My wife's boss was having a Halloween party and of course, we were expected to show up. Now it just so happens that Halloween is my wife's favorite time of the year and she absolutely loves to dress up in costume. This year she was planning to be Salome and I was to be King Herod. The choice of costumes was my wife's but I thought our characters were a matched set to our life. My wife looked so sexy dressed in her diaphanous veils showing off more skin than I was comfortable with, yet Just as Salome knew her power over Herod my wife knew she could get what she wanted from me. As for me as Herod I had money and power, at least at work but at heart I was still just a mensch and would always do my Salome's biding. I wasn't that interested in the party but was committed if nothing else just to show support to my lovely bride. On Saturday, the day of the party, I received a phone call from work telling me of a major emergency with our mainframe and I had to go in to see what I could save from our data banks. At six, I called my wife with the bad news that I'd be stuck there probably all night. I apologized and begged her to go to the party without me. She was as pissed as I knew she would be and I told her I'd make it up to her somehow.
At ten, our mainframe completely crashed and we lost all data making any retrieval hopeless that night. All this made me staying superfluous, so I headed home. On the way I decided that maybe I should make an appearance at the party, with the hope of scoring some points with my pissed off wife. I tried to call but her phone went right to voice mail so I didn't bother to leave a message. I knew I had no time to go home across town to change into costume so I pulled into an all night drugstore. They had little in the way of adult costumes and I roamed the aisles looking for something to wear. The only thing I could come up with was a Jack-o'-lantern costume and it was easy to see why. It looked stupid and I knew I'd feel stupid wearing it but that's what you get with such short notice.
I drove straight to the party, and in the car, I put my dumb costume on over my clothes. I then walked in to a rocking party. Have you ever been the only sober person at a party? Man, it's weird, everybody was so loud, and the laughter was raucous, plus the music almost deafening. I made my way through the dance floor looking for my Salome but to no avail. Then I went out by the pool and just as I had all but given up, I saw her. As I started walking around the pool to her, I saw her talking to a man dressed in a costume that showed off his bared chest. I noticed he was well muscled and I knew my wife would love his hairy chest. I saw her reach up and kiss him. I stopped in my tracks, stunned by what I'd just witnessed, as this was no simple peck on the cheek but a long passionate embrace. I stepped back into the shadows so as not to be seen, and then sat on a bench under a tree.
Silently, I watched the couple became more brazen as their passions fired their desires. I was surprised at how boldly the man openly played with my wife's nipples as they stood out in her thin top. Although my wife was doing the same to him, she could not seem to keep her hands off his bare chest or his nipples. I wanted to go over and punch the man but feared that if I did anything that rash I would lose my wife. I could do nothing but think back to the last time this had happened. It was years ago when we were first married, she had an affair with a man who lived next door. When his wife walked in on them, it broke up their marriage but I was too much in love to leave my wife. My heart broken and my marriage in shambles I guess she realized how much pain she had brought on me and ended her affair.
I sat in the dark, watching this romantic scene, all of the pain from her previous affair rushing back as if it had never left. A voice from behind, startled me back to reality,
"I take it your came dressed as the orange hooded voyeur."
I looked up to see a beautiful Cleopatra leaning against the tree behind me.
"I'm a Jack-o-Lantern and I'm not really into watching but you see the Salome over there with that cad is my wife."
"Isn't that interesting for you see that cad is my husband. One would think that the Queen of the Nile would command more respect, although I guess Salome does have that power over weak men."
She went on to tell me this was not her husband's first dalliance and I told her of my wife's transgression.
"I tell you what sir pumpkin, why don't you buy your Queen a drink but somewhere else, I just don't want to face those people in there."
She laughed when I asked if her husband would miss her and I told her my wife didn't even know I was here and without further adieu, we left. We took my car to the nearby Ritz and sat in the bar where nobody even blinked at our costumes. We didn't exchange names as I called her my Queen and I was her Sir Pumpkin. We had our drink and then another as we commiserated on our spouses lack of tact. I told her about my working and that I was sure my wife's open display of affection toward her husband was due to my letting her down by not coming.
"But how can she say that, you came?"
"She has no idea I showed up, I told her I'd be working all night and I would have except everything crashed and there was nothing I could do at work do I left."
I went on to say I only showed up to try to appease her and thus my ridiculous costume purchased at the last minute.
"I must say you are not a very dashing pumpkin."
It was there that I realized the romance of Halloween. Once you're in costume, you're free from the everyday restraints that come from being you. I wasn't the head of a local office I was Jack-O-Lantern and free to do as I wished. I felt completely at ease with her and our conversation, which could have easily turned maudlin, was actually more of a lively banter. I was stunned when the barkeep told us 'last call' I couldn't believe the evening flew by so fast. We stood up ready to leave and yet, neither wanting to. My Queen leaned over and kissed me then asked if I would like to get a room. I started to say no but just the hint of her perfume changed my mind and instead I kissed her back then took her hand and walked to the front desk. As befitting royalty, I rented the penthouse, putting it on my company card and I'd worry about how to pay for it latter. The bellman was a perfect gentleman and seemed completely at ease with us in costume and without benefit of luggage. The suite was remarkable, and if I'd been a rich man, I'd have thought the price well worth it. We went out to the terrace and although it was late in October, it was still a balmy night.