Friday
It’s good to be back in
I was fresh out of the tube out of Heathrow out of a plane. All I had with me were the things that fit into my back bag. So not much. A few of my favourite books, some mementoes and a change of clothes. Things that had not been taken from me.
Not like it’s the first time I’ve started a new life from scratch.
I chose to come to
Have to admit, I was also a bit worried about Frank. He hadn’t answered his phone when I called him several times, just last week.
Last week? Feels like I’ve aged decades since I met Kielo.
It was late in the cloudy afternoon as I moved from the busy main street to a small passage between high walls surrounding expensive houses. Ah, Kensington. There’s a well known green door along this road, and like I’ve heard to be true, there was a person sitting next to it, writing something onto it feverishly. She –at least I think so, a skirt was involved- didn’t even notice me approach.
Only when I’d nearly passed her she noticed me, startled and looking slightly guilty at being caught so. I just smiled at her and her rainbow-striped hat and continue on. Who am I to mock one’s religion?
A few more crossing of roads and I was at Frank’s pub. Some things never change. The place still looked uninviting with its dirty windows and lousy paintjob. I entered and breathed in the smoky air. It was full of memories.
It’s good to be back.
Frank bought the place ages ago, and even though he doesn’t work behind the bar anymore, he still spends most of his days there. Amongst our kind he’s famous for his creative skills, and people from all over know the place, even if they weren’t familiar enough with the man to have his phone number.
The last time I spent a lot of time in
The pub was nearly deserted, only a few old men were sitting at the small tables. They gave me a quick glance but didn’t even bother to stare as I walked straight to the bar and grabbed a stool. My still sore body sighed with relief. The bartender nodded at me and put down his newspaper.
“What’ll it be, love?” He called out as he walked towards me.
“A pint of Guinness, please.”
He made an approving clucking sound with his tongue and within a minute there was a pint of the good old stuff standing in front of me. I sipped at the head before getting to the good part.
“So, where’s Frank?” I asked after wetting my whistle. I had immediately noticed that he wasn’t in, but you can’t expect one to stay put all day, especially if one’s not expecting company.
The guy got a funny look on his face at my question. “Didn’t you know, love? Frank’s dead.”
No. I did not know that. I told him as much. “When? What happened?”
“His heart gave out. We found him collapsed in the backroom, maybe three weeks ago. The funeral was last weekend. He was old as the skies, love.”
“I know…” I muttered, staring at my pint. “Hell, he’s always been here. I never thought he… wouldn’t.”
That’s just it. I never thought that what was one of the most natural things to happen in a person’s life would actually happen to Frank. He was in
The bartender nodded, sharing my sentiment but not the reasons for it, I should think. His scent made it very clear that he was a normal human being. Not one of us. Not like me, not like Frank. Not one of the creatures of the night.
I sulked into my pint for the next half an hour, cursing my own short sight –why did my wits have to fail me here and now, when before they’ve been the voice of reason that have helped me build a small fortune? Sentimentalism?- and wondering what to do next. I could always seek out one of my other contacts, but they have always been few and far between. Besides, Frank had always been my number one to-go-to-man. My friend.
I felt as lost as that little girl stuck in the land of witches and flying monkeys.
The bartender took pity on me and brought me another pint, on the house. I thanked him and lifted the cool glass in a toast.
“To Frank. Where ever he may be.”
“To Frank.” He nodded and gave me a lopsided grin. “If you don’t mind me askin’, how’d you know him? Young girl like you?”
Curse my youthful looks… “He’s been a friend of the family for ages. He used to have the best stories.”
“Got that right, uhh…?” he gave me a questioning look. I hesitated for a moment.
“Dorothy.” That fits.
“Nice to meet you, Dorothy, I’m Roger.”
We talked for a while about Frank, and by the time I finished the second Guinness I was armed with the name and workplace of Frank’s granddaughter –he had kids?!- and a nice buzz in my head. I took the same path to the main street as before, and sure enough, there was the rainbow girl, leaning against the door, humming to herself, hugging a huge bottle of something that smelled quite strong. I waved a small salute to her as I passed and she informed me that we are the champions.
