Page 30 of The Neighborhood Vampire

“We had a contract,” Mr. White said. “It brings me no pleasure to do this. You’ll have to forgive my lateness, but my employer wanted to give you a few extra days to see if events unfolded differently. Clearly, they did not.”

“What is he talking about?” Carol Raskin asked Oliver.

Oliver scratched his head, not knowing what to say next. Men in black coveralls removed wine bottles from the shelves and carefully placed them into cardboard boxes. They removed bottles of Red-Hearted Queen and other wine selections, leaving the shelves barren.

“I informed your husband pursuant to the terms with Red Heart Distribution and our partners, you must prominently display bottles of Red-Hearted Queen in your store or you’d be in breach of your contractual obligations. Considering you still have a display of The Neighborhood Witch in our rightful spot, you are failing to meet those obligations,” Mr. White said as he handed a piece of paper to Carol. “This letter spells out every violation in our contract and why we are taking the proper steps to remedy the situation.”

Carol read through the multi-page document, flipping throughthe stapled pages at a hurried pace. Oliver wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“Per the contract, you won’t be compensated for your purchase price, and henceforth, all distribution agreements are considered null and void,” Mr. White said, picking up his briefcase. He pulled two business cards from the inner pocket of his navy suit jacket. He handed cards to Carol and Oliver. “If you have any questions, if you lawyer up to fight us, or want to sign a new distribution contract, you can contact me at this number. I bid you good day.”

He moved over to the men loading up the wine. After a brief conversation, he left. The men followed behind, pushing a dolly full of crated wine bottles. The shoppers, with confused expressions, murmured to themselves at what had transpired.

“Oliver . . .” Carol said. “Oliver, what do we do?”

Oliver’s face sunk as he took in his once proud and beautiful displays of wine. A kaleidoscope of offerings gone. Only barren shelves left behind. Oliver rubbed his hands together, staring past the empty shelves into a void only he could see. There was only the nothingness. White flashes of light engulfed the world around him until only the empty shelves were left.

What do we do? This will ruin us.

All ambient sound was gone—the voices of the shoppers, the background noise of commerce—all gone. He could only hear the raspy sound of his breathing in and out. The ever-accelerating pounding of his heart.

A hand touched his arm. Not any hand, but his calming influence. Oliver’s rock. His partner. The hand of his beloved Carol.

It pulled him out of the enthralling trance of his void. The world came back into focus as the white light faded back into the depleted shelving. His heart slowed. His breathing returned to normal.

“Oliver, what do we do?”

He gave her a hug, tapping her on the shoulder. “We’ll be okay. We’ll think of something.” He turned toward the untouched shelvesfeaturing bottles of The Neighborhood Witch wine. “We’ll just have to sell more of their wine. We can do it.”

More eyes focused their attention on the Raskins as they stood amongst the empty shelves.

He turned Carol toward the direction of the office. “Let’s go someplace quiet and talk,” Oliver said.

Oliver’s arm still hugged Carol as they sulked toward the hallway in the back of the store.

“Oliver,” Hugo’s voice called out. “We need to speak with you.”

The Raskins stopped.

Hugo, Alice, and Ez rushed down the aisle at a quick pace. Esmerelda lagged, struggling to match the longer strides of Hugo and Alice.

“Hugo, what’s wrong?” Carol asked.

“We need to go talk in private,” he responded.

“It’s about the wine,” Alice said. She spun around, marching backward, as if she was searching for something. She was on guard, but Oliver had no idea what she was guarding against.

Oliver arched his eyebrows, shocked at Alice’s statement. He asked, “How did you know?”

“Know what?” Hugo asked.

“They were just here,” Carol replied. She handed Hugo the multi-page document. He frantically flipped through the pages.

Oliver rubbed his hands together. He added, “They took everything. We couldn’t do anything. It’s all gone.”

“Who took what?” Alice asked. “What’s all gone?”

“Let me show you,” Oliver replied.

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