RECKLESS — Bad Boy Criminal Romance (26 page)

It is Halloween morning and Angela and I peruse a costume shop.  First we look for something for her and the first outfits we see are that of a nurse, a French maid, and a mermaid.

“What should I get?” she asks.

“Well, this thing is at a church.  Probably something conservative.  Maybe something a little sexy for Eddie, but nowhere in the realm of slutty.”

“Right.”

We both purchase costumes and spend the rest of the day home.  Around four-thirty we start getting ready.

Angela brushes her hair.  “So you really think Britney is going to give it up to you tonight?”

I apply deodorant.  “She was totally against it in the beginning, but she’s coming around.”

Angela thinks a moment, then says, “Maybe she'll give you her ass instead of her pussy.”

“I doubt it.”

“Seriously, though, some girls consider themselves still virgins if they do that.  I swear.”

“I’m not disagreeing.  I just don’t think it’ll happen with her.”

“Well, if it does, that doesn’t count as sex.  As far as our bet goes.”

“Fuck that.  Sure it does.”

“No way.  Anything other than straight intercourse doesn’t count as sex.”

“So you’re saying what gay people do doesn’t count as sex?”

Angela thinks about it.  “Fine.  Point taken.”  She slips on her costume.  She’s dressed in a cop uniform with short tight dark blue shorts, black boots, and a baton.  “Hey, you think this is too revealing?”

I look her over.  “I thought I told you to be conservative.”

“Well, I am a cop.”

I shrug.  “Whatever.”

“Be sexy, but not too slutty,” Angela says, talking aloud to herself.  “Be strong, but not too aggressive.  Be independent, but not too selfish.  Being female is such fucking bullshit.”

I dress as an astronaut.  We arrive at the church convention room.  Church volunteers decorate the room and set up the games and a concession stand.  Britney, dressed as a Rachel of the Old Testament, greets us as the door.  Her outfit is a silk blue robe with a braided rope belt. 

There’s a wooden table just inside the front door.  On top is a metal box for storing cash.  “This is where we’re going to be,” Britney says to me.  “There’s a good buzz this year.  I think we’re going to get a big crowd.”

Angela eyes the room and sees an opportunity to make some money.  “I could work the concession stand,” she volunteers.

Unbeknownst to both of Angela and me, Eddie has walked up behind us and says, “Actually, I got you a spot near me.”  He is dressed as a wise man holding a bottle of incense.

“Oh …” Angela turns around.  “Cool.”  She hugs him.

Angela and I walk over to the concession to grab a couple free drinks before starting time.  I fill a red plastic cup with a few ice cubes and Sprite.  Angela does the same.  “God, you didn’t bring any alcohol, did you?  I could totally use vodka mixed with this.  Running some stupid Halloween – no, wait – Harvest Party game, supervising a bunch of bratty kids.  This is going to be fucking brutal.”

I sip my Sprite.  “Well, if you need me, I’ll be at the front counting the money.”

Angela glares at me.  “I hate you.”

We check out the game that she’s supposed to run.  It’s a variation of the game in which you throw small bean bags through the holes in a cardboard cutout of a clown.  However, in this version, instead of a clown, the cardboard cutout is of Goliath and the bean bags are grey and look like stones.  There are a couple large holes in his abdomen and one small hole in his head which I assume counts for bonus points.

Next to her is Eddie who runs an apple-bobbing game.  His space is mocked up to look like the Garden of Eden and the apples are strategically positioned under what looks to be the Tree of Knowledge with a snake hanging off one of the branches.

“We probably won’t get to talk much during this thing.  We’ll both be mobbed with kids,” Eddie says to Angela. “But at least we’ll get to be near each other.”

“Yeah, that’s cool,” Angela says.  “Plus we’re still going out after this, right?”

“We’ll have to help clean up after it’s over.  But yeah, after that, definitely.”  He checks on the apple-bobbing tank.

I step toward Angela so that we’re really close, almost face-to-face, and quietly but mockingly I say, “At least we’ll get to be near each other.”

She cracks a smile and pushes me.  “Shut up.  Go away.”

I rejoin Britney at the front table.

“When we open there will probably be a lot of people all coming in at once,” she tells me.  “It’s good if we can move them through as quick as possible.  Can you count money pretty fast?”

“I think I’m capable of that.”

“Okay, good.”  She hands me a sharpie marker.  “It’s seven dollars per person.  After they pay, mark the back of their hand with the marker.”  She looks around and I can tell her brain is on overload.

I rub her lower back.  “You seem tense.”

“I just want this thing to go off perfectly.  I want everything to be organized and in place so everyone has fun.  If something gets screwed up and I let the church down, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.  Everything looks amazing and everyone will have a great time.”  I pull her in close to me and kiss her.

After the kiss she appears a bit self-conscious.

“Anything wrong?” I ask.

“No.  It’s just … maybe we shouldn’t do that here.”

“What?  Is kissing at church against the rules or something?”

“No, because my dad is here.”

“Okay.”

“I haven’t told him a lot about our relationship.  You know, about how close we’ve gotten.”

“But he knows we’ve been dating, right?”

“Um … no, not exactly.  I mentioned a while back that I had been spending some time hanging out with you.  But being busy with school and church stuff I never really sat down with him and actually said the words that I have a boyfriend.  I just never had a real serious boyfriend before you, so talking to my parents about my love life is not something I’m really used to.”

I nod.

“It’s not that I’m ashamed of you or anything.  He liked you that time y’all met.”  She pauses a moment and stares at me.  “This is weird, isn’t it?  It’s weird that I haven’t told my mom or dad that you’re my boyfriend.  Are you mad at me?”

I chuckle.  “No, it’s … whatever.  I really don’t care.  It’s none of my business what you tell your parents and what you don’t tell them.”

