Hotel Transylvania - The Count

IV

I place my hands on the back of Dennis's highchair as he babbles and giggles when his dad sets a cake on the tray on the chair. He leans forward closing his wide eyes as he tries to blow his candle out, spit flying everywhere but the actual flame. It eventually goes out and Maven chuckles looking at Dennis with the softest most love filled eyes.

"Nice, yeah. Cute kid." The tiny monster grumbles getting up and walking off the cake smearing icing. I chuckle and lift Dennis up and out of his chair holding him to my hip as I walk with Maven past the table.

"Okay, time for the presents guys." He says, placing a hand on the small of my back as we come to a stop. I lean down and set Dennison on the floor with Wayne's litter of wolf pups.

"Alright, let's do this, boy up!" Murray comes rolling in and scratches under Waynes chin before leaning into Frank.

"Look at what I got the kid! Bling." He pulls out a gold chain with a pendant in the middle.

"Wow, is it cursed?"

"Super cursed. Only the best. Straight from the crypt."

I nervously laugh as he walks over to Dennis, "I don't think that's a good idea, he's only just started to walk..." I trail off as he places it on Dennis, his tiny legs wobble before he faceplants into the ground and starts crying. 

I sigh and Dracula walks over to him lifting him up, "You're okay Denisovich." 

Dad walks up to Dracula with a neutral expression, "His name's Dennis, he's named after my father." Dad says, looking at Dracula a bit unsurely, but it's hard to tell with him. 

Dracula plays it off and smiles at Dennis, "It's not his vampire name. My little Denisovich-Weesovichy."

Mom cuts in with that conniving smile of hers as she cocks her head to the side, her long curly blonde hair bobbing. "Huh, are we sure he's a vampire? I mean, not that it's a... bad thing of course. Shouldn't he have fangs and that pasty skin you guys have?" She says waving a manicured hand at Maven.

"Mom..." I rub my arm and sigh. Maven places an arm around my waist comfortingly rubbing his hand up and down my side.

"Technically, you have till your five to get your vampire fangs." Wayne explains with a tired smile, mom awkwardly laughs and scoots away from him.

"Oh, he'll get his fangs. He's a Dracula." Dracula says surely. 

"He's also half Sorine. Maybe he'd be better off where we live? There's more humans there." Dad says waving a small action figure in front of Dennis' face. He takes it and starts shaking it lightly by its leg.

"What? Look how well he's playing with the wolf pups." Drac says, setting down Dennis who drops the toy looking at the two wolf boys licking the cursed chain. He drops onto his hands and does the same with his toy. I sigh and slouch, curling more into myself.

"We have a present, I hope it's acceptable." Eunice says holding up a toy guillotine. I stare at it as Dracula claps his hands together smiling before taking it.

"My First Guillotine, very educational, well played Frank." Dracula says, Frank pulls his wife in by her shoulder smiling at Dracula.

"It's great, thank you. We just have to baby proof that." Maven says grabbing it with one arm, still watchful of my body language. Maven walks us over to the table and opens the toy placing a rubber guard on it.

"Baby proofing a guillotine? So you cut your finger off? It's part of the fun." Eunice mumbles placing a hand on her hip.

"She made me baby proof the whole hotel. Someones overprotective." Dracula mumbles thinking he's being discreet. I sigh and repackage the toy and hold it in my arms.