As she waited for him to talk, it occurred to her that perhaps her petition had caused trouble for the school, or had threatened Bob’s job. She certainly hoped Bob was strong enough to stand his ground and demand the changes that were desperately needed. Bob was a good family man with four kids, and she hoped his position wasn’t in jeopardy; he needed his job.
Well, she needed a job, too. She sighed slightly. Whatever he needed to tell her must be important since he had asked for her to meet with him right away. It wasn’t as though she was busy. Other than the subbing job from last week, she had nothing financial lined up on the horizon. She didn’t even want to get her hopes up that he brought her here for good news.
Bob placed his coffee cup on the small table as he sat across from her. “I’m so glad you could meet with me, Jackie,” he smiled over to her. “How have you been?”
His smile defused her worry, and for a moment it felt like old times. She shared with him her recent trip to California, the breakup with Steve, and her father’s move into a nursing home. Overall, having an old friend to talk with felt nice.
“My goodness,” she chuckled. “Just listen to me talk. I haven’t even asked about your wife and kids.”
“She’s fine,” he replied. “The kids are the same. School work, track, and basketball. Our lives are filled with carpools.”
“You know what they say. It takes a village to raise a kid.”
“That’s right.” Bob sat straighter in his seat and cleared his throat. “An anonymous donation has been made to the school,” he announced. “Which is why I asked for you to meet with me.”
Jackie sipped her coffee and then set the hot cup down on the table. “A monetary donation, I’m guessing.”
“Yes. And, before you ask, I don’t know who the benefactor is, just that a sizable amount was donated.”
Her jaw tightened as she eyed him. “I do love a good mystery. Go on.”
“The funding is already in place. There are some stipulations for tapping into the funds, though. One is that we bring back one of our cut programs, the other is that we bring you back as a teacher within that program.”
“Me?” she stammered. “Why would this benefactor want me?”
Bob shook his head. “No explanation was given.”
No explanation? Damn, that meant the donator probably knew her. Who could it be? Was it her ex-boyfriend Steve? As a pension fund baby, he had some dispensable money. She didn’t like the idea of being in debt to the sleaze, but it was a job — of sorts. A job worth looking into. “What program would be brought back?”
“Music and Art.”
Music, chorus, and anything liberal arts related had been cut across the school district. Her face whitened. She couldn’t draw a straight line or carry a tune, and had no clue how to play a musical instrument, but she needed a job. “What would I be expected to do?” she asked, sitting on the edge of her seat.
He sank into his chair. “Now, Jackie. I can hire you, but the board needs to approve the district reinstating you as a teacher. I don’t expect there to be a problem; I think they’ll take you back right away. I just want to make sure you would be interested in the offer.”
She took a deep breath, not realizing she had been holding it in. She couldn’t have expected her good fortune. “Is this full–time?”
“Since the funds are in place, we can bring you on–board as a temporary music teacher full–time, and in the Fall, after Ms. Winters retires, we can slide you into her spot for teaching fifth graders. You’ll already be on staff and not considered a new hire at that point in time, so the transition will be simple.” He paused and looked at her. “That is, if a third grade position isn’t also available then.”
Jackie sighed. She would prefer to remain a third grade teacher, but had taught fifth grade in the past — although, many years ago. She wouldn’t be the lead teacher for that group of children, so she’d have to rely upon the fifth grade teachers to share their curriculum with her. She had known of Ms. Winters’ retirement plans, so it seemed like a good solution to her current money issues.
The unanswered question still nagged at her. Who did she have to thank for her good fortune?
Chapter Nine
William had gone out to a nightclub with Sterling, but the time was late, and he wanted to leave. He hadn’t been out with his COLONY buddy in quite some time and regretted tonight’s outing almost immediately. Plenty of women had been drawn to them and their vampire charm, like moths to a flame. Sterling seemed quite pleased with the choices for the evening, but William felt underwhelmed. None were of the caliber of Jackie, and the evening served more of a reminder of how much he wanted to go out with her than it was a distraction to forget her.
He often found himself thinking of her, especially since he donated so much money to the school district. All the kids in the area needed a music program, and William felt he only fixed the problem with a tiny band–aid since only one school benefited from his donation. Sarpy Elementary, where Jackie had taught, had over 600 kids. It was only one school of many within the inner city, but one of the poorest. He should have felt pride in his efforts, but only wished he could do more.
He also felt anxious. Jackie accepted the job over two months ago, and from what he could tell, she was a good fit. Even though he wanted to see her again, he kept his visits to the school low profile so he wouldn’t bump into her. He didn’t want her to suspect he was the anonymous donor, but after having visited the school once, he knew he had to volunteer as a big brother to some of the young teens who desperately needed a father figure — even if it was just to play basketball with them after school or to hang out with them on his days off.
Although he knew he shouldn’t pursue Jackie, he had promised himself he wouldn’t lie to her. At this point, his actions seemed more of an exercise to see if the tactics would work on a woman, and he ran through scenario after scenario in his mind as to what he would say to her if he bumped into her.
