THE LIFE: CHAPTER FIVE

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

                    I woke up just in time to hear the phone ringing. A refreshing sleep is always good after you break almost every bone in your body. As soon I reached over to grab my cell, it stopped ringing. I saw the missed call was from Grace. Great! I was reluctant to call her back, but I knew she would just keep calling until I graced her with my voice. After our lengthy conversation about nothing, I made my way downstairs to check on my house guest, but she was gone. Oh no! Now is not the time to go into panic mode. Who was I kidding? Now is the perfect time for panic! I knew this was too much for her to handle. I paced back and forth in my living room, my mind racing a thousand miles a minute. What am I going to do? She knows my secret. What if she tells someone? What if she tries to kill me? What if.....My thought was broken, when I heard my front door open. Someone was entering my apartment unauthorized. Could this be my downfall? I automatically went into defense mode, exposing my fangs, jumping and clinging to my vaulted ceiling. Imagine my relief, when I saw Delores entering the kitchen with an arm full of take out food bags. Food. Just what I need right now. She caught a glimpse of me, as I jumped down from the ceiling. My heart was racing, and I knew I had scared her.

"Delores, what the hell?"  I was more relieved than upset.

"I'm sorry., but were you just on the freaking ceiling?  And you ask ME what the hell?"

"I'm sorry." I realized my insensitivity toward the new life she has just entered into. "You have every right to be scared or upset or whatever."

"You did scare the crap outta me! And, thank you for recognizing the fact that I have a right to the way I feel or don't feel or whatever.  To answer your question, I left to go home. I needed to shower and change, and I bought food. I thought you might be hungry."  My silence allowed her to think.  "I'm sorry. I forgot you don't eat food."

"No, no. I eat food. Just not as much as humans. Food and alcohol helps to keep my hunger for blood at bay."

"So, why do you need blood, if you can eat food?"  She asked. She carefully watched me, as, I went to my China cabinet and retrieved two plates from my Flora Danica collection . I opened a drawer and pulled out gold utensils and placed them on the counter. She looked toward me with a shocking look on her face.

"Because, Delores, please refer to our earlier conversation."  I walked into the sitting area to retrieve a couple of Gorham LadyAnne  glasses from the 16th century globe wooden bar with a wine and glass holder.

"Oh, right. For survival."  I saw the way she was watching my every move. 

"Something on your mid, Delores?"  I asked, as I walked back over to the bar. I'm getting a little forgetful these days. This is highly unusual for my kind.

"Astrid, what is that?" She was pointing at the counter.

"It's called dinnerware. Do you not own any?"

"This is not just any dinnerware. Do you know how much this kinda stuff goes for on Ebay?"

"No idea, what Ebay is."  I grabbed our drink and came back to the counter and stood in front of Delores.

"You don't know what Ebay is? Astrid, have you been living under a rock?"

"Yeah. For a long time. Funny you should ask." I poured a healthy glass of Remy Martin Cognac Black Pearl Louis XIII.  I handed the glass to her, I took a sip and savored the taste before I spoke again. She looked at me with wide eyes.

"Wow! How do you afford that kind of luxury on your salary? I mean, I know you get payed more than I do, but how?"

"Again, Delores, our conversation from earlier. I've been walking this earth for two hundred years. I should have something to show for it. Don't you think?"

"That makes more sense than the explanation in my head."  She continued to the table with the bags of food.  "I'm sorry, Astrid. I'm new to all of this. I don't know anyone who wouldn't be besides you."  I ignored her and looked inside the bags she decided to place on the island. Thai food, my favorite.  "I didn't know what to get, so I just got my favorite."  She added.

"That's fine."  I said, as I took a healthy bite of the Thai red curry chicken. It was good and spicy. Just what I needed.  "Thank you for the food, Delores."  I managed to say through bites.

"No problem. Just save some for me."   

I gave her a thumbs up. "Oh, before I forget. Grace called....

"Oh no! Not tonight!"  Delores had beautiful hazel eyes that seemed to glean, when she was annoyed.

