"Do we really have to do this?" Will called from the living room into the bedroom. "I hate parties. I hate costumes. This is going to be so…" he trailed off and walked into the bedroom, where Mackenzie was sitting on their bed, on her laptop, giggling. "Why am I even talking to you?" he asked her. "You're not even answering me!" he said exasperatedly, waving around a square of cardstock in his left hand. It was an invitation to Don and Sloan's housewarming.
Mackenzie, for her part, didn't even look up. "Seriously, man, could you be the biggest whiner on the planet? We are going to a costume party with our FRIENDS. We don't do things like this often. Why must you turn every fun thing into a chore?" she said, and removed her glasses. She looked up at him, a bit of pink coloring her face and highlighting her frustration. "Seriously. Any time you're pulled out of your one inch square comfort zone, it's like I've asked you to do something horrible!" she exclaimed.
"Dressing up in a costume is pretty horrible, Mackenzie," Will said with that edge in his voice that said, 'I-used-to-be-a-lawyer-I-will-argue-you-to-death' but Mac wasn't having it.
"Ordinarily I'd say 'do it for me' but I don't feel like I should have to about literally every fun thing I want to do that you think is stupid. Can you please, please, pull the stick out of your ass long enough to TRY to have some fun? Please?" Mackenzie got up off the bed, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him squarely on the lips. "Please. For all of our sakes, try and just go with it, will you?" She turned on her foot and walked into the bathroom.
Will sighed. She was right. She almost always was when it came to his stick-in-the-mud attitude. Sloan and Don had moved in to their new apartment a month before, and this was their housewarming. Of course, now it was an 80s costume housewarming party, but Will had once gone to a costume wedding reception, so really, who was he to criticize? What was he so uptight about, anyway? Time to leave the comfort zone a bit. He sighed and stood in the bedroom looking at the skyline until Mac came out of the bathroom.
"OK, OK, you're right. My Cambridge-educated wife, you're right. There, I said it," he said and wrapped his arms around her and planting a kiss on the tip of her nose. "So are you going to find us these costumes?" he asked hopefully. He could put on a costume for her, but he really didn't want to have to go find it himself.
"Yes, I've got it all worked out. Do you want to know now who you're going as, or do you want to be surprised that evening when I get you made up?" she asked, dissolving in a fit of giggles.
Will let Mackenzie's laughter make the decision for him. "No, I'll wait until that day. If I know too much ahead of time I'd be afraid of finding a way to get out of this. You know, like contracting the plague or something," he chuckled into her hair.
Mackenzie pulled away from him and walked out into the living room. "Well, over the next week I'll be getting the costumes together. So let's forget about it for now and go meet Don and Sloan. What time does the game start?" she asked.
"It starts at 7:30. Rangers and Capitals. It's going to be a good game," Will said, handing Mackenzie her coat and grabbing his jacket. "We can have a snack there and then eat after," he went on. "Sound OK?"
"Yeah, it sounds fantastic. Let's go or else we'll be late!" Mac said, slinking her arm through his.
A few times over the next two weeks Will caught Mackenzie looking at things on her laptop and giggling to herself. Once he happened to be walking past her office and he caught her laughing so hard she snorted, then laughed harder and couldn't catch her breath. He paused, staring at her through the office door, and when she looked up she had tears in her eyes. He shook his head at her and gave her a "I think you're losing it" look, then walked back up the hall. Another time he heard her on the phone in their bedroom while he was on the couch watching SportsCenter. She was chuckling with Sloan about their costume preparations. Will closed his eyes and reminded himself that it was making Mac happy, and he needed to stop being so uptight.
When the day of the party came, Mackenzie had an appointment to get her hair styled, so she left their apartment around 2:00 in the afternoon. Will put on college basketball and tried not to let his imagination get away from him. When she returned several hours later, he was amazed. Her hair was curled in ringlets, and her bangs were teased up, curled over and cemented with hair spray. Holy shit, he thought- did she ever really wear her hair like this?
"This was the style back in 1987, you know, Billy. I used to have my hair like this," she said. When he gaped at her, she said, "I was in high school, remember? This was fashionable!" she said and blushed. "Yeah, I don't know what we were thinking, but this was it. You can stop staring now," she said, cheeks coloring as she walked to their bedroom.