Finding himself on autopilot, he drove into the city to a small apartment he kept. He spent most of his time there instead of driving to the remote suburbs where the members of the COLONY shared a mansion, that they affectionately called Fang Manor.
Spacious Fang Manor allowed him to feel at ease, but the government-supplied home came with restrictions. No visitors allowed. Period. The place offered some nice amenities, such as maid service, and since it was listed as a private military hospital, it also came with weekly blood deliveries. The place seemed perfect for raising a family, but none of the COLONY members, except Raymond, had a family — and even Raymond’s son was fully grown.
William sighed. Jackie seemed more of a city girl. She may not even like living in a big mansion in the middle of nowhere. She was probably a party–goer with her dance card filled each night. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he gathered his mail and then walked up the flight of stairs to enter his lonely apartment. Once in, he tossed his keys onto a nearby table and began looking through his mail.
A large green envelope caught his attention. The return address was from the school district, so he opened the letter immediately. Scanning through the letter, he realized it was an invite to an annual private auction held by the school. It was a masquerade party and fund–raiser with all teachers, administrative staff, and board members invited. He had seen information about the event while visiting the school periodically over the last few weeks, but hadn’t realized he would also be invited.
His interest in the event was low, until he read the fine print. The proceeds of the auction directly benefited the school district, but more specifically, the hosting school received an additional twenty percent of all the funds collected. Scanning the invite, he saw that this year’s event was to be held at Sarpy Elementary School – the school where Jackie taught.
He stared at the invite wondering if Jackie would attend. As a fund–raiser, he figured there was a good chance she might, especially since her own school benefited so greatly.
Now he didn’t know what to do.
He definitely wanted to see Jackie again, but wasn’t sure how he could fake not eating at the party. He felt his chest tighten so he took a deep breath. What if she brought a date with her? God, what if she didn’t? He couldn’t lie to her if he wanted to pursue her, but deep down he remained afraid of her running away from him screaming in terror once he revealed to her what he truly was.
He decided to stop torturing himself with the what–ifs of life, and to shower and get dressed. His duty tonight at the White House started soon, and he didn’t have the time to waste.
During his shave, he stared at his hazy reflection in the mirror. Damn. His age was off. He looked a good six or seven years older than when Jackie had met him. A few more grey hairs had developed, as well as a couple of wrinkles around his eyes. He had to fix that if he bumped into her at the party.
Walking over to the refrigerator, he powered on a small water bath. It was used for warming baby bottles, but it also warmed blood to the perfect degree. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out the bag of blood lying on top of a stack of bags. Other than the blood, and some bottles of wine, nothing else was in the refrigerator.
From the utensil drawer, he got out two syringes. He filled them with blood and dipped them into a warm water bath. The amount of blood would be just enough to give him back those missing years. With his dinner warming, he waited until he heard the machine beep.
As a recently turned vamp, he rarely had to hunt for food since bagged blood had always been around for his convenience. He had bitten his girlfriends over the years, but a lover’s nip wasn’t the same as a full feeding. He took a deep breath as he felt his fangs extend. He would inject the blood directly into his bloodstream, bypassing the need for his spleen to convert the dinner from the digestive tract into his circulatory one. Still, his fangs popped out on queue with every meal.
His eyes blackened and he swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth in anticipation of his next meal.
Buzzzzz
Finally! Grabbing the syringe, he plunged the needle into his arm. He gasped at the wonderful sensation as the new human blood mingled with the older blood in his veins. Vampires couldn’t produce their own blood; they had to live on borrowed blood. As the blood circulated and aged within a vampire’s body, it slowly thickened and turned purple — aging the vampire in the process. Over time, the blood within the vampire’s veins would become a blackened goo. The cells of the body aged until new blood was supplied, or until the blood could no longer be used, and the vampire aged to the point where his body turned to dust.
William dispensed the second syringe into his arm, allowing the dose of crimson delight to travel the same path as the first. The wrinkles around his eyes ironed themselves out, his skin became more elastic, and he knew any aged spots had already disappeared, as well as any grey hair. Yes, five plus years could make a difference in a person’s appearance.
He closed his eyes as he reclined on his couch. Tingling sensations spread across his body until the onset of blood lust hit him. His body had replenished itself, and now he had an innate desire to mate. That’s when his mind focused on the party and the possibility of seeing Jackie again.
Chapter Ten
Jackie arrived at her apartment later than she expected. Spending the last few hours at the art supply store was not her idea of fun, but the task was necessary. She tossed the mail and her newly purchased art and music supplies onto her kitchen table and then walked over to the TV and turned the set on. The late evening news blared.
Great. The time was even later than she had thought.
She couldn’t remember the last time she relaxed in a hot tub and sipped a glass of wine while listening to soft jazz, or the last time she read a book just for the mere pleasure of reading a book. Even the last movie she went to was that stupid vampire movie, which was quite a while ago now.
A green envelope on the table caught her attention, so she picked the letter up — hoping it wasn’t what she dreaded it to be. Unfortunately, the invite proved to be exactly what she had feared. There had been memos circulating around the school, as well as follow–up emails about the event, so she wasn’t too surprised to receive the formal notification by mail.
