Chapter 16: New Relationships

September 16, 1984

Elaine adjusted the straps on Eli’s new bathing suit. “There! How does that feel?”

Eli moved her arms around and stretched. “Just right. Want me to do yours?”

“No thanks, mine’s fine.” She looked out her window. “Oskar and your Papa are already outside with Jack and Henry. We’d better hurry.” They headed down the stairs together.

“Do you know what day this is Elaine?” Eli slipped her arm through hers.

“No, Eli. Should I?”

“Its been a year since you came to stay with us.” Eli smiled at her. “I remember when I first saw you watching us in the vault. You really scared me.”

“You didn’t look scared. You actually looked kind of fierce – for a pint-sized vampire,” she teased.

“Oh Elaine! As soon as we talked I knew you were going to be with us. I’m so glad you came that night!”

Elaine squeezed her tightly, “Me too, Butterfly.” They stepped out back, and Eli immediately headed for the pool. Elaine sat down next to Dawson. “Where’s your suit, Rich? Aren’t you going in tonight?”

“Not tonight, Elaine. Tonight is special.” He reached under the chair, and pulled out a huge bouquet of Roses. “Happy anniversary, Elaine.”

“Damn! Am I the only one who didn’t remember? It just goes to show you how time flies when you’re having fun.” She took the bouquet, breathed in deeply, and carefully laid it on her chair. “And it shows me the great lengths some members of this family will go to in order to have an excuse for a celebration” she smiled, “But Eli already reminded me.” She peered at him closely, “She didn’t remind you too, did she? It doesn’t count if she reminded you.”

He stood up, and without saying a word, took her by the hand and headed for the garage, “I couldn’t think of a thing to get the vampire who has everything, so I improvised.” He opened the door for her and escorted her through her studio. With a flourish, he opened the door to the garage.

“What’s this? A car? We already have a car.”

“This one’s a bit different. It has EliGlass. And it’s new. And it’s yours. It’s a 1984 MG Maestro 2.0 Efi.”

“Whatever that means. Rich, it’s beautiful! And blue! My favorite color.” She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. “I guess you didn’t run out and buy this yesterday did you? How long have you been working on this?”

“About 6 months. The windshield was the most difficult to fabricate. You know, safety glass, compound curves and all. It’s hardly an off-the-shelf item.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” She gave him a funny look, “Rich, why’d you do this? It’s not as though it were my 100th birthday or anything.”

“I did it because, as I’ve told you before, I like doing things for you; besides, I felt strongly that you and Eli needed another layer of protection in the daytime as well as a more reliable car. And this anniversary is more important to us than your birthday. ”

“Us?”

“Okay, me.” He handed her the keys.

Without a word, she threw open the garage door, hopped in, adjusted the seat, started the car with a roar, and squealed out into the driveway, missing Dawson’s car by inches. She slammed on the brakes and rolled down the window. “Well? Are you coming?”

“What about the kids?” he stammered.

“They’re with a vampire for God’s sake! Super strength? X-ray vision? Vampiric superior intellect? Let’s go!”

“Superior intellect? In your dreams!” he said as he climbed in next to her.

“I got you in the car alone with me, didn’t I?” she flashed him an evil grin. She slammed the car in reverse, squealed out of the driveway, threw it in first as they lurched out into the street, and in a cloud of burnt rubber, they disappeared around the corner. The kids watched them over the side fence as they went by. They could hear the squeal of tires with each gear shift and finally the continuous squeal as they rounded the long curve at the end of the next block.

“Wow! You’re sister’s cool! Can we go for a ride with her sometime?” Jack asked excitedly.

“Sure! Maybe tomorrow. We’ll ask her when they get back!” Eli said.

“You mean, if they get back...alive.” Oskar laughed.

20 minutes later they heard the squeal of tires again, as Elaine and a pale Dawson hit the driveway and lurched to a stop within inches of her studio wall. “How’d I do?” she jumped out of the car, closed the garage door and opened his door for him.

“Remind me to fasten my seat belt next time. In fact, when you drive, it’s going to be mandatory for everyone in the car. I’m not even going to ask how you learned to drive like that.”

“Its like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget.” She grinned at him. “My dad collected sports cars.”

