The Vampire (THE VAMPIRE Book 1) (80 page)

A welcome basket of assorted fruits, a box of chocolates from Sucre and a bottle of wine sat on the table. Jason explored further: there were two hall closets near the entrance; a utility room held a washer and dryer. He went outside to look around. The back of the house was nearly hidden from view by lush landscaping, which carried over to obscure one side of the building. The cottage was fairly private, for being nestled into a residential neighborhood with other houses so close by. A small patio area extended into a small trim yard largely dominated by a medium sized in ground pool.

As Jason reentered the cottage he paused, thinking he heard water running in the shower. He hadn’t seen any evidence of Augere’s presence yet, though he would have arrived there the day before. Strange he hadn’t seen or heard anything until now. Jason took a seat on the couch, waiting.

He couldn’t believe how nervous he was at just the thought of seeing Augere again. He tried to preoccupy himself with taking in more of the décor. The cottage was actually a small scale house, with most of a larger house’s amenities.

A single person could be comfortable here, but a couple could be a little crowded. He was feeling right at home though.

His attention turned to the sound of the water again. The fact of that surprised him, and then he was surprised at his surprise: of course Augere would use the shower!
He always looks impeccably groomed; always clean shaven—or does he even shave?
Jason wondered. His hair was always perfect. He began to wonder about…
no…I am not going to sit here and speculate about his hygiene habits…

The sound of the water stopped, and he tensed, holding his breath for a moment. The cottage was so still he could hear his own breathing. He hoped Augere would not come out of that room, naked. Then his cell phone startled him.

“Hello, Jason. I’m glad you arrived okay. Did you get the message about dinner tonight?” Genier asked.

“Hello. Dinner? No. I didn’t.”

“Mr. Augere didn’t mention it?”

“Uh…I haven’t seen him yet.” It was the truth.

“A car will be coming to pick you up, and take you to the restaurant for dinner. I will be accompanying Mr. Augere so I will pick him up in my own car, and then we will meet you there.”

“Oh, okay. At what time should I be ready?”

He had an hour until the car arrived.

Of course, he would be ready. He wasn’t hungry now, having eaten an hour ago. But no matter as he had no other plans.

Augere emerged from one of the two bedrooms, and not the bathroom as expected. Had he passed by without being seen? He was dressed casually in a slim black jacket and black shirt and pants. His hair was damp from the shower. He walked to one of the chairs near where Jason was sitting and sat down. Jason was hesitant to look into his eyes, having only taken in just the quick details of his appearance. They sat in awkward silence for several moments.

Augere spoke first, softly, without looking at him.

“Your sister informed me your plans did in fact change unexpectedly. Your family made other arrangements, without including you. You would have found yourself alone.”

Jason nodded without looking at him. “Yes. It was my own fault. I wasn’t clear enough about my intentions, so they made plans without me. I only recently learned of the exact details, when she arrived and confirmed them for me.” That wasn’t exactly the way it had happened, but it was close enough to the truth.

“A cruise, she said.”

Jason nodded again, gazing down at the floor. “Yep.”

“And now you are forced to stay with me for the holiday.”

Jason shook his head, looking up at him then. “No. Now
you
are stuck with
me
.”

Augere gave him a rare smile, small and brief. It totally surprised Jason and he smiled in return. After a moment, feeling lightness and energy returning to both spirit and body, Jason stood. “I’d better get ready for dinner.” Augere nodded once.

Genier arrived and after welcoming Jason with a warm hug, he and Augere took off in his car while a separate car brought Jason to a popular restaurant in the French Quarter. The person who greeted him at the entrance was Allen Genier. He embraced Jason just as if he were family and Jason instantly began to feel at ease.

“I’ve been keeping an eye out for you—you’re at a table with us. This way.” Allen led him across a large dining room, to a round table set for six, of which Jason was one. Jason nodded politely to those farthest away, and shook hands with those closest. There was an elderly couple, a young girl of high school age, and an attractive brunette. Introductions were made but all Jason remembered was that everyone was named Genier.

