yellow shadows and the dark leafless trees looked a bit menacing. When we got to the Wollman Ice Rink, which of course was closed, I told Sheldon I wished we could skate. I loved to skate and wasn’t half-bad at it.
“ Why not?” he said. “Let’s skate.”
“ Has it occurred to you that the rink is closed, plus we have no skates?”
“ No opening, no skates, no problem,” he said, lifting me up and flying me right over the stone wall that separated the rink from the park walkway around it.
“ Wow, you really have been practicing. Now, what do we do for skates?”
“ We depend on my magical powers,” he said, heading for the skate rental department at the back of the rink. “Just watch me.”
He broke in. No magical powers were involved, just a bit of skill in breaking and entering that he’d probably gathered over the centuries. Not really kosher but who cared? We grabbed two pairs of skates in our sizes, put them on and ice-danced together. Sheldon zipped around the ice, spun me in circles, and even lifted me over his head and twirled me. It was thrilling. I felt like Torville or Dean. I wish I remembered which one was which.
“ How did you learn to skate like this?” I gasped. I was out of breath from trying to keep up.
“ It’s cold in Transylvania in the winter, and we skated on the rivers to get around. I always loved it. Now it’s much easier since I’m so fast.”
“ I wonder if we could try out for the Olympics,” I joked. “For the night events only, of course.”
After our skate we went back to walking through the park, but while we were in one of the tunnels, two real live muggers actually did jump out at us. They were both just kids, dressed in baggy jeans, bomber jackets and caps, but scary kids because one had a knife and the other had a baseball bat.
“ Where’s your wallet, whitey?” the bigger one demanded. Obviously Sheldon’s tan hadn’t impressed him. “You give me that bag, bitch.” He grabbed for my bag.
Sheldon reached for his wallet. Then he moved so fast I couldn’t even see him. He became a blur and all of a sudden we were on the other side of the tunnel and the kids were both gone. When I looked at him he was shaking and I could see the white under the fake tan.
“ You were amazing.” I was numb with fear. “What did you do to those kids?”
“ I threw them. If you look, you’ll probably find them on the other side of those bushes, and not in good shape.”
“ So why do you look scared?”
“ They tried to mug us. What if they’d hurt you. Or me? I’m a rabbi, not a policeman.”
I forgot I was afraid too and started to laugh. “Scaredy-cat vampire, eh. Let’s go back to my place,” I said. “Between the champagne, the ice skating and the fear, I am really lusting after your undead bod.”
“ I’m sorry, Rhoda, I have to go to a meeting. I don’t want to miss B.A. tonight. I’ve committed to ninety meetings in ninety days. I had a relapse a month ago. I raided a blood bank.”
“ What? What do you mean?” I was stunned at this new information.
“ My B.A. meetings, Bloodaholics Anonymous. It’s how I keep my impulses under control. You can come with me if you want to.”
It was 2 am and I wanted nothing more than to get into bed with Sheldon and do the nasty, but I certainly didn’t want to get in the way of his sobriety. Plus I couldn’t imagine what a B.A. meeting could be like and my curiosity got the better of my lust.
“ I’d love to go. Where is it?”
“ Not in a church basement,” Sheldon laughed. “Follow me.”
Chapter Eleven
I wasn’t surprised when Sheldon led me to the basement of a ratty little synagogue on the Lower East Side: Temple Beth El. You never would have known it was a synagogue unless you looked closely for the Hebrew lettering on the door
We went down some stairs to a basement entrance, to a room with about forty people in it—all vampires, I supposed. The smoke was so thick I could
“ Why not?” he said. “Let’s skate.”
“ Has it occurred to you that the rink is closed, plus we have no skates?”
“ No opening, no skates, no problem,” he said, lifting me up and flying me right over the stone wall that separated the rink from the park walkway around it.
“ Wow, you really have been practicing. Now, what do we do for skates?”
“ We depend on my magical powers,” he said, heading for the skate rental department at the back of the rink. “Just watch me.”
He broke in. No magical powers were involved, just a bit of skill in breaking and entering that he’d probably gathered over the centuries. Not really kosher but who cared? We grabbed two pairs of skates in our sizes, put them on and ice-danced together. Sheldon zipped around the ice, spun me in circles, and even lifted me over his head and twirled me. It was thrilling. I felt like Torville or Dean. I wish I remembered which one was which.
“ How did you learn to skate like this?” I gasped. I was out of breath from trying to keep up.
“ It’s cold in Transylvania in the winter, and we skated on the rivers to get around. I always loved it. Now it’s much easier since I’m so fast.”
“ I wonder if we could try out for the Olympics,” I joked. “For the night events only, of course.”
After our skate we went back to walking through the park, but while we were in one of the tunnels, two real live muggers actually did jump out at us. They were both just kids, dressed in baggy jeans, bomber jackets and caps, but scary kids because one had a knife and the other had a baseball bat.
“ Where’s your wallet, whitey?” the bigger one demanded. Obviously Sheldon’s tan hadn’t impressed him. “You give me that bag, bitch.” He grabbed for my bag.
Sheldon reached for his wallet. Then he moved so fast I couldn’t even see him. He became a blur and all of a sudden we were on the other side of the tunnel and the kids were both gone. When I looked at him he was shaking and I could see the white under the fake tan.
“ You were amazing.” I was numb with fear. “What did you do to those kids?”
“ I threw them. If you look, you’ll probably find them on the other side of those bushes, and not in good shape.”
“ So why do you look scared?”
“ They tried to mug us. What if they’d hurt you. Or me? I’m a rabbi, not a policeman.”
I forgot I was afraid too and started to laugh. “Scaredy-cat vampire, eh. Let’s go back to my place,” I said. “Between the champagne, the ice skating and the fear, I am really lusting after your undead bod.”
“ I’m sorry, Rhoda, I have to go to a meeting. I don’t want to miss B.A. tonight. I’ve committed to ninety meetings in ninety days. I had a relapse a month ago. I raided a blood bank.”
“ What? What do you mean?” I was stunned at this new information.
“ My B.A. meetings, Bloodaholics Anonymous. It’s how I keep my impulses under control. You can come with me if you want to.”
It was 2 am and I wanted nothing more than to get into bed with Sheldon and do the nasty, but I certainly didn’t want to get in the way of his sobriety. Plus I couldn’t imagine what a B.A. meeting could be like and my curiosity got the better of my lust.
“ I’d love to go. Where is it?”
“ Not in a church basement,” Sheldon laughed. “Follow me.”
Chapter Eleven
I wasn’t surprised when Sheldon led me to the basement of a ratty little synagogue on the Lower East Side: Temple Beth El. You never would have known it was a synagogue unless you looked closely for the Hebrew lettering on the door
We went down some stairs to a basement entrance, to a room with about forty people in it—all vampires, I supposed. The smoke was so thick I could
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