Chapter 16
Two weeks later
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
I signed a contract to work for Nick Butler on Halloween weekend. Halloween was on a Saturday night this year. We flew to Florida today, Friday, and we would fly back home to Raleigh on Monday morning.
Jonathan and I would have accommodations at Deadpan's mansion, and food and drinks would be provided there. I didn't plan on spending any money in Miami. We had already agreed that Jonathan would get two thousand for helping me out, and I told him I would make it twenty-five hundred, giving him a tip. He got emotional and cried when I told him that.
The contract stated that I would work dinner Friday night and from 9pm to 2am on Saturday. Afterward, I would provide Nick with the best photos and videos.
Jonathan was going to use one of my backup cameras to get video footage. We would combine video clips and photos into one package and present them to Nick within a week from the day we got home. It would be on me to edit everything and Jonathan's job would be done once we left Miami. Any printing and framing would happen at Nick's discretion.
The agreement was all very formal and official, and I had never been paid so much to attend a party. I tried not to give myself too much pressure about it.
It would all go down tomorrow night. He was having a costume party and expecting over three hundred guests. People knew about this party and often tried to get in uninvited. There was a strict policy regarding dress code and invitations.
I had only been at the house for a few hours today, and already I heard a buzz about it. Nick had people setting up tables and decorating all over. There was a DJ station outside by the pool with speakers all over the house. I knew there were plenty of speakers because for the first two hours after I arrived, there was music playing through them in an extended sound check.
I had brought a cute jumpsuit outfit at a costume shop in Raleigh that made me look similar to a court jester. It was black and silver as the dress code stated, and it went with the theme which was festival.
There was a second outfit in my closet when I arrived—a costume. It was mostly black with some greys and deep blues. It was a glorious mini dress with a fitted corset and short, flared bottom. It was a custom piece that was covered in gorgeous black feathers. They were iridescent and picked up greens, blues and purples in the light. There was a piece of paper nearby that had a handwritten note from Deadpan. It said,
Thank you for being here!
Enjoy being "The Raven"
I assumed the costume was supposed to be a raven, which was an apt name for what I saw.
Jonathan's room was next to mine and he had no such costume. He was wearing something he brought from home. The gesture made me feel weird, but the costume was one of the most wonderful things I had ever seen—like something from a movie. I tried it on, and there was no question that I wanted to wear it. There were no shoes but the black flats I brought for the jester looked like they went with it.
There were two masks. One of them was a black cloth that covered my eyes. It was the mask that would stay in place while I was taking photos, which would be most of the night. The other mask was much bigger. It had a long, sharp black beak. I felt amazing in it, and I played with ways to fix my hair that would go with the whole costume.
But my heart wouldn't let me fully enjoy it. It was weird to me that Nick was willing to pay me so much, and now this? I wasn't scared of him, but I wished John-Michael was there with me instead of Jonathan.
My phone dinged right when I thought about John-Michael, and I took it off of the bed and read the text.
John-Michael:
Hey! Sorry I'm just seeing your last text. I’m glad you had a good flight! We'll be at Mom's for the rest of the night, so call me anytime. Miss you.
I was grinning from ear to ear as I read it. I pressed the buttons to call him right away. It rang only once before he picked up.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey."
"I miss you."
"I miss you, too," he said. "How are things? Are you comfortable?"
"Yeah. It's nice. Jonathan's so excited, and that's what makes me feel good about the whole thing."
"You're not indebted to him from the accident."
John-Michael knew I still had some feelings about all of that. I had told him that if I had been good to drive my own car that night none of it would have happened.
"He probably feels indebted to you for wrecking your car."
"He does," I said. "I just know how broke he is, so I'm glad this weekend will help him with some bills. Plus, he's freaking out about being here and staying in this house. It's gigantic, and they're setting up for the party tomorrow. I've already taken some photos."
"Have you talked to the owner?"
"Not yet. He's not here yet. We're supposed to have dinner with him later, at eight-thirty. Did you get the costumes squared away for tomorrow night?" I asked.
"Yeah, Ethan is Mario. Jenny's being Peach and my Dad is Bowser. He just has a mask and a backpack."
"What about you?"
"Luigi, I guess. My mom said she has the green shirt, but we're not sure about the hat, so I might get a pass."
I laughed. "That's going to be so classic. I wish I was there. I'd be throwing together some kind of piranha plant costume."
"That would be amazing."
"I'm going to miss y'all so much."
"Me too. Mom's got a church group coming out to use the trails and the bonfire that night. They'll have games and stuff. It's for all ages, but they had a few things for the kids. E saw them setting up today and he decided he didn't want to go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood at all. He said he's just going to stay at the fall festival at Nana's."
"Aw, that's awesome. Please take pictures. "
"I love you, but I can't make promises. You know how I am."
"I know," I said, blowing past the fact that he nonchalantly said he loved me.
We hadn't officially said that to each other. Both of us had said it at different times, but we never officially said it. The quick statement made my heart ache for him.