“Well, you’re probably the designated driver in this family from now on, you realize. The kids were all watching you over the fence when we started out. Your popularity in the neighborhood has just climbed to new heights.” He smiled at her. “I knew you’d like it. I just had a hunch.”

She put her arm around him and leaned her head on his shoulder. They walked back out to the pool together. “We’ll take it for a test drive with the kids tomorrow – in the daylight. And I’ll do all the driving of course. Superior vampire reflexes and all.”

“Elaine! Come on in!” Jack yelled. Elaine kicked off her shoes, sprinted for the pool and dove in.

“Papa? Are you coming?” Eli shouted. The boys were clustered around Elaine, all talking at the same time.

“Maybe later, Eli.” He sat back in his chair watching them swim. He felt deeply happy for the first time in years. It wasn’t that Eli and Oskar didn’t make him happy; they did. But having Elaine around for support and, as it turned out, much-needed practical guidance, made it much easier for him to relax and enjoy himself. And her strong sense of responsibility and her ability to bond so well with the kids made him even more certain that things would work out for them all. The thought of her ever leaving made him very uncomfortable. He closed his eyes for a moment and leaned his head back, deep in thought. Everything suddenly got very quiet. No one was talking. He opened his eyes and looked up, sensing that something wasn’t right. He was correct.

“Go!” Elaine yelled. All five of them canonballed into the pool right in front of Dawson, who disappeared behind the resulting wall of water. He was completely soaked.

“Really children! Was that necessary?” He gave Elaine a dirty look.

“WE thought so!” Elaine said sarcastically. You’re being a stick-in-the-mud. You haven’t gone swimming with us the last two times. She climbed out of the pool, grabbed a towel and dried her hair. Eli, Oskar, Jack and Henry stood a bit timidly behind her.

“Its okay, kids, I know who the real instigator of this little prank was.” They all grinned at him and jumped back in the pool. “Coming Elaine?”

“No, I think that’s it for me for a while.” She sat on the edge of the pool watching them chase pennies.

Eli swam over to her and crossed her arms over the edge of the pool, “Do you think Papa’s mad at you?” she whispered.

“He’s never mad at me, Eli. He just pretends to be sometimes. And he’s too stodgy and proper to do anything about it.”

Eli suddenly grinned and backed away from her just as a blast of ice cold water caught Elaine in the back of the head. She turned quickly and was hit directly in the face by the same powerful blast. Dawson stepped back a bit, gripped the hose firmly and took even more careful aim, directing it right between her eyes. She flailed around as she tried to get to her feet, but no sooner had she gotten upright than Dawson hit her full in the chest. The walkway was so slick by this time that she fell over backwards into the pool, towel and all.

She quickly popped to the surface, threw the wet towel at him and in one smooth motion lifted herself out of the pool and strode purposefully towards him, eyes blazing. Dawson stood his ground directing the water directly into her face the entire 4 meters, right up until she grabbed the hose from him, threw him over her shoulder like a rag doll, and ran towards the pool at full speed. In one mighty leap, she soared over Eli’s head and landed with a huge splash almost in the center of the pool. They both disappeared beneath the surface.

Jack, Henry, and Oskar were speechless. They had scrambled out of the pool as soon as they saw Elaine, with Papa over her shoulder, sprinting towards them and were now standing by the diving board with their mouths open. Eli was still laughing hysterically.

No sooner had their heads broken the surface then Papa pushed her back under water again and headed for the side. Elaine popped up next to Eli, winked at her and hopped out of the pool. She grabbed Dawson’s arm and helped him out. “Rich, are you okay?” she whispered.

He sat down in his chair with a loud squish, “I’m fine. But I don’t want to hear any more lectures from you about how Eli needs to watch her public displays of strength.” He smiled gently at her. “And just so you know, that wasn’t nearly as much fun as our flights together.”

“Wow, Eli. Your sister is even stronger than you are!” Jack said admiringly. “It must run in the family!”

“I think you’re right Jack.” She smiled to herself.

“And boy has she got guts! Imagine her being brave enough to treat your dad that way.”

“I can’t imagine what he’s going to do to her now,” she said solemnly “He can’t let her get away with that in front of us. It sets a bad example.” She smiled to herself as she tried to imagine Papa disciplining Elaine for anything.

