Tuesday Tales

Trick or Treat

The moment Alexandra pushed the door opened the sound of classic rock and roll blared out. Before she could join the party, a woman in a gothic vampire costume stopped her in the doorway with blood red lipstick on her plump lips.

“If you want to enter,” she shook a glass dish in front of her, “you have to leave your car keys in here.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Nope. I will not be responsible for drunk driving. If you can find your keys when you are ready to leave, then they are yours. If not, you can camp out upstairs in one of the bedrooms. Understood?”

“Yes.” Alexandra dropped her key in the dish and walked into the living room. The party was in full swing. She’d bet that many of the attendees would be spending the night.

She scanned the room, hoping to find Billy. When he had told her that it was costume only, she had laughed. And when he told her that he would meet her there and their own game would be to find one another without saying a word, she accepted the challenge. But now standing here, in a room full of people dressed in costumes, which represented the chessboard, she had her work cut out for her.

What the hell was going on? The woman at the door wasn’t a queen, pawn or even a knight. Looking around the room, she quickly figured it out. The waiters, waitresses and bartenders were dressed as vampires. Now she got it. The men were dressed in black costumes, while the women in ivory. At least it made the hunt for Billy a little bit easier.

The music was so loud that it would be impossible to even find him by the sound of his voice. She’d have to search hard amongst all the dressed up characters to find Billy.

It would be easy for Billy to find her, but that wasn’t the game. He wanted her to find him, making the stakes even higher. He had the upper hand in this game. He could watch each move she made, dressed as a queen on a chessboard. The more she thought about it, the more vulnerable she began to feel. She’d have to be careful on who she approached because if she kissed the wrong man, it might just be the wrong move.

Scanning the room, it seemed there were at least fifteen men to choose from. She would have to play the game carefully and not make a sudden move without truly thinking it through.

The bartender approached her a silver tray with champagne on it. He leaned it towards her, she smiled and took a glass off the tray nodding her head and mouthing thank you.
Alexandra looked around the room, zeroing in on all the men. She closely examined the pawns, kings, knights and bishops and quickly determined that none of them were Billy.

Making her way back to the hallway, she bumped back into the woman in the Gothic vampire costume.

“You’re leaving already? I’ll have to give you a Breathalyzer test before letting you pick you keys out of the bowl.”

“I’m not leaving. I’m just stepping outside for some air.”

Pushing the wooden door open, Katherine walked out to the circular driveway and scanned the cars for Billy’s jeep around the circle. After coming up empty she walked around the side of the house and spotted Billy’s jeep sitting under the tree in the corner.

“He’s here,” she whispered. “Now to find him in the maze of chessboard pieces.”

Alexandra walked back into the house and vampire girl stood there laughing.

“By the look on your face, I guess you figured out the game.”

“What game? And why are you not dressed like a chess piece?”

“Sorry.” Extending her hand, “I’m Melissa, this is my house. I do this every year. It’s a blast.”

“I’m Alexandra, and do what?”

“Have a theme Halloween party. It is so much fun watching to see if the women can find their spouses or boyfriends in the crowd.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“I kid you not. Last year the men had to find us and they did a horrible job. I’m sure the women are going to win it again this year.”

“I hope so because I am having a hard time finding Billy.”

“Aw, so you’re the woman who stole Billy’s heart.”

“That’s if I can find him.”

“Believe me you will. Since you’re a newbie in this game, finding Billy will show true love.”

True Love. That feeling didn’t even cross my mind. “I hope you’re right.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

Melissa moved to the side letting Alexandra walked back through the French doors into the party. Time to get down to business and find her man. All the men wore masks only exposing their eyes, nose and mouths. This made it almost totally impossible, but Alexandra would weed through the chess pieces and find her king.

After carefully checking out every man in the room, she came to the conclusion that he wasn’t here, leaving her in an uncomfortable position. Maybe she should give one last look before she headed out. There was no sense in hanging around for nothing. As she walked back to the door, something told her to stay and take another look around the room.

And then their eyes met. She hadn’t seen it earlier, when she first arrived. Billy was the second person to greet her. Slowly walking to the bar, she reached her hand out. Her knight wasn’t dressed as a king, instead, he wore a vampire costume.. Billy extended his arms and she fell into them.

“I knew you would find me.” Billy kissed her then took her into his arms.

“I can’t believe this is a Halloween game. I almost left.”

“But you didn’t and you found me. So what do you say we get out of here and go back to my place for a nightcap?”

“I say it sounds like a wonderful idea.”


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