Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Vampire Summer ❯ A Night Out ( Chapter 15 )

 

 

That was the last time Johnny stayed over with us. He never again slept where I could reach him, whether it was because he didn't trust me or because he didn't trust anyone, I don't know.

 

I called Sam, and we talked. He agreed to let me keep Crystal for the rest of the summer, and he told me he would move out of the house by September so Crystal could go to school as planned. We would settle the details later, through our lawyers. He didn't mention Johnny and neither did I.

 

When I hung up the phone, it hit me that this was final. I was going to be on my own. Sam didn't want me; Johnny didn't want me. For just a second I let myself wallow in self-pity.

 

A knock on the door startled me. Who could be calling out here? I peered through the glass and saw that it was Betty, my friend and possible distant cousin from the Town Hall. I swung the door open. “Betty! What are you doing here?”

 

Betty stepped inside and glanced around curiously. “So this is your little summer cottage,” she said with a smile. “It's very cozy.”

 

She probably lived in a mansion. “We think so,” I replied, motioning for her to take a seat on the couch.

 

“Did you ever talk to your family about whether or not your grandfather came from Lockwood?” she asked, glancing around again. “I thought you said they were coming to see you. I was hoping to meet them.”

 

“Yes and no,” I answered truthfully. “My parents were here over 4th of July but they already went back home.”

 

“So soon?” Betty sounded concerned, so I told her the whole Sam saga and how everyone had decided to give me time to myself this summer to sort things through. “I'm so sorry,” she murmured when I was finished. “I didn't realize. Is little Crystal still here with you?”

 

“Of course,” I replied. “She's out back playing with her dolls on the picnic table.” Betty nodded her understanding.

 

“So are you related to us or not?” Betty asked, a hint of excitement creeping into her voice.

 

What could it hurt? It might gain me some more information. “I think so,” I said cautiously. “My Dad never came right out and said it, but I think my Grandpa might have been from around here.” I couldn't tell Betty that my vampire had hinted that Dad `knew some things,' and that's why I was pretty sure my grandfather was the same Philip Summerfield who had left her town all those years ago.

 

“I knew it!” Betty exclaimed excitedly. “I'm so glad.” She fumbled around in her purse. “Here,” she said, handing me a sheaf of papers and a small, bound book. “I found these when I was rummaging through my mother's attic. I thought you might be interested. Some of it is fairly vague, but there are mentions of the Summerfields. I'm still digging through records at the Town Hall, too. If I come across anything concrete, I'll let you know.”

 

I glanced down at the small pile of papers on my lap. “Thank you,” I said. “I'll get these back to you.”

 

“Oh, keep them as long as you like,” Betty said, smiling. “I need to go back to work now, anyway. I'm on my lunch hour. It's tax season, you know.”

 

I stood up with Betty, dismayed at my own lack of hospitality. “I'm so sorry. Would you like a quick cup of coffee and maybe a sandwich before you go back?” These days, lunchtime was my breakfast. I hadn't even realized what time it was.

 

“No, no I'm fine,” Betty said. “I'll take a raincheck, though. Maybe we can get together for dinner one night this week? I'll call you!” She waved jauntily as she stepped out the door and into her compact car which was parked on the side of the road instead of in the gravel driveway. “You know,” she said as she rolled down her window. “You really ought to think about moving here permanently, now that you're getting divorced. You and Crystal have family here now.” With a last wave, she drove off down the road.

 

I made a quick lunch for Crystal and me, now that I realized it was that time, and we headed down to the beach. I stuffed the papers Betty had given me into my bag so I could read them while I watched Crystal play. Even though Johnny had all my other notes, and he had been the one to confirm my ancestry, I didn't want him to know I was still gathering information.

 

The loose papers were mostly correspondence, letters from one cousin to another gossiping about various goings-on in town. I ran across a letter Amelia Cooper had written to her cousin Elizabeth Crew back in 1930 from Boston. Her letter was filled with flowery phrases and veiled references to mutual acquaintances. `Has W mentioned me at all?' she wrote in one sentence. `Does he still come around?' Later she wrote, `I have to tell X the truth.' The remainder of the letter complained about how homesick she was and how she wished she could come home soon.

