by Amira Rain
After I’d finished spilling the whole family saga to Hayden, he said that, like my mom had been, he wasn’t without sympathy for my aunt and uncle at all, but that he just found it hard to muster that sympathy after the way they’d treated me. “I’m still livid about the note your aunt sent along with the boxes of your things, actually.”
The note. Hayden and I had argued about it for a few days. He’d wanted to make a visit to my aunt and tell her off, but I’d just wanted him to let things be, despite the fact that I was livid about the note myself. It had read:
Sydney,
As promised, here’s your stuff. I’d like to remind you that John and I are done with you. Do not contact us for anything. We don’t care how bad things get for you. You’ve made your bed, now SLEEP IN IT.
Pam
PS- We’ve decided not to transfer the remainder of your mother’s life insurance to your bank account, and this is to cover various expenses (food, utilities, car insurance) we incurred while you lived with us. If you have a problem with this, you can take us to court. Just know, though, that judges tend not to look favorably on single teenage welfare moms.
Pam and John had actually received social security checks to cover my part of the grocery, utilities, and car insurance bills every month. This was because I had a deceased parent who had worked and paid into social security during her lifetime, which entitled me to a government payment as long as I was still in high school.
The way I figured it, Pam and John had probably had several hundred dollars left over from the social security funds every month even after my expenses, although I never saw more than fifty to a hundred of it, which I used for gas and spending money, always wishing I could have a little more. I knew that my “little more” had been going toward Pam and John’s lifestyle and expensive tastes. They certainly hadn’t been putting any part of my social security checks into a college fund for me or anything.
In response to Hayden saying that he was still livid about Pam’s note, I told him that I was, too. “Let’s not talk anymore about it tonight, though, and let’s not talk about any more family stuff at all. It’s a beautiful night; the stars are twinkling; and right now, I just want to enjoy sitting out here with you. After all, you know what Nora says. ‘Happy moms make happy babies.’”
Nora was not only the community’s doctor, she was the community’s midwife as well.
Hayden agreed that we’d only talk about “happy things” for the rest of the night, although soon we weren’t even talking at all; we were kissing. However, I soon broke our kiss, pulling one of Hayden’s hands to my stomach, when I felt the baby really kicking up a storm for the first time.
“Feel!”
Hayden did feel, gaze on my stomach, with a look of wonder spreading across his handsome features. And when he lifted his gaze to my face, he spoke in a voice that was thick with emotion.
“That’s our baby kicking. I just can’t believe it.”
Smiling with joy, I said I couldn’t, either. “It still doesn’t seem real yet.”
“I know. I also know that we’re going to have one heck of a strong baby. He or she is kicking hard enough to make a ‘jailbreak’ right now.”
He or she really was. In fact, lifting my shirt, I could actually see where one tiny foot, or a tiny fist, was battering one side of my stomach.
To my surprise, Hayden suddenly leaned over and planted a kiss right on that spot, then spoke to my stomach as if directly speaking to the baby. “Now, you just relax in there, little guy or girl. You may as well, because you’ve got about four more months before you see Mommy and Daddy.”
For some reason, the words Mommy and Daddy suddenly made my eyes a bit misty, and I began sniffling a little. Hayden immediately looked up, clearly alarmed, asking if he’d said something wrong.
Trying to smile through my tears, I shook my head. “No…nothing wrong. You just said everything right. I’m crying because I’m just so happy…probably the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. Oh, and pregnancy hormones might have a little something to do with it, too.”
I laughed feebly, but Hayden’s expression remained serious as he pulled me into his arms.
“Knowing that you’re so happy has made me feel like I’m the happiest man alive.”
Soon, while the baby settled down and stopped its kicking, Hayden and I began kissing again, making my heart feel light as air.