Have I mentioned that I love
With nothing else sensible to do than to seek out this grandchild, I headed towards
How could the bastard just die on me like this? Who am I to go to now for a new name? A new ID, new family history? Most of it I can manage myself, sure. But fake passports? Driver’s license? Give me a vampire to kill or a werewolf to hunt down, and I’m your man. Woman. But bureaucracy, computers, ID’s… for crying out loud, when I was born most people didn’t even have last names!
Before I barely noticed in my thought of doom and gloom, I’d walked from Kensington to
Bloody marvelous.
At least I should be able to recognize her by her scent. Frank was one of us, one of the creatures of the night. A werewolf. Despite the generation between them, this Heidi should have some of that unearthly –I shouldn’t say unearthly, actually; werewolves are more earthly than me or most people today!- scent about her. And my sore little nose should be enough to tell.
I’m a dhampir, a half vampire. I used to make my living by killing vampires who terrorized humans, but that was ages ago. These days they’re smart enough to either lay low or make themselves so visible that you can’t kill them. Not unless you want to be arrested for murder. So I make my money other ways, mostly by gathering rent from apartments I own all over Europe and which I rent out when I don’t live in them. I have a nice apartment here in
Hell, with no Frank here, I might as well go somewhere else. Roger told me to get in touch with his granddaughter as she had expressed interest in meeting people he’d been friends with. Who knows, maybe Frank had trained her to do his job.
The rain was pouring down when I got to
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. It’s good to be back.
“Can I help you?” A young man sitting behind the counter asked me, his eyes slightly glassy and some food crumbs on his unkempt beard struggling to grow on such young skin.
“I’m looking for Heidi Sinclair.” I told him and he nodded before shouting towards the backroom.
“Heidi! Someone here to see you!”
“In a minute!” a muffled voice answered. The boy repeated the words to me and I thanked him and turned to look at the shelves.
Their collection seemed quite extensive, with a lot of music from earlier decades, and even a wall covered with shelves full of LP’s. I should have to remember this place.
“So, what can I do for you?”
The sudden voice next to me almost made me jump, and I turned around to see a beautiful black girl. She was about half a head taller than me, with long, wavy dark brown hair and surprising eyes. Her skin was the colour of dark chocolate, and her skin-tight clothes showed off her curves very nicely.
Beautiful? More like drop dead gorgeous!
“Uhh… Heidi?”
“That’s me!” She smiled at me even when her eyes looked a little unsure, almost cautious. Frank’s eyes, more dark yellow than brown, and there’s a familiar tinge in her scent. I’ve got the right person here.
I stuck out my hand and gave her a smile. “Hi, I used to know your grandfather Frank. I just heard about him passing away. Roger, at his bar, told me to get in touch with you.” I bowed my head a little. ”I was sorry to hear about him, he was an… exceptional man.”
Heidi stared at me for a long while with her eyes wide, her warm hand still in my cool one. I could practically hear the gears turning in her head. Finally her eyes lit up and she lifted her other hand to clasp at mine as well.
“Oh! You’re one of granddad’s… friends! So nice to meet you!” She shook my hand like a Polaroid picture, but her eyes never left mine. She was almost frowning as she stared deep into them, obviously trying to figure out what I was. I gave her a grin that showed my sharp teeth, and her hands grew still. Another long moment of cool observation and gears turning, and she smiled a little.
“I think I know who you are now. Listen, I can get out of here in an hour. There’s a small pub just across the road,” she dragged me to a window mostly covered with posters and pointed across the crowded street. I nodded as I saw the place she was talking about. “If you have nowhere to be, you can go there and ask for Claudia. Tell her I told to take care of you, she’ll get you drinks and food. I’ll be there in an hour and we can talk more… privately, sound all right to you?”
“Yeah, sounds great.” I nodded and found myself ushered out of the door while Heidi repeated that she’d be there in an hour. The bell above the door chimed happily and I was standing in the rain again.
The thought that this might be a trap did cross my mind, but I had always trusted Frank, and I got the feeling from that brief encounter that I could trust his granddaughter as well. So I headed across the street towards the pub.
It was a bit more crowded than Frank’s, so I headed over to the counter to find this Claudia. A tall, young man was serving people their late afternoon pints, and he greeted me as soon as I reached the counter. After I asked for Claudia I got a rerun of the scene from the music shop, except that this time the answer came from behind me, and instead of a tall, gorgeous woman I came face to face with a short, skinny blonde whose long hair was tied back with a few bangs left out to frame her heart-shaped freckled face. Her eyes were light green, almost grey; the shade of her hair a bit too pale and she was way too short, but there still was a painful twinge inside of me when I thought that I was seeing a completely different person in front of me.
