by Stratton, M.
“Oh! Now, I’m really curious . . . I wonder . . .”
“What?”
“Just trying to figure out a loop hole so we can look at the costumes without breaking the rules.”
“You should have thought of that a couple of days ago. We’ve only an hour left to wait.”
“I hate it when you make sense.”
“Get used to it.”
She snapped her fingers. “Speaking of making sense, maybe you can help me.”
“Of course, what do you need?”
They spent the next hour going over the pros and cons she had listed for the improvements. When they hung up at five, she thought her spinning mind would never stop. He’d brought up a lot of good issues, both for and against, which was going to make it even harder to make a decision. But for the time being, she had to stop. It was time to get ready for the party. When there was a knock on the door, she went over and opened it up. Bethany smiled at her, which made her even more nervous than before. She was her right-hand woman who helped her run the office end of the business. She’d also help the guests with hair and makeup, either for fun or for a play they were doing. Since she’d been in theater during high school and college, she was the best one for the job.
“Move aside, missy, it’s time to get ready. I’ve got work to do.” She spun around to Sam. “You aren’t in your costume yet? Girl, what am I going to do with you? Here.” Bethany shoved the costume bag into her hands. “Get dressed. Now.”
“Whatever.” Sam grinned and walked into the small bathroom finally getting to unzip the bag. She laughed as her shaking fingers fumbled to pull the zipper down. A large, red, frilly, dress unfolded out of the bag. She cocked her head and frowned. “What in the hell–” She held up the tulle and shuddered, this was supposed to be fun, wearing a girly-girl dress wasn’t what she considered fun.
“You do remember how to be a girl, right?” Bethany said from right outside the door. “Or do you need help?”
“I’ve got it. Hold your horses.” Sam grumbled softly to herself as she took her clothes off and put the dress on. After struggling with the zipper for a couple of minutes, she gave up and asked for help.
“Ahhh . . . look at you. You know, you’d be absolutely gorgeous if you’d wipe that frown off your face.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, just zip me up and zip your lips.”
Bethany bent over laughing, “Oh, now, that’s a good one. Oh my,” She continued to laugh. “If you only knew! Man this is so much fun.”
“I’m glad someone’s having fun.”
“There. All done. Turn around and look at yourself.”
Sam turned and gasped. It looked like it was a blood red wedding dress. “What’s going on here?”
“You’ll have to wait and see! Now, come on, I’ve got to do your hair and makeup. You want to look good, don’t you?”
“I have no idea, do I?” Sam wandered over to the chair Bethany held out for her and sat down, her stomach churning with nerves for what the guests had planned for them. She looked over and noticed everything laid out on her desk and blinked a few times. “Ummm . . . what exactly do you have planned for me? Because all of that”—she waved her hand—“looks deadly.”
“Really?” Bethany put her hand on her hip and gave her a stern look. “You are female woman. I know you know how to put on makeup and make your hair look all nice. That’s all this is.”
“No, all of that looks like torture devices specifically designed to make me look nothing like I really do.”
“Have a little faith. It’ll be fine; besides, it’s only for one evening. Then you can go home and wash it all off.”
“Promise?”
“Oh, hell, girl.” Bethany held out her hand. “Pinky swear. How can someone who loves Halloween as much as you do hate putting on make-up?”
Sam pointed to the equipment on the desk. “That’s not theatrical make up. That’s girly make-up. A lot of girly make-up.”
Bethany shook her head. “I wonder about you. Now hush, I have work to do.”
Once that was out of the way, Sam tried to relax as her face was painted. She could feel the heaviness of it, and there was so much of it she was afraid it would crack if she tried to talk. Sitting there, she tried to focus more on what was being done to her than what was coming next, wondering what Ethan would be dressed up as.
“There! Yes, you look perfect.”
“Says you,” Sam mumbled, trying not to move her lips too much.
“Oh, come on, you can talk normally. Your face isn’t going to fall off.”
Sam tried to open and close her mouth a few times, surprised Bethany was right; her face didn’t feel like it was cracking, or worse yet, falling off. “Hmmm . . . well, what do you know?”
“You should listen to me more often.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Don’t you get sassy with me.” She nodded toward the bathroom. “Go look at yourself.”
Sam couldn’t be sure, but she thought Bethany tried to hide the fact she was laughing at her. Taking a deep breath, Sam walked in and faced the mirror before she turned on the light. All she was able to do was stare at what she assumed was herself. It had to be, the person in the mirror mimicked everything she did, but it sure didn’t look anything like her.
“Well, what do you think of my handiwork? Do you recognize it?”
Shaking her head, Sam didn’t break eye contact with herself. She had to remind herself to breathe, and tell herself everything was going to be okay.
“Lydia, from Beetlejuice! You’re Lydia! Isn’t this a great costume? And if I do say so myself, I did an excellent job on the hair and makeup. You look just like her! Isn’t this great? Now, come on, we’ve got to get you down to the rec center.”
“Yeah . . . sure . . .” She felt like herself on the inside, but on the outside nothing was close to what she normally looked like.
