I’ll remember you…even if you change

Most people think I have a Public Relations business. That is only part of the story. I have a partnership with a regular human and we do run a Public Relations business, but is an extremely small portion of what I do. My main job, my real job is helping other Vampires with image, adjusting and life in general.

My expertise is in training new Vampires (yes, folks who have just become one of us) and helping old fashioned Vampires (Shadow Creepers) and other not so Modern Vampires adjust to living in the 21st Century of Regular Humans and Modern Vampires (not to mention living with Modern Werewolves and others who are a bit different.)

“There was a song my wife liked called I’ll Remember You. That yodeler fellow who just passed away sang it. I found it odd and extremely annoying but romantic in our own way.” The Vampire who sat across from me, awkwardly in a public place. He was uncomfortable in his clothes, in the daylight hours, in his own skin.

I was surprised how good he looked. To the rest of the world he’d appear as a 40 year old man, black hair coming down his collar, a hawkish nose, deep brown eyes and a slight cleft in his chin. He was handsome. What sealed the deal was his eyelashes that looked like they’d come right out of a Maybelline ad. Long and thick and framed his eyes. Sure he was pale, but that just intensified his dark eyes.

Dressed in an upscale plum-colored tee and black slacks he caught a few looks, but good looks from those who passed by. The last time I’d seen him he’d actually worn jeans and a sweat shirt. That was a huge move from a man who always looked like he was dressed to go to the opera, or a funeral or ready to time travel back to 1905.

I mention this because my friend, Matthew, is, make that WAS, what we call a Shadow Creeper. That is an old-fashioned Vampire who lurks in the night like a creature from another century, never seeking the company of regular humans or the light of day. They have passed up technology and culture and well, they live in the shadows as old-fashioned relics. They are formal and awkward even around other Vampires. Most of all they are prime bait for Vampire hunters. That is how Matthew’s wife met her end – the Vampire hunters got her, sleeping in a coffin in the basement of their home. It was so tragic.

But Matthew had a son, a teenage son who deserved to be a Modern Vampire. To make a long story short, Matthew was given my name and I helped him make the leap from the 19th century to the 21st century. Actually with him it was from the 18th century but who’s counting?

Matthew’s son Josh had become a completely Modern Vampire. After a few months of adjustment the boy had fit into regular schools and was now good friends with my son. Josh was 16, a spitting image of his dad, except with his mother’s dark blonde hair and hazel eyes. He was the last kid in the world anyone would suspect of being a Vampire. And of course he loved his dad, but there were times when the poor kid was at his wit’s end at his old-fashioned awkward and sometimes creepy father.

Josh was the kind of kid who wore band shirts and skinny jeans. He put product in his hair and could work every Apple product like a pro. He also wore a bow tie almost every single day – a true Dr. Who fan.

As I sat talking to Matthew in the neighborhood Starbucks I could catch him glancing around seeing everyone as prey. At the same time he was fearful that he’d become the prey.   But he was learning to adjust.

But there were the simple things like to make sure one had no blood under the fingernails when going out in public and keeping one’s fangs in check that were hard habits to break.

I told him we’d take a drive around the lake to see the water levels and he could see the boats. A simple thing but for a creature of the night it is an adventure to be out in the day. We had our sunscreen and glasses and tinted windows in the car but sometimes it can be scary and physically uncomfortable. In the car we heard a story on the local NPR Station about Slim Whitman. Matthew smiled for the first time – I mean it was the first time I ever saw him smile in the 5 years I’d known him. He had resisted so long and it was such a difficult road for him.

“This amuses me.” That was all he said. I would have used about 2,000 words to describe the story, but old-fashioned Vampires are miserly with their words.

Anyway, I don’t remember the point of this story except that sometimes we just have to adjust and change. Bad things happen and the World becomes a stranger place. But then we have kids and they bring us into the present and bring us back to life. So that is it. Works for me.

And keep on singing…anything you like.

~ Juliette aka Vampire Maman

Listen on the links below. And make sure you hear Sean Bianco sing. Oh my goodness he has a lovely voice. 

Click here to listen to: I Remember You (Slim Whitman)  

Click on the link for: Sound Advice: Slim Whitman At the Opera host Sean Bianco grew up with the music of Slim Whitman. When the legendary singer recently passed away, Bianco decided to bring his collection of Slim Whitman records to Capital Public Radio for a special Sound Advice remembrance. We’ll hear some of Whitman’s best-known tunes including, “Indian Love Call,” “Rose Marie” and “I Remember You.”