I didn’t even notice that I was staring until Claudia cleared her throat and moved a little, away from my line of sight. I apologized profusely and she asked if she could help me.
“Yes. Heidi sent me here and told me to ask for you. She said she’d also be here in an hour.”
There was an instant change in this small, pale girl at the mention of Heidi’s name. She seemed to start to glow, and the smile on her lips was not so hesitant anymore. The similarity with my past was made all the clearer.
“All right then! Come on, I’ll get you a table! Any friend of Heidi’s is a friend of mine!”
I smiled and followed her as she led me through the bar to a quiet table next to the windows. I noticed that I could see the record shop from here. I could even see inside if its windows weren’t covered so.
“What can I get for you, love?” Claudia asked, whipping out a pen and a small pad of paper.
“A cup of coffee for starters. And maybe the dish of the day?” I thought I might need my wits about me when Heidi got here, so no more pints for the moment. Claudia nodded happily and scooted away, checking if everyone on her way to the counter had everything they needed. I stared after her: there was something about her, something a little off, but couldn’t put my finger on it. Her scent was odd; human, I could tell that, but it still was not quite what it should be. It shouldn’t have bothered me, though, there are so many people in
My coffee soon arrived, and the dish of the day was quick to follow. Claudia tended to other customers as well but I could feel her eyes on me from time to time, and she walked by my table with a smile more often than past others. Once the place quieted down a little she came over with a refill of coffee and a cup for herself as well, and sat down.
“Have you known Heidi for long?” she asked as soon as she was on the chair. She was clearly trying to be casual, but I recognized the look in her eyes when the name was spoken. Like a magic word, it lit up this pale little girl like a Christmas light. Claudia was clearly in love with Heidi. What I didn’t know is whether the feeling was mutual.
She seemed a bit unsure on how to think of me, even a bit territorial, so I assured her that Heidi and I just met, and that I was an acquaintance of her late grandfather’s. This immediately calmed Claudia, even her posture grew more relaxed. She wanted to know how I knew old Frank, so I told her the same lies I fed Roger. I had no idea how much Frank had told Heidi about me, so I thought I’d better keep my lies simple and consistent until I knew more.
Once she relaxed Claudia turned out to be quite a chatterbox. Friendly as many Brits were. I told her that I haven’t been to
Claudia soon had to get back to work, but the hour was almost gone by then. Nursing a third cup of coffee already I stared out of the window, letting my mind wander as I watched the posters in the music shop window. I could see movement behind them every now and again, but couldn’t tell who it was or what they were doing. But with my stomach full and a good cup of coffee in front of me, there was no rush.
Despite all the trouble ahead of me in creating myself again, I could say that at that moment, listening to the rain and the quiet chatter, warm and cosy in my seat, I was content. There were no worries right then. Just that perfect moment.
It was enough to forget even
I think I was almost falling into some sort of a trance when the shop door suddenly opened and Heidi came out. I perked up immediately and looked over to where Claudia was. She must have sensed something since she was also staring at the door with a smile on her face.
Heidi soon entered, waved a cheery greeting to the barman and Claudia, and headed straight over to my table. Claudia was almost immediately there with a cup and a pot of tea. I watched as they exchanged a few quiet words while Claudia poured the tea. It was obvious that the feelings were mutual. They were not even touching each other in front of me, but their eyes spoke volumes.
Ah. True love. How sweet.
”Sorry I’m a bit late.” Heidi started but I shrugged the apology away, assuring her that it was quite all right. She sipped at her tea and stared at me quite openly. I didn’t mind, I’m sure she was trying to figure me out. And if she knew anything about what Frank had been and what he had done, she would have a lot on her mind right then.
“This is a bit... awkward, I don’t know how to start.” She finally said, lowering the cup to the table but not letting go of it.
I shrugged again. ”I can imagine. What do you know of Frank, and his… friends?”
