CHAPTER SIXTEEN – Surprise!
Mick took my hand in his and we began walking up the little dirt road which led to the restaurant. We hadn't walked far before we came to a small village where the unpaved road was lined with little houses so close together that they looked more like row houses than stand-alones. The sun was low in the sky, so Mick wore his sunglasses, but I found I didn't need mine, and without them, the surroundings were easier to see in the light of the late sun. We could hear television sets on in the houses, most of which had their front doors open, children hanging out looking at us as if strangers walking by was a sight not often seen. Most people probably just drove through here, I imagined.
Some of the children came out and stood around us, acting shy, some giggling, all were very cute. Mick reached into his front pocket and pulled out a handful of coins, which he handed around to each of them until all wore huge smiles. Since we couldn't understand their animated chatter, we used the universal language of smiles, and found we could easily interpret their excitement and happiness at the small kindness we offered.
They were darling children, light brown skin, dark eyes, black shiny hair, all in rather tattered clothing that looked fairly clean, considering that the floors inside the houses that we could see into were dirt. Above us, down the village street, a single power line hung, and plastic milk jugs covered low-wattage light bulbs in a crude attempt at street lighting. There were a lot of dogs running around too, some barking, but most just kind of trolling, hoping for a handout, but unlike the children, wanted a handout they could eat! We smiled and waved when all had been given a coin, and they waved back and smiled sweet smiles as we continued on our walk up the road.
"I'm so glad you wanted to walk, Mick. This is really something special," I said, feeling grateful for my home, which was, by these standards, a home only rich people could possibly afford.
"It's pretty eye-opening, isn't it—to see how people live in other parts of the world."
"I'll say! But Mick, the children were so beautiful!"
"They are beautiful. I'm glad you got to see them. This place is literally dirt poor, but the people are happy. The little ones give you such huge smiles for nickels!"
I looked at him, walking along, holding my hand, thinking 'here is a man who has seen so much, and still feels so deeply.' I was touched by his sensitivity.
"I was absolutely charmed, Mick. They looked at you like you were some kind of benevolent god handing out pocket change!"
"And the little boys were not lost on your beauty, either! They couldn't take their eyes off of you! But then, you do look like something out of a boy's fantasy." His eyes grazed me and I felt flushed from the touch of them sweeping my body.
"You are such a charmer! Honestly! I get embarrassed when you lavish me with compliments! What in the world are you going to think when I'm as big as a house and ready to burst!"
"I'll think the truth, and I'll tell you as well, that you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." He looked at me with that sideways glance that made my heart pound. "You know, I'm getting hot just thinking of you all big and round with our baby inside of you."
"Hah! We'll see!"
"Yes, I do believe we will see." He dropped my hand and put an arm behind me, so I put my arm around him as well. He had to slow his pace for me, long legs versus shorter legs, but we weren't in any hurry, and we were enjoying being out together, so far away from our world, still loving every minute of our time alone.
Outside of the village, the road began to slope gently upward, and we walked along at a leisurely pace, enjoying the sound of distant music coming from one of the houses, and the clean air of this sparsely populated area, close enough to the ocean to benefit from its sweet salt air. As we climbed steadily upward, Mick pointed to a place on a hill.
"There's where we're going. You're going to enjoy this, I think."
I looked up at the place and could hardly believe it was an eating establishment! It had virtually no walls, just giant wooden beams, and the roof was entirely thatch over more heavy wooden supports. As we neared it, there were a few more houses here and there, which I noticed looked cared for, yet they bore that weather-worn look that came from too much sun and not enough money for paint. There was a tree by one house that Mick pointed out to me.
"Look closely at this tree, honey!"
I walked up closer to it and jumped back so quickly that Mick had to catch me in his arms.
"I've never seen such a thing!" I said amazed.
Mick laughed. "I know! I remember this from the last time I was here!" We stopped and just stared at it.
The tree wasn't large, maybe eight feet tall, but it had a lot of branches, and on each branch, nestled into the leaves, sat a rooster.
