A Charming Brew

by Robin Roseau

  “I’m helping at a school function, Lydia. Do you think that’s appropriate?”

  She sighed.

  “You promised to lay off on the matchmaking, Lydia.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just...”

  “I know, honey,” I told her. I squeezed her arm for a moment. “Come on. There are costumes to make!”

  * * * *

  Halloween was on a Saturday. The plan was for the party to run from five until nine. Some families would go trick or treating either before or after, but a lot of the kids would use the party as their entire Halloween celebration. It was safer for the kids, and they would have at least as much fun besides.

  I felt a little bad that I wasn’t passing out candy to the kids in my neighborhood, but I thought spending time with my niece and her friends was far more important. I think some of the other parents felt the same way about their kids, although many couples kept someone home to man the door. Some of the couples worked in shifts.

  The decorating teams arrived early on Saturday. We’d gotten as much direct attention from Ms. Mathis as she could afford to give us; she had to help the other groups, too. And so it was the five girls, me, Jay-jay and Karla, Ron and Abby, and to at least some surprise to me, John and Merry helping with the maze.

  In many ways, I’d served as our project coordinator, and while I knew my way around a set of tools, I was an amateur. Jay-jay wasn’t, and both Ron and Abby had theater backgrounds. And so, I did what I was told.

  The first step was to bring in and set up the scaffolding. Jay-jay and a couple of women from her crew managed that. It didn't take long for them to empty the truck, making a stack of scaffolding parts in one corner of the gym.

  Then Jay-jay showed us how to set it up. It wasn’t hard, although the frames were heavier than I could lift comfortably. We broke into teams with two adults and one or two kids. Jay-jay supervised. I actually ended up partnered with Abby, and we got to know each other better.

  The adults did the heavy lifting. The kids did more moderate lifting then held pieces steady while everything was connect together. Once we had a good head start, Ron broke off to begin moving the wheeled sections into place, using the design we’d built two weeks previously.

  It was noon—and time for pizza—by the time we had all the scaffolding assembled and moved into place. Jay-jays crew stayed for pizza then promised to help with the break-down in the morning.

  The rest actually went more quickly. Two girls could easily pick up one of the flats; they were quite light. So we had a steady stream of people, two at a time, going out to Ron’s trailer to collect the flats and bring them in. Ron and Abby directed where each flat would go. Jay-jay and John connected the flats to the scaffolding to form the walls of our maze.

  From there, we added the planters of brush, using furniture dollies to move them into place. These became accent points to add interest and a three-dimensional affect to the maze.

  Then there were lights, with electricity carefully strung to avoid tripping opportunities. Running cords over the tops of the scaffolding worked well. While the adults handled that, the kids added the other decorations—skeletons, fake spiders, a few witches, and a variety of other creepy things.

  We even had two places where you had to tunnel. Rose’s mother provided them. They were actually used for canine obedience courses. Normally the dogs would crawl through. But some of the dogs were big so the tunnels were big enough, even for an adult on his hands and knees. These went underneath the poles that held the scaffolding tight, so one in effect went through a “wall” of the maze. The tunnels were translucent, so we could light them from outside and even cast creepy shadows across them.

  That was fun.

  Finally, it was all set up and ready to test. Each of the girls wanted to try it, so we sent them through, watching to see how it worked. There were a lot of dead ends, but the girls knew the maze, and it wasn’t that complicated, so they could move through quickly. Ron made a few adjustments. Jay-jay checked a few things then tightened some of the connections between the walls, making absolutely sure everything was steady.

  Then we turned off the lights of the gym. For that, we needed Phoebe’s help. She stepped up to me and said, “Wow. That’s all I can say.”

  “Looks pretty good, doesn’t it, and we don’t even have our spooks in place.”

  “I can’t wait to see you in your costume.”

  I smiled. “It’s boring.”

  “Yeah. Mine, too.”

  “All right,” Abby called out. “We’re done here. Costume and makeup time!”

  Two hours later, we had our first “customers”.

  Party

  “Let me get a look at you.” I grabbed Lydia’s hands and held them apart from her body. She was dressed as a vampire with a white, puffy blouse, black slacks and boots, and a cape. Her face was pure white except for dark circles around her eyes and a line of blood trailing from one corner of her mouth.

  And, of course, she was wearing plastic fangs.

