The Undead That Saved Christmas Vol. 2 (21 page)

“We’re here for the dinner party.” The butler stared at him but said nothing.

“Alistair is my uncle.” Craig held up the invitation and the butler scanned it with skeptical eyes. He pulled a paper from his pocket and studied it carefully. He looked at Craig and Darrin then back at the piece of paper in his hand before putting it back in his jacket pocket. “The other guests have already arrived.” His tone was like that of a woman scolding her child.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been out here. “ He checked his watch to see how late they were.

“And who is your
friend
?” The way he exaggerated the word made Craig’s skin crawl.

“This is my boyfriend, Darrin.” The butler cocked his brow and tried to conceal the grin trying to spread across his face.

“Well then, please, won’t you come in? Let me take your coats and show you to the den. The other guests are enjoying cocktails before dinner. Right this way.” The butler made a motion with his hands and gave a half-bow. Darrin looked at Craig from the corner of his eye and cracked a smile. He motioned for Craig to lead the way.

The first thing Craig noticed about the den, other than the stares and whispers from his brethren, was the enormous Christmas tree in the corner. It was roughly the size of a Grizzly and made the room feel cramped. The tree was adorned with a marvel of antiquities collected from around the world. Beneath the tree a bounty of packages glimmered, each one wrapped extravagantly with fine papers and decadent ribbon. It reminded him of his mother’s appreciation for fine holiday décor. He straightened his tie and made his way to the bar with Darrin following closely behind.

“Vodka Tonic, please.” The bartender nodded and then turned to Darrin.

“And for you sir?” He asked as he poured the Kettle One into the shaker.

“I’ll have the same.” Darrin looked over his shoulder self-consciously. “Where’s your Uncle Alistair?”

Craig looked around the room. His Uncle James, bachelor for Christ, and Reverend to the good people at the Walterboro First Assembly of God, sat in a corner chair sipping bourbon out of a rocks glass. His brother, Joseph, sat cross-legged in the leather club chair next to him. They appeared to be having a mutually agreeable discussion; probably something to do with how the liberals were ruining the good name of this great nation. The two men looked up from their conversation, took pause, and without as much as a nod of recognition, carried on with their discussion.

Ellen and her sister-in-law Edith were nestled on the camel colored couch like teenage girls sharing a secret. Edith’s hat was roughly the size of hula hoop and trimmed with lace; a vinyl poinsettia shined slick under the lights as if covered with ice. Ellen was donning her typical garb; a fifteen hundred dollar suit from St. John and her gold “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” lapel pin. The words were spelled out in Swarovski crystals. Craig was happy to see that his late Uncle Edward’s money was going to good use.

Ellen’s hat wasn’t quite as big as her sister-in-law’s but it was definitely a close second. It was white as the pure driven snow, adorned with a silk magnolia on one side and nestled on the other was a taxidermy partridge. A wide band of pearl colored silk ribbon encompassed the entire hat. Ellen smiled pleasantly at Craig but her eyes were full of judgment. She looked like a rat with a piece of cheese. She waved a gloved hand to him and he reciprocated with a dutifully smile; as his mother would have wanted. Ellen poured herself a second Hot Toddy from the china pot on the coffee table.

“Why Craig, I haven’t seen you in so long! I’m so glad you got the invitation. I wasn’t even sure I had your current address. You look good, a bit thin though. Are you eating?” She took a sip from her cup and sat it back down on the saucer. Outside, a flash of lightning lit the night sky, followed by the distant rumble of thunder.

“How is school going? Are you almost finished? I feel like you’ve been there for twenty years.” Edith crooned from beneath the lip of her mammoth hat. Darrin felt the air tighten around them.

“Well, Edith, I AM finishing up my Master’s degree. “ He took a deep breath. He felt his blood boiling. Edith hadn’t worked a day in her life unless you counted her hours spent planning all the church’s social functions. “I defend my thesis in the spring.”

“Well good.” She sipped her Toddy and smiled.

“Aunt Ellen, Aunt Edith, this is my boyfriend Darrin.” He took Darrin’s hand and pulled him to his side. Darrin nervously sipped his drink and then smiled and extended his hand.

