Chapter Five
Frank
Frank couldn’t help overhearing. It was like his ears were tuned to only hear Violet’s voice and what he heard made his heart race.
She thought he was the sexiest man alive.
He smirked, knowing if she knew he heard her, she would try to backtrack but there was no taking it back now. She said it. He heard it. And now, he had hope. That was all he needed. Hope.
Hope was something he could thrive on. It made him feel lighter than all of the alcohol and cheese. It made him lighter than when he was soaring in the air. Hope was just as good as flying, sometimes, but he wasn’t going to tell his friends that. There would be more jokes about his love life, and he didn’t need that right now.
Frank couldn’t help how he felt. He knew that he liked Violet. He knew he liked the way her voice sounded when she spoke to him at the bar. He knew that he would enjoy having more conversations with her and making her smile and laugh, just like he did when he wasn’t even trying.
This doubt could have been avoided if he could read her thoughts. He could have taken a peek into what she was thinking, and before Violet even left his office, he would have known that she liked him and that she thought he was sexy. He wouldn’t have had to worry about being rejected, or only being seen as an accountant when he wanted to be more than that for her. But he couldn’t. Jack was the only one in their Flight who could.
He could only do what every ordinary dragon could do. He could turn invisible, sense his Flight—including their partners or fire maidens, see at far distances, and push out his magic to sense things around him. That was it. Frank frowned, none of that was helping him. Instead of focusing on what he couldn’t do, he focused on her words and how they were filled with hope.
* * * *
When Frank woke up the next morning, Violet was still on his mind. She wasn’t the worst image to wake up to, though. Still feeling light, he decided he needed to keep the feeling going for as long as possible.
As he walked outside his home, he couldn’t help but take in a deep breath of the cool air. The sun was shining, bright and warm, but there was a slight breeze, causing a subtle chill in the air. Frank could barely feel it, but he felt the sun. Days like this were always the best for him. It was a bright day without a cloud in the sky, and it made him feel alive. The sun was high, and he wanted to be as far in the air and follow it for as long as possible. In three hundred years, he hadn’t found a better feeling than waking up to days that were perfect for taking to the sky.
He could feel himself shifting in the glittering sun. His black scales reflected perfectly, shining like obsidian in the bright sunlight. His wings started to lift him, and he powered off of the ground and into the air. He went higher and higher until everything below him looked small and insignificant. The town was an ant farm to him, and he loved it.
He loved the rush of air as it passed beneath his wings, and he loved being close to the sun. Even if the chill grew as he got higher, he was warm. He could handle some cold as long as he could feel the warmth of the sun touch his scales and wings. Flying made everything make sense.
His primitive instincts took over, and thoughts of Violet moved the back of his mind. All of his thoughts were focused on pushing his wings up and down, and getting the breeze to hit him in the right way so he could glide in the air. His brain was all about flying, and nothing else, and it made him feel like everything was alright.
He couldn’t fly forever, though. He knew he would need to stop and get food because, after a certain time in the air, all he could think about was food. It turned into an invasive thought, and he needed to land. Unfortunately, he was nowhere near his hohouseme, and he was too hungry to fly all the way back.
Instincts once again took over, and he turned invisible. It wasn’t his favorite thing to do, but sometimes it was necessary like it was at that moment, so he turned invisible and flew into the town. No one knew he was near them. No one suspected anything was out of the ordinary.
Sometimes invisibility had its perks, but sometimes it felt like an invasion of privacy. He didn’t want to misuse any ability that he had. Invisibility could be useful, but sometimes it felt wrong to use it. In his hunger, though, he didn’t care, so he used his ability and found an area no one was near so he could come back to being visible.
He stopped and got a hamburger. He contemplated ordering a cheeseburger, but it felt like cheating to get a buzz so early in the day, especially if he wasn’t with any of his friends. One slice of cheese wouldn’t do much, but it still felt wrong. When he was done eating, he found a secluded area so he could become invisible and take to the sky once again.
Frank had to call his mother. It had been some time since his last call, and he knew she would want an update on his life. It’s what always happened, so with a sigh, he called his mother, waiting for the questions to start.
“Frank, hi! How’s your life treating you?” she asked, and he could hear the smile in her voice.
“It’s good. Work is exhausting, but the money’s coming in, so that’s good.” He wouldn’t mention Violet. He wasn’t sure that would lead anywhere, and he didn’t want his mother to get involved in his love life.
“Anything else going on?”
“Hung out with the guys the other night, ran into some other friends. Nothing out of the ordinary.” He hoped that she wouldn’t sense anything else in his voice.
“What other friends?”
“Just Claire and some of her friends.”
“How is Claire doing?”
“She’s great, Mom. She got me some new work. I’m doing some accounting for one of her friends.”
And there it was. Violet had been mentioned, just like he didn’t want to do. His mother was always great at making him accidentally overshare. He wished he understood how she was capable of doing it every time.
“What’s the business?”
“It’s a jewelry store.” He sighed. He couldn’t believe he was telling her this, but the thought of jewelry always excited him.
“Oh, wow. That sounds perfect for you.”
“Yeah, she’s great. I mean, it’s great.”
“She’s great? What’s her name?”
Frank had hoped that she wouldn’t catch the slip-up, but of course, she did. She was always catching him in moments like this, so this wasn’t going to be any different.
“Violet, but Mom, I don’t want to talk about it.”
There was no point. While he loved that Violet was interested, it wouldn’t go anywhere. They were different, very different, and he didn’t want just a one-night stand with her. He wanted something real, but what if she didn’t feel the same way? What if she only wanted a hookup, or what if she wanted something real, but not with something like him? There was hope this morning, but then he remembered the differences, and they could be too much for her. He had hope, but the doubt had come back.