  We weren’t dressed that dissimilarly, although our faces were different. I had almost the identical outfit except I wore a half mask and top hat. I had bright red lipstick, but I hadn’t allowed Abby to apply it crookedly.

  Color me vain.

  “What are you?”

  “I’m a female phantom of the opera,” I said. I swooped around a little, trying to act phantomish.

  “Yeah, don’t do that. It makes you look deranged.”

  “I am deranged, so I’m doing it perfectly.” I swooped around a little more, finally stepping up behind her and wrapping my arms around her. I began singing to her. “Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation!”

  “Oh, no way,” she said, shrugging me off. “No swooping and definitely no singing. And no grabbing.”

  “If I don’t swoop and sing,” I said, “no one will know I’m the phantom.”

  “You’re going to scare people.”

  “Um. Hello. Haunted maze. I’m supposed to scare people.”

  “You’re going to embarrass me.”

  “Um. Hello.” I pointed to my mask. “No one is going to know I’m your cool aunt.”

  “Oh, they’ll know you’re my aunt, but they’ll drop the ‘cool’ part. I think you should be an exhibit in a wax museum.”

  “A swooping, singing exhibit,” I said. “I’m going to go find someone who appreciates me.”

  “Please don’t sing.”

  “Aw, Lydia,” I said.

  She waved a finger at me. “No. No singing.”

  “Can I swoop?”

  “Do you promise not to sing?”

  “Can I sing to your mom?”

  “All right. Go torture mom. But if I hear from any of my friends my formerly-cool aunt was singing, we’ll sneak out and TP your house.”

  I turned away, but under my breath, I sang, “Darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Teenage nieces painful aberration!”

  “Those aren’t even the words. And no singing!” I shut up and got about five steps before she stopped me. “Aunt Jackie?”

  I turned around.

  “That’s from, like, some musical, right?”

  “Yeah, honey. It is.”

  “Is it a good show?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Will you take me some time?”

  I rushed over and hugged her. “I’d love to.”

  “I bet Ms. Mathis likes musicals.”

  “Lydia!”

  She chuckled.

  “For that, I get to sing.”

  “No singing!”

  I stepped away. Singing. Behind me, Lydia sighed.

  * * * *

  Building the maze had largely been Ron’s efforts, with primary assistance from Jay-jay and Abby. Costumes had been Abby, through and through. But now, it was my turn to direct. And direct I did.

  The girls all looked fabulous, spooky and scary in their costumes. I set them each, sometimes solo, sometimes as two, at various places in the maze
. I added Abby and Ron at one major crossroads. Jay-jay and Karla took positions on the scaffolding and could loom over people. John and Merry manned the entrance. I worked as a floater, moving through the maze and acting in a creepy fashion.

  Whenever I got near Lydia, I sang.

  “Knock it off!”

  I warned everyone ahead of time. “Don’t scare the little kids.”

  We had a blast.

  I couldn’t be certain, but I thought every kid who attended the party went through the maze, and most of them more than once. We heard a lot of shrieks and even a little swearing. At one point, I heard the clear voice of an older teenage boy drop an f-bomb. It sounded like it came from where Jay-jay was looming over people.

  A lot, although probably not all, of the parents also traversed the maze. John and Merry quietly warned them about the two tunnels, and that may have scared one or two off. It shouldn’t have, but some people have a hard time maintaining their dignity while crawling on their hands and knees.

  Phoebe came through several times, and I even was able to chase her through—singing, of course—during one of her visits. She shrieked appropriately, and everyone, absolutely everyone did her best to scare the bejeebers out of her.

  I don’t think she was honestly scared, but it was fun to chase her.

  Our haunted maze was definitely a hit. John and Merry hosted the compliments, although Phoebe heard from a number of parents about it, and she relayed their compliments later.

  I didn’t have time to visit the rest of the party, and I didn’t really spend time with anyone except to tease Lydia whenever I could.

  But I had fun, and from what I could see, so did everyone else.

  * * * *

  Most of the kids were gone by nine. Phoebe chased nearly everyone else out quite promptly, and then she gathered all the volunteers together. There was a good crew of us.

  “We had a great party,” she said. “It may have been the best ever.” Then she relayed some of the compliments she heard, and told a few stories of kids—or even parents—clearly having a good time. She complimented each group: food, decorations, games, and the haunted maze. She offered a blanket thanks for all of us.

