Elsie’s mom hugged her. “Oh! It’s so good to see you again.” She released Elsie and gave her a long look. “And things are going good between you and your mega-hot hunter man.”
“Is that a question?”
“Nope. Plain statement. I can tell you’re happy. You’re glowing so bright it almost hurts.”
“I feel like I should be glowing. I’ve purged Ambrose Smith from my system and…I’m free. I feel so free.”
Her mother gave her another quick hug. “Mmm! It’s too bad today’s a strictly girls only outing. I would have loved to see Hildreth again. Come inside and sit a while. I need to get myself all prettied up. I don’t want people to look at us and wonder what’s a pretty young thing like you doing with an old hag like me.”
“Mom. You are not an old hag.”
She did a dismissive hand gesture. “Of course I’m not. It’s all a matter of comparison, though.”
Elsie entered the house. Her hands yearned for Hildreth’s touch.
Her mother smiled at her. “It’s so good to see you happy.” She kissed Elsie’s forehead. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Okay.”
Elsie went into the living room and sat on the couch.
He isn’t here to sit next to me.
I want him here to sit next to me.
I want to feel his body sitting next to mine.
I want to feel him touching me.
I want to grab chunks of his hair and kiss him like I’m trying to steal his breath.
I want my mom to almost catch us in the act again.
I can’t wait to go home to him.
I can’t wait to marry him.
I can’t wait till we can finally be together.
She imagined coming home with him every dawn.
We’d be tired from hunting.
She smiled.
But we would not go straight to sleep.
Her smile grew.
I know we wouldn’t.
She closed her eyes and imagined the heated feel of his hands on her skin.
“All right!”
Elsie opened her eyes and quickly rose to her feet.
Her mother entered the room, dressed in white palazzo pants with a sheer black overlay and a black and white polka dotted midriff shirt. A chunky pearl necklace completed her look.
Elsie stared at her mom’s bared skin.
“Fabulous, right?”
I could object.
I probably should object.
I won’t.
I face vampires every night. The fear of being bitten and changed is always there, but I face it every night. I live with it every night. I dance with it every night.
My mom is not a fighter like me, but she has her own fears. Some I know. Some I don’t.
This is undoubtedly her way of facing her fears of being considered old and dowdy. Even though she doesn’t look old or dowdy to me. To me, she has always been beautiful. But dressing in such outlandish outfits is her way of facing her fears and fighting them.
I won’t tell her to stop fighting.
“You look stunning.”
Her mother laughed. “I sure hope that was a compliment.”
Elsie walked over to her mother and hugged her. “It was.”
ambroseandelsie 