The Vampire (THE VAMPIRE Book 1) (8 page)

“Do you have any questions?” he asked of Jason.

If he did, he couldn’t form the words to ask them so he only shook his head. He was still trying to process all he’d seen so far on the whirlwind tour, as if it had all needed to be shown to him in a rush.

“I will meet you in the library on Thursday for a formal meeting, and every Thursday thereafter, at 11 a.m., unless I state otherwise. If you have any concerns before then, or even afterward, contact Genier.”

Jason could only mumble “Okay, yes, thank you,” and nodded. Then Augere opened the black door behind him, presumably the door to his own quarters, and disappeared inside, quickly closing the door behind him.

He had been brusquely, but not rudely greeted. Very business-like actually. Which strangely helped put him a little more at ease. “Thursday? But—today is only Monday. What do I do until then?”

Jason gazed around the foyer for a closer look for a few moments, taking it all in more slowly, now that he was alone. He walked to the black door across the foyer. He wondered if it was locked, then looked at the keys in his hand, and decided to try the handle. It opened. He brought each of his bags to this door and then moved them all inside his quarters.

Once inside the door he stood in a hallway that had the same gleaming dark wood as the foyer, a hallway that stretched about twelve feet. A large room lay ahead of him, and to his immediate right two doors opened onto a huge walk in closet with ample shelves.

“Oh, this is good. I have a decent sized closet at least.” He moved further into the room and stood staring in amazement. He hardly knew where to focus his attention first: at the sheer size of the room, at the large fireplace, or the bay window area looking out onto Beacon Street. He walked around enjoying the hollow sound as his footsteps echoed across the dark wooden floor. The sound of plentiful, even cavernous space, filled his ears. And all to himself? Was it possible?

He spotted another doorway to the right of the bay window, which on closer look he was surprised to realize led out to the street. His own private entrance to the house, the door he had seen outside to the far right of the building. He was quite impressed so far. That probably meant the door at the other end of the building would be the private entrance for Augere, with a common main entrance for both at the center of the building. He had seen what must be a common mailbox at that door but now discovered he had his own private one as well.

Mentally, he was already starting to make plans for the sizable room. He could ask to partition a part of this off, and make a decent sized bedroom and then he would still have a good sized living room too. Another long hallway led off the opposite end of the living room. He found several closed doors along that hall. It brought instant anxiety as he wondered if maybe he was meant to share this space with others. But with whom?

He went to investigate, guessing one of the rooms might be a bathroom; he had not seen one yet on the quick tour. It would be luxury not to have to share one, but he dared not hope for that. He opened a door on the left and found to his delight it was in fact a rather large and elegant bathroom. One wall was dominated by a marble stone shower, golden toned with a clear door, a shower which, he realized, laughing, could easily have accommodated several people at once. Shelves were built into the stone wall; gleaming gold towel bars and faucets; lots of counter space and shelving. The room had a distinctly masculine look. It was, to him, a totally luxurious space. He opened a door in the hallway next to the bathroom and found a large linen closet with more shelf space than he could ever anticipate needing. And there were still two more closed doors. He stood for a few moments, puzzled. He opened the door across from the bathroom and found a good sized bedroom with two large windows and a large walk in closet. Upon further investigation he learned the windows looked out onto a narrow private patio.

Jason just stood and stared. This couldn’t be all for him. He had to be sharing this space with someone else. And there was still one last door to check at the end of the hall. He walked to that and paused outside the door. He knocked first before cautiously opening it. Then he stood in the open doorway as he tried to take in the meaning of what he saw.

All of his life he had had to share living space with someone else. He had been squeezed into small spaces, always limited and confined whether with brother, roommate or stranger in tight bedrooms or dorm rooms or tiny cramped apartments. Always.

