Ever After

by Heather McBride

  “Of course Mr. Whitmore, I’m sure they would love to have dinner with all of you tonight.”

  “Very good very good, then we will see all of you here at 6pm?”

  “Yes sir we will be here.” Will nodded politely. “Thank you.”

  “See you then. Corrine I will be up later dear, when Doc gets here.” He added before he left. I watched Sara glare at his back as he walked out of the room, she did not know I was watching her. Her eyes then fell back on me, enemy no.2.

  “You’re looking well today Corrine.” She didn’t smile as she said it. I saw her freeze as she saw the giant diamond on my left finger.

  “What on earth is that?” She gasped, grabbing up my hand and inspecting the ring. “Is this a…” she looked at Will than at me in shock. “Engagement ring?”

  “Yes” Will said proudly. “I proposed last night and thankfully she said yes!”

  “Well goodness, I had no idea you two were so serious. “You all are very young don’t you think thought to be committing yourselves to such an adult thing?” I could see she was practically drooling over my ring, I bet she wanted to rip it off my finger and run. Sara was a major jewelry hound; anything that sparkled drove her insane.

  “We feel very confident we are ready for this, but thank you for your concern.” Will said dryly.

  “Well a congratulations is in order. I guess we have a wedding to plan don’t we Corrine dear, how exciting!” I was shocked. Sara was seemed actually excited about all this, who knew she was really human….maybe. I saw her eyes light up at the thought of another social event to plan.

  “We haven’t set a date yet or anything, were waiting to get the all clear from Doc before we do all that.” I quickly added.

  “Oh yes of course, but do let me know when you’re ready to plan, we will go see Lottie Sanders in New York. She is the best wedding planner. I know her well, so unlike everyone else we won’t have to book her a year in advance to get her to do your wedding.”

  I wanted to tell her I knew what I wanted, and no uppity social snob was planning the biggest day of my life. I just took a deep breath and sucked it up, it wasn’t worth fighting about.

  “That sounds great; I will let you know when we set the date.” I faked a happy; you’re the best step mommy in the world smile. I hoped she would leave soon, and go Botox something already.

  “I will call her tomorrow and have some sample books sent over, you all need to get a theme in mind and so on.”

  “Great, thanks Sara that will give us some ideas I’m sure.” Fake, that’s was what I was now. My cheeks hurt from fake smiling for so long.

  “I will see you two at 6 then. Oh Will, your mother is coming for dinner I hope. I have some ideas for the ceremony I want to run by her.”

  “Yes, she will be here.”

  “Oh that’s grand I have been dying to meet her. I see her around town a lot; she drives that vintage Mercedes 211 right?” Sara asked.

  “Yes, Doc gave it to her for her birthday five years ago, it’s a classic.” Will added.

  “I would love to know where he got it, they are so rare. I would love to get my hands on one of them.” I hid a smile knowing Doc had in fact bought that car brand new when it was first on the market.

  “Well, I can talk to Doc or you might ask him tonight. I’m sure he could help you track one down if you like.” Will said as politely as he could.

  “I will do that. I had better go. I have some calls to make and then make sure we have the table set for all of our guests tonight.”

  I was amazed by how freakishly friendly she was. I thought maybe it was the holidays, or she saw Roth checking her out, or maybe she was planning to try to clean dad out with a divorce, who knew. I waited until she went on down the hallway before I spoke aloud.

  “What in the hell was that?” I rolled my eyes and flopped back onto my pillows.

  “Uh… maybe aliens took over her body last night in her sleep.” Will teased.

  “Hey that might be it, I thought vampires didn’t exist, who’s to say alien’s don’t, you know?” I smiled.

  “Hmm never met one, I don’t think anyway but you are right, vamps aren’t suppose to be real either.” He laughed as he looked out the window; the snow was letting up finally.

  “I can’t believe she wants to help plan the wedding and she didn’t even get mad when dad invited your whole family over for dinner tonight.” I shook my head. “I think she’s up to something really.

  “Like what?’

  “I don’t know, she wants to stay on dad’s good side all of the sudden, so she’s got something to hide or something planned. I’m keeping my eye on her that’s for sure.” I sighed and took a sip of my milk.

  Will and I snuggled up and spent the afternoon watching movies, and watching the snowfall. I wished we could go sledding as we did last winter. Roth had called and said they were heading over to the hill, and wanted us to go. If I had felt a tiny bit stronger I would have gone, but Gran would have kicked my butt if I tried, and so would dad. I was happy though, warm, and cozy with Will just relaxing before the big Christmas dinner later on.

  Chapter 38

  Christmas Dinner

  Doc and Pratt arrived shortly before dinner as Gran had told me they would. I knew they needed to make sure I was doing ok, as they did every day. Lydia, Andrew, and Emma came along with them. Will had gone home and hour ago to change clothes; he was to arrive with Roth and the other cousins shortly.

  The snow was getting heavier as the dinner hour grew closer. I worried Will would be late or not make it. I knew better, Roth would be driving his giant Hummer; no snow would keep him from a good home cooked meal. Gran was in her glory, as she directed all the kitchen staff, and saw to the meal preparations.

