Chapter 10
Family Reunion
"Oh my gosh!" squealed Lexy. "It's so bright everything looks different. Mommy, can we get lights in our room? Please?" she begged with those puppy eyes she inherited from me.
"We'll see. Alex, do you want lights too?" I asked looking over at him as he looked around.
"Mom, someone's here," he said quietly. "I can feel them, they're happy and nervous. Why?" he looked at me as he wondered.
"Well, that's the other surprise. Hold on." I looked around the house from the entry way as the twins stayed grounded in place. "Hello!" I called.
"Miss Raven!" called a familiar old butler's voice. He came from down the hall and his eyes widened the same time his face brighten. "I apologize I didn't hear you come in. Are these the little one's I've been hearing about?" I smiled and looked over at the kid's surprised faces.
"Alexander, Alexandria, this is…"
"Jameson!" they both finished. The surprised look in his eyes was priceless. He was even more shocked when they ran to hug him. If his eyes were any wider, you'd think they'd pop out. I couldn't stop smiling when he hugged them back. Was that a tear? It was gone as quickly as it came.
"Well, I must say miss Raven, I never thought I'd see the night when you bring your children through those doors. It's been so long since the young master was this size. And they are the spitting image of him. Will you all wait in the library while I-"
"There's no need, Jameson, Thank you." The interruption came from a strong voice and the beholder walked down the staircase. Jameson smiled once more and gave a slight bow.
"I will bring some refreshments for you all." Jameson dismissed himself. The twins stared at their father as he walked over, as wide-eyed as they were. They came slowly back over to me. Alex's brow furrowed in question.
"Alex, Lexy, if you were able to recognize Jameson from the stories, surely you know who this is." I said as I squat down to their level.
"Daddy?" Lexy asked cautiously. Alexander nodded and stopped three feet away. He towered over us and wisely squatted down as to not intimidate them. Unexpectedly, Lexy broke out crying in hysterics as she ran into her father's open arms. Alexander held her tight and closed his eyes. He must be on the verge of breaking down too, but he held back. Too bad I couldn't be as strong. Alex put his hand on my shoulder.
"Don't cry mom, I know you're happy. Lexy is too." he said never looking away from his father. I looked up at Alex and saw his eyes watering.
"And you?" I asked. Alexander looked up and held one long arm out for him. Alex slowly walked over and simply rested his head on Alexander's shoulder. I sat back on my heels and watched as Alex's shoulder's shook and Alexander held him too. Alex rarely cried. My heart broke even more as I realized just how much they wanted their father. Even with Billy and Luke around, nobody could ever take a father's place. Silently I cried and watched the reunion when I saw Jameson coming in with a tray of his famous bloody smoothies and some cookies. He stopped when he saw the scene before him and gave a sympathetic smile.
I stood up and Alexander did as well picking up Lexy with him since she was still clinging onto his neck. Alex quickly wiped his face and sniffed so no one would see him crying. "Why don't we all sit down and get caught up." Alexander suggested. "I hope you two like the smoothies Jameson brought. He's been making them for me since I was a kid."
"Mom, may we?" Alex asked.
"Of course, sweetie. Go ahead." Lexy looked over and Alexander set her down so she could follow Alex to get a drink and cookie. I walked over to Alexander and he put an arm around me. I gave him a small squeeze and let go. "It's a shame you can't look into a mirror, because they look so much like you." I told him. They have his deep chocolate-brown eyes, ghost white skin, and pink thin lips that were slightly fuller at the bottom. Even the long waist length hair that was black as night. Lexy kept hers loose and flowing, and Alex had his tied in a pony-tail at the back of his neck.
"Thanks. I love them already; you raised them after all." I smiled at the compliment. "At first I was shocked, surprised and excited when you kind of told me I had kids. But seeing them… I can't really describe it. It's kind of like no gift could ever be greater. Like my heart has expanded." He looked deeply into my eyes when he spoke, "Thank you, Raven; you've given me children, a family of my own."
