First Time Around: Chapter 04 - Halloween Special

(Doug)

Halloween special

I have worn the same costume for the last five years.

It's pretty simple. Jeans, sneakers, t-shirt of my choice, and my Hyatt hotel waffle-weave bathrobe.

Oh, I say it's different things. I add a t-shirt that says "Aliens Exist" and I'm a wandering lunatic. I add a giant spoon and I'm the Prince of Heck. It's defined by its accessories.

That year I added a messenger bag and towel and went as Arthur Dent.

You know, Arthur Dent. From The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He gets dragged around, through, over, under, and across the universe in his bathrobe.

Unusually, I decided not to go Trick-Or-Treating that year. I went to a party at somebody's house.

Boy, was that a mistake.

I hate parties. The music is never good but always too loud. You can't hold a good conversation with anybody but that's okay because there's nobody you want to talk to.

Sometimes the food is okay.

So why, oh why, did I go to this party? The answer's simple, and one echoed by withdrawn, introverted young men around the globe.

"She was there."

I wish I could say that it made a difference. As it was, I ended up spending most of my time on the porch, on a deck chair, in lotus position. Mary was there too, talking to someone, having a good time.

After an hour of that, it felt like my kneecaps were coming off, so I walked down the stairs from the porch into the backyard. Something told me to look back.

There she was, silhouetted against the light of the porch, a black outline that I already had learned to recognize.

I turned back around and found someone to talk to.