A Vampyre's Sunrise, Jeff Schanz [best summer books .txt] 📗

precedent of what kind of kids a human and a vampyre may produce. Old rumors and inconsistent stories dated back hundreds of years, but nothing concrete. Lia said she would do some research and experiments to find out, but every time he asked how it was going, she just said she didn’t have an answer yet, and the subject was dropped. Brandt assured her that biological kids weren’t their only option, adoption was perfectly fine by him. Lia had smiled at that, but hadn’t discussed it further. He just assumed she needed time to consider everything.

“I have been afraid to tell you,” she said, her voice steady despite the sobbing. “I have known for some time, but was trying to find a way to change it. I don’t think there is a way.”

He held her tighter and she placed her arms around him, but didn’t match his pull. Her shoulders and chest heaved and bucked with full-fledged crying.

“Sweetheart, it’s ok,” he said soothingly. “It doesn’t matter to me.”

“It matters to – me,” she stammered between sharply drawn breaths. “It matters that I – cannot be a – proper wife to you. I cannot give – you children. I cannot be the – woman you deserve.”

“Oh, dear God. Lia, you are far more woman than I ever deserve. And we can adopt children. It’s done every day. In fact, it might be better. We never did find out if our kids would be vampyres or humans. I’m fine with adopting. My father was adopted.”

Lia tilted her chin up. “Your f – father? Really?”

“Yes. His mother was barren too. And they loved him as much, if not more than, any parent loved a child. There are so many babies out there being given up every day, and they need loving parents. And I can think of no one more loving than you. You’d make a great mom.”

The corners of Lia’s mouth struggled to smile. Her crying downshifted to sniffling as she lifted her head off his shoulder to look into his eyes. Though Lia could sense his thoughts, she had promised to refrain from doing so under normal circumstances, but these weren’t normal circumstances, and Brandt was hoping she could sense his sincerity.

“You would – still – want me?” she said haltingly between sniffles.

“Yes! God, yes, of course I do.”

“I could – still be – a mother?”

“Absolutely. We could have as many kids as you like. We could have a pack of ‘em. Like our own army.”

Lia was close to hyperventilating from anxiety and tears. She seemed to get hold of herself, calm enough to speak clearly.

“I don’t know how to feel,” she finally said. “When I was young and understood the world, a married woman had a defined place. And that place was to manage the home, care for her husband, and bear his heirs. I know the world has changed, but biology hasn’t. A woman’s womb has the sole purpose of bearing children. And if that purpose is gone, what kind of wife can she be?”

“I don’t think your analogy is accurate anymore. You may be from an older world, but you’re living in this one, and in this world, there are no defined roles for wives. Women and men can be whatever they want to be. Marriage is an equal partnership. There is no stipulation for a marriage other than both partners love and support each other. That’s it. It doesn’t matter who makes the money, and it doesn’t matter who cooks, or cleans, or takes care of the kids. All that matters is that they love each other. And I love you.”

“You would accept me even though I cannot bear your children?”

“Yes, silly,” he said, using her typical euphemism for admonishment. “You’re a vampyre and I love you. You can’t stay in the sun and I love you. You suck blood from animals’ necks, and you’ll outlive me, and I’m going to have to fight off every man who falls in love with you for the rest of my old decrepit life, and I love you. And now you’re barren, and guess what? I love you. I love every inch of you, inside and out, everything you are, and will ever be. And there is no excuse you can give me that would make me not want you to be my wife. So get that through your pretty little stubborn head. If you decide you just don’t love me anymore, then that’s a good reason not to marry me. But otherwise – this is happening, sister. Ok?”

Lia’s eyes were wide enough to be seen from space. In most instances, her emotions weren’t easily hidden, and at that moment, they were in an all too evident battle between anxiety and joy. Her eyes searched his, perhaps for some evidence that he was only telling her what she wanted to hear. He stared back unflinching. She finally nodded her head slowly, the smile relaxing on her lips as well as the tension easing on her face.

Brandt let out a huge, held breath. “Finally. So, it’s settled? We’re all good? No more roadblocks? We can get married now?”

Her nod and smile grew bigger. She bent forward to kiss him and then stopped. She pulled back like she’d been bitten. Her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes flared to the size of grapefruit.

“What?” he asked. “What now?”

Lia’s mercurial emotions didn’t always conform to reason. Whatever feeling that hit her would typically seize her and she had little control of the magnitude. She shook her head rapidly, looking even more anxious than she did before she revealed that she was barren.

“Lia, no more excuses. Let’s not…”

She shook her head more emphatically, then waved her hands to signify that whatever he was thinking the problem was, was not the problem. He was so confused. She started to nod slowly, deliberately, and held one hand out, circling it around, undulating the fingers up and down like she was trying to coax an animal out of its pen. We’re doing charades now?

Brandt sighed. “Sweetie, please just tell me. My brain is fried.”

