Now Vampires?: Part 1

The children were folding towels and talking about little girl things. They giggled and laughed like a couple of girls under seven should do, as they tried to get through their task so they could watch television.

Brandon’s wife was cutting up boneless and skinless chicken thighs. She wore a purple apron over a blue long sleeve henley shirt that was too small for Brandon but seemed to accentuate Jess’s figure. She also wore loose wide leg jeans, flip flops and gray wool socks. It was her own chore, but she was making two. One she was going to take to a family who had just had a baby.

“You know it’s easier to cut half frozen meat then it is to cut thawed meat,” Jess said. “You can’t even cut frozen meat. I wonder why that is?”

“I wonder if the meat is more brittle or something,” Brandon said. He was writing in his notebook.

He had been doing nothing. It was the last day of winter vacation and he hadn’t really gotten out of his sweats.

“Can you go down and get me the frozen broccoli?” Jess asked.

“Sure,” Brandon said.

He went to the bedroom and got his bag. It was locked up and he pulled it out of locked cabinet and slung it across his body. He pulled a special tab and the top of the bag popped open to reveal a smith and wesson 686 plus. It was a large seven shot .357 magnum revolver with a 2.5 inch barrel. It was capable of spitting fire like a dragon, but it also spit lead. It was now wearing a new set of black bantam style grips. He checked to make sure it was loaded and then zipped the bag back shut. 

Brandon thought about getting a shwoer and about vampires, which made him grab his bible. It was an old creased Bible that was barely held together anymore. He stepped outside and reminded himself that vampires did not come out until after dark. The only time you saw them during the day was when they were sleeping or when one went crazy, but usually the burst into flames very soon after being sighted. Like racoons, Brandon thought, except for the bursting into flames part. He had to go outside to get to the basement freezer. The freezer was byt the door and he hurried down to it while doing a quick scan around his backyard. He opened the basement door, grabbed the frozen broccoli and then ran back upstairs. 

“Here you go,” Brandon said.

“Thanks. Just stick it in the freezer,” Jess said.

Brandon found a space next to the chicken nuggets and then went to get his shower. The shower made him feel better despite all the news stories that he had been reading and listening to. They weren’t official stories. You couldn’t talk about the vampires, at least no one did in public. 

Gas prices, the economy, no one working, shortages, covid and now vampires, Brandon thought. 

He was just hoping and praying that this meant Jesus was coming back, but until then he had to rest in his faith.

The kids were watching television and Jess was shredding cheese for the casserole. Brandon decided to do some dry fire and practice with the new grip and speed loader he got. The pistol didn’t do hardly anything to a vampire, but it did slow them down. Brandon was compulsive when he had a new gun. He had to master it. The trigger was heavy, but that didn’t bother him any. It was as smooth as polished ice. Some people loved a single action, but Brandon didn’t. He loved a nice smooth double action. A revolver was a different kind of weapon to a semi auto. It was a simple man’s gun to him. Maybe it wasn’t, but it was a problem solver and right now that problem was boredom. The trigger and grip were just how they should be. There was no roughness or catch in the trigger at all. It was just pressure and then the break and the hammer snapped down on a dummy round. Then it was dinner time.

Dinner was chicken and rice casserole, but Gwen and Abby only ate sugared strawberries. There was some fussing back and forth between mother and daughter, but overall it was a pleasant meal. 

“I better get going,” Jess said, and she grabbed the cooling extra meal. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Bring your Bible,” Brandon said. 

“I won’t forget it,” Jess answered. “Vampires better beware.”

Brandon caught the hint of worry in her voice, but if there was one thing that the both had learned during their 15 years of marriage was that no matter what happened life moved on.

Part 2