Past Life by C S Winchester

and he's been a great support to me. Well, we've been a support to each other, I hope. But that's all that's between us and we are not romantically involved.”
    “ And what happened to Alex?”
    “ Alex... betrayed me.”
    Cecilia shook her head. “Women these days! You need to be more forgiving, Frankie.  Men are built differently, you can't always expect them to be monogamous.”
    “ He didn't cheat on me, Mother.” Frankie swallowed down the lump in her throat. “He's the reason our friend died and I can't forgive him for that.”
    “ Oh well, maybe things will evolve between you and Dan,” her mother assured her. “You must keep your options open. There aren't that many available men at your age.”
    Dante took the opportunity to turn and wink at Frankie
    “ He heard you,” she hissed at her mother.
    “ Don't be ridiculous, he can't hear from this distance. He's just being friendly. You're always so negative, Francis. No wonder you're still single.”
    Frankie sighed in frustration. “Mum, stop it, please. Let's just have a nice evening.”
    “ I will not. It's no wonder he doesn't see you as a romantic possibility when you wear such high collars and gaudy colours. I know you like red, but looking like a scarlet women isn't attractive to a man. You should wear more pastels.”
    “ Like you, you mean,” Frankie finished for her as they paused at the entrance to the restaurant. She could see her father and Dante being seated inside.
    “ I'm just saying that at your age, you can't afford to be picky. You need to smarten your ideas up, young lady, or you'll end up an old maid.”
    “ I hate to break it to you, Mum, but I haven't been a 'maid' in well over a decade.”
    “ You delight in upsetting me, don't you?” her mother asked with tears shining in her eyes. Frankie always thought that her mother had missed her calling, she could have been a world class actress.
    “ Yes, I do when you're judging me. Wasn't it Jesus who said 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone'?”
    “ I'm not judging you, sweetheart, I'm trying to help you. I just don't understand why you're so wilful”
    “ That's because you were so busy trying to turn me into the perfect little god-fearing Christian, that you never got to know me.” She went into the restaurant, effectively ending the conversation.
    She plastered a smile on her face as she approached the table and sat down.
    A few moments later a waiter arrived with their drinks and Frankie was pleased to see that Dante had ordered her a large whiskey.
    Thankfully dinner itself was a relatively pleasant affair, as Cecilia focused her attention mainly on Dante. She wanted to know his whole life story, where he was from in America, how come he ended up in Edinburgh, how he and Frankie had met; she questioned him incessantly.
    What was surprising was how she talked Frankie up to him, though Frankie didn't think that the picture she painted was at all realistic. Frankie and her father chatted a little but mostly they just listened and tried not to laugh.
    Dante ate the food he ordered, which Frankie hadn't been expecting. She knew vampires could swallow food, but she had never seen one actually eat because they had to regurgitate the food later. But he played his part to perfection, even ordering dessert and talking her mother into it. Usually her mother followed a very strict diet and never ate sweet things.
    Dante then entered sainthood when he insisted on paying for dinner. He excused himself to go to the bathroom and as soon as he was gone, Cecilia leaned towards Frankie.
    “ He is wonderful, darling. Well educated, well travelled. He even knows his scripture.”
    “ We're not like that, Mum.”
    “ Trust me, that one is a keeper.”
    Frankie wondered what her mother would say if she knew the truth about him.
    When Dante returned, they left the restaurant. Cecilia took her husband's arm and suggested a quick walk along the harbour before going home. Frankie was