 

What truth? I wondered. I skimmed down, and at the end of the letter Amelia asked her cousin for Philip's address. Amelia must have been Cara's grandmother, I realized, the one who had kept in touch with my grandfather. And Elizabeth Crew was probably Betty's grandmother, since Betty had found the letters in her mother's attic. I picked up the bound book. It was Elizabeth Crew's diary. I briefly wondered if Betty had given it to me by accident, but I wanted to find out if perhaps it could fill in the gaps left by Amelia's one-sided letters. So I opened it.

 

`I was so saddened to hear that Amelia's baby had died. But I suppose it's for the best. Now Amelia can settle down with Y and forget all this nonsense. It's time she grew up and stopped flitting between W and X and now Y. She learned her lesson the hard way, poor child.'

 

I set the diary down. Amelia had been a wild child. Pregnant outside of wedlock? Was that why she had been sent away? It must have turned out all right because eventually she came back and married Cara's grandfather. I wondered if he had been `Y.'

 

As interesting as all this was, it was getting late. “Crystal, time to go!” I called. I gathered up all my things. I wanted to get back to the cottage and hide the papers Betty had given me before Johnny showed up. I was vaguely disappointed that there wasn't more information about my grandfather's side of the family, but then again, why would there be? These were Betty's relatives, not mine.

 

Betty called around seven pm to invite me to dinner the next night with her and Cara. She asked me how I was doing with the papers she had left me. “Oh, great,” I said, as I pulled the phone with me into the back bedroom and closed the door over. “It's really interesting,” I said in a low voice so the vampire in the other room wouldn't overhear. “I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.”

 

 

Johnny didn't like the idea of me having a girl's night out. I told him he could babysit Crystal. I couldn't explain it, even to myself, but I trusted him with my daughter. That mollified him somewhat, but he still wanted to know where I was going and who I would be with.

 

“You sound like my father,” I said, “or Sam. I do have other friends, you know. We're just going to have dinner and talk—about men,” I said. “I won't be gone long.”

 

I didn't give Johnny any time to argue, grabbing the keys and kissing Crystal good-bye on my way out the door. I really was looking forward to some girl-time, even though Betty and Cara were both older than me. Even without the vampire, this had been a rough summer. I was glad I had gotten out the door without having to explain who I was going to dinner with. If Johnny knew they were townies—and Smythe descendants—he might not be so understanding.

 

I met Betty and Cara in the parking lot of the Town Hall. I wondered where we were going for dinner. I hoped it wasn't to the burger place.

 

Betty laughed at that. “No, there's a very nice steak restaurant on the outskirts of town,” she told me. “You look like you could do with a good meal.”

 

I ordered my steak rare, and ordered a half-carafe of wine to go with it. Both older ladies ordered a mixed drink. The liquor went straight to all of our heads and we giggled over nothing and everything as we waited for our food.

 

“What did you think of my grandmother's diary?” Betty asked, when our dinners finally came.

 

“Did you read it?” I asked her back. “Between the diary and Amelia's letters, there's some juicy stuff in there!”

 

“Really!” Cara's eyes shone brightly in the dim light of the restaurant. “Like what?”

 

“Did you know your grandmother was pregnant when she was a teenager, and was sent away to Boston, but she lost the baby?”

 

I could tell Cara was shocked, but Betty appeared complacent. She must have read that part. “Who was the father?” Cara asked. “Was it my grandfather?”

 

I smiled weakly. “I don't know. Neither the letters nor the diary came right out and said who the father was. They used initials—W, X and Y.” I felt like a jerk. I shouldn't have said all that to Cara. But how was I to know she didn't know? “Do you want to read the letters and the diary for yourself?” I asked Cara. “I'm nearly finished. There wasn't much about Grandpa in them, anyway.” I looked up. “I'm sorry if I brought up disturbing memories.”

