I shake my head in disbelief and slide the key into the lock, squelching into the apartment. The sooner I can get out of these soggy clothes and into something warm and dry, the better.
8
“I’ve got a surprise for you!”
Cat wanders into the living room as I’m wringing water from my hair into a towel. I’ve had a lovely hot shower and was just about to sit down with my laptop, but the excited look on Cat’s face tells me I won’t be doing that.
“Okay,” I say warily. “What is it?”
“I made us costumes!” She grins, pulling two hangers out from behind her back.
I stare at the hangers. “Youmademe a Halloween costume?”
She nods. “I know you’ve been having a hard time with apartment hunting, and work sucks. But it’s your first Halloween in America and I thought we could dress up and go out, have some fun!”
“Oh,” I say, touched. “That’s so sweet.” I wasn’t planning to go out tonight, but after that weird run-in with Michael, I’m not sure I’m in the mood to write. Drinking and dancing, on the other hand, sounds quite appealing.
“This one is yours,” Cat says, passing me a rather small amount of fabric. “It’s Snow White.”
I reach tentatively for the costume and hold it up. There’s a blue bodice with puffy sleeves and a big red bow at the middle of the low-cut neckline. A tiny yellow skirt flares out from the waist. I can see that it’s definitely Snow White themed, but only if she was moonlighting as a stripper.
“And I’m going as the Evil Queen!”
My gaze shifts to the purple and black outfit Cat’s holding up.
“What do you think?” she asks, looking at me expectantly.
I glance back down at the costume, unsure what to say. She’s put a lot of work into it, which is very thoughtful, but can I reallywearthis?
“Try it on!”
I scan my brain for some kind of excuse—for any reason as to why I can’t possibly put this tiny shred of fabric on my body and go out in public—but my mind is blank. And when I look at Cat’s hopeful face, I feel a stab of guilt.
“Okay,” I hear myself saying. I take the costume into the bathroom and wedge myself into it. It’s a bit tight and the skirt is short, but my boobs steal the show as they threaten to spill out. Seriously, where did she get the pattern for this costume? This isnotthe Snow White I remember from childhood.
“Come out!” Cat calls from the living room.
I take a deep breath and wander out, feeling ludicrous. She has changed into her Queen costume, which is equally revealing.
“Wow!” Cat says, beaming. “You look great.”
“Yours looks good too. But…” I run my eyes over her costume, confused. “These outfits are quite sexy. I thought Halloween was about dressing scary.” Although, given the amount of my flesh that’s exposed in this outfit, maybe itisa bit scary.
“No one dresses scary. Haven’t you seenMean Girls?”
A laugh escapes me. I have, but I didn’t realize that was real.
“So will you come out? I need Snow White to complete the look.”
I glance down at my costume again, thinking of all the time she spent making this for me. She’s only known me for a couple of weeks, but she’s gone to the trouble of custom-making me a Halloween costume so I can have a fun night out? That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.
“Alright,” I say with a smile. Besides, Halloween in New York could be fun, right? “But I’m going to need a drink.”
We open a bottle of wine while we get ready. I spend extra time on my appearance (since “sexy” is apparently the theme of the evening), curling my short hair into loose waves before putting a red bow in, and borrowing some dark red lipstick from Cat. Instead of my usual comfortable ballet flats, I opt for heels so my bare legs look longer. We’d just come out of winter back home, so my legs are paler than I’d like. But then I guess Snow White isn’t exactly a bronzed goddess, is she?
By the time we’re getting into an Uber to head to the East Village, I’m feeling excited and, dare I admit it, a little sexy.
It’s nice, actually. Work has been awful and I’m stuck sleeping on a friend’s couch, but tonight I can go out with some friends and pretend my life isn’t a total mess. Isn’t that what Halloween is all about, anyway? Dressing up and pretending?
