Chapter 33
Welcoming
I go to pick up Nathanial at eleven o’clock, just as planned. He gets in the car giving me that wonderful grin I love so much. I’m nervous. It is just like the first time I met him, waiting for him to speak.
“I had some time to think about things last night.”
My heart plunges into my gut as I wait for him to continue.
“And I want you to know that no matter what, I’m still completely in love with you, I know it’ll all work out the way it is meant to be,” he reassures me and leans in for a kiss. “Now I want you to teach me and show me everything,” he says eagerly.
“Just remember...you asked for it” I say with an evil little grin. I hammer down on the accelerator of my Porsche Cayenne. “Buckle up, buttercup.” I laugh.
We arrive at my house in no more than a minute or two.
“Holy crap! That was faster than Mario Andretti,” he chokes out with a little shock in his voice.
I remind him that he asked for it. “Well, lesson one, I have superior reflexes and have been driving since cars were made.” I smirk. “And you are right. That was faster than Mario Andretti. I could smoke his butt any day.”
We get out of the car sharing a little giggle. Even though I am in the driver’s seat, he still walks around to open my door for me.
“This is not a house. It’s a freaking hotel.” he gasps.
“It was actually a bed-and-breakfast years ago,” I explain.
The acreage we live on is perfectly manicured, the drive is cleared of all snow, and the frosted trees glisten in the sun. The driveway circles around a fountain that is situated in the middle of a grassed area. Off to the right is a large attached garage that would make Jay Leno jealous. I park in front of the main steps that lead to the front door. We begin to walk up the marble stairs that lead to a beautiful wrap around veranda with marble roman pillars holding the roof above.
When we enter through the large French doors, my family is waiting to welcome Nathanial. Each member of the family lines the grand staircase at the back of the large front foyer. There are two sets of stairs, each in the shape of a semi-circle leading to the second floor. The décor has been collected throughout our years of travel, and the furniture has a contemporary feel.
“Your home is breathtaking. I could have never imagined anything so amazing,” Nathanial compliments. “Thank you for welcoming me into your home.”
“Nate, it is great to finally have you here.” Alexander greets him with a handshake.
Matilda comes down next. “Looking good. I trust you are feeling better?”
“Much, thank you.” He smiles.
“Nate, I would like to formally introduce you to my Aunt Constance and Uncle Isaac, the doctors that cared for you,” I announce.
“We met playing pool before the winter formal,” Nathanial reminds me.
“Oh, that’s right. I can’t believe I forgot. I guess I have had so much on my mind.”
“Nate, it is a pleasure to see you under better circumstances,” Isaac says.
“Thank you for stitching me up. I just wish Sophia could have healed it completely. Now I am going to miss Christmas day scrimmage with my brother,” he jokes.
“And last are my mother and father figures, Florence and Elijah. I guess you also met Elijah at the pool hall, but I don’t believe you met Florence formally.”
“Welcome, Nate. Our home is your home.” Florence gives him a hug.
“You better take care of yourself. I don’t think our girl could handle if anything else happened to you,” Elijah says, shaking Nathanial’s hand.
He smiles and says, “Thank you so much. It is an honor to spend the day with the family that brought Sophia to me. I am forever indebted to you.”
“Well, why don’t we go and relax in the family room? The girls have prepared some refreshments and baked some blueberry scones. They did very well, if I may say so myself,” Elijah announces.
“Thank you. That sounds wonderful, but you really didn’t need to go to any trouble for me. I am just happy to be here,” Nathanial replies with all the manners of an aristocrat.
“So, Nate, do you have any questions for us or any concerns we could help ease?” Elijah asks, breaking the ice.
“I do have lots of questions, but I know they’ll all be answered in time. I would really enjoy getting to know all of you and what your lives have been like as a family. You know the normal stuff, before we get to the other stuff.”
“That would be lovely!” Florence agrees.
We sit and visit with my family for a while. We cover all the usual things like embarrassing stories from over the years, school, and Christmas, which is fast approaching.
“We should host a New Year’s party. We could invite everyone and try to get to know the townspeople,” Matilda suggests.
“What an excellent idea! We could invite the families from work and school,” Constance agrees, always up for a good party.
“You better invite me,” Nathanial jokes.
Everyone has a good chuckle, and he looks around.
“It wasn’t that funny,” he defends.
“Nate...” Elijah places a hand on his broad, thick shoulder. “The thing is our family takes love very seriously. Love is very important, especially when you add soul mates to the mix. Well, what I am trying to say is that we already consider you part of our family. You are with Sophia and we all believe you to be soul mates. You never need an invitation around here. I hope that does not scare you away.”
“Let me get this straight. You’re worried that you just scared me by inviting me into your family? Let’s recap the things that could have and should have scared me in the last few months.” Nathanial begins his reflections on the past few months, and we all listen to the events as he sees them. “The first day of school, I literally bump in to the most amazing woman in the world; falling head over heels in love. I start experiencing feelings I have never thought I would have. I know I can’t live without her and everything I know is about to change. That was a little scary. Then, once I found the courage to ask her out, I get stabbed and have memories of unbelievable events surrounding the stabbing. That was a little more than scary.” He takes a deep breath and continues. “Then there was finding out the love of my life and her entire family are actually a clan of vampires and that she wanted to drink my blood. I even found out that witches are real, yet not one of these things compares to the fear I felt when—”
“You came here?” Matilda interrupts.
“No. That was not scary at all.” He smiles and looks over at me before continuing, “Telling Sophia I am in love with her and opening my soul to her was the scariest moment of my life. I was terrified she would reject me since we just started dating,” he confesses. “So by comparison, being considered part of your family is a relief. My only hope is to make it official one day.”
In shock, we all look at one another. Does he really mean or even understand what he just said?
“What? What could you possibly mean by that?” I frantically ask as the dream I had last night comes rushing back to me.
“Maybe we should save that conversation for a later date,” he smiles.
I look at Alexander.
Nathanial says, “Let’s keep this one between us, bro.” Clearly, he has already figured out what Alexander’s gift is, and Alexander only chuckles.
“Well, thank you for sharing with us. It was nice.” Elijah smiles at Nathanial.
Immortal Embrace Page 33