Death Becomes Him - 44

Twenty-four hours later Trent and Rory were sitting in the parlor of Phillip and Sienna’s newest home at the corner of Ursulines and Royal in the Quarter. On the exterior the house looked much as it had one hundred years ago, kept up but vacant. Even the ground floor, should one peer through a crack in the shutters, looked empty, the floors covered with a thick layer of dust. After all, who would actually be willing to live in what had once been the vampire Jacques St. Germain’s residence? Phillip and Sienna were. He had bought it, through a human emissary, fifty years ago, soon after a hurricane had once again devastated the city. After refurbishing the second floor, they had moved in.

“This is much nicer than the place above the shop,” Rory said after Phillip had shown him and Trent around and they’d caught up on what had happened since they’d last seen each other.

“I agree,” Phillip replied. “Although I still own that building as well.”

Trent chuckled. “You probably own half the buildings in the Quarter, if the truth were known.”

“Only five,” Sienna told him, grinning. “And with the exception of this one they’re all being used by humans.”

“Even the shop?” Rory asked, sounding somewhat wistful.

Phillip nodded, studying him. “For the moment. Why? Are you perhaps interested in it?”

Rory glanced at Trent then nodded. “We were talking about starting up a tour company again. Of course we haven’t come to any decision yet but from what you said a while ago the ones that are around leave something to be desired.”

“Truthfully, most of them have fallen by the wayside. None of the owners had the flair you did for making a tour exciting. They became rote and anyone with an ounce of sense could have picked up a guide book and wandered around on their own, something the tourists seem to have learned.”

“So,” Rory said, smiling broadly, “if I started it up again I, we, could have a very successful venture on our hands. Again.”

Phillip nodded. “I think so.”

Trent tapped a finger to his lips. “You said the shop was in use ‘at the moment’. Meaning what?”

“The woman who’s renting it has decided to retire when the lease is up.” Phillip smiled knowingly at his two young friends. “That will happen a month from now, so if you’re interested.”

* * * *

Two months later Rory and Trent were living in the apartment above the shop while they ran the most successful ‘Ghost and Vampire’ tour group ever to hit the city of New Orleans.

As Rory put it, “We have now come full circle and survived what happened in the process.”

Laughingly, Trent had agreed. “Although,” he added, “I’m not certain some people would agree with ‘survived’. After all we are dead. But I’m not complaining one little bit.” He hugged Rory tightly. “Better dead than alone.”

“Dead and living it, to misquote a movie title,” Rory replied before kissing him heartily. “I have you in my life, a new home for the foreseeable future, old friends around us. Who could ask for more?”

“Not I. Not now, not ever.”

The End