Of Blood & Pearls: A Vampire Romance, Part I

Her name is Marcy...and one could say that she is a normal kind of a young lady. She is a sort of quiet beauty that is easily overlooked by today's standards, with wavy chestnut brown hair and deep hazel eyes...round cheeks that would remind one of a porcelain doll and Snow White-pale skin that flushes into the brightest crimson red when she is embarassed or excited. There is an innocent yet guilty quality present in her lonely eyes and her curvy body could easily be compared to the late and gorgeous Bettie Page...and she loves herself but she constantly feels the pressures of a society so sick and deprived of the clear vision of true beauty...and true love.

In the beginning of this story, Marcy worked in a small office in downtown Bath, New York doing clerical work and every once in awhile cleaned houses on the side for a little bit of extra cash. She had a goal to run her own business someday, a storefront that would sell vintage clothing and antique jewelry. Marcy worked diligently to achieve these goals and she also worked many long hours, doing what she could in order to make her dream of entrepreneurship a reality. Marcy did not own a vehicle, as she was able to walk home every night from work...her house was literally only five blocks down the street from her office. She enjoyed her walks home, although they could be quite lonely. Marcy had one goal at this point and she was willing to do whatever it takes to achieve this goal...even if that meant giving up a social life and any chances of dating...her home life was not the best situation to take home a date anyway. She lived with her seventy-two year old, cancer-ridden Aunt Reggie...who in all honesty has never been that nice to Marcy...but then again, not many people have ever been that nice to Marcy. As a child, and even now as an adult, Marcy did not so much as get a glance from the people in her office nor the people in her town...but all of that would soon change...

Marcy's Diary Entry 1 - January 1st, 2009

My new year's resolution this year is to keep a diary...although it is sort of something that a little girl would do...but who am I kidding, I don't have anyone to impress anyway. My day was just like any other...work was good but uneventful and blase...as usual. What more can I expect from this small town? I kind of wish I had listened to Mom and gone to the community college to take some business classes...at least I wouldn't be stuck here.

Aunt Reggie isn't doing so well today...she barely left her bed all day and I fear that she has taken a turn for the worst. The doctors say she may only make it another 3 months. I'm not sure what I am going to do if she passes...I wish Mom was still alive.

Well, off to bed for now...I have nothing else to do.

Marcy's Diary Entry 2 - January 7th, 2009

So it's been a whole week since I've written in my diary...looks like I'm not so great at keeping my new year's resolutions...but then again, who is? Nevertheless, I have been busier than most weeks as this week Aunt Reggie has seemed to have utterly deteriorated, so I've been in the process of ensuring that her will and all of the arrangements are in place. I hate thinking about it, but these things have to be done, nonetheless.

I went to work today, just as any other day, and something strange happened. I received a bouquet of red roses...and the weirdest part is, I have no idea who sent them to me! I'm about 99% sure that it is no one from work, as everyone is married and I don't flirt with anyone, anyways. I guess it could be Kevin, but then again I think he is dating Jenni seriously at this point, which would make him an unlikely candidate. When the florist delivered them, I stood up from my desk...ready to take them to Miss Claire but the florist said, "I have a bouquet for Miss Marcy Deltoure"...and I blushed so hard it felt like my face was on fire! Miss Claire came in at that exact moment and looked at me as though I had stolen her flowers. I just responded to her expression saying, "I don't know who they're from..."

The beautiful blood-red roses sat on my desk, basking in the sunlight shining in from the front door...they seemed to be glistening. I felt like the roses were whispering to me...I am still in shock that they came for me, and I cannot for the life of me figure out who sent them. There was no little note to even give me a hint! I felt like I was in one of those cheesy romance novels. Maybe my secret admirer will reveal himself tomorrow? Aunt Reggie's calling so I'm done writing for now.

