Chapter 52:
Sorry it's short but I really am trying to keep a decent schedule now!
Larten slowly undid the wrapping paper to reveal a small box.
"You're slow, hurry up!" Brigid said impatiently.
Larten popped off the lid and saw a silver case with a red jewel on one side and a green one on the other. He looked up confused. Why would they have gotten him a cigarette case?
"Here. Open this one and it'll make sense." Erin tossed another gift into his lap.
He quickly removed the paper to reveal a fresh deck of playing cards. Cards…case…oh.
"It's a custom case to hold playing cards in, genius." Brigid huffed.
"I knew that." Larten snapped as he lifted the case to inspect it more closely. His name had been inscribed on the front in a fancy script and the initials 'E' and 'B' were on the back. He noticed the significance of the red and green jewels on either side and turned his head towards Erin.
"Thank you." Was all he could sincerely say.
Erin shrugged her bare shoulders, the Christmas lights playing across her skin and black sweater. "Thought you might like it. We wanted to give you something to remember us by. And it consists of both utility and elegance, two of your favorite traits." She nudged him in the arm.
Larten flipped the cards into the air doing his best displays of sleight of hand before snapping his fingers and closing them within the case with a click. He grinned and bowed his head as Erin and Brigid clapped, laughing.
Brigid and Erin exchanged gifts, Erin receiving a set of lip gloss (Brigid finally replacing all the ones she had borrowed and lost!) and a dusky pink spaghetti strap V-neck chiffon dress with a floral print that fell right to Erin's knees. Erin gushed and Brigid bragged she had bought it at some department store sale. Brigid was given a new pair of running shoes that she had been eyeing for forever and a nice set of rhinestone silver hoop earrings with matching bangles. Brigid immediately put the earrings on and took a picture of herself on her phone to see how they looked.
"Ugh, these are so great, I love them!" She clicked a few more selfies. She then turned her phone towards Erin.
"Smile!"
Erin flashed a silly smile. Brigid then turned her phone towards Larten before lowering it.
"Oh, right. Vampires don't show up in photographs. Sorry. Forgot. Hey, take a picture of me and Erin, though." She put the phone in his hand and showed him which button to click. He was still amazed at the quick advancements in technology. It went against vampire nature but human progress was human progress.
He hit the button multiple times and handed the phone awkwardly back to Brigid. She swiped through them and picked the best one showing it to Erin.
"That one's not too bad." She agreed.
"Can we have more hot chocolate with schnapps?" Brigid asked, taking off her bracelets and earrings and placing them back into the box.
"Yeah, that sounds good right about now." Erin went to stand up but Larten stopped her.
"You still have one more gift to open." He said.
Erin and Brigid looked at each other as Larten flit to his cloak and back in a split second. He sat back down and handed each of them a single gift. He cleared his throat.
"I am afraid I am not very good at knowing what proper gifts to purchase but I hope that these will suffice." He mumbled.
Erin and Brigid shared a glance once more before slowly opening their respective boxes. Inside of Brigid's was a small leather-bound journal.
"For your equations." Larten mumbled again.
Brigid opened it and took a sniff causing the vampire to look at her oddly.
"What? I love the smell of new paper. Thank you. This is pretty great, I feel important like 'ooh, she has a leather-bound journal, she must be an intellectual.'" Brigid laughed as she leaned over and gave Larten a big hug. This startled him but he managed to awkwardly pat her back before she pulled away.
They both then looked at Erin. A small antique trinket box was in her hands. She opened it and the tinkling of Clair de Lune began to play. It would only be able to fit a few items and Erin now had the perfect place to store her necklace in safely.
"Wow, that's really pretty." Brigid said, gently taking it from Erin's hands to look it over. "It's beautiful." She opened the lid to hear the music play again.
"It's perfect." Erin said placing a tender, chaste kiss against the side of his mouth.
The corners of his mouth twitched up. "I am glad you like it."
Brigid handed back the trinket box to Erin and stood up snapping her fingers.
"Time for more hot chocolate and one more Christmas movie!"
Erin stood up and stretched. "One more."
The girls walked into the kitchen and made three more hot chocolates. Larten stood and watched from his place by the Christmas tree. He glanced down at the card case running his thumb over where his name had been inscribed. 'Something to remember us by' she had said. His chest tightened as he looked up to see Erin gesture to him to come sit on the couch once more.
He placed the card case next to her trinket box and walked over. The hot chocolate had an extra dose of Schnapps for him and Erin while Brigid had stuffed a huge marshmallow in hers. The movie played and slowly he became aware that Erin had fallen asleep against him and Brigid was asleep on the love seat. He, too, was feeling warm and tired.
He gently shifted Erin off of him. She didn't even seem to notice. Larten lifted Brigid into his arms. The girl weighed nothing it seemed as he carried her upstairs and placed her in her own bed. Immediately she grabbed her comforter, throwing it over her head to where only her feet were sticking out.
Larten closed the door silently behind him. When he re-entered the living room he saw that Erin had not moved. He turned off the fireplace and the t.v. before slipping Erin into his arms. It was almost a habit now that she would fall asleep and that he would be the one carrying her upstairs to bed. He laid Erin down and quickly covered her. He closed the door before taking off his vest and deftly sliding under the covers to Erin. She turned to her side facing him. In the darkness, his vampire eyes could make out the outline of her face. He traced the side of her face with a finger drawing it down her neck and across her shoulder. She moved a touch closer. Larten closed his eyes and inhaled the smell of her hair, nuzzling the top of her head. He planted a small kiss before resting his chin on top and slowly felt his breathing match Erin's. He sighed once as he drifted off into a deep, serene sleep.