The two women sipped their booze and looked nervously around the room. Lightning lit the room and as the thunder clapped the arched windows of the study rattled. “Where is Alistair? It is so rude to keep your guests waiting.” Ellen looked around the room. “And with nothing to munch on; mother taught him better than that.” Edith nodded her head in agreement as Darrin rescinded his hand shake.

“It was very nice to meet you.” Darrin nodded to the women who pretended to be oblivious to his existence. Craig took his hand and led him away from the women to the other side of the room. He stopped in front of a large framed photograph.

“Is that your uncle?”

The frame was carved of dark mahogany. In the picture, Alistair and a beautiful enchanting woman stood in the center of a group of what his aunt would have referred to as “savages.” The men were dark skinned, shirtless and barefoot; their faces painted chalk-white to look like skulls. Alistair and the woman smiled while the tribesmen stared straight ahead from darkened sockets.

“Yeah. That must have been while he was in Africa.” Craig took a drink from his glass, the vodka burning in his throat.

“Your uncle has quite a collection of stuff.” Darrin looked around the room. On the far wall was another picture of Alistair with the mysterious woman at his side. They stood in front of the carcass of a Rhinoceros. Alistair held an elephant gun in one hand and his safari hat in another. Mounted on the wall above the picture was the head of the beast, its eyes were coal black and glassy. Lightning flashed giving the beady eyes a sudden dose of life and the great beast’s horn cast a pointy shadow across the room. Over the bar was a collection of wooden tribal masks, all hand carved and painted in warrior colors; some made to look like skulls and others that looked like the devil. Craig imagined Ellen did not approve.

The grandfather clock in the corner chimed as the hands rolled onto eight. There was a loud rumble of thunder that shook the room. As if on cue, Alistair glided into the room with Samara on his arm. Lightning flashed and a cold air filled the room. The woman’s eyes scanned the room as they all stared silently at her unabashed beauty. Her silver dress draped her delicate frame and melted into the floor leaving a fluid trail behind as her presence filled the room. Like mercury it was both beautiful and deadly. The men in the corner were at once aroused by her beauty and terrified by her eyes. She smiled and their faces filled with red.

“Good evening, I’m sorry to keep you all waiting.” Alistair seemed taller than Craig remembered. He smiled to the ladies on the couch, curtsied, then turned to his brothers and gave them a half-bow; extending his arm before him, his smile was almost a sneer. He began to speak when Craig caught his eye. He stopped when he saw Craig; his facial expression changed. The arrogance raced away and was followed by a brief moment of terror driven sadness. “Craig! What are you doing here?”

“I got your invitation in the mail.” Craig felt self-conscious as he met his uncle’s icy gaze. The butler had given him the same look at the door.

“Invitation?” He turned to Samara. “I didn’t…”

“Oh Alistair, I wasn’t sure if you had Craig’s current address so I sent him my invitation.” Ellen said standing up from the couch. She appeared to lose her balance for a moment and Craig wasn’t quite sure if it was because of the Toddies or the size of her hat. Alistair cut his eyes at his sister. “It’s so good to have everyone together.” She forced a nervous smile. Her brother’s face filled with rage. His lips peeled back revealing his gleaming white teeth; a vein appeared in the middle of his forehead as his eyebrows morphed into the shape of a V.

“You meddling…” Samara took his arm and whispered into his ear rendering him silent. He listened intently, like a man taking in his favorite symphony. He took a deep, taxing breath. Craig watched his uncle’s face change. “How thoughtful of you dear sister.”

“Uncle Alistair, I’m sorry. If you would like us to go…”

“Nonsense, Craig.” He looked at Samara who smiled. He knew that she was right. Whether the boy stayed or left his fate would be the same; all of that had been said and done. “Dinner is ready. Please, bring your drinks, and let the feast begin.”

Dinner was served in the main dining room of the home. Down the center of the table was a red velvet runner with a silver candelabra surrounded by holly and poinsettias. The candles flickered and the chandelier above caught the reflection in its menagerie of intricate glass pieces. A blue tribal pattern surrounded the edges of the fine China, and the silverware belonged to Craig’s grandparents. He recognized it in an instant. Everything was polished and gleaming. The linen napkins were pressed and the high-back dining room chairs were cushioned with fine aged leather that was soft to the touch. The crystal wine glasses were filled with a dark Australian Shiraz that was rich in color and smelled of aged Oak and plums.

