Holding my bag, I step away from the counter. “Hi, Tilda. How are you?”
“Fine. Vampires are always fine. Have you heard from Ion?” She pushes her hood back, and her long blonde hair flows over her shoulders.
“He called to speak to the girls and me last night.” I know her standoffishness is due to the nature of a human lifespan, so I try not to take offense from her tone.
“When will he be back?” She stares over my shoulder as if she can’t look me in the eyes.
“He didn’t know.” I step back. “I’d better go pick up the twins from your sister’s house. Have a good day.”
When there’s no response other than a nod, I head for my car.
I put the vegetables in the passenger seat and round to my door when, in a blur, Tilda is in front of me, blocking my way.
I gasp. “What the hell?”
“Did he tell you he’s going to die when you die?” She bites it out as if it tastes bad in her mouth.
My heart pounds so hard, I can’t catch my breath. “What?”
Pained and twisted, Tilda’s pretty face is filled with rage. “I didn’t think so. That’s what he plans when you die in a mere sixty or seventy years. When you die, Ion Radu, the most ancient vampire on Earth, will take his own life so he doesn’t have to suffer the pain of living without you.”
I shake my head because this can’t be true. “That’s impossible.”
“No.” The fire goes out of her, and sorrow replaces it. “It’s sad, but not impossible.”
“You cannot believe that is what I want.” My tears start flowing, and I’m helpless to stop them.
“Maybe if you end this thing now, he’ll realize it was never a good idea to mate with a human.”
I can see where her logic lies, but the idea of ending things with Ion forces pain to lance through me as if being stabbed with a knife. “I don’t think I can do that, Tilda.”
“Selfish.” She spits it out, and as the sun pokes out from behind a cloud, she pulls her hood up.
I take her gloved hand. “I’m sorry you’re upset, and I understand your feelings. I will try to talk Ion out of his plans, but I can’t leave him. I love him, and by some miracle, he loves me. It’s selfish and totally unselfish.”
“He’s special. He’s Ion Radu. He can’t die.” She cries and puts her face in her hands.
I slide open the back door of my SUV. “Let’s get you out of the sun. Sit.” When she does, I round the vehicle and get in on the other side. “Listen to me, Tilda. I know he’s special, and I’m more surprised than you that he would choose me over every female human or creature in the entire world. I’m also in love with him, and my girls love him. He’s the only good thing that has ever happened to us as a family. I’m not giving that up unless Ion makes me.”
She keeps crying. “I don’t see how you can say that.”
“Would you give up Max?”
Her head comes up, and she looks at me as if I’m nuts. “What. No. Why?”
“Let’s say you knew that being a vampire was causing an allergy that would give you a hundred perfectly blissful years together, and then you would both die in each other’s arms. Would you leave Max to save you both?” It’s a little far-fetched, but the best I can do under the circumstances.
She wipes her face and stares at me. “Max would never let me go.”
“I’m not asking Max. What would you do, or better yet, what would you risk for one hundred years or even fifty perfectly happy years with the Sasquatch you love?” I see the moment of acceptance, and it feels like a huge victory.
“I would happily take those fifty years no matter what happened at the end of them.” She sniffs back her sorrow.
“Then you understand.” I take her hand. “I want to be part of this family, and I want my girls to have aunts who love them, but you have to accept the inevitable.”
Reaching across the small divide between the seats, Tilda pulls me into a hug. “You will have this family for all of your life and the twins' lives, Lori. I apologize.”
“It’s not necessary. It’s lovely how much you love Ion and how much you worry about him. I understand that seventy years is very quick for a vampire who might live thousands of years, but seventy years of happiness sounds pretty wonderful to me.” I pat her back and release her.
