William's Tale (6 page)

“William,” Sulie began, “I hope you do find someone. Don’t pay attention to these idiots.”

William took a sip of his beer. “The other women of my past weren’t very strong–minded individuals.” He pointed at his head. “Not open–minded.”

Sterling sipped his beer. “Trust me, it’s better just to have your fun and cut them loose. Since the movie
Interview with a Vampire
came out, you keep thinking women will accept what you are.”

William had to think about what Sterling had said for a minute. He guzzled down half his beer as he paused. He didn’t even like the movie, but he had been more hopeful over the last few years about a woman’s acceptance of him. He doubted the movie had been the cause. Had he not been turned into an immortal vampire, he’d be an old man by now — probably with grandchildren. He didn’t want to live a lonely life anymore.

He waved his hands in the air not caring. “I am convinced there is someone for all of us.” William realized his current audience may not be the most receptive to his statement, but he continued. “We all have that perfect someone who will complete us one day.”

Yeah, the words sounded silly coming out of his mouth, but he didn’t care. At least Sulie was looking at him and smiling.

Nodding, Raymond added, “I also believe we have a perfect match out there somewhere.”

The response surprised William.

“Not me,” Sterling said. “You’ll never catch me settling down.”

That response, however, seemed right on track to William. Sterling, with his GQ pretty–boy looks was a playboy through and through. He glanced from father to son. The two seemed complete opposites of each other. Raymond believed there was only ever one way of doing anything – the moral way. And then there was Sterling. Sex. Drugs. Women — lots of women. Nothing was off the table to him. Sulie, of course, was a hopeful romantic — although he had never seen her date a human or a vampire.

Raymond gave an exasperated look over to his son. “Sterling’s opinions aside, I think you have a good chance at finding a woman in your life. Only, find a vampire one. Humans, especially if they don’t agree to a turning, can offer too many complications.”

“Says the man who never dates,” William countered. The affront slipped out, and he immediately wanted to retract the comment. Raymond had been widowed during the birth of his only son. William never knew the complete story, but understood the painful loss Raymond still felt.

Raymond sighed. “We can try to arrange a marriage through the Vampire Council again. Maybe this time they’ll accept you.”

Why was Raymond's answer always going to the Council? The vamp hated that prestigious, self-centered group as much as the other team members. William's turn wasn’t sanctioned, therefore they gave him no free blood and no help in the romance department. If he had been gifted a special ability with his turning, the Council might have welcomed him. But no. He had no cool special abilities. He figured they ran in family lines, which was why the three sitting with him all had one.

He took a deep breath. William wasn’t sure if he even wanted an arranged marriage, and that is all the Council would offer him.

The server arrived with another round of drinks, taking away the empty glasses. William noticed Sterling eyeing her bottom as she walked away. Before they left the bar, he bet Sterling would have a date with the woman. His fourth date this week, and today was only Monday.

William wasn’t like Sterling. At least, he hoped he wasn’t. Sure, as a newly turned vampire, William had dated plenty of women. He wasn’t sure what the allure could be, for he certainly still looked the same. Somehow, women were drawn to vampires, which was probably because of a pheromone. Whatever the reason, he sure didn’t question the results. At least not in the beginning.

He sighed. What he wanted now was something better, more intimate… more special. Someone he chose, not a vampire woman selected by the Council.

“Let him be,” Sulie chimed in. “I can detect heightened levels of endorphins in his system. If he likes this teacher, so be it.”

Raymond took a deep breath and gazed over to William. “If this is important to you, try something different.”

“What do you mean?” William asked.

“You dated the woman who hid in the bathroom for what? Six months?” When William nodded, Raymond added, “In all that time, you were compelling her, right?”

William’s face twisted in disgust. “I don’t compel women into my bed.”

“Of course you don’t,” Sulie said, gently touching his hand. “You’re a handsome vampire with no need to compel them.”

Raymond shook his head. “That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the compulsion to make you appear human to them while you’re dating them.”

William gave it some thought. “I do compel them to believe that I eat a meal when I take them out to dinner.”

“What else?” Sterling asked.

He scratched his head. “I don’t know.” William paused a moment, but then added, “I compel them to ignore any aging differences they might notice.” He stammered a bit. “It’s hard to appear the same age to someone for months at a time. Especially when they see you more close up and personal than an average co–worker would.”

“And do you bite them?” Raymond pointed down to his neck. “Do you leave any marks or tell tale signs?”

This conversation had become a bit too personal for William’s taste. He shifted in his seat, but eventually answered. “Yes, I bite them and compel them not to notice, but I seal the puncture marks immediately.” He now glanced away. “Sometimes a drop of blood gets on their clothing… or on the sheets, which gets cleaned up as well with compulsion.”

“If you want different results, you need to do something different. Do not compel this woman, and do not lie to her.” Raymond leaned closer in towards William. “Pursue this human with the truth only. Have her see you as you really are.”

A huff came from Sterling’s direction. “Too much effort, man.”

“But,” Sulie interrupted, “this non–compelling plan does have some merit. If William is determined to date a human, let’s give him a fresh start and stand behind him.”

Raymond nodded. “Or, he could go the easy route and find a female vampire.”

William looked over to Sulie. “Thank you, Sulie.” He then shot a glance at Raymond. “Vampire or not, I was once a human. I don’t see anything wrong with dating a human.” He took a sip from his beer. “You three were born vampires. There is nothing wrong with human women.”

“Except that human women can only give birth to half–breed wimps who aren’t really vampires or humans,” Sterling said as he glanced over to his father.

