Almost Eternal is Moving!

Hello devoted readership of 4.

Following feedback, Almost Eternal is moving over to my WordPress blog. This should provide a better visual experience, such as allowing you to better see the screenshots and all their quirks (and clues) that I spend hours staging. Yay! 

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Chapter Eight - Mixed Signals

In true Melinda fashion, she lost her composed demeanour the second there was blood. 

 

As she flapped her arm and freaked out April watched, torn somewhere between horror and amusement. She'd barely sunk her fangs in, hardly had a taste. 

"April! What the hell?!" Melinda clutched her wrist, the colour draining from her face. "What have you done?!"

April tried to reach for Melinda's hand but she recoiled and backed away. "I told you, Mel. I'm a vampire."

 

"Vampires don't exist!" Melinda screeched. "You've... you've cut me!" 

April tried to grab for Melinda's arm, her shoulder, anything but she was flailing like an octopus on a mechanical bull. "I bit you, Mel. With my fangs? You did agree!"

Melinda was hysterical, "I thought this was just some weird fantasy! I thought you were, I thought..." Melinda leaned against a chair, her head spinning. "I didn't expect you to freaking stab me! I'm bleeding!"

"Well that was sort of the idea..." April didn't know what to do. She wished Faith had come along; she had a much stronger stomach. Melinda looked like she was going to faint and if she let her pressure off her wrist... well they were standing on a very expensive rug. 

"I'm dying." Melinda swayed, her eyes spinning.

 

April reached out and finally found contact with her friend. "Not here you're not," she said and guided Melinda out of the room

***

 

"Oh he is cute." Faith waved flirtatiously at the guy walking past but he barely acknowledged her. She huffed, "I never have any luck with men."

"At least that one sort of looked at you."

"I think he was looking at you. Probably thinking 'who's that miserable cow?'" she teased.

 

Melinda sighed. "I told you, I'm fine."

"Tell your face, Mel." Faith leaned over. "Is that a self-portrait? Your nose is wrong."

Melinda snapped her sketchbook shut. Faith backed off. "Touchy! Has this got something to do with April?" 

Melinda didn't say anything, but Faith nodded, a knowing smile. "It's always something to do with April. I told you not to go by yourself. What did she want this time?"

"She had another encounter with some jerk," Melinda began.

 

"Ugh! So unfair! I'm gasping for action over here and poor little Boulevard Blondie is just drowning in it."

"She was pretty upset, Faith. She said he attacked her."

Faith was serious for a moment. "What, like, attacked her or attacked her?"

 

Melinda genuinely didn't know how to answer that.

"Hmm." Faith leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. "The queen of mixed signals gets attacked. What did she do this time, I wonder." 

Sympathy for April was never one of Faith's strong suits, but this time Melinda found herself wondering the same thing. She shook her head, "it wasn't her fault."

"No, it never is."

Melinda wanted to tell Faith the rest but didn't think she even understood herself. 

The two sat in easy silence for a while, enjoying the afternoon sunlight on their faces. Faith was still waving at strange men who were still ignoring her. 

"Maybe I'm invisible," she whispered. "Maybe I died in my sleep and now no-one can see me. Oh, that reminds me." Faith reached into her rucksack and pulled out a small brown bag. "My mum decided to waste some money and made cake. You want some?"

 

Melinda's stomach tumbled at Faith's words. "Please."

Faith broke her piece in half, handed it to Mel and they each took a bite.

 

"Ugh," Faith grimaced. "I think she mixed up the sugar and salt again."

Melinda nodded, although her piece tasted less like salt and more like ash.

 

Chapter Seven - Forbidden Trousers

April was ravenous and yet every morsel made her sick.

It had been almost a whole day since her strange episode in the kitchen. She was feeling fine within herself yet she hadn't managed to keep a single bite down. Also, just as strange, her mother had been distant since their meeting on the landing. Sandy had informed the household that she would be away for a few days getting her face fixed and that was all the contact they'd had. 

