Reality Bites - Wattys 2018 Shortlist

Chapter 22 - Not Quite as I Expected

Turning to see me coming down the stairs, Mom was uncharacteristically lost for words. Deciding it didn't hurt to butter her up a bit before dropping my Dimitri bombshell, I hugged her saying, "You look lovely, Mom. That dress suits you."

"Yes it does," Abe agreed, giving Mom an admiring glance.

"What are you doing here Rosemarie?" she finally spluttered. She'd clearly had no inkling I might be staying at Abe's.

"It's a long story, but basically once we realized the Strigoi were hunting me, and that communications within St. Vladimir's had been compromised, we needed to find somewhere to lie low. You'd said Baba wanted to meet me, and that he had an army of Guardians. Since I'd only just found out about him, it didn't seem likely anyone would think to look for me with him."

"Rose called me not long after the attack happened," Abe clarified. "I was overseas, but arranged for the LA team to fly to her and bring her here. She's been staying here under my protection since." Looking at me fondly, I noticed the 'Baba' had not gone unnoticed. Abe looked genuinely pleased I'd chosen to call him that.

"I would have called you, Mom, but we're just not sure how close an eye the Strigoi are keeping. Your phone could have been bugged. It seemed safer to let you believe you were coming here to discuss the attacks with Baba."

Finally having recovered her equilibrium, Mom said, "That was clever thinking, Rosemarie. You're right – even I didn't think to look for you with your father," she admitted. "Still, would it have killed you to send me an email telling me you were alright? I had to hear second-hand via Princess Dragomir," she grumbled.

"Sorry, Mom. That was thoughtless of me," I said, laying it on thick.

"Thank you for taking care of her Abe," Mom said, looking at him gratefully.

"It's been my absolute pleasure," he replied, putting an arm around each of us. "Now how about we have a nice family lunch on the patio? I can bring you up to date on what my people have learned so far," he added.

Timing it perfectly, Dimitri chose that moment to come down the stairs.

"Guardian Hathaway," he greeted my mother. "Rose told me you were expected today."

"I'm off duty, Guardian Belikov. You can call me Janine."

"Thank you, Janine. I'm off duty, too. So Dimitri, please."

Abe took Mom by the elbow, guiding her down the stairs to the ground floor and through the formal rooms to the patio. Suzanne was just finishing setting out platters of food in the center of the table Abe and I had breakfasted at. A veritable seafood feast, there was enough on hand to feed an army. Just as well when three of those dining are Dhampir, two of them Guardians!

Abe held Janine's chair out for her, seating her between he and I. Dimitri held my chair out for me, too, sitting on my other side opposite my mother.

Clapping his hands in the air, a Guardian appeared almost immediately at Abe's side.

"Champagne, please," he ordered. "The special one I've been saving."

Returning to present a bottle to Abe, he nodded, indicating to fill the four glasses on the table.

"Abe? Rosemarie is only seventeen," Janine reminded him, a little surprised to see him offering me champagne.

"Oh, Janine. She's eighteen in a couple of weeks, and that's the legal drinking age in most other areas of the world," Abe said. "Besides, no one can begrudge Rose having a sip of wine in her father's home to celebrate the first time she's sat down for a meal with her family," he said with feeling.