FORTY-ONE

We returned from shopping, our arms full of bags, trailed by Mauricio and Vicente, to find Beth and Pierce waiting for us.

“It’s so good to see you,” I said as I set the bags on the hallway floor. As soon as I was in front of them again, I turned to introduce Leilani. She stood behind my legs, peeking out of the right side, her eyes wide and glued to Pierce. I reached to move her out from behind me but she stiffened and struggled against me. “Leilani, what’s the matter, honey?” I smiled apologetically to both of them.

Beth approached taking her time and smiling warmly. “Hello, Leilani. It is very nice to meet you.” Leilani stayed behind me, her eyes still glued on Pierce, ignoring Beth.

“Leilani, it’s okay. They are friends of ours. They will not hurt you,” I coached as I pulled from her grasp and dropped to my knees in front of her.

She leaned to whisper in my ear. “What is that man?”

Though she had whispered it so only I could hear it, Pierce laughed. He smiled and never took his eyes off Leilani as he approached, dropping to his knees next to me. “Hello. I am Pierce,” He extended his hand. Leilani looked at me and I nodded. She looked back at Pierce and, hesitating only a moment, placed her hand in his. “I am a vampire, but I am also just like you.”

“Like me?” she asked, finally looking a bit more relaxed as her curiosity piqued.

“Yes, like you. I am also a witch.”

“Wow! You are lucky,” Leilani said with a huge smile. “Maybe one day I be both. Then I can fight the bad people, too.”

“Yes, my dear,” Pierce said as he rose from the floor still holding Leilani’s hand. “One day.”

“I show you the apartment?” Leilani asked, her smile unwavering as she spoke.

“That would be lovely,” Pierce said and shrugged toward me. “I am getting the grand tour from this lovely lady.” They disappeared up the steps before any of us could comment.

“I guess Pierce has a new friend,” Beth said as she took me in her arms.

“She has something in common with him,” I said as I hugged her back and then stepped back to look at her. “I didn’t expect Pierce to act so…”

“Warm and friendly?” she said with a laugh.

“I didn’t mean anything by it but yeah, I guess that’s it. He always seems so serious.”

“Pierce never had children of his own, but he did have nieces and nephews he was very close to. From the stories he tells me, he spoiled them rotten.”

“Where is everybody?” Christian asked.

“Kalia and Aaron are in the kitchen making dinner for the humans. She wants them to eat before they leave for the airport. Jose Luis is upstairs with Paco and his family helping them pack, and Aloysius went to the hotel to check on Fiore and Matt, possibly bring them back with him if they’re ready,” she explained. It wasn’t until then that the smell of food cooking hit me.

“Right, food for the humans,” I said and started walking toward the kitchen. Beth grabbed my arm.

“You’re going to be a great mother, Lily,” she said as she looked into my eyes. “There’s no doubt in my mind, or any of our minds, about that.”

“But I’m such a horrible cook.”

“You’ll learn,” she said putting her arm across my shoulders and leading me toward the kitchen. “Besides, you have Kalia to help you. Trust me, that woman will be quite the doting grandmother.”

***

Alegría, Paco, and Leilani sat in the kitchen and ate the dinner Kalia prepared for them. Alegría and Leilani had hit it off from the second they saw each other, making the rest of us wish they were traveling together. Aloysius was right, however; they would be safer if they were in different places. The rest of us sat in the living room discussing plans with the newly arrived Raul and Riley. A few minutes into our discussion, the apartment door opened and Aloysius walked in, followed by Fiore and Matt. I jumped out of my seat and went to them, taking Matt’s hands in mine.

“How are you feeling?” He looked like his usual self, but I knew looks could be deceiving when it came to vampires.

“I feel great, actually.” He smiled and dropped my hands, which I noticed were the same temperature as mine. I no longer heard his irregular heart beat either. “Where are the children?”

“Umm, well…”

“Lily, please,” He shook his head and laughed. “I’m not asking because I’m hungry. I already ate. I just want to make sure they didn’t leave before I could say goodbye.”

Everyone in the room laughed except me. I dropped my head in shame and bit my lip before looking back up at him. The smile on his face told me he wasn’t offended. “I’m sorry, Matt. It’s just that, well, you now.”

“No problem. I totally understand your concern, but you have to remember that I was already part vampire. Trust me, I learned self-control a long time ago,” he explained as he crossed the room to introduce himself to the others.

The sound of plates clanking and water running interrupted the conversation that had resumed. I walked toward the kitchen and cracked the door enough to peek inside. “They are doing the dishes. Leilani is washing, Paco is drying, and Alegría is putting away.”

Kalia smiled. “They are such great children. Don’t you wish…?” She stopped talking and turned toward the window. Through the closed sheer drapes, the sun was making its descent into the horizon, painting the sky a deep orange. “What in the world?”

