Leaves scuttled across the damp pavement as if they too were hurrying to their own predetermined affairs regardless of their own desires. Claudia hunched further into her black hooded sweatshirt, her eyes scanning the street for approaching children. She'd been accosted thrice already by rug rats looking for candy, and she thought she might just snap if another clown, faerie, or superhero came calling.
Usually, she liked this time of year. In fact, Halloween had been one of her favorite holidays since she was a child. But this year was different. She was on the verge of failing her freshman year at university, and her parents were furious with what they saw as her laziness and party girl attitude.
In truth, the only partying she did was with nerds and geeks, because nerds and geeks were helpful. But Christ, could they party with the best of them. It had come as a surprise to her in the beginning, but the engineers in the group often made experimental and wonderful bongs, while the chemistry majors made the most aesthetically amazing drinks. If she didn't understand a problem in her statistics class, she could call Laurel or Tamara up and get an immediate answer. Geoffrey, the guy she met in basic programming, had fallen hard for her, and she knew if she were ever in a technical bind, she could promise him pizza and a snuggle, and he'd be sure to help out.
Another aspect of her unhappiness was the hard realization that she would never be one of the typical Midwestern Girls that populated the part of the country where she'd grown up. She'd escaped high school and gone off to the bigger world of higher learning hoping to find more girls like herself. Instead, she was met with the older ranks of prototypical blondes in the college town, who were clearly defined and heartily appreciated by the men. She knew she could never dream of fitting in with the more popular girls, no matter the bleach she bought and pinks she added to her wardrobe. She wasn't sporty, like the tanned girls with their golden bobs, practical frosted pink nails, weekend camping trips, and beer addictions. Nor was she arctically beautiful and unattainable like the more rare natural blondes. Nor was she quite trashy enough to run with the bottle blondes that arrived from the wrong side of the tracks to pledge sororities and chase footballers.
She was dark of hair and eye, curvy and solid, and she definitely was not perky, even during her best moments and hopped up on Starbucks. She knew she was attractive to certain kinds of boys, but none of them really seemed to have their shit together. But with her own crowd, she was never the odd one out, because there were plenty of odd ones who could easily commiserate with her situation for various reasons.
The chill autumn air pried its way down the front of her sweatshirt and passed her tiny tank top beneath it like the determined fingers of an ardent lover, and she quickened her step as her nipples stiffened under the gusty onslaught.
Laurel's house wasn't too much farther, and the sooner she arrived, the sooner she could leave. How she regretted being so polite and accommodating sometimes! It had cost her many opportunities to get in the last bitchy and insulting word, and now, it was going to cost her a decent Halloween. The night would suck, and nothing she could do would change that.
Laurel lived on a winding street in one of the more historic neighborhoods. Like a lot of the other brainy girls in their class, she came from money. A great deal of it. But her parents hadn't indulged her every caprice like some of the other rich kids. They had used their endless means to encourage a love of learning, and Laurel had a wealth of knowledge and a decadent desire for information that could never be satiated.
Instead of spending summers on the east coast, the Oliviers spent weeks in Italy, touring the ancient ruins and marveling at the decrepit architecture in the old cities. They went to France to stay with relatives and tour museums and vineyards, rather than spending endless days on the Riviera beaches or attending Cannes parties. Laurel's first treasured and costly gift had been a top-of-the-line telescope when she was four, so she and her father could stargaze and plot the solar system from their backyard. She had been content to spend hours in the library instead of perfecting her look in the mirror, and had never known the ennui and tension Claudia felt concerning dating.
When she had invited Claudia over for a night of movies, drinking, and plain old company, Claudia had been tempted to refuse. But one look in Laurel's stunning azure eyes and she had been hard pressed to say no. Laurel also informed her that one of her male cousins from France would be visiting, and Claudia's hopes of salvaging the night had been permanently dashed. The language barrier, chaste interests of her friend, and her politeness would ruin the evening for certain.
Finally reaching the cobblestone drive to Laurel's huge house, Claudia heaved a sigh of resignation, then passed under the wrought iron arch and marched up the front walk as the prisoner to the gallows.
She spied the warm glow of lamplight through the bay window off the den and saw Laurel bound out of an enormous armchair and then heard her feet as she ran to open the door even before Claudia's fingers had closed around the brass knocker.
"Hi!" Laurel's smile was radiant. She took Claudia's hand and pulled her in, offering a friendly hug as she reached for the girl's sweatshirt. Beneath it, Claudia wore a spaghetti strap tank top, and she felt a little risqué in such attire surrounded by the opulent and tastefully decorated house. "Come in! Dinner's almost ready!"
The tantalizing aroma of cooking meat, onion, and garlic filled the foyer, and as Laurel took her by the elbow and pulled her toward the kitchen, Claudia's stomach covetously growled.
"Yves! She's here!" Laurel exclaimed, tugging Laurel around a corner into the thoroughly modern kitchen. Whatever Claudia had expected Laurel's cousin to look like was completely different than who stood before her. The man was fucking gorgeous!
"Hello," Yves smiled, extending one long, pale hand. He was painfully handsome in an almost delicate way, and Claudia wondered at the similarities between the cousins. Both had the same shade of blue eyes, both were delicately built, and both were quite easy on the eye. But Yves possessed a confidence and casual warmth that dwarfed Laurel's chirpy personality and somewhat fidgety manner. "I'm Yves. And you?" His English wasn't flawless, but really quite good.
"Claudia Morris." She extended a hand, and Yves took it delicately, pressing his lips to her curled fingertips before releasing it with a squeeze. "What are you cooking? It smells wonderful."
"Rabbit braised in merlot with asparagus," Yves said nonchalantly, as if Claudia were used to such a dish every day of the week. "And a cherry clafoutis to follow." Offering a soft smile, he turned back to the pans over which he presided, and Laurel lead her friend away.
"He's a magnificent cook," she whispered in Claudia's ear. "Whenever he comes to visit, I think I gain five pounds! Come on. Let's go in the media room and pick out what to watch."
The media room was what would have passed for an extremely well-appointed living room in an average upper class home, but which appeared as casual as an old, cramped, dusty den in the Olivier household. A huge plasma television, various gaming systems, shelves of CDs and DVDs, and a computer were all arranged amid half a dozen pieces of cushy leather furniture.
Laurel strode to the bar and immediately began to fix drinks, returning in short order with a glass of limoncello on the rocks for each of them. She settled back on the same sectional as Claudia and began flipping through a meticulously categorized catalog of movies in a leather binder, a corresponding number beside each to indicate their position in the player.
"Re-Animator!" Laurel chuckled, taking a long sip of her drink. "That will be perfect right before dinner!"
Dinner was served about halfway through the film in the formal dining room. The three sat at one end of the large three-leaf dining table, dining by candlelight with something Baroque playing through the excellent wireless speakers installed throughout the house. Claudia was thoroughly impressed with Yves's cooking, and the girls did a fair bit more than pick at their entrees while Yves took a few bites here and there but mostly appraised their dinner guest with an enigmatic expression. There were a few interruptions from trick or treaters, and Yves and Laurel happily handed out two piece gourmet candy collections to each child from a large box on a nearby accent table.
After dinner and dessert, they returned to the media room and the disturbing comedy concerning the mad doctor and his ghastly experiments. Laurel began to giggle during some of the more graphic scenes while helping herself to more citrus liqueur. Yves merely watched the movie with a modicum of amusement until he left the room for a while, and then returned with a large rectangular box covered in green paper with a lovely black floral pattern. Laurel glanced over at what he held as he seated himself on the sofa between the girls, and her eyes widened as her lips pursed.
