by Gayla Twist
I sat on my bed for a long time thinking about what had happened. I wondered if Viggo was all right. He didn’t sound all right. He sounded at the very least like something was broken. And how was Jessie’s grandfather still alive? I remembered the story Jessie had told me. His grandfather had been dumped into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean by horrified passengers aboard an ocean liner on its way to America. I guess that didn’t guarantee death, especially for a vampire, but it made it pretty damn likely.
I am not proud of myself, but I ended up taking two sleeping pills. I wasn’t an idiot; I knew it was dangerous to overmedicate, especially with something like sleeping pills, but I was exhausted and freaked out and knew for a fact that one sleeping pill wasn’t going to do a damn thing to help me close my eyes.
The next thing I knew, my mother was gently shaking me and saying, “Sweetie, wake up.”
“Whah ...?” I said, having trouble opening my eyes. They were so crusted over. “What’s going on?”
“I’m bored and you’ve been asleep forever,” Mom told me. “Wake up. It’s Christmas.”
I sat up in bed and gave her a hug. “Merry Christmas.”
Mom and I tried to keep our Christmases pretty simple. We each only got the other one gift. I gave Mom a vest, which she said she loved, and she gave me a pair of super cute boots, which I really did love. Then Mom always got some kind of craft for us to do or game for us to play so we’d actually have a fun activity to occupy us for most of the day. She always wrapped it up like it was a gift for me, but it was really a gift for us. This year it was a knitting machine and a bunch of fun yarn. “I thought we could try making sweaters,” she said, which made me think of the sweater Mrs. Vanderlind had given me, which was draped over my desk chair. I was still wearing it when Grandpa Vanderlind had burst in.
“Don’t you like it?” Mom asked, seeing the expression on my face.
“No, I really like it,” I told her. “I just didn’t know there was a machine that could do knitting, and I was thinking how long it would take to knit a sweater by hand.”
“Longer than I’m willing to spend,” Mom joked. “Let’s get breakfast, and then we can try setting it up.”
Mom put on some festive music while we whipped up pancakes, eggs, and bacon. We’d pick up Grandma Gibson in the early afternoon for another meal around three, so we didn’t load up too much—like we would have if we were having our dinner at a regular time.
I tried to keep my brain from worrying about Jessie and his family, but it was impossible. I just couldn’t stop. Any time I had a free second, my brain would immediately go back to worry. The outcome was that I did most of the cooking and all of the dishes.
“Is everything all right?” Mom asked as she watched me scrubbing at an imaginary stain on the counter.
“Fine,” I told her. “Everything’s fine.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.
I thought for a second about how I would talk to my mother about my boyfriend being a vampire and his psycho grandfather showing up to ruin Mrs. Vanderlind’s Christmas Eve party. “No,” I told her. “I really don’t.”
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that because I do,” was her reply. “And I don’t blame you for being upset with me.”
I looked up from scrubbing the counter. “Huh?”
“Sit down,” she said, pulling out a kitchen chair for me. “I’ve owed you an explanation for a long time.”
“Oh ... kay …” I said hesitantly. I really had no idea what she was talking about.
“Danny and I met through work,” she began, a bright spot of pink appearing on each of her cheeks.
“Danny?” I said, unable to hide my complete surprise. I really hadn’t expected the conversation was going to be about a guy. “You work together?”
“We don’t exactly work together, but we met at a conference last year, and then he had some business within my department.”
“Last year?” I said. I had no idea why I kept repeating her.
“At first, it was just casual. He has kids, and I have you, so I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to make it complicated,” Mom told me. “But then we started spending more and more time together. I knew you were probably wondering what was going on, but in a weird sort of way, I didn’t want to jinx it.”
I gave her a blank stare. I felt guilty because I hadn’t noticed her time had been occupied. I’d been too caught up in my own nonsense.
“We grew very close over Thanksgiving,” she admitted. “I was upset about your father, and Danny was really supportive.”
“Okay.” I nodded a few times. I’d driven them closer by letting my mom think I’d spent Thanksgiving with my dad when I’d really gone to Budapest to face down a family of vampires. “That’s nice,” I managed to say. “But why are you telling me all this now?”
“Well …” she stalled, both of her cheeks red as a rose. “We’re talking about getting engaged.”
My mouth fell open. “What …?” I stammered.
“I know it’s a lot to take in all at once, and we haven’t really figured out the logistics of combining our two families, but we want to at least get engaged and then work toward a solution,” she blurted in one long breath.
Too many thoughts started crowding my brain. Many of them were based on the fact that she was my mom and I didn’t want to share her. But I knew that was selfish. I was going to turn eighteen and be heading off to college soon. I was going to be venturing into the life of an adult. I couldn’t deny my mom the chance at happiness with a man she loved just because I was feeling a little jealous.
“Mom, that’s wonderful,” I said, rising from my chair and throwing my arms around her. “That’s so great. I’m so happy for you. I can’t wait to meet him.”
“Really?” Mom exclaimed, returning my hug. “I thought you might be upset because of the other morning.”
“Other morning?” I asked, pulling back to get a look at her face. “What are you talking about?”
