CHAPTER 10: Tree House

It was agreed that the moment Tara and Sam returned from Jamaica they would move into one of his rentals. Tara was dying to tell Lafayette and Sookie. But first she needed to tell her mother when they got back to Aunt Vie's. She knew deep in her heart that she'd made the right decision. Meanwhile Sam couldn't contain his feeling of joy. Still seated next to her on the park bench, he stretched over, picked her up clean off her bum and plunked her down on his lap. She squealed when he did this and instinctively threw her arms around his shoulders steadying herself.

“Tara, you don't know how happy this makes me.”

“Oh Sam, I love you.”

“And I love you too.”

Then they kissed. As they kissed, she slowly combed her fingers through his silky hair and let out a tiny moan. Her soft lips like honey to his hungry soul made him too sigh his pleasure. The kiss they shared was so passionate it made them lose sense of time, made them forget the world. Then the sound of ringing jolted them back to reality. Opening their eyes, they saw a group of children on bicycles sounding their bells as they rode by on the dirt track that ran along the periphery of the lake.

From out of the group, a bright faced boy who looked to be about seven years old stopped his bike in front of them while the others kept on going. He with his angelic features, hazel eyes, huge dark brown curls and richly tanned complexion, yelled out,

“Hey, what's your name?”

“Tara” Tara, the first of the two to answer, looked at the cute charmer and thought what it would be like having two or maybe four boys like him.

“Sam” Sam replied next. It occurred to him that should he and Tara ever have a son, he would probably look just as cute as the one perched on his bike looking at them.

Breaking out into a mischievous smile, the curly haired boy pumped his legs and rode off while singing out loudly,

“Tara and Sam in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” then sped up to join the rest cycling ahead of him.

Looking at Sam while still seated comfortably in his lap, Tara said chuckling,

“Do you think he's trying to tell us something?”

“Yeah, that we should find ourselves a tree..” Sam snickered as he brushed a lock of stray hair behind her ear.

“Sam, you never cease to make me laugh.”

“Come to think of it, the house next to Aunt Vie's has a tree house. We could..”

“You're kidding, right?”

“...the owners are out of town.”

“Shit! You ARE serious!”

“Well??”

“Sam! No!”

“Why not?”

“Because some nosy neighbor might call the cops on us. That's why.”

“No they won't. They'll either be busy feeding their faces on turkey or be watching the Super Bowl opening ceremony....”

Kissing her gently and tantalizingly on her neck, he whispered seductively in her ear,

“...I need you.”

Feeling his erection pressing upwards against her butt, it didn't take much for her to gave in. Besides, she too had become aroused and wanted some release, and fast. So, hand in hand, they made a quick dash for his truck parked on the road nearby.

In less than two minutes, they arrived at their destination. They made sure to park a few chains away from Aunt Vie's house so they won't be noticed. They then hopped out of the truck and ran up to the house next to hers. It was a good sized house on a huge corner lot. Holding hands, they slipped through the gate and darted across the expanse, immaculately groomed lawn before climbing into the tree house positioned up high in a majestic oak tree. It was a securely built prefabricated designer tree house that was an exact scaled down replica of the main house over sixty feet away. Within the small confines of the replica house, at least fifteen feet above the ground, they made love.

***

For the next two weeks, Sam hired a contractor to do some renovations to one of his larger detached units. By the second day, the project was well under way. As it was only five minutes away from Merlotte's Bar and Grill, it was easy for him to check up on how things were progressing without Tara knowing. He wanted it to be a surprise. By the looks of things, the place should be ready well before they returned from their trip. .

The three bedroom rental had been vacated months before. The previous tenants, the Grahams, Gary, Martha, little Becky and Gary Jr., had been living there for over two years and never once were they late with the rent. They kept the place spic and span and were well liked by their neighbors. Then three months ago, Gary accepted a higher paying job offer in Arizona. Ever since they moved out, the house had been sitting there empty. Aside from the roof being only three years old and that there had been no signs of leaks or mold, the kitchen and master bathroom were the two major areas that Sam wanted to spruce up before he and Tara moved in.

Standing somewhere in the midst of workers toting building supplies to and fro and surrounded by the noise of power tools ringing away, Sam imagined he and Tara living together like a real couple. He smiled to himself at the thought of them 'christening' each and every room. He noticed that the kitchen had been completely gutted in preparation for new cherry-wood cupboards, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. New porcelain floor tiles were in the process of being lain in both the kitchen and master bathroom. Noting the time on his watch, he decided to return to work before Tara's shift started and so headed out the front door. Just as he was about to descend the wooden steps, a gray Ford F150 truck pulled up and parked behind his '68.

“Sam Merlotte!” Dusty Murphy called out while walking up the concrete walk way leading up to the porch with a large brown binder clutched securely under one arm. Meeting Sam at the bottom of the steps, he extended his hand.

“Dusty.” Sam responded with a smile and gave the tall robust middle aged man a firm handshake.

Dusty, a professional contractor with twenty years behind his belt had come highly recommended by Ramon. He stood at around six foot two and wore his strawberry blond hair in a military crew cut. With wide shoulders and well defined arms the size of tree trunks, he looked like Hulk Hogan without the long bleach blond tresses.

“I'm glad I caught you. I have some tile samples to show you.” Dusty said opening up the binder for Sam to see.

Flipping though pages of neatly arranged tiny square tiles each measuring two by two inches, Sam's face lit up when he came across a striking blue glass tile the color of sapphire. The rich deep blue color reminded him of Tara and of the earrings he gave her not too long ago. Taking it out of the plastic casing for closer inspection, he held it up in front of his eyes between his thumb and fore finger. He noticed the tile had flecks of charcoal gray and bronze in a dark blue backdrop. He liked the way the light caught it and made the it sparkle.

“Ah yes, one of my favorites from Peru. This one is made with a mixture of crushed volcanic rock and copper shavings. I think this would be perfect in the bathroom arranged as mosaic trimmings on the walls and on the floor of the shower.”

“I like it.” Sam nodded his approval.

“Good! I'll phone in the order right away and pick it up tomorrow. The plumber will be in then to install the soak-er tub, face-basin and fixtures.”

“Excellent.” Sam replied. The thought of taking long bubble baths with Tara after long tiring days warmed him.

“Hey, y'all come by the bar tonight. First round of drinks are on the house.” Sam added handing Dusty a business card.

“Alright! Thanks!”

“And oh, not a word about this to anyone at the bar. I want this to be a surprise to my girlfriend.”

“Gotcha. I'll let the guys know. If anyone asks, we'll tell them we work for Ram-Rez.”

****