But Lia wasn’t talking. She just continued the strange gesture, beseeching him to do something. Looking positively frantic, she tried to mouth silent words. He didn’t catch them. Huh? She mouthed it again and pointed to his knee.

It suddenly struck him. Ohhhhh. “Aw, honey. You’re gonna make me do the whole bit?”

She nodded enthusiastically.

“But I don’t even have a ring to give you,” he said. “I have my mother’s old one, but that’s in storage. Let’s wait until I can…”

She waved her hands “No” furiously. No more excuses. Your own words, right? He blew out a lip-warbling breath. Ok, then. Here goes. Grasping her hand, he lowered himself to one knee. She shivered in excitement.

Bowing his head, attempting a serious expression, he started. “Lia, my love. Since the day I saw you, I knew I was in love with you. I didn’t think I deserved love, and I tried to deny it, but I couldn’t. Every moment, every minute I was with you…”

As he continued to speak, he noticed Lia’s feverish anticipation. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet, her hands shaking, her teeth grinding. If he went on with his long, flowery speech, she might explode right in front of him, leaving a Lia-sized scorch mark on the rug. At first, he liked the idea of the torturously long buildup to make her wait as retribution for putting him through another antiquated formality on a subject he thought was already decided, and because withholding her confession of being barren caused him to worry she might be having second thoughts. But he couldn’t do that to her. Skip to the good part, bud.

He took both her hands. Lia was holding her breath. “Natalia Viktorovna Zakharyina, I would be…”

“Lia,” she blurted out.

“Hmm?”

“I wish to be only Lia from now on,” she said hurriedly, like an ad disclaimer. If Brandt expected an explanation for the request, one wasn’t coming. She went silent again, lips pinned under teeth, still quivering from expectancy.

“Ohhh-kay. Lia. I would be the happiest man on this earth if you would do me the honor of being my wife. Lia, will you marry m…”

“Yes!” she squealed, then leaped on top of him. She may be as light as a lapdog, but she was also unnaturally strong and flattened him to the floor. “Yes,” she said again, then kissed him with a bird-like peck. “Yes,” she pecked him again. “Yes.” And pecked him again.

“If you need time to decide, I’ll…”

She smothered his mouth with her hand to stifle the tease. “Yes,” she said.

“Yes, you need time, or yes, you’ll marry me?” he mumbled under her fingers.

She pinched him.

“Ow!”

She buried her face into his and kissed him so deeply he forgot to breathe. She pulled her lips back and softly breathed onto his lips. “Yessssss.”

Brandt stared into the depths of her electric blue eyes, which stared back at him as if no other man existed in the world. The first time he ever saw her, he thought, I could get lost in those eyes. And now he was going to get lost in them for the rest of his life. He was engaged to be married. And he was happy.

 

 

 

Brandt’s happiness was compounded when they made love that night, passionate and sweet. Lia claimed it was official engagement sex. When he asked if that was another old custom, she told him it was now. Lia was still charged up afterward and Brandt was willing to oblige for another round, but Lia smiled and told him he needed his rest. So he followed that directive instead and fell asleep.

When he woke up the next morning he found that she probably never slept. Instead, she had cleaned, wrote, sewed something, and otherwise bounced around the house while he slumbered. Her head had stayed on his chest until he fell asleep, but she had apparently gotten up afterward and hadn’t come back.

As he lifted his head from the pillow, she bounded into the room and slid next to him. A comically sloppy kiss was planted on him. “Good morning, husband to be!” she said in a way too excitable tone for Brandt’s sleep-fuzzy mind.

He smacked his crusted lips together. “Hi. Good morning.”

She lay down on top of him, the covers pinned between them, and stretched for another kiss.

“Wait, sweetie. I haven’t brushed my teeth,” he said.

“I don’t care.” She gave him another lip smack. Her hips playfully rubbed against his through the covers, then she popped back up and sat on the edge of the bed.

“When can we get married?” she asked. Her expression looked like a kid who had been promised Disneyland and had already packed the car while the parents slept.

“Umm. I don’t know. Whenever you like, I suppose.” He hadn’t delved deeply into the thought, expecting that would be Lia’s thing. In his experience, brides-to-be had very specific plans concerning times and places.

“Can we do it today?” she asked.

“Well, wait a sec, hon. It depends on what kind of wedding you want. If you want a big affair in a cathedral, with lots of guests and flowers and food and things, then it will require months to plan.”

Lia’s radiant expression dimmed.

Brandt continued. “But, on the other hand, if you only want something small, who knows? Some folks go to Vegas and get hitched in a day, or some folks don’t bother with any ceremony at all and just do it at the courthouse. But that’s so bland. Really, it’s just up to you. However you want to do it.”

“I want to do it today!” she clapped her hands together and beamed a hopeful look.

“You sure? Weddings are made for ladies to show off how beautiful they are, and how lucky the guy is. Courthouse weddings are so lame. You sign some papers, then a sweaty guy behind a laminate counter says you’re married. And that’s it. It’s about as glamorous as brushing