties safer. Unfortunately, by doing so he uses up the luck of the
other agents in town, who all suffer more than their fair share of losses—literally.
When he realizes his mistake, Greg takes on his share of bad luck, freeing up some
of the good fortune for the other agents and their clients. (DAAD, L, DITF)
Aubert, Greg Jr.: Greg Jr. considers his father’s job boring and definitely
doesn’t want to follow in his footsteps. (L)
Aubert, Lindsay: Greg’s teenage daughter, Lindsay, never realizes that her
“Forbidden Boyfriend” is actually a vampire using her for a light snack. (L)
Aude: No last name given. First the wife of Eric’s older brother, Aude married
Eric when her husband fell in battle, and they had six children together before she
died. (Deceased; mentioned DAG)
Audrey: No last name given. EMT Audrey responds with her partner to the
shoot-out at Arlene’s trailer. (DAG)
Audrey (vampire): No last name given. The child of Booth Crimmons,
Gervaise’s lieutenant, Audrey is left in charge of the recovering Sophie-Anne the
night of the takeover. It is presumed she perished. (Mentioned FDTW)
Ayres, Hugo: Lawyer Hugo Ayres represents Texas vampire Stan Davis in a
court case. Hugo becomes enamored with Isabel Beaumont, one of Stan’s nest
mates. He is addicted to Isabel and vampire sex but hates himself for it and spies on
the Dallas vampires for the Fellowship of the Sun. He delivers Sookie into their
clutches as she searches for Farrell. Hugo soon realizes that he is also considered
expendable when the Fellowship stashes him in a cell with a hungry Farrell. He is
rescued, but his punishment is to remain naked in a room with a naked Isabel for
several months, each chained to a wall. Hugo is fed and taken care of but unable to
reach the object of his addiction; Isabel is not fed and unable to reach the answer to
her thirst. Hugo is unchained first and given a day’s head start. (LDID)

B

Babbitt, Cleo (vampire): The sheriff of Area Three, Cleo survives the bombing
at Rhodes only to be killed along with her vampires during the takeover by Nevada
when they refuse an offer of surrender. (ATD; mentioned, dies FDTW)
Babcock, Connie: The receptionist at Herveaux and Son, Connie is sleeping
with Jackson Herveaux. She resents Jackson’s escorting Christine Larrabee to
Colonel Flood’s funeral. She’s unaware that her boss/lover is a werewolf and thus
doesn’t know that Jackson needs Christine’s political support. She retaliates by
accepting a bribe to steal personal papers from Jackson, most likely for Patrick
Furnan. (DTTW; mentioned DAAD)
Baldwin, Liz: Liz worries about her family, especially her oldest
granddaughter, while trying to relax at Merlotte’s. (DAAD)
Ball, Lorena (vampire): Lorena Ball is working as a prostitute in New Orleans
when she meets Solomon Brunswick in 1788. Fascinated when Solomon drains a
customer whose throat she slit for not paying, she has Solomon turn her and travels
with him for a time. She eventually betrays her sire, pretending to be human when
she is caught with a dead child she is draining and blaming the death on Solomon,
and they go their separate ways.
Lorena sees Bill after he returns home from the Civil War and falls in love as
she spies on him and his family. She takes him by surprise one night and fakes his
death so that she can have him as a companion and lover. She compels him to stay
with her, even going so far as to create a companion for him by turning a woman
who resembles his lost wife. Though she finally allows her children to leave her,
she calls Bill back again after eighty-odd years when she learns of his profitable
vampire database. When she cannot seduce its location from him, she resorts to
torture to get not only the database but also the name of the woman Bill is involved
with. Lorena attacks Sookie while she is rescuing Bill and meets her final death at
Sookie’s hands. (Dies CD; mentioned DTTW, DAAD, ATD, DITF, DR)
Ballinger, Bonnie: The daughter of Doke and Mindy, three-year-old Bonnie
doesn’t understand the protesters’ screaming and violence on the day of her uncle’s
wedding. (STW; mentioned FDTW, DAG, DITF)
Ballinger, Doke: Doke and Mindy Merlotte attended high school together in
Wright and married young. They soon moved to nearby Mooney, where Doke has
a job with a wind turbine manufacturing plant. Doke’s children are his main worry
on the day of Craig and Deidra’s wedding, but he decides the whole family should
stick together and attend the ceremony. (STW; mentioned FDTW)
Ballinger, Mason: Doke and Mindy’s five-year-old son, Mason, can’t
comprehend the animosity directed toward his beloved grandmother Merlotte.