 "No, it's nothing like that. No double shift. As a matter of fact, no shift at all for us tonight. Grace told me she was working with some interns, and we could take the night off, since we worked a double shift last night."  I took another sip from my glass.

"Thank God! That woman knows how to get me riled up."  She began eating some of the curry chicken before she realized what we were actually drinking.  "Astrid, that looks like an expensive bottle of cognac. How much did you pay for that?"

I took another sip.  "As the old saying goes,  'if you have to ask, you can't afford it'." I smiled and held up my glass as if to say 'cheers'. 

"I know I can't afford it.  So, how much did it cost?"  As curious as ever.

"Nothing."

"B.S. . That bottle is at least $40, 000."

"This bottle was given to me by Paul-Emil Remy Martin in 1874."  I took another sip.

"Wait! Are you telling me that THE Remy Martin gave that to you?"

"What did you hear, Delores?"

"Oh my God! This is amazing! Wow! How did you meet him? I mean, what happened... I mean....I don't know what I mean.  Just tell me the story. Please!"  She was starry eyed like a school girl with her first crush.

"Calm down, Delores. We were just friends. He was my best friend, actually."  I picked up my glass without any real attempt of drinking from it. I haven't mentioned his name in so many years.  Thoughts of him flooded my mind, and I had to choke back tears. Now was not the time to ride down memory lane. Especially on these tires. I had to steer this conversation in another direction.  "You know what, we should make a toast."  I told her, as I poured a glass for her.

"Toast to what?"  She took the glass, sniffed the amber liquid inside, closed her eyes and smiled.

"We should toast to reality. May it screw you over every time you think you have a handle on it."

"Cheers." We both raised our glasses.  We smiled and indulged ourselves in nothing but Thai.

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                    After we ate, we made our way into the living room. I grabbed the remote and clicked on my 90 inch television. Delores and I both sat at the same time. We were full and she was a little tipsy.  I looked at my sofa and thought about cleaning it. Forget it. I'll just buy another one. My heart started to flutter uneasily. I reluctantly reached for the remote and turned off the television.

"What is it, Delores?"  I asked without looking at her. I began wrapping my hair into a ponytail, letting her know I was relaxed, so she should be, also.

She looked shocked.  "How did you know I wanted to ask you something?"

"The thing, with the heartbeat."

"Mine?"

"Ours."

"Beat together?"

"Yep."

"So, you knew?"

"Kind of...yeah."  I stated sarcastically, as I sat back in my chair.

"That's amazing!" she exclaimed.

"Great."

"So, you know what I'm about to ask you?"

"It doesn't work like that, Delores."

"How does it work?"

I sighed.  "By me asking you what's on your mind and you telling me."

"So, no telepathy then?"

"Nope. But, if you'd like, I can give you a free psychic reading of what's in your near future, if you don't answer my question."  I stated in an aggravated, yet polite tone.  "Before you start this next series of interrogations, please, oh please try to absorb as much information as you possible can. Repetition is not my strong suit."

"Yeah, I know. You taught me that my first day as your assistant."  She stated matter-of-factly.

It's true. Delores learned more about autopsies  during her first two weeks working with me than most people learn in two months. I explained my methods to her on her first day at work, as soon as she clocked in, before she had a chance to speak and introduce herself.  Those rules included: Once you clock in it's time to work; take advantage of your breaks..you WILL learn to appreciate them; If you need something, and you do not see it, ask. I am not above helping you, but if you ask a stupid question, you WILL get a stupid answer; I can do this job myself, so I DO NOT need you here; Listen to everything I say and take as many notes as you can because under no circumstances do I repeat myself; Be on time. I do not like starting my shift late because you missed the bus, got a flat tire or missed your flight. Leave your place of residence in enough time to account for any surprises or obstacles you may face on your way to work; Be professional as you can toward everyone here, Grace being the exception; Do your job, so I can do mine.

"I'm all ears, Delores."

She adjusted herself in her chair to get comfortable.  "Well, where are you from?"

"I'm from here. Next question."

"You've lived here for two hundred years?"

"That would cause just a teensy bit amount of  curiosity. Don't you think?"

"Well, how so?"