He stood in what was easily the largest bedroom he had ever seen. A bed stood near the center of the room with a mattress that was still factory wrapped. It turned out to be queen sized, but it had appeared smaller at first, dwarfed by the sheer size of the room. Along one entire wall was a walk in closet.
In fact, a ridiculous amount of closet space
. He laughed. French doors opened out to a larger area of the same patio he had already seen part of, which turned out to be more of his own private patio, and this was connected by a wooden gate to an even larger common patio at the back of the house. Two big windows on either side of the French doors offering a southern exposure streamed gentle light into the room. Jason sat on the bed, the only place in the apartment to sit down, as he looked all around him. He was totally overwhelmed.

This couldn’t all be for him. He didn’t have to share this space with anyone else? He had never had this much living space all to himself, not ever. He would never have been able to find, much less afford, anything even remotely like this. And except for the lack of his own kitchen, this was just like having his own luxury apartment. He did a mental inventory: two bedrooms, a huge living room. With a fireplace. A private entrance. Private patio. Bay window with street view. Ample closets and storage… He could not get his mind around it.

He walked around the entire apartment again, taking in all of the details once more.

“And to think,” he laughed to himself aloud, “I hesitated.”

For several more minutes he stood in the emptiness and felt small, at a loss what to do next.

Well, at least I have a bed to sleep in—linens! I’ll need those. A chair, a TV, towels…
His mind began to race. He looked through his bags for his phone to voice record a list of needed items.. Then he went room to room. Bathroom: everything. Oh, and cleaning supplies, laundry stuff. There didn’t seem to be any. A table lamp; a table to put it on. His mind churned with all he would require. But for now, he thought, just for tonight—what do I need most? That helped him to narrow the list down.

And—provisions
. Don’t forget those, he reminded himself. He took his list and went through the kitchen to see what was most needed there. But first he headed out to the garage to see the car he would have access to. This was another most welcome surprise; a vehicle he could use. This would make getting everything he needed a lot easier.

In the garage he admired the sleek black Covington; last year’s model. A roomy four-door sedan with dark grey interior—he had only ever seen pictures of one, and now he was going to have one to drive. How could any of this possibly get better?

Back in the kitchen he opened the refrigerator to see how much space he had available, since he assumed he would be sharing this with Augere.

The refrigerator was starkly empty. Jason searched the clean interior. Nothing. Not so much as a single can of Coke. Not one condiment. Not a remnant of leftovers brought home from a restaurant. Empty and as new looking as if it had been bought and delivered that day. He checked the drawers and cupboards. Not a cup, or a plate; not one utensil, not even a can opener.

Even if you were someone who eats out a lot, or okay, always—who doesn’t have one thing to drink in the fridge? Who doesn’t even have a can opener or a single utensil? A glass or a cup?
It was all very strange.

Jason added a few more things to his list: coffee maker, toaster, microwave, utensils, plates, cups, etc. Then he just added the word “everything” under the heading “kitchen.”

He shook his head, feeling puzzled as he headed back out to the garage. Everything in the house didn’t just have a new look or seemingly a new smell to it—the whole place had an unused, unlived in
feel
to it—everywhere. Except for the cozy and inviting library. He shrugged.
All the better
.
I could definitely be content right there
.

Hours later he returned with a load of stuff crammed into the car from his shopping expedition, and dragging it all inside was exhausting. The groceries came in first and got put away. Then the other stuff, which he laid in a pile inside his quarters near the door.

He still didn’t have any pots or pans to cook in. He decided to celebrate being in Boston at his new job and in his new place by going out to eat. His sense of elation called for celebration and he wanted to splurge on a great meal.

He excitedly called his family later that evening to reassure them that, just as he knew it would be, everything was perfect. They were so happy and relieved for him.

He opened up packages of new solid grey, black and deep burgundy linens and made up his new bed; briskly dried off with one of his new thick fluffy aqua towels after a hot shower— and perfect water pressure!—and then sank into several new firmly plush pillows as he settled into bed with a novel, making use of a new lamp he had propped up on his luggage.

