Alice, the little girl vampire who had been alive since the 1590s, blinked in disbelief at her creator.
“Lestat’s in love?”
“It would seem so,” replied Marius.
“But that’s impossible! Lestat NEVER falls in love! Well, never seriously!”
“He’s serious now,” Marius replied. “He’s known her for almost two weeks and he hasn’t bitten her yet. More to the point, apparently, he’s refusing to turn her.”
Alice stared at him. “That is serious!”
“I know,” Marius nodded. “Seriously dangerous.”
Alice laughed. “Marius, are you getting jealous?”
Marius scowled at her. “You know what I mean.”
“Well, what are we going to do?”
“Nothing, for now. He may yet change his mind and turn her.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“We’ll see...”
Miles and miles away, unaware that her relationship with Lestat was being discussed by fellow vampires, Tiana made herself a cup of strong coffee. Lestat was leaning against the kitchen table, watching her. Presently, he said “What’s on your mind?”
Tiana sensed that he was reading her thoughts again. Lestat needs to keep his mind reading powers to himself, she thought in response.
“Alright, I get the message; but just because I read your mind, that doesn’t mean you should stop talking.”
Tiana smiled. “I was just trying to figure out how to get the girls to accept you.”
“Well, considering that they’re just as scared of me as any normal human, I doubt that’s possible,” Lestat replied, drily.
Tiana glanced up at him. “Hey, if I can see past your being a vampire, they should!” She paused, thinking hard. “I know; I’ll invite them to dinner and then they can see you’re not a monster.”
“You think that’ll work?” Lestat asked, taking the cup she offered him.
“Of course. Just be yourself.”
Lestat laughed. “Right, I’ll go get in some humans and drug them on absinthe before I feed on them and break their necks.”
Tiana slapped him on the arm. “Don’t be coarse! You know what I mean! Just be the person you are when you’re with me.”
“Fine.”
“Didn’t that slap hurt you?”
“No.”
“Really? I hit you pretty hard, sorry.”
“Tiana, you didn’t hurt me. Vampires have pretty thick skin; literally.”
“So, you’ll come to dinner tonight and let my friends meet you?”
“Ok.”
She relaxed. “Good, because I can’t take them trying to warn you away from me another minute longer.”
Lestat pulled her close to him with his free arm. “Well, I promise you I’ll be on my best behaviour.”
Tiana wrapped her arms around him. She was getting used to his lack of heartbeat and the fact that he always pressed his face close into her hair and inhaled her scent whenever he held her. “Lestat?”
“Mm?”
“I love you.”
Lestat smiled and kissed the top of her head. “I love you too, Tiana.”
“Well, do me a favour.”
“Anything.”
“Don’t show up covered in blood; that’ll freak them out.”
Lestat laughed. “Tiana, you have my word as a vampire.”
“Let me get this straight,” said Meg later that day as Tiana stood, glancing around the bar in case Faciliar suddenly popped up out of nowhere, with the bar phone pressed to her ear. “You want me and Belle...”
“And Adam.”
“And Adam to come over to yours for dinner...with a vampire?”
“With Lestat.”
“He’s a vampire!”
“Oh, Meg, shut up!” sighed Tiana. “I want you guys to get to know him; you’ll see he’s not a bloodsucking monster like you think he is.”
“Well...I don’t know...”
“Come on, Meg, please. He won’t hurt you, he’s not like that.”
“Hey, you said the other night that he sucked a guy’s blood in front of you!”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t like it was someone I knew and, well, the guy didn’t look very well, so...”
“So that makes it ok?”
“Look, Lestat’s not going to do that with any of you. If you’d just get to know him, you’d see. He’s charming and sensitive and, well, I think you guys could like him.”
“Ok, well, I guess I can give him a chance if it means that much to you,” Meg said, heavily.
“That’s all I ask, Meg.”
“Ok, so what time do you want us to be there?”
“Eight o’clock. I’m experimenting with beurre blanc.”