About two weeks following Marcy's last diary entry, Aunt Reggie died asleep in her bed and was buried the following week on a cold and rainy Sunday. Marcy was at her wit's end with hostessing gads of out-of-town relatives (that she barely knew) and handling the funerary procedures for her Aunt...all of this stress at the same time whilst mourning the death of her Aunt. Though she was mourning, she could not really understand why...Aunt Reggie was never that loving towards her. Regardless of their relationship, Aunt Reggie had left the old Victorian house to Marcy...as Aunt Reggie never had any children and Marcy was her last closest of kin.

After all of the relatives had left and the funeral was over, Marcy was once again able to focus on work and saving money for her store. She had even picked out an empty storefront downtown...one that had been empty for seven years, apparently; however, in order to purchase the storefront outright she had quite a bit more saving to do. Work was just the same, yet there was a bit more excitement to Marcy's mornings...as she constantly wondered if her rose-gifting admirer would ever reveal his identity. She also wondered if the roses hadn't been sent to her by mistake. She pondered over and over if the roses had come from her ex-beau Kevin Randall...but then she realized that roses were not Kevin's style and the two of them were never that hot of an item anyway. A month had passed and no mystery admirer showed up...so Marcy began to give up hope for this new possibility for love. She convinced herself that she did not need love in her life, as she needed to focus on buying and opening her store. With each passing day in the month of February, Marcy had an ever-growing feeling of loneliness...but she just swallowed her feelings and kept pressing on. Then in early March, another unexpected present showed up on Marcy's doorstep...

Marcy's Diary Entry 3 - March 4th, 2009

I had kind of given up hope on meeting my admirer...that is why I haven't written in over a month...okay, more like two months has passed. Today I was leaving the house when I stepped on something on the front porch...a small package wrapped in red paper. I nearly crushed it so I panicked for a second...hoping I didn't ruin whatever was awaiting me inside. Then a thought flashed through my mind, "Is this a present from my mystery admirer? How does he know where I live? That's kind of creepy..." Nonetheless, I ripped through the red wrapping paper and miniature red bow until nothing but a black velvet jewelry box was left in my hands. I opened the box and saw inside the most gorgeous strand of pearls I have ever seen in my life. They immediately reminded me of a strand of pearls that Granny wore every Christmas, when she was still alive. They even had the gold pendant at the end with the teardrop pearl hanging off of it. I almost cried out loud, but realized Mrs. Payne was checking her mail so I quickly swallowed the lump in my throat. I put the pearls back into the velvet box and went to work...with a HUGE smile on my face. Miss Claire kept asking me all day why I was acting so "giddy and girlish". How could I hide my happiness? My secret admirer had shown back up after more than a month of wondering if he even existed, and he left me the most wonderful present I had ever received! The whole day went quicker than I could explain and I cleaned Mrs. Payne's house this evening in a total of 2 hours! That has to be a record...I guess you could say I'm happy but I'm dying to know who keeps giving me these presents. It can't be Kevin...and I'm hoping that it's not.

Marcy's Diary Entry 4,

March 6th, 2009

So it's been two days since I received my beautiful gift of antique pearls...and today I realized that there's a note inside of the velvet box! It looks like it was written on old newspaper...sort of yellowed and wrinkled and the message reads, "I hope you like these...they reminded me of you. It would give me great pleasure if you would join me for supper at the Chateau Winery this Saturday at eight of the clock. Provide Mister Thomas Vaughn with your name and he will lead you in the right direction." Who writes like that? All the same, the desire to find out who is giving me these gifts is killing me. But then again, he has to be a total weirdo...leaving random gifts on strange women's front porches...writing like he's from the eighteenth century...

Yes, I've made up my mind...I'm going...if he turns out to be creepy...I guess I can ditch him and hope that he doesn't start stalking me. Shit, He does know where I live...

The next two days went by faster than lightning for Marcy. Although she had her doubts about this new ambiguous admirer, her curiosity and sexual desire, or possibly her growing loneliness, was adding to her overwhelming desire to meet this mysterious man. An invitation to the famous Chateau Winery was a very high honor...as it is one of the few restaurants in the States that can boast a Michelin rating of five stars. To turn this invitation down would not just be insulting to Marcy's admirer, it would be a travesty to one's palate...and so, Marcy spent her hours at work debating what she would wear and how she would do her hair. Two things that she had not thought about since dating her first love seven years ago.

