A TBAA short story
"Andrew, please?" Monica pleaded, holding the yellow and black striped bumblebee costume out to him.
"For the last time, Angel Girl, no." Andrew replied with as much patience as he could muster. There was little he wouldn’t do for his best friend, but he drew the line at dressing up as a giant insect.
"Why are you being such a party pooper about this?" She sulked, laying the costume down on the chair in the living room,
"Wendy and Cindy will be dressed up, I’m dressing up…it will be more fun for the twins if you do too."
Andrew sighed as he crossed his arms in front of him, giving her a stern look,
"You know how I feel about Halloween, Monica. Now, I’m pleased as punch for you that Carol and Patrick agreed to let you have the twins tonight to take them trick or treating, but I don’t see why I have to go along. Not to mention dressing up like the big bug will probably give those three year olds nightmares for life. I mean, you get to be an angel and you decide I should be a bumblebee? Where is the justice in that?"
"Well, you wouldn’t tell me what you wanted to be," She replied, refusing to let him spoil this for her,
"And I wanted you to come along so you can see that it isn’t all making a mockery of death either. It’s actually fun for the kids to dress up and to get candy from their neighbors."
"Three year olds on a sugar high," He rolled his eyes,
"Sounds like fun, Angel Girl."
Sighing softly at this rare bad mood of his, she looked in the mirror, surveying her reflection,
"Is my halo on straight?"
Andrew smirked as he watched her as he retorted,
"Monica, in all the years I’ve known you, your halo has never been on straight."
She scowled and stuck her tongue out at him, relieved a little when he at least chuckled,
"Mine isn’t the one off kilter tonight, Angel Boy," She shot back, her eyes flashing mischievously,
"I think yours is permanently tangled, if not ready to self destruct."
As she walked away to the other side of the room, he mimicked her silently, really in no mood to go through with this. Oh, he loved her dearly and though he wouldn’t admit it, she looked adorable in the angel costume, but he would much rather just give her a pat on the head and send her out to play while he spent the evening here.
"I saw that," She turned around, folding her arms across her chest and tilting her head to the side, the halo shifting down on her head and making her look like not a happy angel at all. Sighing softly, she decided maybe she was using the wrong approach. After all, you could catch more flies, or in this case, bumblebees, with honey than with vinegar,
"Andrew, please come with us. I know you don’t like Halloween and I understand why, but that is why I wanted to show you the fun side of it. I planned this for you, so you have to come. Please?"
He groaned, hating it when she took that tone with him as now he knew he had already lost the battle. One little pleading look from the younger angel and he was sucked right in, whether he liked it or not,
"Okay, okay, I give up. I surrender, sweetheart. I’ll go, but I’m not wearing the costume!"
A smile lit her face, as she moved to hug him, her halo bonking him in the face as he rolled his eyes once again as he wondered what he had gotten himself into,
"Okay, no costume, but how about just these?" She held up the antennae and placed them on his head, with a giggle,
"For tonight, instead of Angel Boy, I now pronounced you Bumblebee Boy!"
As he prepared to yank them off his head, Monica shot him another pleading look,
"Oh for Pete’s sake! Fine, I’ll wear them. Can we just get this over with, please?"
Nodding her head and not wanting to try his patience with her any further, she grabbed Tess’ car keys and headed for the door,
"It’ll be fun, Andrew, I promise." She said over her shoulder, wincing as she heard what resembled a snort coming from him and she wondered just how long of a night this would be.
***
Even Andrew had to admit that the twins were precious. Cindy was dressed up as a princess with a long blue gown and a tiara, and Wendy as a fairy, complete with wings and a flower wreath upon her blond curly head. He even smiled when he heard them call out,
"Twick or tweat," at the first several houses and he could tell his best friend was positively beaming at the success of her little plan to get him out. He was almost ready to admit this was kind of fun until they arrived at the third house.
An older gentleman opened the door as the girls cried out their "Twick or Tweat" and the gentleman chuckled at the sight of the twins,
"Well, aren’t you two beautiful?" He smiled as he filled their plastic pumpkins with goodies. He then looked up at Monica and Andrew,
"Nice angel costume, ma’am," but then his expression became perplexed as he looked at Andrew,
"But what on earth are you supposed to be, young man?"
Andrew looked ready to crawl out of his skin at the question as he mumbled,
"Bumblebee Boy." Shooting a glare at Monica as she had to turn away to stifle her laughter.
"Bumblebee Boy, huh?" He repeated, shaking his head,
"I’ve seen a lot of costumes in my day, son, but can’t say I’ve ever heard of any Bumblebee Boy. That is a new one and not real creative if I might say so. Did you forget the rest of the costume?"
Monica knew at that moment she was headed for trouble and that she needed to get him out of there. She knew Andrew wouldn’t snap at the human, it was her own hide she was worried about at this point,
"Thank you so much," She chirped with a smile as she steered the twins back down the walkway,
"Happy Halloween!"
She glanced at Andrew’s face and was unsure if the redness was a reflection of the Halloween lights on the porch, anger or humiliation and she decided it best not to ask him. The night that had been going fairly well, was now beginning to go rapidly downhill and she nearly groaned as a little boy ran up to Andrew, dressed in the traditional dark cloak, carrying a scythe.
"I am death!" He cried out, waving the scythe in front of Andrew’s face, which was showing no sign of amusement,
"I declare death to you just for having a stupid costume!"
As the boy waved his hands in a way that he believed to be frightening, Monica wanted to crawl under the first rock she could find, but instead she managed a weak smile in his direction.
He approached her as he took the antennae off his head,
"I’ve had enough, Monica. You finish with the twins and I’ll be waiting in the car."
"Andrew, I’m so sorry…" She called after him, feeling terrible now for ever having suggested this in the first place.
"Save it, Angel Girl," He replied as he hurried around the corner to where the caddy was parked.