Allen sat on his left and the young girl—Lisa? Gia?—sat on his right. A waiter appeared with a tray of drinks and Jason helped himself to white wine. Enormous servings of shrimp cocktails, one of Jason’s favorites, were served. Hungry or not, he was having this. Everyone ate quietly for several minutes.

“Jason, it really is so good to see you again. And looking so well,” Allen remarked.

“Thank you.” Jason almost meekly averted his eyes. He had made such a fool of himself in London. It was almost embarrassing to face Allen again now, especially as understanding as he was being about all of it. “And thank you for helping me—with that whole thing in London—I was such a mess. Really, I apologize for all that I—”

The young girl next to him had disappeared across the room now, and the other three at the table were up and mingling close by. No one was in proximity to hear him.

“No, please, don’t give it another thought. No need to explain at all. You were dealing with an extreme situation. None of us could blame you. Let it be forgotten.”

“I was acting crazy.” He shook his head. “Looking back, it seemed I was just—”

“No one judges you.” Allen shook his head. “Seriously. My family has seen far worse things, I’m afraid. So put your mind at ease about this.”

“Worse? That’s hard to imagine.” Jason was suddenly curious.

“Suicide, nervous breakdowns, wooden stakes. Trust me, you have nothing to feel upset or guilty about regarding your behavior. Totally understandable. And we just didn’t realize…we didn’t understand. I feel as if we should apologize to you. That we were remiss in all of this. My family feels terrible about that. But it IS so good to see you back. You really surprised all of us. It is a rare thing for someone to return.”

Jason nodded. He took the last sip of his white wine. “I should have listened to you by the way.” He sighed. “My mom was very disappointed I didn’t bring her something from Harrods.”

Allen laughed. “I tried to tell you!”

Jason nodded and laughed with him.

Allen took a sip of wine. “So—you have straightened things out with Mr. Augere then…it seems there was some misunderstandings, all around.”

Jason nodded. He wasn’t comfortable about going into that part of it. He was feeling embarrassed about a lot of that now. Even though it had all worked out in his favor.

“I believe he thought the reason you had left—was because of what he is—”

It seemed Allen just wanted confirmation of the facts. He hoped they didn’t know how he had misinterpreted Augere’s comments at their encounter and unnecessarily humiliated himself. The main thing was that things had turned around for him.

“Yes, apparently,” he answered. “I deeply regretted I might have caused him to think that. It was absolutely not true. I was able to have a chance to tell him.”

Allen nodded as the others were returning to the table now; their conversation was interrupted.

Waiters brought plates of soups and salads, second and third courses, and jambalaya and etouffe, crab cakes and pasta dishes and drinks were readily replenished.

“I don’t know where I am going to put all this!” Jason laughed, looking at his plate. “I’m not even that hungry.”

“Well you had better get hungry! The next few days will challenge all of us. Around here, being hungry has nothing to do with eating!” The attractive brunette laughed and patted Jason’s arm as she returned to her seat. Jason laughed too.

As he sampled various items on his plate, Jason found he was included in the conversation. They seemed genuinely interested in him. People he didn’t know and had never seen before stopped by the table to introduce themselves, to say hello and to wish him well; they called him by his first name. Many of them welcomed him to the family celebration. Jason was touched by the kindness and thoughtfulness of all of them.

Looking at Allen, Jason wondered if he was the mutual acquaintance Terrance had been coy about. He wanted to ask but was afraid to. Secrecy might still be required. And he also wanted to know: did all of these people know the truth about Augere? He decided he had better be careful about what he said and when, just in case.

The young girl on his right had been staring at him, often, as they ate. Finally he turned to her between courses and smiled.

“I’m sorry—I forgot your name,” he said to her.

“It’s Ligeia.”

“OH! Like the Poe character?”

She nodded enthusiastically and smiled, pleased he knew the reference. “Actually it’s Linea. I just prefer Ligeia.”

Jason nodded.

“What’s it like to work with Mr. Augere?” she asked breathlessly.

He shrugged. “He’s okay. I don’t see him much though.” What could he say really?

