Wizard Blood, Vampire Magic

Memory

                “Christine, are you ready to go?  Your mother is waiting for us.”  Anthony Crown straightened his tie, smiling into the mirror.  It had been four years since Sherry had left him, but he didn’t mind.  It was his daughter’s birthday and she had offered to pay for everything.  He prayed she’d milk the cold bitch for everything she had.  …Really though, he knew his daughter was too wrapped up in her own world to do that.  After he called for her, his red haired, grey eyed offspring meandered down the stairs.  She was dressed in black slacks, coal colored loafers, an oversized steel colored hoodie, and had a small, timid smile on her face.  She wasn’t dressed up, but she never was.  He should be glad she was prepared at all.  “Ready to see your mum?”

                “Yes daddy.”  Christine gave him a slightly bigger smile and sat on the couch, waiting for him to finish getting ready.  The old man smiled fondly at his daughter.  Unlike his ex-wife, she was sweet and adoring towards him, a quality he had not realized was non-existent in Sherry.  A few minutes later the doorbell rang and Christine jumped up, peeking out the frosted glass panel and seeing red hair that matched hers.  Unlocking the bolt, she pulled the handle down and in, opening the door to reveal her mother standing before her.  She had an imposing figure and a bit of a frown on her face.  But when she looked down and saw Christine, she seemed to relax and even smiled a bit for the child. 

Christine tried to smile back, but it wasn’t as pretty as the one she showed her father.  “Hello mummy.”

                “Christine, darling, I’ve missed you.  Happy birthday, my sweet.”  Leaning down, Sherry gave her daughter a kiss.  When she straightened up, she looked at Anthony and spoke in an almost completely flat tone.  “Hello Anthony.  Still working at the jail?”

                “Hello Sherry.  I am still working there, as it happens.  Still working on that school?”

                “It’s almost ready to have students.  I was thinking of taking Christine-“

                “Absolutely not.”

                Christine could feel the tension from her parents and stepped between them, pouting a bit.  “If we don’t leave, we’re not going to see the movie!”

                Sherry and Anthony looked at their daughter and then nodded, a bit surprised that she had spoken up.  Sherry let them both into her car and made idle talk with her daughter, catching up on the eight months or so since she had seen her last.  Apparently nothing had changed.  Christine still kept away from most students, preferring her books, but did her work and got good grades.  She hadn’t made any real friends and showed no desire to do so.  She was taller, still had some baby fat on her, and insisted on wearing hoodies that came down past her thighs.  Still, she seemed happy, and that was all Sherry cared about after a while.

                The movie was memorable for an eight year old, but her parents didn’t understand what was so great about it.  A kid gets told by a strange man with a hobo beard that he’s a wizard, offers him sweets, and then tells him to go with him to a magical place, far away from his family.  And he does.  After that point Sherry and Anthony both stopped paying attention, but Christine, who was in the middle of them, was so wrapped up in it that when it was over, she wanted to see it again.  Both parents said no and convinced her that going to get their lunch was a better idea.

                The Chinese buffet they went to was well priced, had good food, and a variety of things to choose from.  Christine ate so much she didn’t feel well, but after a couple of Tums she decided she could manage shopping.  Her mother tried to get her to go to the name brand stores, but she wanted to go to “the usual place” as she called it.  Her father knew where his daughter wanted to go and told Sherry how to get there.