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Calvin arched a brow. “I still can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”
I couldn’t help chuckling. “Gemini, remember? We’re all silver-tongued devils.”
In response, he chuckled as well — and also headed over to the table, where I had an open bottle of pinot noir airing. He poured some into each of the glasses that waited there, then came back over and handed one to me. “Yes, that’s definitely the reason I caved. I suppose I should just be glad no one else from the tribe will be there to see me.”
I lifted my glass and clinked it against his. “You’re going to look great.”
Honestly, I was pretty proud of myself for keeping the whole thing a secret from Josie. Ever since I was a little girl and had watchedMunstersreruns on the local L.A. stations, I’d wanted to be Lily Munster. That long black hair…that flowy, filmy dress…that awesome bat necklace she wore! All of it was absolutely entrancing.
So, once I had a formal invitation to Josie’s party, I’d set about making that dream a reality. Thanks to all the money I’d inherited from Lucien Dumond, the former head of the Greater Los Angeles Necromancers’ Guild, I could spend a wad of cash on this sort of frivolity and not feel guilty about it. I’d commissioned a seamstress on Etsy to make the gown, as well as Herman Munster’s oversized suit, because of course Calvin and I needed to be a matching pair.
To my surprise, he’d gone along with the scheme. Whether it was because he truly was crazy about me or because he could see how important fulfilling a childhood dream was for me, I didn’t know. Maybe it was a little of both.
Anyway, the costumes had arrived with that morning’s shipment from UPS, and they looked absolutely amazing in person. I’d already gotten Noreen Little, the hair and makeup whiz from the Old Globe Theatre Company, to agree to complete Calvin’s and my transformations. Actually, I think she was even more eager to be in on the scheme because it involved keeping the whole project a secret. Hiding something from Josie, who was the head of the theater company and who usually had her fingers in everything, had definitely proved to be the icing on the cake.
Calvin’s expression was resigned. “I don’t know about ‘great,’” he said. “Considering I’m going to have bolts sticking out of my neck. The things I do for love.”
“And I appreciate every single one of them,” I told him, and went on my tiptoes so I could kiss him on the cheek. At six foot four, he wouldn’t even have to wear lifts in his boots to complete his transformation into Herman Munster. Yes, Fred Gwynne had been even taller and still used lifts to increase his height, but I knew I was already asking a lot of Calvin and didn’t want to push it that far. He would look amazing nonetheless.
Yes, I knew everything was going to turn out perfectly.
2
Munster Mash
In keepingwith our theme of secrecy, Noreen came out to Calvin’s house to do our hair and makeup on Saturday afternoon. I closed the shop, hung my little “be back at” sign in the window, indicating that I’d return at ten on Monday morning, and drove over to Calvin’s place, which was located only about five minutes away from the settlement of San Ramon, but which felt much more isolated, thanks to being off a dirt road and down a long gravel driveway.
Noreen’s older-model Subaru Forester was already parked in that driveway, telling me that she’d gotten here right on time so she could get to work on Calvin’s makeup, which would take quite a bit longer than mine. I came to a stop next to her car, then got out of my Beetle convertible so I could retrieve my costume and wig and makeup from the cargo compartment. Also stowed inside was my overnight bag, but I figured I’d leave it there until later. Yes, everyone knew that Calvin’s and my relationship wasn’t exactly platonic, but I didn’t see the need to be blatant about it by bringing in my luggage along with my costume.
Burdened with the garment bag containing my costume and the tote that held my wig and makeup, I headed up the front walk and went ahead and let myself in. I actually had a key — Calvin had given it to me about a month ago — but the door was unlocked.
Voices drifted into the living room from down the hall that led to the bedrooms, so I headed in that direction. Noreen had set up shop in the master bath, probably because it was bigger than the bathroom in between the secondary bedrooms.
I came in and laid the garment bag that held my gown down on the bed, then peered into the bathroom’s dressing area. Calvin was sitting on a folding chair — one that looked as though it wasn’t quite up to the task of supporting his weight — with a white cloth draped around his shoulders to protect his costume from any latex or powder that might decide to go flying at the wrong moment. Noreen had advised him that it would be better for him to be dressed while she put him in makeup, since pulling the close-fitting sweater that went under the oversized jacket with its monstrously padded shoulders over his head would pose too much of a risk to the special effects makeup she was applying.
“Hey,” I said, and Noreen glanced over at me. She was a cheerfully plump woman in her late forties, with short-cropped brown hair and twinkling brown eyes.
“Hi, Selena,” she replied. “I’ll be with you in a bit.”
“Take your time,” I told her, and Calvin grimaced. Noreen had already fitted the appliance that would give him Herman Munster’s signature flat-topped head, and was now applying makeup to hide the seam along his hairline. How she’d managed to hide Calvin’s waist-length hair under the thing, I had no idea, but I suppose that’s why she was the hair and makeup person and I wasn’t. “Should I go ahead and get dressed?” I asked next.
“Yes, that’ll speed things up,” she said.
I blew Calvin a kiss, and he just sent me a stoic stare. Clearly, he was regretting his decision — or maybe hoping he would get called in to work after all, and so could take off the elaborate makeup Noreen was currently laboring over.
“It’s going to be fun,” I said. “I promise.”
“Oh, definitely,” he responded in sepulchral tones.
About all I could do was grin. I went back into the bedroom and retrieved my gown, then headed into the secondary bathroom so I could get changed. Off went my jeans and the pretty embroidered blouse I’d been wearing, and on went the Lily Munster replica dress. Despite its filmy appearance, it was actually pretty heavy, probably because of all the layers of chiffon that had been used to create it. Tying off the corset-style cords around my waist took a while, even though I’d tried on the dress earlier in the week to make sure it fit and also so I could puzzle out the waist wrap in advance.
I decided to wait to put on the bat necklace, but slid on the off-white slipper-style flats that completed the look. Thus arrayed, I drifted down the hall, sleeves fluttering, my street clothes carefully draped over one hand. As soon as I appeared, Noreen sent me an approving look.
“Very nice work,” she said. “You really had that made by someone on Etsy?”
“Yep,” I replied cheerfully, then set my clothes down on the bed next to the bag that held my costume wig. “She’s in Michigan somewhere. I guess she makes a lot of clothes for historical reenactors, but she’s also very good at doing reproductions of costumes from movies and TV shows. Her portfolio is really impressive.”
“You should give us her info,” Noreen went on as she dabbed more makeup on Calvin’s face. Now his warm brown skin had a distinct greenish tint, a shade that continued down his throat and covered his ears as well. Noreen was nothing if not thorough. This might have all been for just a Halloween party, but she was going to make sure Calvin and I looked as though we’d stepped right off the set of the originalMunstersshow. “Josie’s always looking for more costume resources.”