“I know what he was and what he did. Dad didn’t keep in touch with him at all, but when I came to
“Do you believe?” I asked when she stopped to search for more words. Heidi hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“Yes. I do. I mean, I’ve known ever since I was a little kid that there is something a bit off about me. Dad as well, but it never really clicked until I met Frank, and he told me all about this stuff.”
“It’s hard to believe sometimes, I know. Even when I am one of those fairytale creatures.” I gave her a grin and she nodded, smiling and relaxing a little.
“So, I guess you’re... Stacy then?”
”Stasya.” I corrected her pronunciation. “But I guess I’ll be needing a new name.”
”All right then. I recognize you from some of granddad’s old photos. And he would sometimes talk about you, how you were his oldest friend.”
“Oldest surviving friend, I guess.” I muttered through the lump that was suddenly blocking my throat as I regretted not keeping in touch better. One should never abandon their true friends, especially not as old and good ones like Frank. I know that he understood that we didn’t keep in touch a lot, but I could have made more of an effort. But there it is again; I just didn’t think he’d go and die on me like that.
After a few somber moments I got down to business. ”Did he tell you what kind of… services he used to provide people like me with?”
Heidi grinned at me a bit nervously. ”He sure did. I think he knew he didn’t have long, and wanted someone to know what he did. That someone was me. I got all his contacts and whatnot at my apartment, you could come over and we can see what we can do.”
I gave her an incredulous look that asked if she thought that wise. She understood.
”Granddad always told me that I could trust you. You and a few other friends of his. So I will. And besides, I’m not completely harmless myself.” Her grin showed some admirable teeth as well.
”Good girl.” I said with a wink and sipped at my cooling coffee. She laughed as I relaxed further, hoping that my worries were done with. Probably not completely, but most of them should be. If Heidi had all of Frank’s stuff on her, there should at least be more contacts in his files, if she herself couldn’t help me.
We talked a bit about Frank, agreeing that all the business could wait until we got to her place. Besides, Claudia soon came to sit next to Heidi with a cup of coffee, and the three of us had a nice little chat.
Side by side like this, it was obvious how they were almost complete opposites of each other. Heidi was tall, all colour from skin to clothes that hugged her curves. Claudia was small and thin, her clothes pale, almost faded, hiding any curves she might have. Heidi was guarded but outgoing, whereas Claudia seemed almost timid, even when she was so friendly. Opposites attract, I guess. They made a very cute couple, and I apparently was not the only one thinking so; I noticed the barman and a few customers giving them similar soft looks.
Claudia soon also got off from work, and since that was the case for half of
So, once we were out of the pub we agreed to meet tomorrow afternoon at the pub, and once Heidi got off work we’d get straight to business. She borrowed me her yellow umbrella as it was raining quite hard. I watched with some amount of envy as the two of them huddled under Claudia’s red one as they left. I waited until they were out of sight before turning to walk in the opposite direction.
I didn’t like to admit it, but Alby’s little stunt had hurt me more than it would have mere decades ago. The skin on my upper arms still hadn’t healed properly, and considering the amount of energy my body had used to heal itself to this degree, I was in sore need of refreshment.
To put it plainly: I needed blood.
I’d be all right by now had I dared to feed in
Dinner was therefore late, and I was very hungry. And after the last few weeks I thought I deserved a feast.
First things first, though. I needed a hotel room for the night, somewhere to take my willing victim. Somewhere nice: I didn’t want to appear cheap. Luckily a city this size has hotels everywhere, and I didn’t have to go far to find a room. I also needed some nice clothes, so once I’d left my few belongings in the room, I headed out to the nearest shops. Abundance of those, as well, and since I wasn’t feeling too picky, I was soon armed with a new outfit. Back to the hotel for a quick shower, and a change, and soon enough I was prowling the streets of
So many options! Was I hungry enough for Italian? Or maybe something smaller and lighter, like Japanese. Easier to find Chinese, though. Or maybe something British. I was in
A good start, however, in getting over her just walked past me. Two good starts, to be exact. I turned 180 degrees, and followed them into a bar just as the clouds in the sky cracked and allowed the sun to sweep the streets.
--
The green door mentioned in the beginning used to belong to Freddie Mercury, and is kind of a place of pilgrimage for fans. My profile photo shows a part of it. Unfortunately I didn’t have my rainbow hat with me that day…
1 comment:
A really good installment. Claudia and Heidi are really cute.
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