Antecedent

by Susan Stumpf

I slept all night and most of the next day. When I finally went downstairs there was a note from Bo. It gave the name of a local hospital and a room number. I assumed it was for Li. I wasn't sure how badly he'd been hurt last night. I felt a bit guilty for leaving him and then not going back to check on him, cops or not. It would've looked quite suspicious for my house to get broken into then my place of business not long thereafter. The note didn't say anything else, just the name and number. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I grabbed some gardening magazines I thought he might like, I picked up some tea egg ramen from Mama Santos'- which was his favorite-then headed to the hospital.

  I got there toward the end of visiting hours so I wouldn't be able to stay long. He smiled when I walked in and handed him the white bag that I knew he recognized. I sat down in the chair next to the bed.

  "How are you?" I asked.

  "I'm perfectly fine," he answered "They kept me for observation since I'm an old man. They are in the process of releasing me now."

  "I could take you home if you like," I offered.

  "That would be great, Em, thank you," he said then winked at me just like Wu always did. I burst into tears and I wasn't sure if he knew why or not. He patted my hand.

  "Don't worry, he'll be back, Em. He will just be?different."

  Ok, so he knew exactly why I was crying. I looked up and also saw a tear in Li's eye. Alright, I need to hold it together because if Li started crying I just knew I would turn into a total blubbering idiot.

  "I brought your favorite?" I said pointing at the bag, "?and some gardening magazines. I wasn't sure how long you were going to be here. Were you hurt?"

  "Just bumps and bruises really. I'm a tough old bird," he smiled.

  It was another hour before he was released. Li ate his food, and I sat flipping through a magazine. Li wasn't much for chit chat. I'd never been to Li and Wu's house before. It wasn't at all like I thought. Honestly, I pictured a little cottage surrounded by trees with a big garden of flowers and a little pond with a waterfall in the yard. He directed me to a gated community which made sense with them both being seeds; security would be vital. Although a big iron gate and a security officer wouldn't stop a vampire if he wanted to get in.

  It was dark outside, but there was enough outside lighting for me to see that his home was beautiful dark brick and cherry wood. His car was parked outside, and I figured Bo brought it by for him.

  "Be a dear and grab the keys from my car, would you."

  I got his keys and brought them back to my car, a bit confused why he hadn't got out yet. Li hit a button on a small black box on his keychain and the light came on inside the house. Well, that's a handy little thing. I guessed it unlocked the doors as well. Li invited me inside then hurried very quickly to the door and went in. The keychain made sense now but not him practically running inside.

  He must have seen my confused look because he answered the questions in my head.

  "The motion lights are UV. They can be deadly to vampires, but just a bit irritating to us seeds."

  "Can be deadly?" I asked.

  "Yes, with enough exposure they can kill one, but mostly they are used as a deterrence or torture."

  "Torture?"

  "Yes," he said but he didn't elaborate.

  He showed me around the house. It was very neat and clean except for the pile of dishes in the sink. Their home was very light and cheery. The colors were mostly white and wood grain with gold accents here and there. The walls were sparsely decorated, but there were potted plants everywhere. I'd like to have more plants at my house, but I always forget to water them. I've killed every plant I ever had.

  "Is there anything I can help you with while I'm here?" I asked.

  "Would you put on some water for tea please?" he asked and excused himself to go upstairs. I filled up his teapot that was on the stove and put the dishes in the dishwasher. I stayed to have a cup of tea before I left.

  I wanted to talk to Bo, to see if there was anything we could do about Wu, and what we were going to do about the shop, Li, and everything else. Wu was the glue that held us all together. I felt completely lost without him around.

  When I got to the shop the display case was still busted and glass was still on the floor. Wu was always the one who handled these things. Had he still been here, he'd have a new display case in place of that one and the shop would be spotless.

  Downstairs there was a trunk sitting in the middle of the floor with a garment bag thrown over the top of it, but Bo wasn't down there. I thought he may have been gone for the evening. Before I left I decided to sweep up the glass. As I was doing so Bo called to me from his office. He was sitting at his desk when I walked in.

  "What's with the trunk and stuff downstairs?" I asked.

  "I'm going on a trip," he answered.

  "Oh. Where to?"

  "Lithuania."

  "Oh. Your home country, that'll be nice. Isn't it difficult for you to travel? What, with the no sunlight and passport stuff?"

  "Paperwork can be acquired for the right price, and I'm traveling on the red eye to a safe house in Amsterdam. From there it's a short trip the rest of the way."

  "What do you mean a safe house?"

