My Gentleman Vampire: The Undead Have Style

Chapter Four: Dancing with the Vampires

Chapter Four

Dancing with the Vampires

“Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable.”

Coco Chanel

I didn’t bring up the encounter with Antonio that night when we got home, and the next morning I left at 8:30 for a yoga class. I had decided to go to The University to do some research for the new book and then do some of my own shopping at the local mall. I picked out a pair of leather boots that went well with the emerging new me. This was beginning to be fun.

The drive home brought gloomy skies and heavy rain. “April showers bring May flowers” and all that, and I do love flowers. It was so dark that the lights had come on outside the house. I could see through the window that the kitchen lights were on as well, which meant David was up. I couldn’t wait to show him my boots. I carried my purchase into the kitchen, where David was busily chopping veggies for the stir-fry he was making for dinner. He admired the boots, agreeing that they would definitely be a good addition. Instead of teasing me about becoming a shopaholic, he seemed oddly distracted. I thought his mood was due to Antonio, but I understood the real cause as I pressed the flashing red arrow on my answering machine and heard Mike’s voice.

“Natalie, hey, it’s Mike. Hope you’re okay. Listen, I need to ask a huge favor. I think I left my best competition vest in the green guest room closet. The black one with the black sequin band on the lapels. I’ll need it for the competition next month, so if you happen to come across it, I’d appreciate you hanging it on the front door. Thanks, you don’t have to call, just please hang it on the door. Take care.”

He wanted the black competition vest I’d bought for him that he’d worn when we came in second to Alix and her partner, Randall. I could still see Mike standing there, holding the second place trophy, his jaw set. The argument we’d had that night was a tongue lashing by Mike: a litany of blame, complaints, and our shortcomings as a dance team. The fact that he had nearly dropped me on a standard lift was twisted into my need to drop five to ten pounds. I remembered my deep-seated feelings of inadequacy surfacing, as they began to now. The phone call meant he was partnering Alix at the Calypso Fever dance contest next month. Alix was stick thin. They had a good chance at winning first place.

My head was down, so I didn’t realize that David had stopped chopping until Arabella rubbed against my ankles and brought my thoughts back to the present.

“He’s a bastard, Natalie. I know exactly where the vest is. Let’s rip it.”

“No, David. If you know where it is, please just hang it on the dry-cleaning hook on the front door. I don’t want it in the house.”

I carried my boots upstairs to my bedroom, put them in my beautiful, nearly empty closet, and lay down on my bed to have a good cry.

#

About an hour later, there was a tentative knock on the door, and I heard David asking if he could come in. What the heck, I thought. I knew I looked like hell, but I was done crying for the night.

David was carrying a glass of wine in one of my best crystal glasses.

I took it from him gratefully. I hadn’t used the glasses I’d inherited from my godmother in years. Mike hadn’t liked fancy entertaining, just beer and barbeques. I had forgotten how much I liked them. I sipped the chilled wine and looked up at David.

“The wine is delicious. Thanks. These are my godmother Loretta’s glasses. They must have been dusty.”

“Oh, just a bit. You have some lovely things in your china closet, honey. We need to use them when we redecorate. How about a little dinner? I made a nice healthy stir-fry. Arabella says it’s super tasty.”