Eternal Service

by Regina Morris

  He assumed Alex had many questions remaining for him. It tantalized him that her questions were not all business related. You can tell so much about a person by what they ask of you and he wondered what questions she’d fire off at him during lunch today.

  She chose a pizzeria since she would be eating alone and only her opinion mattered. He suspected the repulsion of garlic myth would be tested, but he didn’t mind.

  The quiet pizzeria felt quaint. Too early for the lunch crowd to arrive, so they had plenty of privacy for their conversation. Red tablecloths lay on the tables, with candles lit on each one. Italian wines lined the bar and the place also boasted a nice beer selection. Artwork hung from the walls featuring images of Italy and soft music played in the background.

  Raymond smiled as he realized the place screamed as a date night spot. He liked the place. Restaurants like this didn’t exist when he had courted his wife. He would have enjoyed taking her to such a place. Even though the food smelled awful to Raymond, he could tell by the enjoyment of the humans consuming it that the dishes were well prepared and delicious to them. Yes, he would have liked to take Wilma to a place like this. She would have looked beautiful with this candle light.

  “A penny for your thoughts, Raymond.” Alex smiled at him. “You’re so lost in thought. What are you thinking about?”

  Her smile lit up the room as they waited to be seated. She looked nothing like Wilma. Wilma had blond hair and had a much smaller frame. Alex was a gorgeous redhead with a more athletic build. He never thought about how attractive an athletic build on a woman could be, and he found he did like the look.

  “I was thinking how times have changed. When I was young, restaurants such as this didn’t exist. We cooked our meals over a fire pit in our yard. We farmed for vegetables and had livestock for meat. Much easier these days to just stop off at a grocery store or go out to eat at a fancy restaurant.”

  The hostess greeted them at the door and they chose a seat in the back of the restaurant in a separate room that resembled a wine cellar. When they neared the table, Raymond pulled out a chair for Alex.

  “May I?” He smiled as he held the chair. The old school charm and manners must have surprised Alex since she stopped as she approached the table and looked at him. He suspected most women were not accustomed to this formality.

  She smiled and took her seat. “Thank you, Raymond.”

  Her polite response melted away any lingering hesitations Raymond had of getting more acquainted. She was well mannered, beautiful, and full of life. What wasn’t there to like?

  As they waited for their waitress, Alex asked, “Where did you grow up, Raymond? Can you tell me more about your home and the fire pit you cooked on?”

  Rarely did Raymond stroll down memory lane, but he did want to share. “My parents were well off financially. We lived in a small, one story home on the outskirts of town …” He chuckled, “… away from prying eyes and pitchforks.” He shrugged his shoulders. “My childhood was typical, not much different than any human one. It was just my parents, my sister Sulie, and me.”

  The waitress came by with menus and rattled off the lunch specials. They each ordered a drink. Raymond only continued his story once the waitress was a good distance from the table. “We had land, so we grew crops for mine and Sulie’s meals since my parents didn’t eat. We had chickens for eggs. We weren’t vegetarian, but we didn’t eat too much meat other than chicken.” He cleared his throat. “I went to school with the humans and had mostly human friends. There were three other vampire families that lived in the same town. I still hear from them every once in a while.”

  Alex smiled. “Like a Christmas card at the end of the year type of thing?” she asked.

  “Yes. Sort of like that. I didn’t stay in that town after my parents died. Sulie and I moved to a new location.”

  Alex tilted her head sympathetically. “The pocket watch. You said he died, but I thought you were all immortal.”

  “You asked me once what would kill us. Fire is one. Like I mentioned earlier, both my parents died in a house fire. Authorities said the blaze appeared accidental, but I wasn’t sure. The deed may have been committed by an individual who had discovered what we really were. I packed Sulie up and we left. About that time, I became a widower. Sulie helped me raise Sterling. We wandered about from town to town, living several different lives. We befriended Ben decades later, and the four of us found a home with the Federal government. This brings us up to today.”

