Dinner Between Friends
Nikola was definitely not himself during dinner, Helen thought. He asked her for her thoughts on some of his latest findings and on whether a change in methodology would help. He actually listened to her responses, treating her like a colleague. She barely noticed his typical arrogance. She thought back to their days up at Oxford when she was quite taken with a certain brilliant young foreigner who blew off tutorials and lectures but wowed his instructors with his weekly papers. Nikola had disdain for the institution once he no longer felt challenged. Of course he had received a First upon graduating, but so had they all.
He regaled her with humourous stories from the past sixty years. His acerbic wit was on display as he provided his interpretation of the Korean War, Vietnam, the Cuban missile crisis, Watergate, and then the Lewinsky affair. He had her in stitches as he first pantomimed Nixon's denials and then imitated Clinton's responses to the Congressional hearings. Helen noticed that he carefully omitted certain periods and events.
The dinners continued for the remainder of the week; they alternated in choosing the evening meals and cooked together. Helen grew accustomed to long evenings together. The wine cellar would need replenishing, but Helen was enjoying herself too much to begrudge him some of her better vintages.
Nikola proved himself to be an excellent cook, not that she was surprised. As long as he did not trumpet his many abilities, be they physical or mental, she was happy to compliment him.
Nikola too found these evenings delightful and the highlight of his days. He had loved Helen from the beginning, but he had also respected her keen intellect. He further admired her general compassion and her resulting work at the Sanctuary to help all abnormals. Also, she had not given up on him, despite some rather stupid things that he had done.
"She is my only real friend," Nikola reflected morosely, staring at his wine. "Would that James were still with us. Not even our combined intellect could stop him from ageing."
Helen paused in the middle of recounting her trip with Ashley that had involved collecting some Nubbins. She noticed that Nikola was no longer listening but had retreated into his own world. She looked at him with a mixture of fondness and pity. Nikola did not notice.
Friday night marked their last evening together before the children and the big guy returned. To celebrate this last dinner alone together, Helen invited Nikola to watch a DVD with her. He had mentioned that he had missed the London performance of Les Troyens to tag along with her to eastern Africa. Helen knew the artistic director of the company, and she had managed to get a copy of the performance. While the taped performance could not compare to live, Helen thought that the big guy's new TV and sound system would do it justice.
"Nikola loves the opera because it is as melodramatic as he is, especially Berlioz," Helen smiled as she opened the special delivery packaging containing the DVD.
Nikola accepted her invitation, looking relieved that the evening was not coming to an end as the others had, with him spending the evening between dinner and bedtime alone with his thoughts. While he really did not need sleep as a vampire, he had routinely kept the practice so as not to raise questions or to stand out.
Helen settled into the couch, thinking that the big guy had good taste in creature comforts. Nikola sat an arm's length away from her with his back ramrod straight. "You're not sitting an exam," she giggled as she pulled him closer. "Pretend we are back at Oxford," she directed. While Nikola needed no encouragement, he was careful not to overstep the boundaries as he understood them. Flirting with Helen and getting rejected was one thing, but this situation was fraught with perils.
Nikola thoroughly enjoyed the performance. Helen was pleased and relaxed into his arms. She fell asleep as the fourth act began.
Helen woke to silence. The performance was long over and a screen saver danced over the screen. The faint hum of the speakers could also be heard. She felt safe and comfortable. In her sleep she had snuggled into Nikola's chest. His head rested on top of hers and her hand was in his. His breathing was quiet, and she mused about whether he was asleep. He was pleasantly cool, and his chest provided just the right amount of cushioning.
Nikola for his part was enjoying the soft form of Helen in his arms. He awoke as soon as she stirred but he remained still, not wanting to break the moment. Her body was pressed to his and he felt the old attraction flare, more so now that they had spent so much time together. His body reacted to her presence, but he quickly stifled his arousal. "Ah, control, yet another benefit of my vamp side," he thought. He did not want to scare off Helen, although he thought smugly, he could certainly satisfy her, both before and definitely after becoming a vampire, but her thoughts on this were unclear. Indeed, the direction of the whole week was unclear to Nikola.
"Have we been dating, courting, or merely hanging out as friends like back at Oxford?" Nikola wondered.
He did not really care at the moment, as he had Helen pressed against him. She had fallen back asleep. He doubted that he would sleep anymore that evening, as he did not want to miss a moment of this wonderful sensory experience. He kissed the top of her head and inhaled deeply to memorize her feminine scent for the inevitable lonely days ahead.
The big guy found Helen and Nikola intertwined in front of the TV the next morning. They looked at peace. He was not surprised – he knew that Nikola, underneath his flirting bravado, cared deeply for Helen. He had not been sure about Helen's feelings, but her comments about Nikola's near death had suggested that she too might feel something for Nikola. The big guy was happy that Will, Kate and Henry would not return until that evening. While they might be as pleased for Helen as he was, he knew that all were prone to making light of things and could say something to upset this budding relationship. The big guy quietly withdrew and left the couple in peace.
Helen slowly woke to sunshine warming her face. She opened her eyes to find Nikola staring intently at her, his lips curved into a gentle smile. "He is so beautiful," she thought as she stared into his large, expressive eyes. As she became more awake, she struggled with the unfamiliar surroundings. She then remembered the past evening's events. Unnerved, she got up quickly, relieved that no one else was around. She mumbled about needing to get to work and about inspecting new containment areas in preparation for arriving abnormals. Nikola would have liked more time, but he hid his unhappiness well, being accustomed to it over the many years of loving the great Helen Magnus. He had watched her with John and then with his dear friend James.
The children returned that day, and Nikola no longer had his precious Helen to himself.
