Romeo and Juliet: A Vampire and Werewolf Love Story (18 page)

“A stage?
” Juliet said.

“It
’
s really c
ool. The stage is an off-white
stage that gives off a sense of history and mystery.
I
’
m positive you will like it.
”

“I
f you love it as much as you do,” Juliet answered,
“
I know I am going to love it.
I have a problem,
however.
”

“What is it?”
I asked.

“I have nothing to wear. A
ll my clothes are at my house
.”

“Leave that to me,” I promised.

She nodded.

I knew Mercut
io was the perfect person to come her
e
and deliver us an o
utfit. He had amazing taste in w
om
e
n
’
s clothing.
I was pretty sure he had dressed Benvolio the other night.
I just wasn
’
t sure if I wanted him to know anything
more about the plans tonight
.
He knew I was with Juliet, but he had no idea what we were planning to do.
I couldn
’
t afford for him to get upset and tell everyone before the announcement.

I dec
ided to risk it. I called Mercut
io and he seemed to be surprisingly supportive. He said he
’
d bring the dress over before nine o
’
clock. That would be more than enough time before the party.

Juliet
said she had a couple of servants she could trust that could come over and help her get ready after Mercutio
dropped off the dress
. She told me to go and get ready at home, and
that she would be okay.
I wasn
’
t too sure if I thought it was safe. But I had to trust what Juliet thought.

So, around 9:00 o’clock, Mercutio
dropped off the dress, and I told him to wait. Shortly after, Juliet
’
s people came
with her hair and makeup stuff
to help her get ready. They didn
’
t let me see what the dress looked like
,
so I
’
d be surprised
later
. It
was almost as if everyone, including
ourselves
,
was looking at the announcement as a wedding.

Mercut
io and I split around 9:30. Onc
e we got clear of the hotel, Mercutio
stopped on 43
^rd
S
treet and said, “Have you thought this through
,
man?”

“Not really,
” I said as honestly as I could.
“All I know is I have never felt this way about anything or anyone. I am going to do whatever it t
akes to be with her
.”

“Be with her where?” Mercutio asked
.

“Anywhere with her is where my harmony lies,” I said.

“Harmony?”

“Yeah, in harmony,” I stated.
“
A place where
there is peace and no
fighting sounds like a good place to me,” I said.

“
You only feel this way now
because you
just
met this girl,
” Mercutio said. “Two month
s ago
,
you were spouting the same rhetoric.”

“Don’t you see, Mercutio? Meeting Juliet
has changed me forever. And when you
are finally aware of that, you know
you have found your salvation.”

Mercutio stared at me and did a long, slow sigh. D
eep, deep down he had never heard me speak like this.
He must have known that
I believed in my heart of hearts that Juliet was not only the one for me, but
that
she was also my sanctuary.

“Okay, Romeo. Just because you feel this way
.
It doesn’t mean I have to accept it.”

“All I ask is that you respect Juliet.”

Mercutio looked at me and smiled. “I know about you, Romeo Mt yAll I aontague. You are getting soft on all of us.”

“I’m not getting soft, Mercutio. I finally opened my eyes.”

“
The thing is, Romeo, I want blood. I’m
fed
up with being on the outside. I want
the Capulets to
hate the sound of my name as much as they hate the sound of yours
.”

“That
’
s stupid,” I said. “Who wants anyone to hate them?”

Mercutio
looked at me and said, “
I do.
We do. All of us Montagues do.
Even though I don’t share your blood on the inside, I have vowed to spill my blood for you on the outside. The Capulets
stole
all of
our land and most of our finances. We hate them for destroying
both of
our ancestors. Or did you forget about all of that?”

“When is it going to end?” I asked. “When is enough....
enough
?”

“No one knows that answer.”

“Well
,
maybe tonight is a step in the right direction.”

“I don’t think so, friend, f
or your sake. But I think you might be blinded by love,”

“Maybe I am. But it is what it is, and I
’
m moving straight ahead.”

“Well, you have
y
our entire family coming. So whatever dog
-
and
-
pony show you plan to pull off
,
y
ou will have the whole family at your disposal.”
He paused. “For better or worse,” he added wryly.

I looked at Mercutio and said, “
I hope people see it for what it is. Two people in love.
”

“I doubt it.”

I didn’t like the sound of that.

Chapter Fifteen

When I went home and changed my clothing, my family members wanted to know what this party was about. I told them to come and have a great time and they would soon find out.

I got up to my room. We lived in an old hotel that they turned into a mansion. I have six brothers and sisters and I am the oldest. I had my own apartment inside the property. I went up to my room and got ready.

I took a long slow shower. I hadn’t slept much in the last few days and I was enjoying the hot water as it hit the center of my back. I adjusted my shoulder blades and aimed the hot water on top of them individually, as if a masseuse was tenderizing a muscle.

It was an amazing feeling as the water hit my body, as if my old life was being washed away. Inside, I was ready to celebrate all of the things my love for Juliet had to offer. But, when I thought about the outside world and how we would be perceived, that made me nervous. Then when I thought about being able to spend every waking moment with her, I knew it was all going to be worth it.

I got out of the shower and put on a pair of black slacks and a white button-down shirt. I then put on a dark navy blazer and finished it off with a long skinny black tie. I thought I had never looked better.

Everyone in the Montague house had left for the party a couple of hours ago. I wanted to go there later, alone. I took a cab to Central Park because it wasn’t too far away.

I got dropped off near the southeast entrance. From there, I did a slow walk up to the parties. I wasn’t sure how I got here so fast. But, I was here, and I loved every minute of it. I began to walk faster, anticipating the big night ahead.

I looked straight ahead. The
organizers
set up the area exactly
as
had
I ask
ed
. About a couple thousand feet into the southeast entrance
was
a beautiful
white
stage.

There were two tents, side by side, under a mesmerizing blue glow of light that was added to create an ambiance. One tent was for the Capulets and their vampire kinsmen.
It was a
tent that catered to a vampire audience. It had all the things
that
vampires would like for a party. Kegs of blood, and lots of alcohol.
Their tent faced
the sou
theast entrance and was roped off, right in front of the second tent.

The second
tent was for my family.
The Montagues were v
ery hard liquor
-
drinking, meat
-
eating madmen. Their tent didn
’
t hasiz>
l
ready to party.
That tent’s entrance faced the opposite side of the Capulets’ tent and again, it was roped off in the back before they could reach the other side.

B
oth parties
started
around 9:00
p
.
m
.,
so they had been going hard
for a couple of hours
.
I
’
m pretty sure
that
right about now
,
they
were
starting to be suspicious that not only
were
their immortal enemies in the tent directly behind their tent. But it
was
also
the one family that the other despise
d
to the point of brutality toward one another.

My plan was
,
right at midnight we
’d
turn
off the
music in both tents. Then we would open up the side wall of each tent that face
d
the stage. Then the real party
,
or should I say show
,
would
begin
,
as Juliet and I
would move next to each other and
introduce ourselves to both families.