Page 37 of The Funnel to You

Image Description: Spiderman figuring next to a pumpkin on my kitchen table.

I’m hosting Halloween.

At my house.

With my friends.

And Sasha’s.

And Ashley’s.

Okay, I can do this.

I’ve been mentally preparing myself for this for weeks, but with tomorrow being the party, I’m a little nervous. And if I’m nervous, I know Sasha is too. She stresses in new social settings. Which is why her doing the monthly spa nights is such a huge step for her. I was hoping that her gradually meeting people at the farmers markets would be what she needed before jumping into something steadier on her own, and I was right. Those first few Saturdays were a big step for her. And then she started meeting each of the business owners she would be working with, and she became more and more comfortable.

I think part of that was because I was at her side for each of those introductions. The first spa night was totally on her own. She had Ashley with her and Kylie too, but she was the one running the show. Was it part of my idea before we even started the farmers markets? Yes. I knew it was something on her wish list of things to do that she didn’t think would be possible. So, I found out what businesses locally would be the best fits, and made sure that a new one got the market invite each week. Several weeks later, all the introductions had been made. And the stage was set for the spa nights.

The new business starting next year was a happy surprise. I was doing some research in our first weeks of working together and found the LLC application. Some more digging led me to the owner’s information, business plan, and warehouse location. It could not be a better setup. Getting them to see Sasha’s work wasn’t hard at all. By then, she had a few of the smaller collaborations under her belt and had started sharing more of the local businesses on her page. I may have sent out an inquiry on their site as Sasha asking for a reach out. From there, it was her show. And she has excelled with it.

Seeing her joy as she shares more about what she is working on and where she hopes this goes is amazing. Will I ever tell her my part in all of it? Probably not. I’m happy with the growth she has seen and if a few prompts on my end helped her get there, I’m ecstatic that she has this platform now to do what she does best.

And for some reason, Ashley and Sasha thought it would be best for me to host tomorrow night. I shoot a message to my friends and hope that between the three of us we can figure this out.

The following day, my house looks like Pinterest and Instagram threw up the entire search bar for Halloween. Well, not exactly, but it’s close.

Ashley ended up coming over with Tilly while I had Luca and Jonathan here too. Sasha was working so I was overseeing the craziness by myself. Having two college girls who are a little craft crazy, and then my friends, made things a bit interesting.

Luca enjoys working with his hands on things, so he ended up crafting a few decorations out of wood that look like spider webs and will act as décor hangers in a bit here. He also used a bunch of random leftover hardware pieces to construct a makeshift graveyard on my table. In between the markers are the bowls of snacks and signs for drinks.

Jonathan is the odd one in our group. He was the one that played sports in high school and at twenty-six, he is getting ready to take over his dad’s auto body shop a few towns over. He loves working on cars, especially classic models that are used for car shows. He gets to travel all over the world for certain shows with his dad and clients. It’s his thing and I’m glad he will get to take over the shop soon. It’s been his dream since we were teens.

At seven, I go over to unlock the front door. People will be arriving soon and I don’t want to be held at the door. I have all the snacks and drinks set up. There’s a mini bar set up too and Carter offered to oversee that. I grabbed a couple cases of seltzers and a few mixers. I figured having two “signature drinks” for tonight would be enough. Plus, we have mocktail options and sodas. Ashley and Tilly aren’t old enough to drink and most of us don’t drink much. We have work to do tomorrow and classes for the girls, and I don’t want to have to deal with people getting rowdy, or weepy.

I open the front door to see the most gorgeous version of Spider Man I have ever seen. Sasha dressed up as Spider Gwen. And I am officially speechless. Her hair is pulled back in a white headband and the white bodysuit she is wearing only accentuates her curves. White tights, black heels, black lipstick, white bracelets, black corset, white eyeliner – this woman is trying to kill me.

“How did I do?” She asks when I finally make eye contact again, doing a little spin so I can take in the full outfit. “I know Spider Man is your favorite but could not bring myself to wear red and blue so I went with someone in the same universe. That’s what it’s called right?” She’s nervous. She did this for me. I’m wearing a simple Spider Man t-shirt and black jeans. I don’t tend to dress up for these things, but I wore my favorite tee.

“You look absolutely perfect, Sasha. And yes, you got the word right, it’s universe. I am not going to be able to keep my eyes or my hands off of you tonight.” I shake my head softly as I continue to take her in. “I have never seen a sexier cosplay of Spider Gwen before and I am speechless. Where did you find all of that?”

“Surprisingly, I thrifted most of it. I’m always looking for an excuse to break out the black lipstick and the graphic liners so this seemed perfect. And with that look in your eye, I’d say it’s worth it.”

“Please tell me you set your lips with that thing you were talking about before.”

“You mean where I make it kiss proof?”

“Yes, that.”

“I did.”

“Can we test how well it holds up before everyone gets here?”

“If you feel strongly about it.” She gives me a challenge with her eyes.

“I feel very strongly about it.” And with that, I pick her up enough so she can wrap her legs around my waist. I press her body up against my front door and show her just how much I love the effort she put into this for me.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Sasha

---