"I didn't do it on my own." I reminded him. "It was you who had given me a parting gift. But if you insist on thanking me, you could make up for ditching the stinky diapers, aching fangs and wailings at all hours of the day by helping them control and understand their powers. That's the only thing equal to that kind of stress aside from the mega temper tantrums to control. Oh, you can handle that too. Angry vampire babies is a dangerous combination even for me." I explained. He laughed a hearty laugh at the thought I put out for him. I melted when he bent down to kiss me.
"Euuuuugh!" I heard Lexy say. I looked over and saw her face twisted in disgust, and Alex's eyes bulging. "Gross," he said. Alexander and I laughed and broke apart.
"My apologies." Alexander said, "I'll have to remember there are children around now." We walked to the library and sat on the love-seat sofas. Alexander and I sat across from each other, Lexy sat next to Alexander, and Alex sat next to me. "So, tell me about you two. I want to know everything that I've missed." Lexy started off.
"Well, Daddy, my name is Alexandria Baccara Sterling. Mommy named me after you and the black rose from the stories that you gave her. Can you give one to me? The one mommy has is dead but she keeps it in an empty vase in her room."
"Of course, Alexandria." He agreed to her request then looked at me and smiled. I silently thanked Lexy for hinting that I kept it. "My son?"
"I have the same name as you, Alexander Vladimir Sterling, but mine has the second added to it with Roman numerals." He explained.
Alexander smiled with pride at his son. "Your mother tells me you're both 7 years old. When is your Birthday?" he asked.
"September 9th," they both said. "Here," they said in sync.
"Here?" Alexander asked. Damn I forgot to mention that part. But the kids were having so much fun telling him about themselves, so it was okay.
Lexy spoke up to explain. "Granny says that mommy was crying in the cellar when she felt us moving in her tummy. She said mommy was alone and really mad because she left her phone upstairs and couldn't move and so she couldn't call grandma. So, granny came out of the Ether to help her instead." Then she paused to look at me, for approval. She knew that talk of ghosts wasn't safe unless she was in good company for it. I nodded and she continued. "Granny, helped mommy stop crying and bring us into the world. She told me that she got to hold us as she passed us to mommy. Then mommy got really sick and fell asleep. So granny took care of all of us for seven day until mommy woke up." she finished. We would have all died if she didn't come. It was miraculous. Nobody mentioned vampires were born as bats, no wonder I wasn't showing too much.
"And the seventh night I woke up on the couch, the phone was next to me." I added.
"My granny's ghost? She came?" he asked in wonderment.
"Lexy can see ghosts and communicate with them. Your granny comes out of the Ether on their birthday. That's when we can all see her. She's been looking out for them all this time too. Do you see her now, Lexy?" I asked.
"Not right now. She was earlier when daddy hugged us. She said she was so happy and that she wouldn't have missed the moment for the world and Ether. Then she left after she said 'it's about time'." Lexy got up from her seat and went to sit in Alexander's lap. Already playing the part of Daddy's little girl, I thought with a smile.
"Alexander, my son, do you know of your powers?" he asked.
Alex was silent for a while. I know he didn't like his power or to speak about it. I got up and sat closer to Alex to rub his back encouragingly. "Alex, you can tell your father. There's no need to feel ashamed sweetie; you have a beautiful gift. Your dad will help you with them if they bother you." Then I looked at Lexy and added, "The same goes to you Lexy, don't be afraid of your powers." When they stayed quiet and didn't look up, I sighed and explained the nature of their powers to Alexander. "Alex is empathic. He picks up peoples emotions when they're close enough. Lately, I noticed they're growing. He's picking up on emotions that have already passed and a lot of them he doesn't understand. And Lexy… she had an incident with one of the ghosts last month. So she's becoming alarmed every time one pops up that she doesn't know." He gave a questioning look then looked down at Lexy.
"What kind of incident, Alexandria?" he asked worried.
"Mommy?" she wanted me to explain it since it still scared her.
