Page 52 of Vampire's Vixen

“We are. It’s an odd flex that we receive as our powers grow. When my father died, he left the bank to me. I sold it at a profit, and left the area, eventually settling in Midnight Point.”

“Do you have any family?” Crystal asked.

He shook his head. “My sister married and had children, and they had children, but the line died out with her great-grandchild. There was only one, and he died childless and alone, too young. So, I’m alone. Nobody else—none of my cousins wanted anything to do with me.” Zandre sighed, then shrugged. “I’ve been here for over sixty years, after traveling around the United States. But I’m lonely. I can admit it.”

I didn’t say much, but his story had affected me. I realized that, vampire or not, he’d had a rough life and he was just trying to carve out a bit of happiness for himself. If I could help with that, I wanted to help.

As the evening wore on, the awkwardness slipped away. As I watched, I could see the connection forming between Crystal and Zandre. Even though it didn’t make me happy, I found my resistance weakening. Whatever happened, Crystal would be okay, because I could tell that Zandre wouldn’t hurt her—whether they became friends or lovers.

Next morning, I joined Astra in the kitchen. “I have a reading today,” I said. “But after that, I’m closing my doors for a week or so, then reopening with a new focus. Aphrodite—and you—have convinced me that I’ve been on a path that really isn’t my path. Close, yes, but I need to embrace all of my strengths. Not just what I thought was my strength.”

“I don’t think you’ll be disappointed,” Astra said. “So, how did dinner go with the vampire?”

I wasn’t sure what to say. “It was…unexpected. We’ll see how it turns out.” I told her about what happened. “Crystal was so happy last night when I dropped her off. I had to confront my tendency to turn away from the things I don’t want to see. That she felt so embarrassed telling me how she feels, it hurts my heart. She thought I’d look down on her. That tells me something about myself—something I’m not proud of.”

“And what is that?”

“That I’m a snob. That I’m bigoted, and I didn’t realize it. I want to do better, Auntie.” I poked at my waffle with my fork. “But I apologized to her, and we’re good. With Zandre, I need to wait and see. But I’m trying not to automatically mistrust him. He’s had a hard life, and he’s made some good choices. I don’t know too many people who could choose the path he did, after being turned.”

Astra snapped her fingers. “Speaking of hard lives, I almost forgot to tell you. You remember you asked me for help with Terry’s fundraising? The mailman?”

I nodded. “Please tell me that there’s good news on that.”

“Yes, there is. Most of my gardening group know him. They had no idea what was going on. We’ve started a Please-Help-Me in his name and we’re spreading the word. In less than two days, we’ve already raised $25,000 to help, and it’s still going strong. And a couple of our members were nurses. They’ve volunteered to donate a couple afternoons a week to go over and help out. Terry’s insurance barely covers one day a week for home health care, but with our volunteers, we’ve managed to cover every afternoon of the week, so Terry won’t have to worry about his husband being alone all day long.”

Relieved, I almost burst into tears. “Thank you,” I said.

“That’s not all,” Astra said. “We arranged for the Happy Maid Cleaning Service to come in—they’re going to volunteer a cleaning every week until Lin passes, and then a full deep clean afterward, when Terry’s ready.”

Touched by how kind people could be, I settled back in my seat. “This will make a world of difference for them. I really do believe that when you help one person, you help the entire world.”

“So do I, my dear. So do I.”

At that moment I received a text. It was from Kyle. I read it and smiled. “Kyle just received an email from the school. I probably did, too. Willows is out. He won’t be hurting any more students.”

“Cheers to that,” Astra said, raising her coffee mug.

As we ate breakfast, I thought about my future.

I was trying to find a new label for myself. I was more than a matchmaker. I was more than a widow. And all facets of my life were changing.

As Miss P. jumped on my lap and I began to pet her, I once again felt at loose ends. But now, my world was expanding, rather than just exploding, and I was in control of the direction in which it was growing. I was part of the Dark Moon Society, I had a home with an aunt I adored, I was exploring a new business path that promised a brighter future, I was dating again, and my best friend may just have found the love of her life. And all in all, that wasn’t bad.

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