"Take a seat." Belinda motioned to the chair beside her. "The good part's coming up."
Abigail perched on the edge of the chair and gripped her jeans-clad knees. She needed to relax and enjoy the time she had with her mother. And not feel guilty that she wasn't at the lab.
"Are you ready for me, my love?" he whispered.
"Oh yes, Maxim! Take me. I need to feel your manly rod of steel deep inside me."
Abigail snorted. "I think he has a penile prosthesis."
Debra laughed.
Belinda scowled at them both.
Maxim caressed her face, then sliced through her nightgown with his claw.
"What?" Abigail sat back. "His claw?"
Belinda nodded. "I told you he was sexy."
Debra rolled her eyes. "Only a blonde would be stupid enough - "
"He's got a claw?" Abigail jumped to her feet and picked up the case for the audio book. "Wild and Wicked Nights with a Werewolf? You mean Maxim has hairy palms and never cuts his nails?"
Belinda sighed. "You might as well turn it off. You've really destroyed the mood now."
"Who could ever be in the mood for a claw?" Abigail punched the off button and dropped the CD case on the table. "What happened to the Greek billionaire tycoon and his secretary?"
Belinda shrugged. "I wanted to branch out. Try something new. I never get out of the house, you know. I can at least let my imagination roam free."
Abigail swallowed hard. "You're right. I'm sorry." Even though the house in question was the White House, it was still a prison for her mom.
"Hi, guys!" a cheerful voice greeted them from the doorway. A dog yipped.
"Madison?" Belinda squinted, then smiled. "Well, don't you look lovely! Is that a new dress?"
"Yes!" Madison waltzed into the clinic, carrying a pink rhinestone-encrusted dog bag.
She twirled, and her pink, sparkly cocktail dress swirled around her long, lean, perfectly tanned legs. "Isn't it gorgeous? It's a Versace. Oh, sorry, Dolly darling!" She patted the head of her toy poodle. "Little schnookums gets motion sickness, don't you, poor baby?"
"If that rat's going to puke, take it out of here," Debra grumbled.
Madison gave the nurse an annoyed look, then aimed her high-wattage smile at her mom and sister. "Guess what? I have the most exciting news ever!"
"There's a sale at Bloomingdale's?" Abigail muttered.
Madison gasped. "Is there? Oh." She waved a dismissive hand with perfect pink nails. "I can do that tomorrow. What's happening tonight is actually more important."
Belinda exchanged an amused look with Abigail. "How shocking."
"It is. Quite shocking." Madison set her dog bag on the carpet, then pressed a hand to her chest. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just blurt it out. Debra, be sure to monitor my mother's blood pressure. This may be . . . too shocking."
Debra gave her a wry look over the top of her reading glasses. "I've got it covered."
"Very well. Here goes." Madison took a deep breath. "Vampires are coming to the White House."
Abigail bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud.
Her mom smiled. "Honey, vampires aren't real."
Madison flinched. "How can you say that?" She motioned toward the audio book on the table. "You were so happy when I bought the werewolf book for you. If you believe in werewolves, then you should believe in vampires, too. If you don't, then it's like . . . racist, or something."
"Girl, are you on medication?" Nurse Debra asked.
"No, of course not," Madison answered impatiently.
"Maybe you should be," Debra muttered.
Abigail covered her mouth to hide her grin.
"I'm totally serious," Madison insisted. Her dog yipped in agreement.
Belinda shook her head. "Vampires and werewolves aren't real, sweetie. It's called fiction."
"That's what everybody used to think." Madison brushed her long blond hair over her shoulder. "But vampires are real. It's all over the Internet, so it has to be true. Besides, I have proof."
Abigail assumed a serious expression. "If you're referring to that video on YouTube, I've seen it, too, and it doesn't actually prove anything. How did you reach the conclusion that vampires are coming to our house?"
Madison heaved a frustrated sigh. "Okay. I'll explain it to you." She ticked off a list with her fingers. "Number one, I heard Dad is holding a top secret meeting tonight at ten o'clock. And you know vampires can only meet at night."
"That's not actual proof." Or even a logical train of thought, although Abigail refrained from telling her younger sister that.
"Number two," Madison continued. "I heard that all the top defense guys will be here, like the CIA and Homeland Security directors. So you know they're meeting someone really important . . . like vampires."
Abigail shrugged. "That's still not proof."
"Okay, then number - " Madison glanced down at her hand to see which finger she was on. "Three. I checked in the kitchen, and they just received a special delivery." She lowered her voice to a dramatic hush. "It was blood!"
Abigail groaned inwardly. Didn't Madison realize it was necessary to keep a supply on hand in case their mother needed a transfusion?
"It's probably for me," Belinda muttered.
"Does your blood come in bottles?" Madison asked. "And arrive in the kitchen?"
Abigail shot Debra a questioning look, and the nurse shook her head.
"Did you see these bottles of blood?" she asked Madison. "Where did they come from? Were they the same blood type as our mother's?"
"I don't know." Madison gave them all an indignant look. "It doesn't matter. It's obvious those bottles are for the vampires who are coming tonight. If you don't believe me, then come with me and I'll prove it to you."
Abigail sighed. Of all the silly things . . .
"Go on," Belinda nudged at her. "I want to hear all about it."
Abigail noted the twinkle in her mother's eyes. She was enjoying Madison's latest drama. "Very well. I shall investigate the matter and report back to you."
Belinda clapped her hands together. "Excellent."
"Come on!" Madison grabbed her dog bag, and Dolly yipped. "The vampires will be arriving any minute now."
Abigail waved bye to Nurse Debra and her mom, then joined her sister in the East Sitting Hall. A second Secret Service agent was standing nearby - Josh, the poor guy who was assigned to Madison. She smiled at him, and he nodded ever so slightly, his face expressionless. She'd managed to make him crack a smile once by telling him if anyone ever tried to kidnap Madison, they'd give her back in ten minutes.
Madison looked her over, frowning. "Jeans and a T-shirt? And why do you always wear that ugly coat? It has no style whatsoever."
"It's a lab coat. I came straight from work."
Madison sighed. "I wish there was time for you to change. First impressions are important, you know. But no matter, we need to hurry." She strode down the hall, her high heels silent on the thick carpet.
Abigail walked beside her, and Josh followed discreetly at a distance. "So you wore that dress for the vampires?" she asked.
"Of course." Madison marched across the Center Hall and into the Yellow Oval Room. "I want to look my best. Everyone knows vampires are extremely attractive."
"I thought they were kind of pale and . . . dead."
"Undead," Madison corrected her. "And yes, they're a bit pale, but in a sparkly sort of way. I thought they would like this sparkly dress. And Dolly's rhinestone bag. It's important to make them feel comfortable, you know."
Abigail shrugged. "You're the expert." Her sister had always loved sparkly things, so much so that the Secret Service used Sparkle for her code name.
Madison slanted an annoyed look in her direction. "I know you don't believe me, but you'll see I'm right." She opened a French door that led onto the Truman balcony of the South Portico. "This way."
"But what about the meeting?" Abigail stepped outside into the cool night air. "Shouldn't we go to the West Wing?"
"Yes, but we'll see them here first." Madison set the dog bag down, then strode to the edge of the upper balcony that overlooked the south entrance of the White House.