Chapter 30

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‘Yee gad! ’ cried the woman in the doorway.

Eric moaned at her. She shook her head, chuckling, and held out a tray of candy bars.

‘I’m not a trick-or-treater, ’ he told her.

‘You always dress this way? ’

‘I’m here for Beth. ’

‘Oh! You must be Eric. Please come in. Beth’ll be ready in a minute. ’

Eric entered the house.

‘Martin! ’ the woman called.

A man with a dish towel came out of the kitchen. When he saw Eric, he made a face and said, ‘Yuck. ’

‘This is Eric Prince, Beth’s date for the party. ’

‘Hi Eric. ’ Martin stepped toward him frowning with concern. ‘You feeling okay? ’ he asked, shaking hands. ‘You look like death warmed over. ’

‘It’s just burnt cork, ’ Eric explained. ‘And some Vampire Blood. ’

‘They’re supposed to be corpses, ’ the woman said.

‘The living dead. ’

Martin nodded, pursing his lips as he studied the costume. Eric looked down at himself. The front of his dirty, torn shirt was untucked. His knee showed through a split in his slacks. Through a rent in the other

leg, his thigh was visible. Maybe he’d ripped his clothes too much: he didn’t want Beth’s parents to think him indecent. He wished he hadn’t torn the shirt away from his left nipple. The old sports jacket he’d bought at the thrift shop nearly covered it, though.

‘I’d say you look very corpse-like, ’ Martin finally said.

‘Thank you. ’

At that moment, Beth came into the room. ‘Oh wow, ’ she said. ‘You look fantastic! ’

‘You, too. ’

She shrugged. It’s the best I could do. Did you bring something for my face? ’

Eric took a burnt cork and tube of Vampire Blood from his pocket.

‘We’d better get back to the dishes, ’ said her mother. ‘You two have a good time. ’ To Beth, she said, ‘Twelve o’clock. ’

‘Okay. ’

‘Have fun, ’ her father said. ‘Nice to meet you, Eric. ’

‘Nice to meet you, ’ Eric muttered.

He watched them leave. Then he turned to Beth and smiled.

‘You’d better fix me up, ’ she said.

‘Now? ’

‘Might as well. Are my clothes all right? ’

‘Fine, ’ he said. Her white blouse was stretched tightly across her full breasts. Its sleeves left her wrists bare. Her green, pleated skirt hung below her knees. She wore old, scuffed loafers. ‘It won’t hurt to get ’em dirty? ’ Eric asked.

‘We were just gonna give them to Goodwill. They’re crummy old things. ’ She scanned Eric’s outfit, grinning. ‘Not as crummy as yours, but we can fix that. ’

‘Yeah, ’ he said, and blushed.

‘Okay, how about doing my face? ’

‘Well, ’ he said, offering her the cork. ‘You can use this to mess yourself up. ’

‘You do it. ’

She stepped close to him. He smelled a mild, sweet perfume that made his mouth go dry.

‘If you want, ’ he mumbled.

‘I want. ’

He brushed the charred cork lightly under her eye, but little came off. ‘I need to burn it. ’ He lit a match, and held it to the cork. The charred stub caught fire. He puffed it out, and waited for it to cool.

Beth watched his eyes as he blackened her pale skin. He rubbed smudges under her eyes, heavy lines running down from the sides of her nose to the corners of her mouth. Her constant gaze made him nervous, at first, but soon he began to like it. He shaded her cheeks and chin. ‘There. ’

‘Now the blood. ’

Squeezing the plastic tube, he dribbled the syrupy red fluid onto the corners of her mouth. It trickled down her chin. Before a drop could fall to the floor, he smeared it with his fingers.

‘More, ’ she said.

He squirted the blood onto his fingertips, and spread it over her mouth and cheeks and chin. Her skin felt slippery and smooth.

‘There, ’ he said.

Beth took his hand, and wiped it on the belly of her blouse. ‘Let’s have a look. ’

They went to a mirror over the fireplace.

‘Fantastic! ’ she said. ‘Boy, aren’t we a pair? ’

‘Yeah. You look worse than me. ’

Still gazing at the mirror, she messed up her hair until it stuck out in wild disarray and strands hung over her face. Then she did the same for Eric.

‘That’s better, huh? ’ she asked.

‘Great. ’

‘Let’s go. ’

They went outside, and cut across Beth’s yard to the sidewalk.

‘Burrrr, ’ Beth said.

