The Sookie Stackhouse Companion

to comb her hair. As they talk and he soothes her with his touch, the mood between them changes, and Bill begins to make love to her. He is surprised to discover her virginity. The two begin a passionate affair.
    SATURDAY, JULY 3. Jason comes into Merlotte’s for lunch and tells Sookie that the police have questioned him again about the murders. When her co-workers learn of her intensifying relationship with Bill, they all warn her away. But Sookie is happy to see Bill come into the bar. Malcolm and Diane arrive, and their behavior shocks and angers all the human patrons. The other vampires mock Bill for his devotion to Sookie as they leave for their home in Monroe. Bill waits outside for Sookie to make certain his former friends have left. Sookie follows him to his home, where they enjoy his hot tub together.
    SUNDAY, JULY 4. Bill takes Sookie to the movies and out to eat—he abstains. As they lie in bed later, Bill makes a casual remark about his childhood that causes Sookie to tell him that her great-uncle sexually molested her as a child.
    MONDAY, JULY 5. As she leaves Bill’s house in the morning, she is surprised to find Jason waiting for her with the news of her great-uncle Bartlett’s death during a robbery the night before. Jason’s shocked Sookie doesn’t mourn. Sookie tells her initially disbelieving brother what her uncle did to her and their aunt Linda, and how Adele protected her after she found out, kicking her brother out of their lives. It isn’t until Sookie arrives at work that day that she realizes Bill had him killed. She confronts Bill, who doesn’t deny it. Although they exchange “I love you”s for the first time, she tells him she can’t see him until she decides whether their love is worth the misery she might face by caring for him.
    Sookie works hard to create a life without her grandmother and Bill. Adele’s lawyer works to wrap up her estate, and Sookie is surprised to receive twenty thousand dollars from Uncle Bartlett’s estate. She donates it to a local mental health center.
    THURSDAY, JULY 8. During her separation from Bill, Sookie begins to realize the amount of resentment that the human bar patrons are feeling for the Monroe vampires, who have apparently been traveling around the surrounding area and behaving very badly. She catches thoughts of a plan to burn down their house with them in it.
    TUESDAY, JULY 13. Bill comes into Merlotte’s with visiting vampire Harlen Ives, who was turned when he was a teenager. When Bill and Harlen announce that they are going to Monroe to visit Malcolm, Sookie gives Bill a vague warning, uncertain of what to do and how much to say. The level of anger and frenzy grows in the bar after they leave, and she calls Bill when she gets home to let him know.
    WEDNESDAY, JULY 14. Jason wakes Sookie with the news that the Monroe vampires’ house has been burned. She rushes to Monroe and sees four damaged coffins and one body bag with human remains. Unable to ascertain whether Bill was at the house, she realizes that Sam has arrived and allows him to take her home. Sam gets her to clean house the whole day to help her pass the time until the sun sets and she can find out if Bill was home and not in Monroe.
    Sookie waits until dark and then heads out to the cemetery between their houses in the rain, calling Bill’s name. When Bill rises from the earth, she is overcome and falls to her knees. Sookie tells him of the death of the Monroe vampires, and he is lost for a moment in his anger and rage. Sookie deliberately changes his focus to sex, and they make love in the mud. When he comes to himself, Bill carries her to his home to bathe in his hot tub.
    THURSDAY, JULY 15–SATURDAY, JULY 24. Sookie and Bill resume their relationship. They spend nighttime hours together, watching TV, going to movies, playing Scrabble, and making love. Sookie works while Bill sleeps; Bill reads, roams the woods, and does yard work at night while Sookie sleeps. They are uneasy because of the Monroe fire and the still-unsolved deaths of Maudette, Dawn, and Sookie’s grandmother.
    Jason begins to come into the bar nearly every day to talk to Sookie. He tells his sister that the police have questioned him two more times and that he has spoken to a lawyer. Sookie asks why the police keep questioning him, and Jason confesses that he makes videos of his sexual encounters with women, including the two deceased, and that the police found copies. Jason asks Sookie to