A Special Gift

by Alice Brown

  Peter seemed to relax at Kevin’s reassurance, and the three left the park. Stephanie waited only long enough to know her father and Marshall were out of the park, and then projected herself back to her mother’s office, where her otherwise lifeless body sat waiting for her.

  Erica was sitting at her desk, typing frantically, in an attempt to locate exactly where the little boy had come from. With Stephanie back in the office, Erica turned her earpiece over to speaker so Stephanie could also hear everything. Kevin was still speaking to the boy; he and Marshall were taking the child to the local police station, where they were on friendly terms with the police chief most of the time.

  “Oh, here it is!” Erica suddenly exclaimed. “Kevin, I just found an article about a young boy abducted last Tuesday from a park near his home. The article has a picture of the boy, and Stephanie just verified it is the child.”

  “Okay, do you have an address for me?” Kevin inquired.

  “He lives in Nevada,” Erica answered.

  “Nevada? Are you sure?” If their lost boy were truly from Nevada, he was a long way from home in Oakland, California.

  “Well, I am fairly certain. Stephanie confirmed the picture in the article.”

  Knowing the boy would be turned over to the local police, Marshall quickly jotted down the information Erica had retrieved. In cases such as this, the VCTF immediately turned everything over to the local authorities. It was simply in their best interest to stay out of the limelight. Because situations similar to this had happened before, Kevin was always welcome in the police chief’s office. The chief considered it a “very good day” when Kevin O’Rourke walked into his office with a case wrapped up in a nice gift box with a card reading “Here is the case, here is the solution, here is everything related to the case, and oh yeah, you guys get all the credit for it. Have a nice day” before strolling right back out.

  Once finished, Erica sat back in her chair. Glancing over to her daughter, she inquired, “Do you want to talk, sweetie?”

  “No, not really, Mom. I think I am going back upstairs to hang upside down for a while,” Stephanie replied.

  Erica smiled warmly at her daughter. “I’m here if you need me. I know you and Marshall had a nice long talk the other day.”

  Stephanie’s eyebrows shot up her forehead in surprise. “I’m a vampire, honey, I really wasn’t eavesdropping. It’s a little hard not to hear everything that goes on in this house.”

  “Oh, right,” Stephanie mumbled in reply. Thank goodness they had been at Marshall’s apartment yesterday when they fooled around. That was something she was sure she did not want her mother overhearing. Her mother was so warm and affectionate, it was sometimes hard to remember she was a full-blooded vampire. Then again, Stephanie mused to herself, her father, grandparents, and aunts didn’t act like vampires, either. Whoever started all of those awful stories about how vampires only want to kill humans and crave human blood constantly, certainly never met her family.

  Suddenly feeling drained from the evening’s events, she smiled sweetly over to her mother. “I am going upstairs to hang out now.”

  “Okay, goodnight, dear,” Erica replied as she gave her daughter a quick kiss on the cheek.

  Stephanie had been hanging on the trapeze bar, upside down, for close to an hour. She was still unwinding, allowing her mind to wander, and swinging gently back and forth. A knock at her bedroom door brought her back to the present.

  “Stephanie,” her dad called out. “Marshall is with me. Can we come in for just a minute?” Kevin asked softly from the other side of the door. He wasn’t sure if she was sleeping or not, and had no wish to disturb her resting.

  “Sure,” Stephanie replied, not bothering to get off the trapeze bar.

  The two men entered the bedroom with Kevin leading the way. Stephanie noticed Marshall knit his eyebrows together for a moment upon seeing her hanging upside down, but then wiped his face of any emotions and quietly stood at the foot of the bed, while her dad sat down on the edge of it.

  “Are you unwinding, or is something upsetting you, dear?” Kevin inquired of his daughter.

  “Unwinding,” Stephanie replied softly. “Did you need something, Dad?”

  “No, not really, I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you, for what you did for that boy out there tonight. He was abducted from his home in Nevada, so no one thought to look for him in our neck of the woods. I am curious as to how you came across him?” Kevin inquired.