The following day, I came back down to earth a little when Hayden told me that he had to leave just for a day or two, to help the new Watcher community down in Southern Indiana. With several vampires fighting for the top leadership position, they’d had a difficult time dealing with the faction of the Warren Coven that was the reason for their whole existence as Watchers. So, thinking that they needed a leader selected for them, since it seemed that they were never going to be able to decide for themselves, Hayden was going to make a brief trip and get them on track.
Our parting was definitely a little drawn-out, with numerous “last kisses,” and then when Hayden was heading for the door, I asked for just one more still, completely unable to help myself. Ever patient with me, he came back over with a little smile, although rolling his eyes a bit. Despite this, I didn’t think that our “last, last kiss,” which went on for a long time, was exactly torture for him.
Later that morning, Mark asked Jen and me if either of us knew how to cook a pot roast, saying that he wanted to know because we were going to be having a special guest over for Sunday dinner that evening. Jen asked who it was; and, with his eyes twinkling, Mark told her to take one guess.
I didn’t even need to guess, knowing that the special guest was Carol. Hayden and I hadn’t been the only ones to fall deeply in love during the previous few months; Mark had told me one afternoon, after Carol had stopped by for a brief visit, that he’d fallen for her hard, and was thinking about the possibility of a “very long-term future” with her.
In response to Mark telling Jen to take a guess as to who the special dinner guest would be, she guessed “Ronald McDonald” with her eyes twinkling. Mark said no, the special guest wasn’t Ronald McDonald, and Jen guessed “the hamburgler.” Mark said no, she still wasn’t correct, and Jen sighed.
“I guess I’m just craving a cheeseburger and fries, Dad. Do you think Carol would mind if we had fast food for dinner instead of a pot roast?”
Mark lightly bonked Jen on the head with a rolled-up newspaper. “Carol wouldn’t mind, or at least, she would say she didn’t mind, because she’s a polite, gracious sort of person. I would mind, though, because when we welcome her into our home for dinner, I want her to have a nice, home cooked meal.”
Jen sighed again. “Well, fine. Me and Sydney will make a pot roast. I know everything about how to make one. Just know that while I’m eating it, Dad, I’ll be strongly wishing that it was a cheeseburger and fries.”
Mark snorted. “Well, just know that while Mel, Trevor, Sam, and I are eating it, we’ll all be wishing we weren’t eating food at all. That’s going to be the difficult part of the evening…us vampires of the family managing to choke down enough food to convince Carol that we’re all just regular humans who definitely don’t live on a diet consisting of blood.”
Jen had already left the kitchen by this point, chasing after Wanted, who had one of Jen’s headbands in his mouth; so, Mark had just been talking to me when he’d said what he just had. A little tentatively, because I didn’t want to put my nose too far into his personal business, I asked him if he thought he might tell Carol his “little secret” before their relationship went much further.
Mark’s response was a deep sigh, which he did while moving to stand in a lean over the island. “I know I need to tell her soon…I’ve just been dreading it, is all. I know I need to, though. Lord knows that I’ve been suffering enough guilt wondering if she’s fallen in love with me under false pretenses, because she doesn’t even know who I truly am.”
“Well…you’re truly a good man, and a good fat
her, so it’s not like she doesn’t know any ‘true’ things about who you really are.”
With a small little smile that didn’t reach all the way up to his eyes, Mark thanked me for the kind things I’d said about him, and for trying to make him feel better. “I know I won’t really feel better, though, until I tell Carol the truth, and go through all the shock and outrage that I’m sure will follow.”
“There might be a little laughter, too, at first…or, as I know from experience, she might at least feel like laughing.”
Mark cracked a smile. “You’re right. There definitely might be some laughter at first.” With a quiet sigh, he pushed off the island to stand upright. “Not tonight, though. I obviously want to spring the news on Carol in private, and maybe on her ‘own turf,’ where she feels safest, at her own home. So, as for right now, all I have to worry about is us vampire members of the family eating enough to appear ‘normal’ tonight. That’s going to be the most difficult part of the evening.”
Mark had no idea as to what “the most difficult part of the evening” was going to be. It certainly wasn’t going to be him and the other vampires in the family having to choke down a few bites of food.
