It is autumn now . . . late October to be specific . . . and the oldest girl, Tammy, is having a Halloween party. Twelve is the age when kids stop trick-or-treating. Oh, some stop after that and a few stop before that, but, by and large, that is the age when children get the feeling that they are too old to go trick-or-treating. So Mom and Dad suggested this party as a way to sort-of ease Tammy through this . . . transition.
Five friends are invited . . . Sadie, Brooke, Holly, Bethany, and Emily . . .
and they begin to arrive around seven o’clock. Dad is on the front porch ready to greet them. But Dad is also dressed up in a monster’s costume . . .
and a scary one at that . . . and there he sits, perfectly still . . . waiting.
All of the other family members are in a back room except six-year old Ashley, who has been given the job of opening the front door and letting the guests in. “When the doorbell rings,” her mother has instructed her, “don’t answer it. But wait until you hear the scream . . . then go open it.”
The first to arrive is Bethany, who steps onto the front porch accompanied by her mother, who promptly rings the doorbell. Bethany’s mom’s eyes are drawn to the monster sitting there and she remarks how realistic it looks.
(Ah, it is more realistic than she can imagine, but would soon find out.) At this moment the head of the monster slowly turns in the direction of the two women and then it moans and rises from its sitting position. Bethany and her mother both scream. In a few moments the front door opens and . . .
after a bit of explaining . . . Ashley ushers Bethany inside while Bethany’s mother returns to her car.
It is five minutes later and the next guest is stepping up onto the front porch. Ashley is busy in the front room coloring. The doorbell rings and she keeps on coloring. She doesn’t even look up. A few moments go by and she stops, raises her head up erect, and listens. A scream is heard. Ashley nods her head forward and says “Yep.” and then gets up, hurries over to the front door, and opens it.
We are well into the party now, and all six girls (the five invitees and Tammy) are up in the girls’ bedroom playing Yahtzee. They have been told to wait up there . . . with the door closed . . . until they are called. There is a slow knock on the bedroom door. It is Erin, who intones, “Emily . . . will you please come with me.”
Down in the living room Emily is shown a long table . . . a well table-clothed table . . . that has a line of cups, pails, and a water cooler sitting on it, and all of these are upside down. She is told by Mom . . . who is holding a stopwatch . . . that, “The object of this contest is to lift up the cup or pail or water cooler and, as fast as you can, name the items underneath.” Emily nods in understanding, and then Mom says, “Ready, set, GO!” Emily picks up the first cup. There is a yo-yo underneath. She announces, “Yo-yo” and then moves on to the next cup.
Well, she does all right. Her speed is good and she names every item correctly. Then she comes to the water cooler, and when she lifts it up . . . there is Dad! Well, it’s Dad’s head anyway . . . poking up through a hole in the table . . . and he sort-of snarls. Emily drops the water cooler, pulls her hands up to her face, and lets out a short, but loud, scream . . . a scream that travels all the way up to where the other five girls are waiting.
A few minutes later there is again a slow knock on the bedroom door. It is Erin again, and this time she is given a rather subdued reception. Erin . . .
in a low monotone . . . then says, “Holly . . . please come with me.”
The party goes on till nine-thirty which is when the parents start showing up. Each girl is given a giant chocolate bar, a glow necklace, and a Halloween greeting card that makes scary sounds when it’s opened.
It was a good party. Tammy is happy, so it was a good party.