“With what?”
“Buerre blanc; it’s this butter and white wine and vinegar sauce you pour over fish. I found it in a book called Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”
“Well, do you want me to bring anything? Wine?”
“Oh, red, if you could.”
“Ok, well, see you there.”
“Bye, and Meg?”
“Yeah.”
Tiana smiled. “Thanks.”
“Whatever,” Meg replied, which was her signature response to someone thanking her for something. “See you there.”
Tiana got back to work, satisfied in the knowledge that at least her friends were willing to try for her sake. It was a slow day, so when she got back to her house, she wasn’t too exhausted. She quickly set about making the dinner, and it tasted pretty good, even if she did say so herself.
There was a knock on the door. “Come in!” Tiana called.
It was Lestat. Tiana ran to him and hugged him. “Great! I’m so glad you’re here first!”
“Why?” Lestat offered her a teasing smile. “Did you think they’d be shocked by my dramatic entrance?”
“No, because someone needs to set the table fast!” Tiana replied, pressing the silverware on him.
Lestat laughed, and then before she even had time to blink, the table was set. “Done.”
“Good, because that sounds like Meg’s car,” Tiana replied, removing her apron. She took a deep breath and then relaxed.”Ok. This is it.”
She went to answer the door. “Wine as promised,” smiled Meg, handing her the bottle. “French, and it wasn’t cheap.”
Tiana smiled as she took it. “Thanks, Meg. Hey, guys,” she added as Adam and Belle came up behind her.
“Don’t have too much of that,” Belle advised Meg. “You’re the driver, remember?”
“Hey, I said I was going to stop drinking so much, and I stand by that promise.”
“You said you’d stop drinking altogether.”
“Please, we all know that’s never going to happen!” Meg scoffed, stepping into the house. “Oh, hi,” she added.
Lestat, leaning against the kitchen doorframe, smiled, pleasantly; a smile that Tiana was sure she fell more in love with every day. “Hi. I’m guessing you’re...Meg?”
“Yeah, and you must be Lestat.” To Tiana’s surprise, Meg smiled, politely and held out her hand. “Tia’s told us so much about you.”
“Oh, well, in that case, I’m sorry,” Lestat replied, shaking her hand.
Meg laughed. “Oh, no, she says good things!”
Tiana smiled. “And this is Belle, and her fiancé Adam.”
“Pleased to meet you,” said Adam, also shaking hands.
“Hi,” smiled Belle.
“Well, dinner’s ready, so I hope everyone’s hungry,” Tiana smiled, leading the way into the kitchen.
“Starving,” replied Meg, with a stretch.
“Here,” said Lestat, taking the bottle from Tiana. “I’ll open it.”
Well, thought Belle to herself, and she had a feeling that Meg and Adam were thinking the same thing, for a vampire, he’s pretty polite and charming. And, as dinner wore on, Tiana knew that Lestat was winning them over. When Adam asked about his family history, Tiana started to worry, but Lestat simply told the same story he had told Tiana on their first date, and left out anything gory or grim. Then, to her surprise, Belle asked outright about vampirism.
“What do you want to know?” Lestat asked.
“Well, everything. What’s it like?”
Tiana promptly dropped her fork. Embarrassed, she retrieved it.
“Honestly?” Lestat smiled. “It’s a little like being human; sometimes it’s wonderful, others it’s a nightmare.”
“Why?”
“Because drinking blood is hardly a picnic. Because living though eternity can get pretty lonely. Because, technically, humans shouldn’t know your secret, unless they’re about to be turned too. And because it makes having a relationship with a human hard,” Lestat replied, glancing at Tiana. “Having to constantly control yourself; trying to remember what it’s like to be human after so many years; most of all,” he smiled, “being in love with someone you don’t want to suffer the same fate as you but who stubbornly insists it’s what they want.”
Meg laughed. “That’s our Tiana!”
