Page 25 of Vampire Claus

“This reminds me of my mama’s cooking,” Taviano said, clinking his glass against Paul’s. “And the wine is very nice.”

“My nonna gave me the bottle when I stopped by yesterday afternoon to wish her a merry Christmas.”

Taviano could eat no more than a few mouthfuls because what his body had to do to purge human food was awkward. The wine was easier to handle; he sipped while Paul ate and peppered Taviano with questions.

He wanted to know more about being a vampire, about his family, about the best places he’d wandered. Taviano got his turn, learning about a trip to Italy when Paul graduated from high school.

Once they finished dinner, Paul tugged Taviano back to the futon. “Leave the dishes. I can do them tomorrow because I’m not gonna waste a minute of our time together with something lame like that.” Two packages that hadn’t been there the night before had appeared under the little tree. Paul retrieved the presents and placed them into Taviano’s hands. “It isn’t much, but I wanted to get you something.”

Under the wrappings were a new black shirt and pants. “Thank you. These look like they’ll fit perfectly.”

Paul grinned. “I thought about getting red, because of the Great Santa Caper. Then I realized that wearing black is probably in the vampire code.”

“Something like that,” Taviano agreed with an answering smile. “It’s a time-honored tradition for creatures of the night.” He pulled the wristwatch out of his pants pocket. “Speaking of time,” he began. “I didn’t have a chance to buy you a Christmas present yet but I’d like to give you this.” He fixed the band around Paul’s arm.

Paul looked at the watch face with wide eyes. “This is a Piaget,” he gasped, mispronouncing the name. “Holy fuck. I got you a few clothes from the discount store.”

Taviano grimaced at his black shirt in the corner with its missing buttons. “I definitely needed them.”

“But this watch… It’s insane, Taviano. I don’t know if I should take it.”

“Here’s the thing. It turns out that being the master of the North End, at least by vampire custom, comes with a house.”

He explained about the townhouse and the treasures he’d found, then took Paul’s hand. “If it bothers you about where the watch came from, I understand. But it’s mine to give now. I’d like you to have a reminder of me when you’re going about your day, until it’s time to be together again.”

Paul looked at the watch and smiled shyly. “That’s a beautiful thought. Like you.” He pondered for a moment. “I get it about there being no way to send it back to the original owner. Okay,” he said decisively. “I’ll wear it and think about you every day. Only thing is, it’s awfully nice for my neighborhood. I’d kind of paint a target on my back, or my arm. Maybe I should save it to wear in the apartment?”

“About that.” Taviano turned over Paul’s hand to kiss his palm. “I agree about this neighborhood. I also expect I would spend most of my nights watching over you here to make sure you’re safe. So I have an indecent proposition for you.”

He smiled in what he hoped was a winning manner to hide his nerves. “How would you feel about living in the townhouse and helping me fix it up? It has a lot of charm but the last, uh, owner neglected it. It’s probably much easier to deal with contractors and decorators in daylight hours. I have this awkward allergy to the sun…”

Saucer eyes again from Paul. “You’re asking me to live with you?” he asked breathlessly.

“I suppose I am. You could leave whenever you choose, of course. And I could pay you to act as my general contractor, so you’d have your own money. You wouldn’t have to keep working at the diner, unless you want to.”

“Are you kidding? I love to cook but that job bites the big one.” Paul grinned. “Bigger even thanyourpiece, you motherfucking sexy pile of bloodsucker.” He whooped. “I’m onethousandpercent down with this idea. Can you show me the house tonight?”

“Of course. It’s a little dusty but we can stay there, if you like.”

Paul quirked his head. “There’s a safe place for you, I suppose. Can I sleep with you?”

“I’ve never slept near anyone human since I became a vampire. I honestly don’t know if it’d be safe.” That sobered Paul. Before it could bother him, Taviano added, “At least I can stay with you upstairs until dawn.”

“I’ll take that for now,” Paul said but he smirked. “We’ll see about the rest later.”

“I knew you’d be stubborn about this,” Taviano said ruefully. “Oh well, I’d better get used to it.”

“Damn right. Hey, uh, this may be dumb of me…”

“No, please don’t censor yourself. I want to know anything you think or worry about.”

“Well, it sounds like you got some serious coin out of this deal. I get you had nothing to do with where it came from, and there isn’t any way to restore it, like, to the families. But it might feel good to use some of it to help people. Like, karma or whatever the Catholic equivalent might be.”

Taviano nodded slowly. “That’s a brilliant idea.”

“It is?”

“Absolutely. It will take time to understand exactly how much money there is and to convert the jewelry to cash, but you’re right. It’s tainted and I don’t want that to affect you. Let’s find good places to put, oh, half of the money to work. How does that sound?”

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