Jenny's eyes popped open. She was wide awake. Loki's body hadn't budged an inch all night and he was snoring quite loud. She realized she needed to make a hasty retreat before Loki woke up, or all kinds of weirdness would ensue. What the hell came over her last night? Did she want to get fired? She looked at Loki's adorable sleeping face and then she remembered. She'd risked all just for a one sided kiss. Worth it! She shifted her weight in a slow careful attempt to extricate herself from the scene of the crime. The minute movement disturbed Loki, however, and his eyes opened. Jenny had to think fast.
She bounced on the bed as if she'd just arrived and played off the fact that she was sitting on his bed in his private apartment.
"Morning boss! You ready for coffee yet or are do you want to spend the entire day in darkness?" Jenny said with feigned brightness and cheerfulness.
Loki groaned and squinted his eyes. His head pounded and his mouth tasted of spider webs and cat breath. He didn't want to move, but his overfull bladder commanded him to rise.
"Oh god, coffee. Coffee, water, and an aspirin please!" He stumbled into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Jenny released a great sigh of relief. She ran upstairs with lightning speed and started a pot brewing. She made a quick trip to the bathroom under the staircase to see to her own needs and check her appearance in the mirror. She really wanted to brush her teeth but she didn't have that available. She decided she'd just have to lace her coffee with some peppermint oil and hope it masked her breath until she could get home and do something about it. She ran her fingers through her stringy bed hair.
"Time to start putting the moves on him." She said with confidence and a smile. She went back into the kitchen and pulled out a skillet to make some omelets. She pulled out a steak, onion, tomatoes, and mushrooms to slice and dice into itty bitty pieces. Loki came lumbering up the stairs and Jenny poured him a cup of coffee and handed him some pills.
"Mmmm. Thank you." Loki gulped down the steaming liquid.
"I'm making you breakfast for a change. Relax." She said. Loki complied without a word, sitting at the table and rubbing his temples. "How do you feel? Aside from the hangover I mean?"
"Better. I do feel better, thank you. Your friends got home okay?"
"Yeah. They had a great time. They think you need to get out more. I agree with them."
"My mother once said that I was too comfortable with being alone. I didn't understand what she meant by that at the time."
"She was right. You need more friends and you need to get away from this house once in a while."
"I know you are right. Bad habits are hard break I guess."
"So, do you think you are up for throwing a Halloween party here?"
"I don't know Jenny. What if something bad happens? I'd never forgive myself for putting someone intentionally in harm's way."
"Loki what are you talking about? You don't actually believe all the Death House rumors going around about this place do you?"
"Well, how could I not? The previous owner disappeared and no one knows where his body is, that foul Victoria woman was run over right in front of me and several other people, and Father Sheldon died right in middle of trying to bless the house. What am I to think?"
"Does this house have a weird history? Yeah, I'll grant you that. Was Victoria's death the work of ghosts or demons? No, except maybe her own. She got what she deserved. Father Sheldon had a stroke after eating a very delicious last meal that you made. I know on some level you are thinking that the food must have killed him, but he was 87 Loki."
"But what if someone else dies here while at the party? What if the rumors are true?"
"No one is that unlucky Loki. Not even you."
"I…I don't know."
"Look, planning the party will give me something to do. I can put up flyers in the community and do some social networking on my cellphone. This place is going to fail if you don't turn this around, and it is doomed to fail if you start believing all the fairytale bullshit and lies about this place. Please let me do this. I'm tired of pretending to sweep the ballroom floor. There isn't a dust bunny in sight in there. We should break it in."
"I…(sigh)"
"Please?" She batted her eyelashes. "It can be a masquerade ball and we can charge $5 a head. 21 and over only if you want to keep the high schoolers away."
"That would include you wouldn't it?" Loki twisted his mouth into a crooked smile.
"Yeah well I guess it'll be a good thing I'll be working the event."
"And earning overtime while having fun?"
"If you insist."
"I'm going regret this."
"You won't! I promise. It'll be the best thing. It's going to be awesome!" Jenny squeaked with excitement and did a little dance as she moved the eggs around in the skillet. Her omelets were turning into scrambled eggs.
XxXxXxXxXx
For two weeks Jenny practically dragged Loki all over town and into neighboring towns to get all the party supplies they needed. They had to drive over two hours to get to a decent costume store where Loki could choose something to wear. For Jenny it was a heavenly experience. They'd go into a place and drop hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars on supplies for either food, or a portable buffet serving station, or cases of liquor. Each time Loki would open up his wallet and pull out his credit card and pay for everything without flinching or bitching. Jenny spent much of the time imagining he was paying for their wedding reception supplies.
