Solstice

MEETINGS

'You can rest assured that anything you say in this room stays with me.' The tall, blonde vampire, her burgundy eyes filled with kindness, sat on the couch across from us. Edward took my hand, but I let mine hang limply in his. I wasn't feeling the same need for closeness, intimacy as he was. Dr Gallagher's eyes flashed down to our hands, reading our body language. 'The only time that I would have to alert our authorities is if you were planning to march on Volterra, or creating a vampire army for nefarious purposes. Anything else is permissible.' A thick sheet of paper appeared in her hands, and she passed it over to us. 'Here is our contract. It tells you what you should expect, and what my duties are.'

I read the pages swiftly, my eyes blurring over the closely-written text. As I came to the end, I nodded.

'We don't have to sign anything, though?' I could hear the anxiety threading through my tone, and cursed myself for it. 'I don't want to leave...'

'Evidence.' Edward finished my sentence, smiling crookedly. 'She's embarrassed about seeing a specialist,' he explained to Dr Gallagher, who nodded.

'No, you aren't required to sign anything. This document is designed to allay any concerns you may have. Please keep it,' she told Edward as he started to hand it back. 'Let's start with the most basic of questions. How are you today?'

'Stressed,' I mumbled. 'My mom called.'

'Does she know of your transformation?' asked Dr Gallagher, a small crease marring her alabaster skin.

'No – I've kept that from her. Of course. I haven't seen her in seven years. I don't hear from her often. She's wrapped up in her own life, in her husband.' There was a note of bitterness in my voice, much as I tried to hide it. 'But now, she's coming on a visit. She wouldn't take no for an answer. She hung up before I was able to put her off.'

'Surprise!' Renée had joked. Before I'd had the chance to utter a single word, she was off. I imagined her, her blue eyes wide and childlike, her fingers wound into the curly cord of the old, off-white house phone. 'I'm coming to see you, honey! I looked at my calendar, and I saw that I completely forgot your wedding anniversary – I think I'd forget my own head if it wasn't screwed on.' I'd said nothing in response to her weak joke which, I thought, surprised her: I was usually incredibly forgiving of Renée's heedlessness. 'I've already bought the tickets –'

'You shouldn't have done that, Mom,' I interrupted, dropping the 'rough' voice I always used with her. Let her draw her own conclusions. 'I have a house full of visitors: I don't have to room to entertain another guest.'

'Nonsense, silly! I'm not a guest, I'm your mother.' Her voice was both laughing and scathing: how ridiculous I was to consider her a guest. Even though she hadn't called in a year. 'My flight gets into Seattle at eleven o'clock on the 24th: can you come to pick me up? Perhaps that incredibly handsome father-in-law of yours –'

'He works, Mom: he has a research job –'

'I'm sure you'll figure something out. Oh, honey, I can't wait to see you,' she gushed: 'I've been such a bad mother to you. I need to make it up to you.'

'Yes, you have; and no, you can't,' I said icily, trying to control my anger, and failing.

There was a long pause, and I could hear her breathe uncertainly down the line. 'Well, honey, we'll talk about all that when I get there. I can't wait!' Before I could say anything more, she'd put the phone down. I'd growled to myself, a long, unbroken snarl that had made Edward look very apprehensive indeed. I'd tried to call her back for hours, but she didn't pick up. Reneé was always very good at getting what she wanted; there were no ends to her manipulation.