As she lay on her bed scrolling through a mental list of foodstuffs trying to decide what she found least revolting, April's bedside drawer vibrated - her secret phone with a message from Melinda.

Hope you're OK. 

It suddenly dawned on April that she hadn't spoken to Faith or Melinda since her party. She tapped out her reply.

Wicked witch away tonight. Come round for 7.

She opened the drawer to put the phone back, then paused and slipped it in to her pocket instead.

At 7pm, April was waiting by the door. Her mother had long left for her appointment which was at a clinic miles away in Oasis Springs. April wasn't the only one looking forward to her Sandy-free evenings. Travis had changed into his forbidden trousers and had gone up to bed with a large pizza. Broof had taken the night off to go to a sports bar.

It was almost 7:30 when the doorbell rang. April flung it open, excited to see her friends, but it was only Melinda who was standing on the other side.

"Where's-"

Melinda looked glum. "She still doesn't want to see you."

April nodded sadly. She had really messed up this time and Faith could certainly hold a grudge.

Melinda's face brightened. "But I guess that means no drama tonight!" 

April followed Melinda through to the music room. Melinda pulled out her phone and leaned close to April to show her the screen. "Before I forget, you have got to see this video! This cat is so darn talented." 

She tapped play and the screen came to life. A cat holding a paintbrush in its mouth was making some smudges on a canvas. It was just the kind of video that Melinda enjoyed. She loved anything to do with cats. April would usually giggle at all the right places while her friend belly-laughed beside her but not tonight. She held her stomach as it gnawed itself beneath her hands. 

She was so close to Melinda she could smell her skin. Oh, she smelled amazing. April closed her eyes, leaned in slowly towards her friend's shoulder feeling the warmth radiate from her body. She parted her lips. Just a little bit further...

"What the-?" April was woken from her trance. Melinda looked warily at her friend. "Did you just try to lick me?"

Did she? April didn't know what to do. Her laugh was too high but out it came.

"No!" She threw her hands up and laughed like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. She laughed until her sides ached and her face hurt. Melinda stood there silently until she'd finished. 

"April," she whispered softly, "what's wrong?"

April hated it when Melinda did this. When she cared. Why did she have to be so nice? Now she was shaking and Melinda was stroking her hair and cooing. Every kind touch just made April more inconsolable. Melinda draped an arm around her friend, pulled her close. 

Melinda had seen April cry but never like this. She suspected it was something far more serious than her falling out with Faith. Had her mother done something?

"Shh," she whispered as she rocked April in her arms, "talk to me. Has something happened?"

April choked back a hiccup. Her words came out broken between her sobs. "He.. he..."

He? 

"Your father?" Melinda struggled to imagine Travis ever doing anything that would ever impact on anyone. 

April shook her head. "He... he... attacked me."

Now Melinda was confused. "Broof?"

April was sobbing so hard now that she could barely form any words at all. "Ca - Caleb." she managed before falling in to Melinda's arms.

"What did he do?" Melinda tried to soothe her friend while she felt her blood boil at whoever this jerk was. Was he some rich kid that April knew? A friend of her mother's? April had been upset after encounters with entitled rich guys before, but nothing like this. What the hell had this Caleb done? 

April slowly regained composure. Melinda sat with her quietly, waiting. Eventually April looked up at Melinda's concerned face. 

"It was the night after my party. Mother had invited Dr. Vatore - Caleb - round to be her new plastic surgeon and he had stayed for dinner. I'd heard of him beforehand and was keen to meet him. He wasn't what I expected, not like all those other doctors. He was really young but there was something really strange about him, you know?"

Melinda nodded even though she didn't know and April continued.

"So anyway we had dinner. I was asking him questions and he was ignoring me like I didn't exist. Then the butler came in and dropped dessert right into this guy's lap.  Everyone freaked out. We were in the formal dining room, you know, next to that big mirror? Well I was looking in this mirror as everyone was flapping about it front of it and, I kid you not Mel, this Caleb guy didn't have a reflection."