"Those are roosters! Sitting in a tree! Roosting, I guess!" My mouth was kind of gaping.
"Isn't that just wild? I thought you'd be impressed!"
The sun was setting now, and as we approached the restaurant entrance, Mick took off his sunglasses and opened the door for me. There were quite a few cars parked haphazardly in the dirt on the sides of the road. As we stepped inside, we could see that the place was full of people, but none looked like locals, and all seemed to be enjoying themselves. The place was cheery and colorful, the tables and chairs looked well used and worn, and the floor was dirt. In one corner of the place, a 3-piece Mariachi band played lively music.
"This is amazing! The food looks and smells great, and I love the atmosphere!"
"Table for two?" the Mexican gentleman asked us.
"Si." We said in unison.
We sat and I ordered something I thought I could envision, along with the usual bottled water and a Coca-Cola, my current special occasion drink! We knew not to consume ice or water, and I ordered a hot entrée, so I figured I'd be safe.
"These are mostly Americans from the huge resort across the highway from here," Mick said. "I should take you through that place—it sits on Banderas Bay and you can see the ruins from the movie "Night of the Iguana," which was filmed here, in, I think, the fifties. Liz Taylor had a little house built for her on the bay while the filming was going on—there's not much left of the movie set, but it's a popular place to visit."
"Sounds fun. I've actually seen the movie. Black and white and kind of sad, as I recall."
"Oh, that's true, but the locals are still so proud that Hollywood came to their little place in the world to make a movie. It's on TV pretty much twenty-four hours a day—they want to be sure you see it before you go home!"
My order came, and I dove into it.
"How is it?" Mick asked me after I'd taken a few bites.
"Mmmmmm. Wonderful. Chicken and beans with rice and lots of cheese, and chili peppers with hand-tossed tortillas—I don't know what all is in here, but it's great!"
"I'm glad you like it." He smiled and watched me eat as he took an occasional sip of his beer.
"I didn't know you could drink beer," I said.
"A little is okay. I won't finish the whole bottle. Alcohol is one of the few things I can taste."
"That seems odd, you know, that you can't taste food when your sense of smell is so keen."
He nodded. "It is strange, kind of like all of the cells we used for tasting things ended up being transferred over to our smell center."
I chewed thoughtfully and took a swallow of my Coke, straight from the glass bottle.
"Does it ever bother you? The smells all around you? The heightened senses of hearing and smell—seems like that could drive you nuts if you let it."
He swallowed again and I watched as his Adam's apple bobbed in his neck. I forgot to swallow just looking at him.
"I guess it could—I've learned to kind of tune out the hearing thing except when I'm listening for something specific. You can train yourself to do that. The smells too—it's kind of just something you get used to over time. I suppose I'm like a dog that way—I perk up when I smell something interesting and ignore it when it's nothing."
"So how do I smell to you? Is it hard to be around me all of the time? Smelling me? My blood?"
He smiled and twirled his beer bottle on the table. "At first, when I was getting to know you, I think it was harder to smell you and be close to you, but you were never at risk with me. You know how much blood I saw in the war, being a medic, and maybe being around all that blood kind of helped desensitize me. I think Josef has a more difficult time with humans. I wonder if he'll have turned Simone by accident by the time we get back!"
"I wouldn't be surprised!" I said as I polished off my last bite.
"But, you—you smell like sweetness and kindness and love to me. Sure, sweet enough to want to taste you, but you're my wife. I'm used to your wonderful aroma! And I promise—no biting until the baby is born, okay?"
I smiled back. "Yeah. I guess I'm okay with that. I want to take really good care of little Baby St. John."
He nodded once. "Darn right. We have to be good parents right from the beginning!"
I could see the light in his eyes as he talked about being a daddy. I hoped and prayed it would all go well—I knew it would crush him if something happened to the baby. I just smiled and said, "You're right, and I can't wait to see who's in there! I hope it looks just like you!"
"Well, now, if it's a girl, I don't think you want her looking like me!" he laughed. "If it's a little girl, she should look just like her mama, because her mama is absolutely gorgeous!"