Bethany grabbed her hand, pulled her out of the room, and kept the pressure on until they were at the side doors into the rec center. “Now, you go in and have a great time.”
“Wait!” Sam wouldn’t let her leave. “Where are you going?”
“Oh, I’ve got other plans for the night. You go ahead, and you’ll be fine.”
“What do you mean, ‘I’ll be fine?’ I don’t know what I’m doing here.”
“All you need to do is walk through those doors and enjoy the evening. Easy.”
“Says you.”
“Yes, says me, now shoo. Go relax and have some fun you didn’t plan for a change.” With that, Bethany disappeared.
There was nothing left for Sam to do but open the doors and go in. There was only a very low light coming from the rec room, so she couldn’t tell what was inside. Taking a deep breathe, she squared her shoulders and flung the door open and stepped through into an eerie blue light and a lot of fog. It reminded her of the Halloween parties they usually had.
As soon as she stepped through, the blue light turned to red and the door directly across from her was flung open and someone stumbled through it. Sam squinted her eyes. There standing across from her was Beetlejuice, or as she suspected, Ethan. She couldn’t help herself, she started laughing and walked over to him as someone started the stereo with the movie’s theme music playing.
“Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice,” she said.
“You know that means you’ve summoned me, and can’t get rid of me.”
“I do.”
“Well, then, as long as we’re clear.” He held out his arm for her. “May I have this dance?”
He danced her around the room to the music coming out of the stereo system. As they passed by, she could see all the guests standing around in costumes from the movie. Everyone was laughing and having a good time.
“Was there even a scavenger hunt?” she asked him.
“Somehow I don’t think so. It seems to be some elaborate plan to get us to spend some more time together, and pay off our bet at the same time.”
“If it makes you feel any better, so do I, and I must say, this isn’t my typical shade.” He smiled down at her.
“Yeah, and your hair . . . wow.”
“What, you don’t think this greyish-green is my color? They said it brought out the color of my eyes.”
“You might want to see a different consultant next time.”
The music slowed even more and Ethan pulled Sam closer to him. “I’ve got you in my arms. As far as I’m concerned, they could have done anything and I’d be happy as long as you are with me.”
“I don’t know why I was so nervous.” She rested her head on his chest. “This feels so right.”
They were allowed to dance for a little longer before the lights were turned up enough to see better and the chairs and couches were moved around, then the food and popcorn was brought out. The group all talked and ate as a large screen was pulled down and they watched the movie they were all dressed up as. People shouted out the lines they knew, especially if they were dressed up as that character. At the very end of the movie they all got back up again and started dancing to “Jump in the Line” by Harry Belafonte.
As Sam and Ethan walked back to her house hand in hand, she thought it was one of those magical evenings she was going to remember. After all, in the movie, Beetlejuice didn’t get Lydia, but it would seem, in real life, he would.
Day 42
Ethan–
Did you see that? Day forty-two, brother. They gave me four-to-six weeks to live. Now every day from here on out is a bonus. I remember my first day here, I wanted to make it to forty-two, and I did. I still feel pretty good and I’m going to do everything I can to make it one hundred-and-twenty days.
Evan
Ethan knew this was a huge step for Sam. She was allowing him to meet their newest guest and get him all settled in. When she’d told him this morning what he was going to be doing, he’d acted like it was no big deal, but he knew better. She trusted him to do it by himself. Over the past couple of weeks, she’d been showing him more and more of the daily operations of the resort. The more he learned, the more amazed by her he became. He knew it was a lot of work, but to actually see everything, was something entirely different.
When he heard a car pull up, he walked out on the porch watching the tall bald man in a Green Bay Packers shirt unfold himself from the taxi. Ethan was there and ready, paying the driver and making sure the staff came over to collect the bags from the trunk, before reaching out to shake the man’s hand. “Welcome, Mr. Lesky, to Last Resort, I’m Ethan.”
“I’d say it’s nice to be here, but you know.” He shrugged. “And call me Kris. I’m dying. We don’t need to be big on formalities.”
Ethan smiled. “Kris it is. I can see you’re a football fan.” They headed toward the resort. Ethan also knew the tall, bald man in his early forties, was divorced and had two young daughters, Spring and Jules. He had battled brain cancer three other times before it came back even more aggressive. The surgeons weren’t able to remove it all.
“Fan is too mild a word when it comes to my Packers. They’re playing the San Francesco 49ers in a couple of weeks. I’m hoping to be able to make it to the game.”
Stopping in front of one of the cabins, Ethan nodded to the man. “I’m sure we can make that happen. Sam, the owner, and myself, were talking about you and we made sure the television in your cabin gets all of the football games along with the rec center. You don’t have to worry about missing any games this season.”
“Perfect. I think this is the year the Packers win another Superbowl.”
“Don’t let Sam hear you say that. She’s a Bear’s fan.”
“Oh, really? Well, this should make for a very interesting season.” Kris grinned and slapped Ethan on the back.
Later that evening, Sam sat cuddled up to Ethan on her porch swing, rocking back and forth, watching the sun go down. They had a blanket over their legs to ward against the crisp fall chill in the air.