Adam frowned. “Wait, you say that you need to keep the fact you’re a vampire secret from humans, unless they’re about to be turned. But you’ve told us.”
Lestat smiled. “Between you and me, I’ve always been one for bending the rules. But I’d rather you didn’t spill the beans to anyone who might be a potential vampire hunter.”
Feeling guilty, remembering what his mother had once written about this particular vampire, Adam made a quick decision. “Well, your secret’s safe with us.”
“I appreciate that.”
Tiana relaxed. “Who’s for desert? I made trifle.”
“Did you remember the mince?” Belle teased.
Meg blushed. “That was not my fault! Someone stuck those two pages of that magazine together!”
“She made half a trifle, half a shepherd’s pie,” Belle explained to Lestat.
Lestat laughed. “Well, I suppose that’s one way of making two courses at the same time!”
Everyone else laughed, and Tiana smiled to herself as they continued their meal quite companionably together. This was just what she’d hoped for. Lestat really had won them over and they had accepted him, vampire or not. By the end of the night, she had forgotten that she had ever been worried about this.
“Well, see you tomorrow,” Meg said, giving Tiana a hug. “I was wrong,” she muttered in her ear. “He is pretty charming.”
“Not a monster?” Tiana whispered back.
“Not from where I was sitting.”
“See you,” Belle said, hugging her friend. “Shopping, remember?”
“Of course,” Tiana grinned, hugging her friend. “Thanks for this, Belle,” she whispered to her.
“Sorry I ever doubted you,” Belle whispered back, giving her a squeeze.
“Take care,” Adam said, giving Tiana a hug too. “It was nice meeting you,” he added to Lestat.
“Likewise,” Lestat replied, nodding.
“See you guys,” Tiana said, waving them off.
“I’d better leave now too,” Lestat told her.
Tiana looked up at him. “Do you have to?”
“I don’t want your friends getting the wrong idea,” he replied, pulling her to him and kissing her. “Besides, I need to have words with Marius, remember? I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You will,” Tiana smiled.
You definitely will, she thought.
“Lestat’s in love?”
“It would seem so,” replied Marius.
“But that’s impossible! Lestat NEVER falls in love! Well, never seriously!”
“He’s serious now,” Marius replied. “He’s known her for almost two weeks and he hasn’t bitten her yet. More to the point, apparently, he’s refusing to turn her.”
Alice stared at him. “That is serious!”
“I know,” Marius nodded. “Seriously dangerous.”
Alice laughed. “Marius, are you getting jealous?”
Marius scowled at her. “You know what I mean.”
“Well, what are we going to do?”
“Nothing, for now. He may yet change his mind and turn her.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“We’ll see...”
Miles and miles away, unaware that her relationship with Lestat was being discussed by fellow vampires, Tiana made herself a cup of strong coffee. Lestat was leaning against the kitchen table, watching her. Presently, he said “What’s on your mind?”
Tiana sensed that he was reading her thoughts again. Lestat needs to keep his mind reading powers to himself, she thought in response.
“Alright, I get the message; but just because I read your mind, that doesn’t mean you should stop talking.”
Tiana smiled. “I was just trying to figure out how to get the girls to accept you.”
“Well, considering that they’re just as scared of me as any normal human, I doubt that’s possible,” Lestat replied, drily.
Tiana glanced up at him. “Hey, if I can see past your being a vampire, they should!” She paused, thinking hard. “I know; I’ll invite them to dinner and then they can see you’re not a monster.”
“You think that’ll work?” Lestat asked, taking the cup she offered him.
“Of course. Just be yourself.”
Lestat laughed. “Right, I’ll go get in some humans and drug them on absinthe before I feed on them and break their necks.”
Tiana slapped him on the arm. “Don’t be coarse! You know what I mean! Just be the person you are when you’re with me.”
“Fine.”
“Didn’t that slap hurt you?”
“No.”
“Really? I hit you pretty hard, sorry.”
