Page 76 of Felonies are Forever

“Yeah.” Avery chimes in. “You’re a lucky duck, Daddy, you only drink blood and don’t have to eat some of Mommy’s cooking.” She sticks out her tongue.

Both of them act more like they’re five or six years old, and we are learning to go with the flow on their development because there is nothing in the records that compares to the complexities of their birth.

“I know, but we need to be nice to Mommy about her cooking. It’s only eighteen more years, and you’ll be drinking blood too. For now, you have to eat some of what she cooks and your cow’s liver and blood. She wants you to try new things.”

Avery looks sad. “Like her Cheez-its? She misses eating them. But they’re yucko.”

“No they’re not!” Raymond objects. “I’ll eat Cheez-its even after I turn. I’m like Mommy, I don’t ever want to stop eating them. They’re the best.”

“Okay, well, this goes for both of you: if you want to eat them, you eat them.” I look at Avery. “If you don’t, you don’t. Now…It’s only two hours until sunrise. Food, then baths, then sleep, then Grandma and Grandpa should be here and I don’t want you guys having the grouchies from missing your hour of sleep.”

I look in the kitchen and watch Seleme working the whisk in the gravy, the scent of burned biscuits already swirling in the air.

“Okay, can we go see the puppies now?” Avery asks and before I can answer, Anna’s voice comes through from the front foyer.

“Yes, you can.”

“Aunt Anna!” They both drop my hands and go running as she drops to her knees and they tackle her with a hug.

Unlike Anna, who just walks through the wall, Dimitri uses the front door, following a second behind her and waving to me from across the enormous foyer.

A year after everything settled down, Seleme’s parents made the decision to move back to Romania. People were beginning to question more and more their lack of aging and they wanted to explore the world a bit, so they took up residence in the family home while they traveled the world at their leisure.

We decided to take over the mansion, while Anna and Dimitri bought the house across the street and renovated it completely making it a modern take on the tired Tudor that it was.

Seleme never did go back to her law practice. Something shifted in her after everything that happened. The case she was supposed to present before the state supreme court also fizzled out, her client having a change of heart which worked out. Seleme was a bit disappointed but in truth, many thingschanged after that night and her passion for that sort of success diminished.

I do some stock trading and with my new ‘vision’ I’ve been able to create quite a sizable fortune in my own right yet still stay home with Seleme and the kids which in my heart is where I belong.

In the end, a sort of peace was reached between all the vampire families. Although it would not be called friendship, no more lives have been lost since the uproar that followed Seleme’s turning. Everyone returned to their corners of the world and for at least a few years, none of our paths have crossed.

“How are my favorite mini-vampires?”

“Goooooood.” They both sing-song in unison.

“Hey there.” Dimitri comes through, ruffling their heads as he passes. “How’s tricks?”

I stand and shake his hand. “All is well.”

He leans his head back and sniffs the air. “Seleme cooking again?”

I smack him on the shoulder. “Stop.” I whisper.

“Too late.” Her voice comes through from the kitchen, and I give Dimitri an I-told-you-so look. “I heard him.”

“Sorry.” He offers, shrugging as he shoots me a sympathetic look. “How do you get away with anything?”

“He doesn’t.” Seleme answers, and I give him a resigned smile.

“What would I possibly need to get away with?” I look through into the kitchen, watching her with wonder at how I managed to land such a goddess, undead or not.

“Beats me.” Dimitri concedes as the kids run in, dragging Anna by the hands.

“Mommy, Daddy…” Raymond announces. “Anna said she has something to tell us, but she wants us all to hear.”

Seleme turns and wipes her hand on a towel, then comes to stand next to me and I lean down and kiss her cheek.

“Well.” Anna starts, looking at each of us. “Dimitri and I have some news.”

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