I beamed. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! I think maybe you're drunk on half a beer!"
He leaned over and kissed my cheek. He whispered in my ear, "I'm only drunk on love, and I do love you!"
I was done and the waiter came. Mick left pesos on the table and rose. I followed him, and we walked back to our vehicle in companionable silence.
When we walked in the door of our villa, both of our cell phones were vibrating on the table, indicating that we both had messages. I took mine out into the courtyard and Mick stayed in the living room.
My voicemail held Simone's message: "Just wondering if you two have died from too much sex or what! We haven't even heard from you! Call if you ever come up for air! We just want to know you're okay—we figure you're having a great time and that no news is good news! I love you two!"
I smiled. Yeah, we had been pretty much out of touch with everyone, but we really hadn't come up for air very often in the past week! I stayed out under the canopy of stars, looking for constellations I could recognize. I heard Mick almost shouting in the house and wondered what was going on, so I crept through the kitchen, not wanting to disturb. He was plainly upset.
"Yeah, Josef! I can only imagine what she'll do when she finds out! You've got to go tell her—go find her in New York! I don't want any surprises when we get home! Not the kind she would pull anyway!" He paused, listening. "That's fine. We have the Internet here, and I'll just make reservations." He listened some more, and I wondered what was wrong. I walked to the archway where Mick saw me and nodded. "Thanks, Josef. Do what you can. I have a wife and child to protect now, you know!" I looked puzzled and he looked concerned. "Okay. Call me if you find out anything. YES! I will leave my phone on! Yes, thanks again. Good-bye Josef." He pushed the off button and disconnected the call.
I went over to him and touched his shoulder. "Mick! Something's wrong, isn't it!"
"Don't you be worried, Beth. Josef and I can handle this."
"But what is it? You said I might be in danger? What's going on back there?"
"Josef found out that Coraline is in New York City. He's going to go out there in a few days to see if he can find her. We're going to fly home commercial since he'll be taking the jet, and we don't know how long he'll be gone."
"So—Coraline is in New York. Can't we just leave her there?"
"I don't trust her. Beth, when she finds out we got married, I don't know what she might do—I can't take any chances."
"You think she might hurt me? Do you really think she'd do something to me?" I had a chill of memory of the scary lady who took me so long ago, even though it wasn't all that long ago that I had considered her a friend and colleague, not knowing she was who she was!
"I wouldn't put it past her, Beth. I just hope Josef can find her and send her back to Europe. Even being three thousand miles away isn't far enough with Coraline!" He was running his fingers through his hair, and I could feel the tension in his shoulders.
"You're right about that. Come on, Mick—let's sit and talk."
We sat on one of the brown leather sofas, Mick in the corner, me sitting sideways with my legs crossed, looking at him as he rubbed his forehead with his thumb and forefinger. He looked pretty worked up.
"You know, I thought she might be dead by now. Lance wasn't happy with her when he took her."
"I know—you told me. At the time, I thought you seemed kind of sorry about that."
"Well, she had given me the cure, and then she saved me by agreeing to go with Lance. He was going to kill me, and being human, I had no way to fight him. It was the nicest thing she has EVER done for me, but that doesn't mean I trust her!"
I reached out and put my hand on his arm. "Let's let Josef see what he can find out. We're safe here, aren't we, Mick? Nobody will find us here, right?"
He relaxed a little. "Yeah, you're right. We still have a week and I'm not going to let HER spoil it. We'll just have to wait to hear from Josef. He's well connected in New York. If anyone can find her, it's him."
"He'll get to see Sarah."
"Yeah, that's Josef's apartment where she is. He always stays there when he's in Manhattan."
"I wonder if Simone knows about Sarah."
"I don't know if he's told her. I suppose he will someday."
I turned around and leaned my head on Mick's shoulder, stretching my legs out on the sofa. "You know, that whole situation still makes me sad. Josef's one true love—you can see that he still adores her, and she's like Sleeping Beauty waiting for her Prince to come kiss her, but in their fairy tale, there's no happy ending. I can't imagine ever losing you! I don't know how Josef copes with seeing her like that, year after year!"