“I’m going to tell my dad soon.  When I find the right time, I’ll tell him.  I’d just rather he hear it from me than find out by seeing you kissing on me.”

“Alright.”

The doors open and people pour inside.  Two lines form, one for Britney and one for me.  Most people come together as families along with friends.  Many groups have five, six, or more people.  After taking seven dollars for each individual person, I put the cash in the metal box and draw a small black circle on the top of each person’s hand.

Britney moves people through her line fast, though I move mine faster.  The incoming crowd is steady until dissipating at seven-thirty.  The convention room is absolutely jammed, loud and overrun with people participating in the festivities.  I think of Angela and how the kids must be driving her crazy and I laugh to myself.

“Looks like your party is a success,” I say to Britney as we work.

“I know,” she says with a beaming smile.  “I’m so relieved.”

At nine o’clock after the last few people trickle in, Britney’s father Reverend Donald Boyd takes the stage in the room and takes the microphone.  He quiets the crowd for a prayer.  The stage is at the back, the opposite wall of where Britney and I are.  We stand to listen.  Britney smiles and holds my hand.  The focus of the prayer is to implore God to save all the people tonight participating in Halloween and all of its debaucherous, violence-glorifying, Satan-worshiping revelry.  At the prayer’s conclusion the crowd says ‘Amen’ in unison. 

Britney leans toward me, standing on her tip-toes, and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek knowing her father won’t see.  She closes the metal box of cash.  “Do you want to carry this and follow me?” she asks.  “We need to go count all the money.”

I follow her out of the convention room and into her father’s office.  The office is large with a white leather sofa, a coffee table, a couple chairs, a mahogany desk, and a computer.  I set the metal box on the desk.

“I’ll be right back,” Britney tells me.  “I’m going to grab the money they’ve made at the concession stand so far so we can go ahead and count that too.”

When she leaves the room, I immediately open the metal box and pocket a portion of the cash.  She returns a few minutes later with the concession stand money.  Together we count it all and write down our total.

“Alright, I’ll have my dad count it next to make sure he gets the same total.”

We put all the money back in the metal box along with the slip of paper with our total.  She takes a key from her pocket and locks the box.  As we leave the office she locks it too.  We find her father walking around the convention center, socializing with his parishioners.  When Reverend Boyd has a moment free, Britney approaches him.  He gives her a big hug.  “Britney, this is incredible!” he says.  “Can you believe how many people are here?”

“I know!” she says, overjoyed with his approval.  “The turnout is even better than I expected.”

He hugs her again.  “I’m so proud of you.”

“Hey, do you remember Bill?” Britney says to her father, looking at me.

“Oh, yeah.  I think so,” the reverend says.  “We met once before, right?”

“Yeah,” I say.  “Real briefly after one of your services.”

“Fantastic,” he says, grinning.  “It’s great to see you here.”

Britney takes a deep breath.  “I think I just want to walk around a little bit and enjoy the party before it’s over.”

“Go ahead,” the reverend tells her.  “You worked so hard to make this a success.  Walk around and enjoy the fruits of your labor.”

She smiles and glances at me.  “Come find me in a little bit, okay?”

I nod.

She walks away and Reverend Boyd looks at me.

“So what are you dressed up as?” he asks with a big grin.

“An astronaut,” I say.

“So how does that relate to God’s Word?”

“You gave that sermon a while back about how Christians are aliens.  When I saw this costume, it made me think of what you said.”

“That’s so great that you remembered that!” he says, almost giddy.  “You know, a lot of people go to church and the words go in one ear and out the other.  Especially younger people such as yourself.  But when you really listen and understand, then you can go out and have a different perspective and actually apply the message.  That’s a great skill to have.”

“It was a great sermon.  I always like to attend the services you preside over because your sermons are my favorite part.  They really inspire me.”

“It’s so good to hear you say that,” he tells me.  “Over the years I’ve gotten plenty of compliments on my sermons.  But, from time-to-time, I still get this phobia where I’m terrified that I’m talking and no one is listening.”  He laughs.

“No way.  You’re a greater speaker.  I can’t imagine anyone not being affected by your words.”

“I also get scared sometimes that, as I get older, I won’t be able to relate anymore to the younger people.  But I guess that’s why God blessed me with Britney and Eddie.  They make sure to keep me current with the times.”

“C’mon, you’re not that old.  You’re always dressed well and have a clear, interesting way of explaining God’s Word.  When you’re in the pulpit, you have a presence that transcends age.  I think everyone can feel your message.”

We stand there together a moment, not saying anything.  He smiles.

“Well, I better leave you alone so you’ll be available for anyone else who wants to talk to you.”  I shake his hand.

“Hey, I really enjoyed speaking with you,” he says.  “I get the sense that you have a real maturity and understanding of what it means to live in Christ, especially for your age.  I’d like to see you around more.  Are you involved in the church?”

“Yeah, Britney’s been getting me involved.”

“I could definitely see you and Britney being friends.  She has a real maturity and understanding of God’s Word herself.”

“Yeah, I know.  She’s really inspired me since I’ve met her.  She’s so passionate and hardworking in everything she does.”

“That’s very true.  Stay in touch.  I hope to see you around.”  He smiles and walks away.

The party ends shortly after ten-thirty.  All the volunteers – myself and Angela included –dispose of the trash and stack chairs and fold tables and put them in a storage room.  As we’re finishing Angela pulls me aside and whispers, “Did you get any money?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.  For all the work we did, we deserve something.”

By midnight we’re done and almost everyone is gone.  Reverend Boyd is in his office.  Eddie goes to speak to him and Britney and I decide to leave.  In the now nearly-empty convention room I say goodbye to Angela.