A New Day

Part 3, Segment 1

The alarm buzzed harshly, rousing Gary and Lisa from their slumber. The sun’s light filtered meekly through the blinds and curtains. Gary rubbed his eyes and slowly pulled himself up.

Lisa came to more quickly, as she always had in the morning. “Good morning, love,” she said cheerfully. “I had the wildest dreams last night. I’m surprised I didn’t wake you up.”

The words didn’t register with Gary. It was morning, so he wasn’t at his best. Her next statement, though, brought him into focus.

“Gary,” she asked with a strange tone, “did we do something last night?”

He considered his answer. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I don’t normally sleep without any clothes, but...” He noted that she had wrapped herself in the sheet as she went off to the bathroom.

While Lisa showered, Gary replayed the previous night in his mind. He had gone to that bar, and he met the waitress Vanessa. She had bitten him, and they had sex, and she bit him again and turned him into a vampire. Then he came back here and bit Lisa and they screwed like they had never screwed before. And suddenly, he’s awake in the morning and it was all like a dream.

Gary jumped out of bed and went to the mirror above the desk. He was there, just like always. It was daylight, and he didn’t feel any different than he had the previous morning.

“Maybe it was just a dream,” he said out loud but to himself. “But it seemed so real.”

* * *

The couple checked out of the motel, put their overnight bags into the car, and walked across the street to a diner for breakfast. They found a booth and looked through the menus. Lisa was particularly peppy and energetic this morning, while Gary felt rather tired and disoriented.

“What can I get’cha?” the waitress asked.

Gary’s eyes shot up from the menu, and he found himself staring at Vanessa. She was dressed, which was a big enough difference from the previous night. Dressed in a traditional waitress uniform, with the pastel colors and everything. Still very attractive, but not quite the same woman as he remembered.

Lisa answered before Gary could say anything. “We’ll have eggs, scrambled, toast with jelly, and orange juice, please.” She smiled sweetly, and Vanessa returned the gesture. “And my fiance will have some coffee too. Black and hot.”

“Got it,” Vanessa said as she scribbled on her pad.

Vanessa plucked the menu from Gary’s hands, then took the menu which Lisa handed to her. She turned and went back to the kitchen. As she went through the swinging doors, she looked back at Gary and winked.

“Gary!”

He turned back towards Lisa, who had shouted his name.

“You’re acting like a zombie this morning. Didn’t you sleep well?”

“I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

Gary wondered if he should tell her the truth. Then again, if it was just a dream, he could leave out the particularly bad part, like sleeping with Vanessa.

“Well, I had this dream last night. I went out for a drink last night after you went to sleep, and I ended up in this bar by the motel. And I must have gotten hammered or something. Then I met this really weird woman who turned out to be a vampire. And she bit me and turned me into one too.”

The color disappeared from Lisa’s face as Gary told his story. “That’s unbelievable,” she said. “I had this... well, erotic dream about vampires too. I dreamt that you were a vampire, and you came into the room and hypnotized me. You made me into your love ****, and you bit me and everything.” She started blushing as she described the sexual details. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten so wet from a dream. You know, we could act that dream out sometime,” she said, smiling a devious grin he hadn’t seen since they had first met. That was the “thinking about sex” smile.

“Eggs and toast.”

Vanessa dropped the plates of food in front of Gary and Lisa. She also deposited two glasses of orange juice and the check, which she dropped right in front of Gary.

Gary noticed the note written on the inside of the check. “Meet me in the men’s room,” it said in small, tight lettering. The note finished with a “V”.

Gary took a few bites of his breakfast, so as to not raise Lisa’s suspicions. Then he wiped his mouth with his napkin, excused himself, and went to the bathroom. It was one of those single-person bathrooms, which the user would lock from the inside.

The room was dark. Gary stepped in, and the door closed suddenly. He heard the click of the lock before the light came on. Vanessa was inside with him.

“You’re probably wondering what’s going on.”

“That’s an understatement. After last night, and then waking up, I wasn’t sure if it was a dream or what.”

She laughed. “Yeah, right, a dream. Well, babe, this is reality. Life in the daylight, and all that.”

“So what’s going on? Why are you here now?” Vanessa pulled out a cigarette and flicked her lighter. The paper at the tip glowed brightly as she took her first drag, and then she exhaled.

“I work here. Just like I work at the bar. Usually, though, I don’t see the same customers at both places, as you can imagine.” She waited for Gary to smile, but he didn’t. “Being one of us doesn’t do much good during the day.” “One of us,” Gary interrupted. “You mean a vampire.”

“Well, duh. What else?” She took another puff from the cigarette. “Anyhow, we don’t sleep in coffins typically. Unless you can afford a lifestyle like that, and I know I can’t. So we live and work and go out during the day like normal people. Because that’s all we are during the day—normal.”

“Is that why Lisa doesn’t remember last night as anything but a dream? And why I can’t control her?”

Vanessa nodded as she smoked. “You’re right on the second part. Our powers go away during the day. As for why she doesn’t remember, that’s just how she mentally copes with it. For some people, it would be a vivid memory. Her, it obviously isn’t the sort of thing that fits into her idea of normal, so she’s convinced herself that it was a dream. Stick with her long enough, though, and she’ll remember everything during the day too.”

“What about tonight?” Gary asked. “What will happen then?”

“That’s up to you. Remember when I said that guy vampires had it lucky? Well, if you never say anything about it again, then she’ll never remember it. Or if you want it, she’ll be your **** again as soon as you think of it. You get to pick a new **** every night if you want, and you can have them whenever you want. Goddamn male fantasy come to life, ain’t it?” He noted more than a hint of anger in her voice. Or jealousy.

Vanessa finished off her cigarette and poked it out in the ashtray. Then she pulled her pen from behind her ear and wrote something on her order pad. Gary watched as she peeled the page off and tucked the pad back into the breast pocket. His mind wandered back to the night before, when he had suckled at that breast.

“Here,” she said. “If you really need some help, call me. Otherwise, enjoy your life, because I’m sure you will.” She unlocked the door and stepped out. “Oh, by the way,” she said as she turned back to him one more time, with that big grin he remembered. “I expect a big tip.”