The Vampire (THE VAMPIRE Book 1) (70 page)

Terrance was silent for a few moments. “As I have said, I do miss him. More so, from a safer distance. I think you will be fine. Try not to worry so much. He will give you time to adjust. Right now you are going to have to focus on getting through the rest of December. That could be a bit of a challenge. Things will work out though. I should tell you this—he paid you absolutely the highest compliment ever. I was quite astounded.”

“Really?” Jason was skeptical. “What did he say?”

“He said you reminded him of me.”

They both laughed then. “Thanks again, Terrance. Enjoy the holidays!”

“And you too, my friend. Stay well. Ta for now.”

Jason wandered around in the Copley mall for a while, a little dazed once again from all the new information he had just acquired. And again, it would take some time to begin to process all of it. He stopped at a drugstore and bought a small notebook, and a headache remedy, and then found a café and sat for a while, trying to recall and write down all Terrance had said. Over a sandwich and several cups of coffee, he finally felt as if he had gotten most of it recorded. Things he needed to know, and to remember.

He started to walk home, taking his time and browsing the decorated store windows downtown, still undecided on his holiday plans. No tree, not for the foyer anyway.
Too stabby!
Maybe he could still get one for his own quarters though. A decent sized one, just for himself.

Yeah, good thing he had called Terrance. That thought suddenly reminded him to check his work phone. He retrieved it from his jacket pocket and realized with dismay he had absently set it to do not disturb mode. And it had been in silent mode for almost three hours now, ever since he had finished talking to Terrance.

“It’s not like he calls me, anyway.” He checked his calls. “Oh, no! Three missed calls from Augere. Damn it!” He never missed Augere’s calls; they were so infrequent to begin with. And now he had actually called, several times, and Jason had missed him.
I must have silenced it right after I talked to Terrance!
An unconscious gesture. He was nearly home now. Just a few more blocks. He checked his messages as he walked. No messages. Augere had called three times and left no messages. This was not good. He had better try to call Augere right away. And what excuse would he give him? That he had been betraying his trust by speaking to his former assistant about him? Noooo…not that one.

Before he could call Augere, and just as he was entering his private entrance, his phone rang again. He assumed it would be Augere. It was Genier.

“Hi, Jason. Just to check, you haven’t spoken to Mr. Augere, yet, about any holiday plans, at all, have you?”

Something about the way the question was phrased, as Jason was able to recall later in retrospect, should have made him take more notice.

“No. But I did just miss a call from him.”

“Good. I am glad I got to speak to you first then. Since you mentioned you didn’t have any definite plans, I am wondering if you would consider accompanying Mr. Augere to New Orleans for the holidays? I know it won’t be the same as being with your own family. Or whatever your plans are; but it could be very enjoyable for you.”

New Orleans again? With Augere? Spending the holidays?

That actually did sound like a great idea. Well, maybe.

“Is this something he normally does? And does he usually take his assistant along?” Jason was hoping for a yes.

“He hasn’t had an assistant for several years. And prior to that he didn’t want to travel from London every year. That has been his most recent excuse.”

“But—do you think he would prefer that I go with him?”

“Actually he prefers not to go at all. He said he was here recently and does not need to return so soon.”

Jason’s hopes fell.

“But I insisted. This is one of the few things I ask of him. That he spend this time with us. He just told me he cannot go because his assistant has other plans and he does not want to travel over the holidays without an assistant to accompany him. So he has told me no. I thought he might be using you as his excuse to get out of this.”

“But I didn’t mention any plans to him; I didn’t really have anything definite—”

“I suspected that might be the case, but I wanted to ask you first, just to be sure. I thought as much. I do know him pretty well.”

Damn it! That is probably why Augere was calling me—to back up his story! And having my phone silenced might have looked like I was conspiring with Genier. Damn it!