Mick drew me into his arms until I was sitting on his lap. I put my arms around his neck and we held each other close.
"We'll always be together, Beth. I won't ever let anything bad happen to you."
I kissed his neck and we sat like that for a long, long time.
Days went by and we still heard nothing from Josef. I returned Simone's call, and she was fine. She said Josef called her every night, but that his business in New York was keeping him a few extra days. She wasn't concerned, and I figured she had no clue as to what he was really up to.
We finally had a day that was overcast with heavy-looking clouds hanging in the sky threatening to rain. It wasn't raining yet, and Mick decided this would be a good day for him to venture out and not be immediately baked by the bright sunlight. He thought I should see the quaint little city of Puerto Vallarta, a very old city built around the ocean. We walked along the sidewalks where all of the major merchants of the world had gathered, putting their wares in the ancient storefronts that faced the bay where the giant cruise ships anchored. There were a lot of shoppers milling around—mostly people from the ships, and we could hear every language of the world spoken as they strolled by us with their GAP bags and huge bottles of Mexican vanilla, which I wouldn't have touched, having heard it might be poisonous! Others waited in line at the Hard Rock Café, and we chuckled about that--nothing like Gap clothes and a hamburger when you come to Mexico!
We walked up one street and down another, crossing a bridge that must have weathered a thousand years. The river was heavily used down below. I had never seen people washing their clothes in a river before, and we stopped to take in all of the activity while a lone mule brayed his distress at having to wait for them to finish the long process. The city was made up of mostly old buildings, but here and there a newer structure was mixed in, but overall the character of the town was Old World Charm. We happened upon a large flea market under a canvas tent roof, and we stopped to look over the large array of merchandise. Vendors practically assaulted us, pushing shoes and jewelry in front of us, but we shook our heads and kept browsing. I did stop at one booth where I tried on a beautiful hand-woven black shawl, which Mick paid for after the expected process of bartering and bargaining had taken place. Silver jewelry was the hot item here, but we avoided that like the plague.
Mick bought me charcoal-grilled skewer of chicken and peppers, which he said would be safe. There were a lot of food vendors in this area, but some of what they were selling didn't appeal to me at all—in fact, some I couldn't look at because it made me feel a little gaggy. He also got me a large bottle of water to keep me hydrated.
As we walked to the car, I thanked him for such a nice day. He smiled down at me and took my hand, placing it on his chest.
"Honey, any day I get to just be with you is a great day."
I must have glowed as I grinned at him while he held the door of the Jeep open for me, because he grabbed me and hugged me tightly before he let me climb in.
We made one stop on the way home. Mick pulled over in front of another old, brick building which said 'Pharmacia' on it.
"Do you need something in the pharmacy?" I asked him.
"Yeah, there's a vamp here who has some blood for me. Just stay here and I'll be right back."
He jumped over the door without opening it and walked quickly into the shop. I sat in the car. We had put the top over the Jeep for today, since it looked as though it might rain. Mick was wearing clothing that covered him up, as well as a cap and sunglasses, but I knew that even without the direct sun shining on us, the daylight had probably not been good for him. I hoped they served chilled glasses of A-negative inside because this much exposure to daylight would cause any vampire to droop.
I didn't even notice the two young men standing by my side of the car until I turned from looking across the street and saw them in the outside mirror. They were too close for comfort, and I wondered why they were hanging around me. I tried to ignore them, but they were talking and one of them pointed at me, making me feel nervous.
"May I help you?" I called out, trying to be friendly.
They apparently spoke only Spanish, but they crept closer to my window, as if thinking I had invited them. Well, there really weren't any windows in this getup, so no hope of keeping them out by rolling up a barrier. I hoped Mick wouldn't be too long.
They came right up to my window and sniffed. I slid back on the seat. Now I was very uncomfortable! They were talking very fast and seemed a little too excited. I did understand "Blanco," but not much else.
