NOTE:
This is a HALLOWEEN CONTEST 2018 submission, so ratings and comments are welcome.
NOTE 2:
This story ended up taking on a life of its own and is far from what I planned when I started. It may not be to everyone's liking, but it means a lot to me and I hope some others find it enjoyable.
"September sun blowing golden hair... October's rust bisecting black storm clouds."
Part 1: They're Coming To Get You
Since the divorce two years ago, my love life had been nonexistent. I had been married for twenty years, ten of them really good, but once things fell apart, my ex and I were never able to get back on track. The last few years of the marriage were just killing time as we tried to get the money situation straight to go our separate ways.
I was now in my early 40's. I had dated and gotten married at a time before social media, dating apps, and all of the bullshit that seems to surround meeting someone these days even existed, so I had resigned myself to celibacy for the rest of my life. Even though I was often lonely, at least I was happier alone than I had been at the end of the marriage. My relationship with my daughter who had just gone off to college was the best it had been, and my job as a technical writer was going well. At the end of the day, I could come home and take care of some housework, and then relax in front of the tv with a drink or a joint and the dog. It may not have been the life I envisioned for myself at 20 or 30, but it wasn't bad.
Yesterday at work, Anthony came over to my desk.
"How's it going, Tad?" Anthony asked. "Anything new going on?"
"Just the usual," I replied. "Trying to get this manual completed."
"Met anyone new lately?" he asked.
"No," I replied and laughed. "You know that's not been something I've bothered with lately. My hand gets plenty of work. A lot less effort than the craziness out there."
Anthony chuckled. "You're so adventurous."
Anthony continued, "There's this Halloween party tomorrow night a friend of mine is hosting. It's at CJ's, and I want you to come with me and the wife."
"Isn't CJ's a club downtown?" I asked. "I thought it was a place bands played."
"It is. They have a separate area next to the part with the stage that can be rented for private parties and events and such. It'll have a full bar and food and music. It should be a good time. And you need to get out of the house more. The dog's a good boy, but I mean, c'mon...you could use more human interaction away from work."
"Maybe," I hesitated. "It's been a while since I've been to any sort of party."
"It's been a while since you've been around adults apart from work period. Now that your daughter's in college, you've got to do some things for yourself." Anthony continued, "Plus everyone will be in costumes. It'll be a good time. I know you love Halloween, and Saturday night you're going to be holed up at your house handing out candy. Come out with Riley and me Friday and enjoy something about the holiday more adult."
"The idea is appealing," I said. "It has been forever since I've been to a Halloween party, I guess not since college. I could probably put together some sort of costume even though it's tomorrow."
"I know you can do that," Anthony said. "I've seen your place with the dozens of masks you have." My wife and I had collected vinyl and latex horror masks for a period of time, and when we split, I kept the collection.
"You know, I appreciate the invitation," I said. "I'll definitely do it. The worst that happens is it's boring. Watching TV with Satchel doesn't exactly get the heart racing."
"It most definitely does not." Anthony added, "Plus there's going to be someone there I want you to meet."
Having a night out with other adults celebrating my favorite holiday was one thing, but the prospect of being set up was unexpected and wasn't at all appealing.
"Whoa," I said. "I don't know about that. I'm perfectly content as I am. A forty-something divorcee that hasn't dated in over twenty years and who is twenty-five pounds overweight isn't any sort of catch. You know I'd rather not deal with the pressure of meeting someone."
"I know how you are," Anthony said. "But I just said I wanted you to meet someone. I'm not setting you up on a blind date. You'll meet lots of people you don't know at the party, and there's no pressure for anything to happen. I'm just saying that there will be someone at the party that I think you would have a lot in common with and would appreciate meeting. What happens, happens, so just come to the party and have a good time."
I thought about if for a few seconds. "I guess when you put it like that, I can see how it goes. If nothing else, it'll be nice to drink in a new location."
Anthony laughed. "That's the spirit. Riley and I will pick you up at 7 tomorrow night."
Anthony left my desk and I went back to work.
When I arrived home that evening, I looked over my masks and decided a wolfman would be my best costume choice. The mask I had was a 3/4 latex one, so it covered my head but stopped in the back where my neck and skull met. The mask was light, very breathable, and would easily perch on the top of my head when I wanted something to eat or drink or to just expose my face. It was a pretty standard wolfman face, light brown for the face with darker brown molded hair, and had a small opening for the mouth and cut out eyes. It wasn't unlike the old Ben Cooper plastic wolfman mask for kids recreated in latex, just with more natural brown tones replacing the garish yellow and red. Another reason for my costume choice was that the rest of the outfit would be way to assemble. I found a long sleeve flannel shirt, some old jeans, and a pair of black boots in my closet and I was done. Tomorrow morning, I planned to pick up some fake hair, spirit gum, and false nails at the local Spirit to finish the part of my arms and neck that wouldn't be covered, and I thought that would complete a decent costume.
