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The Halloween Party, Part 2
As promised, here is the second part of the story. I hope you all enjoy reading it through to the end. And of course your comments are always welcomed and greatly appreciated!
It was well after ten o'clock on the Saturday before Halloween and the clubhouse ballroom was hot and jumping.
"I don't know about you, but I think we'd better watch out," David warned.
"Why?" Holly asked, wondering.
"Because I think that Ronald Reagan is trying to put the make on Tinkerbell," he said, gesturing toward his old friend Jeff MacFarland who was trying his best to put a smile on the face of one of Holly's cuter girlfriends.
"I don't think we have much to worry about," Holly laughed. "She can easily handle the best he's got to offer."
As they stood together surveying the scene, a smile came across both faces. The clubhouse ballroom looked terrific decked out in a haunted house theme, with plenty of skeletons and cobwebs and scary sound effects. The band had warmed up quickly in their first set and got almost everybody up and dancing by the third tune. And there was such a mix of people, from Holly's workplace and school, from David's workplace, and of course so many of their friends. And they were surprised at how well every one seemed to get along. Perhaps it was because everyone was in costume, but there seemed to be much more mixing between the different groups, which made them both happy.
"So who's costume do you like the best?" David asked.
"There's some good ones. I like the girl from your office who came as the massacred Girl Scout. And the guy in the toilet is pretty wild," Holly laughed.
"Oh, Greg's Turd In A Toilet costume?" David laughed. "He's done that before a few years ago. Just watch out for the stink bombs he brought along. I'm kind of partial to Mark's tube of Preparation H costume, although your girl friends in the French Maid and Morticia Addams costumes are right up there." Holly smacked at him good naturedly, but he could see that she was giving him a look, a special look. "But the best one by far, is yours," he said, looping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. "You are the prettiest vampire victim I have ever seen in my life!"
And she did look gorgeous in a horror movie way, the filmy black flowing gown, cinched at the waist with a sash made from a black velvet ribbon, contrasting with her pale white makeup and the bite mark and dried blood on her neck. Of course, dressed as a vampire in an old tuxedo with Holly's special makeup design, his hair slicked back and his complexion pale and drawn, David was feeling pretty dapper in a gothic yet romantic sort of way. And when they had ended their first dance together earlier he couldn't resist the urge of dipping her back down low and faking a bite on her neck appropriately.
"So are you guys really going to play tonight?" asked Chuck, one of David's old friends, coming up behind them. "Donny said you guys were gonna jam."
"Yeah, I think so," David answered. "Maybe just a few tunes. We haven't played together in years." He thought about just how long it had been since they had done a gig. Too many years perhaps, but all the guys were here and his good buddy John had no problem with them taking over for a while.
"That will be great," Chuck said. "Looking forward to it."
"So am I, since Holly hasn't heard me play except on CD," David said, giving her waist a little squeeze. They watched together as Chuck wandered off.
"Well, we should be mingling, Honey," Holly reminded him. "Do you want to check at the bar and make sure that he's all set?"
"No problem, Baby," David said, pulling her to him for a quick little kiss. "See you around in a bit for the costume contest?"
Holly smiled and quickly joined some friends while David checked on the bartender. He spent the better part of an hour going around the room greeting and talking with friends, eventually hooking up with a couple of his buddies from work. He looked over and caught sight of Holly chatting with a group of her friends. She turned toward him and smiled warmly. Even as they partied at opposite ends of the hall, they were never far from each other's sight, and the looks they exchanged told anyone there how they felt about being together. As he stood and listened to his friends tell some favorite new jokes, the band hit up a great tune and he felt a hand reach out from nowhere and grab him.
"I wanna dance to this," Holly said, pulling him toward the dance floor. David smiled when he noticed that several of his friends were dancing with her friends. He checked out the band as John hammered his piano and the guitarist Rich cranked out a great rhythm. But when Holly pulled him up and took his hands to dance, he forgot all about the others and filled his eyes with the look of her. It was a fast but easily danceable tune and he loved seeing the joy in her face as they began to move together. The way she moved her arms and shifted her body drew his attention. But the way she laughed as they moved and spun around warmed him deeply. The other guests must have been inspired as well and the dance floor was soon crowded. After another tune or two, she pulled him close and kissed him on the cheek.
"Now this is what I call a party," she laughed.
They took a breather and grabbed a cold drink and a shared few minutes together arm in arm. But soon they were separated and David found himself cornered with some of his old buddies. All of them agreed that it was a great party and how glad they were about coming. They had asked him about which of her girlfriends were available and he pointed them out.
"So how'd you meet her, Davey?" asked George. "She is gorgeous, too much for the likes of you!"
"Don't be jealous, man," chided Greg. "Our old friend is as deserving of her attentions as the next guy. And since I'm the next guy in line, I can't wait."
"So tell, me man, what is it like with her?" asked Ritchie.
"What do you mean?"
"You know, what's it like to have a hot twenty-year-old college girl?"
"Oh, come on! I'm not going to tell you that," David protested. "Don't you remember college?"
"Yeah, but I was the nerd, remember? But really, you can tell us," Ritchie persisted. "We're buddies right? It's got to be wild to be hanging with a hot young babe like that. So what's she like, you know, in the sack?"
"Come on guys, nothing personal, but that's not something I want to talk about," David remarked. "I never asked you about what it's like to be with Helen, did I?"
"But it's been years since Helen looked like that or could fuck like that one must be able to," Ritchie said.
"Hey, watch it, man," Greg said. "Our brother here is in love with the real thing. We should be supporting him."
"Yeah and handing him some Viagra too!" George chimed in. "But all joking aside, it must be a challenge to be with a girl like her twenty-four-seven."
"Bring on the challenges," David said. "But it can really be hard sometimes, because she is so young. She thinks that she's so hip and with-it, when she's really so naïve about many things. We all remember what it was like to be twenty-two. You think you know everything, you have the opportunity to do everything, and the world is full of unlimited promises. But you've only scratched the surface. There is so much that I could teach her but she doesn't want to hear a word of it. You guys know like I do, we've been through it all and we know what life is like. But that doesn't mean anything to her. It's like she has to go through it herself before she knows what it's really like. She's young and foolish, but when she's through, I'll be there for her. God, I sure as hell hope so."
"So is that what you think of me?" Holly said, her voice coming from behind him and sounding chilly.
David turned around, startled by the sound of her voice, unaware that she had been standing behind him while he talked with his friends. Shit! What did I say that was so bad? He asked himself. "Well, maybe what you thought you heard wasn't what I was saying," he said, trying to explain, but she had turned her back to him.
"You think that I'm just some little child or something? Like one of your kids?" she said looking him straight in the eye. Her friend Nikki glared at him.
"No! Wait a minute, Holly! Let me explain!" he said as the two girls began to move away quickly. "That isn't what I meant at all. Come on, Baby!"
Holly paused for a moment and looked back at him. "Just because you're so much older than me, doesn't mean that you're so smart, and that everything you say is so wise, you know," she said slowly.
David was sure that it was just a misunderstanding, and that she hadn't heard exactly what he had said or meant to say. But as she and Nikki turned away and disappeared into the crowd, David looked back to his buddies and shrugged.
"Hey, pallie! You coulda stayed married and been talked to like that!" Ritchie laughed.
"She'll be all right," David said. "Once she cools off, we'll talk and everything will be all right. At least I hope so." But for all the confidence of his words, he felt queasy inside and mulled over what he might say to her later on and how he would say it. Just then he felt a tug on his jacket and turned to see Donny, his old bass player, pointing toward the bandstand.
"It's time to do it," Donny said loudly. "Come on, man. Let's get this on!"
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