A wait staff of eight, one for each person, entered the room with silver trays of food held above the shoulder and a linen towel in hand. The servers placed a silver-domed plate in from of each of the guests and then removed the top allowing the mouth-watering aromas of culinary greatness fill the room. The turkey was roasted to a golden brown and stacked with celery and onions that had been cooked inside the carcass of the great bird. There were honey drizzled carrots and fresh made cornbread stuffing with pine nuts and sage. There were piles of fluffy mashed potatoes and rich rosemary gravy, homemade sweet rolls and fresh green beans glistening with olive oil and roasted garlic. The sweet potatoes were drowning in a thick brown sugar butter sauce and topped with toasted marshmallows, coconut and sugared pecans.

Craig ate in silence while listening to Ellen blunder on about everything from the weather, which had taken quite a strange twist on this Christmas Eve with the thunderstorm and all, and politics to her favorite subject: Jesus and the magic of Christmas and how this materialistic day and age had stolen the meaning from the poor darling swaddling-clad infant. Craig wondered how she had time to take a breath to fuel her non-stop verbal tirade.

“And can you believe that little oriental girl at the cosmetics counter at Dillards actually said ‘Happy Holidays’ to me?” She took a man-sized bite of turkey and chased it with a swig of wine. “I mean, good Lord in heaven above, just say Christmas! He is the reason for the season! If the liberal left has its way we won’t even be allowed to celebrate Christmas anymore.” Alistair rolled his eyes; Craig gulped his wine to stifle the laughter rising within him.

“Oh I know!” Edith consoled her. “Darlene Parks, you know she lives over on Legare Street?” Ellen nodded. “She sent me a card in the mail wishing me a fantastic holiday season. I just threw the damn thing away. The people these days just don’t get it. We live in a society that is morally bankrupt!” She cut her eyes across the table at Craig and then wiped her mouth with her napkin. Craig responded by leaning over and kissing Darrin on his ear and then gently on his neck. This time it was Alistair who stifled a grin. Samara filled the room with laughter and then downed the rest of her wine. She held her empty glass out to the side and a server immediately filled it up. She took a long drink and licked her lips. Lightning flashed, filling the room with a sudden moment of intensity and then rattled the windows with a clap of thunder.

“And where is your lady friend from, Alistair?” James took a last bite turkey from his plate.

“I was born in the Congo but raised in London.” Her accent was sensuous and her eyes never left James as she spoke.

“That’s where we met.” He turned and kissed her on the cheek.

“In London?” Joseph asked.

“No. In the Congo. She is but one of the wonderful discoveries I made there.” His smile spread slow and dangerous across his face. She returned his smile with one of equal malice. Outside the wind moaned. Craig thought it sounded like a dog; a sick one.

The servers cleared away the dinner trays. The wine was refilled and they returned with the dessert trays. The smell of vanilla beans and burnt sugar filled the air. The lids were removed revealing a delicate crème brulee; garnished with fresh strawberries and a sprig of fresh mint.

“Oh Alistair! It looks wonderful!” Ellen practically clapped her hands together in excitement. “You always save the best for last!”

“Don’t I though?” He smiled. “Please, dig in.”

Darrin looked at Craig as he picked up his dessert spoon. “You werenpoon8wt kidding about the food.” He smiled and leaned in close and whispered in his ear. “Or the entertainment.” Craig laughed. The storm outside intensified as the guests enjoyed the last morsels of their extraordinary meal. The red moon had disappeared entirely behind a wall of clouds and the lightning was now streaking across the sky like oceanic waves and the wind blew leaves from the trees and a few small branches; littering the yard with debris.

When dessert was finished Alistair stood at the head of the table; a twisted smile crossed his lips.

“And now that we’ve had our dinner…” he began.

“I do hope that we will be having coffee in the other room.” Ellen interrupted. Alistair glared at the eldest daughter; the apple of his dead mother’s eyes.

“I thought we would do gifts first.” His clapped his hands together once. The servers brought each of the guests a package except for Darrin and Craig. “I’m sorry Craig, had I known you and your friend were attending I would have gotten you something as well.” He cut his eyes at Ellen.

“It’s ok. The meal was wonderful Uncle Alistair. Thank you.” He smiled at his uncle and Alistair returned his look with a broken heart. Samara’s words echoed in his head.