The Halloween Party.
All characters belong to AMC I'm only borrowing them.
The Montgomery/Tasker clan are heading to the annual Halloween Charity Fancy Dress Ball – the only question is what are they going to wear!
Erica had sent out the invites for her annual Halloween Charity Fancy Dress Ball.
The Montgomery/Tasker clan were sat at the breakfast table discussing their options for costumes – there was a prize for best dressed family after all. Tad and his girls had been reigning champions for a while now and it was causing a dent in the Kane pride that neither Kendal nor Bianca had managed to outdo them. Now was this new family's chance to shine.
Only things weren't going so well.
Miranda was very determined that they all go dressed as fairies. AJ was obviously not keen on that idea; he wanted to dress as a pirate. The argument had been going back and forth between the two for a while now, the key points of contention being Fairies were pretty and Pirates were stupid, but alternately Fairies were stupid and Pirates were cool. Gabby was sat between her sister and AJ, quietly watching the argument go back and forth like a spectator at a tennis match.
Marissa was trying desperately to be a mediator and was wondering if this was all too much effort. It would be so much easier if everyone could just dress in whatever they wanted, fancy dress prize be damned. She looked to Bianca for support but her girlfriend was seemingly miles away, her brow furrowed in concentration as she frantically tried to think of an alternative both children would like.
"Fine!" cried Marissa, exasperated at the endless argument, "We will go as Fairies and Pirates."
"But we can't be Fairies and Pirates we won't win a prize." moaned Miranda.
"Yes we can!" said Bianca suddenly. She was wearing a wide grin and Marissa caught her girlfriend giving her a rather wanton look of appraisal. "We can go as Peter Pan! Then you can be Pirates and Fairies"
Miranda's eyes lit up.
"I can be Tinkerbelle!"
"But AJ wants to be a pirate he doesn't want to be Peter Pan." said Marissa, teasing as she knew this wasn't what Bianca had in mind.
"Well." said Bianca playfully, "I was actually thinking of someone else who would look very good in green tights!"
Marissa grinned wickedly for a moment and then playing coy, asked in an innocent voice,
"You want me to be Peter Pan?"
"That's a brilliant idea!" cried Miranda.
"You would be really good, mommy!" cried AJ.
"Peter Pan! Peter Pan!" exclaimed Gabby, eagerly clapping her hands. It was one of her favourite Disney films.
"Yes please." Bianca mouthed silently over the children's eager voices, giving her girlfriend a very flirty look.
"Okay I'll be Peter." said Marissa, reaching across the table to take Bianca's hand. "Does that mean you'll be my Wendy?"
Bianca gave her a sheepish grin,
"Actually I kind of wanted to be a pirate."
"Awesome!" exclaimed AJ, leaping from his chair and eagerly clutching Bianca's arm. "You could be Captain Hook and I could be your crew."
She couldn't help but smile at the young boy who was almost vibrating with excitement.
"I wasn't really thinking of being the Captain." said Bianca, giving him a hug. "But what the hell! Why not, I never get to play the bad guy."
Marissa was laughing now.
"So we are going as Peter Pan and Captain Hook."
"The ultimate odd couple." said Bianca, finishing her thought and joining in her laughter. "How can we fail?"
"Not at all if we have our pirate and Tinkerbelle…" said Marissa, smiling at her son and Miranda. She then turned to Bianca's youngest daughter, who had been very quiet through the whole exchange.
"And who does Gabby want to be?"
Gabby was quietly chewing her lip, deep in thought.
"Do you want to be Wendy?" Bianca suggested.
Gabby shook her head.
"How about a mermaid… Tiger-Lily… another fairy… a pirate… a lost boy…?"
Gabby shook her head at all of her mom's suggestions.
"Do you want to be Peter Pan?" Marissa asked.
Still Gabby shook her head.
"She's not being Tinkerbelle!" said Miranda, pouting and crossing her arms in a sulk.
"I don't want to be Tinkerbelle!" the youngest Montgomery said matter-of-factly.
"Well who do you want to be, baby?" Bianca asked putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"Can I be the cwocodile?" she asked.
Bianca laughed at how adorably cute her daughter was.
"Of course you can sweet-heart."
…
"My Mom is going to kill me." sighed Bianca, as she admired her costume in the bedroom mirror. She adjusted the buckle on her wide belt and began to pull on her brocaded jacket.
"Why would she do that." asked Marissa, coming up behind her and plonking a tri-corn hat on her girlfriend's head.
"My mom likes me to look… I don't know… classy at these things – she likes me to be pretty."
Bianca took a moment to straighten the jacket, and then rearranged the hat, getting the feather just right.
Bianca turned around. She looked every inch the swashbuckler, the tri-corn hat over her beautiful curly hair, the scarlet coat with heavy gold brocade - the perfect cut to show off her figure, over a loose open necked shirt, and long black boots over black trousers.
"Well." said Marissa, grabbing Bianca's lapels and pulling her close, "I think you look very handsome."
She stole a kiss from Bianca's unprotesting lips.
"So do you." sighed Bianca after a moment.
Marissa stepped away a little self-conscious about her Peter Pan costume. There wasn't much to it for a start, a tight fitted green tunic, matching hot-pants over green tights and brown pixie boots. She had but her hair up in a loose plait, and tucked it under a green hat.
"I'm not so sure myself." said Marissa, appraising her costume once more in the mirror. She thought the hat made her look more like Robin Hood.
Bianca stepped behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her back into an embrace.
"Well." said Bianca, smiling as she addressed her girlfriend's reflection in the mirror. "It's got me thinking happy thoughts."
Marissa laughed, playfully nudging Bianca in the ribs and turning around in her arms in order to kiss her once more.
"Mommy!"
A plaintive cry came from the hallway.
The two women separated; duty called.
AJ appear a few moments later, he had somehow made a knot of his bandana, his sleeve and his eye-patch. Marissa set about untangling him.
"Wow!" He exclaimed when he saw Bianca. "You look cool."
"Well thanks, buddy." she said. She was rooting around the dressing table looking for something. "I'm almost ready to go."
"What do you mean… almost." asked Marissa.
Bianca was now throwing about the bedcovers in her search.
"I'm still missing a vital part."
Bianca went on to rummaging in drawers and got on her knees to peer under furniture.
"Okay I give up." she cried, exasperated, "Who's stolen Captain Hook's hook?"
…