  I knew she had been baking her pies herself though. Gran never let anyone do the pie baking for any holiday meal. It had been that way since I could remember. She and Sara had many battles over that. Sara liked to bring in highly skilled dessert or pastry chefs, but Gran would threaten her if she dared to do it.

  Sayann was an angel and helped me get ready for the party. I wanted to look really special tonight. It seemed the past few months all I got to wear was pj’s or hospital gowns. I was so over that. It was nice to have a friend caring for me and helping me.

  Dad had a home nurse set up when we arrived. Pratt was quick to tell him Sayann was specialized in caring for recovering cancer patients, so dad cancelled the one he had hired. It was critical I be kept away from any “human” medical professionals. If they saw my temp chart or heard my heart rate, they would be calling Ripley’s believe it or not and the National news. I could see the headlines now “THE GIRL WHO SHOULD BE DEAD… LIVES” that would be just great.

  Sayann helped me out of the bathtub, although I could walk now, we had to be careful since I was still wobbly on my feet. We washed and curled my hair and put some make up on to give me some “human” color. I found the perfect red dress to wear just right for the holiday dinner.

  It had a beautiful satin bow’s on each shoulder, and a matching shawl to go with it. I wore the diamond earrings and heart pendant dad had given me for my Christmas gift just that morning. I of course had on my engagement ring, which I would never take off for any reason. I knew this night was going to be perfect, as long as Sara chilled out.

  “You look stunning, like one of those porcelain dolls.” Sayann smiled proudly. Her master skills at makeup and hair were evident on me.

  “I thought you said you were studying to be a nurse, not a beautician?” I joked, but was really shocked at how she wrangled a curling iron.

  “Oh… well I was, but I spent the first year in beauty school. My parents forced me to go into nursing, so I lied to them and each day instead of attending nursing classes I was learning to perm and cut hair.”

  “Oh my gosh, didn’t your parents know?”

  “Nope, not for almost a year. I had been paying for it out of my summer job money and getting the m
ail each day so they wouldn’t see the bill form the beauty college.” I watched her pack up her makeup kit and hair curlers.

  “It all worked out great, until one month I forgot to get the mail on the day the semester billing came out. My parents flipped when they found it, and well...” She gave me a wicked grin, and laughed. “I was enrolled in nursing school the next week. I learned to like it, and I was actually at the top of my class before I met that butt head Kyle. You know the story from there.” She frowned looking thought fully at her makeup case.

  “Well you’re awesome at it, that’s for sure. I looked like hell when you started an hour ago!”

  “No you didn’t Corrine; you just needed some polishing up that’s all. The change is nearly complete in you; your features are even more beautiful than when I met you in the Dark coven house.”

  “Thanks.” I smiled.

  “I must say, I do like the whole vampire hotness thing, it’s so cool to look amazing all the time.” I laughed as she gave me a wink. “Especially the guys!” Sayann herself was stunning, as I watched her hang up some outfits we decided I shouldn’t wear.

  Her long strait hair was lustrous and silky. She wore a black dress, which fit her like a glove and showed of her tiny figure. Her eyes were so dark, it was hard to tell what color, but they were perfectly set, she looked like a super model.

  “Do you think Roth will notice me tonight?”

  “Are you kidding? He will trip over his own feet when he see’s you in that dress! You had better bring a stick with you to dinner, because you’re going to have to beat him off of you with it!” I laughed. “Do you think my hair looks good?” I asked as I pulled a loose curl.

  “Oh yes, it does look great! You are going to need your own stick tonight, William will go crazy!” She smiled.

  I felt truly happy right now, it seemed like things were finally getting better around here. I was also really excited to see Beth and Kara tonight. Gran had invited them to come have dinner with us also. I was so surprised it had been weeks since I had seen them, and the last visit I felt so bad we could not talk for long. It would be a full house tonight. I couldn’t imagine anything better than having all the people I loved together for a wonderful Christmas dinner at home.

  I came downstairs, with the help of Sayann, and waited in the sitting area for all of our guests to arrive. Dad had on a tuxedo. Apparently, the dinner had been made a formal one sometime that afternoon. It was cool though, I had always loved getting dressed up myself. Doc and Pratt arrived, after basically just leaving from doing my check up a couple hours earlier.

  They both had on tuxedos and looked like GQ models, believe me, you never would have had any idea they were vampires. It amazed me to this day, how they all fit right in with human society. I started to wonder how many people you saw out in public were actually vamps too. Lydia and Emma followed them into the sitting room, both wearing black Armani gowns. Lydia’s was trimmed in red satin; she didn’t look a day over 30.

  I was ready for Sara to freak out, as she knew Lydia was Will’s real mother, not his step. I hoped she would chalk up Lydia’s extremely youthful appearance to a teen pregnancy, a really good plastic surgeon, or superb genetics. I really couldn’t wait to see her reaction though. This was going to really freak her out.

