Chapter 77 - Goodbyes....

Valerie’s graduation day was almost a disaster.  It started with the rain and fog. Delia should have taken that as a sign. She would have been convinced that Victoria had somehow conjured the rain if she didn't know better. To make matters worse, Victoria had put on a dress that was way too revealing just to upstage her sister.

Delia and Victoria got into an argument over her inappropriate choice of clothing prior to going inside to watch the ceremony. Fortunately, Valerie was very excited and as soon as they arrived at City Hall she rushed inside leaving everyone else outside so was blissfully unaware that an argument had occurred.

Ben, Pierre’s son who was graduating with Valerie, noticed that his Grandmother seemed upset and figured it had to do with Victoria. He made a point to walk over to see how she was doing and to congratulated her on Valerie’s graduation and for her being named valedictorian. 

Valerie had done very well in school in spite of all that she had been through the past two years and had graduated at the top of her class. Delia had no idea. Valerie hadn't told her that. She thanked Ben and congratulated him as he was also graduating with honors.  

While Delia was talking to Ben, Victoria sulked over and pouted for being scolded while they talked about the graduation. Pierre joined them as well and said nothing to Victoria much to Delia’s relief. Regardless, Delia was very happy at this opportunity to get to talk to her son and his family before they had to leave town.  It would be soon.

Jill and Victoria didn’t get along. Hannah told her she could come stand with her, and to leave Victoria alone. Hannah said her father would understand. She didn’t have to talk to Victoria if she was uncomfortable. Jill was glad her mom didn't make her talk to her Aunt Victoria. It was creepy enough that her aunt was younger than her but more importantly, Victoria had a bad reputation at school and Jill didn’t want to be seen socializing with her. Jill was very glad they had different last names. 

Delia said her goodbyes to Pierre and his family and they went home noticing that Jill and Hannah kept their distance.

The first thing Delia did when they arrived at the house was to give Valerie a hug. Valerie had kept it a secret from her mother that she was Valedictorian. Delia was so terribly proud of her. As she hugged and congratulated her oldest daughter, her youngest was nowhere to be found. Delia assumed she had stormed off to her bedroom again since they had argued earlier.  

Delia took this time while she and Valerie were alone to ask her how she was feeling now that she was a true vampire. She just smiled at her mother and said it was weird, but she was okay. The plasma juice was icky but she couldn’t imagine having to feed from a live person. Delia told her they would be moving soon. Valerie couldn’t wait because that meant the cure would soon follow. She really missed cake and ice cream!

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Victoria texted Glen as they were leaving the ceremony to let him know to meet her at her house. She told him to wait in the bushes until her mom and sister went inside then she would come and get him. He texted her back that he was on the way. 

Victoria waited outside until her mom and Valerie went inside. They were chatting excitedly about the graduation – blah, blah, blah.  They don't even know I exist, she thought.

Victoria motioned for Glen to come out. She ran to him and they immediately began to make out. Victoria and Glen continued kissing and began groping each other. She was experiencing feelings that she had never dreamed she could feel. She just wanted to get lost in Glen's kisses and these newfound feelings and forget about her mom and the princess. 

Delia had forgotten to pick up the mail so she went back outside after congratulating Valerie and was shocked at what she was saw.  Her daughter and a boy she had never seen before were making out and he had his hands all over her. Victoria and Glen were so lost in their own world they didn’t hear Delia come up behind them.

  

Finally Delia had seen more than enough.  She yelled, “Victoria! What do you think you are doing? Who is this?”

Victoria and Glen quickly jumped apart.  Glen was ready to run, but too afraid to move.  Victoria just scowled at her mother. 

“What is your name young man?” asked Delia.

“Uhm, Glen, ma’am,” responded Glen as he looked at his feet.

“Well, Glen you and Victoria need to say your goodbyes. Victoria needs to come inside,” said Delia and then she turned to her daughter and said, “Victoria, I will talk to you in the morning.” Delia walked away, too angry to talk to Victoria now. She needed to calm down first and sleeping on it seemed like a good idea so she wouldn't say something that would drive Victoria further away. 

Victoria watched her mother go back inside. As soon as Delia walked into the house, Victoria grabbed Glen’s hand and told him to wait, they could sneak in. Mom was busy with Valerie and she wouldn’t bother her until the morning. 

 

Glen followed Victoria into the house like a little puppy dog. She was hot and he couldn’t wait to get back in her room again.

