18Please respect copyright.PENANAqZIToYq0Hy
With all the training, combat operations, mass murders, and hostage rescuing, I completely forgot about my upcoming birthday. Luckily, I was surrounded by people who actually cared about that rather unimportant date.
I, for one, didn't remember I was turning seventeen even when the day had come. Consequently, I wasn't even a little bit suspicious when early in the morning an ear-splitting siren went off in the Order's headquarters. Prepared for this kind of situation, I instantly jumped out of bed, pulled my new and shiny Glock 22 out of the night table, and ran to the living room. What I saw there was a bunch of birthday banners, hundreds of balloons, and all of the Night Guardians, each wearing a party hat and chanting "Happy Birthday!"
The menacing grimace of someone ready to fight the unknown enemy, which was on my face just a second ago, gave way to a friendly and slightly embarrassed smile.
"Jeez, what are you doing?! I could've shot someone!" I exclaimed.
"Is it possible that you've forgotten some important rule?" uncle Mike gave me a mischievous smile.
"Check the weapon readiness immediately after you get your hands on it," I remembered my coach's words and removed the magazine from my gun. It was empty.
"I've unloaded it while you were sleeping, just in case. But never make the same mistake again if you don't want Rettle to demote you."
Mike walked up to me and wrapped me in a hug. I smiled embarrassedly again and patted him on the back. Next came Luma. Softly and tenderly, she took my face in her hands and kissed me. Boy, were her lips amazing! And then everyone else went ahead with the congratulations. Lumberjack picked me up and pulled me in so hard I heard my ribs cracking. Stoker and Fleming also hugged me but at least not so zealously. Lee and Bessie, apart from the embraces, kissed me on the cheek. The last one to come over was Rettle who first shook my hand vigorously, and then patted me on the shoulder, once again saying ‘Happy Birthday, Sam’. The way he said it, I could swear there was a glitch in his voice-synthesizing software which made his robotic voice sound somewhat human.
Later we had a birthday breakfast. Bessie made incredibly delicious hot chocolate and some equally delicious cupcakes. Comfortably seated in the living room, we drank, ate, and looked through a selection of my childhood photos and videos prepared by uncle Mike with Geek and Lee's help. Luma was cuddled up next to me, smiling adorably. I glanced aside and noticed that Lee and Geek were yet again sitting way too close to each other for regular colleagues. I made a mental note to nudge Geek into asking Lee out because it was unlikely he'd ever go for it himself, insecure as he was.
It was a wonderful morning. I felt like this was my family. Now I had Luma, uncle Mike, several cousins represented by Geek, Lee, Stoker, and Lumberjack, grandma Bessie, grandpa Fleming and even a grumpy distant relative Rettle who always gets invited to all family events even though nobody remembers who he really is anymore. Later that day I was also supposed to dine with my real family. During the time I stayed with my uncle, I had already met with my mom and sister on more than one occasion, but last time that happened was before Luma became part of my life. Also, I hadn't been home since the day I ran off to Jack. I could now return triumphantly – all grown-up, confident, and accompanied by my newly found better half.
The drive from my new home to the place where I was born took us about an hour. At home, we were welcomed by my mom and Mary. My dad was away for some business. After my mom almost strangled me in her affectionate embrace, she turned her efforts to uncle Mike and Luma with the same level of enthusiasm. Mary, of course, wasn't that intense. She only solemnly shook my hand. However, this move didn’t work with uncle Mike. He picked the shorty up into the air and started to swirl. At first, my little sister tried to resist, but ultimately she remembered she was just a child and started to enjoy the flight.
We sat down at the table in the living room. After everyone got his share of potato salad, steak, and other dishes, my mother went straight to questioning me and Luma.
"So how did you two meet?"
And then I regretted that Luma and I didn't talk all the way here. We never even thought of making up a less bloody and heart-wrenching version of how we met. Everyone around us knew the story perfectly well. But it took Luma less than a second to think of an answer.
"On Reddit. We both chatted in the same communities."
After that, the conversation at the table gained momentum. The way Luma carried herself was incredible. She was calmly answering billions of my mom's questions, exchanging jokes with Mary and even making occasional remarks about how amazing I was. I think by the end of the evening, my Mom was swept off her feet with my girlfriend. Of course she didn't know that Luma was my girlfriend. I decided that in the last months, my mother's life was already filled with too many strong emotions to shock her with a new statement now. However, I was sure that she would not mind my same-sex choice at all.
At some time around 8 p.m., my dad came home. He briefly greeted the guests and retreated to his study. From the looks of it, our relationship wasn’t about to warm up. My mom apologized and left the table. A minute later, we could hear muffled shouting coming from the father's study. My mom belonged to the conservative type of women who believe their husband to be the one and only head of the household, taking his every word for the ultimate truth. In all my life I'd never heard her fighting with my dad. But I guess he crossed the line by treating his own daughter in such a cold and cruel way.
I looked at Mary. She seemed scared and confused. Obviously, that wasn't the first row to shake the once rock-solid happiness of the Masters family since I left. Luma handled this situation just as brilliantly.
