by Susan Stumpf
The next morning was Monday, and I woke up early; eight o'clock. Yes, that's early for me. I just couldn't sleep. Last night had blown my mind. It was the craziest encounter I'd ever had. It was the start of a brand new week, and I was employed. I had no idea what I would be doing, but it was nice knowing there would be money coming in. It felt strange just waiting around. I didn't know what exactly I was waiting for. I guess it was technically my first day, and I didn't know what to do. Should I drive to the antique shop? No, I didn't get the impression that I would be working there since I was Bo's 'personal assistant'. Would I only be working at night? I assumed Bo was asleep in a coffin or something somewhere. I had no idea.
I nearly went crazy that morning. Since I was being paid salary, I knew that I was getting paid right now to sit and do nothing. I paced the floor, and I cleaned. I painted my nails dark purple, and I plucked my eyebrows; anything and everything to keep busy. Around noon, a courier knocked on the door with an envelope for me. I opened it to find a note from Bo and a to-do list that made me feel a little better.
The note read:
Miss Polanski, I don't know how familiar you are with eBay, but please familiarize yourself with the process as I'd like for you to take over the sales on that venue. Enclosed is a thumb drive with a list of items, descriptions, photos, and asking prices. If you have any other questions about the items call, Wu or Li at the shop and they will help you. Please pick up my dry cleaning at the address noted at the bottom and bring it to the shop. Also, I'd like for you to feed and walk the dogs while you're there. Then be ready tonight by 8:30. Wu and I will pick you up at your house. We are going to Knoxville for the evening.
EBay, dog walking, and dry cleaning. That was sure easy enough. I left right away for the dry cleaners. I picked up half-dozen of those silk and satiny shirts that he always wore then headed over to the shop. Li was talking to some customers, and Wu greeted me happily. I told him I had Mr. Pavlock's shirts, not knowing how formal I should be addressing my new boss on my first day. Wu escorted me through an 'Employees only' door that led to a store room. We rounded the corner and in between two very tall wooden crates was a metal door with a keypad. Wu entered in a code and the light on the keypad turned green. He opened it and then turned to me.
"Call the dogs by name!" he said seriously, "Thor and Loki, got it? Otherwise, you'll be puppy chow. Put the shirts in the armoire, you won't need a code to get out, it's only to get in."
"Speaking of puppy chow, I'm supposed to feed and walk the dogs. Where are their food and leashes?" I asked. Wu looked at his watch. "They usually don't eat this early, but I guess you could go ahead and feed them while you're here. Their food is in the fridge, and you'll see their leashes hanging on the wall. You can take them out the service door right back there." He pointed.
I walked through the door, and Wu shut it behind me. I felt like I was walking into a dungeon. Oh, I really hoped there weren't coffins and dead bodies down here. As I walked down the stairs, I was pleasantly surprised that the basement of the shop had been transformed into an apartment. It was really nice! There were giant throw rugs, really comfortable looking leather furniture, and the biggest big screen TV I'd ever seen. There was a large vault on the inside wall with another keypad. I guessed it was where they kept the really priceless antiques and maybe money, too. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, the dogs were both standing on edge growling at me and looked like they were ready to pounce.
"Thor, Loki," I said nervously. "It's ok boys, I'm here to feed you and walk you." At the sound of their names, they relaxed and lay back down on their giant fluffy beds. I put the shirts in the armoire amidst the many others. They were all the same type of fabric-satin, silk, rayon-all silky smooth materials. "What a weirdo," I said to myself. I looked around a little bit. I guessed this is where Bo stayed when he wasn't sleeping, or whatever it was that he did.
I saw the dogs' leashes hanging on wooden pegs above their beds. They were the big retractable spool kind. I clipped the dogs in and took them upstairs. I didn't know the code to get back in so I left the door cracked and took the dogs out the service entrance. Not far behind the shop was a stretch of grass with some trees. After they did their business, we walked around a little bit and I let them sniff things. They were very well behaved and didn't tug or pull at their leashes at all. We headed back to the shop, and once inside the service entrance Wu nearly scared me half to death. He had gently grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side. He hadn't made a sound; it was the vampire in him I supposed.
"Em, you can NEVER EVER leave that door open! EVER!" He said in a harsh whisper. "?especially when you've taken the guard dogs with you! If Bo knew you left him unprotected, he would kill you." I wasn't sure if he meant literally or figuratively, but I didn't want to find out.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know the code so I wasn't sure how I would get back in. So Bo is down there right now? Where?"
"Behind the vault door, that's his bedroom. I won't say anything about this if you promise never to do it again."
"Thanks, Wu. I won't. I promise!"
"Good girl." He winked at me, and we walked over to the door so he could put in the code and let me back in.
Wow, that could've been bad. I'd hate to be fired or killed my first day on the job. I hung the leashes back on the wall, and picked up their empty food bowls then walked over to the small kitchen area. There wasn't much there. After all, what would a vampire need with a kitchen? It had a sink, a full-size fridge, and a long counter. That was about it. I set the bowls on the counter and opened the fridge. There was nothing in there but some liquor and packages of steaks. Did he feed the dogs steak? Really? Yeah, that's not weird at all. Ok, well I pulled out a package of two steaks and opened it?was I supposed to give it to them raw? I pulled out my phone to call the shop instead of having to walk upstairs. Wu answered and confirmed that the dogs did indeed eat raw steak. I fed the dogs and left. I had enough weirdness for one afternoon.
