"This should be fun. A Halloween party in a real haunted house. Don't you think it'll be fun, Bill?"
"Um-yeah, sure. I'm sorry. I'm having a bit of trouble with the GPS. Yes, it should be fun. Kevin's put a lot of work into this place. And the ghost is just rumors, sweetie. I don't think you should mention it to Kevin." Patricia is the love of my life, and while she looks like a real California babe, her Chinese heritage shows through in some of the oddest ways. She loves gambling. And she's quite superstitious. Ok, those are terribly racist stereotypes, but there you are. I never should have mentioned the ghost story associated with Kevin's house.
"Oh, I won't. But it's exciting, don't you think? There'll be lots of people there, right? I'll bet a lot of them are thinking about it, don't you Bill?"
Patricia only chatters like that when she's nervous. She must be more concerned about the supposed ghost than I realized. Damn! I should never have mentioned it to her! Damn Kevin! So proud of that story. It's interesting but he was always talking it up, and I didn't mean for Patricia to get scared. If she talks to Kevin, he's going to go on and on about the murder and the noises and Patricia's going to be so scared. She won't enjoy the party at all and she'll probably be edgy all weekend. Shit!
Patricia chattered on, but I had to focus on driving. Kevin's party started at 9:00 and this time of year, it got dark about 6:30. And we'd never been to his house before and he lived so damnably far out in the country. I suppose it's pretty but I couldn't see a thing. I...here's the turn-off...a left...there was the driveway. At least Kevin had lighted the driveway and the yard in front of the house. Maybe ten cars were already there.
"Oh, it's so beautiful. I can't believe it's haunted. You don't think it's really haunted, do you, Bill?" Patricia was still on edge. I could hear the tension in her voice, now that I could really pay attention. Poor baby! I'll have to stay close and calm her down. I walked around the car to get her door. She enjoyed being the object of these old-fashioned courtesies, as long as it was clear that I didn't assume she needed to have them done.
"M'dear. Shall we?" I watched her legs, exposed as she got out of the car. Patricia was not particularly buxom, but she had incredibly beautiful legs. She was wearing a Cleopatra costume - a long white skirt, slit nearly to her waist on both sides, a golden bra, lots of jewelry, heavy make-up, high strappy sandals. She didn't need a wig - her thick, dark hair and customary Bette Page cut were perfect. OK, her outfit wasn't authentic, but it was very sexy. I was Marc Anthony, I think. Kind of a pseudo Roman soldier. Maybe Julius Caesar. Costumes are really more Patricia's department than mine.
Patricia took my arm and we walked towards the door. There were another twenty or so cars parked in the side yard. Good. The party was big enough to keep Patricia busy. She wouldn't think about ghosts.
"Hey! Glad you could make it!" Kevin called from the far corner of the house. "The party's around back."
Patricia's heels slowed us a bit crossing the lawn. But I enjoyed the way she hung on my arm. She's so beautiful, so loving. We really needed to spend more time together. I'd been working too hard lately. Well, as the holidays come, things will slow down and Patricia and I can catch up.
We walked around the corner to see Kevin - dressed in a tuxedo - with a martini glass in his hand, chatting with a very curvaceous Marilyn Monroe and someone vaguely resembling John Kennedy. Scattered around the bar and pool area were maybe twenty other costumed individuals, with a high percentage of vampires and a few werewolves. That "Twilight" influence, no doubt. I led Patricia toward Kevin, partially out of a desire to get drinks and partially out of curiosity. It wasn't at all obvious just who - or what - he was supposed to be.
That matter was settled when Kevin said, "Bond. James Bond," as we approached. Apparently we were not the first unable to decipher his costume. Kevin fancied himself a dashing figure, so the costume choice made sense. Shaking my hand, he called, "Lisa, come meet Patricia and what's his name!" Then, to us, "Bill, what're you drinking? Patricia?"
A stunning auburn-haired woman wearing a red spandex strapless dress, several sizes too small, came over. "Hello, Patricia. I'm Lisa. Guess who I am, Bill." As far as I could tell, the only clues beyond her skin-tight dress, which was slit on the side up to her waist, were too much make-up and opera gloves.
"Uh...Lucille Ball?" I knew I was wrong, but I really had no idea. Sexy, obviously, red-head, but beyond that...
Patricia, however, was much sharper than I. "Jessica Rabbit, of course. What a great idea, Lisa. You look perfect! Doesn't she look great, Bill? Lisa, are you going to sing for us, too?"
Lisa giggled. "I don't know. Maybe. You're so sweet."
Kevin brought over a Scotch and soda for me and a strawberry daiquiri for Patricia. "Do you need another drink, sweetie?" This last was directed to Lisa. "I'm going to play bartender for a while longer, then let everyone fend for themselves."
Patricia and Lisa were sitting on a lounger, talking about the house. I noticed that Patricia was drinking faster than usual - another sign that she was nervous. A couple of other women joined them - a vampire and, I think, Pat Benatar. Kevin retreated to the bar, leaving me to fend for myself.
I'm not terribly comfortable at parties, and even less so when wearing a skirt. So I took a deep drag on the Scotch and looked around to see who I might know. No such luck. Between the relatively weak light and the costumes, I was lost. I don't like sports, I don't follow popular television, I don't garden, we don't have kids...in short, I don't know anything suitable for small talk except the weather. And I don't like talking about the weather. So I called out to Patricia, "Sweetie, I'm going to look around inside," and then went into the house. Patricia smiled and nodded, but didn't reply. She did, however, take the second drink Kevin offered.
The house was amazing. Impeccably decorated in American country style, it was hard to imagine that a year ago this was practically a shell. Kevin had invested major bucks in remodeling and furnishing his home.
I wandered about the downstairs for a while. Kevin might be a bit pretentious, but he did have an excellent collection of guitars. Not untouchable collectors' items, real players. He and I jammed occasionally and I knew he wouldn't mind. He had a 1948 Martin OOO-28 that I loved playing, and a recent Guild A-150 archtop that had the most beautiful tone. I'm not good, but I do enjoy playing and it would be a great way to kill 30-45 minutes, long enough to make the party more bearable and short enough not to get me in trouble with Patricia. She thought I was too unsocial.