How Pam became a Vampire

bk 7

When she nodded, I found myself saying, “When did you meet Eric?”
I’d always been curious, and tonight Pam seemed to be in a sharing mood.

“I met him in London the last night of my life.” Her voice was level, coming out of the shadowy darkness. I could see half her face in the overhead security light, and she looked quite calm. “I risked everything for love . You’ll laugh to hear this.”

I wasn’t remotely close to laughing.

“I was a very wild girl for my times. Young ladies weren’t supposed to be alone with gentlemen, or any males, for that matter. A far cry from now.” Pam’s lips curved upward in a brief smile. “But I was a romantic, and bold. I slipped out of my house late at night to meet the cousin of my dearest friend, the girl who lived right next door. The cousin was visiting from Bristol, and we were very attracted to each other.

My parents didn’t consider him to be my equal in social class, so I knew they wouldn’t let him court me. And if I were caught alone with him at night, it would be the end of me. No marriage, unless my parents could force him to wed me. So, no future at all.” Pam shook her head. “Crazy to think of now. Those were the times women didn’t have choices. The ironic part is, our meeting was quite innocent. A few kisses, a lot of sentimental claptrap, undying love. Yada yada yada.”
“On my way back to my house, trying to move so silently through the garden, I met Eric. There was no way to slip silently enough to avoid him .”

For a long moment, she was quiet. “And it really was the end of me.” “Why’d he turn you?” I settled lower in my chair and crossed my legs. This was an unexpected and fascinating conversation. “I think he was lonely,” she said, a faint note of surprise in her voice. “His last companion had struck out on her own, since children can’t stay with their maker for long. After a few years, the child must strike out on its own, though it may come back to the maker, and must if the maker calls.” “Weren’t you angry with him?” She seemed to be trying to remember. “At first, I was shocked,” Pam said. “After he’d drained me, he put me in bed in my own room, and of course my family thought I’d died of some mysterious ailment, and they buried me. Eric dug me up, so I wouldn’t wake up in my coffin and have to dig my own way out. That was a great help. He held me and explained it all to me.

Up until the night I died, I’d always been a very conventional woman underneath my daring tendencies. I was used to wearing layers and layers of clothes. You would be amazed at the dress I died in: the sleeves, the trim. The fabric in the skirt alone could make you three dresses!” Pam looked fondly reminiscent, nothing more. “After I’d awakened, I discovered being a vampire freed some wild thing in me.” “After what he did, you didn’t want to kill him?” “No,” she said instantly. “I wanted to have sex with him, and I did. We had sex many, many times.” She grinned. “The tie between maker and child doesn’t have to be sexual, but with us it was. That changed quite soon, actually, as my tastes broadened. I wanted to try everything I’d been denied in my human life.”

“So you actually liked it, being a vampire? You were glad?” Pam shrugged. “Yes, I’ve always loved being what I am. It took me a few days to understand my new nature. I’d never even heard of a vampire before I became one.” I couldn’t imagine the shock of Pam’s awakening. Her self-proclaimed quick adjustment to her new state amazed me.