Will laughed and thought, this is going to be more fun than I thought. He followed his wife to the bedroom where she had begun laying out their costumes.
"OK, sit down and watch this video," Mackenzie commanded. She clicked 'play' on the YouTube video and sat down beside him. When it was over, Will turned to look at her, a smile creeping across his face. "Please, PLEASE tell me you're going to roll around on the hood of a Jaguar tonight," he said, laughing.
"Well, if I am, you'd better be ready. I can't do a handspring, but I can do a split. I think you'll want to be around when I do, if I'm still wearing that white negligee," she said, arching an eyebrow at him.
Will was still chuckling as he got dressed in the clothes Mac left out on the bed for him: a bright blue jacket and pants with a white button-down shirt. The suit had a very 'Miami Vice' feel that all 80s suits seemed to have. She helped him put on his long, curly hairband hair wig and secured it to his own hair with some bobby pins. "Sit down so I can do your make-up," she said, and lightly penciled some eyeliner under his eyes. Then she went into the bathroom to get dressed in her own costume.
When she walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later, Will's jaw hit the floor. She was wearing a long-sleeved, knee-length filmy white negligee, almost like the one in the video. To make it 'party appropriate' she was also wearing a white camisole and white, capri-length leggings under it. She had the buttons undone half-way down the front of it, and she looked amazing. Sexy and smoking hot, big 80s hair or no. She rounded out the outfit with a pair of white heels which she stepped into, then looked at Will.
"Tawny Kitaen?" he asked, and held out an arm for her.
"Hello, David Coverdale," she replied. Then she said, "Let's get to this party- I can't wait to see everyone else's costumes!"
When they arrived at Don and Sloan's new apartment (Oh my God, it's gorgeous, Mac said over and over as Sloan gave her the tour) the 80s music was already playing. "I spent last night and all day today making a playlist for this party," he said. "Beer?" he asked Will and Will nodded. Don handed Will a Sam Adams and walked to open the door.
"So, who are you and Sloan?" Will asked. Don was wearing a checkered button-down shirt, tight jeans, and a cowboy hat and boots. He grinned and said, "Luke and Daisy Duke, from The Dukes of Hazzard. Will, did you see my fiancee? She is wearing shorts that don't really cover her ass." Don sighed. "The 80s were a wondrous time," he sighed. As Sloan and Mac came back into view, Will admired Sloan's long legs and very short shorts.
Don opened the front door, and in walked Tess and Tamara, dressed as Madonna and Cyndi Lauper, respectively. Tess had curled her long blonde hair and tied a large black bow around her head. She had on lots of black eyeliner and long dangling earrings. For her costume she wore black mini-dress with a chunky belt, lots of rubber bracelets on her arms, and a short lace jacket. Studded black boots rounded out her ensemble. Tamara had teased her red hair until it was full and sticking out at odd angles. Her pale face was was adorned with yellow and pink eyeshadow. Her earrings were long feathers, and her costume consisted of a black bustier, a black tulle tutu, knee-length black leggings, and black Mary Janes. She was also wearing black lace gloves with the fingers cut off, bangle bracelets, and several beaded necklaces.
As soon as Tamara and Tess had walked in, said hello, and had taken the beers Don offered, they resumed their argument. "Madonna is WAY more talented than Cyndi ever was!" Tess said. "Where is Cyndi now? Oh, right, nowhere!" Tess said with a triumphant look on her face. "Shut up," Tamara said, and the bickering pair wandered into the living room. Mackenzie and Sloan squealed over their costumes, and then the doorbell was ringing again.
"I'll get it," Sloan yelled as she ran to the door in her button-down shirt tied above her navel, denim cut-offs that really didn't even cover her ass, and white Keds. Her hair was down and curled on the ends, and she was wearing very natural make-up. Sloan made a cute Daisy Duke.
When Sloan opened the door, it was Neal, dressed as Daniel LaRusso, aka The Karate Kid, and Martin, channeling Beetlejuice. Neal was in a full karate uniform and had a bandana tied around his head. Martin had painted his face white and darkened the area around his eyes. He teased-up his hair and was wearing a white shirt under a black and white striped suit. Once they'd come inside and walked to the kitchen the doorbell rang again. It was Elliot and his wife, Annie, dressed as Westley and Buttercup from The Princess Bride. Elliot had gone with the "Farm Boy" outfit and Annie was in a long sequined gown and a tiara. They looked adorable.