"I'm sorry—I can't understand what you're saying," I said, trying to sound authoritative. Then one of them leaned in and sniffed some more. "Please go away!" I shouted at the one who was invading my space.
"Ahhh," he said, nose in the air. "Sangre." He smiled, and I saw fangs. I felt a chill go up my spine as I looked into the swirling eyes of a young, hungry vampire. A second later, he was gone, and I saw Mick pick up the other youth and toss him into the air as well. He had what looked like a small, black duffel bag over one shoulder, and walked over to the first offender, picking him up with his free arm. He held the boy up in the air, and I couldn't see his face, but I could hear him growling. The boy looked terrified for a second, then Mick threw him a few hundred feet down the alley where the other vampire was painfully brushing himself off.
Mick jumped into the driver's seat and started up the car. "Let's get out of here," he said in a low voice that still sounded like half a growl. He maneuvered a very fast U-turn, and we spun out and sped toward the highway. Once we were on the road, Mick apologized.
"Beth, I'm so sorry for that. I should have taken you with me. I never thought anyone would bother you when I only left you for five minutes!"
I reached over and put my hand on this thigh. "It's okay, Mick. I was sure glad to see you, though!"
"Well, it won't happen again! Those little punks!"
"I suppose they haven't been as socialized as your circle of friends. It's okay—I'm fine—now."
"Well, I feel really bad about that. I heard your voice when you shouted, so I came running. Always, ALWAYS call out for me if you're in trouble! Will you do that? Promise me!"
"I will, Mick. I forget sometimes about your—abilities. I'll get used to it."
"Just promise me you won't try to handle situations like that yourself. You can't win when you fight with vampires, Beth. You have to call me."
"I will. I promise. It all happened so fast, I didn't think. I'll get better at thinking to call you."
He sighed and put a hand over mine. "I told you I'd keep you safe, and I mean that."
"I know, Mick. I know." I guessed it was good to have a guardian angel always near you, ready to save you whenever you called out for him!
The week sadly came to an end. Mick was a little worried that Josef hadn't called him, but we knew Coraline hadn't had him executed because I had talked briefly with Simone again, and she assured us that Josef would be back before we got home.
We packed up our things the night of Friday, June 13, in preparation for a flight back to LA in the morning. We'd have to be at the airport by ten, which wasn't so bad. There was no traffic here to fight, so the drive would be quick.
We went down to our beach one last time that night. This time there was no moonlight to welcome us, but we made love on a blanket in the soft white sand, and made out like teen-agers afterward. We swam and ran naked in the surf until it was time to dance our last dance, leaving our footprints in our magic place in the sand.
"Can we come back again someday do you think?" I asked as Mick held me close.
"Every chance we get, Beth. This has been the best two weeks of my entire life."
"Oh, definitely my best two weeks ever!" I said as he picked me up and swung me around in circles until I was dizzy. "I don't want to leave," I breathed into his mouth which covered mine a second later.
"I know. I don't want to leave either. I thought two weeks alone with you would be enough, but it's not."
It wasn't. I thought that even forever with Mick would never be enough.
We held hands on the plane. It was nice that we had the row of three seats to ourselves. We put the arm rests up, and Mick got his long legs tucked under the aisle seat in front of us while leaning back into the corner by the window, shade pulled, of course, to keep out the bright sun. I leaned back on him, and he put his arm around me. I played with the fingers on his left hand, looking at the shiny wedding band that told the world he was taken. It made me feel all warm inside. I looked at my rings for the millionth time. They sparkled, even in the low light of our little space.
"Mick, you know, I don't think I ever really thanked you for the beautiful wedding band! I meant to tell you how much I loved it, but never got around to it! But I do love it. It's so pretty with the other ring."
He lifted my hand up and gazed at the rings. "Yeah. Mom just had a really tiny little white gold band. I like the ring I got you much better. Once I saw it, I knew it was yours."
"It's called an eternity band, with the little stones going all around it."