“Tiana, you didn’t hurt me. Vampires have pretty thick skin; literally.”
“So, you’ll come to dinner tonight and let my friends meet you?”
“Ok.”
She relaxed. “Good, because I can’t take them trying to warn you away from me another minute longer.”
Lestat pulled her close to him with his free arm. “Well, I promise you I’ll be on my best behaviour.”
Tiana wrapped her arms around him. She was getting used to his lack of heartbeat and the fact that he always pressed his face close into her hair and inhaled her scent whenever he held her. “Lestat?”
“Mm?”
“I love you.”
Lestat smiled and kissed the top of her head. “I love you too, Tiana.”
“Well, do me a favour.”
“Anything.”
“Don’t show up covered in blood; that’ll freak them out.”
Lestat laughed. “Tiana, you have my word as a vampire.”
“Let me get this straight,” said Meg later that day as Tiana stood, glancing around the bar in case Faciliar suddenly popped up out of nowhere, with the bar phone pressed to her ear. “You want me and Belle...”
“And Adam.”
“And Adam to come over to yours for dinner...with a vampire?”
“With Lestat.”
“He’s a vampire!”
“Oh, Meg, shut up!” sighed Tiana. “I want you guys to get to know him; you’ll see he’s not a bloodsucking monster like you think he is.”
“Well...I don’t know...”
“Come on, Meg, please. He won’t hurt you, he’s not like that.”
“Hey, you said the other night that he sucked a guy’s blood in front of you!”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t like it was someone I knew and, well, the guy didn’t look very well, so...”
“So that makes it ok?”
“Look, Lestat’s not going to do that with any of you. If you’d just get to know him, you’d see. He’s charming and sensitive and, well, I think you guys could like him.”
“Ok, well, I guess I can give him a chance if it means that much to you,” Meg said, heavily.
“That’s all I ask, Meg.”
“Ok, so what time do you want us to be there?”
“Eight o’clock. I’m experimenting with beurre blanc.”
“With what?”
“Buerre blanc; it’s this butter and white wine and vinegar sauce you pour over fish. I found it in a book called Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”
“Well, do you want me to bring anything? Wine?”
“Oh, red, if you could.”
“Ok, well, see you there.”
“Bye, and Meg?”
“Yeah.”
Tiana smiled. “Thanks.”
“Whatever,” Meg replied, which was her signature response to someone thanking her for something. “See you there.”
Tiana got back to work, satisfied in the knowledge that at least her friends were willing to try for her sake. It was a slow day, so when she got back to her house, she wasn’t too exhausted. She quickly set about making the dinner, and it tasted pretty good, even if she did say so herself.
There was a knock on the door. “Come in!” Tiana called.
It was Lestat. Tiana ran to him and hugged him. “Great! I’m so glad you’re here first!”
“Why?” Lestat offered her a teasing smile. “Did you think they’d be shocked by my dramatic entrance?”
“No, because someone needs to set the table fast!” Tiana replied, pressing the silverware on him.
Lestat laughed, and then before she even had time to blink, the table was set. “Done.”
“Good, because that sounds like Meg’s car,” Tiana replied, removing her apron. She took a deep breath and then relaxed.”Ok. This is it.”
She went to answer the door. “Wine as promised,” smiled Meg, handing her the bottle. “French, and it wasn’t cheap.”
Tiana smiled as she took it. “Thanks, Meg. Hey, guys,” she added as Adam and Belle came up behind her.
“Don’t have too much of that,” Belle advised Meg. “You’re the driver, remember?”
“Hey, I said I was going to stop drinking so much, and I stand by that promise.”
“You said you’d stop drinking altogether.”
“Please, we all know that’s never going to happen!” Meg scoffed, stepping into the house. “Oh, hi,” she added.
Lestat, leaning against the kitchen doorframe, smiled, pleasantly; a smile that Tiana was sure she fell more in love with every day. “Hi. I’m guessing you’re...Meg?”
