watched the dawn of Prohibition. While my education may have been extensive, to truly understand William, I would need to delve deeper.
Luckily for me, my best friend ran the library system. With one stroke of a computer keyboard, Lily could locate any book I needed. I had texted her on the way over to make sure she was free.
When I arrived at her office, she was sitting at her desk, reading her email. I noticed she was wearing new eyeglasses, a pair of thick black rectangular frames that had become a fashion statement for the elite nerds of cities everywhere.
“I like your glasses,” I said as a way to catch her attention. “You look like a very sexy East German spy.”
“Why thank you,” Lily said, fingering the frames. “I know they’re a bit of a fashion cliché, but I like how they look.” She turned away from her computer monitor and looked up at me. “What brings you to the Main Library today?” she asked. “I thought you were off to Palo Alto.”
I slumped on the edge of her desk and hid my face in my arms. “I am going to try to head down there for a few hours,” I said, “But Levi is out of town and after last night, I’ve decided I need a quick research assignment.”
“Hmmm,” Lily said. “What happened last night?”
“If you must know, the main thing is that I have been acting like a silly, moonstruck child,” I said. “William is vastly more complex than I ever imagined.”
Lily stood up from her desk and walked to my side. “I don’t want to say ‘we told you so,’ but that is what Elsa and I were trying to tell you,” she said.
I didn’t reply. I was too busy sulking, my head still buried in the crook of my elbow. “What did you find out last night?” Lily continued, the alarm audible in her voice.
Her concern caused me to laugh. “It’s not what you’re imagining,” I said. “In fact, you’ll be quite surprised to learn it’s the opposite. I’m the one with the dark secret he didn’t approve of.”
“What?” Lily said. “Listen, let’s get out of here and have a cup of coffee. When we’re done, I will help you find whatever books you’re interested in, or drop them off at your house while you’re on your way to Palo Alto.” I followed Lily out and we walked up Van Ness to a nearby coffee shop to order cappuccinos.
“OK, now tell me everything,” she said, “and start at the beginning.”
I sighed. “William’s life is much richer and more complicated than I gave him credit for,” I said, sipping my espresso drink. “I saw a handsome man in faded jeans who played in a band and gave him a one-dimensional biography. But he’s not human. Maybe I could have taken a human man at face value, but William was born in 1830. It turns out those 181 years make quite a difference.”
“That makes sense,” Lily said. “What did you learn?”
I tilted my head back and closed my eyes for a moment. I was trying to think about where to begin. “He is a former confederate soldier reborn in Baton Rouge as a vampire, a citizen of Paris at the time of the World’s Fair, and a volunteer ambulance driver during World War I …and that gets us to only about 1917.”
Lily was obviously delighted at my predicament. “Yes, I can see what you mean.”
“Wait,” I said, holding up my hand. “I haven’t told you the best part yet.”
She raised an eyebrow, but did not speak.
“He was a member of the Council. He ended his involvement at some point, but we didn’t get that far in our conversation.” Lily’s eyes were wide with surprise. “Yes, I think you may be starting to appreciate the situation,” I said. “But here is the real kicker: I found out about his work for the Council when I told him what I was doing. And you know what? He didn’t like it at all.”
“I’m confused,” Lily said. “Why not?”
“He said that humans deserve to live out their fates and that intervention is wasted on them,” I said, again growing anxious about my situation with William.
“And then what?” she asked. “Did he ask you to stop working?”
I shook my head. “He didn’t ask me to do anything,” I said. “I’m not sure he had to, though. I mean, it’s clear that he disapproves.”
Lily shifted around in her armchair. “I wouldn’t jump to any