“But if he really doesn’t want to go…if maybe he dislikes the holidays so much—wouldn’t it be better if—”

“It is not the holidays so much. He is never happy about this and he resists every year. But I need to have my way in this matter. I do not want him to be alone over the holidays and that’s that. I do have to yield to him on a lot of things, but not this. If he refuses, he knows what the alternative will be. And I know he does not want that.”

Genier can issue ultimatums to Augere? This is interesting… Damn. How did I get in the middle of this? They can’t be worried he could come to harm, just by being alone, not truly…right? What is this really all about?

“But—won’t he be angry—with me—if it looks like I took your side, against him?”

“He would be angry if he thought I put you up to it, and he may suspect that—”

Well that is just great!
Jason felt a growing sense of alarm.

“—but if I convince him that because your own plans had changed I was then able to convince you to accompany him, he would just have to see it differently.”

Jason was dubious.

“I know we can’t be a substitute for your own family. But we are already thinking of you as family too, and we would all like to welcome you. There will be around the clock celebrations, parties, the reveillon, bonfires, live music and way too much food and drink…I think you might enjoy much of it.” James sounded enthused.

Jason knew he was being pleasantly nudged. Again. But… New Orleans. Parties and festivities. And Augere. It did sound pretty good.

“I don’t have to be the one to tell him, do I?”

“No. I will take care of that. We will make all the travel arrangements too. You just have to get him here. I will have both of you fly out on the 23rd of December.”

“Okay.” Jason kept the weighted sigh to himself. It already sounded like a done deal.

“Excellent. I will notify him and I’ll be in touch.”

Jason hung up and then gave his phone an accusatory look.
Now I’m going to have to call Augere. I have to explain why he wasn’t able to reach me. Why I was unavailable for so long. Because I was breaking his rules
.

Jason called Augere’s number. He still did not have a ready excuse to give him, and the truth refused to come out of hiding. Busy. Busy? Oh, no! Genier must be calling him right now.
It’s late. It’s already past 11 p.m.. Should I wait until tomorrow then?
Tomorrow was Thursday, their usual meeting day. Maybe he would have to see him then anyway. Or not.
NO! I have to call him back tonight. I have to explain, or at least tell him something
.

Jason paced in his quarters. He stared at his phone from time to time.
I have to do this now. I have to get this over with. Explain why I wasn’t there when he needed me
.

****

12:00 Midnight local time New Orleans∼

“Laurent…I know you’re there…you can’t answer the phone and then pretend not to be there.”

“Yes. I can.”

“I’m just calling to say goodnight…and to see if you needed anything from me right now…”

“I am certain there is more.”

“Well, yes. Actually, there is some good news. I spoke to Jason and it seems his plans were far more tentative than thought at first and apparently those plans have fallen through now and he is able to come to New Orleans after all. He was rather ambivalent about it though. He believes you do not want him to go with you. I told him you prefer that he accompany you, as he is your assistant. And so then he finally had to agree to it.”

There was only silence on Augere’s end.

“Okay, then. I will make the travel arrangements for you both to fly on the 23rd. Do you prefer a hotel……?……Or will the cottage be suitable……?……Okay……well, I’m looking forward to seeing—”

The phone clicked, and then silence.

“Okay, then.” Genier sighed as he hung up. And then he smiled.

****

11:10 p.m. local time Boston∼

Jason tried calling Augere again. The phone rang ten times before Augere picked up.

“Mr. Augere, I am so sorry—I had my phone silenced by mistake—I never do that!—and I see I missed several of your calls. Did you need me for something?”
What a lame excuse
. His voice sounded shaky. Hesitant. Guilty.

There had been no verbal response when the phone was answered and a long and heavy silence sat between them.

Finally Augere spoke.

“I needed you to pick up some magazines for me if you went out.” The words were delivered in a tense monotone. Sometimes he did ask Jason to do things like that.

“Yes—I’ll go and try to find what you want now; just tell me what you need—”
It is too late to find magazines now. Why am I even saying this?

“It hardly matters now.” There was a distinctly icy edge to those words. Then there was a loud click as the call ended.

“Okay, then…” Jason said to dead air and then hung up.