CHAPTER 20
At first, dinner went off without a hitch. Jen and I had a delicious dinner of pot roast with potatoes, carrots, and onions; garden salad; and warm rolls right out of the oven on the perfectly-set table at exactly seven o’ clock. Smiling as everyone filled their plates, Carol, who was an attractive woman with short, salt-and-pepper-colored hair, said that everything looked wonderful, and that she couldn’t think of a more perfect meal for a chilly September evening than pot roast.
Jen looked up from grabbing a roll. “Not even cheeseburgers and fries?”
Seeming to be genuinely amused by her, Carol smiled even bigger. “I should have said pot roast or cheeseburgers and fries. I love cheeseburgers and fries, too. Maybe sometime, we’ll cook some for your dad together.”
Jen said okay. “I don’t think cheeseburgers and fries are exactly at the top of his ‘things he likes to eat’ list, though, so you know he’ll have to gag them down.”
With her face registering surprise, Carol turned her gaze to Mark. “I thought you love a good cheeseburger. You sure seemed to enjoy the one you had when we had lunch at that diner the other day. You kept saying how good it was, remember? ‘Sure doesn’t taste anything like soggy cardboard’ I think I remember you saying, which I thought was a joke about those terrible sandwiches we got at the sub shop that one day.”
Looking distinctly uncomfortable, Mark took a sip of wine before responding. “Oh, the one I got at that diner was pretty good, but I guess cheeseburgers maybe aren’t my favorite thing in the world.”
“Unless they’re extremely rare, right, Dad?”
Jen had made this comment, and she now laughed at her own joke.
Seeming very eager to change the subject, Mark asked Mel to please pass him the basket of rolls. When she did, he took two, saying how much he loved rolls fresh out of the oven.
“I’ll probably even have a few more after I finish these ones. That’s how much I just love eating rolls.”
Jen started to say something, but Trevor quickly cut her off, asking Mark if everything was all set for a hunting trip they planned to take soon. Looking relieved and grateful for Trevor’s interruption, Mark said that yes, everything was all set.
“I think we’ll leave next Friday morning, and get back home Sunday night. That way, I can be back in the office by Monday.”
Setting her fork down, Carol looked at Mark with an expression of surprise possibly mixed with dismay. “You’re taking another hunting trip? I feel like you just got back from the last one a few weeks ago.”
Mark cleared his throat, digging around in his vegetables with his gaze on his plate, as if he didn’t want to look Carol in the eyes. “Well…you know me. I love my hunting trips.”
Carol seemed to study his face just briefly before giving him a little smile. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to hunt. Maybe I could go on the trip with you.”
Once again, Mark cleared his throat, digging around on his plate like he couldn’t find just the right carrot. “Oh…well….” Yet again, he cleared his throat. “I’d really like that sometime, Carol, but this particular trip might be a little boring. See, rather than doing any real, active hunting on this trip, Trevor, Sam, and I are just going to sit in the tree stand the whole time, and, uh…maybe just play cards or something until all the game animals, uh…just come right to us.”
Carol frowned. “Does hunting really work that way?”
“Uh….” Looking noticeably pale, Mark picked up his wineglass. “I’ll answer that question right after a sip of wine.”
Jen suddenly set her fork on her plate with a little clang, gaze on Mark. “Dad, come on. You don’t need to fib about what you actually do on your ‘hunting’ trips. You don’t need to fib about how much you love eating rolls or whatever, either. Carol already knows you’re a vampire. I told her, like, three weeks ago or something.”
Mark had been taking a drink of wine when Jen had started speaking, and he now began choking on it, covering his mouth with a hand.
Looking completely unperturbed, Jen continued. “I didn’t mean to tell her or anything. It just kind of slipped out one day. Carol seems totally fine with it, though, anyway. You are totally fine with it, aren’t you, Carol?”
