Then, suddenly, as he was walking away, he stopped by the door. He paused, and then called out: “You will find Caleb by the docks. With his son.”
As Caitlin walked across the wide, stone plaza, heading towards the pier, the sun began to set, a beautiful orange and red light breaking through the clouds, washing over everything in the surreal light.
As she walked, Rose by her side, she spotted the docks in the distance, and was grateful that the island of Murano, unlike Venice, was practically empty, with very few people in sight.
She couldn’t see Caleb, though, and her heart sank. Had Samuel been misleading her? Why had he been so worried about her presence? Had he seen something that she had not? She had an increasingly ominous feeling, given the warnings from them both.
She searched in every direction, but still, no sign of Caleb.
Then, as she looked down, she saw, sitting there, on the edge of the dock, a boy. He looked to be about ten, and as she looked closer, she realized it was his son. Jade.
Jade was sitting there all alone, staring out at the water, his legs dangling over the edge. He was so cute, sitting there, an exact replica of Caleb. It made her heart break, as it made her wonder what her life with Caleb might have been like. It made her think of the child they would have had together, made her again mourn her lost baby. It made her wonder if she’d made the wrong decision to come back in time.
As Caitlin got closer, Jade suddenly wheeled. He was quick and alert, like his father.
She looked down at his burning blue eyes, and wondered if he was human, vampire, or somewhere in between. She vaguely remembered Caleb having told her that, when he first married Sera, she was human. And she knew that vampires could not procreate with other vampires. So she supposed the child was a half-breed. Like she had been.
Indeed, as they stared each other, even from this distance, she could sense a strong kinship with the boy. Her heart warmed, and she almost felt as if he were her own son.
Jade jumped up, his eyes opening wide at the site of Rose. He ran towards her and gave her a big hug, and she was equally delighted at the site of the boy. She reached up her paws, hugging him back, and licking him all over his face.
“What’s her name?” he asked, as he stroked her fur. He still had the high-pitched voice of a boy.
“Rose.”
“Can I keep her?” he asked.
Despite herself, Caitlin burst into laughter. She had forgotten how unexpected children could be.
“Um…I’m not sure. But you can pet her. It’s obvious she really likes you.”
“Really?” Jade asked, his eyes opening wider. He and Rose played with each other, fake wrestling: he threw her head back and forth, and she pretended to bite his arm, then let go. Caitlin marveled at the site. They looked like two old friends who hadn’t seen each other in forever.
“Rose, gentle,” Caitlin chided, alarmed at their rough play.
Rose immediately backed off, and ran to Caitlin’s side.
“She was just playing,” Jade said. Then added: “Who are you, anyway?”
It was hard to concentrate with his eyes on her. He looks so much like Caleb, so intense. Caitlin could recognize that this was a very powerful boy.
“I feel like I know you from somewhere,” he added.
“I’m Caitlin,” she said, extending her hand.
Jade reached up and shook it, trying his hardest to look like an adult. Caitlin smiled, and had to keep from laughing.
“I’m Jade,” he said.
“What are you doing out here by yourself, Jade?”
“I’m waiting for my dad,” he said, then suddenly turned back to the water.
Caitlin looked out, too, but there remained no sight of him.
“He usually comes in around this time. Before it gets dark. Mom said I could come down here and wait.”
Jade sat back down where he’d been, on the edge of the dock, his legs dangling off, his back to Caitlin, looking out.
“You can wait with me if you want,” he said, tentatively.
Caitlin felt grateful for the offer. She didn’t quite know what to say. This was not how she had expected things to go down. If she waited with him, would Caleb be mad to see her sitting there with his son? Would it make the wrong impression? And what if Sera showed up?
Then again, Caitlin didn’t know what else to do.
Rose didn’t hesitate. She went over and sat beside Jade. Caitlin decided to follow.
The three of them sat on the edge of the pier, looking out at the water, the sun breaking. Jade reached up and stroked Rose’s head.
“You’re the lady we saw last night, right?” Jade suddenly asked.
“Yes,” Caitlin said.
“My mom got mad after we left. She kept asking dad who you were. He said he didn’t know. She thought he was lying,” Jade said.
Caitlin bit back a smile. Kids were so honest. She was tempted to ask more, but she held off.
That wouldn’t be fair.
They sat in the silence, looking out, and Caitlin was surprised at how comfortable the silence was between them. It was almost as if he were a part of her family.
“Do you wait for your Dad here every day?” she asked.
Jade shrugged. “Mostly,” he said. “He said that when I’m bigger, next year, I can go with him.
This island is boring. I want to train. I want to learn how to fight,” he said, a determined edge in his voice.
Caitlin looked at him, surprised at the sudden strength in his voice.
“Why would you want to do that?” she asked.
“Because I’m going to be a great warrior one day,” he said. It wasn’t bravado. He stated it as simply as if he were stating a fact. And Caitlin believed him. She could sense it, coming off of him, off of every pore in his body. This was a proud, young child, a born warrior. He felt like an ancient soul, and a noble being.
“And what does your Dad think of that?”
Jade shrugged. “He wants me to go to school,” he said. “I hate school.”
Jade’s eyes lowered to Caitlin’s neckline, then suddenly opened wide.
“Wow!” he exclaimed. “What a necklace. It’s beautiful. Can I have it?”
Caitlin reached down and felt her necklace; she had forgotten, as always, that she was wearing it.
She was surprised by how transfixed the boy was to it; she felt bad saying no, but she couldn’t give it away.
But then again, why couldn’t she? And to Jade, of all people? If anyone else had asked her, she would have refused—but there was something about the way he looked at it. Somehow, for some odd reason, it suddenly felt right for her for him to have it. Perhaps, in some small way, it would connect her to Caleb, complete some sort of chain.
She gingerly removed it and handed it to him.
His eyes opened even wider as he took it.
“Really?” he said, clearly surprised that she had agreed. “My Dad would kill me if he knew that I asked you for it. He says I shouldn’t ask for things.”
Caitlin smiled. “I won’t tell.”
Jade put it on, and immediately, it looked like he’d always worn it. He was thrilled.
He turned back to the water, and they sat there in the silence, looking out. They watched together as the sky