William glared at Sterling. What the hell? He may have been the only half–breed in the group, and Raymond’s only child, but it gave him no right to pick at an old wound his father still nursed.

“Your kid, for the most part, turned out okay.” William said to lighten the mood. Raymond had fallen in love and had married a human, so he asked him, “What’s your issue with human women?”

Under his breath, Raymond said, “They’re weak and die too soon.”

William walked down the hallway, a small bouquet of wild flowers in his hand. He wasn’t scheduled to work at the White House until later in the day, and he thought he thought he might surprise Jackie at her apartment.

He had gotten her address from the school she subbed for by compelling the principal. School policy didn’t allow for distributing of personnel information, and since he couldn’t compel Jackie not to notice the infraction, he wasn’t sure how he would explain how he knew where she lived.

No compelling. No lying. Only the truth. He planned to keep his word, no matter how difficult it would be.

Of course, he could always play the trump card and imply that the Secret Service had other venues for gathering information, which of course they did, and then not give her any details. She would infer that he had gotten the information from them. Not exactly a lie. That would be his plan in case she asked.

Her apartment number was 30B, the last one at the end of the row. As he passed each door, counting up the numbers to thirty, he felt his heart racing. He took a deep breath. There had been plenty of women in his life, but this one felt special.

His mind conjured up an image of Jackie’s smile, along with her laugh. She had an angelic presence about her. She stood graceful and confident, even when she reproached him about his job. Something magical existed about Jackie, although he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.

He tightened his grasp on the flowers and continued making his way towards her door. He had fed this morning, making sure to maintain his current age so she wouldn’t notice any changes in his appearance. Also, he didn’t want to be quite so hungry while talking with her. Of course, he was always hungry. Her blood smelled like O negative, tasty and delicious.

His blood type matched hers. Maybe not in Rh factor but definitely in type. He wondered if he preferred drinking O negative blood for that reason. The thought never occurred to him before, but the explanation made sense.

A slight smile crossed his lips. Nearly fifty years had passed from his turn, and he still found aspects of vampirism fascinating. Thank goodness Ben had been on the bus with him that day in Alabama. Freedom Riders took a risk of dying for their cause. He was lucky Ben had found him worthy enough to turn when the riot broke out on the bus and he took a fatal blow to the head.

William knocked on Jackie’s door, but discovered a second, and then a third knock were needed. All that effort, and she wasn't even home. He turned to leave when a creaking door across the hall opened a crack. William barely caught the woman’s glance, but evidently that was enough of an invitation for the neighbor to fully open the door and talk with him.

“I’m looking for Jackie,” he began.

The old woman inspected him as though he were a prize package, her eyes settling on the flowers he carried. “Jackie isn’t around,” she smiled. “Are you her new beau?”

Grinning, William asked, “Do you know where she is?”

She glanced down at her watch. After adjusting her glasses, she answered, “It’s nearly lunch time. My guess she is she’s eating lunch.”

A vague answer, and virtually no help whatsoever. “All right. Thanks.” William nodded and bid his farewell.

She snapped her fingers. “Oh, my memory. She’s meeting a Mr. Gary something or other. Gary Appleby? I just can’t remember.” She shook her head, “Would you like to join me for some tea?”

William felt his chest tighten at the sound of another man’s name. “Who’s Mr. Appleby?”

“I think he’s the manager over at Silver Estates. I’m sure she’s over there having lunch.”

Biting his lip, William knew his fangs had extended slightly. Of course Jackie was being pursued by other suitors. A beautiful woman like her didn’t stay available for long.

“Thank you, but I must be going,” he said flatly.

“Maybe next time you can stop by for tea,” she said as she entered her apartment.

William gave her a polite smile as she closed the door. He then turned and walked back the way he had come. The woman looked about ninety and possibly lonely. She seemed to be a friendly neighbor — even overly so. Just as he approached the stairs, a flower courier walked past him. William noticed the dozen long stem red roses he carried, and wondered if they were meant for Jackie. He also wondered if they were sent by Mr. Gary Appleby.

William felt a pang of regret and loss as he watched the florist knock on Jackie’s door, only to have the neighbor poke her head into the hallway and strike up a conversation with him. William listened with his vampire hearing as the woman said she’d sign for the flowers, and that they must be from Jackie’s gentleman friend Steve. He also overheard her claim she had signed for flowers in the past, and she’d be sure Jackie got them.

He watched as she opened the card, intruding upon Jackie's privacy. “From Herman,” she announced. “Oh, that's a new one.”

Gary? Steve? Herman? Jackie was a sassy and sexy woman, but just how many gentlemen callers did this woman have? He wanted a Mrs. Right, not a woman about town who was a player.

The delivery man made his way down the hallway as William glanced away to avoid eye contact. His eyes now focused on the small cluster of wild flowers he carried. Wilted. Squeezed beyond recognition.

How could he compete with human men who could wine and dine her? It's hard to have a relationship when you have to date around all your meals.

He felt the heaviness of disappointment settle on his heart. He had built Jackie up to be such a perfect find, and now he doubted she was the woman for him. He tossed the wilted flowers into a trash bin on his way out of the apartment building, throwing out his dreams with them.

*******

Jackie led her father to an empty table at Silver Estates. The two set down their trays and put their plates on the table. As they sat, Jackie asked, “What surprise, Daddy?”

He smiled at her. “If they haven’t arrived yet, they will. I wanted to send you a little something to brighten your day. They’ll probably be delivered by the time you get home tonight.”

Jackie wanted to keep prying, but a waitress distracted her by offering a selection of water, lemonade, iced tea or soda.