Vicki Goes to the Opera
Vicki looked at herself in the mirror as Henry yelled through the door, "Hurry up Vicki, the limo is here."
Vicki tugged at the neckline, frowned and yelled back, "Why order a limo? Why'd I agree to this and why didn't I start getting dressed sooner?"
Henry smiled at the slight note of panic in her voice and answered, "I didn't want to drive. You agreed to help me. I told you too, and you wanted to finish up some research.."
Vicki finally turned away from the mirror and said, "Close your eyes, I'm coming out. No! Keep'm open and don't laugh."
Vicki came out of the room wearing the dress he had given her a few nights ago. The red fabric clung to her every curve and the hem swayed gracefully in rhythm to each step. The vintage dress was from the 1930's, the shoes were modern and complemented the dress perfectly Vicki's hair was in an up sweep held in place by a single long pin encrusted with red rubies. Red ruby drops were at her ears. The only other piece of jewelry was a simple white gold band on the third finger of her left hand. Henry, a writer by profession had no words to describe how seeing Vicki made him feel. He stood there in his vintage tuxedo and held up a white fox cape. Vicki stood staring at him as he draped the cape over her shoulders. He nodded towards the door as she grabbed her beaded bag off the table and together they walked to the waiting limo.
Henry touched the ring on Vicki's finger, "Did you want some kind of formal ceremony?"
"No, who could we have invited? I never wanted a wedding. Mike tried to propose once, I stopped him before he could ask. My mom would make plans every time I started dating some one new. I quit telling her about the men I was seeing when I turned twenty. I sent her an e-mail a few weeks ago to let her know I was living with you. She's known your name for a long time. When the time's right, I'll tell her we eloped. There'll be a fight and tears but eventually she'll want to meet you. Then the question of grandchildren will come up. By the time she meets you in person we'll have a good story lined up."
"You know there was an arrangement and I found myself married at sixteen, but I had no idea what love could be until I met Christina. You know the rest of that story. Vicki, I'm so very grateful you are in my life now and forever."
"Henry." She turned to face him and placed her hand on his cheek. Sometimes words are not necessary and a simple touch could say it all.
They rode in silence to the Opera House. The building was a renovated vaudeville theater built in 1920's with all the art deco gaudiness of the period. It had gone thorough many face lifts over the years, changing as people's taste in entertainment changed. In the 1950's it had been modernized to accommodate wide screen movies like Ten Commandments, and BenHur. Later people didn't want to come to old, musty, outdated theaters. By the end of the 1960's the theater went dark. It stood alone, empty and deteriorating until some energetic people in the 1980's thought it had historical value, could be restored to is 1920 glory days and be used for live theater, bringing Broadway touring groups, dancers, and opera back to the general public. The idea took off and now the restored Opera House shown like a grand lady dressed up and waiting to greet her guests.
Henry enjoyed live theater of any form. The color, the energy of the audience, and the young actors, singers, dancers that poured their souls into every performance. He liked looking at people, their faces and sensing their anticipation before a curtain went up. He liked listening to the comments of those around him when they talked of the current show or shows from the past. He would nod his head in agreement or disagreement. These were the moments that had brought peace to Henry over his long years. If anywhere close by, Henry always ended up going to the theater. He could, depending on the show, drift from century to century in his mind and review the best parts of his past.
Henry guided Vicki down the center isle of the theater to the dress circle row of seats. He always bought the best seats for the theater. The crowd noticed the perfect couple as they walked and admired their clothes and the way they moved. The two of them looked like a moment out of time. Dressed in vintage clothing, walking with old world grace into a theater that had been restored its former glory.
As they passed each row there was a collective sigh. People thought to themselves that the sight of this young couple was worth the price of the tickets. Henry noted where the two women that were causing him his current grief were sitting, he heard their squirming movements and smelled their scent of excitement as he passed. He also heard the hissing sound as they saw Vicki on his arm. "Well good," he thought, "that might be the end of the problem."
Vicki heard the beating heart of each person present, then noticed one that was just a little off. She had heard that rhythm before. It was the heartbeat of a guilty man in an interrogation room. She focused on that and pushed other sounds from her mind. She then smelled the perfumes, deodorants, lotions, creams, and aftershaves of what seem like a million people. She isolated the smell of fear that went with the guilty heartbeat. She had seen something when they first came in, the cop made note of it without a conscious thought. With the smell, and the heartbeat she knew she would have something to investigate at intermission. Vicki had the smile of a very self confident woman as she allowed Henry to guide her to their seats.
Vicki tried very hard to appear to be enjoying an opera she didn't understand and Henry appreciated her effort. During the intermission, Vicki excused herself and left Henry standing in the isle alone. She was gone less than 10 minutes and when she returned, she saw Henry standing between two hissing women. He appeared very uncomfortable. He made eye contact with Vicki and used his eyes to beg her to join him. Vicki, taking advantage of an entrance, walked like a queen toward Henry, nodded at the two women and leaned forward for a kiss on the cheek. Henry leaning forward to oblige noted a drop of blood in the corner of Vicki's mouth and flicked it off with his tongue while he whispered, "You will explain."
"Yes dear. Explanations are part of the rules."
"Ladies, may I present my wife Victoria Fitzroy."
The women and Vicki looked stunned. The women because they each had separate plans for a long and fruitful relationship with the very rich and very sexy Henry Fitzroy. Vicki was stunned because she heard her married name for the first time. A few, more or less polite words later, the women returned to their seats and they took theirs.
At the end of the show, after applause and curtain calls the theater goers returned to cars, cabs, limos and went on their merry way.
Henry handed Vicki into the limo and slid in beside her. Neither said a word on the drive home.
Henry closed the door of the house quietly behind them, then allowed his hunger and anger to rise, eyes darken and fangs elongate. He growled "EXPLAIN!"
"Oh pull back the fangs. I played by the rules tonight."
"You fed in my territory."
"Just a little snack and there was a good reason."
Henry fought down the hunger and anger. He knew this was a testing point in their relationship. It either worked now or it never would work. "I am listening."
"Henry you know I was a cop for over ten years and then a private detective for nine months before we met."
"Yes, that is another one of those things you keep reminding me of."
"Tonight I was dressed beautifully, and because of the way you looked at me, I felt beautiful inside. But I am always a cop. When we walked in I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I made a mental note of it, then as we were going down the isle I heard the heartbeat and smelled the scent of guilt. During the intermission I went to look for the man I saw, heard and smelled. I found him trying to pick more pockets. That's what he was doing when we first came in, picking pockets. I noticed it because of the lose clothing, his rapid heart beat and his smell of fear. I took particular offense because he seemed to be working the elderly. I got as close to him as I could and made a suggestion. He followed me into a dark corner, I pressed him close to a wall, made some threats, gave him a little pain, and took a quick bite. Then I told him to turn the items into the box office, go home, and change his pants. I also told him to give up a life of crime because he wasn't good at it. Henry I fed from my food choice not yours."
Henry sat there took in the information and had to agree Vicki had not broken any of the territorial feeding rules.
"Well, I guess if I had planned better, I could have ducked both women and had a snack myself. Thanks for doing such a good job of making the women realize they had no chance with me. By that I mean with such a perfect wife, why should I look outside my own bedroom? VeeVee lets get ready for sunrise."
"VeeVee! What does that stand for this time?"
"Vigilant Victoria." He reached over pulled the pin from her hair, watched it slowly unwind, and fall to her shoulders.
She reached out her hand placed it against his cheek, smiled and thought, "I've got to love that man of mine."