Even though she’d come back from her trip more at peace with herself, Eliza still felt unsettled.  There was such an empty place in her.  She knew she needed something to fill this, although she wasn’t sure what it was.  She stood lost in thought.

Standing at the window watching the twinkling of the night lights outside, Eliza was happy with the way Cindy and Mark seemed to hit it off.  They hadn’t been all that hard to set up and they also seemed to have a lot in common.  Then why did she have this unsettled feeling.  She knew there was someone or hoped there was someone out there for her.  “She needed someone to protect her..........now where did that thought come from?” Eliza wondered.  The more she thought about it, the more sense it made.  She was always protecting others, so where was the someone who would protect her?  Why did she always seem to lose the men in her life?

She had been unsettled since she had gotten the e-mail from Jesse.  It had been so good to hear from him, she hadn’t realized just how much she had missed him.  This made the yearning for someone in her own life more poignant.  She did know that if she needed him, he was only an e-mail away.  Eliza laughed to herself.  Yeah, right, an e-mail away.  That could be a lifetime if I need immediate help. 

Sighing, she turned from the window, moving to the computer to answer Jesse’s mail.  She didn’t want him to know how much she missed him.  She understood the need for distance.  Eliza hadn’t seen any evidence of hunters here, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any.  Thinking of hunters, Eliza remembered the last e-mail from Vicki and Jimmy.  They were still trying to find out where she’d gone.  She knew that she wouldn’t tell them, both for they’re safety and her own.  She didn’t feel she could trust them now.  So she stuck to newsy news.  Things that were happening and how she felt.  

Right now, she was bored......bored......BORED.  Leafing through the newspaper, she came to the classifieds.  Nope, she wasn’t interested in the Lonely Hearts section.  No indeed, she had enough problems of her own.  No she didn’t want to buy anything, she was well supplied with stuff.  Jobs......now that was an idea.  Maybe it would alleviate her boredom.  She looked at some of the listings.  Well, the fact that they were day jobs, eliminated about three quarters of them.  Actually there were two that looked interesting.  They were totally opposite of each other, but appealed to her just the same.

The first was a security guard at night. The hours would fit right in.  Although, now that she thought about it, she wasn’t sure that was exactly what she wanted.  She was alone too much of the time now.  This would enforce the aloneness and that’s what she was trying to escape.

The second, was more her speed.  Although she wasn’t sure she’d be able to do what they wanted.  She’d never done it in front of a crowd before.  Always a first time for everything, she thought.  It might be fun, the thought of lots of people around was somehow frightening though.  She’d never backed away from a challenge yet and now wasn’t the time to start.  Eliza thought she would try for both.  Then she could choose whichever was offered, if either were.  She was dependent on a job, but it would ease the lonesomeness some.

She gathered the papers together, leaving the classified want ads folded to the two jobs she had marked.  Placing the papers in a neat pile, she straightened up the living room and moved to take her shower and dress for the coming night.  
 

Leaving the steamy bathroom, Eliza headed for her bedroom.  Standing in front of her closet, she reached in and took out her favorite outfit.  Dressing slowly, she donned the soft leather skirt, wine colored blouse and soft leather vest, she knew she looked good.  Adding a pair of open leather shoes, she was ready.  She still added no jewelry, feeling it took away from the look.

Heading back to the kitchen, she pulled the classified ads to her and looked again at the address of the one job she’d marked.  Maybe she would kill two birds with one stone, seeking an interview and enjoying herself at the same time.  

As she left the apartment and rode down in the empty elevator, she had to chuckle.  This was something she had never thought to try.  Eliza knew she wanted to be a librarian as soon as she’d discovered books.  She loved the feel, smell and sight of them.  She had realized that dream and it had held her enthralled until she’d become a vampire.  At that time, she hadn’t needed to work.  She had all she could do to learn what she needed to know to keep her alive and to understand what was happening to her.  That time had ended.  Now she was bored.  She thought she’d learned all she needed to know.  Although she knew she was still not sure of all she had at her fingertips.  She was still learning and always would be.  Things changed.  Now she was bored and lonely.  Time to find something to fill her time.  Laughing again, she added one more thing to her list.  One, get the job, two, have some fun at it, and three, provide herself with some snacks and agreeable donors at the same time.  Oh this was just priceless.  She still felt a tremor of nervousness though.  

This time she wasn’t going to blink, think or flash herself there.  She’d walk, take a cab or a bus, like a ‘normal’ human.  Chuckling as she thought that, Eliza realized she’d never be a ‘normal’ human again. Ever!

She walked along at a brisk pace, humming to herself as she did.  She found herself walking in time to the beat of the song she had running through her head.  There were people walking along the sidewalk, smiling at her as she passed.  It was easy to smile at her, she looked as if she was totally enjoying herself.  Which she was.  Lost in the music, walking along with a smile on her face, people responded in kind.  She was a pretty sight to behold anyway.  She appeared to others, younger than her years.  So people seemed more indulgent towards her than would be the case.

