“Halloween Guests” (FridayFlash)

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“Halloween Guests” by P.J. Kaiser

The rain buffeted the windows with such force it seemed they would give way.  With the sound of the wind whistling, Nancy closed the curtains snugly to keep out the drafts.  Their house stood on the crest of a hill in Montauk on the easternmost tip of Long Island where winds had many miles of open sea over which to gather strength.

The nor’easter had blown up unexpectedly and the Halloween parade was cancelled.  Nancy and her husband Ed and their two children, Nate and Eve, had celebrated a small Halloween at home.  The kids were in their costumes – baby Eve was a bunny and Nate was a policeman – and they had pretend trick or treat with Nancy and Ed taking turns holding baskets and doling out candy.  They had watched a DVD of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” they ate caramel popcorn and everybody had fallen asleep on the couch.  Nancy had ushered the children and her husband in to bed.

Once they were asleep, she could begin her preparations.  She put out her finest china.  There would be four places at the table this year instead of the two she had been setting since she started hosting the dinners.  She chose red wine, a nice Chilean merlot and poured it into the carafe on the table.  She lit the four candles in the center of the table.  The light flickered off the carafe and cast red-hued glimmers on the white tablecloth. The pot roast was almost ready.  She tip-toed into the master bedroom and changed into her black dress.

Hoping to catch her guests before they rang the door bell, Nancy peered out the front window into the darkness.  After a few minutes, soft glows appeared and approached the door and Nancy opened the front door with a flourish, wearing a smile.  As the wind blew into the foyer, she said, “Come in!  Come in!” Nancy’s dad had his arm around Nate as they came in the door and Paul trailed behind them.  “Hello, Dad!  And Nate! And Paul!  I’m so glad you all could come!” Nancy hugged her dad saying, “I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since you were here – you look great!”

“Thanks, sweetie, you do too,” Leaning in closer, he said, “I didn’t know we were having more guests this year.”

Nancy said, “Yes, it’s been a big year, I’m afraid.”  Reaching out to hug her brother, Nate, Nancy said, “I am so glad to see your smiling face! The last time I saw you… well, let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.”

“I know.  This is a big improvement, I’m sure!” Nate gestured at his face with his hands and Nancy nodded in agreement. “And how are the kids?”

“They’re great.  Little Nate looks more like you every day.”

“And, I’m sure, more like you, unfortunately…”

Nancy feigned shock at the insult and hit her brother softly on the arm, “Hey, watch it!” Laughing, Nate and his father walked on into the living room.

Paul had been standing back by the door looking uncomfortable while Nancy had greeted the others and he said, “I was surprised to get your invitation, Nancy.  I thought this dinner was just for family.”

“No, not just family.  It’s for anybody who you care about.  I was so shocked when I heard about your accident, Paul.  I couldn’t stop thinking about you and your wife and kids.  And all those times we went out years ago,” Nancy paused to see what Paul’s reaction would be.  Paul smiled and Nancy added, “We had a lot of fun, didn’t we?”

“Yes, we did.  Why did we break up, anyway?” Paul shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“Because you went out with Sherri while I was away visiting my brother.”

“Oh yeah, now I remember.  Sorry about that.  You were gone for two whole weeks, though!”

“Don’t worry about it.  We each ended up in the right place, right?  Your place was with Sherri and my place is here with Ed.  There’s always been a soft spot in my heart for you, though.” Nancy softly bit the corner of her lip.  She leaned in and whispered to him, “Plus, I couldn’t resist the irony since we used to make out in the cemetery and drink red wine from a box!  I’m serving a nice Merlot this evening.”

Paul laughed, “Well, that’ll be a step up, for sure!”

Nancy took Paul by the arm and ushered him into the sitting room where her dad and Nate were waiting.

*****

The end of the evening had come and they were all full of pot roast and merlot.  “It’s a good thing none of you are driving!” Nancy laughed as they all made their way into the foyer.  “I can’t tell you what it means to me that you all came.  I’ll see you next year, but please come back as often as you can to visit me in my dreams, ok?” They all nodded and said that they’d do their best.  Nancy hugged each one in turn and opened the front door to let them out.  The storm had died down a bit and the men went out, then turned around on the front stoop to look back at Nancy.  As she watched, the three of them dissolved into three soft lights that drifted off down the sidewalk and faded into the darkness.