Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

Mr. DeVito

“T he clock is ticking, Reuben. We only have four months left until the election and we still aren’t anywhere near the numbers we need.” Stella’s eyes burned holes through Mr. DeVito’s face while her long nails tapped the desk in agitation.

Mr. DeVito fidgeted with the cuff of his sleeve, but maintained eye contact and a straight spine. “I really don’t know what else to do, Stella. I’ve been volunteering even more than usual and it always seems to backfire. Even Amber backfired for a moment, there, but I got her back.”

His eyes widened as he realized he hadn’t actually told Stella about the bump in the road with the plan. Her face grew cold and he hurried to save himself. “We had a minor disagreement about publicity, but it’s resolved now. Nothing to worry about.”

“It better not be,” Stella replied, sliding a tiny envelope across the desk, “because you may not know what else to do, but I do. This is an invitation to the yearly end-of-summer barbecue put on by The MB Tribune. HOME has made a generous sponsorship donation and you are going to attend as our representative. Take that cute girlfriend of yours with you and mingle with the journalists. And for all that is good, just try to act like a normal person for once!”

A sinking feeling filled Mr. DeVito’s stomach. The MB Tribune was the largest newspaper in the state and held a lot of sway as far as public opinion. Rubbing shoulders with their journalists could definitely give him an advantage if he could win their favor, but… “Isn’t this kind of a risky plan, though? If any tiny thing goes wrong, this could blow up in our faces.”

Stella waved her hand nonchalantly. “You're not wrong. But the possible benefits outweigh the risks. I have no doubt that you are capable of managing a casual barbecue without getting involved in any fights.”

When it was put that way, what argument could he really give that wouldn’t make him look like the problem? Mr. DeVito curled his toes in his shoes and nodded. “I understand.” He picked up the envelope and removed the invitation, the baseball-themed card announcing the event would be held that Saturday. “I will check with G– er, Amber that she is available.”

“Good boy,” Stella replied, her eyes returning to their usual brightness. “And you should bring Amber to the office sometime. We would all like to meet her.”

* * *

Reuben

R euben held Amber’s hand tightly across the center console. He could sense the waves of fear that were rolling off of her. “I promise, Gem. I will be at your side the entire time. Even if you go into the restroom, I’ll stand guard outside the door with my eyes and ears at full alert.”

The vampire glanced away from the road to look at Amber with comically wide eyes. She laughed and smacked his shoulder playfully. “I’m nervous, but not that nervous.”

“Good. I really appreciate that you’re willing to attend this thing with me, Gem. I know it’s our first foray into appearing together publicly and people are going to be watching us. But it’s not as high-pressure as the gala will be, so it’s a nice entry point.” Reuben kissed the back of Amber’s hand and pulled into the parking lot.

The event was being held at the baseball diamonds in the middle of town, where the city’s major league baseball team practiced. From the lot, Reuben and Amber could see the crowd already milling around the dozens of pop-up canopies where various sponsors had tables. Reuben followed Amber’s gaze, chuckling when he realized her eyes were focused intently on the smoke rising from the grills. “Hungry?”

“Starving!” Amber replied, unbuckling her seatbelt and taking a deep breath.

Reuben could see her hands shaking despite the smile on her face. He hurried to open the door for Amber and helped her out, locked the car, and tenderly took one of those shaking hands in his own. “You’ve got this. You don’t have to give your permission for anyone to interview you. My job is to schmooze the reporters; yours is just to eat as much as you want and have fun.”

“ That I can definitely handle.”

The couple made a bee-line for the barbeque, Amber holding Reuben’s hand tightly and her shoulder brushing his. She didn’t leave his side even a half step until they reached the buffet table. It was laden with salads, buns, toppings, condiments, and desserts.

While his girlfriend busied herself making a plate, Reuben kept his eyes busy looking for George Bracken. According to Stella, George was their best ‘in’ for getting a positive article in The MB Tribune. Something about his sister in law being a supernatural? Truth be told, Reuben had stopped listening by that point.

Amber piled her plate high and finally stepped away from the line with a beaming grin on her face. By the gods her smile is so beautiful, Reuben thought as he led Amber over to an unoccupied table beneath an umbrella. Despite having put on his sunscreen this time, the vampire still did his best to stay out of the sun as much as possible.

“How is the food?” he asked as Amber took a very large bite from her hamburger. She chewed a few times and gave him a thumbs-up, her eyes bright with happiness. “Good! That’s what I like to hear. Once you’re finished, we can go wander the booths, hm? I’m sure there are lots of door prizes and things you can enter to win if you want to.”

