AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So, you never answered my question earlier.”
“Which is?”
“What is your favorite candy?”
“Peanut butter cups or skittles. Honestly, you hit the nail on the head.” I grin at him as he grabs his coat.
Trick-or-treating is in full swing when we leave for the movie theater. Neighborhood kids race down the sidewalk wearing homemade costumes, plastic orange pumpkin buckets thumping against their knees as exhausted parents trail behind them wearing haphazard costumes. We spot witches, ghosts, Ninja turtles, and even a tiny child dressed as what looks like a trash can.
I laugh. “Kids are so creative.”
“What should we dress the kids up as next year?” Joseph asks.
“Well, we should probably wait to decide until we meet them, don’t you think?”
“They’ll still be babies.”
“Yeah, but babies have personalities! Do you remember your first Halloween costume?” I ask Joseph as we enter the lobby of the theater. Weatherby Cinema was first built in the 1920s. The original building is still intact, including the vintage marquee. The ceiling is made of art-deco copper panels. The original floors were carpeted in the late eighties with neon-speckled carpeting.
It’s an odd mix of two vastly different kinds of vintage decorating. A Pacman machine still hums next to the soda machine. It’s quirky, like everything on the island. The air is filled with the scent of buttery popcorn. Several moviegoers are dressed up in costumes.
“We should’ve dressed up,” I pout.
“Now, that’s where I draw the line,” Joseph says as he pays for our tickets.
“Really? Costumes?”
“I don’t have time for any sort of elaborate wardrobe.”
“Is that why this is the first time I’ve seen you out in public without khakis on?”
He laughs. “You noticed?”
“I’m naturally observant. It’s sort of my job.”
Joseph hands me a bucket of popcorn. “I guess it is.”
We drown our popcorn in butter before walking into the darkened theater. We find two open seats and settle into the plush red velvet chairs. The ceiling of the theater is vaulted. It’s beautiful. People chat and pelt each other with popcorn. Teenagers exchange sly glances over handfuls of popcorn. I try to remember the last time I went and saw a movie. Joseph’s elbow brushes mine. He slings his arm across the back of my seat.
“Real smooth.”
“Is it bad that I’ve been waiting to do that?”
“No, I think it’s sweet.” I dig into the band of contraband candy and open a box of Swedish Fish.
The previews start up old trailers from eighties slasher films to go along with the season. The lights dim, and for once, Joseph and I blend into the crowd of strangers, watching scary movies in the dark.
“Give them to me.” Beatrix is inches from my face. I startle with a jolt, but I can’t move. I’m dreaming.
“Jesus. Will you ever let up?” I ask.
Beatrix shakes her head, spraying my face with droplets of water. She looks looser than usual. The skin is sliding down her cheeks. When she reaches out to clutch my face, there’s a stump where her pointer finger should be. Something tells me that she’s getting weaker. She’s breathing slower. Her chest heaves with effort.
“You will be,” she exhales sharply, “a terrible mother.”
“And you’re the mother of the year?” I shoot back, shoving her off me. She stumbles backward, tripping over the muddied hem of her skirt.
“I never got to be one. She killed my boy.”