"Wait, what?"

"Seriously. So I was, like, proper shaken because - who the hell doesn't have a reflection?" April paused, shook her head. "I thought maybe I was seeing things. Anyway, so I excused myself, I came in here," she motioned around the room, "and I thought I'd try and listen in to the conversation he was having with my mother, then the next thing I know he was standing right behind me. And - I don't know why I blurted it out - but I did, I called him a vampire."

Melinda was staring at April, her tone disbelieving. "A vampire."

April nodded. "He laughed at first and then... he changed. He came towards me and, holy shit Mel, he actually was. He actually was a vampire-"

"But April, vampires don't exist-"

"He had fangs Mel! He grabbed me and it was like my whole body was in a trance. He told me I should know better than to go around accusing folk of being vampires." Her words were coming so fast now she was almost inaudible. "He said he should... teach me a lesson so he... he..." she hesitated, mind reeling, "he sank his fangs in to my neck.

"Why would he-"

"I was so scared, Mel. It felt like he was sucking my soul out. I was pleading with him to stop but he wouldn't. I remember thinking I was going to die and then... nothing. Everything went black." April dropped her head to her hands, the sobs once again taking over.

"Right..." Melinda stood for a while trying to process this information. She didn't so much doubt that April had been attacked... but a vampire? 

"Are you sure April? I mean, I believe you, I guess, but the vampire bit it's all a bit... implausible. Perhaps this guy was just some sort of obsessive vamp fan? At one point Faith was thinking of getting fangs, remember? Maybe it was just some sort of weird aesthetic?"

The two looked at each other, silent. Then without saying a word, April laced her fingers with Melinda's and pulled her gently towards the nearest mirror.

Melinda's eyes were like saucers as they registered the image before them. April still had hold of her hand and she turned her face towards her friend. April's irises were almost white; her voice barely above a whisper. "He was a vampire, Mel. And now I think I am too."

Melinda was rooted to the spot looking between the mirror and April. Her heart hammering as she took in the undead coldness of April's fingers against her own. She trembled. Why had April invited her here? What did she actually want?

As if she'd read her mind, April looked up almost shyly through her lashes. "Please," she whispered as her fingers traced the veins in Melinda's wrist, her voice broken. "I just... I think I need to drink."

Melinda didn't know what to believe. Something about April's story just didn't seem right, but she was never one to turn away someone who needed her. She relaxed her arm into April's hands, nodded and closed her eyes. 

Resigned to her fate, she winced as she felt something sharp puncture her skin. 

Chapter Six - Gone So Wrong

Sandy was in the hallway, obsessing over her chin. Caleb had promptly made his excuses the second Dr. Goth had arrived. He said he would be in touch. Sandy hoped that April's unusual behaviour that evening hadn't put him off. Her face still needed fixing after all and she had rather enjoyed the company of the quiet young man. 

So she was ever so slightly disappointed when he called her himself that morning to tell her he thought it was best she find another doctor. She had taken it out on Travis, who just happened to be walking by, and who was now too terrified to walk past her again so had been hiding in the bathroom for three hours.

Now she was calling every doctor in Del Sol Valley. Unfortunately, news about her treatment of Dr. Caliente, a well-respected figure in the city, had travelled fast. After dialling the fifth number she was starting to wonder if it was too early in the year to be wearing a turtle neck. As she idled at her reflection considering her options she was rudely disturbed by the blood-curdling sound of April screaming.

Whether it really was some deeply buried love for her only daughter, or just the worry the neighbours might hear, Sandy rushed towards the landing where the scream had come from. 

Much to her surprise, April was standing on the landing, seemingly fine. Sandy approached her, anger hot in her cheeks. Did April not care that she had a reputation to uphold and an image to maintain?! 

Something about her daughter stopped Sandy in her tracks. April looked different, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Was she wearing... acrylic? 