Amber swallowed and nodded. “Sure! I do like free things.” She took another large bite and Reuben couldn’t keep his eyes off her. He sat on his chair with one foot on the chair next to him and his baseball cap pulled down low over his brow. The plain white t-shirt he wore lifted a little, exposing his side just a sliver over the stone-washed blue jeans.

Around the couple, people were definitely staring. Reuben did his best to ignore them in favor of conversing with Amber between bites, the pair laughing at their soft conversation. Nobody approached them at first, instead choosing to gossip.

Until a large, bushy black man with a well-oiled mustache and a twinkle in his eye wandered over with an open can of soda in his hand. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the Reuben DeVito. I heard rumors you might be here, and it seems they were right.”

Reuben put his foot back on the grass and gestured toward the free chair. “Ah, Mr. Bracken! I had heard rumors about your own fine self.” The vampire extended a hand and George shook it cheerfully before taking the offered seat.

“Oh, come now. This is a casual setting, Reuben. Call me George, eh? And who might this lovely little lady be?” George turned that warm smile on Amber, who half-hid her face behind Reuben’s back.

“Thank you, George,” Reuben replied, wrapping an arm around Amber and pulling her protectively against his side. “This is my girlfriend, Amber. Amber, this is George Bracken.”

Amber waved shyly and George began to laugh. It was a deep laugh, rising up from the belly and full of honey. “Nice to meet you, Amber! Never thought I’d see the day that Reuben found himself a girl, but good on you for managing to pull him away from his work. I swear, every time one of my journalists attends anything resembling a charity event, there’s Mr. DeVito in the thick of it.”

Reuben did his best not to show any signs of embarrassment, but his knee bounced slightly anyway. “Yes, it was certainly unexpected for me, too. But you know how these kinds of things go. Showing up when you least expect it.” To calm himself, Reuben rested his cheek against Amber’s hair and took a deep breath. She smelled of lilac, green apple, and citrus.

George’s glittering eyes missed nothing of the movement, but as far as Reuben could tell, the man didn’t seem displeased. “Have you two checked which team you’re on yet? This year they named them ‘The Pens’ and ‘The Swords.’ Personally, I’ll be rooting for the Pens. Everyone knows they’re mightier than the sword.”

Reuben’s left eyebrow raised. “I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

“It’s tradition!” George exclaimed in exaggerated shock. “Every year, the Falcons split their major league players into two teams, and the other half of each team is made up of the sponsors’ representatives who play a single inning each. It’s just a fun, casual game of baseball after the barbeque with prizes for the winning team. You and your plus one should be on the same team and the same inning.” He gestured toward the Tribune ’s tent. “The lists are over there.”

“Stella neglected to mention that part,” Reuben sighed, his eyes darting to the tent and back to George. “Are you sure they want me to play? What with my abilities and all?”

George chuckled and took a swig of his soda. “Things are changing, my boy. Slowly, but they are changing. Why don’t you go show them that supernaturals can play without cheating? That would make a great headline for the sports section, actually. ‘Vampire leads team to victory at The MB Tribune’s yearly baseball game!’ Who knows? It might help start a discussion about allowing supernaturals back on sports teams.”

“What do you think, sweetheart?” Reuben asked, turning to face Amber. “I told you I wouldn’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, and I meant it.”

After a moment of thought, Amber shrugged her shoulders. “I suppose we could play. I can’t imagine we’re the only ones who won’t know what we’re doing out there. It might be kind of fun.”

“You heard the little lady! We’ll see you on the field, Reuben.” George gave the couple a wink and sauntered off to find someone else to talk to. Amber and Reuben watched him go with bemused looks on their faces.

Amber finished the rest of her plate and folded it in half. “Well, he was super nice! I rather liked him. Shall we go check the teams before we explore the rest of the booths?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Reuben rose and took Amber’s hand again to follow her to the trash can. He wasn’t as immediately taken by George as Amber was, but it had been nice that the man didn’t flinch at the handshake or seem the least bit afraid. Reuben had crossed paths with George plenty of times in the past, but never actually took the time to talk to him before today.

Amber pulled Reuben to the Tribune ’s tent and eagerly scanned the team lists, grinning when she found their names. “Look at that, Benji! They really did include us! We’re playing for the Swords.”

“Good for us,” Reuben replied.