The Vampiric Housewife (6 page)

    
“This better not be some conquest or challenge. This is my kid sister.”

    
“You’re my best friend. I’m not going to try and make it with your sister. I like Amelia. One minute she was this kid and then . . .” He smiled to himself. “She was all grown up. She’s smart and shy and sexy. That’s a lot of S’s, a lot of curves. I just want to get to know her better.”

    
John had believed his friend. But he still did not trust him, and he would sacrifice losing his virginity to make sure Amelia would be making the same sacrifice.

    
“Say you’ll come, Aims.”

    
She finally allowed a little smile on her face. “Okay.”

    
“I never thought I’d have to talk you into dating Drew,” he teased. “I’ll tell him tomorrow in school.”
    

    
He would also have to let Lisa know about the change of plans. She would not be pleased. She did not care for Drew who winked at every female and could care less about the girls he left heart broken or worse. Nor did Lisa like Amelia much.

    
“She’s just so quiet and watchful. It’s a little creepy. I know she’s your sister, but sometimes it’s like she knows some important secret about life and doesn’t want to share. She’d rather just watch us all make fools of ourselves.”

    
He stood up for his sister. He would never let anyone bad mouth her, not even his girlfriend, but he also understood where Lisa was coming from. Amelia did watch. It could be creepy. But he knew that she was just trying to understand social graces that weren’t natural to her, or sometimes simply studying people for her drawings. Amelia was smart. She didn’t hide it. The teacher never asked a question she didn’t know the answer to. It could be intimidating, but Amelia was the last person in the world to know the secret of life.

    
John turned to leave his sister to her daydreams.

    
“Thank you John,” she said in a quiet voice.

    
“You’re welcome Aims.”

Chapter Six

Five o’clock Sharp (a.m.)

    
Dinner was on the table, a feast of raw lamb leg laid out, blood in glasses, and frozen blood ice cream for dessert. John and Amelia were in the basement rec room working diligently on their homework. Harry was still sulking in his bedroom over his punishment and Charlie was just pulling into the driveway, home from a long day at the office. As he walked to the door, Valerie was filling his martini glass with fresh blood and had it in his hand the moment he opened the door.

    
“Good morning, dear,” she said kissing him on the cheek.

    
“Good morning,” he said with a worn smile.

    
“Long day at the hospital?”

    
He set his briefcase down and reclined in his chair. “You could say that. Dr. Venjamin is bringing me in on a new research project tomorrow. It’s kind of like a promotion.”

   
“Congratulations! That’s great news!”

    
Charlie nodded and sipped his blood.

    
“Isn’t it?” she asked sensing his lack of enthusiasm.

    
“Of course it is . . . It’s just . . .” He sat up in his chair and looked at her earnestly. His dark, almost black eyes, were the saddest she had ever seen them. Could he talk to her about this? Would she understand? Or would she hate him?

    
She sat on the ottoman and took his chilly hand in hers. “What is it, sweetheart?”

    
“Do you ever wonder . . . do you ever think, how can this be my life? Living the same day again and again. Wake up, go to work, come home, eat, go to bed. No change. No excitement. Just the same old routine. I love you and the kids, don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t give you up for anything. But the lifestyle . . . and the hospital . . . it’s not a job I ever imagined myself having.” The words weren’t coming out quite right. He had never been good at expressing himself. Damn it, you’d think he’d be able to get it right by now.

    
She smiled, perhaps patronizing him a bit. He couldn’t quite tell. “What did you imagine?”

    
“I don’t know. Not a nine to five desk job putting together reports. Something outdoors. Something with freedom. Something that wasn’t so predictable.”
A life that wasn’t make believe.

    
She leaned in. “This life, the kids, the husband, the house . . .” She looked around the room. “. . . is not what I pictured for myself either, at least not right out of high school. I had dreams and hopes I wanted to fulfill first.”

    
“How do you get through the day when you know this isn’t what you wanted?” He did not see her eyes dim when he did not ask what those dreams and hopes of her youth were. She would have to remind herself not to hold it against him. He was under stress. He had a lot on his plate. He couldn’t worry about what dreams she may have missed out on at eighteen.

    
“I remind myself that I am doing something important with my life. Being a mother to my children. Teaching them to be good people. Watching them be happy. Being your partner. I’m proud of that, you know. And a family is what I want. Now that I have it. You should remember that what you do is important too. Your work at the hospital will help a lot of people some day and it supports your family who loves you.”