"Everything OK, mother?" April asked. "You look ever so flustered". Her smile was sweet but her voice dripped heavy with insincerity. Sandy recognised that combination, she had practically created it.

"I... I thought I heard a scream." Sandy whispered. Where has my fight gone?

April smiled, her voice soft, it seemed to float through Sandy. "Everything's fine."

Almost like her mind was not her own, Sandy nodded at her daughter and turned to head back down the stairs.

April watched her mother go, not quite sure what had just happened, but relieved all the same. She headed towards her room, her steps light and chin high. The pain had completely subsided and she felt great now. Maybe it was just a virus after all.

The early afternoon sunshine broke through her window and she felt her head throb with the brightness of it. Drawing the curtains she reached beneath her bed and pulled out her stolen library book. She again ran her fingers over the softly embossed words on the cover Encylopedia Vampirica. 

When the book had first been suggested to her, she had laughed. Vampires? There's no such thing. It certainly wasn't the kind of answer April had expected when she had asked how she might live forever. Vampires, as well as being fiction, weren't even alive, were they? 

She didn't really know why she decided to search for a copy of the book online, but her interest was certainly piqued when the only mention she could find of it was in a list of books sold at auction to Windenburg Library in 1992. 

She traced her fingertips down her face, her neck. She didn't feel any different. She didn't really know how she was supposed to feel, truth be told. She had wanted to ask Caleb so many questions that night but it had all gone so wrong. She had been so stupid, so awkward.

She turned again to the article about the Vatores. She had read it so many times the words rolled from her tongue even before her eyes saw the text.

Vampyre Infestation Finally Exterminated

Wilbert Wangshaft, renowned vampyre slayer, this morning presented to the townsfolk of Windenburg five decapitated heads belonging to the last remaining members of the known vampyre families: Straud and Vatore. The heads will be on display to the public until the next full moon, whereby they will be ceremoniously destroyed by holy water and fire. Tickets 1d.

She sank back on to the plushness of her bed, the book opened on her chest like a butterfly. Her mind wandering back to Caleb. Oh, he was so mysterious. What was his story?

She fantasised about meeting him again, about what she would say. Images fluttered through her head. Her imagination vivid, so often her only escape.

They could run away somewhere together. Neither of them would ever have to be alone again. Her mind was drifting back to that night; the way he had held her, the way he had looked at her. 

...The way he had taken her.

A different kind of fantasy started to emerge. April closed her eyes and allowed the scene to knit together in her mind. Lost to her thoughts, the heavy book slid to the floor beside her. 

She didn't even notice.

Chapter Five - A Falseness Too Far

April had been in bed all day, in various states of consciousness. Her fever was high and her skin was ashen. Dr. Goth had visited and diagnosed a virus that would likely pass in a day or two. He offered to take April in for observation, but Sandy refused. There was enough media attention already what with a midnight ambulance arrival at her house. Heaven forbid someone actually left in one, the media would have a field day.

*** 

The shaft of light from the bedroom window was directly in her eyes causing April to shift in her sleep. Her eyelids fluttered open and she blinked at the sun. Why was it so bright?

As her senses drifted back she noticed someone had tucked her into bed and she was in her ugliest pyjamas. Had her mother put them on her or - oh God - had it been Broof? Her father? She cringed at the thought of any of them seeing her undressed and tugged her sheets up over her head.

How long had she been asleep? She could vaguely remember hearing Dr. Goth's voice mentioning a virus and her mother crying, but she must have dreamed that. April had never seen her mother cry, except in movies. Crying at her daughter's bedside? Even that would have been a falseness too far for Sandy.

Oh, she was thirsty. She felt like she hadn't had a drink for days. Her tongue drew across her teeth like sandpaper and her stomach ached; it felt like her insides were caving in. 