  "A safe house is basically a hotel for vampires. You can find them in many big cities: Amsterdam, England, Sydney, New Orleans, etcetera."

  I walked over and sat on the edge of the desk.

  "I guess I'll need to hold down the fort while you're gone? What are we going to do without Wu? Is he going to come back once they change him? How long do you think he's going to be gone?" I asked.

  "I don't know, Em," he said sounding stressed. "I just don't know."

  "It sounds like you need a vacation. When are you leaving?"

  "Tomorrow night," he answered.

  "Oh, when are you coming back?"

  "I don't know, forty or fifty years probably."

  "WHAT?" I said standing up. "Is that a joke, Bo?"

  "No."

  "You can't leave for fifty years!"

  He looked at me like any man does when a woman tells them they "can't" do something.

  "?and just why not?" he asked.

  "We need you! I need you! You can't leave!"

  Bo looked at me, calm and collected.

  "I'm not going to Mars Em. I'm not abandoning my business. I'll call, email, I'll be in touch.

  "Why?! Why now? We just lost Wu," I said through streaming tears. "Why do you have to leave, too?"

  He didn't answer but hugged me and let me cry on his shoulder for a long time. Vampire battles in my living room and being mugged at gunpoint I could handle no problem. Not this, not emotional distress. The men in my life that I loved dearly leaving me, that I couldn't handle.

  Bo scooped me up into his arms and carried me all the way downstairs to his apartment. It was the most tender moment we ever shared together. He laid me on his bed and just held me until I fell asleep. I know he didn't stay with me all night, but when I woke up he was laying beside me. I laid there next to him for awhile trying to take in as much of the experience as possible because there was a very good chance this was the last time it was ever going to happen. I didn't want to get up, but I had to pee so bad I couldn't put it off any longer so I went upstairs to use the bathroom.

  The shop still wasn't open, and I wondered when it would be. Bo said he wasn't going to shut down the business so he must plan on reopening it. Was he giving Li some time to deal with what happened or were we waiting for Wu to return? Could Li run the shop by himself? Would Wu come back? If and when he did, he couldn't be in the shop in the daylight. I wonder what would happen if Wu refused to be turned. Could they turn him by force? Would they kill him? Surely not, they'd gone to all that trouble to get him. And why was Bo leaving now, when things looked so grim? I had a million questions. I didn't want to bother Li with all my 'what if's' and I couldn't tell Brian all of this. He'd think I was crazy. The only other person I could turn to was Esther.

&
nbsp; I picked up some lunch and went to Esther's house. She was thrilled to have company as always. She must get lonely because whenever anyone came over or invited her out she was thrilled. I told her about Wu while we ate. She didn't have any answers there. She didn't know how that whole process with seed hunters worked. When I told her about Bo's plans to leave for forty or fifty years she dropped her fork and stared at me.

  "What?" she asked, stunned.

  "Yeah, he said that he's going back to Lithuania tonight and not coming back for forty or fifty years!"

  She didn't say anything. She just sat there blankly staring into space.

  "You love him don't you?" I asked.

  "Yes, very much," she whispered.

  "What happened between you two?"

  "I did just as you have done I wager," she said raising one eyebrow at me.

  "What's that?" I asked.

  "I foolishly fell in love with a man who was unable to love me in return."

  I sat there thinking about that for a minute.

  "So did you guys?um?you know??"

  Esther blushed a bit then stared off into space again and sighed. Ok they did, they'd done the dirty. I cringed just a little, wondering if that was all in the past or if that was something they still continued. Surely not, Esther was almost a hundred years old now. Gross!

  Esther excused herself then came back holding a picture frame. She handed it to me. It was a picture of her and Bo. He, of course, looked the same, but Esther must have been in her late 20's. She was a knockout! Her hair was curled synonymous with the 1950's, and she was wearing a polka dotted blouse and bright lip stick. She was breathtaking.

  "Wow!" I said out loud.

  "I was quite a catch back then I guess, but I only ever gave my heart to one man?.Bohuslav."

  "So you've never been married?" I asked. "Why not?"

  "No man ever compared to Bohuslav. We were together for many years, and I just never got over him. I never wanted anyone but him and I'm sure as you very well know he cannot reciprocate those feelings. Fairy tales lead us to believe that we can break the curse and turn the beast into our beloved prince charming. That we can change their wicked ways if we love them enough, but that's just not how it is, dear. We age and he does not. Our beauty fades and his does not. Our heart breaks and his does not. It's not just Bo who is cursed you see, but all those who dare to love him. There was a time when he couldn't keep his hands off me, now I cling to occasional visits for lunch or tea and always flowers on my birthday."