by Kelly Risser
***
“Bride of Frankenstein!”
Katie stood in the doorway, watching me put the final touches on my makeup.
“Good guess,” I smiled at her from the mirror.
“I love your green skin, and how in the world did you get your hair like that?” My hair was standing straight up in the air—about two feet tall.
“Don’t ask,” I muttered, concentrating on attaching a false eyelash. Man, these things were trickier than they looked. I looked at Katie again and noticed that she was in her jeans and sweatshirt. The party was starting in fifteen minutes. “Are you planning on changing any time soon?”
“When Brian gets here.”
“Why the big secret?”
She smirked at me. “You’ll see.”
The doorbell rang. Neither of us jumped. People had been coming and going all morning. This was turning out to be the biggest party that Peggy’s Cove had seen in a long time; it seemed like everyone was contributing something.
Brian’s voice rang in the hallway. “Has anyone seen the love of my life?”
Katie grinned at me. “It’s showtime. See you soon, Meara!”
I had no idea what their costumes were going to be, but with all this secrecy, I was dying to find out.
“How’s my bride?”
Evan stood in the doorway. His hair and eyebrows were darkened to jet-black, and his skin tinted green like mine. He had thimbles on the sides of his neck to mimic bolts. He wore a gray suit and big, black shoes.
“Glad I don’t wear false eyelashes every day,” I said. “How’s my monster?”
He came and stood behind me, so I looked at him through the mirror.
“Wow, Meara, you look stunning…and frightening all at once. I’m impressed.” He eyed my hair skeptically. “Where’s your white stripe?”
“That’s where you come in,” I said, handing him the can of white hair paint. “I can’t spray my hair and cover my eyes.”
“True,” he said, holding up the can in his right hand and shielding my face with his left. “Hold your breath.”
When he finished, I looked in the mirror. Perfect. The two of us looked like we stepped right off a movie set. I grinned at his reflection. “I think this is my best costume ever.”
“Mine, too.”
“What time is it?”
“Ten minutes until party time. Does that mean I get to kiss you?”
I laughed and stepped back away from him. “Not on your life. You’ll ruin my makeup. This took me twenty minutes.”
He sighed. “Ah, the joys of dating a high-maintenance monster.”
As we headed down the stairs, I took in the view. The Inn was transformed. It was like stepping into a haunted house. Decorations draped every corner and available space.
The buffet featured green punch, steaming with dry ice, “eyeball” meatballs, monster fingers, broomsticks, “bat-wing” buffalo chicken wings, and every other kind of spooky or gross-looking food item Grandma Mary and Lydia could create. The cake looked like a witch’s cauldron, with gummy worms and bugs floating inside.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been to a party this lavish.”
Evan laughed. “It’s something else all right. I hope your mom likes it.”
“She’ll love it.”
“You guys look great!” Brian called from behind us.
I turned around and laughed. “This was your big secret?”
“Do you like it?” Katie asked, twirling around. She was dressed as the Statue of Liberty, and Brian was Uncle Sam.
“It’s patriotic,” I said.
“We wanted to remind you of home.”
“That’s sweet,” I said. “Although, I don’t recall Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty strolling around my neighborhood growing up.”
“No?” Evan asked. “Well, that’s because you didn’t have Katie there. She probably would have latched onto this costume idea a long time ago. Any excuse to wear a toga.”
Katie stuck out her tongue just as Lydia ran into the room. She was dressed as a lion tamer, and Darren was a lion.
“Shhh…everyone. Sharon’s here. She just pulled up.”
There were too many people to hide. Darren dimmed the lights, and everyone moved to the corners or against the wall. I felt the anticipation in the air, and my heart thumped in my chest. I prayed that she would be surprised, that she hadn’t somehow already figured it out. Katie picked me up earlier in the day, and I told my mom I was coming over to get my costume ready. She didn’t seem to think anything strange was going on.
We heard the knock at the door and Lydia opened it, stepping back to let Mom in. At that moment, we all yelled, “Surprise!”
She jumped, but quickly recovered. “Holy cow! This is for me?”
We all broke into an off-key Happy Birthday. Darren placed a glass of punch in Mom’s hand, and she started to work her way around the room. I ran up and kissed her, noting how radiant she looked tonight. She was Red Riding Hood. Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes brightened with excitement.
“Happy Birthday, Mom!”
“Were you in on this?”
“Uh huh.” I smiled and hugged her tight. It was easy to do these days, because she was so incredibly thin. “Surprised you, didn’t we?”
“Almost gave me a heart attack then and there,” she agreed. “I think this was the biggest surprise I’ve ever had.”
“Besides me, of course.”
Her brow crinkled until she realized I was teasing. Then, she relaxed into a grin. “Yes, besides you.”
Guests continued to arrive, and soon the house was swimming with people. I didn’t know a lot of the guests. They were people from town or mom’s childhood friends. It was even harder to recognize anyone with costumes. We could have had a bus full of party crashers, and I didn’t think anyone would know the difference.