I think maybe I should go and be with my family after all,
Jason thought.
Yep. I think Minnesota might be just the thing for me right now. This really was not my fault. Somehow I just got caught up in the middle of this. I should call Genier back tonight, right now, and tell him I can’t do this
.

But it was already done. Vacillating was not an option right now. Ambiguity and ambivalence and not getting it right would just make everything worse. He was just going to have to deal with it.

Once they got to New Orleans, he would step into the background. Let Genier take the stage and deal with Augere. That way he couldn’t cause Augere any more aggravation. That was the last thing he needed to do.

He just had to get through another couple of days, just get through the weekend, and then on Wednesday they would leave for New Orleans. It would be the third time this year they had been there together, and each time had meant a life-changing event for Jason.

I just hope and pray that this time everything will still be good for all of us
.

He was too anxious for sleep just yet. His mind was unsettled with too much tension and worry.

I’m going to avoid him as much as possible for the next few days. Stay out of his way completely; I won’t even seek him out for any reason
. He could not allow anything to happen that could cause any more tension or create any more stress between them. That decision helped to put his mind at ease a little, but he still perseverated and couldn’t sleep.

If he simply didn’t see Augere or talk to him there was far less risk he would annoy or irritate him further… He tried to get comfortable; plumped his pillows and changed his position several times. It wasn’t like he saw him all the time anyway. Hardly ever in fact. This should be easy. His last waking thought before drifting into a troubled sleep was:
How hard could it be to just not see him or talk to him, to avoid having any interaction with him at all for the next few days…?

Chapter 27

Carrie

“Hi, Jason! It’s Mom! We’ve got a big surprise for you!”

“Mom…? Hi…?” Jason had forced one eye open in response to the ringing cell phone on his bedside table. His clock read 9:22 a.m., Thursday. He was groggy, his voice was hoarse, and though he usually was awake by now, he wasn’t ready to be awake just yet.

“I didn’t wake you up, did I?” his mom asked.

“No,” he lied. “What’s up?”

“We kept telling her she should have called you first, but she wanted us to wait until she was on the plane, and then have us call you. She wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Who?” he asked sleepily, his head now resting back on his pillow, alongside his phone, as he closed his eyes. He was really tired. A few more hours of sleep would be…

“We just dropped Carrie off at the airport, and waited until she got on the plane. We’re on our way home now. She was so excited! We were a little worried about her traveling all that way by herself—but she insisted. She’s been saving money from her job and she still had the money you sent her for her birthday—she said she was getting tired of waiting for an invitation from you and—”

“Wait a minute!” Jason sat bolt upright. “You’re not saying Carrie is—on her way here—right now?”

As his mom began to provide the flight details, Jason’s mind raced. He only half heard what his mom was saying.
Carrie? Coming here? Now…? No…no…

“…so she’s expecting to be picked up at the airport…I told her you might be working, but then you did tell us your hours are flexible—she won’t have to wait long at the airport, will she? I know, she’s sixteen now, but your dad and I would worry…”

Jason heard her but he couldn’t respond yet.

“Jason?”

“Yeah…Mom.” He asked her to repeat all the flight information again as he frantically searched the bedside table for a pen.
She’s got to go back…she’ll just have to get right on the next plane and go—

“Mom, how long is she planning to stay? Because, you know, work, and stuff, and I really—”

“Just a long weekend; a couple of days. She’s only missing two days of school, but they are almost done for the holiday recess anyway—”

He didn’t hear the rest. Three hours. Probably a little more, until she would be at the airport…this was terrible—this was really bad…he really would like to see her, to have her here in Boston…they could have such a really great time and he could use a friendly distraction right now…
no, no this cannot happen…
she would be upset of course. But she couldn’t stay. She could not be here. She had to go back. This was not a good time…

He was off the phone with his mom now, and headed to the shower—no!—no time! He had to get dressed, get to the airport—no! If he went by cab, it would be a slow and expensive taxi ride in traffic. And the subway—that could take him too long also.