‘Want my jacket? ’

‘No. Thanks, though. I’ve got work to do. ’

‘Hmmm? ’

As they walked along, she tugged the front of her blouse out of her skirt. She studied the effect, then tucked one side back in. Picking up her skirt, she yanked the hem. It didn’t give.

‘Do you have a knife or something? ’ she asked.

‘I have the one I used. ’ He took out a small pocket knife, opened a blade, and handed it to her.

‘Oh, this is good. ’ She cut through the hem. Clamping the knife between her teeth, she tore a long rip up the front of her skirt.

‘Just a minute, ’ she said. They stopped under a street light. Beth pinched the shoulder of her blouse, pushed the knife into the fabric to start a tear, then hooked her fingers into the hole and jerked. The cloth split. When she finished, her left sleeve hung off her shoulder, still attached to the blouse only at her armpit. ‘How’s that? ’

Her shoulder looked round and glossy in the street light. ‘Great, ’ Eric said.

‘One more rip, I think. ’ She lowered her head, turning it as she studied her front. ‘The question is, where? ’

‘Anywhere. ’

‘I don’t want my bra to show. How about down here? ’

‘Fine. ’

She gripped the blouse below her right breast, and punched a hole in it. Holding the knife in her teeth, she inserted both forefingers into the opening and pulled. The cloth burst open. The tear shot up her front, the taut fabric parting over the mound of her breast. ‘Oh shit, ’ she said, gazing down at the black protruding cup of her bra. ‘Now what’ll I do? I can’t go to the party like this. ’

‘You could. ’

‘Aleshia’s mom’ll be there. And Miss Bennett. Besides, all the guys would gawk and act like jerks. I’d better go back and change. ’

‘What’ll your parents say? ’

‘Oh geez. I’ll try to sneak in …’

‘I have an idea. Let’s trade. ’

‘Thanks, but I don’t think my blouse will fit you. ’

‘I can just wear the jacket, ’ he said, taking it off. Looking up and down the block, he saw nobody except a group of distant trick-or-treaters. He started to unbutton his shirt.

‘I can’t take your shirt. ’

‘Just put it on over yours. ’

‘You’ll freeze. ’

Shivering, he handed his shirt to Beth. He put on his sports jacket. Its lining felt cool and slick against his skin. With shaking hands, he fastened the two front buttons.

Beth put on his shirt. ‘Now we really look weird. ’

‘The weirder, the better. ’

As they walked along, Eric rubbed burnt cork onto his neck and chest. Then he added Vampire Blood, squirting it onto his skin and letting it dribble.

‘Want some more? ’ he asked.

‘No thanks. ’

He put it away. ‘You know how to walk? ’

Beth shrugged. ‘Let’s see you do it. ’

‘Like this, sort of. ’ He waddled, arms stiff at his sides, his mouth hanging open, eyes wide and staring. ‘And you moan. See, the idea is, we’re the living dead and we want to eat everybody we see. ’

‘Yum yum. ’

Side by side, they lurched across the road. As they moved slowly up the block, a group of trick-or-treaters left a dark porch and crossed the lawn to the sidewalk.

‘Let’s give ’em a scare, ’ Beth whispered.

Ahead of them, a small girl in a Wonder Woman costume stepped off the sidewalk and stared. A cowboy drew his revolver. He fired, yelling, ‘Pow pow pow! ’ as his hammer clanked down. Eric and Beth stalked forward. The cowboy jumped out of their way, but Darth Vader blocked the sidewalk.

‘What’re you supposed to be? ’ he demanded.

Beth groaned, and reached for him.

He backed away, stepping on the toe of a bunny behind him. The bunny shoved him, snapping ‘Watch it! ’

Darth Vader ignored him. ‘I’m not scared of you creeps. ’

In a low voice, Eric muttered, ‘We’re gonna eat you. ’

‘Oh yeah? You and who else? ’

‘Me, ’ said Beth. ‘Yum yum. ’

‘Go fuck yourselves, ’ he blurted, and dashed around them. He ran into Wonder Woman, knocking her to the grass. Eric stepped toward the girl, wanting to help her, but she squealed in terror and scrambled to her feet and ran away.

Eric returned to Beth.

She shrugged. ‘Guess that didn’t work out too well. ’

‘Creepy kid. ’

When they met trick-or-treaters at the corner, they walked Normally and had no trouble. They crossed the street. Ahead of them, a car stopped. Its rear doors opened and two figures climbed out. The car moved on.

‘They must be for the party, ’ Beth said.

‘Is that Aleshia’s house? ’

‘Yeah. Come on, let’s go into our routine. ’
Stiff-armed and moaning, they shambled up the sidewalk.

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