As soon as they got into Victoria’s room, she shut and locked the door. Then Victoria pushed Glen onto her bed and fell on top of him. She couldn’t wait to practice some more. They recklessly continued what they had started outside before her mom interrupted them. Victoria knew she would hear it from her mom in the morning so she figured she might as well take full advantage of the moment.

Victoria decided it had been much more fun this time now that they had a little more experience. She laughed and thought about what her father often told the princess about her piano: “practice makes perfect”.  Well practicing with Glen was much more fun than practicing playing a piano! Take that princess she thought.

Glen had fallen asleep in her bed afterwards. Stupid oaf she thought. She punched him and unceremoniously told him it was time to leave, to get out quietly if he ever wanted to come back. He got dressed and snuck out a little confused by her apparent change in attitude.

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The next morning, Delia wanted to check the garden before dealing with Victoria. She went downstairs before anyone was awake and the sun was only just rising.  If the mushroom was ready, then the conversation she had with Victoria would be very different. They would be moving across the country and away from the boy that seemed to want to take advantage of her daughter. When she saw the mushrooms had matured and were emitting the eerie glow that they were named for, she was overcome with joy; a huge load had been lifted from her shoulders.  Glo-Orbs; the final ingredient for the cure. Now they could leave Bridgeport and become a normal dysfunctional family thought Delia, adding in the dysfunctional because just normal was too much to hope for.

Delia stayed outside as the sun rose and continued to work in the garden harvesting as much as she could. Before she knew it the sun had risen and her sun-sensitive skin had taken on a golden hue. She had to get inside before she burned.

Delia had a lot to do now.  She had to call Hope and Pierre and ask them to come by. She needed to tell them she was leaving Bridgeport and really didn’t want to tell them over the phone.  Hope said she would stop by later.

Pierre said he had to work late and couldn’t make it. Pierre had never liked Vladimir and when he and Hannah married, they had kept their distance so the relationship she had with her son was not as strong as it with her daughter. She reluctantly let him know on the phone. He actually seemed like he thought it was a good idea and was happy for her.  He said a change of scenery for her and his step sisters would be good.

Next on Delia's to-do list was Victoria. Delia had to find out what was going on with this boy; she was so worried about her daughter. Victoria was barely 16.  She was afraid Victoria wasn’t going to want to move, especially if she and Glen had developed some sort of bond. Delia had no idea, but maybe when Victoria found out where they were going, it would be easier for her to accept. Instead of giving Victoria restrictions for sneaking around with Glen and probing too much into their relationship, Delia would tell her to invite him over and so she could meet him. She may be getting ready to break her daughter’s heart again and didn’t want to push her daughter any farther away from her than she had to in the process.

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Victoria woke up and was so sick; she didn’t think she would make it to the bathroom in time. 

She vomited for a good 15 minutes until her insides were completely empty. Then she heard her mom calling her to come downstairs. Great, I am sick and I have to get a lecture; wonderful. She got a drink of water and it stayed down. She was feeling much better now. She figured I may as well get this over with and made her way downstairs.

Her mom was waiting for her and instead of yelling at her, which Victoria fully expected, her mom was being really nice. “Victoria, I want to apologize for getting upset with you last night,” said her mother, “I was just caught off guard. And well, this is the first time you or your sister have had a boyfriend.”

“He’s NOT my boyfriend!" retorted Victoria, "and besides you have two older married kids. So this isn’t the first time you have had kids with boyfriends, and Valerie is too much of nerd to have a boy pay attention to her anyway!"

Delia had to take a deep breath to not take the bait before she continued, “We aren’t talking about Valerie. We are talking about you and your friend – Glen wasn’t it? Have you been seeing him very long? I mean, I would like to meet him if he is important to you.”

“We are just friends – nothing else. He is in my class at school,” replied Victoria.

“Sweetheart, I am not judging, it’s okay if you like him as more than as a friend,” said Delia trying to get her to open up.

“Well, there is nothing to tell, just friends,” insisted Victoria.

Delia knew she was probably lying to her, but she didn’t want to start a war with her daughter. She figured it was time to tell her about Roaring Heights.

“Okay, if you say so,” said Delia, “I need to let you know something else. We are going to be moving very soon.” Delia paused and took a deep breath and continued “to Roaring Heights. It will do us good to get to a place with sunshine and warm weather; out of this dark and rainy city. Things here are too painful for all of us.”

Victoria just glared at her mother. “That is 900 miles away! Clear across the country!” Victoria turned and ran upstairs and slammed her door.

