Suburban Vampire Ragnarok

Chapter 23

Natasha had brought a bag with a change of clothes and so was able to change out of her leather bodysuit (Scott's mother didn't question the outlandish clothing choice, as she knew Scott had friends who were into live action role play, a hobby she thought odd but accepted as at least he wasn't doing drugs), and into something a little more normal: black yoga pants, black sports bra, and a grey sweater. Irene was quite happy to find that Natasha was quick to lend a hand, helping her with minor house cleaning and preparing the evening meal.

"It's so nice to have someone to dine with," Scott's mother said. "Scott works those late hours. I used to work late hours at one time, but there's no way I could do that now."

"It's my pleasure, Mrs. Campbell," Natasha responded. "How can I help you with the meal?"

"I don't know, but it's going to be accompanied by garlic bread! I haven't had garlic bread since Scotty came out of the hospital, and—"

"Garlic?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you allergic to garlic, too?"

"Uh, yeah, allergic."

"My Scotty has a food allergy to garlic. I didn't know there was such a thing! I knew about peanuts, and shellfish and such, but garlic? So, you're allergic, too? Is that how you met Scott? At a support group for food allergy sufferers?"

"Uh, yeah, of course that's where we met! We both have allergic reactions to garlic, so, yeah, that's... yeah."

"I am so sorry to hear it. Okay, I promise no garlic. How about a nice shrimp salad?"

Natasha stepped out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Her attention had been drawn to the odd box-like wooden object Irene had placed in the middle of the dining room table. "Yeah, shrimp salad, sure. Mrs. Campbell, what's this?"

"That? That wood pedestal/stand thing? I actually don't know what that is. My late husband brought that home from Europe after World War II. He never mentioned it to me when he was alive. Anyway, Scotty found it while cleaning up the attic. I think it's beautiful. You can tell that's old-world craftsmanship. And see, the front piece is very charming, with those two lovebirds facing each other. They certainly don't make them like that anymore, whatever it is."

"What do you do with it?"

"Well, I used to put house plants on it, until they kept dying. Scott told me that he thought that wooden stand was causing the plants to die, which I think is absurd! But I humor him and I don't put anything on top of it now. I just leave it as is."

"Well, it's lovely. Very lovely."

"Isn't it!" Irene then opened the refrigerator. "Now, what did I do with those shrimps I bought? I swear I just got them yesterday! I didn't freeze them, did I?"

As Irene searched for shrimp, Natasha stood in the dining room, transfixed, staring at the box.

*

Scott's evening, manning the IT help desk for Simeon College, was typically mind-numbing. Both Zed and Robin warned Scott about Al's schemes, and that he was looking for excuses to get rid of him. Scott thanked them but shrugged it off. He began considering a sentiment Elizabeth had previously expressed, that vampires shouldn't worry about employment. Of course, Scott found himself more angry than scared. Al had messed with him, and with his fellow employees, for far too long. He wasn't going to back down. This wasn't the old Scott, and he wasn't going to take his shit anymore. If Scott got fired for making a stand, then he got fired. Tough shit.