You’ve done very well for yourself, Jason
, he thought, with a contented sigh. He had grown sleepy after reading a dozen pages of his book.
You were absolutely right to do this
. He yawned. The bed was heavenly; a soft cloud that carried him quickly off to a sound and peaceful sleep.

ADJUSTMENTS

Chapter 4

May

Except for taking time to explore his new neighborhood, and a quick tour around favorite haunts he recalled around the Boston area, Jason mostly spent the next three days close to his new home.

He had discovered O’Riens Café, just two blocks from the house, which was, despite what the name suggested, a Tuscan themed bistro that served wine, teas and coffees, panini, a dozen different gelato flavors and various kinds of pastries he was sure were not usually found outside of Italy. Across the street from that establishment was an international news shop; a subway stop was close by. Then he found an Au Bon Pain, one of his very favorite places, three blocks from the house.
My happiness is complete
, Jason thought,
and not just because I am in Boston again, with a great job, but because I have all these other things I love so close by as well
.

Now he was able to put all his concerns about the shared living arrangements to rest. He had all the privacy he could want.

His first inclination was to fill in every corner of his new place with furniture. But he found he actually enjoyed the echoing empty sound as he walked through his quarters. It represented the luxury of having too much empty space and that was a new and pleasurable experience for him.

He became very selective in the few furniture pieces he chose. He created a small reading area near the fireplace with a red, black and grey oriental rug, a small round black lacquered table, a slender silver lamp with a deep burgundy shade, a tall and narrow black bookcase and a pale grey overstuffed soft fabric chair. The bay window, nearly a semicircle of a room, became a second cozy reading area. He could sit there, facing the street and read by the natural light of day, or draw the black and grey draperies with white sheer curtains closed, turn on a small table lamp on a second round black lacquered table and curl up in his new oversized black microfiber chair where he could read or watch TV as he faced into the main room.

He bought a dark grey couch in a soft fabric, and found red and black plush pillows to go with it. A plain black TV stand with several open and several glassed shelves completed his living room furniture. His new 42-inch TV would be arriving at the end of the week. He began to check out online catalogs, looking for gothic themed items he could buy or where he could at least obtain some ideas for the look he wanted to achieve. Having the freedom to shop like this was another new experience for him but he wanted to be selective.

By Thursday morning he’d been awakened several times, much too early, by sunlight stabbing his eyes: it was definitely time to get curtains for the bedroom. He needed to consult his mom about those; it was a big project with so many windows and not something he was used to having to deal with.

He arrived for his first meeting in the library at ten minutes to 11:00 and found Augere already there, sitting at his desk talking in French on a cell phone. He had a catalog open in front of him. Jason had not seen any sign of him since the day of his arrival.

He hesitantly stood in the doorway, unsure if he should enter. Without eye contact and with a single gesture, Augere motioned for him to come in. Jason sat in a high back plush purple chair, which sat about seven feet from the desk, but was the closest chair in proximity to it.

As Augere continued on the phone, Jason discreetly took the opportunity to take in details about him. This was the first real opportunity to stare at him openly since he had seen him in New Orleans, which, to Jason, didn’t really count. Now he had an even more intense interest.

He had fretted about what to wear on his first day at work. He had decided to go with casual and simple, all black attire with a few simple wrist bands on one wrist. Augere was casually dressed as well, and that put him at ease. Augere leaned lazily back into his chair, the one Jason had already admired and had sat in, late the other night, just to try it out. It was old fashioned in style, with a full, rounded seat, a rounded back and a head rest that extended over the head. The chair appeared antique but was more modernized than it looked in that it swiveled and rolled. It was unusual and unique overall, covered in a black and silver fleur de lis patterned fabric. On the black headrest was a richly hued and detailed tapestry of a pale black-winged angelic figure holding a sword, the tip of which was pointed right at Augere’s head as he sat. The arms and the seat were softly padded and Jason found the oddly configured chair to have been quite comfortable.