I make a point to slam the door as hard as I can and walk away.
Yeah, so you know how a minute ago I was pretty calm and cool? Well, not anymore.
Karma is a bitch.
A ninja turtle, four Elsas, and an astronaut knock on your door. What do you do? You give them candy.
I’m glad Mattie gave me a heads up on the amount of kids that would be knocking on the door tonight.
I put orange Halloween lights in my apartment window and have been standing at the building’s door with a giant bowl greeting the trick-or-treaters. I got tired of walking back and forth from my apartment so I thought it was better to just stand post at the front of the building.
“Happy Halloween!” the kids chant as they walk away. Another group approaches and we start all over. This time there are only two Elsas, a Cinderella, and a Darth Vader.
“If I ever have kids they are never allowed to dress like Elsa.” Mattie startles me when he creeps up behind me.
I place my hand over my heart and catch my breath. “Geez, give a girl a warning.” Looking down, the trick-or-treaters are staring up at me with their open trick or treat bags.
Mattie snakes an arm around me and grabs a Reese’s Pieces from the bowl. “Damn, woman, you give out good candy. I thought you couldn’t give out anything with nuts to kids anymore?”
“What do you know about kids? You’re still one yourself?” I scoff.
Mattie hold up his hand showing his middle, ring, and pinky fingers. “Three sisters. Seven, ten, and fifteen. All from my dad’s second marriage and trust me, they live in a nut-free world.”
He pops the Reese’s in his mouth and moans as if he just tasted the most tender piece of filet mignon. He swallows and points a finger at me. “And don’t call me a kid. I’m the same age as you.”
I give him a laugh. “No. You’re in school. I run a school. You’re a boy. I’m a girl. In maturity years that’s like a decade.”
Mattie puts an arm on my shoulder and pats it lightly, “Yes, mam.”
I offer a wry smile at his sarcastic remark. When he steps in front of me I appraise his costume for tonight. “Beetlejuice?”
“Robin Thicke. You should see my girl’s costume. She’s a goat.”
The look on my face is filled with confusion because I have absolutely no idea what he is talking about. Mattie lets out a belly laugh that carries him to the corner and out of sight.
I back away to close my door when something catches my eye. A light reflects off a piece of chrome from across the street and I step forward to look again. There is a shiny motorcycle parked on the opposite side of the street. Standing beside it is a piece of gold, brighter than the setting sun.
That gold is a man, and one I would never in a million years have pictured standing on my street corner.
I tilt my head and look back at him wondering why in the world Alexander Asher is here. He’s wearing black jeans and a black leather jacket. It’s a look so different from the two I’ve seen on him. Far more relaxed than the suit and tie, yet more intense than in Carpi. His hair is styled back but with a messier look, which must be from wearing a helmet.
I look down at my own attire. I’m wearing jeans and an orange V-neck sweater in honor of the holiday.
There is no reason I can think of for why he would be here. We haven’t spoken a word to each other in weeks, aside from when I caught him spying on me at the park. When I got home, I sat in the chesterfield contemplating what the hell it meant. I came up with nothing.
And now I’m completely confused as to why he’s standing across the street looking at me. With no clue as to what it is he wants, I turn around and go back to my apartment, leaving the front door to the building open and the door to my apartment slightly ajar.
I take a spot in the kitchen and turn down the volume on my speakers and wonder if he’ll follow me inside. Do I want him to come in?
Kind of.