She flopped exhaustedly into the rocking chair in her room to think about what her mother said about Glen and the fact that they were moving. Her mom must have been planning this for awhile. She figured the princess already knew about it. They were always talking. 

As for Glen, she really could care less about him. He had been nice to have around but since they went “all the way” he seemed different. And she could swear the kids at school were talking about her because when she walked up they would quickly giggle and change the subject. Lowlife Glen was probably was bragging to everyone. 

Maybe moving wouldn’t be so bad. She was just so tired after being sick this morning and fell asleep thinking about swimming in the ocean and lying on the beach away from Glen and the snickering kids at school.

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The conversation with Victoria went somewhat better than Delia had expected. She was surprised that Victoria insisted she and Glen were just friends. But that was good. Moving wouldn’t be as traumatic for her, however she wasn't surprised when Victoria ran upstairs to sulk. 

Delia needed a release. She hadn’t practiced making potions or conjuring and it always relaxed her and helped take her mind off things when she did. She went downstairs to decompress while she waited for Hope’s arrival and practiced conjuring a few items.  She needed the practice so she wouldn't waste the precious mushrooms that took so many years to find and then grow.

Delia had no illusions that Hope would be happy about her taking the girls and moving across the country. Victoria was right. It was a LONG way away from Bridgeport. But it would be a welcome change of scenery.

When Hope arrived, Hope looked at her mother and thought she looked a LOT better than she had been. Her color was much better and she no longer had dark circles under her eyes. 

“Mom – you are looking good. I am very happy to see that. I was so worried about you,” exclaimed Hope as she pulled her mother into a tight hug. 

Delia knew her ‘color’ was due to the sun from earlier that morning. She didn’t care. If it helped Hope stop worrying about her then it was worth it.  Telling Hope would be hard enough and this made it easier. 

“Hope,” started Delia, “I asked you to come by because I needed to let you know that the girls and I will be moving.”

“Oh.  Where to?” asked Hope, “Closer to the City I hope so we can see you more often.”

“No, we aren’t going to stay in Bridgeport,” said Delia, “The girls and I are moving to Roaring Heights.”

“Roaring Heights? As in all the way across the country Roaring Heights?” exclaimed Hope.

“Yes,” said Delia gently, “that Roaring Heights.”

Then she began to explain so maybe Hope would understand, “Victoria has had a really hard time coping and frankly it isn’t easy for me either to live in this house or even this town for that matter. Valerie is probably doing better than any of us, but I think she just hides it better. A new house and new town and lots of sunshine will do us girls good.”

Hope began to cry. “Mom, when?”

“Next week. That is why I needed to see you. I hope you understand why we need to do this. You, Sebastian and the kids can come and visit; Pierre and his family too.  The house I have picked out is plenty large with a guest room. You will have a place to stay and there isn’t a shortage of beaches to visit.” 

Hope replied through her tears, “I know how much he meant to Victoria and Valerie. It will do them good to have a change of scenery. Losing a parent at the age they did must be traumatic. Pierre and I never knew our father and Vladimir filled that role as best he could – even before you two finally realized you were totally meant to be together and got married.”

Hope hugged her mom again and continued, “Oh, Mom, I love you so much and I am going to miss you. I know you are still hurting. I loved Vladimir too. He was very much a friend and father to me. We became very close before I got married to Sebastian.” Then she laughed and whispered, “I don’t think he ever approved of Sebastian!”  Delia smiled at that. Hope was right, but she doubted he would have approved of any man that Hope married. 

“Don’t cry Hope. You will have me crying too, and then we will both be a mess!” said Delia to try and lighten the mood.  Delia was heartbroken and knew she would miss Hope.  

After Hope left Delia was melancholic. She stood in front of the huge picture window in what was her and Vladimir’s bedroom and looked out over the river. It was a dreary foggy day which fit her mood and she could barely even see where the river ended and the mountains began. She thought back over the happy times she had spent here with Vladimir and the girls. 

She wasn’t leaving their home for a change of scenery as she had to tell her two oldest children. She couldn’t burden Hope and Pierre with the knowledge that her life might be in danger. They didn’t know about vampires and witches and it was better that way. She had hoped Valerie and Victoria would never know either. Maybe she could still spare Victoria. Valerie was now a fully evolved vampire. The two of them had become very close since Vladimir’s death, unlike Victoria who pulled away.  But soon, when they got to Roaring Heights, at least she would be able to cure them all of vampirism, she hoped. She got a chill as she was standing there and wondered if maybe it was Vladimir’s ghostly embrace. She hadn’t seen him since the night he came to her and told her to leave.

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