Sookie had spent the first two and a half decades of her life growing jaded with the idea of relationships, telling herself that it wasn't meant for her, that she couldn't maintain it with her abilities being what they were. But with the arrival of Bill in her life, and the further possibilities that the island had given her, she was all but giddy now when people talked about their relationships, finally getting to play out the girlish side of her that had remained carefully chained for so long. Catching sight of his reddened ears, Sookie laughed, shaking her head and lightly wagging a finger.

"Nuh-uh. You don't get to blush all over the place and not give me the details. C'mon, Anatoly, spill. I'm in a mood for good news, doesn't matter how long the story is or how supposedly borin' it is."