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That offer earned me a grin, as I’d hoped it would. “I’ll take you up on that. In the meantime, let me go grab us a couple of drinks.”
He inclined his head toward me and then headed off to the refreshment table, where a bunch of wine bottles and a big bowl of frothy-looking orange punch occupied one end. Although he hadn’t asked me what I wanted, I knew he’d get me a glass of chardonnay or maybe some pinot noir if they had it. Punch — or any other beverage with a lot of sugar — just wasn’t my thing…especially punch that appeared to have a bunch of fake plastic eyeballs floating in it.
“Where’s Josie?” I asked, craning my head so I could look around. True, all I could really see from my vantage point was the dining room and a part of the living room, but I hadn’t caught a single glimpse of our hostess. Then again, she wasn’t very tall, and so maybe she’d gotten swallowed by the Halloween décor, which was even more extravagant indoors. Vases full of black flowers stood on pedestals, and skulls sat on bookshelves and the mantel. Cobwebs festooned most of the furniture and the lighting fixtures, and orange candles flickered from pretty much anyplace there was an open spot. The sweet scent of pumpkin spice floated on the air.
Hazel waved a hand toward the kitchen, now concealed behind a door that normally stood open. The old house was pretty much the exact opposite of “open concept.”
“Oh, Josie’s in there doing something with the caterer,” Hazel said. “I guess she got into it with him because she ordered a shrimp platter and he brought crab dip instead. I told her nobody would probably notice the difference, but you know how she can get when everything isn’t just so.”
Did I ever. Not that I’d ever been on the receiving end of Josie Woodrow’s displeasure, but I’d seen what could happen if someone or something didn’t measure up to her exacting standards. That poor caterer was probably quaking in his boots.
“Well, I hope she can let it go,” I said. “It’s a shame for her to be missing her party over a simple mix-up like that.”
As if my words had summoned her, the door to the kitchen opened and Josie swept in, followed by a chubby, sweaty-faced man who looked as though he might have been around forty. He was carrying a tray with some kind of dip in the center and little toasted pieces of bread arranged artfully around it.
“Put it there,” Josie commanded, pointing toward the one empty space that remained on the buffet table. She was dressed as the Red Queen, with a big ruff and a satin gown covered in red hearts, and very much looked as though she was ready to command someone to remove the hapless caterer’s head. “And that will be all.”
“I can stay to refill the trays — ”the man began, but she immediately shook her head.
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll take care of it.”
And although she didn’t tell him to leave, he obviously took the opening for what it was and fled in the direction of the kitchen, letting the door slam behind him.
I had to feel sorry for the poor guy. His face wasn’t familiar to me, but that didn’t surprise me too much. Although I’d been in Globe for more than seven months by that point, I certainly couldn’t claim to have met all its residents, or even just caught a glimpse of them at the local Walmart or at one of the town’s restaurants.
“Everything all right?” I asked as Josie let out an exasperated breath.
“Oh, fine,” she responded with one of those airy hand waves…a wave I didn’t believe for a minute.
Right then, Calvin returned, a glass of white wine in one hand and red in the other. He gave me the white, saying, “I figured chardonnay would be safer in case of any spills.”
That was my Calvin — always thinking of others. I shot him a grateful smile, even as Josie brightened and said, “You two look absolutely wonderful. What incredible costumes! And who did your makeup?”
“Noreen,” I replied, and Josie shot me a startled glance.
“Really? So, you three were sneaking around behind my back?”
I’d known Josie long enough to recognize the teasing glint in her light blue eyes for what it was. “I wouldn’t call it ‘sneaking,’” I said, then sipped some of my chardonnay. It was very good, but then, I really hadn’t expected Josie Woodrow to serve Trader Joe’s Two-Buck Chuck at her Halloween party.
Not that it was two bucks here in Arizona. That privilege was reserved solely for residents of California, unfortunately.
“We just wanted it to be a surprise,” I continued, and Josie nodded.
“Well, it is a wonderful surprise,” she said. “And you’re going to look absolutely amazing doing Tarot readings for people in that gown!”
Since I’d already told Calvin that Josie wanted me to read cards at her party, he didn’t look too surprised at her exclamation. Hazel, on the other hand, lifted an eyebrow.
“You didn’t tell me anything about that,” she said, her tone just this side of accusing. Once or twice, Hazel had asked me to do a reading for her and I’d demurred, saying I wasn’t really doing readings professionally anymore, and I’d never been comfortable reading cards for friends. For myself or a client was different.
“Josie winkled me into it,” I explained, and Hazel relaxed a bit, a smile pulling at her red-glossed lips.
“And we all know that no one can resist a Josie winkling,” she said, and our hostess nodded.
“Exactly right. But Selena, let me show you where you’ll be doing the readings. You don’t have to start right away, of course — please have something to eat and socialize and have fun. But maybe you can begin around eight-thirty or so? Not everyone can stay too late because they have children at home with babysitters.”
That made sense. It wasn’t as though Josie had crammed the entire adult population of Globe into her house or anything, but still, I’d recognized at least five or six people in attendance who had kids under the age of ten. Waiting until late in the party to start doing my Tarot readings wouldn’t be fair to those who had to duck out early.
“Eight-thirty is fine,” I said, after a quick glance at the clock on the nearby wall confirmed it was a little before eight. That would definitely give me enough time to nosh and chat, and maybe even grab a second glass of wine to soothe my nerves a bit.