  “Tomorrow: cleanup. I’ll be here at eight, and I don’t want to be the only one here.”

  “You won’t be, Ms. Mathis,” we all assured her.

  “All right. Everyone, get out of here so I can lock up.” But then she grabbed me. “Not you. I want to talk to you about something.”

  I felt like I was about to be dragged down to the principal’s office.

  Party Two

  It took a few minutes to empty the school, and then I found myself in one of the classrooms, looking at Phoebe. She was dressed as a traditional witch, all in black, with a witch’s hat, long, black gown, and black opera gloves. She wore black leather boots and showed just a hint of stripped tights. It was all very elegant.

  “The maze was incredible.”

  “We had a good team.”

  “You did,” she agreed. “But it came together because of you.”

  “Ron-“

  “Yes, you had a good crew. And it would have been different without Ron and Abby. But it still would have been amazing.”

  I lowered my head, uncomfortable with praise I didn’t think I had earned.

  Then Phoebe turned around, her back to me, but she looked over her shoulder. “Where are you going next?”

  “Home, I guess.”

  She bent down, grabbed the hem of her gown on one side, and pulled it up to mid-thigh, securing it. I suddenly had a much better view of one shapely leg encased in the stripped tights.

  “There’s a party,” Phoebe said, straightening, her back still towards me. “Some friends are hosting it.”

  A moment later, she turned around, and her formerly prim gown was partly open in front, offering a hint of cleavage. Maybe a touch more than a hint.

  “It’s a more adult affair,” she added.

  I stared at her cleavage.

  Phoebe took two steps towards me. I detected a smile, but it was a real effort to raise my eyes. Her expression held amusement.

  Oh, I was so busted.

  “I’d like you to come along,” Phoebe said.

  “To the party?”

  “Uh huh.” She moved closer. “As my date.”

  “Your date?”

  “Your niece has been playing matchmaker for weeks,” Phoebe said. She moved closer still, and I found myself looking up into her eyes. “It would be a shame to put all her efforts to waste.”

  “But-“ I paused. “You’re straight. You’ve been eyeing that guy.”

  “You’ve been eyeing me.”

  I lowered my eyes, but then all I got was a good look at her cleavage again.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I never told you I was straight. I never said anything about a guy. Jackie, you’re the person I’ve been thinking about. And judging by where your eyes keep drifting, you don’t have a problem with that.”

  I snapped my gaze back to her face.

  “Me?”

  She moved a little closer. “You,” she whispered. “And for the record, I have no intention of you being available if Maeve ever calls you.”

  “Okay,” I whispered. “I’m okay with that.”

  “Good.”

  About the Author

  A writer by avocation, Robin has a renaissance interest in many areas. A bit of a gypsy, Robin has called a few places home and has traveled widely. A love of the outdoors, animals in general and experimenting with world cuisines, Robin and partner share their home with a menagerie of pets and guests, although sometimes it is difficult to discern who is whom.

  Robin can be reached via email as robin.roseau@gmail.com. Robin’s web site is http://www.robin-roseau.com.

  Works by Robin Roseau

  The Madison Wolves Series

  Fox Run

  Fox Play

  Fox Mate

  Fox Afield

  Fox Revenge

  Fox Dish

  Fox Lost

  Wolf Watch

  Wolf Ways

  Wolf Women

  Fox Fate

  Fox Short Stories

  Hunting Pups

  Fox in the Water

  Fox Rematch (set after Fox Mate and Fox Afield)

  Fox Opponent

  A Foxy Valentine

  Other Books in the Madison Wolves Universe

  Familiar

  Poor Little Witch Girl

  Seer

  Seer: Thrall

  Other Novels and Novellas

  Blood Slave

  A Charming Brew

  Emergency Claus

  Fitting In

  Free to Love

  Galatzi Trade

  Galatzi World

  In Custody

  Lost in the Words

  Privateer

  Stark’s Dell

  Submission

  Surprise

  The Interrogation

  Tresjolie

  The Ski Bindings Shorts

  Short stories of love and lust amongst the slopes.

  Snow Fox

  Short Stories

  Cooking for Love

  Southern Night

  Captured by the Raptor (writing as Rosetta Robins)

  A Charming Brew

  Copyright 2015 by Robin Roseau

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

  * * *

  License Notes

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