  “I was just hanging here upside down, like I am doing now, and I let my mind wander away from me. I heard him call for help, and went to investigate.” She paused. “I could hear him calling for help in my head, and I just used his call as a beacon to locate him.” She swung herself a bit in the air before jumping off and landing on her feet. Walking over to her bed, she sat down next to her father.

  “Sweetie, if you need to unwind, don’t stop on account of us,” Kevin encouraged.

  “No, I’m fine for now. Are the local police going to get him back to his parents?” One thing Stephanie couldn’t stand to see was a child being hurt. The fact this little boy had been kidnapped five days ago broke her heart.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, Peter was on the phone with his parents when we left the police station. I think the chief is taking him home with him tonight. Peter’s parents are flying out on the red-eye and will be here first thing in the morning,” Marshall answered.

  Kevin gently placed his arm around his daughter’s shoulders. “You know, sometimes I don’t think I tell you often enough what a special daughter you are. I love you, sweetie,” he stated quietly, and Stephanie immediately threw her arms around his neck for a hug of her own.

  “I love you too, Dad,” she whispered in reply.

  “Okay, I just wanted to thank you for your help tonight, and let you know everything worked out great. We will let you get some rest,” Kevin said as he stood and headed for the door.

  Marshall hung back for just a moment after her dad walked out the door. “Sweet dreams, baby. I love you.” He reached over and gently caressed the side of her face. “You did a really good job tonight.”

  “Thanks, goodnight, Marshall,” Stephanie replied as she held his hand by her face, cradling her cheek into it for a moment. He gave her a warm smile, and then turned to follow her father out the door. Just before the door closed, he heard a whispered, “I love you too, my Marshall.”

  With both men gone, Stephanie swung herself back up on her trapeze bar and hung upside down. She allowed her mind to wander, and quickly picked up the conversation going on downstairs. If she were being honest with herself, she had to admit she knew better, for it certainly felt like she was invading a private conversation since neither man knew she was listening. She felt like a naughty child but couldn’t quite bring herself to zero in on anything else.

  “Does she sleep hanging upside down all the time?” Marshall questioned her father once the two men were downstairs. Kevin walked over to the bar, and was in the process of pouring two drinks.

  “No, she only does it when she is stressed out or upset,” Kevin replied, and then continued, “I installed that trapeze bar for her about two and half years ago. She was going out back to the trees and hanging upside down in them for hours at a time. I was afraid one of the neighbors would spot her and start asking questions.”

  Marshall accepted the drink Kevin offered him, and the two men drank in silence. Stephanie broke away from the conversation at this point, feeling sleep starting to crowd into her head. She had done a good deed tonight, but still hadn’t figured out what she was supposed to do with her life now that she and Marshall told each other how they felt. Does one just go about living a normal life? And what were Marshall’s expectations from this relationship? That’s what their situation was called, wasn’t it? And he had mentioned living arrangements earlier today. That implied he was looking to move things forward, right? She had no experience in this kind of thing, and didn’t want to come a
cross as an inexperienced twit. Should she just stay quiet and see how things progressed? With her brain feeling like a gerbil on an exercise wheel, just spinning continuously but making no progress, she finally gave up trying to figure out the answers. “If I could just figure out what to do with these hormones raging through my blood, I might be okay,” she mumbled. Rocking gently back and forth, she allowed the steady motion to pull her under.

  Chapter Ten

  Stephanie woke up Monday morning, still hanging upside down like she had been Sunday night when she finally got to sleep. She hopped off the trapeze bar, grabbed a change of clothes, and headed for the shower. One thing was for sure, another week was starting, and no matter what had happened over the weekend, life was not going to stop and allow her time to figure things out. No, life marches on no matter what.

  She planned her day as she finished her shower. She would need to check in with her mother first but provided she was free, her plan was to head underground and head straight to the retirement village. Some of her favorite vampires lived there: Pop Atkins—who was her very favorite, Mrs. Clarkson—she had been the very first elderly vampire to move into the retirement village, and of course, Aunt Kate. Aunt Kate didn’t actually live at the retirement village; she was the director of it.

