The Vampire's Second Chance Part 2
2062 Words
He returned quickly. I was grateful to have him there. I didn’t know how well I would be handling this situation if I were alone.
“Sit down and have a drink. I’ll sit with you.”
I got down on the floor and leaned against the counter. I relaxed a little more and set down the flashlight so I could open the bottle of water and take a drink. It helped a lot.
Dennis sat nearby. I felt a little bad that he felt like he had to get on the floor with me. His clothes were obviously expensive.
The storm raged outside. Flashes of lightning illuminated the area around the store. The rain was falling in sheets. This wasn’t good weather for anyone to be out in.
“Do you want to talk? It might make you feel better.” He suggested.
“I don’t know what to talk about. Normally, I can be really chatty, but it’s like my head is empty. I’m sorry you have to stay here with me. I’m sure your wife is probably worrying about you.”
I didn’t recall seeing a ring, but I figured it would get him talking and take the pressure off of me. It was hard to think of what to talk about. I was hoping he would take over the conversation.
“I don’t have a wife.”
A couple minutes passed. He really wasn’t going to say anything else. So much for hoping he would take the lead.
“No wife? That’s a little surprising. Unless you don’t have a wife because you have a husband.” I said.
He laughed. “No. No wife, no husband, no one waiting for me except a very excitable standard poodle. Though, the storm probably has her pretty scared right now as well.”
“A poodle?”
“Yes. I found her five years ago, abandoned in the alley behind one of my restaurants. She was a mess, but sweet. I’d never had an animal take to me like she did. I brought her home. Fed her, cleaned her, and named her. Her name is Francesca. I named her after the woman who broke my heart.” Dennis told me.
He sounded sad. I really didn’t like that for some reason. Maybe because a man like him should be fighting women off with a bat. I couldn’t believe someone would turn him down.
“Well, that woman sounds terrible. You’re a handsome man, Dennis. Why didn’t you go find someone else?”
“Because, I didn’t want to risk the pieces of my heart. They were already shattered. I couldn’t imagine letting someone else have the chance to turn them to dust. I’ve had many dalliances and affairs, but none I cherished like I would have cherished her. Not until I found my little Franny.”
In the dim light, I saw him pull out his phone and he pulled up a picture to show me. It was of his dog curled up on a large dog bed, chewing on a bone. I smiled. He really loved his dog.
“You spoil your dog because you can’t spoil the woman you loved. I like that. She’s a beautiful dog.”
“Thank you. She’s the best dog in the world.” Dennis said happily. “Now, we can talk about you. Is there a significant other you need to contact? I’m sure they’d be worried about you.”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t date much anymore. It gets harder as you get older, you know.”
There was no reason to tell him about the scars and the fact that I couldn’t find anyone who wanted to stay with me after seeing them. For now, I just wanted to pretend to be a semi-normal middle aged single woman.
“I understand.”
I sighed. “That got depressing fast. I can’t believe this. I’m not even supposed to be here tonight. This is officially the worst birthday I’ve ever had.”
“Why are you working on your birthday?”
“The other cashier had some personal issues and couldn’t make it. My manager has two small kids and no overnight sitter. It was really the only option. My friends all canceled on me anyway, so it’s not like I was doing anything. I’d just be sitting at home in the dark.”
Dennis took my hand. “I want you to call me and tell me what your next day off is. I’ll reserve a table for you and your friends at one of my restaurants. You can have anything you want. It will all be on me. I’ll put you on the VIP list for all of my clubs and you can go dancing afterward. Your tab there will also be on me. A young lady should never have to give up her birthday celebration.”
“You don’t have to do that.” I blushed.
“I know. I want to. I’ll give you my card when the lights come back and I’ll write down the names of my restaurants and clubs on it. You can pick whichever one you want. I’m more than happy to take care of it.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
We sat there talking more. I told him about my family, my older brother and his wife and kids. He talked about his dog more. He told me about his recently found niece.
I didn’t really know how you recently find a niece, but I could imagine he may have lost contact with family. He told me he grew up in Europe and had been a soldier when he was younger. I told him about the places I’d been and the things I’d seen.
He was really attentive and listened to everything. Dennis asked a lot of questions that made me feel heard. I hadn’t had a really good conversation in a long time.
It made me realize how many times I’d talked at people, but not to them. I hadn’t been a very good listener either, in the past. Something about talking to him in the dark felt private and intimate. It felt like I should be listening more. There was nothing else to distract me.