    
He fell back into the chair. His hand went limp in hers. He thought for a moment that his wife may have understood, that she might have wanted to break out of this mold too. But maybe she had it right. There was no breaking out of it. She was just as trapped as he was. More so. All she did was find a way to be happy.

    
Valerie stood up and smoothed her dress. “I do understand, Charlie.”

    
He looked up into those unique violet eyes of hers. She did. He remembered her senior year of high school when he met her and she starred in the school play
A Street Car Named Desire
. She played a haunting Blanche. Charlie had been mesmerized by her performance and by her. She had been extraordinary. Now here she was trapped in the ordinary. And he was trapped with her. But he couldn’t make the best of it, not like she could.

  
  
“Mom, is dinner ready yet? I’m starving,” John said walking into the living room.

    
“It’s on the table. Would you get your sister and brother, please?” She began to walk away then turned back to him with a smile. “Are you coming, dear?”

    
“In a moment.”

    
“Okay.”

    
He sat there for a moment. If Valerie could swallow this life, he could too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    
“Hey Dad, you want to toss the ball around before the sun comes up?” John asked as his sister and mother cleared the table. Harry was already back in his room, this time of his own volition. Valerie held true to her punishment and refused to let him drink any human blood, even cold. All through dinner his eyes kept going to the pantry. John had promised to sneak him some blood before bed if he could. Maybe John wasn’t always a butthead.

    
“Sure. Do you have your homework done?”

    
“Everything except my English paper, but I’ll finish it before bed.”

    
“Okay. But just for a little while. The sun’ll be up soon.”

    
“I’ll go grab the football.”

    
“Charlie, we still need to talk about Harry’s behavior,” Valerie reminded her husband.

    
“We will. I promise. Depriving him of human blood will ensure he never skips class again, I’m certain of it.”

    
John came back and tossed him the pig skin.

   
“Not in the house,” Valerie scolded but without malice.

    
The men went into the backyard. The sky was already lightening from a navy to a purple, the stars beginning to vanish one by one. Amelia dried the dishes after her mother washed them.

    
“Have you decided if you’re going to double with John tomorrow?” Valerie asked.

    
“I don’t know.”

    
“It should be fun. I know monster movies aren’t your taste, then again Drew Sanders is,” she teased with a small smile.

    
“Mom!”

    
“Sorry, darling. It’s just that I wish I would have dated more boys before marrying your father.”

    
“It’s not like I’m going to marry Drew, Mom.”

    
Valerie had thought the same thing the first time her parents invited Charlie to dinner. “I know.”

    
“I . . . kind of told John to tell Drew yes. But I may cancel.”

    
“Don’t. Trust me, you’ll regret it if you do.”

    
Amelia just continued to dry the dish to a high polish. Her mother would never understand. She was perfect—undeniably beautiful, her body thin and long, she had an easy smile, and those eyes . . .
 
Why couldn’t Amelia at least gotten those eyes? She may have had more breasts and hips than her mother, but she was too embarrassed by them to enjoy them. She’d rather look like her mom. Plus Valerie always knew what to say to people. She could chit chat about nothing. She could make them smile. She could even make them laugh. Everything was easy for her. How could she ever understand how awkward and embarrassing it would be to sit next to a boy she was half in love with, who she thought was gorgeous and maybe a little misunderstood, in a car while her brother necked with his girlfriend in the front seat? She wouldn’t know what to say or how to act. She knew he wouldn’t like her back. Everyone liked her mother.

    
Valerie smoothed her daughter’s hair back. “It’ll be better than sitting through a stuffy dinner party with a bunch of old people.”

    
Amelia didn’t say anything.

    
“I could help you pick out an outfit. Maybe we could do something special with your hair. What do you think?”

    
“Maybe.”

    
Valerie smiled. She wished she could trade places with the girl. Don’t get her wrong. She liked hosting dinner parties. It was as close to performing as she got these days. And she liked Doctors Venjamin and Henrick. But being chained by the responsibilities that went along with being married to a successful research assistant . . . it would be nice to dress up to feel good about yourself for once, to feel pretty, and not as a uniform. To have real friends for dinner to enjoy their company and not to further your husband’s career. To have the butterflies of new love again. Yes, she wished she could be Amelia. At least for one night.

    
Valerie looked out the window above the sink. Her husband and her son were smiling and laughing. But the sky was getting lighter minute by minute. She hated to wreck their fun. Yet sometimes it was as if she was the only adult.

    
She raised the window. “Alright boys! You better come in now or else you’re going to get burnt!” She watched her husband turn anxiously towards the horizon. “Don’t forget to bring the trash cans in from the curb!”