"I know—that's what I liked most about it. I thought at the time I got it for you that an eternity sounded pretty long, but I'll have to say, after the past two weeks, it doesn't sound long at all."
I kissed his hand. "I know, Mick." We were quiet for a while, Mick leaning back with his eyes closed, and me leaning against the solid mass of his body.
"You know, you're awfully smart for a guy."
That made him open his eyes. I bent my neck back and looked up at him, seeing him smile down at me.
"You mean because it was my idea to get married?"
"That's exactly what I mean." I wrinkled my nose at him and he bent over to kiss the tip of it.
He leaned back again, still smiling. "I knew it would work out. And—it did!" I sighed and snuggled against him. The trip wouldn't be long, and soon we'd get home, and we still had tomorrow before we had to get back to work.
Mick clicked the lock on his door, and we pulled our luggage behind us into his apartment. Josef and Simone were on Mick's couch, Simone with a wine glass, Josef with the golden liquid he and Mick loved so much. Given a choice, I knew they much preferred 30-year-old single malt to blood.
"Welcome home!" Simone sang as she rushed over to hug both of us. "I suppose I don't need to ask if you had a good time?"
Mick hugged her back and said, "No—you don't need to ask. We both agree that we just had the best two weeks of our lives."
He put his arm around me and smiled down at me.
Simone looked at us with a little hint of envy in her eyes. "Well! I can certainly see that marriage agrees with you both!"
"It certainly does, Simone," Mick said matter-of-factly. He turned to Josef. "I had expected to hear from you, Josef! Anything new? How was New York?"
Josef looked a little uncomfortable. "I wish I had good news, Mick," he said in a low voice. Simone went back to the couch and sat down; Josef joined her, so Mick and I each took a chair.
"So, you didn't find what you were looking for? Is that what you're saying? Ah—business wasn't concluded successfully?"
Josef and Mick were staring each other down as Simone and I looked on. I wondered if she had any idea. Josef cleared that up for us.
"Actually, Mick, Beth—I told Simone why I went to New York."
"Josef says your ex is pretty scary, huh, Mick?"
Mick gave her a little glare. "Scary isn't even the word for it, Simone. You'd better just hope you never have to meet her."
Simone slid back into the cushions and took another sip of wine.
"I also told her about Sarah," Josef said. "I mean, we're living together now, and I thought it was time she knew the story."
Simone patted Josef's hand. "It's sad. Very sad."
"Doesn't the story of what happened to Sarah make you just a little bit scared about being turned Simone?" I asked.
Josef looked down into his glass. Simone shook her head. "Oh, no. I figure everything will be okay with Josef and Mick there. I'd trust either one of them to turn me," she said, giving Mick a look that I didn't particularly like. I wondered what Josef would think! "But—if both of these strapping men are there, well! I have no fear! I'll gladly place my life in their capable hands."
She smiled at all of us, and I think it would be safe to say that both Mick and I were having the same thought: 'This woman is a shallow dingbat.' We looked at each other and tried not to roll our eyes.
"So, Josef, you strapping young buck, when do you plan to turn your Lady Love?" Mick asked, trying hard to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, but not succeeding in the least.
Josef looked evasive. "Ah. . ."
"Oh! As soon as possible, right Darling?" Simone interjected rather exuberantly. Mick and I looked at each other, then back at Josef, who looked as though something was caught in his throat.
"Simone—we'll have to discuss this. Later." Josef said quietly, but with authority. Simone looked puzzled and a little bit hurt, but she didn't say anything—for once she was quiet!
"Okay," Mick broke into the uncomfortable silence, "you spent a week in New York and didn't find Coraline? How is that possible?"
Josef looked oddly at a loss for words. "Actually, Mick, I spent most of my time trying to find Sarah."
Mick leaned forward. "What do you mean, you were trying to find Sarah? Sarah can't go anywhere."
"My aides all insisted that her father had her taken away. I tried to find him and Sarah, but I don't know where they went! For all I know, they're out of the country! I know the old man hates me—tried to blow me up! But how would he ever find out Sarah was still alive, for one thing, and how would he move her?"