Jack nodded, knowingly. She was really going to get it, he was sure.

======

He leaned back in the lounge chair, thankful for the pleasant quiet time they could enjoy only after the kids had gone to bed. It was still warm outside, even though it was close to midnight. A gentle breeze whispered through the trees, “Elaine, I’ve been thinking.” Dawson said hesitantly.

“Don’t strain yourself, now” she said with mock concern. She adjusted her pillow and turned toward him.

“I’m extremely fond of you. I wanted you to know that.”

“I like you too, Rich.” She smiled at him. Where did THAT come from, she asked herself.

“That being the case, I’ve had a great deal of trouble dealing with you being here, because of my…wife and child. Frankly, it’s made me quite uncomfortable.”

“Where are you going with this? Is there a problem?” she was genuinely alarmed. This didn’t sound like him at all.

“No, No! Quite the contrary.” He stammered. He reached for her hand. She pulled it back quickly.

“Spit it out, Rich! What’s the problem?” she felt suddenly afraid for some reason. He was acting…different. Really different! And different, in her experience, was usually not good.

“The problem is…was…that I’ve had trouble dealing with my feelings for you for a long time. My guilt got in the way.”

“Guilt? What have you EVER done to feel guilty about?”

He hesitated a moment, trying to find the right words. “I killed my wife and child with my selfishness and stupidity.”

She was nonplused, “And you think I take on too much responsibility for my past mistakes! Don’t be stupid! You’re a perfectionist. I understand completely why you wanted to finish your book that afternoon, and what’s more, I’m sure your wife did too. It’s probably one of the reasons she married you. It’s near the top of my own list of spousal characteristics I looked for long ago in men – back when I was a woman.”

“Let’s not go down that path again, Elaine. You know how mad I get when you beat yourself up needlessly.”

“Look, Rich. I know you’re a member in good standing of the Elaine Bell admiration society, but you need to learn to take my word for it on some of these things. He made me feel as neutered as Eli thinks she is.”

Dawson sighed. This conversation was getting way off track. He sat up in his chair, took her hand firmly and looked directly at her. “Elaine, I love you, and I want you to marry me.”

She was dumfounded. It had never occurred to her that he could feel this way about her. How could anyone? She was a nothing and had been a nothing for over 40 years. She was the epitome of damaged goods. She suddenly felt a deep sadness as, simultaneously, an odd sense of relief washed over her. How could this wonderful man, this man she loved and respected so much, even begin to see anything of value in her? It was all lost so long ago, long before she closed that last door. Back when her brashness had destroyed what her father had loved the most about her. Was any of it left? He certainly seemed to think so. And, after living with him all this time, constantly barraged by his often-irritating encouragement and support, she felt an occasional glimmer of hope herself. But was it enough?

“I can’t, Rich.” She said firmly, “I love you dearly, but I can’t.” she knew this absolutely, unequivocally. But how could she explain it to him? She tried to blow him off. “It’s a nice car and the bouquet was beautiful, but I still can’t marry you,” she said lightly. She still couldn’t believe they were having this conversation.

“Why not? And I’d better not hear the word ‘neutered’ in any of its multitudinous forms in your excuse.” His voice was intense. She realized he wasn’t going to be sidetracked. He was clearly intent on getting a real answer to a serious question.

“Because I’m a – thing; a vampire! And I am what I am because of …the Other One. I will not allow any vestige of him to be a part of anything good in my life. Until it’s gone, I’m not ‘marrying’ anyone, least of all, you.” She hesitated a moment. “I love you too much.” She realized how sweetly painful it was for her to say those words to him. They frightened her; indeed they terrified her. Saying them meant that she had cause to hope for a better future, and she had been surviving this last year only because she was living day to day, happy just to be allowed around two beautiful children and their wonderful father. Too often, late in the night she would awaken from the same nightmare in a cold sweat; that she had been found out, that they had finally and inevitably realized what an awful, empty, cowardly person she was and she was forced to leave, despised by them all, to go back to that awful hole in the ground alone. She stood up and walked over to the pool, her arms wrapped around her body.