  The wait was not long, and the waitress came by with their drinks and asked to take their order.

  “I’d like the personal spinach and garlic lover’s pizza on thin wheat crust. Light cheese. Extra sauce,” Alex said.

  After jotting down the order, the waitress turned towards Raymond.

  “Nothing for me. Thanks.” Raymond handed the menus back to the waitress just before she left their table.

  “I’m sorry about your family,” Alex said. “Sounds like you had your hands full.”

  “Sulie is only five years younger than I am. And yes, it was challenging. I found myself in my early twenties, a young baby to tend to, a teenage girl in my charge, and I was transitioning into an adult vampire.” His mouth formed a slight smile, “The transition is not an easy one. You generally feel sick for the entire year until you can properly process the blood you drink.”

  “It takes a year for the change?”

  “Symptoms appear much earlier, but the dietary needs are the last to come … and the most painful. It’s hard to learn how to properly feed, how to compel humans — and basically to be what you are supposed to be when no one is there to help you. My sister and I went through it alone, but we did have each other.”

  The waitress returned with Alex’s salad, and again asked if Raymond wanted anything to eat. Again he politely said no and dismissed her.

  Alex rolled her eyes as the waitress left. “Did you see how she stared at you? She acted like I wasn’t even here.”

  “Really? I must have missed that.”

  “Probably most women gawk at you like that. You’re just used to it,” she teased.

  Raymond smiled and leaned in. “She’ll forget me soon enough. They all do.”

  “Like I did the few times I bumped into you.”

  He wasn’t sure if that was an accusation or merely a comment. It actually occurred to Raymond that Alex may even be flirting with him. “Yes,” he answered. “Just like you always managed to forget me in the past.”

  Raymond studied Alex and felt mental patterns of genuine dislike for the waitress. Thoughts of jealousy and possessiveness were obvious as well. Even in the short time he had known Alex, Raymond knew he wouldn’t want a man leering at her. No. That would never happen again in his presence. He’d make sure of that.

  Alex picked out the croutons in her salad and placed them on a nearby napkin. “What happens when you eat human food?” she asked.

  “Nothing. Food tastes terrible so we don’t eat it.”

  “Does food pass through your digestive track? Or do you gag and throw up?”

  Raymond chuckled. “You ask some of the oddest questions. I know it would taste terrible. Most likely I’d vomit based on that alone. But if I could consume it, then it would pass through my body. The food would probably cause stomach cramps since I’m not used to digesting food, and then I would probably pass it without my body processing it in any way. My stomach doesn’t have any digestive acids, so I couldn’t break down the food.”

  “So I’m guessing you wouldn’t want to taste my salad.” The blush on her face reminded Raymond of what he did eat. Her beautifully red, flushed face looked inviting. “So,” she said, “other than your mother’s honey cakes, is there anything you wish you could eat? Like chocolate or something?”

  He forgot he had told her about those delicious honey cakes. “I’ve never tasted chocolate. … Well, I tried the sweet once, after my transition, since everyone always raves about it. It tasted vile to me. T
hat did cause me to vomit.”

  “Really? You’ve never enjoyed chocolate? Wow, that’s my one true weakness.”

  He gazed at her beauty in the candlelight as the waitress served Alex her pizza. He watched as she shook spicy pepper flakes onto the melted cheese. She was so sexy and beautiful, and a bit naughty. “So spinach and garlic lover’s pizza. Your favorite and usual pizza choice for this restaurant?”

  “I’ve been meaning to try this combo for a while now. Will my eating garlic bother you?”

  The minx! “I wasn’t planning on kissing you this afternoon. So I’m fine if you have garlic breath for the rest of the day,” he said testing her reaction to such a comment. She merely blushed a reply. A smile curled on Raymond’s lips as he thought how cunning Alex was. Noticing her lips, he realized how much he wanted to kiss her. Why did he say he didn’t want to kiss her?