At home, I killed time by brushing up on my eBay skills and finding something to wear that night. I had no idea what we were going to be doing in Knoxville, but I assumed if it were a black tie affair they would've let me know. I chose a low cut blouse that matched my purple nails exactly and a black lacey chemise to wear under it. I didn't want to show too much skin, especially in the neck area. I set out my nicest pair of jeans, the kind with rhinestones all over the back pockets. Butt bling, I called it. Then, I dressed the outfit up a little bit with my 'Barbie' shoes, what I call platform heels. I thought it was perfect- not too casual, not too dressy. It looked professional yet sexy. I was ready for anything.
When eight thirty rolled around I admit I half thought the guys would roll up in a limo or at least a BMW. No, they pulled up in a big black or dark blue box van. Wu got out and walked up to the door in a pair of khakis and a tight black t-shirt that showed off his muscles. He wasn't buff but very toned and had an insane definition on his chest and arms. I bet that man didn't have an ounce of fat on him. I swear I could see his abs through his shirt. It was crazy to think he was nearly fifty years old because I seriously wouldn't guess he was a day over thirty-five. The black shirt made his shaggy black hair really stand out in a boyish charm kind of way. Yeah, I was definitely overdressed. I had pinned my hair up to look more professional, but as I watched him walk up to the house, I pulled the pins out and let it fall back down to my waist.
Wu knocked and when I opened the door I couldn't help but say "Wu Tang in the hoooouse," when he stepped inside. He laughed and looked at me wide-eyed. "You look amazing!" he said.
"Am I overdressed?" I asked. "Where are we going?"
"Bo didn't tell you?" He laughed. "We're going to an auction. Your outfit is fine, but you may want to put on some more comfortable shoes. We'll be standing for awhile." I hurried upstairs and slipped on some cute black slipper flats then met Wu at the door.
"Thanks for the tip," I said. "And thanks for earlier?" I started, but he held his finger to his lips. Oh, va
mpire super hearing I assumed. "?for showing me where the dogs' stuff was." I finished instead. He winked at me again.
Once in the van, Wu let me ride shotgun and he took the one seat in the back. The rest of the space was completely empty, but now that I knew we were going to an auction that made sense. I'd never been to an auction before. When I sat down I snickered when I saw Bo.
"What's funny?" he asked. He was wearing a chocolate-colored silk button down and his usual black slacks.
"Nothing, Count Chocula," I replied and Wu choked back a laugh. It was an hour drive to Knoxville, and the van was horribly quiet. I normally liked quiet, but this was an awkward kind of silence that I couldn't stand. I fiddled with the radio trying to find something good and stopped on the best Bon Jovi song ever. I sang along ridiculously but I didn't care, using hand motions and everything. This was my jam! Holding out my arm to Bo I belted "?take my hand and we'll make it I swear?whooooah?living on a prayer!" Wu laughed and Bo smacked my hand away a little too hard. "Ow," I said rubbing my wrist. "You guys really aren't fans of the 80's, are you?"
"I much prefer the music of the 1780's, the Beethoven era," Bo said.
"Wow, Beethoven, I almost fell asleep just listening to you say that," I said.
"I like the 1960's," Wu chimed in. "I'm a huge Beach Boys fan."
We obviously weren't going to agree on music, so I turned it down and asked the first thing that popped into my head as usual.
"So, are you rich?" I directed at Bo. He pondered for a second then answered.
"No, if you were to liquidate my assets then yes, I suppose you could consider me quite wealthy, but all my money is tied up in my merchandise. We make enough to get by comfortably."
"Enough to feed your dogs fifteen-dollar steaks," I added.
"Yes," he said like that was the most normal thing in the world. There wasn't much more conversation than that the rest of the way to Knoxville.
Once at our destination, Wu stopped at a table to register. Bo and I went into the gallery room where all the stuff to be auctioned was displayed. He walked me over to a large glass case.
"This is what I'm after tonight," he said. There was a Chinese looking outfit inside the case.
"An old dirty uniform?" I asked. He shot me a look like I'd just called a diamond a rock.
"This is Samurai armor from the Meiji period," he stated.
"Oh," was all I could say. I didn't have a clue what any of that meant. He stood there staring at it, and I quickly lost interest and moved on to look at other things.
I stopped to admire a painting of a meadow. It was beautiful. I wasn't sure if I'd ever stood in front of an honest to God painting before. It looked all bumpy. I reached up to touch it, and Bo quickly grabbed my hand. I hadn't heard him walk up behind me. He leaned in and put his hand on my back between my shoulder blades and whispered into my hair.
"You don't know much about antiques, do you? You have destructive oils on your hands. Touching that painting is a good way of getting us kicked out of here."
"Sorry," I said. His breath smelled like blood and it gave me the willies. I think he felt my skin prickle under my blouse.
"Am I frightening you?" he asked.
"No. Your breath smells like blood, it's creepy," I whispered in case anyone was close enough to hear.
"And yours smells like pesto, so what," he fired back. I did have a frozen dinner with a pesto sauce on it, but that was hours ago. I was a little impressed and a little embarrassed. I reached into my purse to get a piece of gum and Bo began stroking my back. When I shot him a look he told me he liked my blouse. Ah?satin, what was this man's deal with satin. I popped in a piece of gum and offered him one. He curled up his nose as if I just offered him mangled animal carcass and walked away. I realized he probably would have preferred the latter of the two.