Forever Is Not Enough

Happiness

1934 - Memphis, Tennessee

Make no mistake about misery; though she is a demanding beast, she is never strong enough to hold you forever in her persistent grasp. She climbs into her lovers' beds, slithering through the sheets like a snake, but she can only writhe beneath her victim for so long before she grows tired. Just as a sliver of sunlight breaks through a chink in the curtains, her eyes close, and her victim can flee – if only for a moment.

Damon and Elena were often miserable, even though they did not know it, but so was everyone else back then. How could they compel a man's wallet from his pocket if the wallet doesn't even exist? They never lived in squalor, per se, but they were a long way away from the big and bustling cites with their lavish hotels and apartments. Damon kept them hidden in the small towns on purpose; it was the only way to keep Elena out of trouble. The finest inns they could find still had cracks running through the ceilings like lightning bolts, and the wallpaper was torn and stained. They blew back East to New Mexico, then to Texas, and further into Tennessee, fleeing from the ever-present dust that hung in the air thick as smoke.

They'd been settled in the same town for almost a year, something Elena had not done since Chicago. Memphis was large in comparison to anywhere they had lived since Chicago. Damon refused to relocate at first, but Elena, whose lust for blood and chaos was insatiable, promised that she would be on her best behavior, no, a Saint's best behavior so long as she did not have to spend one more night stuck in another tiny, insufficient, and boring town. "I'll even go to church," she said, draping her hand over her heart in mock-sincerity.

Though Damon doubted her ability to control herself, he packed their things and they stole away in the night, for he was just as desperate as she was to get away. She maintained herself well, to her surprise. Memphis, though still too small for her tastes, suited them both well. Damon opened a club there, the fifth of its kind, where the liquor was cheap and the blood was never-ending. His other clubs, even the first in Chicago, had all fallen from his control each time he and Elena had to flee town. He always intended to get them back, but he knew it would take time for Elena to gain control of herself. At least that's what he like to tell himself. Until then, he managed the club, which he named The Moonstone, much like he had done in Chicago.

Prohibition was over, but the particular drink of interest in this club – blood – was and always would be illegal, so they set up shop in an old speakeasy below a barber's shop. They needed a sanctuary, somewhere to feed in peace, so Damon and Elena gathered humans willing to sell their blood. The system was reminiscent of his and Elena's time spent at Myrtles so long ago, though nobody was compelled this time. Times were desperate and people had to feed their children somehow. The business was so successful that they started providing other vampire-oriented services like providing fake identification.

Elena took charge of the girls, becoming a sort of Den Mother to them all. It was her job to direct the customer to the correct woman (or less often, man), collect payment, and provide protection. If they were desperate enough, some of the girls would sell other types of services. It was one of those things that nobody ever talked about.

The night was over and the dance floor was clear except for empty bottles. Elena swayed in between tables, humming the chorus to You've Got That Thing by Ted Lewis. It had been a long night; her and Damon had fought over something stupid. She couldn't even remember how it started, but like all of their other fights, it raged out of control. She'd slapped him across the face, he pushed her to the floor, she smashed a vase over his head, and so on. They had "made up" just as quickly, however, barricading themselves in Elena's office. "I thought they were moving furniture at first," one bartender exclaimed to the other. "If I had known what they were doing, I wouldn't have just barged in!"