“I bet he’d be happy to do it. I don’t see how it would hurt to ask.”
“Right,” I said, just wanting to end the conversation. I stood up. “I’ve got to grab some books before my next class. I’ll see you later.”
“Okay,” she said. “You sure you don’t want me to come by and ask him myself?”
“I’m sure,” I said, and walked away.
Mom asked me what I thought we should all be for the Marquands’ Halloween party. She wanted it to be something Jacob would like since he’d be going, too.
I told her I’d already made a costume plan with Aaron, but that I’d double-check. I sent him a text.
Still on for Halloween? Me Suzy, you Shakusky?
Shit—totally forgot. Sorry. Crystal got us all themed costumes, even Mia. Must do what the generalissima says. You shd still be Suzy tho—you’d be so cute.
But I couldn’t be Suzy without Shakusky. She was part of a set.
I found Mom and told her I was in on whatever she decided. We talked about it for a while and decided we should do Peter Pan, since that was Jacob’s current favorite Disney movie.
Halloween was the next Friday night. Riley and Skyler asked me if I wanted to do something with them. “We could hand out candy at your house,” Riley suggested hopefully.
“No one comes to our house,” I said, which was true, because we had a gate and a long driveway, and all the houses in our neighborhood were too far apart to make trick-or-treating worthwhile. “I’m going to a party, anyway.”
“Whose?” Riley asked, with the stricken expression of someone who thinks she’s been socially marginalized. I quickly explained that it was a family thing.
We gathered in the kitchen before we left for the party so we could take a few family photos. I felt a little stupid in my green tights and tunic but I really loved the over-the-knee slouchy brown boots Mom had let me buy. I’d been coveting them for months, but she kept saying they were too expensive until the day before, when I’d argued that they’d work for Halloween and she gave in. She was funny about money, spending lavishly one second and suddenly frugal the next—her current lifestyle clashing with old habits.
We’d assumed Jacob would want to be Peter Pan, but when we showed him a picture of the costume and said, “For Jakie,” he’d shaken his head and pointed to a picture of Michael, the little boy with the teddy bear, and then pointed to himself and said, “Jake.” Which for him was practically a sentence. So I became Peter by default. As Mom put it, “It’s either you or Luke, and Luke already said it won’t be him. He’s very excited about Captain Hook’s mustache.”
“Why not you?” I asked. “Isn’t Peter Pan usually played by a middle-aged woman?”
“That sentence alone is enough to send me into therapy for five years,” she said. “Green tights would push me over the edge.”
She had been torn for a while between Tinker Bell and Wendy, but decided that since she’d probably be holding Jacob/Michael for most of the party, Wendy made more sense. “Plus I’ll be wearing a nightgown, so I can go right to sleep afterward,” she said. “It’s my ideal party outfit.”
Lorena took the photos for us. Mom held Jacob, Jacob held his teddy bear, and I stood next to them with my hands on my hips while Luke glowered appropriately from behind us.
Jacob loved taking photos: the second he spotted a camera or phone pointed at him, he froze, smiled, and said “Eee!” which was his version of saying cheese. He did that now, and Lorena took a bunch of photos on my phone and then she gave him a big kiss on the cheek and said good-bye.
Normally we wouldn’t bring Jacob to a big party, since they overwhelmed him, but Michael always hired a cast of young actors to dress in costumes and man booths in the backyard stocked with candy and toys, so kids could trick-or-treat without leaving the house, and Jacob was old enough this year to join in.
Aaron came over to say hi as soon as we walked into their house.
“Aladdin!” Jacob said, pointing at him with delight.
“Smart kid,” he said. “The trick-or-treating has started, if you guys want to bring him out back.” Mom and Luke thanked him and carried Jacob toward the yard, but Aaron grabbed my arm and said, “Stay with me. I need to know what you think of my vest.” He was wearing a small purple one over his naked chest. His body was as taut and muscled as I’d remembered from when we swam, but either he’d been tanning a lot lately or he’d sprayed some bronzer all over himself before the party, because he was a different shade than I remembered.
I said, “It’s in a tie with the fez for my favorite part of your costume.” I flicked the tassel on his little cap.
“Ah, we’re playing that game, are we?” he said, and flicked the feather on mine.
We walked into the living room. There was soft sitar music playing from hidden speakers, the lights were slightly dimmed, and the walls and ceiling were draped with silk—it all felt very exotic and fantastical.
“The palace at Agrabah?” I asked, gazing around in delight, and he nodded.
“Crystal’s Jasmine and Mia’s wearing a little tiger costume.”
“This totally leaves last year’s pirate theme in the dust. Why isn’t your dad Aladdin?”
“He said he was too old. He wanted to be Jafar.”
“But Jafar’s evil.”
“He preferred age-appropriate to heroic.”
I halted suddenly and glanced back. “Was that Lady Gaga we just passed a man?”
“Yep. He’s a studio musician, and he already told me he remembers when I was three and visited the recording studio and ate four cookies and threw up. It’s going to be one of those nights—one of those ‘Oh, you’re Michael Marquand’s little boy!’ nights. And don’t get me started on the yold women here.”
“Yold?”
“Young/old. You know. They all have those smooth, unmoving foreheads and long hair and big breasts and tiny waists and dead eyes and bony necks.”