Connecting with a Glimpse of Hope

Maybe life was supposed to confuse you some days. There were times when the curveball would come and hit me, and I’d have to work hard to regain my balance.

I preferred the days when nothing huge or life-altering happened. It was easier for me to follow the slow waves instead of the fast-paced hurricanes.

And then there were the days when you expected nothing and something showed up, smacking you right in the face.

I really hoped life was going to start warning me before the strange things happened, but it never did. At least it kept my reflexes working.

~*~*~*~

I knew when the sun rose because I could see the light creeping through the blinds, but it disappeared as soon as it arrived when the rain rolled in. It pounded down on the roof, but it wasn’t loud enough to wake Erin lying next to me.

She just sighed, made a humming sound in her throat, and rolled to lie on her stomach, hugging the pillow close. My finger slid down the curve of her spine and she squirmed, reaching around to swat at my hand.

Chuckling, I pulled her close and pressed my lips to her shoulder. “Still ticklish, I see.”

“Still trying to sleep. Someone kept me up last night.”

“And here I thought vampires enjoyed staying up all night.” She snorted into the pillow, and I brushed her hair aside so I could kiss her neck. “It’s good you’re here, pretty girl. You can set me straight.”

“Very funny.” Erin turned onto her side facing me and pushed a hand through my hair. “Have you considered stand-up?”

“Sometimes, but after a while my feet hurt.”

She snickered against my chest, then snuggled into my arms, wrapping herself around me. “So, can we lie around in bed all day like we used to? I miss the days when I’d sleep for a few hours and then you’d wake me up, and then we’d sleep some more, and then you’d wake me up again. Those days had a surprisingly little amount of stress.”

“We can.” I dipped my head to kiss her shoulder, and moved across her collarbone and up her neck to her lips. I could feel her smile against my mouth and went to slide my hands down her back, but I froze when Gideon whimpered from his crib. “And maybe we can’t.”

Erin sighed, rubbing her lips across my chest. “Well, a girl can always dream. I’ll get him.”

“No, I’ll check on him. You can dream about lying around in bed with me while I’m dealing with a biohazard.”

When I got up she snickered, curling herself around my pillow, and I pulled on a pair of sweatpants before walking over to the crib.

Gideon looked up at me when I reached him, his face all screwed up like he was about to let loose the loudest scream of his young life. Somehow, I prevented this by picking him up, but then he started kicking as I carried him over to the changing table. “I know, it’s all uncomfortable in there, but if you give me a second, I’ll have you clean and dry in no time.”

He didn’t believe me, and neither did Erin, because I could hear her muffled laughter from the bed.

I set Gideon down and changed him as best as I could with his legs and arms flailing, hitting my hands more than once, but the second he was changed he went from demon child to perfect angel.

He was going to be sneaky when he got older, I could tell.

I slipped a pacifier into his mouth, but he only sucked on it for a few seconds before spitting it out. “Okay, okay, we’ll go get you a bottle before you break the windows.”

He took the pacifier when I gave it to him a second time, and brought him over to the bed so Erin could kiss him before we headed out to the kitchen. Once he’d been kissed and hugged, Gideon leaned into my chest, his hand coming up to grab onto my neck.

Seeing Thane sitting on the living room couch stopped me in my tracks.

I looked at him, head resting on the back edge as he slept, and shook his shoulder as I passed him. “Rise and shine.”

He jerked awake, jumped to his feet, and blinked at me repeatedly. “What?”

“Look, if you want to sleep, then go right ahead, but we put you in the guest house for a reason. There’s no room for you here, and that couch isn’t all that comfortable for naps.”

“No, it isn’t.”

As I walked into the kitchen he started groaning, following me, pulling a chair away from the table. I pulled a bottle of blood out of the fridge, and turned to find Thane sitting down, his head propped up in his hands. “You want some of this?”

“What?” His eyes were blurry when he looked at me. “Oh, yeah, sure.”

I poured him a glass and Gideon a bottle, and sat down at the other side of the table, sliding the blood towards Thane. He drained the glass in the time it took to settle Gideon in the curve of my arm, steal the pacifier from him, and slip the bottle into his mouth. He started suckling, the sounds filling the room, blending with Thane’s satisfied sigh. “Good?”

“Oh, yeah.” He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, looking like he was about to fall asleep. “Has my sister always been so bossy?”

“Erin? She’s not a total pushover, but I don’t think I’d call her bossy. She lets you know when she wants something.” I looked down when Gideon moved, and shifted him until he went back to the bottle. “She’s been tired lately, tired from the sleepless days and nights, tired from your parents showing up, tired from you not talking to her.”

Gideon finished off the bottle and I moved him up to my shoulder, rubbing his back. “You just have to show her that you’re not a complete jerk, that’s all. Once you do that, maybe she won’t want to kick you in the ass.”

