Mick's Education, part 7
“So that’s your friend Josef, huh? Quite a guy.” He glanced sidelong at Coraline’s profile, which was briefly illuminated by a streetlamp. He saw her grin.
“Yeah, he’s a piece of work, isn’t he?” She chuckled and scooted nearer, resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m proud of you, baby, you held your own with a very big dog tonight. He was impressed.”
“Well, good. I’m glad you’re glad, but that guy is kind of a dickhead,” Mick drawled.
“Mick, Josef is deserving of your respect. He’s a lot older than I am, and he’s a major player in our world.” Coraline sounded a combination of amused and disapproving. Mick could tell that her mommy-vamp side and her wild-child side were arguing over how to react to him, but the mommy-vamp won. Barely.
Mick relented. “OK, baby, I’ll play along for your sake, but I don’t have to like the guy. I admit he’s smart and ruthless and dangerous and kind of funny. But I can’t imagine inviting him up for a friendly game of…what, poker? Pool?”
“Oh, don’t ever invite him up for a game of pool, unless you feel like losing a fortune. He’s played billiards for much longer than most of us have been alive. The word ‘shark’ doesn’t even begin to cover him.” Coraline laughed.
“OK, thanks for the warning. I’ll definitely avoid racking ‘em up with your pal Josef.”
Coraline switched on the radio and searched through the stations. Finally something jazzy and easy on the ears came through the speaker, and she leaned back against Mick’s shoulder again. She seemed to be thinking hard, and finally she reached her hand up and touched his cheek.
“Mick, tonight was pretty intense for you. I wasn’t intending for there to be quite so much for you to take in, all at once like that. Sometimes things bunch up, and there’s no good way to spread out the learning experience.” Mick stopped at a traffic light and looked down into her face. She was looking up at him intently.
“I want you to know how proud I am of you, baby,” she said. “You were given a test tonight. Not just by me, but by…I don’t know, call it Fate or Chance, or maybe God. And you passed with flying colors. Not to say that you did everything the way I would have chosen for you to do it. But that’s part of becoming your own person as a vampire. You make your own choices and you sculpt the world to the shape of your choosing. You are a strong person, Mick, and you’re not afraid to make your own choices. I admire that.”
Mick was a bit shocked at what she was saying to him. He had spent the past few weeks feeling as if he was some kind of lapdog, and here Coraline was telling him that she admired him for his strength of character. This felt like the beginning of a new phase, but he wasn’t quite sure where to go from here.
The light changed and he turned up the hill toward home. He thought for a moment, trying to formulate what he wanted to say to her. Somehow it was easier to talk to her when he had to concentrate on driving, when he couldn’t look her straight in the eyes. It always made him a little crazy to look her in the eyes.
“Baby,” he said gently, “It means so much that you would say those things to me. I know that the past few weeks have been hard for you too. I love you so much, and I know you love me...but even putting aside the fact that you turned me into a vampire without asking me, I’ve felt that I wasn’t your husband as much as your…I don’t know what to call it. Your chick, your cub. Do you understand? Coraline, I know I have a lot to learn, but I need to be your partner in this. We started out on the wrong foot. On the really wrong foot. But if we’re going to make it as a team, we need to begin as a team.”
Coraline sighed and snuggled her face into his shoulder. “I know. I know, Mick. I’m trying. But I’m not very good at this. I’ve always just done and been whatever I wanted. I’m not used to thinking about someone else before I make a move. I’m not used to being part of a team. Maybe I made a mistake falling in love with you, because the parts of your personality that attracted me to you aren’t the parts that really stick out when it comes down to brass tacks.” She sighed, and he could feel her face turning up to look at his profile.
“Mick…what you said to that girl tonight, the way you talked to her, that’s not normal for a vampire. We don’t usually ask our dinner their opinion about the menu, you know?”
“Coraline, I am not the kind of guy who can indiscriminately feast on people, even willing people. I don’t want to be that kind of person. This bloodsucking thing is absolutely foreign to me. I was a medic in the war. I saved people’s lives, baby. I don’t want to turn into something that views people as commodities. If I do, I won’t be able to face myself.”
