Carlisle and Esme

5. The Rose of Rochester

Chapter Five

We moved to Rochester in New York. It was an old fashioned place. We were to take a rather bigger house. It was beautiful too. Esme kept it clean and tidy.

Her being a vampire was hard. She struggled a lot. It was only normal for a newborn vampire though.

"I'm not ready for this..." Esme whispered. We were making a trip to the bank. Edward wanted to renew his inheritance like he did every few decades. I couldn't do the same thing as my father had never been given the chance to put me in his will and I had 'died' long before he could. And he would have never wanted a vampire for a son...

"Yes you are, Mom... I trust you." Esme softened when Edward called her Mom. I took Esme's hand and tucked it into the crook of my arm. Edward was on Esme's other side. Edward opened the door for me and Esme. We walked into the bank which was as always, busy with people. Esme's hand tightened. I patted her hand comfortingly.

"Will you be alright?" I asked Edward, glancing at Esme then back to him.

"Of course we will. Ma'am?" Edward held his arm out. Esme looked at me with a worried expression. I nodded an encouraging nod. She let go of me and slipped her hand into my son's arm. I watched them walk away to the opposite side of the bank's lobby. I was stood waiting only for a few moments when I heard a human's footsteps coming towards me.

"Ah! You are unknown to these quarters if I am right, sir?" The man looked around forty years of age; his hair was balding in places. He wore a smart suit. But that was nothing new, this was the early 1930's and everyone dressed smart. Being born in the 1600's meant that I had watched fashions come and go and as each generation passed, fashions changed.

"You are correct indeed, sir." The man held out his hand and I carefully took it. I didn't like to shake hands with humans because they always reacted to the cold. My point was proven when the man's eyes widened at my temperature.

"Good Lord, man! You're frozen as the ice on the mountaintops! You must come to warm." He gestured to where he had just come from.

"Oh no I simply couldn't... My... My wife and brother are waiting." The man clapped his hands.

"Your WIFE? I would love to meet her! And your brother too!" I sighed, giving up. The man led the way down into a private room. The room had a dark ebony wooden flooring and matching walls. There was a whole shelf of books stacked neatly from floor to ceiling against the left wall. On the opposite wall were filing cabinets, most likely containing records of the bank's clients. Opposite where we stood by the door, was three armchairs and a chaise lounge. They were all made of the same material, brown leather. They were positioned in front of a fireplace where orange flames licked upwards to the chimney. Next to the fireplace was a cabinet of ebony wood. The man gestured for me to take a seat and I did so while he went to the cabinet and took out two glasses.

"Would you like to sample my finest cognac?" I was a vampire. The only thing I drank was blood. Animal over a choice of human as I wanted to live like what I couldn't be for as long as I lived. I didn't want to be a monster... I didn't want to hurt others, I wanted to help them. As a vampire who practised human acts, what other choice did I have but to agree?

"Of course but only a drop." The man poured more than a drop into both glasses and handed one to me. He sat on the armchair opposite mine.

"So! Mr...?"

"Cullen. Carlisle Cullen."

"Mr Cullen. It's an honour to meet you."

"You too, of course."