"John-Michael there was an outfit in my closet when I got here—something that I'm supposed to wear to the party tomorrow night. It's a costume. I didn't know it would be here. It didn't seem like that big of a deal to me, but I wanted to tell you about it in case you thought it was weird."
"That there is a certain outfit this guy wants you to wear?" he asked.
"Yes. I mean, I don't feel like I have to. I actually brought a costume of my own, so I wasn't planning on wearing it when I got here, but yes, there was a costume in the closet. It's black, like the theme. It's a dress with feathers—it's like a bird costume. Is it strange?"
"Yes, it's strange," he said.
"Do you want me to not wear it? I won't if you tell me not to. I wish you were here with me. I would just feel so much better."
"Do you want to wear it?"
"Uh, objectively, yes. I do. It's the coolest dress I've ever seen, honestly. It's not cheap, and I like how it looks. But I wasn't expecting it, and I certainly don't feel required to wear it."
"I don't know what to tell you," he said. "Just do what you feel like you want to do. You know what you're comfortable with. I honestly don't know this guy. I don't know how extravagant he is or how normal it is for him to provide costumes for his photographer."
"I don't know either," I said. "I don't know him at all yet. It's amazing, but I'm not sure if I'll wear it. I'd rather be dressing up as a Nintendo character with you and E."
"I know. Dad had that fire going earlier, and it's nice out there. You can see the tunnel more now since the leaves are off of the trees. You can almost see the house from the firepit. I can catch glimpses of the blue."
"You're kidding. It's been too long since I've been out there. I still haven't seen a fire in the pit."
"It's going to be gigantic tomorrow night. My dad had a bunch of firewood from fallen trees that he had harvested and cut when they first moved. He's got one going now as a rehearsal, and he's already talking about getting it started tomorrow morning so that it can be really cooking when everyone comes over. He's all pumped. They've been out there all day making plans and deciding where they want people to park. Some of their friends from Wake Forrest are coming over tonight to help them decorate. "
"What about your sisters? I know Jenny's going, but what about Molly and Sara?"
"Molly's working, but Jenny and Sara are coming. Sara was going to try to pull together some Super Mario costume, but she might just put on one of Jenny's cheerleader uniforms and call it a day."
"You could just come here, and she can be Luigi," I said.
"Do you want me to go there? I would if I could get a ticket to that thing. You were showing me that invitation he sent you. It was 3-D."
I laughed because it was a complicated, layered invitation that was impossible to duplicate. Nick Butler had sent me one for a souvenir, and I had shown it to John-Michael before I left for Miami.
"If an invitation is the only thing keeping you from coming here tomorrow night, then I can handle that."
"I just assumed I was letting you do your work, but if you would ever need me to or want me to go there, Sadie, all you have to do is say the word."
"Is it even possible for you to get to Miami before 9pm tomorrow night?"
"How far is it?"
"The flight was only like two hours. I don't know how far it is to drive."
"Twelve hours. I just searched it."
"I can't ask you to do that," I said .
"Yes, you can, but I don't want you to feel like you need to have me there. I trust you. If you want to wear that dress, it's fine."
"I know you trust me. I just want you here. I wish you were coming here."
"I will come."
"Who would watch E?"
"Mom."
"You would miss Halloween with him."
"He would understand."
"Would he?" I asked.
"Yes. Are you being serious? Do you want me to go?"
"Yes. A hundred percent. I obviously have to work, so I would be busy for a lot of the party, but yes, John-Michael, I would give anything to have you at this house tomorrow. I would buy your plane ticket."
"Would I wear normal clothes? Could I get away with that?"
"No. But I heard some people talking about the servers wearing all black with plain black masks, like Zorro. I think I saw some of uniforms in the kitchen. That would be easy enough to blend in. I could leave your name at the door, no problem. I've met some of the staff, and I could let them know that I'm expecting an assistant for the party. I would definitely take care of getting you in if you came to Miami. This house is in Fort Lauderdale."
"If you want me to, I will," he said .
I felt a whooshing sensation when he said that. I didn't feel that I was in danger without him, but the thought of him coming gave me a sudden inner peace. I was only going to be away from him for three days, and yet the thought of him coming tomorrow gave me the most tangible sense of relief.
"I know it's not a long time that we'll be apart, and I know you have lots going on with E and your mom's party or whatever, but John-Michael I would loooove to have you here."
"I'll come then."
"Really? You're coming? How? Are you serious? Are you driving?"
"I don't know. I have to think about it. I'll probably look into flying and renting a car."
"John-Michael, I can't wait. Thank you. Are you coming?"
"Yes."
"You're coming to this party?"
"Yes. I'll come to Miami."
"John-Michael, thank you." I curled up to the phone and said it in a vulnerable tone because I was so very relieved.
"Are you sure you're okay? Are you going to be okay until I get there?"
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm safe. I'm just happy and excited to get you here."
"All right, let me go talk to my parents and work some things out with Ethan. I'll text you later once I make some travel plans. Text me your address so I can see where I'm going and book a hotel."