Mick glanced down at her and was surprised to see tear-tracks glimmering on her cheeks. “I’m not a democrat, Mick. I’m an aristocrat. I have an inborn sense of privilege. This is what I am. I was like this long before I was a vampire.” Coraline sighed. “I don’t think I can change what I am, any more than you can change what you are. But I promise that I will think about what you said. I swear to you that I respect your opinion.”
Mick tightened his arm around her shoulders. “That’s all anyone can ask of a marriage, baby.” He kissed her hair. “The problem is that from hour to hour, I’m not sure what I want either. One minute I’m trying to crawl out of my skin, the next I’m trying to see how high I can jump. And I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the feeding thing, despite the high…which is a whole other can of worms. But I meant it when I said ‘for better or for worse,’ Coraline. I made up my mind to look forward, not back, when I came back to you. I’m trying too, baby. I’m doing my best to come to terms with this. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I want it to happen with you.”
Coraline gave a little sob, and Mick fished his handkerchief out of his breast pocket and gave it to her. She wiped her eyes and sniffled.
Mick turned into the driveway and pulled the car under the shelter of the carport. Switching off the engine, he turned to face Coraline and took both of her hands in his. Such little hands, but he could feel the strength in them. They sat for a moment, holding hands and not looking at each other. Finally, Coraline flung her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. After a moment, Mick lifted her chin and kissed her.
“Have I told you that you made me incredibly horny when you drank that girl’s blood tonight?” He smiled and gazed into her eyes, which were still bright with tears.
“Mmm. Josef’s freshies are always so succulent. Have I told you that it almost made me come, knowing you were watching me drink that girl? And then when you drank the blonde I wanted to rip her eyes out, even though it was my fault you were drinking her. But I must admit, it was awfully sexy watching you feed on her.”
“How fierce you are, my darling. Remind me never to piss you off.”
Coraline sighed. “Let’s go to bed, baby.”
“Yeah.” Mick got out and walked around the car to her door. He opened it and she put her little, strong hand in his. As he drew her up toward him, Mick’s heart swelled, and he crushed her to his chest in a hug so hard that it must have hurt. Coraline tilted her face up to his, and he kissed her parted lips tenderly. He scooped her up into his arms, kicked the car door closed, and carried her toward the house.
“Yeah, he’s a piece of work, isn’t he?” She chuckled and scooted nearer, resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m proud of you, baby, you held your own with a very big dog tonight. He was impressed.”
“Well, good. I’m glad you’re glad, but that guy is kind of a dickhead,” Mick drawled.
“Mick, Josef is deserving of your respect. He’s a lot older than I am, and he’s a major player in our world.” Coraline sounded a combination of amused and disapproving. Mick could tell that her mommy-vamp side and her wild-child side were arguing over how to react to him, but the mommy-vamp won. Barely.
Mick relented. “OK, baby, I’ll play along for your sake, but I don’t have to like the guy. I admit he’s smart and ruthless and dangerous and kind of funny. But I can’t imagine inviting him up for a friendly game of…what, poker? Pool?”
“Oh, don’t ever invite him up for a game of pool, unless you feel like losing a fortune. He’s played billiards for much longer than most of us have been alive. The word ‘shark’ doesn’t even begin to cover him.” Coraline laughed.
“OK, thanks for the warning. I’ll definitely avoid racking ‘em up with your pal Josef.”
Coraline switched on the radio and searched through the stations. Finally something jazzy and easy on the ears came through the speaker, and she leaned back against Mick’s shoulder again. She seemed to be thinking hard, and finally she reached her hand up and touched his cheek.
“Mick, tonight was pretty intense for you. I wasn’t intending for there to be quite so much for you to take in, all at once like that. Sometimes things bunch up, and there’s no good way to spread out the learning experience.” Mick stopped at a traffic light and looked down into her face. She was looking up at him intently.
“I want you to know how proud I am of you, baby,” she said. “You were given a test tonight. Not just by me, but by…I don’t know, call it Fate or Chance, or maybe God. And you passed with flying colors. Not to say that you did everything the way I would have chosen for you to do it. But that’s part of becoming your own person as a vampire. You make your own choices and you sculpt the world to the shape of your choosing. You are a strong person, Mick, and you’re not afraid to make your own choices. I admire that.”
