The stem was easier. A long strip of green fabric, hand-stitched to run from the collar down the front of my black shirt,with two leaves I cut and wired so they’d stand out slightly from my body instead of lying flat. This was a florist trick. Everything looks more alive when it has dimension.
I laid the pieces out on the table and stood back.
Tomorrow night I would put this on and go to the party, where I would find Grady, and hand him a sunflower and tell him that I loved him. My stomach turned over at the thought.
What if he didn’t come? What if he’d already given up on me? What if he looked at me in this absurd costume and thought I was simply too much. Regardless, I had to do it. I had to put myself out there or I’d never know if he loved me too.
I turned off the work light, gathered the costume pieces carefully, and carried them upstairs. Trevor followed, his nails clicking on the stairs behind me.
The next evening,I stood in the bathroom, staring at myself in the mirror. The sunflower framed my face, petals radiating outward, bright and golden. The green stem ran down my front. The leaves stuck out at my hips. My hair was loose around my shoulders. Sneakers on my feet. I looked ridiculous.
On the counter beside me, wrapped in a damp paper towel and a ribbon of twine, was a single sunflower. A real one to give to Grady.
“Okay,” I said to the woman in the sunflower costume. “Let’s do this.”
Madison was already in her Trevor costume, standing by the front door, panting with her tongue out.
“Mommy, we’re going to be late. Grace said they have a haunted hallway, and I can’t wait to see it.”
Robbie emerged from his room in the silicon T-shirt, periodic table tie, khakis, and his black high-top sneakers. He looked me up and down. “Where did that come from?”
“I made it last night.”
“May I ask why on earth you would do such a thing?”
“Grady told me once that, if I were a flower, I would be a sunflower. It’s symbolic.”
He tapped his chin with the tips of his fingers, nodding. “Yes, I see. Excellent. Very clever of you, Mother. Wearing the costume will tell him exactly how you feel about him.”
“Do you think so?” I asked.
“Grady’s intelligent and deeply sensitive. It will not be lost on him. In addition, the Fibonacci spiral on the center is a nice touch.”
“I made sure to count them for accuracy.”
“What else would you have done?” Robbie asked, sounding slightly scandalized.
“Right. Okay, let’s go,” I said.
We tromped down the stairs and got into the car. Trevor watched us from the front window of the apartment with an expression of deep personal offense at being left behind.
“Sorry, buddy, Only one Trevor allowed at the party,” I said, as if he could hear me.
He turned away, tossing his head dramatically. Maybe he’d decided to be Madison for Halloween.
I started the car, drew in a deep breath and pulled onto the street. Now or never.
By the time we arrived,the party was in full swing. Every window at Alex and Gillian’s enormous house was lit. Orangeand purple lights were strung along the roofline and through the trees. Music thumped from inside. A skeleton the size of a real person stood guard by the front door, and a fog machine billowed white clouds across the walkway. Inside was even better, with cobwebs and candelabras everywhere, Halloween classics mixed with current music pulsing through the rooms. Kids darted in every direction—witches, superheroes, princesses and at least three different vampires.
Madison took one look at the haunted hallway and bolted toward the other kids, floppy Trevor ears bouncing, cast-arm swinging, as she went. Robbie surveyed the room with his hands clasped behind his back before following her with the measured stride of a man arriving at a conference.
Alex and Gillian came over to greet me. Alex was Frankenstein’s monster, complete with neck bolts. Gillian welcomed us into her home as a glamorous fortune teller, draped in scarves and gold jewelry.
“Esme, your costume’s amazing.” She pressed both hands to her mouth, her fortune-teller bangles jangling. “Did you make it yourself?”
“I did.”
“You’re so clever,” Alex said. “It’s gorgeous.”
