The Blood is the Life
by
Debbie Bailey
Oh, you think it's easy being me?
Guess again. I haven't seen the sun in over 200 years. I used to
love laying on the beach before I turned, letting my skin bake. I'm
so pale now I wish I could use some self tanner by Clinique but
the malls aren't open that late. I can't even eat garlic and I
used to love the stuff on my pizza. When was the last time I saw
myself in a mirror? I couldn't even tell you. I can remember that
I had dark eyes and a nice smile. People always commented on what
nice teeth I had. You should see them now. If you did, you'd
probably run.
And the worst part about being a vampire is drinking blood. I
miss eating real food but the idea of having a banana split or
french fries and a burger make my stomach roll. So now I have to
drink the red stuff and pretend it's a six course meal, which in
essence it is for me.
Don't kid yourself about me. I do not go out and kill people for
their blood. I am not a murderer. I'm just somebody who caught a
bad break. I wouldn't even kill an animal. I love animals. I used
to have dogs and cats when I was...when I was...well, when I was
human. Now I share my quarters with a few mice and I wouldn't
even hurt them. They're kind of cute, actually. Those little
beady eyes and...
Okay, so I'm getting off the subject here. How do I survive? Well,
I'll tell you. I volunteer at the blood bank. It's as simple as
that. There are so many people there that nobody notices if a
pint or two is missing. It's the only way I can do this. I refuse
to take a human life.
By the way, maybe I should introduce myself. My name is AnnaMaria
Righetti. I'm 223 years old and I look damn good for my age. I
was born in Italy and became a vampire while I was vacationing in
Romania. I'm tall and slender. Well, sure I'm slender. It's not
like I have to count calories anymore. I have long black hair.
This I know because I can see it. It's one of my better features,
besides my fangs. Those are pretty cool if you ask me. I brush
and floss and gargle daily. Ha ha. And of course I never have to
worry about garlic breath.
You see, I have to have a sense of humor about being a vampire
because it is very lonely. While the world sleeps, I am up and
about doing my vampirely duties. I spend my waking hours at the
blood bank. Nobody knows what I really am. They just think I'm a
nice girl doing a kind service.
I love to read and believe it or not, I like to knit too. I'm
making a blanket now for my coffin. People think we vampires love
black but that's not true. The blanket is pink and blue and it's
real pretty.
And that's how I met Joe.
It was Halloween night and it really is my favorite night of the
year. I loved watching all the kiddies running around in their
costumes collecting candy door to door. It warmed my heart. I do
have a heart, by the way and you are not coming near it with any
sharp objects.
The arts and crafts store stayed open until 11 pm and I am so
happy about that. I was in there all the time buying my yarn.
Sometimes I thought about taking up new projects like painting or
sketching. I became friendly with the people who work there and
of course they had no idea that I was a bloodsucker. Oo, I hate
that word.
Anyway, I was in there on Halloween night and I was going to buy
some art supplies. As I was checking out the easels and paint
brushes, "Thriller" was playing in the background. I
love that song. I love Michael Jackson too. At least I did before
he became freaky. Now he looks like he has a mask on. I actually
saw a few kiddies with Michael Jackson masks on. Poor fella. He's
so talented but so weird. I think I should just bite him on his
neck and put him out of his misery for good. But can he shake his
thang!
I felt movement at the corner of my elbow and looked up. There
was this guy standing next to me looking at me and all I could
think was "Bada bing". He was gorgeous. He was real
tall, about six feet, six inches and pale like me. He also had
long black hair and blue eyes. Oo, my heart was racing. You stay
away from my heart, here?
Anyway, he opened his mouth and said "Good evening" to
me, just like the Count did to Renfield in "Dracula".
This was cutting it too close to home. He had a deep, rich voice
which reminded me of that singer from Type O Negative. And yes, I
listen to them, okay? I love that goth stuff. You would too if
you were a vampire.
Come to think of it, he looks like that guy from Type O Negative.
I knew right away that he was like me, a vampire.
Purposely, I smiled and showed my fangs to him. I figured if he
freaked he was a wimp. If he smiled back, then he was worth
getting to know.
He smiled back and showed me a pair of fangs like you wouldn't
believe. Oh, baby!
"You're like me," I whispered to him.
"That's right," he whispered back in that baritone
voice of his. "My name is Joe Rossi."
And he was an Italian vampire like me. Who would have believed it?
I introduced myself to him and he took my hand and kissed it.
What a gentleman, I thought. What a hottie.
He told me that he turned into a bloodsucker over 200 years ago
too. He was precisely 232. Don't ask me what that is in dogs
years. I couldn't tell you.
We talked and it turned out that Joe also "borrowed"
from the other blood bank on the other side of town. He never
killed anyone either. This was just too good to be true. He liked
to paint and that's why he was in the store. He was getting some
supplies and he said that he loved being out on Halloween night
watching all the kiddies too.
Now I don't want you to get the wrong impression about me but I
invited Joe back to my place. I'm usually not that kind of girl
but come on, cut me some slack. I'm a vampire and he was too. How
many vampires do you know that live in the state of New Jersey,
besides Tony Soprano? Besides, I'm over 200 years old. Do I
really need to justify my actions to you?
So we went back to my place and we were mad hot for each other
but nothing happened. Joe was a real gentleman. We stayed there
all night just talking about the situations we both ended up in.
I knitted and he painted a picture of me. Before the morning
light came, I finally saw what I looked like through his eyes.
His portrait of me made me look very beautiful. I couldn't
believe it but tears came to my eyes. He thought I was beautiful
and I guess I was. So you see, not all of us vampires are ugly,
foul things.
Joe stayed with me. I have a California King coffin and there was
more than enough room for the both of us in there. He's tall and
he managed to fit and it was real nice, just cuddling together
like that. He felt so good next to me. I liked being in his
strong arms.
The next night we went out for a bite but not that kind of bite.
We went to the blood bank, got a quick snack and took a walk
together.
We went back to my place again and then we got a little jiggy
with it. It was real nice and Joe was so gentle with me. He's
very sexy and boy, does he know what to do with those fangs of
his!
So here we are and it's one year later. Halloween night. I've
made a lot of blankets since then and Joe and I are married now.
We go to the blood bank every night for a snack and pretend it's
a chocolate malted. Boy, do I miss those things.
Joe and I have a lot of fun together, despite our "condition".
We laugh and talk and we are each others' best friends. We play
"Who Wants to be a Millionaire" a lot. He is so smart
and so cute and he has a nice butt. I wish you could see it but
you are probably sleeping right now.
We usually go to the blood bank for a bite and then we walk and
go to the arts and crafts store. Joe still paints a lot too. He
is so talented. I just love him so much.
So you see, who says being a vampire sucks?
Happy Halloween!
Bio: Debbie Bailey lives in New York City with
her fiance and her German Shepherd. She has been writing
for 25 years and has won numerous creative writing awards.
She ran her own music column in a large New York newspaper for
eight years and has also had her work published in several
nationally syndicated magazines. She is the Editorial
Director for the children's e-zine entitled Jellybean Junction
which can be found at http://www.4jellybean.com
She is a moderator at the website Stories.Com and runs an animal
lovers group as well as a romance writer's workshop. She
has also been published at http://www.bedtime.com,
http://www.literotica.com,
http://www.sexythinking.com,
http://www.centralpets.com,
in the Ok Pet Gazette and many others.