Clearly fighting a smile, Carol gave Mark, who’d recovered from his choking fit, an almost imperceptible little wink before turning her focus back to Jen. “Of course, I am. It’s not every day that a gal meets a tall, dashing vampire. I consider myself very lucky to be in a relationship with your father.”
Jen heaved a sigh and lifted her gaze to the ceiling, as if wanting to direct her words at some invisible being up there. “Is any adult ever going to take me seriously?”
Carol gave Jen a little smile. “This adult does. I take your creativity and imagination very seriously. I take your ability to create fictional narratives very seriously. In fact, as a professional fiction writer and a creative person myself, I think you’re very talented. I also think that you should put your talent to good use by maybe trying your hand at writing a story of some sort sometime. It can be a tale about vampires, and I’ll even help you get started with it if you’d like.”
With her expression one of complete exasperation, Jen turned her gaze from the ceiling to Carol. “What I told you wasn’t a ‘fictional narrative.’ My dad drinks blood. He’s literally a vampire. You are dating a man who will never die. I’m not sure how I can make this all any clearer.”
With her warm brown eyes twinkling, Carol gave Jen a little smile. “These are all good little details for your story. Maybe you can call the vampires ‘immortals’ or something, since they can never die.”
Mel suddenly looked up from her plate. “You’ve got your work cut out for you with helping Jen write a story, Carol. You know she can barely read and write, right? She’s certifiably illiterate for all practical purposes. Aren’t you, Jen?”
Jen scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Nice try, Mel, but you’re not going to get me to change the subject from Dad being a vampire, not to mention everyone else in this whole house being a vampire, except for me and Sydney, just by bringing up the fact that I have problems with reading. See, I’d have to be a dummy to fall for that, and I may be illiterate, but I’m not a dummy. And just for the record, you’re the dummy.”
Rolling her eyes harder than Jen even had, Mel went back to picking at her food.
Seeming to sense an opportunity, Mark cleared his throat. “Jen, if you’re going to speak to your sister like that, maybe we should just change the subject. How about we tell Carol about that rock shaped like a cat that you found the other day, and how—”
“Nice try from you, too, Dad, but I’m not going to be distracted from the fact that you’re a vampire, one who literally slurps blood right out of animals’ throats, but are refusing
to admit it to your girlfriend.”
Reddening, Mark gave Jen a little smile that didn’t reach all the way up to his eyes or even close. “I agree with Carol, sweetie. I’m very impressed by your creativity, and I think you could write a prize-winning tale about vampires. You could even have them drink blood from animals, like how you just said.”
Once again, Jen lifted her gaze to the ceiling. “You have got to be kidding me. My own dad is basically allowing his girlfriend to think that his own daughter is crazy.”
Carol shook her head. “No, not ‘crazy.’ Creative. There’s a big difference.”
Ignoring Carol, Jen glanced at me, Trevor, and Sam in turn. “Any one of you guys gonna help me out, here? Sydney, Trevor, or Sam? Any one of you guys brave enough to tell Carol the truth?”
Feeling distinctly uncomfortable, I began taking a long drink of my iced tea just to buy myself a second or two to think of a response. Trevor began taking a drink, too.
Sam spoke to Jen without looking up from his food, which he was just picking at, and not eating. “I think you know that your dad’s not really a vampire, Jen.”
Jen sputtered, lightly banging a fist on the table. “Why don’t you look up and say that to my face, you coward of a cousin!”
Mark suddenly cleared his throat for about the billionth time. “Jennie, sweetie, you really haven’t eaten very much. How about if I serve you up some more pot roast? And remember to chew each bite very thoroughly, for a long time, because even tender meat can be a choking hazard. Also remember not to talk while you’re chewing each bite for a very long time, because that would be bad manners.”
Shaking her head almost imperceptibly with her expression one of resignation, Jen sighed. “All right. I get it, Dad. I’ll keep my mouth shut. But you seriously owe me for this. I think I’d like a new iPhone.”