Mom covered her eyes with her hand. “This is so embarrassing because I’m always so strict about you not having boys in your room.”
“Mom!” I exclaimed, half laughing but also a little shocked. “Have you been setting a bad example?”
“Yes,” Mom admitted from behind her hand. “And I was pretty sure you saw Danny leaving the house the other morning.”
I folded my arms and gave her a stern look. “You are so grounded.”
As the day closed in on noon, we finally got out of our pajamas and got ready to pick up Grandma Gibson. “How is Grams doing lately, anyway?” I asked, and we bundled into our coats. I was ashamed to admit it, but I hadn’t given her much thought since the funeral. Oh God, I thought. I’m one of those girls who get a boyfriend and then blow off everyone else in their lives. Of course, my boyfriend was a vampire, and I had to deal with all the entanglements of dating the undead, but that really was no excuse.
Mom shrugged. “I hate to admit it, but I haven’t really thought about her much since the funeral.” She hung her head. “I’m a crappy granddaughter.”
“Mom, you’re an awesome granddaughter,” I said. “I don’t know anyone who takes care of their grandparent as much as you,” I assured her. “You’ve just been excited about your own life. That’s a forgivable offense.”
“Thanks, sweetie.” She kissed me on the head. “You’re an awesome great granddaughter.”
I barely remembered to grab the black umbrella as we headed to the garage. At a certain point, I knew the retirement community staff was going to get tired of me being an irresponsible teenager.
“Where’s your car?” Mom asked as we stepped into the garage. She’d already given me a suspicious look as I put on my winter parka instead of my dressier wool coat.
“I left it at Jessie’s, and he gave me a ride home,” I said. “It didn’t start and they have a mechanic on staff at the castle, so Jessie said he’d have the guy look at it.” I had no
idea if they had a mechanic on staff at the castle, but given the size of the building, it felt like a possibility.
“That was nice of him,” Mom said as we both climbed into her car. “I’m glad you’re dating a boy who looks out for you.”
It felt so surreal sitting in the car while Mom drove us to pick up Grandma Gibson when so much else was going on. I was worried about Jessie and desperately wanted to know what was happening. What the hell did his grandfather want and where had he been for the last several decades? It made me want to scream in frustration.
On the other hand, I was also a little blindsided by the news that my mother was on the verge of getting engaged. To a man I hadn’t even met. And he had kids. A girl and a boy, my mom informed me as we drove, both of whom were in high school.
We had Christmas music playing, and my mom was chatting along about her future plans. I tried to fake being happy and excited, but I wasn’t sure I was doing a very good job. If my mom noticed, she didn’t comment on it, which was good. I was having difficulty keeping it together. Knowing her, she was probably giving me space to process the engagement bomb she’d just dropped on me.
All of the information I was processing was compounded by the fact that we were about to pick up Grandma Gibson. Neither of us had the slightest read on what kind of state she would be in seeing that we’d both been too self-absorbed to check up on her. I was really hoping for some semblance of a normal great grandmother. I didn’t think I could handle any other challenges piled on my plate.
Chapter 25
“Hello, my darling girls!” Grandma Gibson called, holding her arms out to both of us as we entered her room.
“Merry Christmas, Grams,” Mom said. We both started smiling. Grandma was seated on her bed in a nice skirt, blouse, and sweater. Mom bent to give her a hug. “Who gave you the pretty corsage?” she asked, noticing the flowers pinned to her grandmother’s chest.
“I have a new beau,” Grandma Gibson said, her face flushed a little with the admission.
“You do?” I exclaimed as I bent to hug her. “Who?” I couldn’t help but ask. “Where did you meet him?”
“Your young friend introduced me to him,” she explained. “He lives just down the hall. He’s been courting me,” she said with a bit of a girlish giggle.
“Fred’s great grandfather?” I couldn’t help but gasp.
Mom gave her grandmother a stern look. “Should we meet this gentleman? What are his intentions?”
Grandma Gibson clucked her tongue in mock concern. “I’m afraid they’re not very honorable.”
I couldn’t believe my great grandmother had a boyfriend. And my mother. And me, for that matter. It felt like a very notable moment in history. Or at least the history of my family.
We were eager to meet Mr. Lighton officially, but his family had already picked him up for the day. “Maybe when you drop me off,” Grandma Gibson said as we helped her out to the car.
On the way home, Mom revealed the news about her pending engagement, and Grams was thrilled. The two women I loved the most in the world were so happy that it made me happy, despite my worries and fears. All I had to do was fix Blossom up with Fred, and every woman in my life would be set.
I caught myself putting my hand to my cheek as I thought things over. Would I be happy if Blossom was with Fred? I took some convincing, but eventually I came to the conclusion that I would. I cared about Fred. More than I realized most of the time because I was always thinking of Jessie. But he had proven himself to be the quality kind of boy that most girls should dream about having. I couldn’t be selfish and want him to stay single after I’d given my heart to somebody else. I decided my New Year’s resolution was to do everything in my power to try to get Blossom and Fred together. That sounded like something worth doing.
