Page 50 of A Touch of Magic at the Comfort Food Café
‘At my age, I like to start early and be in bed before midnight, dear,’ she told me. ‘It’s not so much that I’ll turn into a pumpkin, more that I might fall asleep in public and that dreadful Becca would take pictures of me drooling and post them on Instagran.’
‘Instagram?’ I asked.
‘No, it’s a special one for old crones…’
Nobody likes to disappoint Edie, so before too long I shepherd my already slightly tipsy sister into my car and drive us up to Briarwood. I suspect she’s gone full teenager tonight and been on the vodkas before we even left the house. ‘Pre-drinks’, as Lucy always call it when she meets up with friends before a party.
Briarwood is the perfect place for a Halloween Ball, full of brooding Gothic charm, perched high on its hill and surrounded by mysterious woodland. Tonight, somebody has set up a spectacular light show, probably one of the tech geniuses that call Briarwood home. Huge red and green projections are flickering over the building, casting glowing images of pumpkins, cats and witch’s cauldrons. Every window is lit up with pulsating red strobes, and the place looks spectacular in the darkness.
‘Wow,’ says Sally as she clambers out of the car, ‘I wonder if someone’s sitting in a space station telling NASA about this?’
We walk through into the lobby and are greeted by an unnerving number of Minions. There are dozens of them,bouncing around the hallway in a blur of yellow, taking coats and handing out glasses of sparkling red liquid. I’m guessing that they’re the residents, and this is confirmed when I see Finn, the manager, dressed as Gru. Or as much as he can be, considering that he’s a handsome blond dude.
One of the Minions shows us through to a side room that is packed with food and drink. I’ve seen some of it in its research stages, and the café ladies have really outdone themselves. The whole buffet is Halloween themed, from the jelly with eyeballs in it to the sandwiches cut into the shape of gravestones. There’s a spectacular black and red layer cake decorated with marzipan spiders, and a mummy made entirely out of cheese. It almost looks too good to eat, but I spot a group of kids sitting under the tables already tucking into loaded plates.
Ruby and Rose, Laura’s twins, wave up at us, both covered in green face paint. I’m not sure what they’re supposed to be, but I’m probably not cool enough. They’re with Becca’s daughter, Little Edie, who is Doctor Who, and Katie’s older boys, one of whom is a vampire and one of whom is just wearing a onesie with a dinosaur hood. Low maintenance. I like it.
We drift through to the main ball room, running the gamut of some very overexcited Minions, and find a lively version of the ‘Time Warp’ underway. Cherie is in the middle, along with Edie, and there’s something weirdly fascinating about watching the giant killer clown and almost-a-century-old woman in a bloody zombie outfit dance in a line. I stare on as they do their pelvic thrusts.
‘I’ll never un-see that,’ Aidan murmurs, shaking his head.
‘I know,’ I whisper, as Sally leaves us and runs over to join in. Obviously. Aidan takes my hand and puts it through his arm like an old-fashioned gent. It’s a very Gomez and Morticia gesture, and I’m happy to be led over to a table. Within a few minutes, we’re joined by Cherie and Sally, and a Minion delivers glassesof Murderous Martini to us all. I have a tiny sip, just to please Cherie, but then stick to water.
‘You two look magnificent,’ Cherie announces, raising her glass to me. ‘The perfect costume. I always had a bit of a thing for Gomez. He was such a romantic…’
Aidan slides his arm around my shoulders. ‘Easy to be romantic when you have such a beautiful wife,’ he says, smiling at me. I feel a blush on my cheeks, which is decidedly un-Morticia.This isn’t real, I remind myself. This is him pretending. This is all a show for Sally. As soon as she leaves, we can go back to normal. Whatever the hell that is.
The night goes with the kind of swing I’ve come to expect of Budbury, and within an hour of us arriving, the whole place is packed. Laura is, as promised, wearing a sheet with eyeholes cut out of it, and she ambles over to admire my dress with its long black velvet skirt and dramatic flared sleeves. ‘Next year,’ she says determinedly, ‘I’ll be able to wear something like that…’
Max has succeeded in getting Gabriel to come with her, and he looks almost unbearably hot in his frilly white shirt, britches and pirate hat. She can’t keep her hands off him, and I don’t blame her; he’s giving off a totally Pirate Poldark vibe.
Zoe’s costume makes me laugh. She’s wearing a sensible grey trouser suit with Doc Marten boots, a rumpled grey overcoat, and a deep red knitted scarf around her neck. It might not be immediately obvious to most people, but I notice straight away– she’s actually come to the party dressed as DI Carina Shaw, my fictional heroine. Carina has a whole selection of brightly coloured knitted scarves that her mother makes for her in the secure unit where she’s lived for the last twenty years. Long story. Zoe waves from across the room, and I give her an amused thumbs-up.
Sally throws herself into the party with great gusto, burning up the dance floor and taking part in everything from applebobbing to a vigorous game of pass the parcel where every layer reveals something ghoulish. She emerges with a plastic skeleton hand, which she proceeds to enjoy poking me with every five minutes.
There’s a bit of a surprise after the first few hours, when the music turns off, the lights go down low, and Edie takes to the microphone. Her lovely little face is now covered in scars and fake bites, and her pink ball-gown is tattered and torn. ‘One two three, testing testing…’ she says. ‘Is there anybody out there?’
A huge cheer goes up in the room, and then she continues: ‘Good! So, tonight, my friends, we have a very special treat for you all… A mysterious guest, all the way from distant lands!’
A spotlight appears, lighting a path from the doorway through into the room. A woman walks into it, tall and slim and dressed in a traditional frilly Spanish dress. Her hair is pinned up and twined with roses, and her face is painted white and red in a striking Day of the Dead design. She strides over to Edie, and takes the microphone from her.
‘Buenas noches, amigos!’ she says. ‘And happy Halloween!’
At the sound of her voice, more cheers go up, and I see Auburn get up from her chair so fast it falls over. She’s joined by Van, her brother and Katie’s partner, and they run together to the front of the room. They throw their arms around the new arrival and hug her to within an inch of her life. As Auburn is dressed as a blood-spattered Ariel fromThe Little Mermaidand Van is wearing a huge Count Dracula cape, it looks pretty terrifying.
‘Is that Willow?’ I ask Cherie, seeing the delighted smile on my friend’s face. I know Willow used to work at the café too and that they were close. ‘It is, my love. It’s been hard keeping her visit a secret, but it was worth it! Look how happy everyone is!’
She’s right, I think, looking on. Laura has torn off her sheet to throw her arms around Willow, and even the normally reservedKatie is getting in on the act. Cherie ambles over to join them, and the music starts up again. How lovely to be so missed, I think. So much a part of this world. I know she’s been living in Spain with her husband and baby, but there’s no sign of them. Probably too loud for a baby.
Aidan’s hand slips into mine under the table, and I glance up at him in surprise.
‘You look wistful, Morticia,’ he says, leaning in close. ‘You okay?’
‘Yes, of course. I just… Well, it’s nice, isn’t it? This place, and the way it holds people so close? Does that make sense?’
‘It does, and yes, it is. I’ve never known anywhere like it. I suspect Budbury is magical all year round. Did I tell you how beautiful you look, by the way?’
‘You did,’ I reply. ‘And you know you did. You just want to make me blush again.’