Saturday evening came around and Marcy decided to wear a 1940s vintage sapphire blue, satin evening gown with a plunging neckline, that she had bought from a vintage store in New York City the year before. The gifted antique pearls adorned her pale neck, with the teardrop pearl resting in the crest between the tops of her breasts. Her hair fell loosely on her shoulders and her make up was done beautifully...with red lipstick for such an occasion. She had called a cab, as the Chateau Winery would have been a bit of a hike, and in heels..."No, thanks", she thought. The night was cold but the air was sweet, somehow. The ride to the Chateau proved to be a quick and quiet one, with the cab driver not speaking more than two words. The silence made Marcy think about what was going to happen when she arrived at the Winery...she tried to imagine what her secret admirer would look like...was he young? Was he even good looking? What if he was old and fat? Too late to turn around now...she had to at least give the man one date before ditching him. He had given her such a beautiful necklace that she owed him at least one dinner.

The cab rolled up to the Chateau's front steps at five 'til eight. A very nervous Marcy stepped out of the cab and walked up the steps to the front door of the Winery. The maître d’ stood just inside the glass door in a full tuxedo and white gloves...he sort of looked like a butler that one would imagine seeing in the Buckingham Palace. Marcy started to speak, but the maitre d' beat her to the first words and said, "Miss Deltoure? Right this way, madame." With that, he led Marcy down a long rustic hallway, with gorgeous french paintings lining the walls. There were bottles of wine hanging from a rack on the ceiling, spanning the whole length of the hallway. The butterflies in Marcy's stomach were making her feel sick...or perhaps she was just really hungry...it was eight o'clock, a bit late for dinner. They reached the end of the hallway and the maitre d led Marcy into a dimly lit room to the right. There were red candles lining the walls and a single table in the far left corner of the room...with Marcy's mystery admirer sitting quietly...staring at her and smiling.

"Wow! This can't be him...he is absolutely gorgeous," Marcy thought. The smiling man stood up as Marcy approached the table, and with a deep, sort of husky voice he said, "Marcy, I am so happy you could come tonight. I am honored to have you in my presence." He had a thick Irish accent and his mouth curled up ever so slightly in the corner when he spoke. "He looks like Bill Compton from True Blood!" Marcy thought...and he did! Almost identically...they could be twins. The Irish Bill Compton pulled out Marcy's chair for her and laid her napkin in her lap, ever so gently. "So...you know my name somehow...what's yours?" She asked. "My name is Lucas. Lucas McCarthy." He stared deep into her eyes with his sparkling baby blues...a shiver worked its way up Marcy's body...a shiver of pure unadulterated desire. Then her Irish admirer spoke again, "I must be honest with you from the beginning of our relationship. You must know that I am not a normal person...I am a vampire."

The shivers came on strong again and danced up and down Marcy's thighs. She began to shake a bit out of pure excitement, but calmed herself down before her gorgeous date could notice. She had to hear more...she drank a sip of the Beaujolais that had been waiting patiently for her on the table. She had so many thoughts racing through her head...is it possible that vampires exist? Is this man lying or just crazy? He cannot be either...he's too lovely to be a liar or a psycho..."If you're a vampire, let me see your fangs, Mr. McCarthy." He smiled at her politely and answered, "Later, my love. And please address me as Lucas." Marcy felt sure that her admirer was not lying to her...she felt sure that he loved her though they barely knew each other...she felt sure that she wanted him with a ferocity that she had never experienced before...

"How do you know me? I mean, I don't recall having met you before, Lucas." He flashed her a bewitching smile and his sky blue eyes seemed to be sparkling. "Oh, you have known me before, my love. We were together once before..."

To Be Continued in Part II of "Of Blood & Pearls: A Vampire Romance".