This was not the conversation he wanted to have with his mother, of all people. She would hope, too, and she would always ask about her, and he couldn’t deal with that, especially since Violet kept coming back to his mind on her own. He didn’t need the reminder from an outside source too.
“You don’t want to talk about it?” she asked, and he could imagine her neck rolling.
“No, Mom, I don’t.” He didn’t want to let her know it was because he had no idea what to do.
“And when has that ever stopped me?” She chuckled. “Frankford Radcliffe Lodge, you are not the boss of me.” He could tell she was revving up to go, and she was a dragon. Of course, she wasn’t going to let her son tell her off. No matter that he was her only son. “I have a husband, and I have a child. Guess which one you are.”
He sighed, knowing there was nothing else he could say.
“That’s right,” she said taking his silence as an answer. “You are the child. And I am the mother. And right now, my baby has some explaining to do. So, I will wait until you tell me. I have all my life.”
She had been saying that since he could remember. Claire told him human parents say, “I have all day.” Same phrase, different parent, the only difference is dragons really did have all their life. They were technically immortal. Sure, they could die from old age… very, very, very old age or from a mortal wound. Guns killed everybody. No one was spared that unfortunate turn of society.
“Fine,” he said, fisting his hair. “She’s great. I like her, and I just have to figure out how to make her like me back.”
“Oh, I’m sure she likes you. The son I raised is handsome, charming, and a gentleman,” she said. “I recall the little dragons following you around in high school.”
Frank was so glad his mom couldn’t see him blushing on the other end of the phone.
“You know how dragons are. She just needs some convincing. You have to woo her. Get her some food, take her out on a night fly, and show her your hoard. Why are you acting like this is so hard? Did your father teach you nothing?”
Frank was losing his patience.
“If you need some tips, I can have your uncles call you. It wasn’t so long ago that your father was wooing me. I can tell you a little thing or two about what dragon women like.”
“Mom, she’s not a dragon!”
By the stunned silence on the other end of the phone, he knew his mother had not been expecting that.
“Frank, I am sure I have misheard you.”
Ever since he could remember, his mother had promised him the right girl would come along and he was sure every time she said it, she meant a dragon woman. She never had to say it, but he knew that was what she meant.
“You didn’t. Violet is a human, Mom.”
“But. I don’t understand. I thought… I just always thought you weren’t into human girls. I mean, you never looked at any of them. You always seemed so…” Her frustration was clear. “I don’t know!”
“I know, Mom. I know.”
If he was being truthful, that’s what he had thought, too. It was what he envisioned. In his mind, he imagined living a long life with his wife behind him, never wondering, never having to explain, never having to be unsure if the secrets he held dear were going to be kept. His wife being a dragon would be simpler. Easier. Ideal.
“But Frank. This…” He hoped she didn’t say easier. “You must not have thought this through. I mean, how will you tell her about us? How do you know she will keep our secrets and know the importance of protecting the Flight? How will you be able to talk to her? And your dragon? What will she think when her husband turns out to be more than just a man? I mean, have you thought this through? And children! At the very least, tell me she’s a fire maiden because I want grandchildren.”
“And you can have grandchildren,” he said, trying to stop the flow of criticisms coming out of her mouth.
“Not dragon ones,” she retorted.” And what will the Flight say?”
“The Flight doesn’t get to tell me who to date,” Frank said, feeling like a child. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. Thankfully, she hadn’t interrupted. “Yes, Mom. I have thought about it. I have thought about it all. I know that Violet being human means I would only have human children, unless she’s a fire maiden. Of course, I know that. I’ve known that since I was born, but Violet does not. I don’t think she knows about any of this and if she was, Claire would have told me. She is human, and I have accepted that. I have accepted that I would be asking a lot of her. To accept me, my family, and our secrets. I realize I might frighten her, and she might not want to deal with everything that comes with being a dragon’s mate which is why I didn’t want to say anything. It’s complicated and a long shot but I don’t care, Mom!”
He paused, breathing hard and thinking faster than he could talk but his mouth said what his heart meant.
“I don’t want easy. Not if it means giving up Violet. I don’t know everything yet, and I will figure it out, but I know that I don’t care. Not anymore. You were right, Mom, I did envision my life one way. But that was before I met Violet.”
He sat there stunned by his own realization and repeated it again.
“That was before I met Violet, Mom. Everything is different now,” he said softer.
“I can certainly hear that,” she said.
Frank smiled. She was coming around.
“Tell me about her.”
“I already did,” he said, thinking it through. Violet had been on his mind the entire time. He decided to contact her. He wanted to do it right at that moment, but he was still talking to his mother.
“Yeah. The basics. Tell me more,” she said as he realized his mom wasn’t going to let him off the phone anytime soon. So, he went for an email.
His fingers typed, deleted, and typed some more as he told his mom about Violet, how he met her, and what he liked most about her.
Frank decided to go for a simple email asking if she would talk to him about her business. She responded quickly with an ‘Of course!’
Frank smiled at the screen just as his mom asked, “So when can I meet her?”
Frank emailed back, ‘Tomorrow at 9 am?’ and she sent a smiley face with a thumb’s up emoji.
“Hello? Frank?” his mother said on the other end.
“Sorry, Mom. I was doing something,” he said, slipping his phone back into his pocket.
“I get it. You’re busy. Too busy to talk to your mother. Too busy focusing on some girl to give your mother a few minutes of your time.”
“Mom, we’ve been talking on the phone for almost thirty minutes,” he said. “You’re never satisfied.”
“Of course not. I like to keep people on their toes,” she said with a regal air.
He laughed, but could only shake his head. “I’ll talk to you later, Mom.”
“Sooner, rather than later.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too. So much,” she said before hanging up.
As he stared at his email, he fully realized what he said to his mother, how he felt about Violet, and his excitement at the prospect of seeing her again.