Josef sounded hurt and miserable. Simone didn't seem to notice, but just kept sipping at her wine with her eyes big as saucers, taking in the conversation as if we were talking about which breed of rose bush to plant on the patio!
"I guess I could have used a good PI out there, but I didn't want to bother you on your honeymoon," Josef said softly.
"Hey, I'm sorry brother—I'd have met you in New York if you had called me. I'd be heading there right now!"
"Thanks, Mick. I'm not sure you'd find anything either. She's just—gone. Along with the old man, who I thought might be dead by now!"
Mick looked at his friend until Josef looked back up at Mick. "Did you say anything to Simone about the cure? I mean, she knows about that, but did you tell her you wanted to find Coraline AND the cure?"
Josef hedged. "Well, not exactly."
"What does that mean?" Simone asked bluntly. "Not exactly? What is not exactly?"
Josef looked at Simone. "I think we should talk about this later, Simone. There's a little more to this story than I've told you so far."
"Well, I'd like to hear it now! We can talk in front of our friends, Josef! If there's something you all know and I don't, well, I'd sure like to be in on the big secret!"
She gazed at all of us with an openly defiant look on her face. I felt sorry for Josef. Nobody said a word. We all sat in uncomfortable silence. At last Mick spoke.
"Simone—Josef is right. This is a conversation the two of you should have alone."
"Well, I don't get it! Josef! All of you obviously are keeping something from me, and I don't like it one bit!"
I was irritated by her tone of voice, as well as the way she was talking to Josef. I could feel Mick tense up next to me.
Josef took a huge gulp of courage, then turned to face his accuser. "Fine." He said angrily. "You want the truth so badly, well here it is: I want to find Coraline because she might still have some of the cure."
"So?" Simone asked in a way that challenged Josef to spill it all. I could see why she chose law as her life's work. She wasn't one to back down!
"Look, Simone, I want the cure so I can be human for a while."
She looked at him as if he'd sprouted a third eye. "What? Why would YOU want to EVER be HUMAN again? You tell me ALL of the time how much you LOVE being a VAMPIRE! Why do you think I want to be one? Because YOU say it's so DAMN GREAT!!"
I could see Josef's patience leave him. He stood up and looked down at her. I could only see his back, but I could imagine the fire in his eyes!
"I do love being a vampire, Simone, and the cure is temporary. But I want to father a child, and the only way to do that is to become human again—for a while."
There was a knock on the door, and Mick stood up to go see who it was. I remained riveted to my chair, even though I felt like a total eavesdropper. I turned and saw Mick opening the door. Whoever it was sure had great timing! I hoped he'd hurry back. I looked back at the drama queen just as she began her speech. She was fuming and obviously winding up for a closing argument.
"Well!" she spat at Josef as she rose to her feet to face him down. " You certainly aren't going to be fathering any children with ME! I don't want any kids! That's why I like being with YOU! You're a fucking VAMPIRE!! You can't get me pregnant, and I thought it was a sure bet you'd never ask me to have a baby! Are you insane? You want to give up our great life together with the freedom to come and go as we please just to have a kid running around so you can say you fathered it? You have to be out of your MIND, Josef! READ MY LIPS: I will NOT have your baby! Not now or not ever! Good luck finding some stupid bimbo to have your kid!"
By now she was almost screaming at him, and I was actually afraid for her. Josef didn't have the control Mick had, and even Mick could be goaded into vamping with less of an emotional scene than this was.
"I'd be willing," a soft voice said from behind me. I turned and almost fell out of my chair. She came forward with her companion walking a step or two behind her. "Josef! I'd love to have your baby for you!" She stood still, looking at him, tears running down her cheeks.
Josef looked as though he was paralyzed with shock. His mouth was actually hanging open.
Mick led the two women into the room. "Simone! I'd like to introduce you to my ex-wife, Coraline, and Josef's fiancée, Sarah Whitley."