“What is it?” Aloysius said as he pulled the curtain aside, joined by Kalia, Fiore, and me.

“What do you see?” I asked. Leilani rushed out of the kitchen, Paco and Alegría close at her heels. Their faces had all gone white.

“All the dogs are… They are…” Leilani said as she tiptoed to the window to stand next to Aloysius.

“Barking, Leilani. The dogs are barking,” I explained filling in for the word she did not know in English. She held onto me tighter, as if her life depended on it.

“The dogs are barking,” Pierce repeated. “Is that a problem?”

“That usually precedes an earthquake. Hopefully it will just be a minor tremor,” Aloysius explained. He looked at Leilani with concern in his eyes. “It will be ok, Leilani. We are all here. Nothing to worry about.”

Just as they stepped away from the window and back toward the seating area, a rumble passed through the room. No one said a word as we looked at each other. For the next few seconds, an eerie quiet filled the room as no one moved a muscle except for their heads. I turned to Christian and went to reach for him as the room went into total and complete chaos.

The rumbling sound was replaced by screaming as the children ran to hold onto an adult, zigzagging to avoid falling objects. The apartment door flew open and Giovanni ran inside, followed by Vicente and Mauricio. “Everybody ok?” Giovanni yelled over the screaming children. I wasn’t even positive I wasn’t screaming myself as I struggled to hold onto Leilani and reach Christian at the same time. The chandelier over the coffee table crashed onto the glass sending shards every which way. Beth screamed and covered her left eye. Pierce dodged the chair making its way across the floor and reached her, pulling her hand away to check her eye.

“We have to get out of here!” Aloysius yelled over everyone else.

“The electricity is out,” Giovanni yelled back. “No lights in the hallway. The elevator won’t work and the stairs are too unsteady.” Just to remind us how unstable the electricity supply could be during an earthquake, a transformer blew up somewhere close by, a light briefly flashing in front of the window.

“Ok, listen up everyone,” Mauricio’s booming voice sounded above all the commotion. “Everyone go stand in a doorway, preferably on this floor. If there is not enough room, get under the dining room table. Now, hurry!”

People scattered every which way, dodging falling knickknacks, pictures, and lamps. Noticing we were out of doorways, Leilani, Christian, and I dived under the table, huddling close together as if that would stop the possible collapse of the skyscraper we inhabited.

“Why is this lasting so long?” I whispered to Christian.

His terrified eyes settled on my face before he looked at Leilani. “It’s a big one. I love you.”

His words twisted my stomach into knots. We had been through so much together, survived so much, only to die because of an earthquake. I don’t think so. Not today. I held both of them tighter and did the only thing I could. For the first time in almost a century, I prayed.

“I want my Cachi,” Leilani cried against my chest.

“He is ok. He’s upstairs. He will come down as soon as it stops. I promise,” I said back to her, hoping they were not trying to leave the building. Swaying staircases would not be the easiest things to maneuver right not, especially with Tomas still recovering.

“Is everybody alright?” Aloysius yelled from somewhere down the hallway. It wasn’t until then that I noticed the movement had stopped. I pushed away from Leilani a bit and noticed she was shaking and tears rolled down her cheeks. I hugged her against me again.

“It’s ok, honey. We’re all ok. It stopped now,” I explained and crawled out from under the table with her close beside me. Christian stood and took our hands to help us up. I turned toward the living room and yelled, “Somebody please call upstairs, see if they’re ok.”

The three of us walked into the living room as they were picking things up off the floor. Some things looked salvageable and some, like the glass coffee table were beyond hope. The sound of car alarms and barking dogs, both in the building and outside, filled the apartment. I tried to help but Leilani gripped my hand and wouldn’t let go.

“The telephone lines are down,” Giovanni announced as he came out of the kitchen. Just then, Jose Luis ran in.

“Oh, thank God,” I yelled. Leilani released my hand and ran into her brother’s arms. “Are Lucia and Tomas ok?”

“They are fine, a little scared but fine,” he answered and kissed his sister’s head. “They are all packed and ready to go.”

“Giovanni, please use your cell and call the airport, make sure the flights are still on schedule,” The room was losing light pretty fast as the sun made its final descent. It wouldn’t be a problem for the vampires but it would be for the humans. “Aloysius, do you have any candles?”

He hurried toward me with a smile on his face. “Actually, Carmela made sure to keep emergency supplies here. I thought she was nuts but I have since changed my mind.” He went into the kitchen and came back with candles, flashlights, and even an oil lamp.

“What would we do without her?” I said with a laugh.

“No flights today,” Giovanni came back into the room and everyone else gathered there, dropping whatever cleanup they were doing.