  She ran down the stairs and did a quick checkin with her mother. Erica smiled at her daughter when Stephanie stated she wanted to go underground. Even if she had needed assistance in the office, Erica would have told her to go anyway. She wouldn’t dream of keeping her daughter away from some of her favorite friends. Maybe visiting with them would help her daughter put things into perspective. She wasn’t sure of all the details from this weekend, but she was fairly certain Marshall and Stephanie had at least explored getting intimate.

  “Go ahead, sweetie. Please remember to wear your earpiece, though. We need a way of contacting you should something come up,” Erica said as Stephanie stood in the office doorway.

  “Okay, I shouldn’t be late. I’ll probably be home for lunch,” Stephanie replied to her mother.

  Erica shook her head slightly as her daughter closed the office door behind her. Stephanie might have good intentions of being home for lunch, but only if she didn’t get caught up talking with any of the residents. With as much knowledge and history as the older vamps held, Erica was well aware Stephanie could listen to them talk for hours about the adventures and sights they had seen over the decades.

  The school for the society’s half-vamp children was set up underground also, and the school sent over small groups of students a couple of times a week for history lessons from the elderly. The children walked away each time with a brain full of treasured history.

  As Stephanie walked into the recreational center at the retirement village, she immediately spotted Pop Atkins playing pool with Mrs. Jenkins. She smiled and gave each of them a hug when she reached them.

  “Hey, kiddo,” Pop Atkins greeted, “so, did you do anything fun this weekend?”

  Stephanie was unable to hide the pretty blush that lit up her cheeks when she thought about her weekend. “Yes, Marshall and I came down here Saturday night to check out the new movie theater. It’s pretty neat.”

  “Yes, it is. Hey, did you notice the new vending machine in the lobby? Someone has developed a vending machine that actually holds blood snacks,” he stated jovially. “I think your grandpa said it was one of our half-vamps who actually came up with the idea. They have a vending machine set up at the shopping center also.”

  At this point, Stephanie was just happy he hadn’t asked her about something inside the movie theater, or better yet, the movie. She would have been hard pressed to tell anyone what the movie was about. “Yes, I noticed a vending machine, but I wasn’t sure why it was there. I was thinking it was filled with human snacks or drinks, and I wondered why someone would put it in our movie theater. Now I know,” Stephanie replied with a laugh.

  “So, was there anything else interesting going on this weekend?” Pop Atkins pressed her. Stephanie swore the man could read her like a book, and judging by the raised eyebrow he was giving her, he knew something and was just waiting to see if she would spill the beans. Oh, no, had someone seen her and Marshall making out Saturday night? Had one of the elderly been in the theater?

  By the time Stephanie plopped down in a nearby chair to tell her tale, she was fairly certain her face was beet red. “Yes, well, um, Marshall and I had a long discussion.” No one said a word but the pool game came to an abrupt stop. “A couple of months ago I started feeling the mating pull for Marshall, so I was fairly sure he felt it also. But when he didn’t act on it, I was afraid he didn’t want me as a mate. I was afraid of losing my best friend, so I have been keeping things quiet and letting them fester,” she mumbled as she continued studying the pattern on the floor. Pop Atkins’s voice finally brought her head up.

  “Good heavens, child, all you had to do was ask me, and I would have told you the boy has been head over heels in love with you for years!” Pop Atkins exclaimed.

  Mrs. Jenkins was quick to come to Stephanie’s defense. “Oh, now, shush you ol’ fool. I remember what it was like to be in love with someone who only seemed to accept you as a friend. It can break a girl’s heart.” She paused for just a second before inquiring, “So, did the lad come clean with you and tell you how he felt, or do we get to go tear him a new one?” Stephanie couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her as a mental picture emerged of several of their elderly residents all storming into the VCTF with intentions of attacking Marshall. The very idea was laughable.

