Dracula's Groom

CHAPTER TWO: Bad Day

A hangover wasn't what I wanted when I woke up this morning. My head throbbed as I opened my eyes and slowly rolled myself out of bed. It took me a moment to get my thoughts in order as I safely planted both feet on the floor before standing up. The room began to spin just a little bit as I stumbled slightly forward and braced myself against the wall next to the window for support. Whoa! Guess I am a total light weight.

I pushed aside the curtain as a streak of sunlight pierced the room and like a vampire, I got down on my hands and knees as I crawled around on the floor to get to the bathroom. I showered, brushed my teeth and got dressed all within an hour. I emerged afterwards, feeling slightly better about myself as I walked to the dresser and picked up the large envelope along with my keycard for the room and my car keys.

Ding! The doors of the elevator opened after a moment of waiting as I stepped inside and pushed the button for the main lobby. Next, I took out my cellphone and with the business card given to me by Mr. Rainey that I found paper clipped to my great-great Agnus's will, I decided to give him a call and arrange a meeting before everything was finalized. The phone rang four times as the answer machine kicked in, telling me to leave my name and phone after the tone.

"Hi, Mr. Rainey. This is Nathan Kennedy, you met me yesterday at the cemetery? Listen, I was wondering if I could possibly schedule a meeting with you sometime today just to go over my great aunt's will. Hope to hear from you soon. Take care."

The sun was even brighter down in the lobby as I shielded my eyes with the envelope and walked up to the hotel desk. The woman was all smiles as she kindly accepted my payment and gave me my receipt before telling me to have a nice day and a safe trip back home. I all but dashed to my car as I dropped into the driver seat and cranked the engine. Again it wouldn't start as I groaned in frustration. I cranked the key as hard as I could and even slammed my foot down on the accelerator as the car backfired.

Smoke rose from the engine block as I shook my head and got out of the car. I barely had enough money saved to make the trip let alone pay for a single night stay at a three-star hotel. Now only the real question remained. How was I going to pay for a tow truck? This year had been nothing but misery for me, actually. I got laid off from my job as a retail associate and the lease on my apartment ended earlier than expected because I wasn't able to make the monthly payments on time. Plus the landlord was an eighty year old man, who was the poster child for a being a pain in the ass.

I pulled out my wallet and noticed only two twenties were left minus the maxed out credit card. I leaned against the trunk of my car as my phone buzzed in the front pocket of my jeans. The caller ID read: Charles Rainey & Associates at Law. I sighed with relief as I stared up at the heavens and whispered "Thank you, God!" before answering the call.

"Hello?"

"Is this Nathan Kennedy to whom I am speaking?"

"Mr. Rainey, yes it is. Thank you so much for calling me back on such short notice."

"Oh, it's no trouble. You mentioned in your message that you would like to have a meeting about your aunt's will?"

"That's correct."

"Well, I do have an opening this morning. One of my clients had to call and cancel at the last minute. The hour is yours if you want it."

"Yes!" I said a little too loudly. "Sorry. I mean, yes, I'll take it. I'll see you soon."

I ended the call as I sprinted across the parking lot to the sidewalk and impatiently waved down a taxi. I hopped in the backseat and gave the driver directions to Mr. Rainey's office as I held on tight to the envelope as if it were a life preserver. Yet fifteen minutes later I found myself sitting in an old leather chair as Mr. Rainey reached into the bottom of his desk and pulled out an old bottle of whiskey.