 

Cara reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “No, don't be silly,” she replied. “It's all in the past at this point, right, Betty?” She glanced over at her cousin, who nodded sagely. “It's kind of nice to know that sort of thing went on way back then, too, and it's not just a problem with teenagers these days.”

 

We left it at that, all of us a little tipsy as we walked back across the brightly lit parking lot to our cars. Betty stopped me as I was about to open my door. “What's that rash on the side of your neck?” she asked, reaching up a hand to softly touch it.

 

I stepped back quickly. “I think it's poison ivy,” I lied.

 

Betty dropped her hand, and put on her concerned face. “Did Crystal get it too?” she asked.

 

“No, she's been lucky,” I replied, although luck had nothing to do with it. “Maybe she's immune.”

 

“Maybe.” Betty smiled. “This was fun. Let's get together again next week. You can bring back the papers for Cara, and hopefully by that time we'll have more!”

 

We agreed to meet at the Town Hall a week from today. I hoped Johnny would be available to babysit again. For once it was convenient to have him hanging around!

 

I drove back to the cottage in a lighter mood than I had been in weeks. There were no lights on, but that wasn't unusual. Crystal was probably asleep, and the vampire didn't need lights. I fumbled with the key and finally pushed open the door and turned on the light. No Johnny. I peeked into the first bedroom. He wasn't there. Neither was Crystal. I hurried to my bedroom, but Crystal wasn't there, either.

 

Worried now, I called their names as I switched on the floodlights in the backyard. “Crystal? Johnny?” No answer.

 

I got into my car and drove first to the beach, and then to the cemetery, and when I didn't find them in either place, I drove all the way around the whole lake.

 

I didn't know where else to check. I slowly drove back to the cottage. Inside, I perched on the chair across from the door, my heart beating wildly, as I strained my ears for every little sound that might indicate Johnny and Crystal were coming home. I mentally kicked myself. What had I been thinking when I let a bloodthirsty vampire look after my precious little girl? If he had hurt her. . . .

 

Dawn was breaking when the front door opened. I heard Crystal's laughing voice and my eyes flooded over with tears of relief. I was way too young for this. “Where were you?” I asked, and I didn't care that my voice was wobbly from crying.

 

Johnny set Crystal down and she ran to me. I hugged her tight and stared at Johnny over her head. “It's okay, Mommy,” Crystal said, stroking my hair. “Don't cry.”

 

“Where were you?” This time I addressed my question to Johnny. “Do you have any idea what time it is? Crystal is just a little girl. She needs her sleep. Where did you take her?” The questions poured out of me along with my relief that Crystal was safe and sound and home where she belonged.

 

Johnny gave me a bland smile. “We went out to dinner,” he said. “To town. To the burger place. You weren't there.”

 

He was spying on me? With my daughter? “We went to a different restaurant, if you must know, ” I said haughtily. “How did you get to town without a car?”

 

Johnny just smiled wider.

 

Crystal jumped up, happy to see that I wasn't crying anymore. Anger will do that to you. “It was so cool, Mom,” she said. “We went so fast! We went all over the place. I wasn't tired at all.” In contradiction to her statement, Crystal yawned widely. I yawned too.

 

“Go to bed,” Johnny told us both.

 

“Are you staying over?” I asked, nodding my head at the front room. The sky was growing brighter by the minute.

 

“No.” Johnny said shortly.

 

“Lock up when you leave, then,” I said, as I took Crystal to our room. We crawled under the covers without bothering to get changed. I was suddenly very tired. Crystal snuggled against me and petted my hair. “What did you two do all night?” I asked her.

 

Crystal yawned again and twisted around so that her back was against me. “Johnny showed me all his favorite places,” she said sleepily. “And I showed him where we go in the daytime when we go to town. We couldn't go in, though, because it was closed.”

 

Great. Now Johnny knew I had gone to the Town Hall. How was I going to explain that one?