Chapter 10: Time and Time to Come
Walter looked down at his watch. “Time really does fly.” The nachos between them were destroyed, and it was just like Miran said; he ate most of them. Harley had ditched a few chips into her lap or onto the floor, and it didn’t seem like Marian had eaten many either. Walter, on the other hand, was nearly constantly chewing. “It’s coming up on last call already.”
“Last call always comes too early,” Harley said. “Wow, that really makes me sound like an alcoholic. I promise, I’m not. I just don’t want to end things too soon.”
“I am also not much of a drinker, to be honest,” Marian said. “I like the smell of wine far more than the taste. But it is difficult when public places close down.”
“It just puts some pressure on the two of you to set up another date,” Walter said. “So you can spend more time together another night.” He looked at Harley, but it seemed more like he was talking to Marian. “If that’s something you’d be interested in.”
“I- yes. Yes, I’d be interested. I would love to spend some time outside of this place.”
“Maybe a movie?” Marian asked. “Followed by a pleasant discussion.”
***
“I am glad it is not too cold tonight,” Marian said. “I do not like it when I can see my breath.”
“It’s also easier for us to walk a bit, and talk about the, um, movie.” Harley was glad it wasn’t that cold so that Marian wouldn’t notice that she couldn’t see Harley’s breath. Harley knew that the air was more or less the same temperature when she exhaled as it had been when she inhaled. Her body didn’t create its own heat anymore.
“Speaking of, I am sorry I did not choose one that was more fancy or with subtitles.”
“I’m not,” Harley said. “There’s a place for art movies, but there’s also a place for popcorn films. And I like movies that have emotional purpose and impact to them.”
“Walter is a fan of the superhero movies,” Marian said. “He likes the muscle bound men fighting and getting sweaty, with the big explosions and the movie magic.”
“Well yeah, he’s a guy. He likes explosions and stuff. But I shouldn’t judge. I’m sure there’s more going on in those movies than I give them credit for.”
“No, you have him well figured out. He enjoys the pretty men running around and sweating.”
“Some people are into sweat.”
“I have not sweated in a very long time.” Marian said. “It is not something that I miss.”
Harley shrugged. “I sometimes miss it,” she said. “I mean, going to the gym notwithstanding.”
“Of course.”
“But even then, there are times when it’s worth getting sweaty. Or at least helping someone else get sweaty.”
Marian gave a little bit of a smile at that. “I am glad that you are still being forward,” she said. “I was a bit afraid that a different circumstance would push us back on that front.”
“Why did you think that?”
“There seems to be something that is holding you back, bothering you. I want to be sure that I am not making you uncomfortable or making you feel like your advances are unwelcomed.”
“That’s not it at all,” Harley assured her. “I just want to - I have some trouble making sure that I’m not coming on too strong. I want to get to know you a bit more, that’s all.”
“Then ask me, ma cherie. Ask me whatever you want to know about, and I will tell you.”
“The truth?”
“That depends on how much you will believe,” Marian said. “But I have no reason to lie to you.”
“I’m pretty good at believing things,” Harley said. “As long as they’re true.” She took a deep breath. “How long have you and Walter known each other?”
“More or less forever,” she said. “We were adults already when we met, but sometimes you feel a connection with someone that lasts far longer and goes far deeper than friendship.”
“How did you meet?”
“He saved my life. And I saved his.”
Harley smiled. “That’s incredible. And you two live together?”
“We have been through much together, and it is safer to stay close. Sometimes, you need the company of those who know what you have been through, who have been through it with you.”
“I can understand that. I envy you. I want something just like that for myself.”
“He is useful to keep around,” she said. “But there are things he cannot provide. And as much as I like to tell myself that I do not need those things, I am starting to realize that I do.”
“What things?”
Another couple walked past them, huffing out clouds of frozen breath as they moved toward warmth and shelter. Harley watched them walk, her eyes turning back to Marian as things started to make sense.
“There is a type of companionship that no man can offer me, no matter how wonderful a man he may be. Some things require a woman’s touch. I am - I am starting to see that I am starved for that touch. It feels like it has been a hundred years.”
“Has it?”
Marian laughed, but it was a forced laugh. “Do I look like I am a hundred years old?” she asked.
Harley stopped walking. “I suppose that all depends,” she said. “Are you human?”
“Of course, I - “
Harley held up a hand. “You said you’d tell the truth, and I told you I’d believe,” she said. “Your breath isn’t steaming. You keep talking about the past as if it is much longer than it should otherwise be. You didn’t eat any of the chips last night. You’re a vampire, aren’t you?”
Marian stopped and seemed to shrink in on herself a bit. She wrung her hands in front of her, shifting her weight from foot to foot, her gaze downcast as if afraid to make eye contact. “I -” she started, then sighed, seeming to collapse a little bit more. “Oui. I am a vampire. But I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.”
Harley let out an exaggerated sigh and smiled. “Well, that’s a relief,” she said. “Now we don’t have to pretend to eat dinner together.”
“Qua?” Marian looked up, the skin between her eyes bunched together in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I’m a vampire too,” Harley said. “So Walter is, like, your human servant?”
Marian laughed. “You are as - oh, what are the odds? Mon dieu. I mean, I knew that you were special, but I had no idea-”
She would have continued, but Harley cut off her words with a quick kiss, slipping forward and sneaking in to press her lips to Marian’s. It was a magic that cut off Marian’s train of thought, but that magic had nothing to do with vampirism.
“So no more need for secrets?” Harley asked. “I’m not saying we should go hunting together or something, but we don’t need to pretend to be human, right?”
“Right, no. We don’t. I suppose it brings up questions though, doesn’t it? Have you been turned long?”
Harley shook her head. “I’d be about thirty-five if my heart still beat on its own. How about you?”
“I am definitement the older woman,” Marian said with a slight chuckle. “I was turned just before the French Revolution. I am in my third century.”
“Wow,” Harley said. “So you’ve seen the whole world change. That’s incredible.”
“It makes it much harder to decide what your favorite book may be,” she said.
“Easier to come up with hobbies though, right? I mean, more time to do things. To practice and to pick up skills.”
“It is,” Marian said. “But it is not as much time as you might think. When we were mortal, we could easily be awake for eighteen hours a day. How much time do you spend awake now?”
“Not that much,” Harley agreed. “Still, it’s not that much of a difference.”
“I have done the math,” Marian said. “I am awake on average eight hours a day. That is one-third of the day, and less than half as much time as a mortal. So while a century passes, I will have lived less than fifty years.”
“But three centuries is still way more than any normal person gets.”
Marian sighed. “This is true. But it still feels like I am always playing catchup with the world these days. Like it might slip past me if I am not careful.”
“But that’s why you have Walter, isn’t it? A young perspective?”
“Walter is older than you and I put together, mon cher. And he is not limited to eight hours a day. He has the time to stay caught up, but he is only human, after all.”
“So then was I supposed to be the young perspective?” Harley didn’t like the idea of that. After all, it wasn’t the first time she’d been the young perspective for an older vampire. And that last time, with Jonathan, had ended badly for both of them.