She crossed the room to her dressing area - no way was she letting anyone else see her in these pyjamas - and she ran her fingertips over her rail of clothing. She had never really appreciated how many beautiful clothes she had. Gentle florals, pink sweaters, a pastel rainbow of softness. Sandy had bought them all for her, of course. She had to have her daughter fit a certain image, and 'all-round-good-girl' was the image Sandy had chosen for April. 

But she wasn't feeling that today. She felt like something... darker. She reached in to the back of the wardrobe and brought out an item Faith had gifted her the previous year when they were still friends. 

 

A black sweater from a high street fashion store, the three of them each had one. April had accepted the gift but had hastily stashed it away, knowing her mother would never approve. She had never even tried it on. 

Faith and Melinda were much more expressive in their fashion choices than April was allowed to be - bold colours, lots of black, tattoos and piercings. It was probably one of the reasons Sandy hated them so much - April couldn't just stick an expensive dress on them and make them blend in to her world. People in Del Sol Valley just didn't have band logos inked on their arms or additional holes in their faces.

April didn't have any way to pierce her nose but she did have this sweater. As she pulled it down over her head she relished the way the crisp, artificial fabric felt in contrast to her usual cashmere. 

It felt like freedom.

 

She made her way down through the silent mansion to the kitchen. If she didn't eat something soon she felt like she would surely die.  To her surprise a bowl of fruit salad had been left in the fridge for her. It was most unusual; the butler was not supposed to feed her when her mother was not around.

April lifted a small piece of fruit to her lips, but as soon as the sugary goodness touched her tongue she felt instantly terrible. It tasted like ash in her mouth, even worse than Broof's food usually tasted, and she recoiled in disgust as waves of nausea rolled through her.

 

She steadied herself on the counter top as as a crippling pain tore through her abdomen, bringing her to her knees. What the hell was in that fruit? Her head began to fill with a thick, black smoke. As the room became darker, the image of a familiar man formed in her mind. 

She could see the light as it glinted on his teeth, could feel his cold skin as he pressed against her. She once again felt the life being sucked out of her and could hear his words echoing in her head.

You should know better.

As she sprawled on the floor, the only solid part of the room, she replayed that night in her head. His hands on her body, his teeth in her neck...

She needed to get to her room. Gripping the banister, she hauled herself up the stairs. Why did they have so many stairs?! If she could only get to her bed, she could get the book, she could look for a way to make it all stop.

Her legs wouldn't work. She had reached the last step but she was on her hands and knees. Her body felt boneless, collapsing in on itself. Oh gosh, it hurt, everything hurt so much. As her body gave up and the cool marble floor rapidly approached she let out a long, last scream. One final wave of pain rushed through her and then she felt herself becoming lighter, she felt like she was floating. 

 

This is it, she thought. This is the end.

Chapter Four - Should Know Better

April rushed to the music room, heart racing. She was right. She must be right.

 

After they had cleaned him up as best as they could, Sandy had somehow convinced Dr. Vatore and his lap full of chocolate pudding stains to stay for a drink. The two of them were in the sitting room again. April knew they must have passed a dozen mirrors on their way there, but she supposed that her mother was far too vain to notice that her guest did not have a reflection. 

On the hat stand in the music room was the doctor's coat. April had intended to root through the pockets looking for further evidence, but had been distracted by the sound of voices crossing the hallway. She had hastily shoved the coat into the adjacent bathroom. Now she was lingering in a new listening spot, across the hall from the sitting room. The acoustics here were very limited but she could see them - sort of - and it was, she thought, not worth the risk to upset her mother again this evening. 

 

She could hear the trill of her mother's voice as she became more tipsy, then Dr. Vatore's response, then the unmistakable sound of footsteps heading towards the music room. 

She panicked. Should she go to the piano? The toilet? As she flapped her arms and desperately searched the nearby area for an alibi she heard the footsteps stop behind her. 

Shit.

Turning around, she saw Dr. Vatore, framed in the archway to the hallway, looking at April who was in an unexpected place for the second time that night. 

 

"Dr. Vatore. Hello. I was... I was just..."