"Probably because I stopped aging at twenty-five. So, some people may think of that as being a little weird. You know, me not aging." 

"Oh, right. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing. Next question."

"So, where have you lived?"

This could take a while. So, instead of speaking on all of the placed I've traveled, I decided to just go with the ones that meant the most to me.  "I lived in Milan....

"Italy?"

"Do you know of another?"

"No. Sorry for the interruption."

"Stop apologizing."

"Right. Sor....

I shot a glance at her. She realized her error.

"I lived in Milan for ten years. After that I traveled to La Rochelle, France. Since French is part of my heritage, I spent my time there embracing every piece of the culture I could fit inside my brain."

"Must have been amazing."  Delores was sitting on the edge of her chair, listening intently, hanging on my every word.

"Yes, it was."

"How long did you stay in France?"

"Fifteen years. I would have stayed longer, but some of the locals were starting to notice my unchanging appearance. After that I spent eight years in Skive, Denmark."

"Milan seems to be out of your comfort zone with so many people there. What made you stay for ten years?"  She knew me well.

"Milan actually taught me all about my comfort level. I was from a small town, and I didn't know anything other than that. Before I moved there, I was just drifting from one small town to the next. For a while, I didn't really know where I was going."

"So, what about family? Did you ever travel with anyone or were you always alone?" I sighed at the thought of answering this line of questioning. To be honest, I've only spoken about my life to one person, after it changed so dramatically. "If these questions are hard for you, you don't have to answer them." Delores was looking at me with concern in her big hazel eyes. Her sentiment was an attempt to get me to relax. She had that way about her.

"No, no family. I was an only child."

"Do you remember your mother and father?"

"Vaguely. It's been almost 200 years. When you are a vampire, the power of it consumes you. I was constantly in battle with what was left of my soul everyday to hold on to my humanity. In order for me to do that, I had to allow some things to slip through the cracks. I couldn't hold on to everything. Only the things that were important to me."

"So, your family were not important enough?"

"No." I allowed my answer to sink in.

"So, can you fly?"

I was taken aback by the shift in the questions.  "Can I fly? Where did that come from?"

"When I came in, you were on the ceiling. Remember?"   I forgot about that.  "So, can you?"

"No. vampires cannot fly, and we don't morph into bats either. But I can jump pretty high."

"Oh! Like Spider man?" She was too excited about this.

"Sure. Let's go with that. Why not?"

"Do you.....

"I have a question for you, Delores."  I interrupted.

"Sure. You can ask me anything."  She was caught off guard.

"Why are you not afraid of me. I mean, you know what I am. Does that not scare the living crap out of you?"

"Actually, I got over my fear of you two years ago. You were a hard pill to swallow, when we first met. But, after a while, I began to understand your personality, and you became my friend. It would be kind of icky of me to revert back into a cocoon now. Don't you think? I mean, it's not like you're one of those horrible vampire I've seen on television."

"How do you know that?"  I could tell this question shocked her. Her body became tense. Her heartbeat faster.

"What do you mean?"  She tried to be calm about it, but I knew she was getting a little out of her comfort zone.

"A few hours ago, you didn't know I was a vampire. What makes you so sure you know what kind of vampire I am?"

"Well, for starters, you've been a vampire all this time, and you've never tried to bite me or whatever it is vampires actually do."  She sound nervous.  "So either I repulse you or I'm right about you. Oh my God! Please don't tell me that even a vampire is repulsed by me. Please let me be right on this one."

I gave a slight chuckle.  "Nothing to fear, Delores. You are right. And, no, you do not repulse me. Actually I cannot understand why you think you repulse anyone."

"Really?  Please refer to our conversation from earlier." We both laughed. "Actually I think I'm more jealous of you now."

"Jealous of me? Why on earth would you have that kind of emotion?"

"Because you are what you are. You will always be beautiful, and you get to live forever. I would give anything to have a life like that. I wish we could trade places."  She sulked.

"Be careful what you wish for, Delores. This life is a curse not a gift. I've watched everyone I ever loved and cared about die. Death is part of the circle of life. Without experiencing it, are we actually living or just being alive?"