Mick was a bit shocked at what she was saying to him. He had spent the past few weeks feeling as if he was some kind of lapdog, and here Coraline was telling him that she admired him for his strength of character. This felt like the beginning of a new phase, but he wasn’t quite sure where to go from here.
The light changed and he turned up the hill toward home. He thought for a moment, trying to formulate what he wanted to say to her. Somehow it was easier to talk to her when he had to concentrate on driving, when he couldn’t look her straight in the eyes. It always made him a little crazy to look her in the eyes.
“Baby,” he said gently, “It means so much that you would say those things to me. I know that the past few weeks have been hard for you too. I love you so much, and I know you love me...but even putting aside the fact that you turned me into a vampire without asking me, I’ve felt that I wasn’t your husband as much as your…I don’t know what to call it. Your chick, your cub. Do you understand? Coraline, I know I have a lot to learn, but I need to be your partner in this. We started out on the wrong foot. On the really wrong foot. But if we’re going to make it as a team, we need to begin as a team.”
Coraline sighed and snuggled her face into his shoulder. “I know. I know, Mick. I’m trying. But I’m not very good at this. I’ve always just done and been whatever I wanted. I’m not used to thinking about someone else before I make a move. I’m not used to being part of a team. Maybe I made a mistake falling in love with you, because the parts of your personality that attracted me to you aren’t the parts that really stick out when it comes down to brass tacks.” She sighed, and he could feel her face turning up to look at his profile.
“Mick…what you said to that girl tonight, the way you talked to her, that’s not normal for a vampire. We don’t usually ask our dinner their opinion about the menu, you know?”
“Coraline, I am not the kind of guy who can indiscriminately feast on people, even willing people. I don’t want to be that kind of person. This bloodsucking thing is absolutely foreign to me. I was a medic in the war. I saved people’s lives, baby. I don’t want to turn into something that views people as commodities. If I do, I won’t be able to face myself.”
Mick glanced down at her and was surprised to see tear-tracks glimmering on her cheeks. “I’m not a democrat, Mick. I’m an aristocrat. I have an inborn sense of privilege. This is what I am. I was like this long before I was a vampire.” Coraline sighed. “I don’t think I can change what I am, any more than you can change what you are. But I promise that I will think about what you said. I swear to you that I respect your opinion.”
Mick tightened his arm around her shoulders. “That’s all anyone can ask of a marriage, baby.” He kissed her hair. “The problem is that from hour to hour, I’m not sure what I want either. One minute I’m trying to crawl out of my skin, the next I’m trying to see how high I can jump. And I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the feeding thing, despite the high…which is a whole other can of worms. But I meant it when I said ‘for better or for worse,’ Coraline. I made up my mind to look forward, not back, when I came back to you. I’m trying too, baby. I’m doing my best to come to terms with this. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I want it to happen with you.”
Coraline gave a little sob, and Mick fished his handkerchief out of his breast pocket and gave it to her. She wiped her eyes and sniffled.
Mick turned into the driveway and pulled the car under the shelter of the carport. Switching off the engine, he turned to face Coraline and took both of her hands in his. Such little hands, but he could feel the strength in them. They sat for a moment, holding hands and not looking at each other. Finally, Coraline flung her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. After a moment, Mick lifted her chin and kissed her.
“Have I told you that you made me incredibly horny when you drank that girl’s blood tonight?” He smiled and gazed into her eyes, which were still bright with tears.
“Mmm. Josef’s freshies are always so succulent. Have I told you that it almost made me come, knowing you were watching me drink that girl? And then when you drank the blonde I wanted to rip her eyes out, even though it was my fault you were drinking her. But I must admit, it was awfully sexy watching you feed on her.”
“How fierce you are, my darling. Remind me never to piss you off.”
Coraline sighed. “Let’s go to bed, baby.”
“Yeah.” Mick got out and walked around the car to her door. He opened it and she put her little, strong hand in his. As he drew her up toward him, Mick’s heart swelled, and he crushed her to his chest in a hug so hard that it must have hurt. Coraline tilted her face up to his, and he kissed her parted lips tenderly. He scooped her up into his arms, kicked the car door closed, and carried her toward the house.