You know what...forget it, I am gonna post the Christmas chapter now...(and no, the awesome line isn't in this chapter)
Chapter 20
“Are you excited?” Kevin asked, popping into my room.
“About?” I looked up, confused.
“Joe didn’t tell you?” I shook my head. He came and sat down on the edge of the bed next to me. “We’re going home for Christmas. Joe said you don’t have any family to spend the holidays with, so mom insisted you spend them with us.”
“Oh, really? He said all that?”
“You mean you DO have family? Well, I’m sure mom and dad would be ok with them coming too.”
“No. No, the only family I have is my sister, and she is DEFINITELY unreachable for the holidays. I’m just surprised Joe remembered all that.”
“You guys have been dating like a year and a half. Why wouldn’t he remember?” SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS!!!
“Oh, I don’t know. It’s kind of a touchy subject for me, so I don’t talk about it much.”
“Ok, well, mom is thrilled to finally be meeting you.”
“Does she know about my eating problem?” He frowned.
“I-I’m not sure. I can…”
“Kevin, why don’t you tell your mom to take this Christmas off from cooking? I’m sure she’s cooked enough for you guys over the years. How about we give her a break and we cook Christmas dinner?”
“Mom is definitely going to love you.”
“Mo-om!” Nick whined when his mother entered the kitchen. “You’re supposed to be taking today off.”
“I’m just checking to make sure you guys don’t burn my kitchen down, again.”
“Again?” I looked up, alarmed.
“It was just a little fire. Don’t worry.” Joe attempted to calm me.
“You were making TOAST!” His mom turned to me. “They were making toast in the oven, trying to make me breakfast one Mother’s Day. And they left it in too long.”
“Oh, no.” I grimaced. “Well, don’t worry, Mrs. Jonas. I’ll keep an eye on all of them.”
“Please, call me Denise.”
“Mom, you gotta try this.” Kevin said, holding out a spoonful of sauce. She walked over and tasted it.
“That is amazing. And you actually made this?” She asked, astonished.
“No, Nisha did. I’m just stirring it.” He grinned.
“Well, it’s fantastic. Nisha, please feel free to cook here ANY time you’d like.”
“Alright mom. Get out, or you’re gonna ruin the surprise.”
Dinner, thankfully, was a success. I had to explain to Denise and Paul my “medical problem” that wouldn’t allow me to eat regular solid food. Denise thanked me profusely throughout the meal for keeping her sons fed with healthy foods while on tour. Then, after dinner, and the cleaning up, Denise pulled me aside for a chat, “woman to woman.”
“What are you doing?” I looked up from the photo albums Denise had left with me.
“Joe, you were adorable as a baby.” I smiled and he blushed. Then he sat down next to me on the couch.
“I can’t believe she just gave you all of those.”
“Just to look at. Your mom and dad are so nice.” I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. “I can’t really remember my own mom and dad. And I feel kinda guilty, lying to your whole family.”
“You know we can’t tell them about me being…” I cut him off.
“No, not that. About you and me dating. Your mom had a ‘talk’ with me earlier about sleeping arrangements and keeping you pure.” His cheeks turned a deep shade of crimson and I laughed. “Don’t worry. I told her I’m the one having to sleep with a baseball bat so you don’t try anything.” I hadn’t thought it was possible, but his cheeks did darken.
“You didn’t really say that, did you?” He looked down at me and I rolled my eyes.
“You really think I would do something like that?” He shrugged, which was kind of awkward considering I was still resting my head on his shoulders.
“But you know, we’re not really lying to them anymore.”
“Huh?”
“About you and I dating. We’re not lying about that.” He paused. “Are we?” I sighed and took his hand, lacing our fingers together.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea, but I guess we’re not lying about that anymore.”
“What do you mean, not a good idea?” He turned abruptly, causing me to snap my head back up quickly. “What was that supposed to mean?”
“It means, Joe, that I’m afraid the only reason you think there is anything between us is because I’m the only one you know who knows what you are now. Eventually, you’re going to meet others, and you will start to see you don’t need me as much as you think you do.”
“Well, I think you’re wrong.” He leaned in and kissed me. “But let’s talk about something else.”
“Ok, what do you want to talk about?” He leaned back into the couch and pulled me against him, wrapping his arms around me. I leaned back and rested my head on his chest.
“Tell me what you can remember about your parents.”
“Well, they were the last of the Beloveds of our kind.”
“Beloveds?”
“Yeah. I don’t know much about what’s involved in becoming Beloveds, but it means, for us, the human equivalent of soul mates. They were bound together for all eternity. Luckily, they were madly in love, so being eternally bound wasn’t too terrible for them.” I smiled, remembering them together.
“You mean, there are vampire soul mates that DON’T love each other?”
“Yeah. It’s actually quite amusing to read vampire history books about them.” I paused. “And there can only be one set of Beloveds throughout the vampire world at a time. Together, they are stronger and braver, and better than any opposing force.”
“So, how did your parents die then?”
“They were separated, and staked in the heart at precisely the same moment.”
“Who would do that?”
“Humans.” I felt his arms tighten around me. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think all humans are bad. Just like I don’t think all vampires are good.” I sighed. “Maybe this topic isn’t any good either.” He kissed the top of my head.
“How about a movie?” I closed my eyes.
“Nah. I’m too comfortable to move.” Just then, the clock on the mantle struck midnight. “Merry Christmas, Joe.”
“You too, Nisha.” It wasn’t long after that, that I drifted off to sleep.