People were exclaiming over each other's costumes. Annie, especially, loved Will's David Coverdale outfit. "Are you going to dance on the hood of a Jag tonight, Mac?" Neal asked, and even Will had to laugh. This was actually fun, Will thought to himself.
The doorbell rang again, and it was Jim, dressed as Marty McFly, complete with orange vest and skateboard, and Gary, dressed as Michael Jackson from his Thriller video. Red leather jacket, t-shirt, and black leather pants. Gary looked good, and Jim as McFly- well, no one could have chosen a better character for Jim to impersonate for the night.
Maggie came next, dressed in a tank top, baggy cargo pants, a mechanic's jacket, and boots. The patch over the pocket gave her character's last name. She was Ellen Ripley, from Aliens. "I love those movies," she explained to Don as he let her in and complimented her on the realism of her costume. "Ripley is amazing."
Don smiled. "No doubt. She's a badass. That was a good choice," he said as he ushered Maggie into the kitchen and got her a beer. The party was in full swing and people were really having a good time. Even Will, who Don had heard from Sloan had been complaining about having to wear a costume AND go to a party, seemed to be enjoying himself. He was sitting on the couch talking amiably to Neal and Martin, watching Sloan, Mackenzie, Tess and Tamara dance to the selection of 80s music Don had put together.
When the doorbell rang again, Don knew who it had to be, but he was ill-prepared for what was waiting on his doorstep. Standing there was a man, with his hair darkened, wearing a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, a black leather jacket and black boots. He also wore a pair of black Gargoyles sunglasses and carried a realistic-looking .45 caliber handgun with a laser sight on it. In a German accent, the man said, "I want to come in to the party, Don." Don grinned and allowed Charlie, tonight channeling The Terminator, to enter the apartment.
When Charlie walked in, everyone burst into cheers and a chorus of "I'll be back." Charlie walked over to sit next to Will, and he remarked, "I haven't been to a costume party in years!" Then he looked at Will and said, "Are you the guy from Whitesnake?"
"David Coverdale, yes. And how do you even know who he is? I had forgotten who he was," Will said. "I know everything," Charlie said and smiled. "And Mackenzie told me earlier this week when she was looking for that negligee she's wearing," he said and pointed at Mackenzie who was still dancing with Sloan. He patted Will on the knee and walked over to compliment the others on their costumes.
When 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' by Def Leppard came on, Mackenzie got especially excited. "This song was popular my senior year in high school," she called to Will over the guitar intro. "We sang it on holiday at the beach in France," she said. "We thought we were so cool." She smiled and went back to dancing and singing along with the music. Will sat there, smiled at his wife, and drank his beer.
When everyone was thoroughly drunk and tired the party started breaking up. Mac and Will were the last to say good-bye, Mac standing with her arms around Sloan, saying, "This was so much fun. I feel like I'm back in 1989. What a great idea for a party!" Sloan kissed Mac on the cheek and hugged her tightly Don came around and said to Will, "I'm glad you had a good time."
Will smiled and shook Don's hand. "This was actually a lot more fun that I thought it would be. I'll remember that for next time." Will reached out to put an arm around Mackenzie and guided her towards the door. "Come on, Tawny," he said laughingly. "You have a Jaguar to roll around on now." Sloan giggled and Will helped Mac into her coat. "See you Monday," Mac called back to their hosts. Don closed the door behind them and Will and Mac made their way out to the sidewalk where a car was waiting for them.
On the ride back to their apartment, Will wrapped his arms around Mackenzie and she put her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad you decided to have fun tonight," she said. He planted a kiss in her hair and said, "Thanks for showing me how to have a good time," he replied. They snuggled together for the entire ride, only breaking apart when they had to exit the car to go inside.
Once inside, Mackenzie started to brush the hair spray out of her hair almost immediately. "I can't believe I used to cement my hair like this every DAY!" she exclaimed. "I'm going to need to take a shower before bed to wash all of this out. Want to join me?" she asked.
"First I want to see you dance around in that lingerie," Will said, eyes as big as saucers. "We can pretend the bed is the hood of a Jaguar," he said with a leering smile.
"OK, Mr. Coverdale. Here I go." Mackenzie said with a suggestive smile and sat down on their bed."