  “You seem to be testing out a lot of vampire lore. The sun from the picnic just made me thirsty, Alex. The garlic will have no effect. Trust me, asking me will get you the correct answer without having to always test it as a theory. I will tell you now though, if you are planning on checking whether a stake through the heart will kill me, let’s just say I don’t want to go through the pain. So please take my word for it and try not to murder me.”

  Alex blushed and looked away. “I believe I have enough control to stop just shy of the stake, Raymond.”

  “Great. I love truces,” Raymond chuckled. “I won’t kill you; you won’t try to kill me. It all works out in the end.”

  He sipped his wine. “I would like to hear more about you. I know very little about the new director I’ll be working with, and I’m curious.”

  There was that blushing smile again.

  “You can ask me anything. Whatever you want to know.”

  Raymond wanted to know a great deal, but decided to warm up with simple questions. “Where did you grow up?”

  “Omaha, Nebraska. Smack–dab in the heartland. Lived there and a few other places, including Europe.”

  It explained her lack of an accent. “Are your parents still living?”

  Her smile faded. “My parents died years ago. I have a brother and a sister. We’re close, but we haven’t seen one another in years. It's mostly emails and an occasional call.”

  Alex was alone. Raymond could tell from her mental patterns she was lonely. “I’m sorry to hear that. What made you choose to join the military?”

  “My father was career Air Force. I liked the lifestyle and wanted to serve my country.”

  As the questions continued she opened up more and more. He learned about her childhood, her family, her early years growing up in Omaha, and how she had traveled across Europe as a teenager. She lived a remarkable life and he enjoyed watching her smile as she told her stories. Her eyes sparkled at the joyous stories; and they teared up at the sad ones. The few that had her blush fascinated him. He could tell she was a private person. He wondered if she had ever shared some of these stories with anyone before. He found it sexy and desirable the way she opened up to him.

  For the first time in ages, Raymond wanted a woman. He wanted to take her back to the mansion and make love to her. He grew hard and found his jeans a bit too tight for comfort. He fed just before meeting her, and that fueled his desire as well. He may still be slightly aroused by the blood coursing through his veins, but knew it was pure Alex that raced his heart rate.

  His body tensed. Feelings and emotions flooded his thoughts. He had to have her. His body ached for her. If she picked up one of the thick, bread sticks glistening with butter, and started eating it, he was going to die. Thankfully it looked like she tried to avoid bread and starches; she even left her pizza crusts behind on the plate. Thank you, Lord.

  He watched her lips as she ate, watched them as she talked. Her passionate lips were round and full. She wore bright red lipstick and throughout the meal it slowly faded from her lips. He started thinking of her milky white skin – surely the skin that poetry was always written about. He imagined it to be soft and smooth all over her body.

  Why was he even thinking about such things? He had heard it in her thoughts, he was a ‘monster’ and she felt shame for even being attracted to him. Shame. He felt bad for even thinking of her in any romantic terms since he knew how she really felt, but he couldn’t help his newly aroused feelings for her. She was intelligent, caring, and goal oriented. He never would have thought that last one would be on his list of attractive qualities in a woman, but it was.

  He made sure not to touch her and did his best to ignore any thought patterns that came his way. He respected her. Yep, you can’t help the way you feel about someone. Her allure drew him like a moth to a flame though. He knew if he got too close he could get burned.

  “… and I know … (giggle) it was the wrong time and place, but we still went ahead and walked onto the stage wearing the costumes anyway. (giggle). Isn’t that insane?”

  Raymond had stopped listening for the last several minutes; he was so glad there wasn’t a test that would follow. He paid no attention to her stories; he was making up nasty little stories of his own in his mind. He mentally undressed her and shifted in his seat as a growl left his throat. Fortunately, the restaurant noise covered his growl so she didn’t hear the noise.

