After I stopped brooding over the old man's words, I spent
several delightful days in New Orleans. I took several different tours of the
city—some daytime ones and some nighttime ones. The city itself was charming
in its continuous decay. I marveled at how well the old mixed in with the
new. I thought that if vampires did exist, they would most definitely live
here.
Earlier, I had walked through the Lafayette Cemetery. I'm usually not much
for cemeteries, but this one had always interested me. I've always been
intrigued how the dead are buried in cement vaults, so to speak. To my
delight,
I was not disappointed by the experience.
Tonight, I was planning on going out to dinner and a show. Usually, I'm not
much for Shakespeare, but Hamlet was showing tonight. I've seen that movie
several times, but I adore Branagh's version of that ill-fated tale. Besides
he looked pretty damned good in that movie, especially with that platinum
blond hair.
I quickly showered and changed my clothes. I had my radio blasting while I
put on my make-up. As I was finished getting ready, a song came on that
almost brought me to tears. It was “Witchy Woman” by the Eagles. I always
cried when I heard that song. I sat down on my bed, and put my face in my
hands.
The tears threatened to spill, but I fought them back.
Ever since he died, I've tried not to think about him too much. Even after
all of this time, it hurt just too damned much, and I still had my life left
to live. But sometimes the sorrow would blindside me. I would lash out at
anyone who came near me. My friends had learned to give me a wide berth when
I was “upset.” That was their term for when I was out of commission.
I straightened up my appearance and left my room. I wasn't going to let
thoughts of him ruin my night. I rode the elevator down to the lobby and went
into the dining room. I felt eyes upon me, but I completely ignored them. I
was directed to my usual table, and I ordered my usual meal—a greasy
cheeseburger, French fries, and a chocolate shake.
The first time I ordered this meal in this nice, upper-class dining room, I
received some strange looks from the other patrons. I merely stared at them
until they finally flushed and went back to their own meals. I then winked
at my waiter, John, who actually laughed aloud at this.
“I've always wished someone would do that,” he told me later over a late
dessert.
“It's nobody's damned business what I eat. They can just mind what they
eat, and leave me the hell alone,” I retorted, with a grin.
John kissed me and said, “Oh, I do love you Texas women. Always so sassy.”
I grinned at him saucily, and said, “You'd be wise to never forget that.”
After that night, John and I were special friends. He always made sure my
table was open at the same time every night, and tonight was no exception. My
earlier sadness, which was still lingering somewhat, evaporated when I saw
John. I kissed him on the cheek.
“Hello, darlin',” I drawled.
“Hiya sweetie,” he answered back.
He pulled my chair out to help me get seated. “The usual?” he asked, with
a distinct twinkle in his eye.
I grinned at him, oblivious to everyone else in the room, “You know it.”
He just laughed, “Coming right up,” he said, and went to go put in my
order. As I was waiting for my dinner, I got the most curious feeling. It
was
as if someone were watching me. I could feel the stare right between my
shoulder blades. In fact, the feeling was quite strong, which surprised me,
because I've never picked up on things like that. I surreptitiously looked
the
room over, searching for the source of the scrutiny. No one stood out too
obviously, so as I began to take a sip of my shake, which had arrived by this
time, I discovered the source of the strange feeling.
This sounds like a romance drama, I know, but there he was, sitting on the
other side of the dining room from me. Although I'm not usually tempted to
take men home after one glance, this one tempted me to abandon that practice.
He was without a doubt the most gorgeous man I had ever seen, aside from my
beloved Daniel of course. This man had tanned skin and a long mane of
beautiful white-blond hair. And although they were partially hidden behind a
pair
of violet-tinted lenses, he had the most entrancing blue eyes I had ever seen
on anyone. He was wearing a gray velvet coat that was fashioned similar to
the old-style frock coats. Instead of looking ridiculous in it, he looked
seductive and mysterious. I wondered why he was watching me so closely when
there were obviously more beautiful people than me in this dining room.
Suddenly I grew angry with the direction my thoughts were taking me. I saw
him smile a little as though he knew what I was thinking. I threw my money
on the table, and began to walk out of the dining room. John saw me leaving,
and rushed up to me.
“Jamie, darling, what's the matter?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I growled, “I just thought of somewhere else I had to be. Send
my food up to my room, ok? Thanks, love.”
As fast I could do it, I walked out of the hotel and up the street. I
wanted away from this disturbing presence. For some reason that I couldn't
name,
he disturbed me far beyond a mere physical level. Something deep down
inside me had responded to him, something that I didn't know was there. I
needed
time to deal with this, and I couldn't do it in the dining room. Lestat
watched as the woman walked into the dining room. She walked with a
confidence
that he had rarely seen in a woman. He could see why Daniel had fallen for
her. She had a sparkling, yet irreverent, personality that shone through her
frowns. He tried to delve into her thoughts, and found himself completely
shut out. My God, he thought, she's stronger than David was when he was
mortal. He watched her interact with the waiter. The waiter of all people.
The
snob in him recoiled at this. You just didn't socialize with the help. But
socialize she did, and apparently she and the waiter admired each other.
Hmmm, he thought, the waiter bears closer scrutiny.
He continued watching her, while pondering her strength. Armand was right,
she was completely unaware of her strength. He noticed her look around the
room, as though she felt someone watching her. He felt a sudden shock, not
unlike pleasure, when he felt her eyes rest on him. She really had the most
extraordinary eyes...not unlike my Louis'. But while his were a solid green
color, this woman's eyes were green with flecks of gold embedded in them.
He watched her watch him, and he could almost reach in and retrieve one
thought. But he didn't have to retrieve it....it was as if she were
broadcasting
this thought. Why is he looking at me when there are other, more beautiful
people in here? He was astounded. She didn't know how enticing she was.
When Armand had first told he and Louis about this woman, he had doubted that
this woman's persona was so vivid and enticing. Personally, he thought that
Daniel had been giving Armand, what did they say today, a big load of crap.
But there was no crap here, he thought. She was definitely an enigma.
Lestat was about to get up and go introduce himself, when he noticed her
face darken in anger. She abruptly stood up from the table, paid her bill,
spoke to the waiter about having her food sent up, and then left the hotel.
For
a split second, Lestat considered following the lovely Ms. Stephens, but then
a better idea struck. He walked over to the waiter, John, with his full
mega-watt (with fangs hidden) smile. The poor waiter never stood a chance
against him. Before John realized it, Lestat had him in his maw. He
convinced
John to go retrieve Jamie's room key from the front desk, while all the while
promising him heaven on earth.
After John gave Lestat the key, Lestat fulfilled his promise. He gave John
heaven on earth, but he left the poor man with a few pints of his blood
missing. He closed the wounds in the man's neck with a drop of his own blood,
and walked up to Jamie's room.
**************Psssst...Have you heard the news? There's a new fashion blog,
plus the latest fall trends and hair styles at StyleList.com.
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