We exited, Lambert locking the door behind us. He looked decidedly green. “I hate it when he does that,” he admitted, his voice a whisper.
“Can’t he hear us?” I asked, tapping the side of my head.
“Yes, if he chooses to listen. He doesn’t care about that, though. I rather think he likes knowing he scares us. Now, you best wait a bit longer, you have blood all over you from that. It won’t do if you’re spotted.”
“Is this how we feed normally?”
“No, this was Lord Arrakus’ request tonight, and we were bringing him his tithe, anyway. Usually, we give you a pass and go off-campus. We have a house where our meals are prepared. We have them brought in from all over and they’re held ready for feeding.”
That answered that question, then. I felt relieved to know I wouldn’t usually be sprayed with gore like something out of a Hollywood horror flick.
“I’m going to wash this off in the water,” I said, turning to wade in. The tide was still out, so it wasn’t too deep. I let the water swirl about me, then waded out. My shoes squelched, and I was soaked, but I didn’t care. It was easier to explain getting wet if someone happened to see me and stopped me to ask than it was to explain why I looked as if I had come from an abattoir.
Professor Lambert watched me come out of the water, then walked away to go home., his stride betraying his eagerness to get away. I turned the other direction, back towards the campus dorms. It had been a long night and I was ready for bed.
13
“Wow, if I hadn’t seen you myself yesterday, I never would have believed you were in the state you were,” Shannon said, his eyes wide as his gaze landed on me.
“He slept like a log,” Rusty said. “He didn’t even twitch when one of the guys next door decided to play video games with the sound turned up loud.”
We were walking to breakfast, having met up outside the front room of the dorms. It was a bit on the early side, being not quite seven. That was alright, though. When Henry texted us all about fifteen ago and discovered we were all up already, he suggested pancakes and waffles at the diner, and we were all in. Even Shannon, who we got to agree to let us treat him.
“Well, he obviously needed it. He looks like a new man.”
“Thanks,” I replied, grinning wryly, knowing he had no idea just how close to the mark he actually was. “Think they have blueberry syrup? The IHOP always had blueberry syrup.”
“Yeah, and real maple, too. Oh, and hot fudge sauce. You get to pick from a selection.”
My mouth watered at the thought. It had been a long time since I’d eaten freshly made pancakes or waffles. Michael and I used to go every Sunday morning to the local IHOP for pancakes and waffles. He’d order waffles and I’d order pancakes, then we’d share. That stopped once he lost his appetite, another thing taken from us by his illness as it advanced. Just like the monthly trips to local thrift stores, looking for old furniture to upcycle and other treasures, as he liked to call them. I’d asked Gregory to store a couple of meaningful pieces of mine and Michael’s times together. The carnival glass fruit bowl, the old chest of drawers he turned into a hall occasional table that stored spare linens, and the old record player inside a wooden speaker cabinet, along with the records we’d both collected. I’d not kept anything from the others, but then, I’d not spent as many years with them nor spent time caring for them while ill. That bonded you to a person in ways you’d never expect, bringing a type of closeness you couldn’t otherwise achieve. I wanted to have something of his to remind me of those feelings he gave me as the long years unwound around me.
“What’s wrong?” Shannon asked, sensing my change of mood.
“Just remembering someone, we used to go out kinda like this, for pancakes and waffles.”
“Oh,” he said. “I used to with my grams. She’d come up from where she retired in Florida, and she’d take my sister and me to the Waffle House, and we’d have breakfast for dinner. After she took us shopping for school supplies and coats.”
I didn’t say anything else. It was better to let him assume it was something like that.
“I just got cereal at home,” Henry said. “My dad would already be at work when I got up, and my mom never gets up before noon if she can help it. Good old Cap’n Crunch kept me company while I ate.”
“I’m more a Cheerios fan myself,” Shannon said. “I can’t eat sugary cereal.”
“Raisin Bran or cornflakes with sliced banana on top,” Rusty piped up.
“I’m an eggs and bacon kinda guy, but if it has to be cereal, I like oatmeal. I like the instant raisin and spices one the best.”
“You’re such an old man,” Shannon teased.
Rusty and Henry both threw me speculative looks.
“Yeah, well, I like what I like, and that includes you!”
“Ohhh, you like him, huh?” Henry teased.
“It’s not like that,” Shannon insisted, blushing.
“And if I do?” I rejoined, coming to a standstill.
