Chapter 4. Pussycat, Pussycat
The woman stared back at Bill as he stood in the doorway. She was caught in his gaze as much as he was in hers. Realizing the stare lasted a little too long, she smiled, dropped her eyes, and began to blush.
Two children, dressed in heavily padded gray mouse costumes, looked up at the man and cried out "Trick or Treat!"
As if being shaken from a dream, Bill glanced down at the children. They were cute. Not cute because they were small. They were truly cute, with round chubby features and bright red hair. And, based on their facial features, they clearly did not belong to the woman in front of him. Again, he looked at the woman, this time with a broad smile.
She was embarrassed, and surprised, finding herself attracted to the middle aged man standing at the door, holding out an old can of tuna fish. She looked at the can, then extended her arm which was covered in long black gloves. Smiling, she graciously accepted it; the can hung in limbo between each of their fingertips, as they both held a side of the tin.
"Thank you. It's my favorite," she purred coyly, clearly in reference to her costume. Surprised at her brazenness, she pulled at the can, blushed and averted her eyes, pretending to look at the children standing in front of her.
Bills raised his eyebrows, and cleared his throat. He looked shell shocked. For the first time tonight he was honestly angry at Ralph. It wasn't because of the hassle he had been through, or the odd encounters he had with ghosts, gremlins and gobblins all night.
He was angry that Ralph had made him look like an old fool in front of the pretty pussycat standing in the Halloween moonlight, right there at the door.
He wanted to say something to her. Make a joke, he thought. But as hard as he tried, his thoughts were muddled, and only belabored and exasperated gasps of air came through his lips. His breathing became erratic, and his heart skipped more than a few beats.
The two stood silently, at opposite sides of the doorway.
"Trick or treat!" one of the children finally repeated, as he grew impatient. Again, Bill looked down, as if surprised there were children around at all.
Finally, he looked back at the women in black cat ears and broke the awkward silence.
"I'm sorry, but I ran out of candy." It was not completely the truth, but a desperate attempt to salvage some of his dignity in front of the five foot tall pussycat standing in front of him.
With a smile, she simply mouthed the words "That's ok" back to him.