She stared at her invitation to the annual masquerade party she now held in her hand. How did the summer get here so fast? Between the visits with her father, which were nice, but taking up a couple of nights a week, and the new art supplies and techniques she was learning, the time just flew by.
Knowing she would attend, like she did every year, she wrote the date on her wall calendar in the kitchen. No other special events, specifically any dates, were marked for the month, so she figured she had at least one social event to look forward to. Her own school would be hosting, so she would definitely be there.
She set the invite down on the kitchen counter next to some freshly washed paint brushes, and then walked to the refrigerator. Opening the door to the freezer, she searched the selection of frozen foods until she found the frozen cheesecake. She gave a wry smile as she took the cake out and set the frozen pastry on the counter. “Not for dinner,” she said to herself. The small cake would make a nice, yet a bit oversized, dessert. Finding the frozen, low–fat, single–sized lasagna dinner, she placed the meal in the microwave and waited the three minutes for her “Gourmet Italian Dinner” to be ready.
Her kitchen table was filled with art supplies and one of the chairs held a box of music recorders. Jackie took in a deep breath and let the air out slowly. She wasn’t cut out to be a music and arts teacher, and she felt as though she was letting the kids down. There had been no complaints, and several of the children seemed to genuinely enjoy the classes she taught, but she wished she was either better suited for the task or for the summer to end so she’d be put into the freed–up fifth grade position.
After chopping up a small salad, she placed her meal on the table with a glass of water and sat down. The more veggies she could add to the meal the better she thought, especially since she still eyed the cheesecake on the counter.
She didn’t even get into her second bite of food before her cell phone rang. The familiar tune from Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive” sounded, so she knew it was Steve. Damn it. Of course he wanted to talk with her, but she wasn't about to pick up the phone. That football couch had obviously received his invite to the party. Last year they went in matching costumes and had even won the auction for a date–night dinner at an elite restaurant in town.
The song stopped playing, and now a text came in.
She stared at the phone, not even tempted to answer it. He could leave her messages, and maybe she'd read and listen to them later.
She pushed the salad aside and reached for the cheesecake and dove in. Steve was just a loser, not worthy of her time. But, she did enjoy having someone to talk to, to touch, and to be held by. She nearly finished the cake when something on the TV caught her eye. The broadcast was a presidential briefing at the White House.
She turned up the volume and realized that it wasn’t a huge news conference, like the state of the union address, but a small press release. Standing near the podium was the agent she had met a few months ago, William. She sighed heavily as she took in the sight of him. Clean shaven, expensive suit cut to fit him perfectly, and she bet he was packing a weapon. Yeah, she thought that to be incredibly sexy.
She bit her lip as she thought what else he might be packing under that suit. She had thought of him often over the last few months, and not necessarily in a choir–girl sort of way. The camera scanned with a closeup and his doe–soft brown eyes were highlighted on her TV set. Her breath caught when she saw them up close. He appeared sensitive and secure, yet strong and forceful.
That man was just the whole package. She licked her lips. How soft were William's lips? How passionately did he kiss?
Next, the President was announced and he walked up to the podium. He wore a sweater instead of a suit j
acket, the kind of sweater her father and Mr. Rogers from the old children’s show always wore. It gave the man a fatherly image as he began speaking. She listened as he gave a short speech about family values and living the American dream. He then denounced the allegations that he was having an affair with an intern — claiming to love his wife too much to put her through such stress. The details of the affair indicated it happened several months ago, and that the intern was dismissed from the White House due to the rumors she may have been pregnant.
Jackie's eyes rolled. Even the President couldn't keep it in his pants! Why were all men after just one thing, and one thing only? And once they got what they wanted, they looked for something different? Jackie never thought she'd have something in common with the First Lady, but here it was.
A short video of a very slender twenty–something year old intern refusing to talk with the press aired on the television. Jackie studied the young, slim woman. She was either a home–wrecker or a naive girl believing the President would toss everything aside just for her. A book deal would probably come soon enough. Her thin waist indicated to Jackie that the woman wasn’t pregnant, so soon the intern’s fifteen minutes of fame would most likely end.
Jackie scowled as the President ended the announcement and left the press room. She always liked the First Lady, and, even though she didn’t like the budget cuts her husband’s administration was doing, Jackie hoped the woman would find happiness in whatever she decided to do.
A tear rolled down Jackie's cheek and a heaviness settled upon her heart. Why did love have to be so complicated? It was supposed to be that you meet the love of your life and grow old with them. Someone to always be there for you. Someone in sickness and in health. Someone… someone to hold you in their arms as you lay dying.
She set down her fork and pushed the cheesecake aside. Why did everything always remind her of her mother? She reached for a tissue on the table and blew her nose. Her mother wasn't very old when she died, but she also wasn't that young either. She had lived a good life, with a good man. She had made that leap for love and, even though Jackie suspected their marriage had ups and downs, her mother always had someone to be with her. Someone to love her.
William's Tale Page 6
