Then again, I hadn’t moved here to make new friends of that sort.
As I walked inside, I stopped to switch on the light beside the front door. The room flooded with light from a Tiffany lamp sitting on an end table beside a smooth, black leather couch. The furnishings on the inside of my cabin were placed exactly as I’d specified in my emails back and forth with Lydia. Shiny pine hardwood floors were covered with the hand-knotted Persian rugs I’d had shipped ahead of time. Lydia’s movers had filled the great room with an array of antiques I’d collected over the years but my eyes were drawn to the large brick fireplace on the north wall.
Over the carved oak mantlepiece, hung a shield I’d carried into battle as a human in the thirteenth century. On it was emblazoned my family’s coat of arms, a fire breathing dragon with great wings and razor-sharp claws. Over it hung my polished broadsword, gleaming in the low light. Pride flooded my veins as it did whenever I looked upon the weapons I’d carried into battle many times. They were my fiercest companions… my only companions.
I tore my gaze away from the fireplace and let it wander about the room. Along with the furnishings, wall hangings, and hand-painted oils most people would call antiques, the scent of lemons and pine hung in the air. Neither scent meant much to me. Only one smell made me sit up and come to attention and that scent wasn’t present in my home. I walked to the kitchen that was stocked with food. I ate very little of the stuff since it didn’t do anything for me nutritionally. Some of my kind couldn’t stomach it at all. My age allowed me certain flexibilities not available to the younger of my species.
Honestly, I’d ordered the food only for show. I knew my charade better than anyone. I’d learned to perfect it over the centuries. I also knew that the rules of hospitality in small towns were the same everywhere. Neighbors stopped in to meet the newcomer and usually brought dishes of the noxious stuff along with them in the form of casseroles, Bundt cakes, and tins of cookies, none of which I wanted or needed.
I walked over to the refrigerator and yanked it open. Inside, one whole shelf was filled to overflowing with the only human food I did enjoy. At least forty sealed bottles of Heinz ketchup sat on the top shelf. I reached in and pulled out a bottle, opening the lid before tilting my head back and pouring it down my throat. I swallowed greedily and then dropped the empty bottle in the garbage bin before turning back to the fridge. I grinned before closing the door.
I walked out of the kitchen, turned the corner, and headed down the hall to the bedrooms. I stepped into the furnished master and then to the bookcase Lydia had built along one whole wall. I stepped up to it and reached up, pulling out a specific book. Right where it was supposed to be, I found the small button and pushed it. The bookcase parted in the middle, revealing an elevator shaft leading to the secret room she’d built for me beneath the master. Lydia’s lack of curiosity as to why I needed a secret basement room with elevator access was one of the things I’d liked about her.
I stepped inside the elevator, noting the bookcase closing at the same time as the double doors did. The dimness of the elevator car was lit by a small light built into the ceiling of the car. One story down, the elevator stopped and I stepped out into a homey large space. Immediately, I noticed the way the movers had placed my four-poster bed against the far wall. It was draped with fresh linens. The rest of my antique bedroom set had been placed inside the roomy, carpeted, windowless, space.
A bathroom with a separate steam shower had also been newly constructed and as I stepped inside and flipped on a light, I was overwhelmingly pleased with what my contractor had been able to achieve. Sleek white subway tiles adorned the walls, a huge Jacuzzi tub sat in the center of the room, white marble countertops topped the dual cabinets that faced each other, and I sighed. Everything was built perfectly to my specifications.
For a split second, I stood there, looking at the bathroom large enough for two, wishing I had someone to share the elegant space with. That thought vanished almost before it began. The fact was, the movers Lydia had hired were the only ones who’d ever get a chance to appreciate the elegance of my home. I flipped off the light and walked back out of the bathroom. Crossing the room, I stopped beside my bed before stripping off my clothes and sliding onto clean sheets. I wouldn’t sleep all day but I had no reason to go out before dusk.
I rolled onto my side, running my hand along the empty space beside me. I was starting a new chapter of my very long life once again. Some men like me would claim that I was free once again. I’d once thought so too. Tonight, loneliness overwhelmed me and I wished for things I couldn’t ever have. I didn’t dream anymore but sometimes I let memories wash over me. I needed rest so I rolled to my back
