"Mina Harker, Best Western please hold." Click. "Mina Harker, can you hold just one second?" click back over to line two. "Hello sir? About that discounted suite package.." she rolled back in her rolly chair to the cubby she had designated for the upcoming Holiday specials and got out the paper work. "Yes, I pulled a few strings and you can get that extra day!" the person on the other end of the phone sounded more than pleased. "So I can put you down for October 21st to the 27th? Fantastic! See you then." Click back over to line one. "Best Western front desk, thank you for holding!" Mina listened intently looking at her nails. "Oh dont be embarrassed Mr. Smith, people ask for plungers all the time. I will get Lucy on it right away." She pulled the phone away from her ear and leaned back to get the attention of housekeeping. "Luce, room 117."
Lucy Westenra crinkled her nose at the eye notion her friend was giving her towards the plungers. "Oh Mina please not again!" Lucy mouthed to her friend almost begging. It wasn't so much taking them to the rooms but bringing them back. "Get up there!" Mina mouthed back pointing. Lucy grunted in submission, grabbed a plunger and headed up to room 117, cussing her friend out in Spanish.
Mina laughed and sat back in her seat, her hand lingered on a gold framed picture, carefully she drew it from her desk to get a better look. She hummed in fond memory. "My little Johnnycake." Mina had taken the shot before her nephew went backpacking up in Transylvania three years ago and now he had a wife and son she had never even met. Fine thing, you raise a kid only to have them drop off the face of the earth, only hearing from them every now and again. Mina sighed and sat back again.
"Gringa." Lucy said indicating that she was back from her endeavor. "How was that date I set you up with last night?" Lucy leaned against the desk waiting for a reply.
"Awful!" Mina replied sorting some room keys. Lucy threw her head back in frustration. "What was wrong with this one Mina?"
Mina shuffled some paperwork now with a nervous laugh as honey blonde hair fell lazily in her face. "There was nothing really wrong- wrong, we just didnt click."
Lucy's face hit her palm. "You with the clicking! What are you a remote?"
Mina chuckled again. "Luce, you've known me all your life, I cant just go out and date three guys like you. There has to be a spark, a connection, a…" there was a long pause as finally an envelope fell into her hands, addressed to her from Transylvania. "Zing…"
Mina ripped open the envelope and found inside an invitation to a 3rd birthday party on the 25th for baby Ren and inscribed on the bottom were the words "Please come Auntie Mina, love and miss you, Johnny."
Mina shot up from the chair and hugged Lucy with happy tears in her eyes. Lucy was puzzled by the sudden outburst and hung her arms limply. "Jury duty again?" she asked.
"No, no." Mina whimpered pulling away, dabbing tears away and handing Lucy the invite. "Look Luce, its Johnny! He wants to see me! he wants me to meet my great nephew! I'M GOING TO TRAYSNLVANIA!"
- .
Well that information was only privy to four people; Mina Harker the recipient, Lucy who over heard, little Ren who had sealed the letter with a kiss and his mother Mavis.
Mavis had hoped that some of the invites had reached Johnny's side of the family. She knew that her dad was going to make her son's birthday a huge affair with all the works of a mad monster party, but Ren had human family too. I mean the last thing Mavis wanted was Ren to be as shut off from the world as she was; so she would start small with a few relatives. Relatives are always excepting right?
Mavis looked at the taped picture of Johnny and the auntie who adopted him. She had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck one hand in his mess of hair. She looked more like a mother than an aunt and just like a mother should look. Kind and pretty and normal.
Ren reached a tiny hand out towards the picture himself. "Auntie! Auntie!" he cooed. "That's right Renny." Mavis confirmed with a fanged grin. "But we can't tell daddy or grandpa that Auntie might come. We don't want to get mommy in trouble."
Don't want to get mommy in trouble indeed. The last time a human had come to the hotel her dad flipped and if this worked she didn't need any pre-flipping along with the normal flipping that would happen. Mavis would wait till the relatives showed up and then her dad would have no choice but to be hospitable!
