“Randall was stunned, he’d had no idea. He said in that moment of revelation, he could feel the warmth of her hand on his bare chest. He felt her blood as it surged through her hand faster and faster, her pulse quickening under her emotions. He could hear her heart beating so loud and so strong. And in that singular moment, he realized that after all these years, it finally beat only for him. He said he’ll never forget how his eyes stared at her hand on his chest and how he followed the blood in it up her arm until he looked up to see the desperate emotion that filled her eyes. That was when he lost control. The thought of a life without her overwhelmed him and … he bit her.”
Daniel paused for a moment, waiting for me to take in the enormity of what he’d just said.
“Suddenly realizing what he’d done, he dropped her and ran off, leaving her barely alive. He still didn’t know what he’d become, but he knew what he’d done to Lois and unable to live with the knowledge of it, he fled.
I stared at Daniel totally wrapped up in the story.
“You’re not eating, please finish,” he urged softly.
I cut up a meatball and took another bite.
“So then what?”
“I suppose you could say that’s where their story really began, but let’s save that for another time.”
He reached over and gently placed his hand on mine, and for a moment ran his thumb across my knuckles. It was the smallest of contacts, but even this small sensation generated a tingling sensation down deep inside me. When I looked up into his eyes, he smiled, then pulled his hand back to pretend to take a sip of water as our waitress passed.
I was satisfied for tonight, but I wouldn’t let him forget to tell me what happened next. It would give me something to look forward to. Of course, I was also wondering how I was going to translate all this new information into my genealogy program. I’d have to give that some more thought as well.
After putting his glass down, he reached over and turned over my arm.
“Your rash looks better.”
“Yeah, it’s just about gone now. You know, I think I figured out what caused it,” I said taking another bite of pasta.
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense. What mighty thing was it that took down the great immune system of Sara Elizabeth Donnelly?” He couldn’t hide his curious amusement.
“Darcy’s laundry detergent.”
“You’re kidding me?” he sputtered out.
“No. I ran out so I borrowed hers. Turns out it’s this strange concoction her mother makes from scratch from some pretty weird ingredients. I rewashed all my clothes and now it seems to be going away.”
“Wait until Randall hears that.”
“I took a sample of it for him to play with when he gets back. I thought that would make him happy.”
“You’re getting to know your grandpa pretty well now, aren’t you,” he chuckled.
A week passed and Randall finally returned. I first knew he was back when he walked into the lecture hall on Wednesday morning as if he’d never left. It was an odd feeling to sit through his lectures now. To sit there and know he was not only my teacher, but a vampire and my grandfather as well.
Although I’d forgiven him for my childhood, I was still trying to find forgiveness in my heart for what he’d done to me and Daniel. I guess I could understand his point of view – to a certain extent, but it would still take time to let go of my resentment completely.
When the lecture finished, Daniel invited me up to the house for dinner that evening to celebrate Randall’s return. I accepted his invitation, but I couldn’t help but wonder two things. First, if Lois had come back with him, and second if I was going to be the only one eating the dinner I’d been invited to.
After my last class, I changed and headed up the mountain. After giving it a considerable amount of thought over the course of the day, I decided I was looking forward to seeing Randall, to putting the past behind us and starting fresh. I wasn’t able to talk to him after class because of the mob of students that had descended on him, all attempting to get extensions for their projects that had been due just before he’d returned.
Having had time to think about it, I’d finally accepted that he was indeed my grandfather. But somehow when he looked at me, I still couldn’t help but feel violated for all those years he’d had such a shadowy yet strong influence on the course of my life. I suspected as long as he was done interfering with my life, these feelings would fade with time. The question was, would he? I know Daniel said he would, but the few times Randall and I had talked about it back in Hopkinton, in his eyes I only saw regret that I knew, not a trace of regret for having done any of it. Without true regret, there can be no repentance and so I remained suspicious.
I knocked on the heavy wooden front door only for Randall to open it a few seconds later. Smiling, he stepped aside for me to pass, but I paused in the doorway and gave him a quick hug, which took him by surprise. I wasn’t sure why I’d done it, except despite my lingering reservations, I wanted to think the best of him.
Leaving him behind at the door, I continued into the living room only to see Daniel enter from the opposite hallway. He paused for a moment when our eyes met as did I. Would it always be like this? Would he always take my breath away? I hoped so. Recovering, he walked over, pulled me into his arms and gave me a kiss hello.
“I liked my welcome home present,” Randall said as he walked past our embrace to join us in the living room.
“You mean your sample?” I asked when Daniel’s lips finally released me.
“I know I’m hard to shop for.”
He smiled and disappeared into the back of the house, I think to give Daniel and I some privacy or perhaps not wanting to see what we’d do with it.
“Did Lois come back with him?”
“No. She decided to stay in Hopkinton for a while and finish getting the house back in working order. I think Randall and Lois are going to tear down the addition.”
