Dear Citlali [Completed]

Chapter 9. Kai

When the night fell, we were emotionally drained, and we decided to take some rest and meet back in the house first thing in the morning. Dovi and Citlali made very clear their intention to settle in New York for as long as necessary.

I opened the door of my apartment, tossed the keys on the table, and rushed to my bedroom. I fell asleep with my clothes on and my wet eyes buried in the pillow. In the morning, although I didn't feel rested, the idea of going back to the house seemed less insurmountable.

I took a shower, chose new clothes, and thanked my immortal skin for erasing any traces of my teary night. Ten years ago, my face would have looked so puffy I could not have escaped wearing sunglasses. Or rebuilding magically my features with make-up, if only I had any idea how to do that.

Under the plane tree, Dovi was waiting for us with the key to the house. And it was not long before Citlali joined us with hot drinks and a paper bag which I figured contained our breakfast. We smiled at one another, still a bit awkward about the situation, and we sat at the kitchen table.

"I thought we would need some fuel for today's research," said Citlali. "I didn't know what you liked so I brought different possibilities."

For the first time, I took a moment to observe the vampire. She was all curves and black long hair. I had never seen a vampire with a gaze as soft as hers. She must have noticed that I stared because she looked away for a second. Then her eyes locked back on mine and I thought we both blushed.

I opened the paper bag and offered it to Dovi. The other vampire was more fiery. There was a sharp energy in their elegant movement that was gripping. They must have become a vampire quite young but their solid stance betrayed their age.

"I'm going to make other keys for you today," they said while passing the bag to Citlali after having chosen a Danish. "This way we'll all be able to come to the house whenever we want."

Citlali smiled. "Thank you. It's a good idea."

She settled for the coffee, Dovi took the tea, and I kept the latte. Stating our hot beverage preferences started the conversation, and we built onwards with safe and easy topics such as where we were staying in the city and if our trip had been pleasant. The delicious muffin I had chosen helped to settle my nerves.

I confessed I couldn't complain about the taxi ride from Manhattan, compared to the long flights from Vancouver and from Portugal. For the first time, we laughed together, and it was a relief. When we finished breakfast, I felt brave enough to continue our research. I was not alone in this, and it was good company.