(STW; mentioned FDTW, DAG, DITF)
Ballinger, Mindy Merlotte: Sam’s sister, Mindy, and her family live in
Mooney, about thirty miles from Wright. She adjusts surprisingly well to the
revelation that her mother and brother are shifters. Friendly, plump, and chatty,
Mindy is a stay-at-home mom of two young children. The safety of her children
concerns her most during the protests at Craig and Deidra’s wedding. (STW;
mentioned FDTW, DAG, DITF)
Bannister, Annabelle (wolf): As a member of the Air Force, Annabelle is
reassigned from South Dakota to the Barksdale Air Force Base near Shreveport. As
a werewolf, Annabelle transfers from the Elk Killer pack to the Long Tooth pack.
She starts dating Alcide Herveaux. When Basim al Saud’s body is found on
Sookie’s property, she confesses that she was also secretly seeing Basim. She had
nothing to do with Basim’s death and so ultimately is not convicted of betraying
the pack, though she is punished for her unfaithfulness. (DITF)
Barker, Marge: Marge works full-time as Greg Aubert’s clerk and is known as
much for her unpleasant demeanor as for her efficiency. (L)
Barlowe, Mr.: No first name given. Fellowship of the Sun member Mr. Barlowe
demonstrates against shifters in front of Merlotte’s. Though he insists that they are
all willing to be arrested for their beliefs, his fellow protesters are not so certain,
and they all eventually back down and disperse. (DITF)
Barrett, Liz: Liz becomes Jason’s regular date and even hopes he will ask her to
marry him, especially when she has a pregnancy scare. She’s not pregnant, and the
relationship just doesn’t last. (DUD, LDID; mentioned CD)
Baruch, Christian (vampire): As a human, Christian Baruch designed and
managed hotels in western Europe. As a vampire, he does much the same thing,
delivering success to a vampire hotelier in exchange for being turned and brought
to America. He has his sights set higher, however, and plants the Dr Pepper bomb
in the hallway outside Sophie-Anne’s room in a misguided attempt for her
attention and affections. Christian survives the bombing of his hotel. (ATD)
Batanya (Britlingen): No other name given. A member of the Britlingen
Collective. Batanya is five foot eight and very intimidating, with inky black curls
and a lithe, muscular body. With her partner, Clovache, Batanya is hired by Isaiah,
the King of Kentucky, to guard him during the vampire summit in Rhodes. Batanya
kills Kyle Perkins, a vampire assassin who gets too close to Isaiah, decapitating him
with a throwing star. Batanya and Clovache are able to carry Isaiah out of the
Pyramid of Gizeh before it collapses. (ATD)
Bat’s Wing, the: A Dallas vampire club owned by the area vampires, the Bat’s
Wing is operated as much as a tourist draw, complete with gift shop, as for the
vampires themselves. The bar employs both humans and vampires, though a
vampire club is not considered the safest place for a human to work. The vampire
Farrell is kidnapped by the Fellowship of the Sun at the Bat’s Wing. (Mentioned
LDID)
Bear shifter: No name given. A young male shifter photographed in
midchange, presumably for the first time; his photo appears in Alfred
Cumberland’s eyes-only supernatural photo album. (Mentioned DD)
Beaumont, Isabel (vampire): One of Stan’s Dallas vamps, Isabel has a human
lover, a lawyer who successfully defended Stan in court. When it is revealed that
her lover, Hugo, has betrayed the Dallas vamps to the Fellowship of the Sun, Isabel
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Charlaine Harris☥ The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
is punished by being chained in a room with Hugo for a few months without being
allowed to feed. At the end of their sentence, Hugo is given a head start of twentyfour
hours before Isabel is unchained to go after him. (LDID)
Beck, Alcee: The only African American detective on the Renard Parish force,
Alcee often takes the opportunity to line his own pockets at the expense of his
fellow African Americans. However, he’s a good detective and fiercely loyal to his
wife and family. (LDID, DTTW, DAAD, DD, FDTW, DAG, DITF)
Beck, Dove: Alcee’s married cousin Dove has an affair with Crystal and is
caught in the act by Sookie and Calvin. (FDTW; mentioned DAG)
Beech, Mrs.: No first name given. Mrs. Beech is Copley Carmichael’s
housekeeper. (Mentioned FDTW)
Beecham, Chuck: Chuck attends the New Year’s Eve party at Merlotte’s and
can’t resist taunting Sookie about Bill being out of the country. (DTTW)
Beeson, Ms.: No first name given. The accounts clerk at the Grainger hospital,
Ms. Beeson tells a mystified Sookie that the hospital bill from her shooting has been
paid in full by an anonymous donor. (DAAD)
Belinda: No last name given. Belinda works as a waitress at Fangtasia and is
tortured by Hallow when she seeks the missing Eric. (DUD, DTTW)
Bellefleur, Andy: Bon Temps police detective Andy Bellefleur is competent
and thorough, although slightly hardened by his exposure to crime and criminals.