  Sara was a major wrinkle phoebe. She had like 200 kinds of creams in her bathroom to ward off the wicked buggers. Emma looked all of about 25 years old too! Her long auburn hair was pulled up into a stylish bun, her skin flawless as ever. I wondered did unfashionable vampires exist. If they did, I had not seen one in this coven any way.

  William came in last, the cousin’s following him. He had on his tuxedo as well, and his jet-black hair slicked back to the side. He reminded me of someone out of the twenties, timeless and sophisticated. Roth, Taylor, and Riley came in followed by Sam. They all looked amazing.

  I saw Roth’s eyes go right to Sayann. I was pleased with that, so was she. I saw her give him a shy smile and a wave. Beth and Kara were last, and had on almost the same kind of dresses. It was typical; they were like twins, even when we were younger. Kara’s dress was green and Kara’s was blue. Both dresses were the same style, floor length and empire waist, very pretty. All of Will’s cousins seemed to be appreciating our two female guests.

  “You are a vision.” Will whispered into my ear as he kissed my cheek.

  “You look edible.” I teased.

  “Well now!” He smiled, his brows raised in surprise at my naughty compliment.

  Sara as expected wore a very low cut black dress with a red shawl over it. I was surprised to see her cover up the “twins”. They were her pride and joy. It was her thing to show them off, but tonight she was looking more appropriate.

  Dinner was served at 6:15 pm, and it smelled insanely good. Gran had outdone herself this year. I just hoped she didn’t wear herself out to much. I smiled at her; she had on her traditional Christmas tree dress. It was red with tiny trees all over it. She had worn it every year for as long as I can remember, it would seem weird to me if she didn’t. She and no one else made all the pies and sweet potatoes. I knew she took pride in baking those, and I loved to eat them too.

  It turned out to be a Christmas/ Engagement party as everyone couldn’t stop talking about how wonderful Will and I would be as married couple. I wasn’t sure how, but even our full-blooded vampire guests ate as much as our human ones. I figured most of them had very good human memories of Christmas dinners in their past. It no doubt made eating the human food very enjoyable for them. Every one talked and had a wonderful time. Beth and Kara never even suspected they were in the company of vampires.

  The guests disbursed to the living room to relax after dinner was done. Dad had the fireplace going, so it was warm and comfortable. Gran enjoyed telling some embarrassing stories about my childhood. I didn’t mind really. I loved to see her so happy to have an audience, to listen to her talk.

  Will was laughing at me when she told everyone about the summer I spent hunting ladybugs. Dad had given me the nickname “bug” ever since then. Lydia joined in and told a few about Will. I knew that she had only been able to watch Will from afar then. I could tell she had to alter the stories as well, due to the fact they all took place in the decade long before even my dad was born. They were still amusing, and Will turned red several times and got some ribbing from his cousins.

  It was getting really late now, and Doc recommended I get to bed, and let he and Pratt check on my blood pressure. I hugged Beth and Kara as they headed home. I was sad to see them go, my future was uncertain and I didn’t know when or if I would see them ever again. I said good night to everyone, I was starting to get tired by now and happy to being going to bed.

  Will helped me upstairs. In a 100-year-old house, you don’t have an elevator. That’s not so good when you’re worn out. Will gallantly picked me up as if I were a feather and took me upstairs. I could hear everyone still laughing and talking downstairs. I was relieved they were all getting along.

  Sayann waited for Doc and Pratt to finish checking my vital signs, before she helped me get on my pj’s.

  “You look good.” Pratt smiled, his nose buried in his charts. “Your heart rate is still a bit slow, but it’s steady so that’s very good. I’d like to see your body temp lower, it has risen since this morning we will have to watch out for infections.”

  “We could add some antibiotic to her serum dose Pratt, do you agree?” Doc added.

  “Yes, good thinking we will do just that. It won’t hurt anything and it might prevent a bad infection.”

  “Sayann, will you note that in Corrine’s chart for us please.” Doc smiled. “Oh and would you go talk to Roth later, he talked my ear off at dinner about you. I do believe he has a crush on you young lady.” He winked at her and laughed.

  “I have never seen him act like that and I have known him a very long time.” I looked outside the window, at the oak tree, and there was Roth. It was not his guard duty time; he was
watching Sayann through the window. I just shook my head. It was very obvious he liked Sayann.

  “Uh ok, I will talk to him as soon as I get Corrine settled in for the night.” She was embarrassed as she busied herself with getting my pajamas ready for me.

  Doc went on to tell us that we would leave for New Orleans tomorrow afternoon. I was surprised, I figured we would have stayed at least a few more days. Doc explained Leo’s threats were getting stronger and he was growing impatient with us still being in Cambridge. Roth and Riley and sworn they saw a few of the Dark coven’s vampires looming around the town.

  It was possible they were scouting for an attack and Doc wasn’t waiting around to find out. I understood why we had to go so soon now. I would never want to risk innocent human lives. Doc and Pratt excused themselves and headed home. They told me to be packed and ready to go by 12 and they would be here to pick me up then.