Future Mortality

By Christine Hantzopulos

christine@forevernickandnat.com

(Sorry for the short installment; just wanted to let you know I’m still cranking it out even though school started!)

Part 19/?

Nick was not looking forward to this.

He had spent less than a year getting to know his little girl, and now he had to deal with every father’s nightmare—meeting the prospective boyfriend.

And it was no ordinary boy next door, but rather the son of a vampire. Natalie had told him that he was a hypocrite if that bothered him, but until he knew exactly which vampire they were dealing with, Nick would not rest easy.

Watching her check her makeup in front of the mirror, he cursed Janette for buying her all that warpaint. Women didn’t need so much make-up, and little girls didn’t need any. Weren’t those jeans a little too tight? And where had he been when her chest had gotten so big?

“You look great,” Natalie was reassuring her. “Doesn’t she, Nick?”

They both turned to him expectantly, and he just looked at them helplessly. “Don’t you think you look too old?”

“Daddy!” she pouted.

Natalie gave him a warning look and he forced his own awkwardness aside for his daughter’s sake. He smiled. “You look beautiful. You both do,” he said, kissing Niki on the cheek and Natalie on the lips. He looked down at her tummy, patting it tenderly. “Are you sure you’re up to this? You look like you’re carrying lower.”

“I’m fine,” she promised him as Richie came bounding down the stairs.

“Come on, Daddy, we’re gonna be late,” Niki fretted.

He sighed. Might as well get this over with. “Okay, let’s go. And let’s meet this boy of yours.”

Dimitri stood outside Frank’s Italian Restaurant, trying to keep his apprehension concealed. It was nearly noon, and the bright sunny day was the only reminder that right here, right now, they were safe. Steven could not leave the confines of their temporary home. But at dusk, he would be able to. And then, there would be nowhere safe.

His father had told him to appease Steven, to play along with his plans, lest he suspect that Stavros was on his way. Dimitri had considered telling the De Brabants the truth, and seeking asylym with them. LaCroix and Janette, together, might be able to defeat Steven if necessary. But his father had ruled against that plan, not trusting LaCroix to react rationally when faced with another dhampir. Though he didn’t say so directly, Dimitri had also surmised that his father wasn’t quite sure if he would trust LaCroix with the secret of Dimitri’s existence. Dimitri’s life was at stake, but for breaking the Code by fathering a dhampir, Stavros’ life could also become forfeit.

So here he stood, ready to carry out Steven’s plan or stall for enough time for Stavros to arrive. Either way, he feared for Nicolette and her family. Though Steven might not hurt Natalie or his step-daughter, he would certainly kill Nick given the chance. This was something Dimitri could not allow to happen. Niki, her little brother, and her mother would be devastated beyond repair. If only there were some way to delay just until sundown…

“I’m not ready for this, you know.” Nick was whispering in Natalie’s ear as he held her hand, walking a few steps behind Niki as she went over to greet the handsome blond young man whose smile for her seemed genuine.

“Calm down, she’s not getting married,” she reminded him in a hushed voice, squeezing his hand.

“I just keep thinking of that song you like, ‘Stealing Cinderella’.” It was a country song about a young man about to meet his fiancee’s father.

“You’ve always been so over-dramatic,” she teased him as Richie ran up to say hello to the boy.

“Mom, Dad, I’d like you to meet Dimitri,” Niki said, her face flushed with excitement.

The young dhampir smiled, his eyes as blue as the sky and seemingly just as cloudless. “It’s a great pleasure to meet you, Doctor De Brabant. Professor De Brabant,” he said shaking their hands.

“Likewise, and you can call me Natalie,” she said pleasantly, nudging Nick when he paused too long.

“Call me Nick,” he was forced to say, as Natalie shot him a look of approval.

Thus began what Natalie was sure was her husband’s most difficult encounter in several hundred years.

End of part 19