He came up behind her quietly and put his arms around her. “I understand. I really do. Are you telling me then, that you’ll marry me when you’re cured?”

She turned towards him and studied his face carefully. “Yes. That’s what I’m telling you.”

“Then, that means we’re engaged.” He kissed her.

“Rich, are you certain you want this? I…”

“Elaine, between Oskar’s unconditional acceptance of you from the very beginning, Eli’s love and trust, and my own love of everything that you are, I’m certain. Your common decency and selflessness are just added bonuses. You are beautiful to me in every way. And I want to spend the rest of my life proving it to you.” He kissed her on the forehead.

“And remember, in this family, there are no secrets. It’s simply impossible. You don’t have to wear your heart on your sleeve here. Oskar can see into it without your help. And he’s got a big mouth and an even more dangerous soul mate. And the two of them have often, and without my encouragement, confirmed all my suspicions about you. Their unconditional endorsement of your character, with their special way of knowing things about you that you don’t know about yourself, makes it impossible for me to doubt your humility, your honesty, and your love for all of us. But I certainly didn’t need their help; I knew it already. I see it every day in your actions. What is it you think gives your life value, if it isn’t the way you lead it? What defines your character more than what you are willing to do to help the ones you love? Elaine, you’re a fraud, and I love you for it. Your father would be proud of what you’ve become.”

She hugged him tightly, her eyes shiny. “Thanks, Richard. You always seem to know just what to say.” An overpowering sense of relief washed over her.

Eli stepped back from her window and closed it quietly. She climbed into bed and snuggled up against Oskar. “Oskar!” she whispered loudly. “Are you awake?”

“I am now,” he groused, as he opened his eyes. “Why’d you wake me up?”

“We’ve got a new Mom,” she whispered as she kissed him.

=====================
July 30, 1995
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Dawson sighed as he signed for the package and watched as the courier returned to his armored vehicle and drove off. He knew what it contained, and he had mixed feelings about it. He was sad, because he knew that someone had died alone; someone he had great respect for. The thought that this kind man had outlived his wonderful wife, and had no children to mourn his passing was oddly depressing to him; he took it much harder than he had expected he would. He carefully placed the package on the kitchen table. It seemed much heavier than he had remembered; but perhaps it was the packing material. No matter.

Elaine came in quietly and sat down beside him. He kissed her on the cheek, and showed her the letter – short and to the point, unlike most documents he had seen in the past written by expensive lawyers.

“How do you think Eli will feel about this?” she asked.

“I honestly don’t know. Of course she’ll be quite happy in some sense after she wraps her mind around it, but she’s unpredictable.”

“Well, why don’t we find out?” she said, “Eli! Could you come down here for a moment?” she shouted.

“Coming, Mom!” Eli and Oskar came bounding down the stairs and plopped down at the table across from them.

“What’s that?’ Eli asked, nodding at the package.

“It’s a package for you, Eli, but first I need to explain something to you. Do you remember the man that bought your egg?”

“My egg? Sure, I remember him. He and his wife were really nice! They even told me I could visit the egg whenever I wanted.”

“I think that was largely because they were so impressed that you could put it together, Eli. But He and I talked alone together months after it was in his possession, but before his last payment, and we reached an agreement on the final disposition of the egg. If he were to die without an heir, the egg would revert back to you, no strings attached and no money due. He felt that it should go to someone who could really appreciate it.” He handed her the letter.

“July 14, 1995; Dear Dr. Dawson, I regret to inform you that…” she read on in silence. When she finished she looked up at Papa, puzzled. “I don’t understand. He died and didn’t have anyone he could leave his property to? How awful!”

“Not exactly, Eli. With an estate as large and valuable as his, distant relatives came out of the woodwork making claims on it, but his collection of artifacts was off limits. All but your egg were given to museums in different parts of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Your egg came here, as per his promise to me.” He pushed the package toward her. “It’s yours once again, and I can’t think of a more appropriate place for it.”

She gingerly unwrapped the package and opened the box; inside, buried in packing popcorn, she saw a smaller box wrapped in bubble wrap. She took it out carefully and opened it slowly and delicately, barely able to contain her excitement. Inside was her beautiful shiny black egg! She held it to her chest for a moment, then handed it to Elaine. “See, Mom? See how pretty it is! I told you!” she was grinning from ear to ear.