Sooner than she thought, she arrived at the club.  She was surprised that it wasn’t that far from her apartment and it was in a very nice section of the city.  Listening to the music from the building, she had a distinct feeling of nervousness.  How was she going to pull this off?  The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to the job.  This would keep her among people, where the other would just re-enforce her aloneness.  Straightening her back, she pushed open the door and walked in.

Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light of the entrance hall.  Looking around, she saw a young woman dressed in the club’s theme.  Walking over to her, Eliza managed to draw her attention.  Quietly, she said she was answering the ad in the paper and could she tell her who she should see?

The young woman looked her up and down, and with a look of doubt told her to walk down the hallway and knock on the second door on the left.  The owner of the club was in there and would talk to her there.  Eliza thanked her with a smile and moved off down the hall.

The other girl looked after her and shook her head.  This one didn’t look more than twelve years old.  She’d bet she wasn’t old enough to drink, let alone be in this club.  “Oh well, it wasn’t her problem.  Let the boss handle it,” she thought.

Eliza smiled to herself, she knew what the other girl was thinking.  “Boy, will she be surprised if I’m hired,” she thought.  This caused her to laugh outright.  She knew what she looked like and realized she seemed younger than she had before.  Drawing a deep breath, she turned back and knocked on the door.

“C’mon in,” a voice shouted.  As Eliza walked in the door, she saw the owner of the voice sitting behind a desk.  The voice didn’t go with its owner.  Dressed to the hilt in a three piece suit, this guy looked like he should be riding herd on a bunch of cows out on the range somewhere. He looked uncomfortable, as if he felt as out of place as he looked. 

Looking at her, he asked in a twangy voice, “what can I do for you little lady?”  Looking closer, he was about to ask if she was old enough to be here, when Eliza jumped in with, “well I’m here to answer the ad in the paper.”

With a loud guffaw, he said just the thing she didn’t want to hear.  “Little lady, are you sure you're in the right place?”  

Eliza could feel her temper flash.  Two things really set her off.  One was that little lady and the other was asking something as if she didn’t know exactly what she was doing.  With a slight sting in her words, Eliza answered back, “I am neither a ‘little lady’ nor lost.  I know exactly where I am and why I’m here.”

“Well little......honey, you are very young looking for your age.  I’ll have to card you before we even start to talk business,” he commented.  He looked at Eliza as if expecting her to start walking out the door.

With a little smile, Eliza reached into her purse and handed him her license.  It had a picture, also her date of birth. 

He looked with surprise at the date and looked again at Eliza. “This is a fake, it must be,” he said.  “You look way to young to be this age.”

Eliza looked at him and smiled.  “Thanks for the compliment, a lady never likes to look her age.”  She went on and told him that she would give him references he could check in the morning to confirm that she was the age her license stated.  That she’d been in the vicinity of the club and thought she would see if he would interview her for the job he’d listed in the paper.  If he didn’t want to, that was fine, she would still visit the club.

He agreed to talk about the job, wanting to know if she had any experience at all.  Not in this field she told him.  “I was a librarian previously.  I came into a little money and left the library.  Now I find I’m bored, although I don’t wish to go back to the library,” Eliza told him.

Looking into his eyes with sincerity, Eliza told him that she would really like to try this type of job.  She liked people, seemed to be well liked, had never been in trouble.  Although at that one, she crossed her fingers behind her back.  While she was looking into his eyes so intently, she gave him a little mental suggestion that he give her a trial.  As she finished talking, he gave his head a tiny shake, as if to clear his head.

“Well, little.....young lady, lets see how the people will take to you as the new club singer.
If they take to you, you have the job pending checking your references,” he said.  “Do you have a costume?”

Eliza replied that she didn’t and if it was alright, she’d just like to sing as she was now.  She didn’t have any fancy costumes and felt she didn’t need any.  If she got the job, then she’d see.

He told her that was fine.  He also told her his name was Stan and asked her name.  She told him and they decided that her name was fine as is.  There was no need at this point to make one up.  Although she would appear using only Eliza.  Radu not being a countrified name.  He looked at her again and realized that she really was a tiny person.  He wasn’t that tall, but she came to just below his shoulder.  She really looked as if she would need protection from the rowdies that he knew sometimes filled the place.  Well the band members would watch out for her if necessary.  “Whoa,” he thought to himself, he was acting as if she already had the job.  He didn’t know why, but it seemed very important that he hire her.  He led Eliza backstage and motioned for the leader of the small band.  As they were about to go on stage, all the members were there and turned to look at Eliza.  Unless someone was looking, they wouldn’t have seen the startled look that crossed the drummers face and was quickly controlled.  Both Stan and Eliza had been looking at Chris, the leader of the group.

He sauntered over and Stan introduced him to Eliza, saying that she was going to try out as the new singer.  Chris looked Eliza up and down, then with a smile held out his hand.  “Howdy,” he said.  “Ever sung in a Country Western band before, darlin?”

Affecting a country drawl, Eliza said that she never had but was willing to try if they were willing to give her a try.