He groaned and rolled his eyes, rubbing his palms over his face. “Perfect. You know, I never thought I’d find myself in this kind of place, a normal house with kids and pets and normal everyday stuff, like toys and storytime and peanut butter sandwiches.”

“You could always leave.”

“I’ve thought about it, but it’s not how I thought it would be, meeting Erin. She’s not how I thought she’d be.” Thane moved forward and leaned across the table, his eyes boring into me. “She’s not faceless anymore. She’s a real person. She’s someone’s friend, someone’s wife, and someone’s mother. She’s more than I ever imagined.”

The tension filled the room, so thick I could taste it, and then Gideon belched before rubbing his face into my neck. I chuckled and Thane shook his head, smiling a bit. “Way to ruin the mood, little guy.”

“Well, I’ll say one thing about him. He keeps us on our toes. Our lives haven’t really been all that boring since he was born.” I rubbed my cheek against the black fuzz of his hair and inhaled his slightly cold, slightly sweet, slightly orange scent.

“Like with the spitting up and the diaper-changing?”

“I guess, but there are the days when he learns new stuff, like sucking on his fingers, or moving his head around, or crying when Erin and I are about to do… something that doesn’t involve him.”

Thane rolled his eyes, and we both looked at the front door when it opened.

A puppy rushed in, followed by a little body and her mother. “Come back, puppy William.” Rory plopped herself down on her butt to pull off her boots, then got back up to run after her dog who was busy sniffing at Thane’s boots. Since it was Rory, she followed him down under the table. “Whatcha sniffin’? Quiet vampy got gunk on shoes?”

“Rory, get up off the floor.” Mick walked over and reached under the table, pulling out a giggling little girl. “Little girls don’t sniff at people’s shoes, okay?”

“Okies, Mommy.” She snuggled into Mick’s arms and looked at Thane with her quiet and thoughtful face. “Hi.”

“Hello.”

Rory’s eyes went wide when Thane talked back to her. “Quiet vampy talk?” She reached out and patted the side of his face. “Quiet vampy too quiet. Play with Rory?”

His face went white, if that was possible, and took on a ‘deer caught in the headlights’ expression. “Umm, I guess, if your mother doesn’t mind. What do you want to play?”

She slid out of Mick’s hold and went to his side, holding onto him. “Hug.”

I went to warn Rory about him maybe not wanting to play, and I saw Mick reach out to take her, but Thane picked her up and hugged her close as her little arms went around his neck.

Mick looked at Thane like he was about to take a bite out of Rory’s neck, and tugged at Rory’s arm. “Come on, honey. Why don’t you go play with your puppy?”

“Wanna play with quiet vampy.” Rory leaned back and pressed her hands to Thane’s face, trying to make him smile at her. “Need a happy face.”

Mick turned to me, her eyes narrowed. “You going to do something?”

“Not really. I’ve got my hands full at the moment.” I moved Gideon to lie against my chest and took his little hand, waving it at his aunt. “Your Aunt Mick’s starting to overreact, isn’t she?”

“Very funny. You going to put a shirt on at least?”

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

“I guess I should be glad you’ve got pants on.”

“You’re a riot, Mick.” Standing up, I passed Gideon to Mick, just to keep her hands full. “Try to keep from killing him. Rory seems to like him.”

She snorted, then kissed the baby’s nose, cuddling him close. “Rory likes everyone.”

“If only we could all be as accepting as Rory is.” I squeezed her shoulder and walked past her to the bedroom.

Sighing, I closed the door and climbed back into bed with Erin, crawling under the covers to curl up against her back, pulling her up against my chest. She squirmed and hunched her shoulders when I kissed her neck, and stroked the arm I had wrapped around her waist. “Where’s Gideon?”

“He grew up and moved out while you were in here. I think he’s gone to join the circus, or a heavy metal band. I don’t remember which.”

Erin rolled over and weakly punched me in the chest. “Very funny.”

“Mick and Rory showed up. I gave Gideon to Mick so she wouldn’t stop Rory from cheering up your brother.”

She looked up at me, her eyes bright. “She’s doing what?”

“Rory hugged him, then told him he needs to be happy.” I saw the tears form in Erin’s eyes and pulled her close, slowly running my hand up and down her back. “Don’t cry, pretty girl.”

“Too late.” Sniffling, Erin pressed her face to my chest and I could feel the wetness from her tears. “I’ll have to make her some cookies later, or a cake.”

“Just let her work her Rory magic on your brother and he’ll thaw out enough for you two to get to know each other. And I’ll look into getting some more blood the next time I’m out. We’ll run out sooner if we feed three vampires with what we have right now.”

I felt her lips brush against the side of my neck. “Just be happy that we’re not all drinking your blood, Simon.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’d like having your brother clamp down on my neck. He might enjoy it.” Erin burst out laughing and I rolled my eyes, letting her giggle into my shoulder. “You think it’s funny now, but wait until he starts eyeing my neck.”