"What should I be, do you think? Loki pulled a hippie costume off the rack and held it up.
"No. You're the Lord of the Manor. You should either dress like Prince Charming or Dracula. And by that I mean the Gary Oldman Dracula, not the Bela Lugosi Dracula. And not the creepy white haired beehive Dracula but the young one with the long ringlets in his hair."
"Not the Twilight Dracula?"
"Number One, No. Just no. Number Two, vampires have fangs and they don't fucking sparkle! Number Three: Team Jacob bitches!"
"Ha! Alright then." Loki went back to perusing the racks in search of something old fashioned, romantic, and stately. He found a bunch of generic costumes all named "The Duke" in a variety of colors. Loki picked through them and chose the one with green detailing. He looked it over and decided that with a powdered wig and little make-up he'd look like the spitting image of a French courtier from the time of Queen Antoinette.
"How about this?" He held it up for Jenny's approval.
"Perfect!" She looked in over with a dreamy smile. Her high school prom dress from her senior year still hung in her closet at home and it was the same shade of green. It had a full bell skirt and a corseted bust
"Ooh look. A non-slutty French maid costume. This will be perfect for you during the party. I can get us matching powdered wigs." Loki said. Jenny's face fell slightly but she nodded in agreement. She'll go to the party in the maid costume, but she planned to make a wardrobe change about halfway through.
XxXxXxXxXx
Halloween was on a Friday this year and the turn out for the party was far greater than Loki could have imagined. As Jenny predicted, everyone in town turned out to see the inside of 'The Death House'. The exterior of the house was done up with spooky lighting and cheesy dry-ice mist and fake witch screams on tape. It didn't take much more than that. The grandness of the house did the rest to set the mood.
Loki acted the part of the dutiful host as Jenny scrambled to keep the punch bowls filled and the liquor flowing. Just for the evening Loki hired four local college kids to help out with replenishing hors d'oeuvres and keeping the trash under control. Jenny directed them. She watched as the crowd shuffled in and noticed that a great number of the single young women were all dressed in some version of Cinderella. How cliché. Jenny smiled. They were all wearing the wrong color dress anyway. Most were sporting the Disney ice blue or bridal white, but Loki's black coat and trousers had green accents. She also noted that instead of a white powdered wig, Loki had opted for a black one with a green ribbon to tie back the ponytail. He completed his look with a simple black mask, which was required to gain entrance.
Classical music played in the background at the beginning of the ball, allowing for easy conversation and time for the guests to eat and enjoy the libations. A few women dared to ask Loki to dance and Loki gracious accepted and swept across the floor with them as best he could, since neither he nor any of the girls knew how to waltz. They all made goo-goo eyes at him and flirted with him. He seemed oblivious, for which Jenny was grateful, nay hopeful. At 9:30 she abandoned her post and ran upstairs to one of the guest rooms to change.
Minding her white powdered wig, she ditched the maid costume and put on her green prom dress ball gown. She'd praised god when she found it at the Goodwill in the bridal section. It had cost her $50. God only knows how much it was actually worth. She looked at herself in the big mirror of the blue Antoinette room, very pleased with her appearance. She glided gracefully down the staircase, knowing she was making an entrance. This was her moment.
Loki noticed people stopping to stare at something and he turned. He saw Jenny. She was stunning. She was gorgeous. She was looking at him in a way that could not be mistaken. Shit! Loki felt panic in his chest. How did he not notice this? She's in love with him and he's…he's…
"Aren't you going to ask me to dance with you?" Jenny said. Her smile was quickly fading into a look of concern.
"Yes, of course. Please." Loki wrapped a hand around her waist and the other took her hand. Everyone in town was watching them.
"You look very handsome tonight Loki." Jenny beamed at him with love filled eyes. "There's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while now."
"No Jenny…"
"I really like you. You're sweet and smart and funny. I just want to hold you and make all the hurt go away."
"Thank you." Loki looked at his shoes. He couldn't look her in the eyes. Jenny sensed his hesitation and her nerves started to show.
"I can quit my job if you want. I know it would look bad if you tried to date me since you're my boss."
"Jenny, I'm gay."
"What?"
"Jenny, I like men."
"WHAT?"
"I though you knew."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE GAY?!" Jenny yelled at the top of her lungs and pushed away from Loki with rage. Loki's face redden with both embarrassment and anger.
"Jenny!" Loki hissed at her to be quiet. Jenny's bottom lip trembled and tears slide down her cheeks. She'd been stupid. She'd been a stupid silly little girl. Josh was right. She ran from the ballroom and back up the stairs to hide in the blue room.