tighter. It had been a lovely night. Peachy had filled the house with flowers and candles, chilled a bottle of French champagne, and cued up enough Al Green CDs to last as long as they did. Abbie laughed with pleasure at his careful preparations for her visit. Afterfour years, he was still seducing her like they were on a first date. Peachy took foreplay to mean everything from the evening’s sound track to what part of Abbie he wanted to touch first.
“Tell me what you want,” he had whispered when they slid into bed, and she knew he meant it, so she did.
Somehow, it didn’t seem like the right moment to start talking about vampires in West End, so she decided to wait until morning. But she definitely wanted him to know before Louie Baptiste got there. The problem was she still hadn’t thought of a good opening line for what she had to say.
Hey, sweetie, you know the myth of Dracula, right? Well what if I told you
… Or:
Hey, darlin’, guess what’s spending some time with Blue and Regina in West End?
There didn’t seem to be a casual way to say it and she knew she had only a few more minutes to rack her brain before Peachy got up and came looking where he knew she could usually be found. The clouds had rolled in thick overnight and it already smelled like rain. She loved the beach in any kind of weather and Peachy did, too. She walked several miles every afternoon, and Peachy went with her as far as his bad knee would let him. They had some of their best conversations walking on that beach. She wished they were walking on it now. Maybe that would make it easier to say what she had to say.
Then she heard Peachy’s voice calling her from downstairs. “Up here, darlin’!” she called back.
He arrived with two mugs of hot coffee. “Did I miss it?” he said, handing her an Obama ’08 mug and taking the other one for himself, as he settled into the rocker beside her.
“I don’t think there’s going to be much to see this morning,” she said.
“There’s always something to see if you know how to look,” he said, smiling and pulling his chair over a little closer. “A lady friend of mine taught me that.”
Abbie smiled back at him and took a sip of the hot coffee. “She sounds like a very wise woman.”
“She is,” he said, reaching over to squeeze her hand. “Sexy, too.”
The sun broke over the horizon but was immediately enveloped in the low-hanging clouds. The mist was so heavy, she knew that in another minute or two it would probably turn to rain.
“Should we go in?” she said.
He looked at her. “Listen, sweet thing,” he said gently, squeezing her hand again, “why don’t you tell me what’s worrying you so I won’t get paranoid and think it’s me.”
“Oh, no,” Abbie said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “It could never be you!”
“Good, then I can relax. So what is it then?”
Several weak little rays of sunshine were trying to pierce through the clouds but were getting nowhere fast. Abbie decided to just blurt it out, straight no chaser.
“Blue says there are some vampires roaming around West End.”
“Vampires?”
Abbie nodded miserably.
Peachy took a deep breath. “You mean like
Dracula
?”
“Sort of like that,” she said, “but they don’t …” She didn’t even want to think about it, much less say it. “They don’t have to
hurt
anybody. They drink tomato juice.”
“Tomato juice instead of …” Peachy didn’t want to say it, either.
“They’re not dangerous, Blue says. At least as far as he knows.”
Peachy took a long swallow of his coffee. There was no pre-agreed upon length of time to be taken when absorbing information such as this, so Abbie didn’t rush him.
“I think I’ve adjusted pretty well to you and Blue and the whole past-lives thing,” Peachy said, after several long minutes ticked by. “But I gotta tell you, sweet thing, vampires are a whole other kind of thing.”
“Tell me about it.”
“What do they
“Tell me what you want,” he had whispered when they slid into bed, and she knew he meant it, so she did.
Somehow, it didn’t seem like the right moment to start talking about vampires in West End, so she decided to wait until morning. But she definitely wanted him to know before Louie Baptiste got there. The problem was she still hadn’t thought of a good opening line for what she had to say.
Hey, sweetie, you know the myth of Dracula, right? Well what if I told you
… Or:
Hey, darlin’, guess what’s spending some time with Blue and Regina in West End?
There didn’t seem to be a casual way to say it and she knew she had only a few more minutes to rack her brain before Peachy got up and came looking where he knew she could usually be found. The clouds had rolled in thick overnight and it already smelled like rain. She loved the beach in any kind of weather and Peachy did, too. She walked several miles every afternoon, and Peachy went with her as far as his bad knee would let him. They had some of their best conversations walking on that beach. She wished they were walking on it now. Maybe that would make it easier to say what she had to say.
Then she heard Peachy’s voice calling her from downstairs. “Up here, darlin’!” she called back.
He arrived with two mugs of hot coffee. “Did I miss it?” he said, handing her an Obama ’08 mug and taking the other one for himself, as he settled into the rocker beside her.
“I don’t think there’s going to be much to see this morning,” she said.
“There’s always something to see if you know how to look,” he said, smiling and pulling his chair over a little closer. “A lady friend of mine taught me that.”
Abbie smiled back at him and took a sip of the hot coffee. “She sounds like a very wise woman.”
“She is,” he said, reaching over to squeeze her hand. “Sexy, too.”
The sun broke over the horizon but was immediately enveloped in the low-hanging clouds. The mist was so heavy, she knew that in another minute or two it would probably turn to rain.
“Should we go in?” she said.
He looked at her. “Listen, sweet thing,” he said gently, squeezing her hand again, “why don’t you tell me what’s worrying you so I won’t get paranoid and think it’s me.”
“Oh, no,” Abbie said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “It could never be you!”
“Good, then I can relax. So what is it then?”
Several weak little rays of sunshine were trying to pierce through the clouds but were getting nowhere fast. Abbie decided to just blurt it out, straight no chaser.
“Blue says there are some vampires roaming around West End.”
“Vampires?”
Abbie nodded miserably.
Peachy took a deep breath. “You mean like
Dracula
?”
“Sort of like that,” she said, “but they don’t …” She didn’t even want to think about it, much less say it. “They don’t have to
hurt
anybody. They drink tomato juice.”
“Tomato juice instead of …” Peachy didn’t want to say it, either.
“They’re not dangerous, Blue says. At least as far as he knows.”
Peachy took a long swallow of his coffee. There was no pre-agreed upon length of time to be taken when absorbing information such as this, so Abbie didn’t rush him.
“I think I’ve adjusted pretty well to you and Blue and the whole past-lives thing,” Peachy said, after several long minutes ticked by. “But I gotta tell you, sweet thing, vampires are a whole other kind of thing.”
“Tell me about it.”
“What do they
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