"Baby Mavy?" her dad's voice echoed just as the phone rang. Mavis leaped up, putting Ren on the floor. She had made sure that all calls for her were forwarded to that particular room in case it was an unexpected RSVP. "Here dad, hold this." Mavis said flatly, absentmindedly handing off the picture of Johnny's Auntie to her father as she picked up the phone. "Hello Mavis Harker speaking."
Drac held the picture dumbly; it took him a moment to realize just what he was looking at; then he realized Mavis must have been going through Johnny's backpack. The lady in the picture looked happy, truly happy, freckles and dimpled cheeks like Johnny. But her eyes, her eyes were the only thing that betrayed her. he had seen those eyes before…
"Dude you found my Aunt Mina!" an enthused voice called him back to reality as the picture was snatched away. "I thought she was lost, or the picture anyway."
"Your Aunt is lovely. Perhaps a little skinny but lovely." Drac commented before musing the name in his head. "Mina."
"Hello Mavis Harker speaking." Mina's heart stopped at the sound of a feminine voice answering her call. She pulled the payphone away from her ear and silently screamed in excitement, jumping up and down. This voice, this voice was so far everything she had wanted for her Johnny; a wife, someone to take his name and love him. She never had that…and she was ok with it, but Johnny. "Hello?" the voice said again.
Ok, ok Mina pull it together… "Um yes hello, this is Mina Harker calling to RSVP for Ren's party." Mina bite her lip as there was silence on the other end for what seemed like forever. Was she too formal? Did she sound cold? Oh my goodness what if she had sounded cold?
"Holy Rabies, Aunt Mina! My first conversation with an in law!" the voice squeaked before taking a deep breath. "ok, ok! I hope I don't mess this up! Holy rabies."
Mina breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh my goodness you have no idea how happy I am that you're nervous." She stated awkwardly before bumbling. "Not that I want you to be nervous. Being nervous is uncomfortable and I would know because I am nervous, now…I'm nervous now, I mean there is so much pressure on first conversations between in laws and Johnny is the only family I really have that's close and eish not helping Mina! Welcome to the family by the way, heh!"
Mina kicked herself mentally and the voice on the other end laughed. "Thanks, Ren and I are super excited to meet you, I mean if you decide to come, I mean you haven't said yes yet, I mean. Now I'm not helping." Mavis obviously sounded young and fun; just what she would have expected for Johnny.
Mina winced. "Is it a little presumptuous that I'm at the airport now waiting to board?" she paused twisting the cord around her finger. "I um had traveler miles and not a lot to pack…."
"Chica! Hey chica!" the familiar clack of heels racing across the airport floor accompanied by a rolling suitcase got Mina's attention. "Luce is coming too!"
Mina pulled the phone away from her ear as her lifelong friend caught up to her with an impressive amount of luggage and a big hat upon straight long black hair. "Lucy what the heck are you doing?"
Lucy flipped her hair over her shoulder and Mina noted that her friend was in nothing but a Hawaiian swimsuit cover and a colorful French cut one piece. "What? You think I'm going to let you soak up all the sun while I stay behind and fetch plungers?"
"You do realize I'm not going to Hawaii right?" Mina stated with her jaw dropped.
"oh I love Hawaii!" Mavis' muffled voice called Mina back to the task at hand, she scrambled to get the phone back to her ear and Lucy positioned herself to listen in quite imposingly.
"So is it ok that I'm early?" Mina pressed with hope.
Mavis knew only one answer. "Of course Auntie Mina!"
I totally would love to see Drew Barrymore play opposite Adam Sandler's Drac in the cannon Mina Harker x Dracula ship from the original
that would be so magical! Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates adorableness in a cartoon. Maybe have some of Johnny's family visit the hotel and all the monsters have to act like humans and Mina just happens to be Johnny's Auntie Mina