His lips curled slightly at the edges. "...eavesdropping again?"

April shifted her weight and looked around, wishing she had more of her mother's quick thinking. Instead she blurted out "What are you doing in here?"

He motioned behind her towards the bathroom door.

 

April nodded and let him step past, but immediately regretted it. Now he was going to find that his very expensive looking coat was scrunched up on the floor next to a bidet and she'd have to explain. She looked around for a distraction - where was the butler with a terrible pudding when you needed one? Think April.

"Why do you need to use the bathroom?" Oh god. Did I really just ask that?

 

He turned back slightly towards her, the shadow of a smile about his lips.

"You're not great at conversation, are you Miss. Moss?"

His tone affronted her, she scoffed. "I just didn't know that vampires needed to use bathrooms."

He looked at her for a moment, eyes slightly narrowed. "I'm not sure I'm following you."

 

A charge surged through April as she looked at his face and her body felt compelled to step towards him. He immediately, almost instinctively, took a step back. She took another and so did he, backing himself against the bathroom door. 

She was alight. She had never felt so alive. "I know what you are, Caleb Vatore."

 

They stood for a moment, neither moving. She was so close now, she could touch him, if she just reached out her fingers... 

Before her brain had even processed this command, he had caught her wrist. She glanced down,  surprised by the penetrating coldness that curled through her from his touch. She dared herself to look back up.

"I know what you are," she whispered again, trembling, her fear finally bubbling to the surface.

He let go of her wrist. "You do, huh?" He laughed and she felt her knees go weak. "Then perhaps you should know better." 

***

 

Sandy was drunk and bored. It had been a good while and she was wondering where Caleb was. She thought about following him to see if he was OK, but it was surely rather rude to follow a guest to the bathroom. Then again, it was a large house. Perhaps he had taken a wrong turn and couldn't find his way back. Or perhaps he'd bumped into Travis and the spineless man had chosen to have a conversation. She couldn't have that, she had to go find him.

She wandered into the music room, stumbling slightly in her sparkly high heels. She saw Caleb kneeling on the floor. "What are you doing down there?" She slurred. It took her a few moments to realise that he was doing so because April was unconscious.

 

"What happened?" She whispered, clutching her chest. " Is she... dead?"

Caleb was leaning over her, his fingertips pressed gently against April's neck. He looked up briefly but didn't meet Sandy's eyes.

"I don't know." His voice was even and calm as he cradled April's face. "I found her this way just now when I came out of the bathroom."

 

Sandy leaned against a nearby chair. She pulled out her phone to call their private family doctor, Dr. Goth. She couldn't risk calling an ambulance; there were always paparazzi outside. Her face would be all over the papers before sunrise. 

Chapter Three - To Start a Fire

At 8 pm exactly the doorbell rang. Sandy made the butler open it so she could keep up the pretence that she wasn't really that desperate. In reality, she had been pacing the hallway since about half four. 

April lingered in the adjacent music room and heard her mother announce in her most charming voice, usually reserved for movie directors and enamoured male fans. "Dr. Vatore, won't you come in."

"Ms. Moss," came a reply in a new male voice that sounded like ice and fire at the same time, "please call me Caleb."

"Broof!" Sandy called, addressing the butler by his first name, something she only did when she was trying to show someone how very down-to-earth and chill she was. "Please take Caleb's coat."

 

Their footsteps echoed across the hallway, heading towards the sitting room and April softly followed. The muffled conversation she could hear through the wall told her that Dr. Vatore was already discussing the angles of Sandy's face. April pressed herself closer to the door, trying to listen. 

 

It suddenly struck her. What was she actually listening for? Suddenly she realised that her plan hadn't gotten this far. Caleb Vatore was in her house and now she had no idea what to do next. 

Feeling foolish and unprepared, she took a step back to regroup, stumbled and reached out for the door handle to steady herself, accidentally opening it in the process and finding herself making an awkward introduction in to the sitting room. 

