But she, and—believe me—I thanked God, had said no. She'd pushed him out and made him leave. "Where's Dad?" he asked. "He might know."
I told him that his father must have left at the same time he did, and hadn't come back yet. So the two of us sat and thought. And thought.
When the telephone rang, we both almost fell out of our skins. Steve answered it, and I heard him yelling into the mouthpiece.
He ran into the kitchen, grabbed me by the arm and hauled me out into his hot-rod. "That was Tatiana's maid, Magda," he told me as we went blasting down the highway. "She says Tatiana got hysterical after I left, and a few minutes ago she drove away in her convertible. She wouldn't say where she was going. Magda says she thinks Tatiana is going to do away with herself."
"Suicide? But if she's a vampire, how—" And all of a sudden I knew just how. I looked at my watch. "Stevie," I said, "drive to Crispin Junction. And drive like holy hell!"
He opened that hot-rod all the way. It looked at if the motor was going to tear itself right off the car. I remember we went around curves just barely touching the road with the rim of one tire.
We saw the convertible as soon as we entered Crispin Junction. It WLS parked by the side of one of the three roads that cross the town. There was a tiny figure in a flimsy night-dress standing in the middle of the deserted street. My leg stump felt like it was being hit with a hammer.
The church clock started to toll midnight just as we reached her. Steve leaped out and knocked the pointed piece of wood out of her hands. He pulled her into his arms and let her cry.
I was feeling pretty bad at this point. Because all I'd been thinking of was how Steve was in love with a vampire. I hadn't looked at it from her side. She'd been enough in love with him to try to kill herself the only way a vampire could be killed—by driving a stake through her heart on a crossroads at midnight.
And she was a pretty little creature. I'd pictured one of these siren dames; you know, tall, slinky, with a tight dress. A witch. But this was a very frightened, very upset young lady who got in the car and cuddled up in Steve's free arm like she'd taken a lease on it. And I could tell she was even younger than Steve.
So, all the time we were driving back, I was thinking to myself these kids have got plenty trouble. Bad enough to be in love with a vampire, but to be a vampire in love with a normal human being. . .
"But how can I marry you?" Tatiana wailed. "What kind of home life would we have? And
