Lairah shook her head with disgust at my lack of expertise. “I do say so and it is an excellent choice, my dear boy. Your taste in fine jewelry is impeccable even if you were unaware.”
“Would I have a choice after living with you and Gia all these years?” I questioned.
“You’re right, you never had a chance at poor taste,” Gia agreed, then she turned to Chansey and said, “We trained him well. You’re welcome.”
“Um, thank you. I think,” Chansey laughed.
“When is this wedding going to happen?” Gia asked.
Chansey and I looked at each other with uncertainty and she reported, “We didn’t discuss a date. It was all a little sudden and unexpected.”
“Well, most of the wedding plans will be based on the date, so we need it ASAP,” Gia suggested.
“Yes, ma'am. We’ll get right on that so we can let you know. Does that work for you?” I sarcastically asked my pushy sisters since I could see they were going to be all up in the middle of planning this wedding without being asked.
They ignored my sarcasm and Lairah clapped like a toddler as she squealed, “Exciting! Come on, Chansey, let’s go look at some dresses online.”
Both of them looped an arm through Chansey’s, one on each side, and they stole her from me to begin making plans for the wedding of Lairah and Gia’s dreams. As Chansey was being dragged away, she turned and mouthed the words, “Help me,” but I shrugged my shoulders and offered her no assistance because I knew it was better to let them have their way even if it meant I would pay for it later with Chansey.
“Chansey better watch them closely, or they’ll plan a wedding worthy of royalty for the two of you since we all know they will live vicariously through her,” Sebastian warned.
“Never fear, that one can hold her own,” I reassured.
“We know Chansey is a little firecracker that can hold her own. You don’t have to tell us,” Solomon commented while he chuckled, referring to the argument he overheard between us.
Living in a house of vampires had it’s disadvantages. I hated how every exchange between me and my future wife could be heard by the entire household and I needed to consider options in alleviating that problem before we were married if we decided to live here. “Sol, you don’t have to repetitively remind me of how we have no privacy, so please don’t.”
“Sorry, I won’t mention it again,” he lied, knowing he would never let an opportunity to yank my chain go to waste. I had learned to excuse him over the years because he was my best friend, but I wouldn’t allow him to cause Chansey embarrassment or discomfort.
“Consider this your only warning to never bring it up in front of Chansey. She won’t appreciate jokes about how she doesn’t have a single private moment in this house,” I warned.
“Curry, I got it,” he reassured me. “You know I love taking a jab at you every opportunity because you make it so much fun, but I wouldn’t do that to Chansey. I’m scared of her.”
“As you should be. Chansey can be a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” I warned.
Sebastian spoke up. “It’s not her fault she isn’t meek and submissive. She’s designed to be strong because a weakling couldn’t survive the life of an Agápe.”
Survive the life of an Agápe. His words reminded me of how she was always going to be in danger and I was back to that place where I questioned if I had made the right decision. My doubtful thoughts were interrupted when I heard Sebastian ask, “When will you and Chansey be returning to Pascagoula?”
“We’ll need to be back before Anna and Grady return from their trip. I don’t want them to find her gone and worry that something happened to her.” I laughed as I said, “I’m afraid I did things a little out of order and now I have to ask Grady and Anna for their blessing instead of permission to ask for her hand.”
I felt a pang of nervousness at the thought of asking for their blessing when they knew how badly I had hurt Chansey not so long ago when I left her.
“They will be honored to have you as a husband for their granddaughter,” Sebastian reassured me.
The thought of their disapproval made me feel anxious and I said, “I hope you’re right because I don’t know what I would do if they didn’t give us their blessing.”
“Chansey is an adult, so their approval isn’t really a requirement,” Solomon added.
“I know that, but Chansey would be heartbroken if they didn’t support our decision and accept me as her husband. We haven’t known each other long by human standards and as far as they know, I abandoned her for a job in New York not so long ago. They don’t know that I’m back in her life and they will probably think it’s a little too sudden for a marriage proposal.”
“You’re always going to be a worrier. My vote is to stop sweating it already,” my carefree friend advised.
“I’d love to see how you would handle your own Agápe. I guarantee that you wouldn’t be quite so carefree about it.”
“Hate it for you, Bro, but that’s an observation you’ll never get to make. Besides, I could never be with someone that fragile,” he laughed.
I would likely never see him with an Agápe. Statistically speaking, the odds of Solomon having one somewhere out there waiting for him were zilch. However, it didn’t prevent me from hoping that one would come along and knock him on his smart ass. The sweet thought of seeing him meet his match in an Agápe unconsciously made me laugh.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
I enjoyed making him the ass of my humor without his knowledge and I replied, “Nothing you would find funny.”
Sebastian caught my attention by clearing his voice and said, “Curry, I think now is as good a time as any to speak with Sully. Do you agree?”
He was referring to our intention of asking Sully to join us. I agreed that it was the right time to speak with him and Sebastian wanted me to be the one to extend our invitation to Sully.
“Now that you have spent time around my vampire family in this compound, do you think you would like to join us permanently?”
I saw pure joy on Sully’s face as he answered, “Yes. I would like nothing more than to stay and become part of this family. I don’t believe Curry and I were randomly reunited by the gods without a purpose. I believe this haven is my destiny.”
“Our family welcomes you, but please know that it is no easy task taking this lifestyle as your own. The training and discipline required is incredibly difficult and you must accept your role as a servant to those in need of your help. If you are willing to give selflessly, we will gladly teach you the skills needed to be a great mentor,” Sebastian explained.
“I humbly accept your offer and I will do my best to make you proud,” Sully professed.
Sebastian was pleased by Sully’s acceptance and said, “I am placing the sole responsibility of training you on Lairah.” I saw the pleased expression on Sully’s face and suspected it suited him well to be paired with her. Sebastian laughed as he added, “That is, if she can tear herself away from planning a wedding.”
“I heard that,” she unnecessarily yelled from the direction of her bedroom and I felt the sting of how Lairah’s outburst might alert Chansey to the fact that nothing went unheard by this family.
“It’s was my intention you hear, my dear. Otherwise, this conversation would have taken place in my office,” Sebastian said.
His words struck a notion and reminded me there was a way to live here without our every word and action being heard. “Sebastian, I would like to have a word with you in your office when you are available.”
“I’m available now if this a good time for you join me?”
“It’s actually perfect,” I replied.
We walked toward his office and I felt a rush of embarrassment as I thought about why I needed to speak with Sebastian in private. I reminded myself that he was familiar with my situation and I tried to push the awkward feeling aside as I entered his office. With our voices shut off from the others in the house, he c
uriously asked, “What is it that I can do for you, Curry?”
I started with the easy part first. “Chansey and I will need to make a decision about where we will live once we are married. I need to know if we are welcome to live here.”
Sebastian warmly said, “Of course you are both welcome here. This will always be your home if it’s where you choose to live.”
“Thank you for your hospitality, but I have an issue with bringing my new wife to live here,” I confessed. “Not an issue of safety.”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “An issue of privacy, perhaps?” he questioned.
I was relieved by his intuitiveness. “Exactly. Chansey and I have not discussed it, but I’m certain she suspects that nothing goes unheard around here. I need a solution for that problem because we will not be able to live here if we lack the privacy that a husband needs with his wife.”