  “Yes, he told me he loves me, and that I am his true mate. The problem is, I’m not sure what to do now? I mean, we talked, some, but never really made any definite plans for anything. I don’t even know when I’ll be seeing him next.” Stephanie was wringing her shirt in front of her. “I’m just so confused. I love him so much, but what if this doesn’t work out? I’ll not only lose my true mate, but best friend also. That’s the last thing I want!” she cried out.

  Pop Atkins immediately sat down beside her. “Slow up there, kiddo. How about you start at the beginning, and explain everything.” He paused before continuing, “Well, maybe not everything since the two of you didn’t seem to get much talking done, I can well imagine what else you were doing. By the way, do you remember what the movie was about that you went to see Saturday night?” By the gleam in his eye, Stephanie knew he wasn’t expecting her to answer. He instead pulled her in for a hug. “Everything will work out, little one, just have patience. You know, your parents had to take it nice and slow when they first met. They were both of age of course, but your mother was still human and scared to death of her own shadow due to the abuse she’d suffered. It took a long time for your father to earn her trust. And all that time, he was a perfect gentleman. I have always believed that because he took the time to gain her trust and develop a friendship before they became romantically involved, it has helped keep their relationship fresh and exciting over the years. You know as well as I do they both have a lot on their plates, yet they always make time to cherish each other.”

  Leave it to Pop Atkins to put things into perspective for her. “I guess I was just confused. I’m not sure what I am supposed to be doing. I feel kind of lost, and I just never thought I would feel like this when I was in love.” The misery on her face was still clearly evident.

  “Kiddo, that one is easy. Just keep doing what you have been doing. Just because someone states they love you, the world doesn’t stop spinning. You still have a life to live. If the two of you love each other as I have suspected for a long time now, your friendship bond will do nothing but get stronger during this time. Suddenly realizing you are in love doesn’t make the world stop spinning. Take time to make sure you and Marshall have a solid friendship. You also need to remember that Marshall is a lot older than you and has been around a lot more. He may be trying to give you time to make sure this is what you want.” As Pop Atkins finished, Stephanie could
see from her side vision Mrs. Jenkins nodding her head in agreement.

  As the pool game got back underway, Stephanie had some time to think about Pop Atkins’s advice. What he had said made sense, especially about her parents. Thinking back, she had never once seen her parents raise their voices at one another. They never tried to hide their affection for one another, and showed their love toward one another daily.

  Mr. Atkins won the game a few minutes later, and Mrs. Jenkins walked over to sit next to Stephanie. “Honey, trust me, this time will go by fast. Just take life one day at a time and enjoy your youth. Continue living life as you have been. Your Pop Atkins is right, use this time to get to know one another.”

  Stephanie glanced over to the elderly woman and noticed a faraway look in her eyes. “My Arne and I met after we had both been turned. But we still waited until we had the time to get to know one another before we married. You see,” she continued, “Arne had never been in a vampire society before. He wasn’t sure he wanted to settle down and stay in one place, because he had been bouncing around for so many years. I finally convinced him that if he wanted me as his mate, he would have to settle down, because I was not bouncing all over the place. Who ever said an old dog can’t be taught new tricks? They never met me. I had that man settled down and happy about it too. We had many wonderful years together. I still miss him,” she ended a little sadly, with a wistful look in her eyes.

  Although Mrs. Jenkins was considered one of the elderly, she had actually done very little aging. If Stephanie were to guess, she would estimate her age between six to seven hundred years old. Stephanie knew Mr. Jenkins had passed away several years back; she had always assumed it was because he was older than his wife. She made a quick mental note to ask her father about that one.

  Reaching over and hugging Mrs. Jenkins, Stephanie watched her continue to reminisce about the past. Both elderly had given Stephanie sound advice today. Sighing, a small smile played on her lips. She had known she would feel better coming here and pouring her heart out. She made the decision to put that advice to good use and stop worrying about Marshall or what the future held for them. She would just immerse herself in helping her mom and grandpa at the office and go from there. Pop Atkins interrupted her thoughts.