“I kinda liked it,” I said following him into the kitchen. As we entered, I could see signs of cooking. To be honest, it was kind of a mess.
“What’s all this?” I asked hesitantly.
“I thought I’d try my hand at cooking you spaghetti. Don’t expect much. I’ve never really cooked before – even when I was human, and well, I can’t taste it to know if it’s any good.”
He turned from the pot he was stirring on the stove and looked up at me.
Oh, there was that little boy smile again. Lost for a moment in his sky blue eyes, I faintly heard Randall call my name and excused myself, leaving Daniel to continue stirring while carefully reading from a cookbook.
Walking down the back hallway, I found Randall in the room at the end of the hall where all the equipment he had at the house in Hopkinton were now set up.
“Come. Sit here,” he said, pointing towards a stool.
I did as he asked.
“If you don’t mind.” He took my arm and rolled up my sleeve to inspect my rash. “Yes, it does look better. It’s almost gone. If I might, I’d like to take another blood sample for comparisons sake.”
I said I didn’t mind. I was beginning to get used to it by now.
While he drew my blood I looked out the window as the last of the fading light cast its pink hues on the lake below.
“I wish Lois had come back with you. I didn’t really have much time to get to know her.”
He glanced up from my arm. He looked sad for a moment but then smiled for me.
“Don’t worry, you’ll see her again. Against her better judgment, she took quite a shine to you.”
He finished up and handed me a cotton ball to hold in the crux of my arm.
“She talks a big game, but she knew who you were. She’s always kept tabs on the children … from a distance. She would never see any of them in person, but she always knew where they were and what they were doing. Anyway, now that the cat’s out of the bag so to speak, I think she’ll be around a bit more.” Then he s
miled a big smile as if to say thank you.
“Dinners ready,” Daniel called from the kitchen.
“Go ahead, we’re done here,” Randall said forcing a reluctant smile on his lips. “Try to pretend you like it even if it’s terrible. He spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make it and I was no help at all.”
I sat down at the kitchen table which I couldn’t help but notice was set for one. Five large white candles that sat off to the side were casting their flickering glow over the dimly lit room. Daniel walked over and set a plate down in front of me with what appeared to be spaghetti and meatballs in some kind of red sauce. I looked up to see his sparkling blue eyes watching me intently, the excited anticipation dripping out of them.
“Go ahead. Try it,” he urged as he sat down across from me.
It looked – not bad, so trying to hide my hesitation, I picked up my fork, twirled some pasta around it and took a bite. It was okay, but utterly bland. I suppose if you can’t taste what you cook, you can’t realize when it needs a little something. Or in this case, a lot. I smiled and chewed while he watched my every reaction.
“Well?”
“It’s good,” I said kindly. “Are you sure this is your first time?”
He smiled, hopefully too happy to pick up on my kindly meant artifice. I took a bite of meatball. Just like the pasta, it lacked any real flavor. I smiled and pretended it was better than it was, while trying to think good thoughts so he wouldn’t pick up on the fact that I was faking it just a little bit. It wasn’t hard. I just remembered how it was cooked with the most important ingredient of all, love.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spied Randall as he walked into the living room and sat down with a book as if we weren’t in the house. A minute later, while I was chewing on more meatballs and smiling for Daniel, I heard a chuckle emanate from his direction in the other room. I picked up my glass and while taking a drink of water, concentrated real hard and thought “Keep quiet over there!”
Turning his head my way over the back of the couch, I saw him look up with a ridiculous smile. Pretending I hadn’t seen it, I took another fork full of pasta and chewed for Daniel.
A few minutes later when Daniel got up to refill my water, I heard Randall think “Keep it going, he’s just eating this up. Boy’s got it bad.”
“I heard that, Grandpa! That’s enough out of you!”
From across the room I saw him give me a face splitting smile.
Daniel walked back from the fridge and glanced over to follow my gaze to Randall who was just returning to his book. Daniel ever so slightly frowned as he turned back to me. By the expression in his eyes I could tell he knew something was up, but to his credit he didn’t seem to care.
I finally took the last bite and pushed the plate back.
Thank God that’s over with!
“Want some more?” he asked.
“No, not now. That was very filling and I have to watch my figure,” I said patting my stomach. “Maybe later.”
As Daniel got up to do the dishes, I followed him to the sink to help, but he waved me out of the kitchen saying I was company and to go into the living room and relax.
Company?
I shrugged my shoulders and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before retreating out of the kitchen.
Taking a seat across from Randall in the living room, I watched the fire as it slowly consumed its wood to ashes. Behind me, I could hear Daniel clanging around in the kitchen. I was pretty sure that if he’d never cooked before, he’d probably never done the dishes either. Was it possible to make even more of a mess when you were cleaning up? He might be over a hundred years old, but I think he probably had less experience in the kitchen than Ryan or Ben. Smiling to myself, I made a mental note to help him cook next time. Maybe I could give him some subtle pointers about adding things like salt and pepper.
