A Bite to Remember Page 0,36

"Is it nicer than swimming at night?"

Jackie frowned as she considered. "Not nicer, just different," she decided. "Do you miss the freedom to go out in sunlight when you wish?"

"You can't miss what you've never known," he said simply.

His answer made her wonder what else Vincent didn't miss because he'd never known it. She tried to think of things that were strictly daytime activities, but found she couldn't come up with anything. Jackie worked days and there wasn't much she did on her days off that couldn't just as easily be done at night. Swimming, fishing, barbecuing... all of them could be done at night. She supposed sunbathing with a book would be out, but then the specialists claimed the sun caused skin cancer anyway.

"What's it like to live so long?" Jackie asked suddenly.

Vincent stopped swimming and moved to the side of the pool to hold on to the rim while he considered her question. After a moment, he shook his head. "I don't know what to say. It's all I know, I have no way to compare it to not living long."

He glanced thoughtfully off into the distance, and Jackie thought that would be the end of his answer, but then Vincent spoke again. "At first, it was great fun and I felt sorry for mortals who saw their youth and beauty wither away with each passing year while I stayed young and healthy."

When he paused, Jackie found herself saying, "It must be incredible though. Traveling the world, seeing the different ages, meeting great people like Shakespeare."

Vincent smiled faintly. "If only you knew they were great when you met them."

She raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Well, now, four hundred years later, Shakespeare is'the bard,' but back then he was just another playwright, a successful one, but still just a playwright. When I met him, I had no idea I was in the presence of someone who would be so important historically." Vincent grinned. "Had I known, I might have treated him with more respect."

"You were a child when you met him," Jackie pointed out.

"I was a spoiled brat," Vincent corrected, and shook his head.

"The file my father's company had compiled on you says meeting Shakespeare convinced you to become an actor." There were files on quite a few of the immortals in the agency's cabinets, all holding bits of information gleaned over the years.

Vincent laughed. "Then the file is wrong. It wasn't meeting him so much as seeing all the pretty ladies that haunted the theatre and admired the actors. It also helped that the church was up in arms over the theatres then, calling them immoral and indecent. That just made it more attractive."

"Rebellious youth," Jackie said with amusement.

"Perhaps," he allowed. "But I've always backed the underdog and without the support of royalty and the nobles, theatre would have been crushed by the church."

Vincent leaned back against the pool edge and allowed his feet to float just under the surface, gently paddling them in the water. "The theater was special back then, so much energy and excitement."

"And now?" she asked.

"Now." He frowned. "Now it's a lot of cold ambition and the pursuit of the almighty dollar. Very little seems new and creative anymore, especially in Hollywood where梤ather than create brilliant new scripts and shows梩hey just repeat old money makers or bring video games to screen."

Jackie frowned. Vincent did sound tired and cynical and she wondered if Marguerite's fears weren't justified after all.

"If you think so little of Hollywood, why do you live out here? Why not live closer to your family?"

"I've been wondering that myself, lately," he admitted, then gave a laugh. "To tell you the truth, I half suspect I have been rebelling."

"Really?" she asked with surprise.

"Well, you know, fathers want their sons to follow in their footsteps."

"And sons often rebel," Jackie said with a faint smile, but her smile faded as she added, "Your father is an enforcer for the council."

Vincent raised an eyebrow and she knew that some of her anger had shown in her voice. The council was the governing body for immortals, and the enforcers were the equivalent of their police. Jackie had always resented that immortals saw themselves as above human laws and felt they had a right to their own laws and enforcers.

On the other hand, she knew mortal police couldn't enforce mortal laws on them. The idea was laughable. Should Vincent, or another immortal, be pulled over for speeding, all he need do was slip into the officer's thoughts