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I had put a lot of thought into it as soon as we decided to make the idea of the Halloween party a reality and really, there had been only one logical choice. “I will be a prince.”
“You’re going to go as yourself? That’s kind of boring.”
I frowned at him and he held up his hands, though the grin on his face kept him from looking very apologetic. “It’ll be since I’m trying to find my princess.”
“Gag. How can you make fun of my Spider-Man idea when yours is even worse?”
“I already have the outfit planned. It won’t be a costume so much as just something I’ll be putting together.”
Brian pretended to do some math in the air, wiggling his finger around. “That’s a costume.”
I sighed at him. “You know what I mean.” Despite myself, I could feel I was beginning to get a little annoyed. This was his idea and I wanted him to know how much I appreciated it and what I was going to do to make it be successful.
As best friends are liable to do, Brian must have figured out what was bothering me. “Tell me more,” he urged, backing off a bit.
I smiled at him. “I’m going for generic fairytale prince.”
“A bit old for a prince, but you have so much money you might as well be one already, so I suppose it’s an apt choice. Just one thing. How will you hide your identity?”
I had been prepared to answer that question. I pulled open my desk drawer and produced a carnival mask, the sort of decorative mask that usually concealed only the upper part of the face. Mine had three decorative prongs on the upper side, like the thick points of a crown, covered in decorative glitter-gold and red swirls.
Brian took the mask and inspected it, turning it over and over in his hands. He glanced up with a grin. “This is brilliant. Way better than a typical mask, like what I was expecting.”
I took the mask back and put it back in the drawer. “I couldn’t be more excited.” An understatement, despite the meaning of what I’d said. It wasn’t a generic placeholder statement. I really felt so excited right then that I didn’t know how there could be room for anything else inside me. Every breath fizzed with anticipation.
Brian must have seen how serious I was. He chuckled and pushed back in his chair, getting to his feet. “Well, my friend, there won’t be a party at all unless I go and get all of this sorted. I should have a final flyer to send to you for your approval by the end of the day.”
All of this was so much more real now that we had had a second discussion on it, making it more than a simple idea. “That would be great. Honestly, though, send it to me whenever it’s done, no matter the time. I don’t care if it’s midnight.”
“You really are excited.” Brian gave a little bow. “Your wish is my command.”
I joked, “It had better be. What do you think I’m paying you for?”
Brian took his papers and went to the office door. He turned back, his usually jovial expression smoothing into a seriousness the sort of which he hadn’t even displayed in his lawyer days.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I really hope you get what you’re looking for from this,” he said softly.
“Me, too.”
He kept looking at me for a bit and then he left, shutting the door behind him.
When he had gone, I opened the drawer again and withdrew the carnival mask. I ran my thumb over the gold swirls, picking up a trace of glitter. I rubbed my fingers together, spreading the shimmery flecks.
By November 1st, I might have met the love of my life.
I stared into the blank eyeholes of the mask, as if I would find answers there. I wondered if I would know her on sight, when I saw her, or if I would meet several woman who caught my interest, whose personalities I would need to explore through further dates. What sort of costume would she be wearing? I’d need to be careful not to have a subconscious preference for women not wearing face-covering costumes; behind that mask, underneath that hood, could be my future wife.
What would she be like? I was looking for someone passionate and understanding, with a spark and yet a calmness, but I couldn’t hold myself to those strict categories.
Holding the mask in my hands, I decided to stop wondering so much and just let it happen.
CHAPTER4
MEGYN
Iperused the same newspaper page full of ads for the second time, even though there had been nothing to catch my attention for the first go and another look wouldn’t change things. I just wasn’t ready yet to talk to Maggie, as I was still mad at her for what she had done. If I talked to her, one of two things would happen. Either I’d only get angrier at her—unreasonably, true—or she would find some way to make things better between us and that would be the end of it.