My big decision for the day complete, I packed a bowl, took a couple of hits, and settled down on the couch. From the kitchen, Satchel let loose a pair of barks, and I realized I had forgotten about supper. While my dinner schedule was flexible, the dog's was not, so I headed into the kitchen to find us food.
Just meeting new people had always held an element of stress for me, and knowing that someone was anticipating meeting me tomorrow night had heightened my anxiety about the party. Somewhere in the city, a woman already had expectations about me, and I was apprehensive about how reality would square with the fantasy. From past experience, I found that reality tended to be disappointing.
But that was something I would face tomorrow. The dog fed and my food warming in the microwave, I took another hit and relaxed with
Bob's Burgers
. Tonight, Tina could worry for the both of us.
Part 2: They're Dead; They're All Messed Up
Around 7 PM, I was on my way to a party with a pair of clowns. Anthony was dressed in a black checkered party suit, the left half red and the right half white. Riley was clearly a "sexy killer clown". Her black and white polka-dot dress was short skirted with bare shoulders and splattered with blood. It was accented with a black bow tie, a tiny black top hat held in her hair with a barrette, and blood stained black and white striped tights. The pair wore matching white face paint with red highlights similar to the Skarsgard Pennywise make-up.
After driving for about twenty minutes, we arrived at CJ's, parked, and joined the party. The room was actually larger than I anticipated and was pretty full. Maybe 200 people, maybe 400 (I'm a pretty terrible judge of crowd size), but there were enough attendees where you could move around without squeezing between people but if you got separated, you weren't going to find your friend quickly.
Everyone was dressed up, and costumes ranged from the lazy (store bought "This is my costume" t-shirt) to the elaborate (comic con cosplay worthy Aquaman with gold and green bodysuit, long blonde wig, and trident). There were plenty of superheroes, zombies, and horror movie characters in attendance and a lot more clowns that I anticipated.
"Looks like our costumes weren't the most original," Anthony said.
"I guess the clowns are due to
It
?" I remarked. "I know
Terrifier
didn't reach this many people."
Anthony smiled. "Yeah, I don't see Art the Clown inspiring this turnout."
It had been a long time since I had been to a Halloween party, and it seemed as though women's costumes had changed in that time. I was used to sexy costumes online, in ads, and certainly in the porn I watched, but the internet and advertising are pretty sexual to begin with. I didn't realize that in the real world regular women had ditched traditional costumes for sexy versions. Sexy vampires, sexy schoolgirls, sexy witches, sexy nuns, sexy Jason and Freddy, sexy sluts, even sexy My Little Pony characters, and of course, sexy clowns.
The main part of the room where we entered was full of partygoers talking and drinking; directly behind the people and in front is us was a bar with a line about two people deep waiting for drinks. To the left was an area with a slightly raised floor and more elaborate lighting than the center area; strobes, flashlights and a disco ball shown down on the dance floor. The dance area wasn't that busy now, but as the night wore on, it would fill up. To the right of the bar area was a small set of scattered couches, recliners, and tables with barstools, and the room light dimmed as you proceeded farther into this area. On the edge of this back area near some of the tables was a counter with cookies, little sandwiches, and other finger foods, and a couple of people were behind the counter assisting with serving and food preparation. The free food seemed like a good idea as the liquor was surely going to be flowing tonight. There was a hallway that split off the back wall leading to the restrooms and also a nook with a couple of chairs and an actual payphone, though who knew if it still worked.
The walls of the venue were decorated with giant vintage sideshow posters like you'd see at a carnival. They were the size of subway posters and advertised to "Come see the feral wolfboy!" or "Dare to witness the two-headed freak!" Spread among then were modern movie posters for movies like
Halloween, Saw,
and
Night of the Living Dead
. The lighting consisted of fall themed colors: warm oranges, reds, and yellows.
A DJ booth was set up in the back corner of the dance floor and, as I discovered as the night moved on, played music with a Halloween or horror theme all night. Oingo Boingo's "Dead Man's Party" floated through the air as we made our way through the crowd to the bar at the back of the room.
Reaching the counter, we took the place of a guy about 6'5" with a thick beard dressed as
Stranger Thing
's Eleven in pink dress who headed out into the crowd with his drink and his date, who was barely 5' and sported a Mike costume.
"That was a great couple's costume," Riley said.
"Definitely," I replied.
We ordered, and drinks in hand, made our way back into the crowd, heading towards the opposite side from the dance floor near the sitting area.