"Mary, do you wear makeup yet?” she asked. “I need to refresh mine, but I forgot all my stuff at home."
My sister was probably getting all her cosmetics with Happy Meals, and I couldn't spot any makeup on Luma's face, but Mary was happy to take her new friend to her room on the second floor. A couple of minutes later Mom returned. She struggled to hide her true emotions behind a forced smile, but it was clear she was extremely upset, and she even seemed to wipe away several tears on her way back.
"I'm sorry,” she said, “but George is working on a very important project right now. He cannot join us, but he sends his apologies."
The shouting match that took place right before this announcement and my mother's extremely sad face made me clench my fists and wish desperately to introduce them to my father's face. But the Order training wasn't wasted on me. I breathed in and out several times and calmed down. After all, I was seventeen, I was a paladin, and, for God's sake, I'd already killed at least three blood-thirsty vampires. I was sure I could talk to my father on an equal footing and clear the situation so that Mom and Mary wouldn't be affected by it anymore. I stood up and headed for my father's study. My mom threw up her hands and pleaded, "No, Sam, don't go there. He's very busy…"
But uncle Mike stopped her.
"Don't worry, Molly, it's going to be fine. Sam can handle it."
Upon reaching the study, I knocked on the door and entered without waiting for a response. Dad was standing at the window, holding in his hand a glass with about an inch of whiskey in it. It was the first time I'd seen my father drinking not at the festive table. He turned around to look at me but didn't say a single word. “It’s not going to be a conversation between a child and an adult,” I thought. “I need to hold myself equal to him”. Without asking his permission, I sat on the chair in front of his desk.
"I need to talk to you. Grown-up to grown-up, as equals. I guess you don't know the whole story, but uncle Mike must've told you at least some parts of my adventures. Dad, I'm not a little girl anymore. I won't start crying and asking you, "Oh Daddy, why don't you love me?" I don't need all that anymore."
My father just kept watching me silently, glancing from time to time at the ice cubes floating in his glass.
"Mike told me about your complicated relationship with vampires and how your father always favored him over you. Just so you know, Uncle feels really bad for not supporting you back then. But I don't think he should. The person most at fault here is my grandfather, then it's you, and uncle Mike is the last one on the list. And I did nothing wrong to you whatsoever. I'm your daughter, so it's your blood flowing in my veins, and that's what made me a vampire. But I won't bother you with explaining myself or asking you for reconciliation. I survived without your help and I'm sure I can keep going like that. But this is not about me. All of this is tough on Mom and Mary. We have to take responsibility for our actions and stop shifting the consequences onto others’ shoulders. I suggest the following: in front of them, we pretend that everything's okay. We shake hands whenever we meet and exchange pleasantries. Let them believe our relationship is on the mend. That's the only thing I want from you. It's not for me, it's for them."
I finished my speech. My father kept staring at the ice cubes in his whiskey for a while, and then he made a sip and said just two words without so much as looking my way.
"Fair enough."
That was all I needed. I stood up and headed for the exit. When I was already at the door, my father said my name. I turned around. He pulled a small box out of the drawer and handed it to me.
"In all my life there was only one time when my father favored me over Mike. It happened two days before he died. As if he sensed it coming. He called me to his study, very much like this one," he made a circling gesture with his hand holding the glass, "and gave me this box."
I took off the lid to discover a medallion shaped like a tiny bottle with several drops of incredibly dark liquid inside. It seemed to absorb every last bit of light that fell on the medallion. Just like one of those space holes, capable of eating entire galaxies.
"It's pater's blood. Or at least, that's what my father believed. He said that this medallion used to belong to the First Guardian. It's yours now."
Father's voice sounded very tense. And the next moment I saw tears in his eyes. As if on command, tears appeared in my eyes too. He came over and put his arms around me. This was the strongest and warmest hug in my life. I instantly forgot that I was already seventeen, that I was a paladin, and that I had already killed at least three blood-thirsty vampires. I cried. Daddy started crying too. A little bit, in a very manly manner.
"I understand that I was the world's most terrible father…" his voice trembled "But I can't help myself. Forgive me, Sam, but this vampire crap makes me sick to my stomach. I've even forbidden Mary to watch those vampire TV shows."
"It's okay, Dad. I understand. You're only human, just like me. Thanks for the gift."
We stood hugging for another minute or two. Then Dad kissed the top of my head and said, "You should probably go back to the others. I will join you later. I don't want your mom and Mary to see me like this."
I stood on my tiptoes and kissed Dad on the cheek.
"Happy birthday, sweetie," he said with a wink while wiping away the rest of his tears.
When I returned to the table, Luma and Mary were already there. Mom turned around and stared at me, her eyes full of painful expectation. I nodded and showed her the small box in my hands, letting her know that everything went fine.
Luma put her hand on my knee and looked me in the eye, also asking a silent question. This time I didn't even need to nod. She understood everything and smiled at me. I sat silently for a bit, replaying what had happened in Dad's study in my head. I remembered my own words about taking responsibility for our actions and decided I had one more unfinished business to take care of.
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