“Eli, there’s another box in here.” Oskar said, reaching past the popcorn and pulling out another small bubble-wrapped box. He pulled a note from under the rubber band encircling it and handed it to Eli.

“I couldn’t bear to separate them,” she read. Excited again, she opened the box, and lifted out…the white egg! “He gave me the other one! Papa, he gave me the other one too!” She held it up for everyone to see, then gently placed it next to the black egg and slowly rotated it until she was satisfied.

“What’d you do that for?” Oskar asked.

“Now the eggs line up. They’re both right side up.”

“How do you know? The pieces are so tiny! They look the same all over.” Oskar said, puzzled.

“No, she’s right.” Elaine assured him. “I can see it too. The pieces on one are the mirror image of the pieces on the other. How amazing!” She picked up the white egg and carefully turned it around examining it closely. “Eli, you had them both aligned with the same patterns facing up, but how do you know that those patterns are on the top?”

“Because I remember how the crowns fit into the yolk, and how the yolk lined up with the pieces. I put it together hundreds of times, remember?” She carefully placed the egg next to the other one again.

“I know someone who’s turning over in his grave right now.” Papa whispered to Elaine. “This is the ultimate poetic justice, don’t you think?”

Oskar, with an even bigger grin on his face, pulled yet another box out of the package. “What’s this? Was there a third egg, Dad?” He handed it to Eli. This one had no note, and was a wider, flatter box. She looked at Papa, then cautiously unwrapped it. It was a beautifully carved Ebony base with two impressions in the platform surface, clearly made to display the two eggs side by side. It was oval shaped with a 5cm thick base resting on four 2cm-in-diameter ebony spheres. But it was clearly quite old. She hesitated a moment, then handed it to Papa.

Style-wise, it seemed a bit too ornate for the eggs, Dawson thought to himself, but it did have that extra element of absolute perfection and completeness that had attracted his attention when he first saw Eli’s egg. Even so, this was probably made by someone else – or the original story had gaps in it. He turned it around. On the end was a symbol he recognized immediately; the coat of arms of the Törnkvist family. He handed it back to Eli. “It’s impossible that these two eggs were ever together on this base before you sold yours, since Törnkvist or one of his people obviously had it made in anticipation of receiving them, or immediately after they came into possession of the white egg. Since it’s not part of the original presentation, I can store it away if it makes you uncomfortable.”

She shook her head, “No, it’s okay. It is pretty, so I know he didn’t make it himself. If someone made it for him, He probably made them do it.” She thought about it for a minute. “No, I’ll keep it. Whoever he was, he did nothing to me and it’s really pretty!”

She stood up quickly, “Can I take them up to my room? I want to see what’s inside the white egg.”

“Of course you can, Eli. They’re yours! You don’t mind if we watch, do you?”

“I want you to!”

“Good! We’ll be up in a few minutes. You two go on ahead.”

Eli and Oskar carefully carried them up to her room and placed them on her table. She turned them over and over, examining them and remembering all those lonely days she had spent putting her beautiful egg together, and playing with the tiny crowns in the golden yolk. Even though there were memories of loneliness and despair associated with it, overall she felt a great fondness for it; it had helped her get through some tough times, and although she had no need of it now, she was extremely happy it was home again. Now, she had the chance to get acquainted with the white egg. She knew there was nothing in its yolk, but she was curious anyway and wanted to see for herself. And she so enjoyed puzzles!

She picked up the base and turned it around, examining it closely. The coat of arms was carved into each end at the major axis vertices, and small cameos of gargoyles with chillingly familiar fangs were carved on each of the minor axis co-vertices. Intertwined serpents filled the 4 gaps between them with their heads facing the coat of arms. Separating their heads from the coat of arms were sun symbols.

She placed the base in the center of the table and gently placed her black egg in the first depression, then the white one next to it. It was so perfectly made that the eggs just touched each other. She moved in closer and looked at them intensely. Something wasn’t right.

“Which one goes in which slot?” Oskar asked. “Or does it matter?”

