White Hair

Vicki came down to her office for the staff meeting and found Mike sitting in the waiting room with his feet on the coffee table, reading a six month old magazine that Lana had placed there. "Hey Vic, any more of those cheese curls and a beer?"

Vicki, happy and exasperated that Mike was hanging around evenings said, "Get your feet off the table. They're up stairs. Yell before you open the door, Henry's in a bad mood." Vicki had just left him staring in a mirror grumbling about his looks.

Mike bounded up the stairs and opened the door yelling, "I'm getting my cheese curls and a beer."

Henry came into the kitchen as Mike closed the door. "Tell me what you think. Should I keep the white hair or color it?"

Mike almost choked on a cheese curl, "You know your nuts right? Senile? Gone round the bend?" He popped another curl into his mouth and opened his beer, held up both and said, "Thanks," and left Henry standing there without answering the question of hair color.

Back with Vicki, Mike looked around and didn't see her agents. He held out the bag of curls and rattled it in offering, "He's still a little off. Talking about coloring his hair."

Vicki grabbed the long neck bottle of beer instead and took a sip. "You try living with a vain, 500 year old vampire. He's feeling better physically, but the hair thing is really bugging him. What did you say?"

Henry was standing in the doorway, wearing a baseball cap with his hair tucked up and under. "He didn't."

Mike and Vicki both stood with mouths open. Henry leaned against the door jam, "Close your mouths, your drawing flies. Damn it Vicki, tell me what you think."

"Henry, I love you with every part of my being, but I'll go to the grave without answering that question." She walked over, touched the bill of the hat and kissed his lips. "You look cute in the hat."

He crossed his arms and sulked, "I don't want cute. I want me back"

Mike took a sip of beer, smiled and said, "Age catches up with everyone. Take it like a man."

Henry pushed off from the jam and shoved his hands in his pockets, "If I want to hear from you I'll ask."

Mike shrugged his shoulder looking at Vicki , "See I told ya, senile." Looking to Henry, "You did ask me. Up stairs. Forget already?"

Vicki started laughing and gave Mike a jab, "You're not helping. Take your cheese curls, beer, and go home."

Mike rattled the bag, saluted with the bottle, tapped the cap's bill, said "Cute Hank," and walked out the front door as Jamus and Lana came in. "Watch it. Royce is grumpy."

Henry leaned toward Vicki and said under his breath, "One bite. Just one bite. Carotid artery. Please?" He kissed her cheek and went out the back door to wait for Vicki. He still didn't feel like hunting alone, so Vicki would join him once she talked with Jamus and Lana. He paced in the darkness, flexing his knees and twisting his back in an effort to test his joints. Physically, he was coming back and the vampire grew stronger each night.

Vicki discussed the plan for the night and told her staff she would be back in about an hour. She and Royce were going out for a late snack.

Henry frowned at Vicki as she joined him, "I'm not vain, am I?"

Vicki pulled the cap off his head and ran her fingers through his hair. "You have a right to be."

He took the cap and shoved it in his back pocket. "I'm not so sure anymore. I look in the mirror ans see spots on my face and white in my hair. Then a joint creaks, and I am reminded of the passage of time. I don't like it."

Vicki placed a hand on each side of Henry's face and allowed the thumbs to trace the path of freckles across his nose and under his eyes. She remembered their one day in the sun that had put them there.

"My dear Henry." Vicki stopped speaking and slid her hands to the back of his head bringing his face closer. She kissed first the left then the right cheek, then the tip of his nose. She kissed his lips when he started smiling then started speaking again, "These aren't spots, they're fairy kisses. Your hair streaked with white makes you look distinguished. I know you ache but there's nothing I can do about that."

He looked up into the night sky and said, "I want to look and feel like me again. I've stayed the same for centuries. What happened to me wasn't fair."

Vicki stepped back a little and thought about Henry. His aging had stopped when he was 17. The centuries since the beginning of the vampire life added about 5 years to his looks but was so slow that he would not have seen the changes happen. One catastrophic event caused him to age hundreds of vampire years overnight. He lost the look of youth, the feel of a youthful body, and his vampire gifts went into deep hiding.

The look and feel of a younger self was coming back slowly. The vampire was making its self felt. The first rapid changes back toward normal had him anticipating that he would be just as he was before, within a few nights, but that hadn't been the case. It had been over three months since the explosion in the park and Henry, stabilized looking like a man in his late 30's. A touch of white at the temples, an ache or two in his joints and the loss of the rosy complexion of youth reminded him nightly of his losses.

"Aging is not fair to anyone Henry, but the alternative is deadly. I can't change anything. I was hoping my love was enough." She walked into the darkness not waiting to see if he would follow.

He closed the gap and together they walked in silence. He reached out his hand and grasped hers. "You once said age kicked beauty's ass. My ass got a beauty of a kick. Your love is more than enough for me." He pulled her close and gave her a resounding kiss that left them both panting for air.