“He is just so cool. And
so
beautiful……” Her voice grew softer on the last syllable. “I’ve only seen him once. And I keep looking for him every year since.” She sighed. “He never comes here anymore,” she added with a disappointed frown.

“I think he’s probably coming here later,” Jason offered, and then almost immediately regretted saying anything. The girl’s eyes had grown wide.

“Is it true, Uncle Allen? Is he really coming? Is Mr. Augere going to be here?”

“I doubt it.” Allen shook his head. “I have not heard that.” The girl’s disappointment was palpable. Jason shrugged at her. He learned the attractive brunette, Cherise, was the sister of James and Allen; Linea was her daughter. Cherise pointed out her husband, Dalcourt, at the bar with several men. He waved and smiled at them.

“Is this the holiday party for all of your family then?” Jason asked, surveying the beautifully festive salon. A monstrously huge and lavishly decorated traditional Christmas tree dominated one corner of the large dining room, and everywhere large faux candles cast a warm glow.

“This is just one of them,” Allen explained. “There are parties for family; parties for the employees. Parties for both combined. Then there is the reveillon. And then the bonfire of course.” Allen laughed. “We’re just getting started. One of our reveillons starts as an early dinner—we have revised a tradition to better suit all of us, so even the young ones can participate. You are invited to all these of course. Then there are breakfast brunches, a jazz brunch, casual musical get-togethers, all at different places and times around the city, so everyone has a chance to attend one or more of them and still be able to do things with other relatives and friends. Mostly it is non-stop partying from now through New Year’s.”

“And why is Mr. Augere—why is this so distasteful to him; why is he so reluctant? Is it just the holidays themselves?” Jason recalled as soon as he made the comment: he had just learned Augere’s sister had died in December. That could be the reason…maybe. Just a sad time of year for him.

Allen appeared thoughtful. “We used to think it was the holidays themselves. But I think that is only a part of it. James says he hates to have any fuss made over him. He hates being the center of attention. But my family is very fond of him; James in particular is devoted to him and he refuses to let him be alone over the holidays. We want him to be included and welcomed, especially since he has no family of his own. He is often quite generous throughout the year, and we want to acknowledge that and show our gratitude. Normally he becomes very depressed at this time of the year; I know there are various personal reasons for that. We know we can’t change the source of his misery. But we can try to balance that with some company and good cheer.” Then Allen laughed. “Even if it kills him, so to speak.”

“I’m surprised Mr. Augere agrees to go along with it.”

“Well”—he nodded—“they are both two very strong personalities, he and my brother. Mr. Augere seems to find little ways to try to sabotage his involvement. I think he tolerates all of it just for James’ sake. And James doesn’t push that much on him, really, even during these events; he does want Mr. Augere to be surrounded by people who care about him though. They may seem to be at odds with each other sometimes, and they play out this routine every year, but somehow, it does come together and everyone mutually benefits from it. There is quite a strong bond and mutual affection between them.”

“And your whole family—are they equally involved—I mean—does everyone know…is everyone aware…” Jason chose his words carefully, though he spoke in quiet tones. Live music was playing now, as dessert was being offered. Jason paused to order the crème brulee with his coffee.

“Most of the people here”—Allen glanced around the room—“do NOT know the truth. Of course, there is always speculation about him. But one of the unique things about my family, one of many, I could add, is our ability to keep our secrets.” Allen took another glass of wine offered from a passing tray. Jason helped himself to a third glass also. He wasn’t driving; he was feeling really mellow now and being a little drunk on good wine appealed to him this evening after all of his recent worries.

“Of course, situations like this,”—Allen gestured—“where a lot of people are gathered, and there is much alcohol—there is always some risk. People comment on how he has not aged in decades…people become hyper focused on him—well, for many reasons, I suppose. All of that makes Mr. Augere nervous. That is never a good thing.” Allen sipped at his wine. “But whatever my family may suspect, you can still be sure they will be protective of each of us. And that includes him, always.”

“Do you feel comfortable being around him?” Jason hoped he wasn’t being inappropriate in asking.