He investigates the murders of several young women associated with both
vampires and Jason Stackhouse. Andy arrests Jason. Sookie is attacked by the real
murderer, and though he is arrested and Jason released, Andy remains suspicious
of the siblings on general principle. Saddened by a child abuse case, Andy becomes
drunk in Merlotte’s and is taken home by Portia. When the body of Lafayette
Reynold is found in his car in the Merlotte’s parking lot the next morning, Andy
himself becomes a suspect. He eventually follows his leads to Jan Fowler’s cabin in
the woods, where he encounters not only the orgy participants and Bill, Eric, and
Sookie, but Callisto as well. Though the true murderers die, enough evidence is left
to exonerate Andy.
Andy and Alcee Beck put in hours on the case when Jason goes missing. After
Sookie brings Jason home, Andy doesn’t quite buy their story. He also responds to
the arson at Sookie’s house and encounters Sookie yet again when she is confronted
by Sweetie Des Arts. Andy shoots Sweetie when she is distracted by Dawson. Andy
believes in Sookie’s ability and is even willing to use her when a child goes missing
at the local elementary school. He briefly dreams of using her talent to solve every
case but is brought back to reality by police officer Kevin Pryor, who reminds him
that knowledge of the crime and criminal is not enough and that good old police
work will always be necessary. Enlisting Sookie’s help when he proposes to
Halleigh Robinson in Merlotte’s, an anxious Andy asks Sookie if Halleigh really
loves him.
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The detective works with Agents Lattesta and Weiss when Crystal is found on
the cross at Merlotte’s. Sookie calls him when she realizes that Arlene’s buddies
have planned the same crucifixion for her, and he comes to Arlene’s trailer along
with the two agents and is involved in the shoot-out, wounding Whit Spradlin.
Andy reacts badly at first to the news that Bill is his great-great-greatgrandfather,
but Bill puts him in his place by reminding him of his manners, and
Andy begins to accept the connection, ultimately deciding with Halleigh to name
their daughter Caroline Compton Bellefleur when they find out they are having a
girl. Andy is off duty in Merlotte’s playing darts with Danny Prideaux when the
four toughs hired by Sandra Pelt come in, and he helps subdue the assailants.
(DUD, LDID, DTTW, DAAD, DD, ATD, FDTW, DAG, DITF, DR; mentioned CD,
IIHAH)
Bellefleur, Caroline Holliday: After the death of her son and his wife, Caroline
Holliday Bellefleur raises her two grandchildren, Andrew and Portia. Beset by
shrinking finances, the Bellefleur family home, Belle Rive, has fallen into disrepair,
and Caroline is extremely pleased by a legacy from an unknown relative that
allows her to restore Belle Rive to its former glory. When she finally discovers, on
her deathbed, that Bill Compton is her great-grandfather and arranged the bequest,
she reacts with humor, grace, and gratitude.
Her last bequest is to leave the recipe of her famous chocolate cake to the town
so the legacy of Caroline Holliday Bellefleur, once one of Renard Parish’s finest
cooks, lives on in the kitchens and dining rooms of Bon Temps. (FDTW; dies DITF;
mentioned LDID, CD, DTTW, DD, ATD, DR)
Bellefleur, Halleigh Robinson: When Andy asks Halleigh, a teacher at Betty
Ford Elementary, to marry him, her one condition is that they not live at Belle Rive
but instead find their own home. They do buy a small house, the old Wechsler
place, but a pregnant Halleigh still helps care for her grandmother-in-law at Belle
Rive in Caroline’s final days. Halleigh and Andy find that they are expecting a
daughter and decide to name her Caroline Compton Bellefleur. (DAAD, DD, ATD,
FDTW, DAG, DITF; mentioned DR, IIHAH)
Bellefleur, Terry: Terry Bellefleur, cousin of Andy and Portia, is a Vietnam
veteran who paid dearly for doing his duty for his country. Held as a POW for two
years, he is scarred both mentally and physically. Terry functions best in simple
situations but doesn’t mind hard work, doing odd jobs around town such as
tearing down Sookie’s kitchen when it burns, as well as standing in for Sam as
bartender at Merlotte’s and cleaning the bar after hours to supplement his
government pension.
Terry loves training and breeding his Catahoula hunting dogs, and when Sam
turns into a collie during the Great Reveal, he takes it all in stride, certain that it is
one of the reasons he has always gotten along so well with his bartending boss.
254