“Do you want to step outside?” Evan whispered. “It’s getting unbelievably hot in here.” He grinned down at me. “And, I’m not just talking about you.”
I shook my head. He just couldn’t resist those cheesy one-liners. “Sure. Let’s just grab some punch, and we can head out.”
My mom stood in the corner of the dining room, talking animatedly to a masked pirate. Strange, I thought, he looks familiar. She seemed to know him well. They stood close, and he touched her often—on the arm, the hand, and the shoulder. Once, he even brushed back her hair and tucked it behind her ear. I was about to go over by them when I heard my grandfather behind me.
“You!” he growled. “What are you doing here?”
Mom whipped around to face my grandfather. She looked…guilty. “Dad, please. Don’t make a scene.”
Grandpa Jamie gestured to the masked man. “Who invited him? Where’d he come from?”
Gasping, I knew exactly who the masked stranger was.
David touched my mom’s arm, which had my grandfather snarling in response. “Keep your hands off her.”
Ignoring him, David addressed my mom. “It’s okay, Sharon. I’ll leave.”
“No!” Mom shook her head. Tears glistened in her eyes, but she looked determined. She lifted her chin and faced my grandfather. “I invited him, Dad. David is my guest.”
Now it was my grandfather’s turn to look surprised. Her confession seemed to knock the wind right out of him, and I watched as he sank into a chair, his eyes never leaving my mom’s face. “Why on earth did you do that?”
“I love him, Dad,” she said. “I always have.”
By now, the doorway to the room was crowded shoulder to shoulder with curious onlookers. No one seemed sure of what was going to happen next. I wished there was something I could do…like hide. This was so embarrassing!
Lydia stepped through and waved everyone away with a sweep of her hands. “Okay, nothing more to see here. Let’s give the birthday girl a moment of privacy, shall we? Who would like some coffee and dessert? I made the most fabulous apple tart…” She kept up the social prattle as she
led the onlookers back into the living room.
David stepped forward and offered my grandfather his hand. “I’m sorry, Jamie, for all the pain I have caused you and your family. I don’t expect you to forgive me. Just know that I do love Sharon and Meara.”
I perked up at my name. He loved me? How could he love me when he barely knew me? I didn’t love him. He was practically a stranger.
My grandfather looked at David’s outstretched hand. He stood and, at his full height, he was a good three inches taller than David was. His voice boomed. “Leave them again, and I’ll find you and deal with you myself.”
With that, he turned and left the room.
David lowered his hand. He looked humbled; Mom looked mad.
“He shouldn’t talk to you that way,” she said. “I’m going to go find him…”
“Sharon,” David said. “It’s okay. I’d say the same thing in his shoes.”
David put his arm around my mom’s shoulder and whispered something in her ear. She relaxed and smiled at him. I didn’t think she even realized I was in the room. Evan came up beside me, took my hand, and squeezed it. “Are you okay?”
Was I okay? “I think so,” I said.
When I spoke, Mom realized that I was in the room. She ran over and placed her hands on either side of my face. Her eyes were full of concern. “Meara, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for things to happen this way.”
David stepped behind her. He placed one hand on Mom’s shoulder and reached out to touch my hair with the other. “Hello, Meara.”
“Hello, David.” I was not about to call him Dad or even Father. Evan squeezed my hand again, so I introduced him. “David, I’d like for you to meet my boyfriend, Evan Mitchell. Evan, this is my father, David.”
David’s eyes appraised Evan as he shook his hand. “You don’t look surprised, Evan.”
“Well, Meara’s told me quite a bit about you.”
“The little I know…” I grumbled under my breath.
David chuckled, a delighted expression on his face. “Sharon, Meara has absolutely no patience.”
“No patience!” I sputtered. “You first appeared to me almost four months ago, and I’ve barely learned a thing about you.”
Mom looked up at him. “Perhaps it’s time you tell her more.”
David shook his head. “Not yet. Not here. We have time.”
“I’m standing right here,” I mumbled. “Why don’t you try talking to me?” I wasn’t some small child they could pat on the head. David exchanged another meaningful look with my mom. Great—now they were all lovey-dovey and keeping secrets from me—me of all people! The one who needed to know! I turned angrily and took Evan’s arm. “I can see I’m not going to learn anything new tonight. Come on, Evan, let’s go.”
Evan gave my parents an apologetic look, which had me fuming even more, and then followed me out the patio door and into the yard. He listened while I ranted, offering an “uh-huh” or “of course” at regular intervals. It didn’t take me long to get it out of my system, and when I calmed down, I realized how ridiculous I was acting. It didn’t stop me from telling Evan, “If you say ‘uh-huh’ one more time, I’m going to punch you.”
“Uh-huh.”
“You asked for it.” I went to punch him in the arm, and his hand wrapped around my wrist. He lifted my arm until it was around his neck, then wrapped his other arm around my waist and pulled me closer.
“Don’t you know?” He breathed in my ear. “I’m a lover, not a fighter.”
Any remaining anger and irritation disappeared as I lost myself in his kiss.