“Yes Eilidh…yes Eilidh…no Eilidh…yes Eilidh. Eilidh! I got this!" Miriam couldn't keep the exasperation out of her voice. She'd been listening to Eilidh issuing instructions over the phone for the last 10 minutes. Eilidh knew how to run the store, she'd been doing it for long enough.

"Look, you just concentrate on Gianna. I've got things well under control here and Karah is coming in today to help me again so there's no need for you to keep checking in. I'll let you know if anything comes up. Isn't it nearly time for the sun to come up over there?" Miriam said.

"Yes, yes, I'll get some rest soon. How's Karah working out?"

"She's great. The customers like her, she's a whizz on the computer. It's fun having her around. I think you'll like her once you get to know her a bit. She's quirky. You like quirky."

"Yes well, quirky doesnt always mean capable but if you say she's doing okay, then I guess she is. I trust your judgement."

Miriam felt touched. "Thanks Eilidh. How are you coping?"

"I'm fine. Oh! You mean about Reagan? Yes, I'm fine. When you've been a vampire as long as I have you get used to losing people. Admittedly, its not usually other vampires, but it does happen. I have to go now dear."

Miriam started to reply but Eilidh had already hung up. She was worried. When Eilidh had first heard the news about Reagan she seemed to be devastated. And now she sounded as if it was just another day. Obviously, Eilidh wasn't coping. Her emotions seemed to be all over the place.

*****

By the time Karah came in to the store with their morning espresso's, Miriam had decided that what Eilidh needed was a funeral for Reagan. Karah wasn't so sure.

"Umm, I don't want to be rude, but ah, do vampires even do funerals?"

That stumped Miriam for a few moments. "Well, no, not like we humans do anyway. They'll sometimes hold a memorial service for some important vampires but thats more like an honoring ceremony. Maybe it's a dumb idea. I just thought it would help Eilidh to grieve. And you know, often killers turn up to the funerals of their human victims, I just thought it might work the same for Reagan."

"You're right," Karah agreed. "Maybe it will. But do you think Eilidh will want a funeral?"

"I don't think Eilidh knows what she wants right now. I'll go ahead and organize it for a few days away. I can always cancel it if Eilidh is really against it."

"Okay, well, I'm happy to help if I can. Um, how are you feeling today?"

"Actually, I feel quite good now. I'm always happy when I have something to focus on. Whatever the problem was, it seems to have passed."

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Their conversation was interrupted when the front door tinkled and Gerald came in. Miriam greeted him, offered him a cup of coffee and got to work.

*****

It was late afternoon when Miriam and Karah were able to take a break together. They'd been flat out all day serving customers, taking deliveries of new books and cleaning.

A shape-shifter family had come in and one of the young ones was obviously still trying to get a grip on her new powers. She'd turned herself into a baby elephant from the book she was looking at and had knocked over the stand next to the book nook. There was coffee, books, and paper cups everywhere. It had been one of the lighter moments of the day, even though her parents were embarassed.

"What a day! You handled it brilliantly, Karah. Have we put you off yet?" Miriam was frazzled but happy.

"No, not at all. It was fun! How often do you get days like this?" Karah asked.

"Not often. We always get our regulars but I didn't recognize half of today's customers. I wonder if word's gotten out that Eilidh's not here? We definitely had more humans in than we usually do. Probably just checking the place out while its safe from the big bad vampire."

"Are people really that frightened of Eilidh? I know there are some seriously scary vampires out there but Eilidh doesn't strike me as one of them."

"Karah, don't go underestimating Eilidh. All vampires are dangerous and she's no exception. The difference with Eilidh really is that she's lived so long as a vampire she doesn't feel the need to display how dangerous she is all the time. But that doesn't mean she isn't. Eilidh is narcissistic, intolerant, strong and fast. Trust me, she can bring all that out when she feels the need to. Don't ever forget that."

"I won't. It's just that she seems so human in many ways. Other vampires I've met don't seem to have a trace of humanity left in them."

"How many vampires have you met?" Miriam asked.

"Oh, a few. I've been on the fringes of supernatural communities for most of my life. I don't really fit in with humans so much. I spend a lot of time on my own. But, that's okay, I like it that way. People tend to stress me out."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I used to…" Miriam trailed off as she lost her train of thought. She shook her head a little and carried on.

"Okay, so I've been thinking about Reagan's funeral service on and off all day. I'm thinking we could hire one of the reception rooms at the Elder's Council building and I could ask Flip or Gianna if they wanted to speak. I know Eilidh won't, she hates public speaking. And then we could serve coffee and finger food. And blood, I guess, for those that want it. Of course, we'd have to do it at night. How would you feel about manning the store for a couple of hours in the evening?"

"Oh! Well, um, I guess, um, could I ask a friend to visit with me here? It's just that, well you know, vampires. If they think everyone's at the service won't that make it dangerous for me to be here on my own?"

"Yeah, you have a point. I didn't think of that. Maybe we should just close while the service is going on. The vamps have been understanding about us being closed at night while Eilidh's away so they should be okay with another few hours during the service."

Miriam took a pen and a notepad from the top drawer of the counter and began making a list of all the people and supernaturals that she would invite to the service. She was sure that Eilidh would have more people to invite but she wanted to get started on the planning even if it was in a small way. If tomorrow was going to be as busy as today was, she'd never get it organised.

Miriam sent Karah off home before it got dark, closed the store and made her way to her rooms in the back. Feelings of sadness overwhelmed her again and she spent the rest of the night sitting on her couch, eating chocolate and watching trashy tv.

*****

In Los Angeles, Eilidh rose from her bed in Gianna's spare room and for a moment she wondered where the hell she was and why her cheeks were wet with blood.

And then she remembered.