Giving Blood at the Danton Bakery

20. Shortcake

Someone had been ringing Theo's phone for the past forty minutes. This told him exactly who it was, as only one other immortal with this kind of time on his hands would be bothering to ring him instead of just coming over to his house if he wanted something that badly. Firstly, the sun was out, so neither of them could leave without the risk of being burnt. Second, no one on this earth was as stubborn and obnoxious as Mason.

Things change so quickly, and the landlines of yesterday did not have the option for it, so it was easy for Theo to forget that turning it off was an option. Instead, he held out for the better part of ten minutes of ringing before finally bundling it in a kitchen towel and shoving it in a drawer. But with his vampiric hearing, that didn't stop the obnoxious assault of the device through his home.

Theo finally put down his book, gave in, and answered the phone with a growl. "What?"

"You're not sick, why did you tell Edith that?" Mason asked.

"A man can call in sick to work once in a while."

"A man can, a vampire doesn't get human diseases. What's going on with you, Theo?" Mason prodded. "Do you want to go have a beer and talk about it?"

Theo's stomach turned at the very idea of going back to their Friday night beer outings. Sitting amongst the pleasant smell of baked goods with Bea's pleasant conversation and even Edith's sass was far better than the old bar had ever been, as far as he was concerned.

"No, I don't want to have a beer, I want to have a night off," Theo insisted.

Mason sighed into the phone. "In half an hour when I can leave this bloody house, I'm going to go over there and drag you out unless you tell me what's going on right now."

With a grimace, Theo pinched the bridge of his nose, and told him about the incident last night. Bea cutting herself, Bea sending him away with a bloodied towel, and his suspicions that she knows.

"There's no way she knows, who would believe in vampires?" Mason asked.

"She must have heard us talking in my office that day," Theo said. "You remember, when we were talking about the blood donations."

"Then she should think we're hallucinating or making up stories or something. Not that we're actually vampires."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Theo sighed. "I'm not coming in today, I need to think about this."

"You didn't come in yesterday either," Mason said. "I covered for you and those bikers came in and left crumbs absolutely everywhere. You better get your butt in that bakery tonight or so help me I'll push you out a sunny window."

"I can't face her!" Theo hissed. "What must she think of me? She's so lovely, and that smile, and so talented. She's a bright spot in my life, Mason. She put the smile back on my face just by being Bea. How can I chance ruining everything by her finding out?" 

"And how are you going to move forward if you don't tell her?" Mason asked. "Are you ever going to date her?"

Theo froze. "Well, I want to of course, but . . ."

"But you're a coward, Theo. Just tell her, it's Beatrice for crying out loud. You think the baker who made friends with a gang of bikers isn't going to overlook your condition?"

"It's hardly a condition," Theo pointed out. "And it's not the same."

"Theo, last night Dan was trying to teach her how to use his butterfly knife. She's going to forgive you."

Theo still hesitated. It wasn't as though he didn't want to, but the fear of rejection was huge. For the first time in decades, he had allowed himself to be present in the world, more than a passing character in the background of other peoples' stories.