  Mental note, next time he would not eat right before he saw her. Surely that would help. He looked at her as she laughed about a story she had just shared. He drank some of his wine. The beverage tasted sweet, but he could tell by the fragrance of Alex herself that she would taste even sweeter.

  He hadn’t planned his next question; it just sprang forth from his lips. “Alex, are you married?” He hadn’t seen a ring but he knew that some modern women didn’t wear rings, or at least he had thought that was the trend these days. He was sure many women no longer took their husband’s last names, and he never did understand the hyphenation of last names. Whose name went first? Whose was last?

  “I’ve never been married.”

  “Never? You’re an attractive woman Alex. I would have assumed otherwise.” She blushed, but it was a true statement. A woman such as Alex not being married made no sense to him.

  Many people these days choose to have children out of wedlock so Raymond decided to ask his next question. “Do you have children?”

  “No.”

  It was a short answer, very curt. Definitely some strong mental patterns wafted from across the table. “Do you want to have children one day?”

  “That’s a personal question, Raymond. … I guess if I found the right person, was married one day, sure. I would love to have children.”

  She played with her hair. He kept track of how many times she did so, and the count was over a dozen times since they first sat down. He loved watching her. Her hair appeared to be soft and he wanted to touch it. Even over the horrible smell of the pizza, he could smell her hair and the fragrance coming off her skin.

  He needed to know something about her, and he needed to know the answer now. The question was not proper, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t sure what he would do if the answer to his next question was ‘yes’. He prayed that it would be a ‘no’. “Are you involved with someone?”

  “Am I dating?” Her eyes grew wide.

  “Yes. Are you currently romantically involved with someone?” He tried to phrase the question as nonchalantly as possible.

  Visibly her guard went up. “That’s another personal question. I don’t see why you need to know the answer.”

  “It's standard procedure, Alex. When Dixon joined the team he was married. Trust me, security checked out his wife as is standard protocol. If you are romantically involved with someone, who may be at your home, have access to personal and private files about us … we would need to know so we could run a check on him.”

  She nodded and her expression softened. “No. I have not had a man in my life for quite a while now.”

  Raymond hid his smile by taking his napkin and pretending to wipe some
wine off his lips. He liked the answer, it was the right one to him.

  They continued chatting as Alex finished her meal. The waitress swung by the table to see if they wanted any desserts. “No. I think we’re good. Thank you,” Alex said.

  Miss?” Raymond caught the waitress before she left the table. “An order of chocolate cake please. One fork.” When the waitress left, Raymond added, “You can enjoy the chocolate for both of us.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Dinner, Alex thought, now that she returned home – alone. Raymond had asked her out to dinner as they left the restaurant. Granted, his job was to answer her questions, but it still felt good to have dinner plans again this week with such a handsome man … er, individual. Of course, their time together centered around business. Otherwise, this would be considered speed dating. She’d gone out more with Raymond than any dates over the last few months.

  “God, I’m helpless.” Alex found it ridiculous to be attracted to a creature she would have run from only a few days ago. Why did he have to be so handsome and charming? Of course, many of the Hollywood vampires were gorgeous hunks as well. Women would flock to them in the movies. Those women were in their twenties, not knocking on the door of 40 in just a year. Plus, that was Hollywood, not real life.

  Alex couldn’t read Raymond very well. He joked about compelling her to remove her clothes, but then said he did not want her to be undressed. At lunch earlier he had looked spaced out, like he wasn’t even paying attention to her. And, of course, she had rambled on about her boring life. Then there was the comment about garlic breath and not intending to kiss her. Yep, that was a decisive statement right there.

  Men, and she guessed vampires as well, were never attracted to the older woman with the boring stories. Boy, she fit that bill well today. He didn’t get a word in edgewise!

  Admittedly she was very interested in a world where vampires existed. Honestly, they had always remained her favorite monsters when she was growing up. Mummys. Werewolves. Frankenstein. So many others. Yep, vampires were the monster she would most likely want in her world if given a choice.