With a shake of his head, as if to say “Oh brother, heaven help me” Chris said, “Well, it will either be your funeral or your big debut.”  With a motion to the rest of the band, they headed on stage and Chris grabbed the microphone.  He gained the attention of the crowd and said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to present, for the first time in this club, Eliza!!!!!!!!”

Eliza realized that they hadn’t even discussed what she’d sing and knew he was trying to put her at a disadvantage right at the start.  Taking a deep breath, she walked slowly forward until she was standing next to him at the microphone.  With a smile to the crowd, she took the microphone that Chris handed her and silently waited for him to pick up his guitar.  By letting him chose the song, she knew she could very well be in trouble.  She turned to look at him, standing there almost small and defenseless.  He felt a strange feeling flow through him and started playing the beginning chords of a well known country song.

With a smile, Eliza reached out and took the mic from the stand and waited for the introduction to finish.  Taking a deep breath, she started singing the words.  With a very visible start of surprise, Chris quickly looked at her, respect dawning in his gaze.  Her voice was slightly husky, sort of the smoky, husky, sexy voice of the blues singer.  

The room fell silent as they seemed to fall under the spell of Eliza’s voice.  Everyone’s eyes were riveted to the small figure standing in the glare of the spotlight.  They knew that she was enjoying what she was doing by the look on her face.  

When she finished the song, there was a silence that seemed to go on forever.  Then suddenly, the applause was deafening, not only applause, but foot stomping, and whistles.
The band launched into another familiar song and Eliza had no trouble following.  Again there was silence, as all was enraptured listening to her.  It was almost as if a spell had been cast on the room.

Finishing the second song, the applause and whistling began again.  With a smile, Chris moved forward and taking Eliza’s hand tried to get the room to calm down.  Standing there waiting, he leaned and whispered in her ear, “if it’s up to me, Eliza, you have the job.”  Eliza smiled up at Chris.  Just as she went to turn away, she caught the eye of the drummer.  With a start, she got the impression that she knew him.  With a shiver running down her back, she broke eye contact with him and moved back from the front of the stage.  She turned slowly and walked backstage to come face to face with Stan.

“Little...............young lady, you have the job,” Stan told her.  “You can start tomorrow, if that’s all right with you.  I’ll check your references and we can discuss pay and sign the deal then.”  Stan held his big paw of a hand out to Eliza, who grasped it firmly and shook it.

“You’ve got yourself a deal, Stan,” Eliza said.  With a shiver, she looked back over her shoulder and again caught the gaze of the drummer.  It was really strange.  She felt she should know him, yet he didn’t look at all familiar. In a way though, he reminded her of Jesse.  “It must be the fact that he’s a drummer too,” she thought. 

With a smile at Stan, Eliza made her way out the door and headed home.  She was sort of surprised at herself.  She knew or thought she knew, that she sounded very good when she was singing in the shower.  She didn’t know that other people thought she sounded good too, until tonight.  It was a surprise.  She knew she’d shocked the band.  No one ever expected her to have the throaty, sexy voice she had.

She thought herself home and entered the building.  Waiting for the elevator, she heard the entrance door open,  voices approaching.  It was the same couple she’d seen on several other occasions.  With a smile to each other, they all entered the elevator.  Eliza pushed the button for the eighth floor, while they were going to the ninth.  She smiled again as she stepped off the elevator at her floor.

Walking down the hallway, she opened her door and entered the apartment.  Tossing her purse on the couch, she noticed that she had e-mail.  Heading for her bedroom, Eliza thought she’d get comfortable and then read her mail.  Probably another from Jesse, since she’d answered his several days ago.  They seemed to average every three days or so between mail.  Making herself comfortable, she donned an old ratty robe.  She headed for the kitchen and made a cup of tea.  Holding the hot tea, Eliza headed for her computer and sat down in front of it.  Logging in, she immediately pulled up her e-mail.  She saw she had five letters in her mail.  Looking quickly, she deleted four of the five.  

The one she kept was from Jimmy.  That was strange.  Usually it was Vicki that wrote.  Jimmy hated the computer, saying he was completely computer illiterate.  Quickly scanning the letter, Eliza’s face went whiter than white.  She went back and read the letter again, slower this time, but the message stayed the same.

ELIZA, help. Vicki is dead.  The hunters took us.  They know (found out) that we knew you and tortured her to get information.  They didn’t believe that we knew nothing.  They were going to try to get me to talk, but when they killed Vicki, they held back and I was able to get away.  Sending this letter is the last thing I’m doing here and will be on my way before you get it.  I hope to be able to make my way out of the city before they start really looking for me, but if not, I wanted you to know.  I’m leaving now, Eliza, stay we...........................................

Eliza was shocked.  Vicki dead and why did the e-mail stop where it did?  Was Jimmy all right, did they find him there.  The uncertainty was awful.  She hit the forward button and typed in Jesse’s e-mail address.  She wanted him to know what was happening.

After all the good things that had happened tonight, this was not the way she had expected the night to end.