My Gentleman Vampire: The Undead Have Style

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Out of the Closet

"To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong."

Joseph Chilton Pearce

David wanted to get right to work. I lay back on the bed while he quickly emptied my closet into three piles.

“This is the keep pile so you won’t be naked when we go out shopping. This is the donate pile, and this is the consignment pile. You can put these two together if you want.”

“What’s wrong with those jeans?”

“They’re mommy jeans and way too big for you. You have great, long legs so you can wear jeans, and we need to pick out a couple of pairs that totally work for you. These make your butt look like a pancake.” How rude, I thought.

“The keep pile is too small, David. This is going to be expensive.”

“Stop being so cheap. We’ll pick out a few key pieces, and then we’ll add carefully. The backbone of any wardrobe is the key. You need to project the image that matches your writing. You’re a good writer.”

“Thanks, I didn’t know you had read my work. Where are you going with the keep pile?”

“I’m hanging it in the puke green guest room closet. I’ll inventory it tonight so we can shop tomorrow night. Obviously, I have to shop at night, and you write during the day, anyway. Tomorrow I’m redecorating your closet. We start with a clean slate, darling. This will be my first surprise. I bought all the stuff already, it’s in the basement.” 

I finished my wine. “You’re bossy.”

David adopted a dramatically serious pose as he stood holding the meager pile of garments he approved of.

“I know what I’m doing. We have to take most of these things to the tailor. You swim in your clothes. Proper tailoring is critical.”

With that pronouncement, he left to start his planning, and I prepared for sleep. Just before I turned out the light, there was a knock at the door.

“Natalie, I’m going out. Don’t ask, dear. I’ll be back in several hours. See you tomorrow. This is so exciting.”

“Good night, David. Uh...Be careful?”

“I always am.”

#

I fell asleep quickly and slept right through the night. Strangely, the knowledge that I wasn’t alone in the house and that I had a new project to work on, me, distracted me from the recurring thoughts of Mike and Alix together. I woke up instantly at the sound of light tapping on my door.

David stuck in his head. “Sorry to wake you, but the sun will be up soon. I need to cover your windows so I can work in here, and you need to get everything out of here that you’ll need today so I can have the room to myself. I won’t come out again until sunset. I made coffee, and cleaned and restocked the fridge: healthy stuff, lots of lean protein, and not all that junk that was in there. I’m a great cook, darling, but we’ll get to that. Baby steps. Once we’ve redecorated, we’ll host a cocktail party. My half birthday is coming up. Just wait until you meet my friends.”

I try to process this information dump, but my brain is rather foggy until I drink that first bucket of coffee. What, I wondered almost out loud, had I gotten myself into?

I grabbed my toiletries, my sweat pants, socks, and a t-shirt and left David standing in my closet. While I poured myself a cup of coffee, he ran several times across the house carrying a variety of paint cans, fabric, and cardboard boxes. He locked the bedroom door just as the first streaks of light came through the big oak tree in the backyard.

The outline for the new novel proceeded well, and I was feeling productive and ...  happy, an interesting reaction to a strange turn in my life. This odd situation with David had left me incredibly positive and focused, and I tried not to overanalyze it as I usually did with everything.  At one point during the day, I stood outside my bedroom door and listened. The reassuring sounds of hammering and drilling were interspersed with long periods of a swooshing sound, maybe paint being rolled out. I tiptoed away.

I was shocked when I opened the fridge. David had made me a gourmet spinach and veggie salad. What a thoughtful thing to do! It was delicious. And it didn’t occur to me to think that, while convenient, this was still very strange.

Finally, after a long day of heavy writing output, the last rays of the sun disappeared behind my neighbor’s house across the street. Immediately, my bedroom door opened and David emerged with Arabella in his arms.

“Oh, wait ‘til you see. It came out even better than I’d imagined. Don’t you think so, Arabella?”

Arabella actually nodded her head yes, and I followed David into my bedroom.

I was completely unprepared for the fabulous result. The closet had been freshly painted a soft off-white and a wire closet system had been installed. The back of the door now held a floor length mirror, and the closet was stocked with huggable and padded hangers all in bone. A cheetah-patterned wall-to-wall rug and an oversized crystal chandelier completed the glamorous, chic look.

“David, you’re a marvel! This is the prettiest closet I’ve ever seen. Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome, darling. The chandelier was a must-have; proper light is critical. Lighting is often overlooked. Isn’t it to die for?”

“I can’t wait to fill it! When are we going shopping?”

“You need to eat some dinner, and we both need to change. I laid out an outfit for you in the pukey green room. Yuck, that color will have to go! Then we’ll take your car. I don’t drive, but I’m a good navigator. I have some friends who open their stores for the night crowd--like me.” He smiled.

Now the adventure would truly begin.