Grandma Gibson got a good laugh out of the tarot cards I got her. She knew I was teasing, but I did not doubt she had every intention of giving them a try. She gave me a small white box that wasn’t wrapped but had a red bow. “I was saving this for your eighteenth birthday,” she told me, “but I figure it’s just as well if you have it now.”
I pulled off the lid to find a small silver pendant on a silver chain. Set in a sterling silver frame was an oval piece of etched glass, or maybe it was crystal, I couldn’t tell, but there were rays radiating out from the middle of the crystal so it looked like sunbeams spreading outward. The silver around the outside of the crystal was ornate filigree work, and in the very center of the crystal was a small, gleaming white stone, which I guessed was a diamond chip.
“It was Lettie’s,” Grams told me. “The nicest piece of jewelry she had. She always wore it, so I naturally assumed she was wearing it the night she disappeared, but then I found it in her jewelry box after she was gone.” She gave a small sniff. “I think she would like it if she knew you had it.”
I stared at the pendant. It wasn’t my style, but it was quite pretty, and I knew it meant a lot to Grandma Gibson to give it to me. “Thank you,” I said, giving her a kiss. “I’ll take good care of it.”
She gave a sad little smile. “And I hope it does the same for you.”
As I fastened the pendant around my neck, I wondered if Grandma Gibson believed that vampires were burned by silver. I knew for a fact that they were. To vampires, touching silver was like picking up a piece of white hot iron. It immediately began to burn their skin. Was there a double meaning behind her present? It didn’t really matter. Either way, it was a generous gift and one I’m sure she found difficult to part with. The glass of the pendant made a gentle click as it tapped against the Pools of Light pendant that Jessie had given me.
We did make-your-own mini-pizzas for dinner. It was something fun and not that much of a hassle, plus Grandma Gibson adored pizza. I guess there weren’t that many pizza places around when she was growing up, so it still seemed like an exotic food to her.
Toward the end of dinner, mom started acting a bit twitchy. She had her cell phone on the table—something that she never did—and I could literally see her restraining herself from checking it every thirty seconds. Finally, Grandma Gibson said, “Oh, for crying out loud, Helen. Go ahead and call him. We don’t mind.”
Mom flashed us an embarrassed smile. “Thanks,” she said, snatching up her phone and getting to her feet. “It’s just …” Her cheeks had bright pink spots on them. “It’s just, Danny’s been hinting around, and I think tonight might be the night.”
I really would have preferred to meet my mother’s boyfriend and get to know him a little before he stuck a ring on her finger, but she was so happy and excited that I bit my tongue and managed to say, “Don’t worry about us, Mom. I’ll do the dishes. Go give him a call.”
As Mom scampered out of the room, Grandma Gibson got to her feet. “I’ll help you with the dishes,” she said.
“Please don’t worry about it, Grams,” I told her. “There’s not that much.”
“I don’t mind. At my age, it’s nice to feel useful once in a while,” she insisted. “And besides, I’d like to spend some time with you.”
I couldn’t argue with that, so we both stood at the sink, scraping plates and running the water. “So, what’s Mr. Lighton like?” I asked.
“He’s very courtly,” she told me. “He has a kind sense of humor. He likes to tease, but he’s never cruel.”
“That’s good,” I said. I never liked guys who thought being a little bit of a jerk was a form of affection.
“I wish you could have met him,” she said, pulling one of the plates off the drying rack and rubbing it with a towel.
“That’s okay. I’ll meet him next time.”
“I don’t think so.” Grandma Gibson set the plate down rather suddenly. It made a sharp clunk against the counter. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think this is going to be the last time we ever see each other.”
I turned to face her. “What are you talking about?” I felt a cold fear creeping up my spine. “Are you trying to
tell me you think you’re going to …” I couldn’t complete the sentence.
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s not me, dear.” Reaching out, she squeezed my arm. “I keep trying to protect you. I keep trying to warn you of the horrible danger that you’re in.” Her voice had a quaver in it. “But you won’t listen. For whatever reason, you can’t listen. I don’t understand why, but I’ve come to realize that I have to accept it.”
My stomach clenched. Grandma Gibson had predicted my death before. She hated the Vanderlinds with a passion and had done everything she could think of to separate me from Jessie. But this was different. She wasn’t fighting me or trying to warn me. She was just telling me goodbye. “Are you saying you’ve seen my future? You’ve seen my death?” I asked, my voice sounding so small. It didn’t sound like me at all.
“No,” she said patting my arm. “No, I haven’t seen that. I’ve stopped looking. But I’ve seen my own future.” She looked me straight in the eyes. “You’re not in it. I know this will be the last time we see each other.” Then she turned her gaze away. “There is no doubt in my mind that this is the last time.”
I fought the urge to cry. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, and I blinked them back down again and again. Mom came back in the room all smiles and looked at the two of us. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“I was giving Aurora some life advice, and I think I struck a chord,” Grams told her. She took a few steps toward my mother. “Helen, I’m feeling tired. Would you mind taking me back now?”
“Of course,” Mom said, her sunny expression turning to one of mild concern. She glanced briefly in my direction before asking, “Are you feeling unwell? You can stay the night here, if you think the ride will tire you.”