“Yeah, and you must be Lestat.” To Tiana’s surprise, Meg smiled, politely and held out her hand. “Tia’s told us so much about you.”
“Oh, well, in that case, I’m sorry,” Lestat replied, shaking her hand.
Meg laughed. “Oh, no, she says good things!”
Tiana smiled. “And this is Belle, and her fiancé Adam.”
“Pleased to meet you,” said Adam, also shaking hands.
“Hi,” smiled Belle.
“Well, dinner’s ready, so I hope everyone’s hungry,” Tiana smiled, leading the way into the kitchen.
“Starving,” replied Meg, with a stretch.
“Here,” said Lestat, taking the bottle from Tiana. “I’ll open it.”
Well, thought Belle to herself, and she had a feeling that Meg and Adam were thinking the same thing, for a vampire, he’s pretty polite and charming. And, as dinner wore on, Tiana knew that Lestat was winning them over. When Adam asked about his family history, Tiana started to worry, but Lestat simply told the same story he had told Tiana on their first date, and left out anything gory or grim. Then, to her surprise, Belle asked outright about vampirism.
“What do you want to know?” Lestat asked.
“Well, everything. What’s it like?”
Tiana promptly dropped her fork. Embarrassed, she retrieved it.
“Honestly?” Lestat smiled. “It’s a little like being human; sometimes it’s wonderful, others it’s a nightmare.”
“Why?”
“Because drinking blood is hardly a picnic. Because living though eternity can get pretty lonely. Because, technically, humans shouldn’t know your secret, unless they’re about to be turned too. And because it makes having a relationship with a human hard,” Lestat replied, glancing at Tiana. “Having to constantly control yourself; trying to remember what it’s like to be human after so many years; most of all,” he smiled, “being in love with someone you don’t want to suffer the same fate as you but who stubbornly insists it’s what they want.”
Meg laughed. “That’s our Tiana!”
Adam frowned. “Wait, you say that you need to keep the fact you’re a vampire secret from humans, unless they’re about to be turned. But you’ve told us.”
Lestat smiled. “Between you and me, I’ve always been one for bending the rules. But I’d rather you didn’t spill the beans to anyone who might be a potential vampire hunter.”
Feeling guilty, remembering what his mother had once written about this particular vampire, Adam made a quick decision. “Well, your secret’s safe with us.”
“I appreciate that.”
Tiana relaxed. “Who’s for desert? I made trifle.”
“Did you remember the mince?” Belle teased.
Meg blushed. “That was not my fault! Someone stuck those two pages of that magazine together!”
“She made half a trifle, half a shepherd’s pie,” Belle explained to Lestat.
Lestat laughed. “Well, I suppose that’s one way of making two courses at the same time!”
Everyone else laughed, and Tiana smiled to herself as they continued their meal quite companionably together. This was just what she’d hoped for. Lestat really had won them over and they had accepted him, vampire or not. By the end of the night, she had forgotten that she had ever been worried about this.
“Well, see you tomorrow,” Meg said, giving Tiana a hug. “I was wrong,” she muttered in her ear. “He is pretty charming.”
“Not a monster?” Tiana whispered back.
“Not from where I was sitting.”
“See you,” Belle said, hugging her friend. “Shopping, remember?”
“Of course,” Tiana grinned, hugging her friend. “Thanks for this, Belle,” she whispered to her.
“Sorry I ever doubted you,” Belle whispered back, giving her a squeeze.
“Take care,” Adam said, giving Tiana a hug too. “It was nice meeting you,” he added to Lestat.
“Likewise,” Lestat replied, nodding.
“See you guys,” Tiana said, waving them off.
“I’d better leave now too,” Lestat told her.
Tiana looked up at him. “Do you have to?”
“I don’t want your friends getting the wrong idea,” he replied, pulling her to him and kissing her. “Besides, I need to have words with Marius, remember? I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You will,” Tiana smiled.
You definitely will, she thought.