Chapter 689: A Different Time, Part 3
Oren woke early the next morning. He could feel the sun outside, hear the wind howl, as turbulent as his thoughts.
He looked to where Etsuko slept next to him, her body still; the sleep of the immortal. With no coven to speak of, they'd copied Jorick and made a bedroom in the basement, leaving Xandria and the children with rooms upstairs. Etsuko hadn't complained about the coffins, but seeing her climb into one each night-for the first time in his life it seemed an odd custom. He'd purchased a bed, and linens, though it meant more laundry.
We should get some servants.
Not that Etsuko would agree. He'd mentioned it - until three years ago he'd always had human servants to handle the mundane tasks - but Etsuko had insisted it was unnecessary.
"The coven that raised you had servants," he reminded her. "Not just humans, but lower ranked vampires."
"Yes, but it was a large coven. We are only one family."
"Not yet a family," imaginary Jesslynn reminded him. "You're living in sin. You're not a family until-"
Not until he figured out how to propose.
He ran through the checklist Katelina had given him. The perfect place. Would Etsuko want to travel somewhere? They could leave the children with Xandria for a few days and drive - no. He wouldn't trust Xandria with a dog, let alone children. She'd go on a date and forget to come home, or she'd feed them ice cream for dinner because that was what they asked for. Besides, he wasn't sure Etsuko would be willing to part with them. Jesslynn had never been far from hers. He remembered when they'd gone to Jorick's wedding to Velnya and left the children behind. Jesslynn had fussed nonstop, worrying about whether they were being cared for, whether they were all right, whether they missed her.
So the perfect place would be somewhere we could take a pair of mortal three year olds.
He decided to come back to the place later. What was next? Softening her up? They'd suggested a gift, something she'd pointed out, but no ideas came to mind. Last month she'd commented on a pair of earrings, but he'd already given them to her. The same with the books she'd pointed out the week before, and the bracelet she'd admired the week before that. Five days ago she'd expressed her appreciation of a coat in a catalog, and it was already on the way. She didn't know he'd ordered it, so perhaps he could use that?
Imaginary Jesslynn scoffed. "A coat is not a romantic gift, even if has a faux fur collar."
She wasn't real, but she was right. What else had the article suggested? Poetry. He had books of poetry in the library, though he wasn't sure he could trust himself to read one aloud well. Flowers had been the other suggestion. That would be easy enough. With winter, the sun sank early, and this time of year every establishment in the nearby towns hawked roses, to cash in on the Valentine's Day madness.
At least that's decided.
As for the method, the dancing seemed the best. He thought he remembered how to waltz and - but did Etsuko know how? It hadn't come up, and he realized they had never danced together. A courtship without dancing. What an odd world they lived in.
Assuming she could dance, he'd need to find music, but that largely depended on the place. He could hardly drag a phonograph on vacation.
He sat up and planted his feet on the floor. In his mind he could see inside the nightstand drawer, see to the little velvet box. When he'd proposed to Jesslynn, he'd used his mother's ring, but that had been lost when she died. He supposed it was just as well. Could he really give a second wife the same ring?
"You mean my ring. And no, you cannot. Not that the new one is very good."
He couldn't argue with that. He'd purchased the best he could find, but he wasn't happy with it. It lacked-workmanship. And the salesman had insisted it must be a diamond. "A woman always expects a diamond engagement ring. Anything else and she'll be disappointed."
Jesslynn wasn't, he thought bitterly. And neither was my mother. The purple gem was good enough for them.
But then, it was a different time.
Hopefully it's good enough.
***
Later that evening, Oren sat under the twins, finishing a storybook, when the front door banged open. Xandria's scent - the peculiar mix of humanity, cigarettes, and cheap perfume - filled the room, so he didn't bother to look up.
The children were not so serene. Both broke into grins and wriggled their way to the floor, chirping, "Shandra! Shandra!"
"Aw, hello, kiddies. And what have you been doing?"
"Papa read a story!"
"That sounds exciting." Xandria wandered over to the chair and leaned on the back, so that her breath puffed across the top of Oren's head. "Let me guess, it's the one with the train."
"Yes." He snapped the book closed and stood. "I assume your date went well."
She tossed her red hair over her shoulder and laughed. Something in the gesture reminded him of his sister, though Xandria lacked her elegance. "It was a girl's night out, not a date!"
The woman also lacked Torina's taste in clothing. The sequined tank top was worn carelessly, one strap off her shoulder, and her pants were skin tight. Something to do with yoka, or a similar word. She wore too much jewelry; a cluster of necklaces at her throat, half an arm of bangle bracelets and several rings. She and Etsuko had very little in common, but, maybe-
He sent the kids to find their mother, and followed Xandria upstairs. She noticed him in the hallway and stopped to give him a discerning look. "Yeah?"
He drew himself up. He could do this. "I need to have a word with you."
Xandria narrowed heavily made up eyes. "Uh, huh."
He had a flash of her thoughts; fangs and blood, heat, a moan- "Nothing like that!" He stepped away quickly, trying to push the disturbing images from his mind.
"Oh."
She didn't bother to hide her disappointment, and he stepped back further. If she was this easy for him to read, she'd be just as easy for Etsuko. The surprise would be ruined. "Never mind."
He backed away, but Xandria advanced. "No, wait. What did you want?"
He saw the glimmer of a thought: she was going to ask Etsuko what was going on. Wonderful. He grabbed for the first thing that came to mind. "We were discussing-education options for the twins. You've been to school more recently, and understand children's culture. Could they manage?"
"Oh." She sagged a little. "Is that all? I mean, yeah, I went to school, but not here. I'm from South Africa, you know."
No, he didn't, but it hardly mattered.
She went on. "Though, it's probably not any different. We had loner kids, you know? Any one of them could have had vampire parents and I'd have never known about it. They got picked on some. But everyone gets picked on. Even I got made fun of over my name. But there's parent/teacher stuff, and school plays, and all that crap. You'd have to work out how to get out of it. Though I guess if it's in the evening you'd be okay."
She went on, but Oren stopped listening. He cursed Jorick for ever suggesting he talk to her about it. Hadn't Jorick thought about the mind reading implications?
Probably not. It isn't as if he spends time with Xandria.
The woman paused for air, and Oren used it as an excuse to escape. She called after him, "Any time!" but he didn't acknowledge it.
Instead of leaving her with the kids for a week, I should send her to Jorick. It would be a vacation for me and serve him right.
