"Hi! Nice to see you again G."

"Nice to see you too. What will you have?"  I got us two latte's, and a brownie. I kinda wanted to see her eat some "food". I don't know a lot about vampires, but I don't think they eat real food. "Split a brownie with me." I broke off a piece and put it between us. She reached over and broke off a piece and took a big bite.

"How's the brownie?" She took another bite and nodded.

"I didn't know what to think of what you told me. I thought it was a very interesting fantasy . . . role playing".

"I can see that. But it's the truth." She sipped her coffee and looked over the rim of the cup at me.

"You're lovely. Hard to imagine that you're over 35, much less 15 times that. You're enjoying sweet coffee and a brownie."

"And vampires only drink blood? Right?"

"From what I understand. But then again I'm curious and hoped you would understand."

"Vampires need blood to be "sustained". I don't hunt every night, in fact I haven't in awhile and I think it's why I'm having dreams and waking up not really remembering what I've done."

"You're physical needs are taking over?"

"Yes. Exactly."

We talked and I asked her to tell me about herself. She has parents, went to high school and college. She's not a vegetarian, but eats little meat. She likes to listen to ColdPlay and swims well, although she can't seem to get the hang of surfing. She's very easy to look at and has beautiful brown eyes and a very nice laugh when I make a face or be sarcastic. She had a pregnancy "scare" when she was 21, it could have been one or the other of two guys and a vacation alone in Cancun. She has an apartment in West Hollywood and needs a new car, but can't bring herself to "go through all the pressure" of picking one out and getting a price. She graduated USC with a degree in Psychology and had not studied since.

"You have all the parts of a very human life. Is that normal? Is it part of a facade? I don't understand how you could be both a daughter, a sister, very human, and be a . . ."

"Vampiress?"

"Yes. A very pretty one though."  She smiled at me and enjoyed being called pretty. I'm sure she's well aware she's pretty and gets a lot of attention.

"What if I were to explain it like I know I've been reincarnated?"

"I have dear friends who believe in Reincarnation. But, I don't understand how "you" mean it."

"I have lived different lives, but always as a vampire. My "spirit" is a vampire. I gradually became aware of my previous lives, like other people become aware of their past lives, as I grew up . . . You, for instance are a soldier, an officer to be exact, and you have been, many times, each life repeats itself in your spirit. You are a soldier, an officer, a protector."

"I served in the Marines. But . . . you had a 50/50 chance of getting that right"

"Then why did I bring "that" up?  You were an officer weren't you?"

"Yes, but then again . . ."

"I'm not wrong. You know General Patton believed in reincarnation. Like in the movie."

"Yes. I know many who entertain the idea. But they always seem to be celebrities like Cleopatra or the king or queen of something".

"You were a commanding officer, many times, you have a protective soul. You were once Hebrew I believe"

"You "recognize" me?"

"No, not you per se, but your spirit. Isn't that what your friend says to you?"

"Yes. He does. But that's a good guess"

"Yes, it could be but I'm two for two. IN Hebrew there is a word for you . . ."

"Yes. Beshert. I know about that."

"How do you know?"
"A Rabbi kinda took me in after my dad died. When I was a teenager."

"And you think that was coincidence?"

"Well he never mentioned believing in reincarnation, and I worked for him doing chores and taking care of the livestock. I was in high school. He didn't have a son and we grew very close".

"He told you a LOT about yourself, didn't he?"  I didn't say anything.

She smiled. She took the last of the brownie and sipped her coffee and looked at me over the rim of the cup again and raised an eyebrow.

"WHAT?"

"YOu don't believe me. But I'm right. This is just some kind of  . . . crazy conversation"

"Well it's a crazy conversation with a very pretty girl . . . who I would be afraid to French Kiss"  She laughed at that.

"Or . . . let me . . . after all Vampiresses "suck" blood"

"The thought crossed my mind.  So, I came into the bank and you recognized my "spirit"?

"Something like that  . . . yes. Didn't your friend say the same thing? That he recognized something familar about you?"

"Yes. But we had that conversation after we became friends . . . and we'd been drinking"

"But he just said what he felt. He never took it back?"

"No. He does believe he and I are old friends."

"Hundreds of years old?"

"Yes."

"You're very close to him and his family."
"Yes. But again, that is a good assumption"

"You were a soldier, an officer. Each time. The same thing."
"So do you and I have a previous life? Were we lovers? Enemies? Competitors?"

"We were acquainted. I was always a vampire."

We had been talking for the better part of an hour. She sat patiently and kept looking at me to see my reaction and we didn't say anything until we finished the coffee.

"I dont' know what to think about you"  I sat there and she smiled.

"I got it all right didn't I?"

"You made a good assumption and built on it"

"How did I know about the Rabbi? You're being Hebrew in one life? You being a soldier? An officer?"

"I don't know."
"I'm hungry. I could eat. There's a nice place next door."  She sat there with her hands in her lap and looked at me.

"Okay. Let's do that"
"Okay. Let's"

We got up, I helped her on with her jacket. On the way out I gave a couple of dollars to two homeless women who were just outside Starbucks on Brockton.

"You're a nice guy G. Men don't just give money and look at people like you do . . . a protector."

"And you . . . YOU are really a vampire and need blood to sustain yourself? YOu wake up at night covered in blood and don't have a mate to satisfy your carnal needs when you hunt?"

"Yes!!  Yes, exactly. . . . ."  I opened the door to the restaurant for her, she took my arm . . .

"Table for two?" 

G.

P.S. She had the prime rib . . . rare on the inside, seared on the outside . . . .