My boyfriend cooked for me. Wow, I was still trying to wrap my mind around that. Not only that Daniel was my boyfriend, but that he’d put thought into what I’d like and actually cooked it for me with his own two hands. Looking for a distraction from the emotions brought up by his sweet gesture, I glanced over to see what Randall was reading.
“What book is that?” I asked eyeing the old leather bound volume in his hands. He looked up with a smile and handed it to me. Taking it, I realized it was an old Bible. From the looks of it, one that had been read and reread countless times.
“Unusual reading for a vampire, no?” I asked handing it back to him.
“Not really,” he answered. “But as many times as I’ve read it, I still can’t seem to find myself in here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not human, at least not anymore. What does that make me now? I’m not an angel, nor am I a demon, yet I was created by God. When I was human, I thought I knew what he wanted from me, but now …”
I’d only known the self-assured professor, but this was questioning Randall, a man, a fellow creature of God, seemingly lost and searching for answers.
“Why would what he wanted from you be any different now?” I asked. “God made us all fallible; he gave us all free will, humans and vampires alike. We all choose our own fate eventually.”
“I never chose to become a vampire,” he said with a sadness born of regret in his eyes. “I guess I’m just wondering – if I should die someday – what will become of me? Will I join my children in Heaven, or am I cursed to Hell?” I watched as he patted the old book in his lap. “I just can’t seem to find an answer in here for people like me.”
“I think the fact that you still consider yourself a person might be the answer to your question. I don’t think God expects any more or less of you now than he did when your heart still beat. – Maybe he just thought you needed a little longer to figure things out down here before he called you home.”
“Interesting idea,” he said quietly as he now stared into the fire. I could tell he was really thinking about what I’d said. A few minutes later he picked the book up and started reading again.
“Any favorite verses?”
He looked up with a smile. “Well, I know Daniel’s. It’s Romans 12:21. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
When the noises in the kitchen finally subsided, Daniel walked in and slid down next to me on the sofa. He wore a satisfied look on his face as if he’d just gone out, killed something and drug it home to provide food for his woman. It seemed very primal at its core, but appeared to make him happy so I refrained from teasing him about it. Although I was sorely tempted to do so.
A moment later, Randall put his book down and looked up at me. There was something unsettled behind his eyes.
“Why do I get the feeling you want to tell me something?” I asked him.
He paused for a moment as if gathering his thoughts.
“I finished analyzing the detergent sample and the blood I drew today.”
“What did you find?” Daniel asked with more than a hint of concern at Randall’s serious expression.
“It was the detergent that caused the rash.”
“That’s good news” Daniel said with a sigh of relief.
“But your blood chemistry has changed again. When I analyzed the samples you gave me back in Hopkinton, your body was in the process of fighting against the detergent. It caused your immune system to shift into overdrive and produce an enormous amount of antibodies, which is what caused your blood to be toxic to vampires. To be honest, it probably would have killed anything it was injected into. But now that your immune system is winning that battle, it’s no longer producing antibodies in mass quantities, so the toxicity of your blood is only marginal now.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means you’re not poisonous anymore,” Daniel said in something of a sigh.
“That’s right,” Randall agreed.
“So you’re saying that if I was bitten now, I’d become a vampire and not kill the one that bit me.”
<
br /> “I’m saying I think so. You’re a hard science to master, Sara. You won’t kill a vampire with your blood right now, not while you’re not fighting something off. – But your immune system is still incredibly strong. Until I devise a test in the laboratory to simulate what would happen if vampire venom was introduced into your system, there’s no way to know for sure. Vampire venom is unique. It can’t be extracted and used to turn someone. Once it leaves us, it loses its potency.
“Daniel won’t like me saying this, and I don’t have the scientific data to back it up, but based on what I’ve seen so far, I think you’d become a vampire.” Randall closed his book and got up. “The only question is, what kind?” and not wanting to continue the conversation, he quietly walked out of the room.
I reached over and grabbed Daniel’s hand, but looked the other way to stare into the fire.
“I don’t have to be able to read your mind to know what you’re thinking,” he said with a sadness in his voice.
I didn’t respond.
“It’s not the answer, Sara.”
Did he know? I hoped not.
Needing to see the comfort in his eyes, I turned to face him as he leaned over and gently began to stroke my hair.
“I know – not now, but maybe someday. I couldn’t do that to my parents.”
Reaching over he pulled me close, allowing me to lie back on his chest while I put my feet up on the arm of the sofa so I could watch the fire.
“I hope never,” he said softly. “I like the sound of your heartbeat.”
Then he kissed the top of my head as he wrapped his arms securely around me. Without feeling the need for words to express what we were feeling, we watched the crackling fire casting its warm glow on the now quiet room, and just felt each other’s comforting presence.
The Purity of Blood: Volume I Page 50