Both Dr. Vatore and Sandy turned to look at the teenager who had suddenly appeared in the room. Sandy looked flustered for the briefest of seconds and then reached towards April. 

"Dr. Vatore, this is my daughter, April. April, Dr. Vatore." 

 

April reached out her hand, but Dr. Vatore did not take it. 

He wasn't... what she had expected. She had expected someone much older, gnarled, somehow grander. But here he was, quite young and, dare she say it, quite handsome. Was she wrong about him?

April pulled her hand back awkwardly, trying to think of a good reason why she was there. Thankfully her mother decided to style out the whole debacle. She picked up a catalogue from the table and opened it to a page about rhinoplasty. "April is a bit keen to get started on her plastic surgery journey, isn't that right April?" April stood dumb, nodded along. "I keep telling her, 'Not yet April! You're so beautiful as you are!' But yet she insists!" There was that fake laugh again. "Teenagers! They're so vain!"

Dr. Vatore blinked at Sandy. "I don't operate on minors."

"I'm eighteen!" April blurted for no reason.

"Really." Dr. Vatore could not sound more disinterested. He turned his attention back to Sandy.

  

"We can fix this," he motioned in the general direction of her face. "If you would please visit the surgery tomorrow evening to discuss further. For now, if you'll excuse me, I must go. It has been a long day and dinner calls."

Sandy was jumping up and down - on the inside. Her outside had the same, cool expression she always wore, even with her droopy chin. "Thank you, doctor."

Dr. Vatore nodded and packed his belongings away. Sandy followed him to the door with April trailing behind. She couldn't let him leave without confirming her suspicions. Sandy was already gushing about how lovely it was to meet him and thanking him for stopping by. Time was almost up. If April could just get him to stay a bit longer perhaps, ask him some questions...

 

"Wait!" April blurted out in her uncool way, "Dinner!"

"What?" Sandy was caught off guard.

"Why not have Dr. Vatore stay for dinner? That way he doesn't have to rush off and you can discuss the details." 

Neither Dr. Vatore or Sandy seemed to relish the prospect of having dinner together. But the suggestion had been made and Sandy was not so rude as take the offer back. Plus, there was potential to hear gossip about her fellow celebrities' surgeries and that was just too tempting. She smiled and insisted he dined with them.

 

As they sat down to their bland dinner in their opulent dining room, Sandy schmoozed with Dr. Vatore in her silkiest voice. April tried to interject with questions: Vatore, that's an unusual name isn't it - where are you from? and aren't you quite young to be a doctor - where did you train? But he said very little in response, instead asking Sandy lots of questions about the house and her work. Of course Sandy was only too happy to talk about herself and didn't seem to notice that Caleb avoided her daughter's questions. 

April was getting nowhere. The meal was almost over and she was no closer to knowing if her suspicions about Dr. Vatore were correct. She stared at her reflection in her spoon, watching how it morphed in the curve of the silver. 

Wait a minute.

 

She glanced up towards her mother where a large mirror was hung. Sandy had had it installed so that she could see herself as she ate, ensuring she never had food in her teeth. It didn't quite reflect the part of the table where Dr. Vatore sat but it would, if April could just get him to move slightly.

As April wondered if it was over the top to start a fire, the butler arrived, carrying something he was passing off as dessert and April spied her chance. 

 

She leapt from her seat suddenly and yelled, "Broof! Look out!"

The butler jumped a mile. April wasn't sure what had surprised him more - that she had used his first name or that she'd addressed him at all - but she watched in slow motion as a bowl of dessert-like substance fell from the butler's hand into the doctor's lap. Everyone leapt from their seats. Sandy was mortified at the ineptness of the butler, reprimanding him and apologising profusely to Caleb as she mopped his lap with her napkin. 

 

In this confusion no-one was looking at April, who was watching only half the scene unfolding in the mirror. Her jaw dropped, her suspicions confirmed.