“Did you have a chance to meet Kris Lesky today?” Ethan asked.
“Yes, yes, I did. Did you have to tell him I was such a Bears fan? I think that man had every single Packer’s gear he brought with him on.” She chuckled. “It was actually pretty funny. I made sure we got a picture of it. Although if they beat the Bears, I told him he may need to deal with you that day.”
“I can do that. I guess he’s more into football than we thought. He’s been in a fantasy league for years. He was kind of bummed he wasn’t going to finish out this year. He didn’t want to commit to a spot and then not make it to the end of the season.”
“I can understand that.” Sam swung her foot gently back and forth, the wind rustling the leaves the only sound. “But he should still be able to play . . . I wonder . . .” The season had already begun, but they weren’t that far into it. “Do you think we could come up with some kind of weekly fantasy game? I know there are other guests and staff who like football, and you know I do.” She sat up. “Yeah, we could totally do this. It’s Tuesday, perfect. We can get this up and running before the Thursday night game. We should have something for weekly winners, and then whoever wins the most for the season.” She stood up, went into the kitchen and pulled out a pad of paper and pen, and then grabbed her tablet before coming back out and sitting back down next to Ethan. “Here.” She handed him her tablet. “See if you can find any kind of weekly type football fantasy games we can use here.” She tapped the pen to her lips. “Do you know enough about football to play?”
“Seriously?” He yanked on a lock of her hair. “I can’t believe you’re asking me about this. Of course.”
“Really?” She sat up and turned to look at him. “You’ve never said anything about it before.”
“Well, it’s not something I need to bring up in any conversation, but yes, I like, and know a lot about, football. Just because we’ve been too busy working with the guests during the games this season doesn’t mean I still haven’t kept up on the scores.”
She squinted her eyes at him, hoping it wasn’t a team she didn’t like. “Be careful how you answer, but who is your favorite team?”
Leaning back, he laced his fingers together and put them behind his head. “Wouldn’t you like to know, Ms. Truman?”
“I would, which is why I asked. Now spill.”
“What’s it worth to you?”
“How about this.” She leaned in close. “I won’t hurt you, too much, even if you happen to pick a team I loathe.”
“Well, well, well, a little blood-thirsty, are we?”
“When it comes to football, hell yeah. Now spill. Who’s your favorite team?”
“Same as Evan, the Seahawks.”
“Oh, whew.” She relaxed and settled back into him. “I was seriously worried you were going to say the Cowboys or something like that.” She shuddered. “I’m not sure if I could get past that.”
He laughed softly. “Well, I guess that’s lucky for both of us then. But seriously, this is a great idea and it’ll be fun for anyone who likes football. Maybe we can have some tailgate-style parties here on Sundays.”
“Oh, yes! I love that idea. I don’t know why we haven’t done something like this before. This is going to be great. And the Packers are coming to town soon. We’ll make sure we get Kris down on the field. I’ve already started putting out feelers, and it shouldn’t be an issue.”
“Let me know if you run into roadblocks. I may not like the 49ers, but I do have contacts and can get us access.”
“Excellent. Now, let’s figure out exactly how this is going to work every week for the rest of the season and playoffs.”
Thursday night football was in full swing and everyone was enjoying themselves; in fact, they were all getting pretty loud. Ethan had made a trip down into town to make sure everyone had their favorite team’s jersey to wear during the season. Everyone had ma
de their picks and were alternating between the laptops stationed around the rec center and the big screen, which had the game on. The Chargers were playing the Saints and it was a close game.
He came up to Sam and wrapped his arm around her waist. When she leaned back into him, he took a moment to enjoy having her and this place in his life. His life was so different from a year earlier, and he could finally say, with complete conviction, he was happy with the direction his life was taking. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but with Sam by his side, he felt like he could handle anything life could throw at him.
Half the room cheered when the Saints scored again, while the other half booed. Laughing, he had to hand it to her, she’d whipped this up quickly and everyone was enjoying themselves. As always, he wondered where her boundless energy and ideas came from. If you asked her, she’d only smile and tell you it was a gift.
“Did you see that?” Sam shook her ass in a dance. “That was my quarterback throwing to my tight end. You know I was worried when they traded the best tight end in the league, but I’ve got to admit, this new kid is pretty good. But isn’t this great? Everyone is having so much fun! Seriously, I’m kicking myself for not thinking of this sooner. Oh, I know, it’s going to change. There are going to be times when the majority of the guests won’t like football, but still, it’s something we can all do together. Who doesn’t need an excuse to have a party? Now if da Bears could just kick some Packer ass this Sunday night, it’ll be an awesome start to our little fantasy season.” She turned to look at him when he didn’t say anything. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m great, just waiting to make sure you were done talking before I started. You’re a little scary when you start talking about football.”
“Oh, stop it. I am not.” She bumped her hip into his.
“Next time you start talking about the eighty-five Bears as being one of the greatest teams ever, I’ll be sure to record you. And when someone insulted Ditka, well, I feared for their life.”