"So, what's the plan for this afternoon?" I asked, sitting back, having just finished gorging myself on the pizza that had been provided.
Molly sat back with a sigh as well. "I don't know- I was thinking maybe a trip into town?" She said. "There's one pretty close by, and it has a great vintage shopping strip."
"Sounds good to me," I replied.
"I'd love to go," Braiden offered. "I love shopping."
Graycen arched an eyebrow. "You think you're going to earn points being gay?" He inquired easily.
Braiden glared, and I laughed. "Shopping's cool," I told Graycen. "Who am I to say guys can't share in the fun?" Although that wasn't going on the list as a pro.
"Good," Cullen said. "I need some new shoes."
Graycen rolled his eyes. "I'll go ahead and wait here, thanks," he told us, standing. "I'd like to keep my estrogen level where it is."
We headed out, and ended up in Janson. Molly pulled up and parked along one end of a fairly long street lined with old-fashioned cottages, all decorated for Halloween. "They refurbished all the old houses and turned them into stores," Molly explained to me. "Made kind of a little shopping village. You can find some great stuff in here, though."
"I'm guessing I'm not going to find the new shoes I'm looking for here, huh?" Cullen asked dryly.
"For being the oldest, you sure are a whiner," Molly told him.
Cullen shot her a glare, but didn't retort.
We did, indeed, find a lot of interesting stuff in the village. I got a couple of dresses that would be cool once I tweaked them a little bit, some vests from the 70s, a couple pair of shoes. Braiden and Cullen, of course, insisted on buying them for me. It was a little uncomfortable, but whatever, right? I convinced Cullen that an old pair of spectators was just as good as a new pair, and way cooler, so he bought those. Molly picked out a hat that made her laugh. Braiden just looked on, laughing and commenting here and there.
"Anybody else hungry?" Braiden asked at last, after we'd made our way up one side of the street and partway down the other.
I looked at my watch. "Wow. I thought my stomach was growling a little, but I didn't realize it was six already. Where do y'all want to eat? Or should we eat at the house?"
"Nah, Bridget won't miss us," Braiden told me. "How about the old tavern?"
"The Blackbird?" Cullen asked. "That's a good idea. I haven't eaten there in a long time."
"Some friends of mine work there," Molly informed us. "Come on, I'll get us a deal."
The tavern was actually really nice. It was like an old hunting lodge or something, turned into an old-english style tavern and restaurant. The waiter smiled widely when he made it to our table, leaning down and giving Molly a peck on the lips. "Who're your friends, hon?" He asked.
"David, this is Mera. These two are Cullen and Braiden, Mr. Farth's grandsons," Molly replied, smiling. "Guys, this is my boyfriend, David."
David nodded, smiling at us. "So I can expect a good tip, right? What can I get you?"
We all ordered and he walked off, returning a minute later with our drinks. "I'd love to stay and talk," he told us, "but we're kind of jammed right now, so..."
"That's okay," Molly assured him. "Go work, we don't want you unemployed."
"He seems nice," I told Molly as he walked away.
"He is," she replied, smiling again. "We met at one of the festivals in town this summer."
"That's awesome," I said. Of course, I wouldn't have the chance for something so romantic. I sent a wry glance at the two guys across the table from us.
When we returned to the house Braiden announced that he had to check his email, to see if any of his clients had sent him updates. Molly went out to the garage to check on Keith, so Cullen and I sat in the living room. "So, what exactly do you do?" I asked him. "I mean, I heard that you're writer, and you work with the FBI, but that's kind of vague..."
"I'm a psychologist," he told me. "I work with the FBI for victim profiles. I work mostly with abuse victims."
"Are there many in your field?" I asked.
"Not enough," he said.
I nodded. "I was looking into going to school for psychology, before my dad died," I told him. "I know a lot of abused kids- thehy always seem to find me, on myspace, or whatever. My best friend, Nancy, was abused bad."
"Her dad?" He asked understandingly.
I shook my head. "Her mom," I replied. "Used to beat on her constantly, just to take her to the hospital and get attention."
He shook his head as well, his eyes looking incredibly sad. "When did she get caught?"
"When we were fifteen," I replied. "Her mom shoved her through a plate-glass window."
He winced. "She survived?"
"Yeah," I said. "She was in the hospital for a while, and she still has scars."
"And her mom got put away?" He asked. He knew, as I did, that it didn't always happen.
"Yeah," I said quietly. "At her trial she said that she didn't know what the big deal was- she was the one who had to get a new window."
He winced again. "It boggles me, that people can recuperate from things like that."
I nodded. "Nancy's great, too. She's going to school, working; she loves life, and is really social. She's the one staying with my mom and brother while I'm here."
"She sounds like a great person," he said. "I'd love to talk to her sometime."
"Maybe," I said.
Graycen walked in then, pausing and looking at the both of us curiously. "Bonding, hmm?" He asked. "are you going to braid each other's hair next?" He sat with us. "Cause if so, I want in. What are you talking about?"
"Life," I replied easily.
"Your life or his life?" Graycen inquired. Then he grinned quite wolfishly. "Did he tell you that he's been married before?"
Cullen groaned, and my eyes widened. "What?"