After a couple hours, he got a phone call. It was his niece checking up on him. His voice was very affectionate when he talked to her. It made me smile.
“My apologies, Billie. Echo worries if I don’t answer when she calls. It seems power is out all over the city.”
“No problem. It’s sweet that she worries. Do you see each other often?”
“As often as possible. We both have busy lives. She’s definitely one of the best things to happen to me in years. The goddess gave her a big heart.” He said softly.
“The goddess? Wow. I didn’t expect that.” I chuckled.
“Expect what?”
“For you to be a member of an alternate religion. I thought most men your age in the area were Christian.”
There was a brief pause. As if he was trying to figure out how to respond to that. It made me feel awkward. I forgot the golden rule of light conversation, no religion, no politics.
“I think most men of my age in this area believe in the goddess over the Christian god. Is that a problem? You aren’t planning to try and convert me, are you?”
I snorted. “I don’t believe in deities. Nothing against other people believing, but I’ve seen some things. I don’t believe in some all-knowing being who just sits by and watches while this s**t happens.”
“In most religions, there is a belief in freewill. Deities grant it to those they create. Otherwise, there would be nothing worth valuing. We would all follow our predestined paths and never have our adventures. The chaos of living is created by that freewill. It may make the world a little terrible, but it also makes it wonderfully mysterious.” He replied.
“I guess that’s one way to look at it. I think I’d rather have freewill than have to stick to a predestined path. As you say. If there are gods and goddesses, at least they did that part right.”
“Thank you for that. I prefer your understanding to someone trying to push their belief, or lack thereof, onto me.”
It was another couple of hours before the lights came on again. I was grateful it didn’t take all night. I was all talked out, for the first time in my life.
Dennis stood smoothly and turned to me. He held out his hands to me and I took them. Unlike him, I made noise when I stood.
A cold, cement, floor was not the place for a woman my age to be spending over four hours. Dennis didn’t look like he was any worse for the wear, though. I wondered how he managed it.
He pulled a silver card holder from his jacket and pulled out a card. Dennis crossed to the counter and picked up the pen from the side of the register. He started writing on the back of the card.
I threw my empty water bottle away in the trash can near the door. As I returned, he finished writing. Dennis handed me the card.
“Remember, check your schedule and let me know what night you would like for your birthday celebration. I’ll make sure you have the best tables.”
“I will. Thank you for staying with me, Dennis. You made this a lot better than it could’ve been. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to be alone.” I smiled.
“The goddess watches over all her children.” He winked.
My hand instinctively went to my side. She hadn’t that night. Maybe this was her trying to make up for it a little. If I believed in things like that.
Dennis pulled up the collar of his coat and left through the automatic doors. I put his card in my purse. I would take him up on his offer. It would be nice to have some fun on someone else’s dime.
A half hour after the lights came on, the officers who frequented the store came in and got some coffee. I’d brewed some as soon as possible. I knew they’d be by before I finished my stocking.
“Sorry we didn’t make it out to check on you, Billie. All officers were directed to major crossroads and vulnerable businesses. When the lights go out, you never know what people will decide to do.” Officer Martinez said when he came up to pay for the coffees.
“Don’t worry about it. No one tried anything. I was just here with a customer.”
“A customer? Couldn’t you get the doors open for them?”
“I could. He wanted to stay. He was a very nice older man.”
He smiled. “That’s good to hear. You’re our favorite cashier, you know.”
“Does this mean you’re seeing other cashiers behind my back, Officer Martinez?”
With a laugh, he shook his head and grabbed his coffee from the counter.
“We’ll see you later, Billie. Stay safe.”
“You, too.” I called out as they left.
By the time the early morning shift came in, I’d cleaned and stocked everything. I counted out my till and got my things together. As I was making my way around the counter, Cat called out.
“Something fell out of your purse, mom.” She held up Dennis’ card and looked at it. “Oh, I’ve been to these clubs! Planning a big night out?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Cat. I’ll see you later.” I took the card and headed out.
In my car, I looked at the card. He had nice handwriting. I recognized the names of some of the places on the card and blushed. He owned some of the nicest restaurants and most popular clubs in town!
I hadn’t realized he was that successful. My friends would be so surprised. I couldn’t wait to tell them.
- Writer