"A ghost, a man, came to her. He said some mean things to her and she asked him to go away. When he didn't and started screaming at her, she… she… hurt him." I paused to think about that night. Alexander's concerned look was calculating as he tried to make sense of how a 7-year-old girl can hurt a ghost. "She was terrified and wouldn't leave her coffin for two weeks. I didn't know how to handle it or how far her powers would extend, or whether she'd be in danger from the Ether. Your Granny came to us ten nights later and said there was a lot of talk about her on the other side. She said Lexy was a necromancer. She could make them feel pain. The ghosts feared her powers growing stronger to the point where she would erase their existence. Apparently, there have been a few in the past. Since then, we've all been guarding her from them the best we could. She could still see them, but Alex can feel them. That's another extension to his powers, empathy to the emotions of the dead. Granny and my dad have kept them at bay."
"And Luke too, mommy." I so wished she hadn't said that. Then again, that's news to me too.
Alexander looked at me and I shrugged my shoulders because I didn't know what to say about it. "Really?" I asked. "Well, what does he do?"
"Nothing! But when he's around, they run or fade away. They're afraid of him. When I told him, he said it was because they thought he was the Grim Reaper, like the cartoon." She laughed.
"They're afraid of dad too, Lexy." Alex spoke up. When we all looked at him to wonder how he knew, he explained. "Whenever we came here, I'd still feel them, all the way to the gates. They followed us when we came here tonight. I was wondering why their emotions were intense and panicked. They're really scared. Some of them are really angry, or confused." Goosebumps broke out on my arm, and the hairs on my neck rose. I looked up at Alexander who held Lexy protectively "Don't be scared, mom." He said looking up at me.
"Yeah mommy, it's just grandma and grandpa. They're happy daddy's home. How was the castle daddy?" she asked changing the subject. I was happy my parents were here with us, so I relaxed and listen to the exchange.
"The castle was wonderful. My little sister, your Aunt Athena, was there to help me so I could come home."
"Are you going to take us?" Lexy was excited.
"One night, I would love to take you both." He didn't mention me but I didn't show my disappointment. Instead I jumped at the chance for them to travel.
"That's a great idea! Once you've finished with all your classes for your grade, you could all go on a vacation. It would be good for you to travel."
"Într-adevăr, mama?" Really, mom? Alex asked in Romanian.
Alexander sat up with the surprise. "You can speak Romanian?"
"Da. Mama ne-a făcut să ia lecții de când am fost de trei ani-vechi. Dar ea cu un timp de dificil să țină pasul." Lexy said. I was trying to keep up with what she just said, but learning new languages when you're 21-years-old is difficult. Four years later, I'm doing better, but the speed of their speech throws me off a bit. I know she said 'Yes. Mom made us take lessons … (something)… three-years-old. But, … (something)… difficult keeping up.' Great. They all know I'm still having difficulties with the language. I looked up to see they were all staring at me.
"That's not funny, Lexy!" I laughed. "I know the words, but you throw me off with how fast you say them I can't keep up." Lexy giggled, Alexander chuckled, and Alex smiled.
"Sunt sigur că mama ta va învăța să înțeleagă dacă ea practică într-o conversație." Alexander stated slowly so I could understand. I'm sure your mother will understand if she practices in a conversation.
"Mulțumesc, Alexandru." I thanked him and smiled at my accomplishment.
"I'm very proud of you all for learning my native language, and you can pronounce the words with the accent almost perfectly. We will definitely take a trip to Romania when you've completed your studies. Maybe it will help your mother keep up." Two points for Alex, I cheered to myself.
"Mom, can we get something to eat?" Alex asked. "I'm so hungry I can eat a horse."
"No more horses, Alex!" I warned. "People pay so much money on their horses, and not for little boys to snack on when they get hungry. That was dangerous and you're not doing it again." I was being very serious while the twins, however, tried to keep a straight face that was slipping. Alexander watched and couldn't help his own smile.
"I only meant the expression, mom, not literally. I promise." He said. I hugged him to me and kissed his head.
"Okay then." I said.
"Besides," he continued, "that horse was depressed, he wanted to go." I rubbed my temples with my forefingers. If Leave it to Beaver was a vampire, I would be more ready.