"Yep," Graycen said smugly. "Got married at nineteen. Divorced by twenty-two. He knows how to pick 'em, let me tell you."
"She's a piece of work," Cullen agreed dully, his head back on the couch, staring at the ceiling.
"Speaks nothing but Gaelic," Graycen added humorously. "It's pretty funny."
"You only say that because you didn't have to live with her," Cullen said.
"It's not my fault you married a freak," Graycen said with a laugh. "Anyway, I was just coming to remind you that we're supposed to go to that stupid Halloween festival tomorrow, in Janson." He grimaced. "Grandpa always did have a sick sense of humor." With that he stood and walked back out, ambling off to who-knew-where.
Cullen laughed. "You should spend more time with Graycen," he told me.
I just looked at him. "You're not going to start in with the whole 'you should marry him so he can keep the house' thing, are you?"
Cullen shook his head. "No. I do think that he deserves the house. But you should just spend some time with him- you might be pleasantly surprised."
I scoffed. "I doubt it. He's barely civil."
"Yeah, that's his defense mechanism," Cullen affirmed, nodding. "But he's really not so bad. Well, I've got some stuff to do, so I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled and stood, leaving me to myself.
Pleasantly surprised, huh? I wondered. Then I shook my head. No. I don't have time for anything like that.
The next morning I was woken by Molly. "So, what are you going to the festival as?" She asked as I blinked up at her blearily. "Keith and I are supposed to go to keep y'all company when you're not off in your individual pairs... we're apparently supposed to be time-keepers, too. But, anyway, David's going to meet us there, and I was just wondering what kind of costume you were wearing."
I continued blinking at her, still partially asleep. Without a word I stood and went into the bathroom, brushing my teeth and washing my face before returning to my room, feeling more alive. "Okay, what was the question?" I asked.
"What are you going to the festival as?" She repeated.
"Umm... I don't know," I said, thinking through my wardrobe. "I got some cool 70s stuff yesterday, so I might go as a hippie or something."
"That'd be cool!" Molly said enthusiastically. "I'm going as a maid- I have an old uniform from when they were required for the job."
"Nice," I said, nodding. "When are we leaving?"
"At two," she told me.
I blinked at her. "So... why did you wake me up?"
She shrugged. "I just wanted to ask you what you were going as."
I blinked, then sighed. She was a little too much like Matty. "Okay, well, I'm gonna go check my email."
That was a bust- Nancy hadn't gotten back to me yet. I logged off minutes after logging on, and spun around in the chair for a minute, trying to think of what I wanted to do. Finally I decided just to go back to my room and get ready for the festival.
I picked a vintage jumper dress that was a mix of greens, blues, and purples, and wore a loose, long-sleeved blouse underneath. After that I straightened my black hair, then braided pieces of it, twisting them back weirdly. Molly showed up about an hour later with daisies from the garden- I laughed, and she helped me weave them into my hair.
After that I helped her coil and pin her brownish-red hair back out of her face, then put the white maid's-cap on it. I also had to help her into the dress, which was poufy and snug at the same time. I fastened all the little buttons in the back as she fixed her collar, then pulled on her black flats. Finally I tied a hemp belt around my waist and tried to solve the shoe dilemma.
"I have a pair of flat boots you could wear," Molly said. "Your about an 8, 81/2, right?" I nodded. "I'll go get them."
The boots were perfect, and I pulled them on. There was a knock at the door, and Keith walked in.
He was wearing an old tuxedo, his longish hair slicked back into a pony-tail. His face was pale, and there was a spot of red on his collar. "Is that lipstick?" I asked curiously.
"No," he said, rolling his eyes a little. "It's blood. I'm a vampire."
Molly frowned. "Where are your fangs?"
"I didn't like them," he replied. "They made my mouth feel weird."
"So... you're a vampire without fangs?" I asked.
He just sighed a little. "You two are so judgmental."
We laughed, and shortly thereafter walked down into the living room to wait for the other guys.
They came in together, and I laughed. Talk about clashing costumes. Graycen had, somewhere, found very Victorian-age clothes; his hair was kind of wild, and he had something like a little gun-holster on his hip. Braiden was painted completely green, wearing torn-looking shorts and T-shirt, his hair thick with temporary black hair-dye. And Cullen- funniest of all- wore tan pants that didn't reach his ankles, tube socks and loafers, a short-sleeved button-down shirt (complete with a pocket-protector) and suspenders, a bow-tie, and taped glasses.
"Let me guess," I said with a grin. "Erkle," I said, looking at Cullen. "The Hulk," I glanced at Braiden's bulging- and green- muscles. "And..." I studied Graycen. "Some random Victorian dude?"
"I'm Sweeney Todd," he said haughtily.
I laughed. "Ah, I see. It was hard to tell without all the fake-looking blood. You're not going to sing, are you?"
"I feel you, Joanna," Molly muttered, making me laugh.
"I'm not Erkle," Cullen told me with a sniff. "I'm a nerd."
"Same difference," I said dismissively.
"So we have a hippie, a maid, and..." Braiden looked at Keith in confusion. "A cheating boyfriend at a cotillion?"
Keith rolled his eyes. "I'm a vampire."
The three brothers blinked. "Where are your teeth?" Graycen asked, frowning.
Keith didn't even bother explaining.