“Is that who I am?” I asked. “I thought it might be Julius Caesar.”
“Caesar was Cleopatra’s first lover. Mark Antony was her favorite.”
“I’ll take your word for that. You look divine!”
Kristen smiled. “Thank you! Didn’t you find the beard?”
I nodded, and pointed to the bag. “I didn’t have a mirror.”
“Oh, poor baby!” Kristen cooed. She found the spirit gum and soon had the beard on my face. The mustache caused my nose to itch a bit.
Kristen admired her work. “It matches your hair perfectly!”
“Great,” I said. I was dying to see myself in the mirror. I was very curious about what I would look like in a beard.
“I’ve been dying to try that out,” Kristen declared.
“Try what out?” I asked.
Without answering, Kristen pulled me into a kiss. It was one of her patented erection specials. We must have kissed for a couple of minutes before we broke it off.
Kristen giggled. “It tickles!”
I swooned a bit; Kristen always has that effect on me. “Me, too,” I agreed. “Where is Merry?”
“She’s still getting ready. The shoes were a bit loose, but everything else was perfect.”
I smiled. “I figured that we would have gone as Romeo and Juliet.”
Kristen shook her head. “I told people that Romeo and Juliet were allowed, although they were fictional characters. I allowed the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses as well, since they were very real to the people that believed in them. I didn’t want us to be Romeo and Juliet because their love is doomed; I don’t want to tempt fortune.”
“Oh. I didn’t think of that.”
“You’ll probably see a couple of Juliets coming tonight. A lot of the girls asked.”
“I’ll only have eyes for Cleopatra,” I promised.
This earned me another kiss, albeit a brief one as Merry made her entrance.
“Ta-da!” Merry announced, doing a little curtsy. “You look funny in that beard!”
Merry was wearing a wig and a blue and white gingham dress. She looked like the spitting image of Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz. The costume fit Merry very well.
“I guess we’re ready for our guests,” I noted.
“Yup,” Kristen agreed. “Wally?”
A voice came over the intercom. “Yes, Miss Swift.”
“Let me know when our guests start to arrive.”
“Will do, Miss.”
“Wally?” I asked. “What happened to Billy?”
“We give him a day off every once in a while,” Kristen laughed.
“Oh.” I had been so used to Billy that I had just thought he was wherever he was twenty-four hours a day. Of course, that was absurd.
All of a sudden, a chant came over the stereo. “Ouga Chaka!” Oh, no! Not that!
“Ooh,” Kristen said. “They’re playing our song!”
I rolled my eyes. Most of the band members already were calling me “Oogie,” thanks to Kristen. The name was starting to stick, much to my dismay. I forced a smile and listened to the song.
Merry giggled at my discomfort. Apparently, Kristen had told Merry about my new nickname and she had used it a couple of times, always when my parents weren’t around.
The intercom clicked on. “Miss Swift. The first of your guests are starting to arrive.”
Kristen answered, “Thank you, Wally. Have the security guys help our guests find places to park.”
“Will do, Miss Swift.” The intercom clicked off.
A minute or so later, Patty arrived, dressed as a cowgirl with a brown hat and a yellow bandanna. “Say howdy to Calamity Jane!”
I laughed. “You look more like Wrangler Jane!”
Patty nodded. “You’re half-right, but F-Troop is fictional. Therefore, I’m Calamity Jane. I knew that Kris was going to be Cleopatra, and I must say you make a handsome and hirsute Antony.”
“Hirsute?” I asked, not understanding the word.
“Hairy,” Kristen said, laughing.
I laughed along with them. “I think ‘hirsute’ sounds a bit nicer. Thanks, Patty!”
“And Dorothy looks divine!” Patty added.
“Thank you, Miss Jane,” Merry answered, doing another curtsy. “I need a Toto!”
Camille arrived with a boyfriend, who she introduced as Joe. She was dressed as Charlie Chaplin, and Joe was in a dark outfit. Camille had to tell us that he was Jack the Ripper, which I thought was a great idea for a non-fictional character.
Camille also brought Sherry with her, who was dressed as a vampire. “I’m Vampira, the actress from the movies,” Sherry explained. “My mom already bought this outfit for me and Kristen said that Vampira would be allowed, since she’s a real person.”
I sized up Joe. He was a tall person and didn’t look like a football player or any other kind of jock for that matter. “Hi, Joe. I’m Jim.”
“I was told to call you Oogie,” said Joe, smiling.
I must have looked very distressed because Camille said, “Oh, come on, Oogie! I told Joe the story of your present for Kristen and he thought it was cute.”
Joe nodded. “I really wish I had the talent you have with music. I just strum a guitar myself.”
“The guitar and the violin family are instruments I never got the hang of, myself,” I explained.
I told our guests where the soda and cider were located, and Kristen added that we had chips, candy, and other things in the kitchen as well.
More of our guests started arriving. Wendy arrived wearing a blonde wig. I didn’t need any guesses to know her character: Marilyn Monroe!
Kristen had started the record player, and people were helping themselves to sodas. Merry had the television in the bedroom turned to the scary movie marathon, and a few of our guests were watching with her.
I found myself absorbed by the synthesizers on Elton John’s ”Funeral for a Friend,” which I knew to be the first track on the “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” LP.
Jackie Lombardi knocked me from my reverie.
“Hello, Oogie!” Jackie said.
Damn! Now the cheerleaders were calling me that!
“Hi, Jackie,” I said, suppressing a groan.
Jackie and her date were dressed as Romeo and Juliet.
A few more cheerleaders arrived as well, some with dates. Kristen had been correct: Romeo and Juliet proved to be a popular theme.
Patrice and Jack arrived, and I greeted them both. Patrice was dressed as Pocahontas, and Jack was dressed as Charlie Chaplin. I recognized the girl that he was with as Doreen, the friend of Marla’s that the two of us had met at the park. I was amazed and happy that Doreen and Jack were still together. Doreen was dressed as a flapper from the 1920s, and told me that she was Paulette Goddard, Chaplin’s co-star from Modern Times. She looked very nice, actually.
A few minutes later, I was listening to ”Benny and the Jets,” one of my favorites from that Elton John album when Sherry accosted me.
“I knew Elton John was your favorite. Can you play this song?”
“I never really tried,” I admitted. “I don’t have the vocal range that he has. ’Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ is quite easy, though. And you know that I can play ’Harmony.’”
The two of us listened to the song as I sipped a Coke that Kristen had thoughtfully provided from the kitchen.
“I can imagine a guy on stage dressed in a mohair suit,” Sherry giggled.
“Don’t forget the electric boots!” I laughed. “It would have been a great costume… me going as Elton John!”
Camille overheard me and laughed as well.