“I don’t know, Oskar, but something’s wrong. They don’t fit right.” She looked at the base more closely. There were subtle tiny gaps between the eggs and their respective impressions in the platform, which would have been fine, except that she could see that there were very subtle variations in the rim of the impressions, which suggested to her that they weren’t flaws, but deliberately formed to accommodate the eggs in one position only. Upon closer examination, she noticed that the four serpents at one end of the base had tiny white eyes and at the other end, black eyes. She switched the eggs. It was better, but not perfect. “There’s still something wrong.” She looked more closely.

“Oskar squinted at them, “They look perfect to me.” He tried to wiggle one, but it seemed to fit perfectly in its depression.

“Aha!” Eli carefully picked up the white egg, turned it end over end and gently put it back in its proper impression. “That’s it!” she exclaimed. “They’re right now. All I have to do is rotate them right-side-up and they’ll be perfect!!”

“Boy, you’re picky! They were just fine before. Besides…”

There was a loud ‘click’ just as Eli got the alignment exactly right. They looked at each other. Eli caught her breath, as she intuitively realized that this base could be a puzzle of some sort. She laid her head on the table and looked under the base. Nothing seemed different. Without touching anything, she slowly moved around the table, examining the carving carefully. She stopped as she noticed one of the gargoyle cameos was now protruding from the surface about a half a millimeter. Still, it was so well constructed that she could see no sign of a gap between the cameo and the surface. It still looked as though it had been carved out of a single piece of wood. “Look at this, Oskar.”

He looked at it closely, “I can’t see anything. What am I looking for?”

She sighed impatiently. “You can’t see that? Look how far it’s sticking out!” She reached down and pushed it back into position, but it sprung back immediately. There was another click, and the gargoyle on the opposite side popped out about 2 centimeters. “You can see that, I hope.” She said sarcastically.

“Yeah! That’s cool! Maybe there’s a secret compartment or something. With a treasure map!” He reached over and pulled on the gargoyle. Nothing happened. He pushed on it gently, but it seemed locked in place.

Eli pushed him aside and gently turned it. It rotated smoothly 180 degrees, then again locked in place. They couldn’t move it at all. “Did we do something wrong? Nothing happens no matter what I do.” She gently pushed the first gargoyle again, but it was now rigid.

Once again she slowly moved around the table examining the base carefully. Nothing was different! She examined the coats of arms carefully. Nothing. This was getting her nowhere. She examined the eggs again, making sure they were still lined up. Then, in desperation she slowly moved around the table once more. She must have missed something… There it was! She realized suddenly that the serpents’ eyes had all reversed color. She carefully switched the eggs to match, and as she lined them up, they heard a series of clicks as the gargoyle rotated back and retracted, and the one opposite became flush with the surface once again. The eggs popped up slightly, revealing a hairline crack between their platform and the rest of the base. Eli carefully lifted the platform with the eggs off the base, exposing a small chamber with something glittering inside. “Oskar! It’s the missing set of crowns!” She lifted them up carefully, making note of the fact that one end of the chamber was perfectly formed to hold them tightly in place. They sparkled and glittered as the sunlight struck them, and tiny dots of light danced on her zenith blue bedroom walls.

“Eli, there’s a note!” He reached in, carefully lifted it out, and handed it to her.

“Elias, a terrible injustice perpetrated against you has now been ever so slightly mollified. The puzzle is now complete and it is yours by right of passage. Your fortuitous acquisition of part of this piece at a critical point in my family’s history, released my descendants from an indescribably dark future. I and the never-to-be-born, voiceless children of my lineage thank you from the bottoms of our hearts. May the rest of your eternal life be as pleasant and life-fulfilling as the last fourteen years.”

She read the signature carefully, “Gudmund Törnkvist II.” Her hand shook as she reached into the base and pulled out what appeared to be a piece of folded stiff white paper, but as she unfolded it, she realized it was a photograph. A photograph she recognized immediately. It was taken at night, in front of the Other One’s tomb thirteen years ago. She saw Elaine in the moonlight, wings outstretched, her feet just leaving the ground. Just behind her was… herself, wings just rising up as she stumbled in her attempt to follow quickly behind. It was a picture of the beginning of their first flight together! “Papa!! Mama!!” Eli was frightened! He was alive, and knew who she was, and where she lived. And he had known for a long time!