by Sam Mariano
I sigh happily at the prospect of three uninterrupted nights with Mateo, but it doesn’t make me any happier about the green paint smeared all over my skin.
“I think I’m more Glinda than you are,” I inform her.
“Normally I would agree with you. I’m definitely witchier. But I totally relate to Wicked Glinda right now and a Wicked Halloween was my idea. Once we’re done getting candy and watching the movie, just think—Mateo can help you wash all that green paint off in the shower you’ll undoubtedly take together.”
Raising my eyebrows, I give her a nod of consideration. “That’s true.”
“See, all the perks. I’m basically doing you a favor by calling Glinda.”
When Meg first learned that Mateo has never let Isabella go trick-or-treating, she was mildly horrified. He didn’t care. Being as paranoid as he is already, giving people the opportunity to slip his kids poisoned candy is low on the list of things he’s interested in doing. She’s been working on him ever since, though, and this year she had a brilliant idea. Since the kids aren’t allowed to go trick-or-treating, we can bring trick-or-treating to them.
The upside of having a house four times as large as anyone could ever need a house to be? We have lots of useless rooms. We also have a bevy of people we can force to dress up and man those rooms so our little ones can go trick or treating.
“Come on, Elphie.” She grabs my hand and hauls me out of the bathroom so we can go find our little people and see if they’re all ready to go.
Thankfully, Rosalie’s big sisters got her all dolled up in her little Dorothy costume, complete with a picnic basket and a little Toto popping out of it. I tweak one of her pigtails and she holds up her basket to show me.
“I have a doggie!”
“I see that. Do you know his name?”
“Princess Sparkles.”
I quirk an eyebrow. “Your dog is named Princess Sparkles? I thought it was Toto.”
“Toes aren’t cute. Princess Sparkles is better.”
“Toes?”
Meg grins. “Don’t try to reason with her. We have other things to do tonight.”
Lily/Hermione jumps in front of Meg, aiming a slightly crooked wand at her. “Stay back, muggle!”
“Hey, I’m not a muggle, you filthy little Mudblood,” Meg tosses back. “We’re both witches, and I’m the pretty one.”
Isabella is dressed up in the iconic black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Her dark hair is in a cute bun, and she even has a fake cigarette holder, which she now holds between her fingers as she appraises Meg, then me. “Tell that to Mia’s dress.”
While I’m wearing a long black dress befitting a witch, instead of the puritanical up-to-the-neck black dress Elphaba rocked, I went with a slightly sexier off-the-shoulder style that shows some (currently green) cleavage.
“Your dad had final call on my dress,” I inform her. “Take it up with him.”
“Hey, we had a hard enough time selling him on this idea; I use whatever I must to get the job done.”
“You’re my pimp,” I tell her.
“Damn straight.”
“What’s a pimp?” Rosalie inquires.
Bella shakes her head and takes Rosalie’s free hand. “Come on, Dorothy, it’s time to go get candy.”
“You need to take the dog out of the basket,” Lily informs her, following along in her flowing robes. “You won’t have anywhere to put the candy.”
“He likes it in here,” Rosalie objects, scowling as she follows them out. “Be nice to my doggie. He likes candy.”
“I wasn’t being mean to your dog,” Lily mutters, rolling her eyes.
“So, it’s a boy and his name is Princess Sparkles?” Bella questions.
“Yep,” Rosalie says, firmly.
“Not Prince Sparkles? Boys are princes, not princesses.”
“He is a princess,” she states. “And he likes candy, and you be nice to him.”
Bella looks back at me, rolling her eyes as if quite put upon. I give her a little wink of encouragement.
We all head toward the media room where Mateo is supposed to be waiting for us. We’ll start there and end up there. Once we go through the whole house trick-or-treating, we’re going to the media room for a spooky viewing of Hocus Pocus.
“Now, make sure you say trick or treat,” Lily tells Rosalie. “Otherwise they won’t give you candy.”
“And make sure you tell them thank you after,” Bella adds.
“I’m so glad we have junior parents to do all the heavy lifting,” Meg tells me. “We can just kick back with some margaritas and let them do everything.”
“We should definitely have margaritas while we watch Hocus Pocus,” I tell her.
“No, I’m going to make us something else. Ruby slippers. Get it? ‘Cause we’re witches from Oz, and Dorothy, and—”
“Yes, Captain Obvious, I understand the connection.”
Meg’s steps slow and she grabs my arm, tugging me close. “Oh, shit. Speaking of captains, you’re gonna want to brace yourself for what you’re about to see.”
“Huh?” I turn to look in the direction she’s looking, but she shoves her hand in front of my eyes, as if shielding me from some horrifying sight.
“No! You’re not ready. There are innocent children around.”
“Megan Milano, move your hand right now,” I say, reaching up to pry her fingers away from my face.
Ignoring me, she says, “One of you needs to go away. You know Mia can’t handle this all at once. A captain and a pirate? What are you, the cover of a kinky 80’s bodice ripper? Just… no. Adrian, go away.”
Wait, what? A pirate and a captain? Adrian and Mateo? Why is she trying to ruin my life?
“No!” I claw at her hand, but she practically has me in a headlock. “Get off me, crazy. I want to see!”
“I’m doing this for your own good.” Then, not to me, she says, “I know you’re an evil man, but come on.”
Now Mateo’s deep voice washes over me as he moves closer and I relax, even with Meg shielding me like a toddler who just walked in on her wrapping Christmas presents. “Oh, come on, it would’ve been fun.”
“Evil,” Meg accuses.
“Fun,” he counters.
Bella chimes in. “You’re going to get Mia’s paint all over your sheer sleeve.”
Gasping, Meg pulls her hand away and inspects her right arm. I straighten, giving her a mild glare of censure before turning back to Mateo.
My heart stalls, my face warms, and Mateo smirks.
She was a little bit right. I wasn’t ready. I did know that Mateo was going to dress as Fiyero from Wicked, perhaps fittingly, the man both Glinda and Elphaba fall for at different points in the story. I had not, however, seen him in the costume before this moment.
Fiyero had a few different costume choices, but because Mateo has absolutely no respect for my ovaries, he decided to go with the absolute sexiest—Captain of the Guard Fiyero.
So, right now, standing before me, my badass criminal lover is dressed like a nobler man, in a legit Captain’s uniform. His snugly tailored, hunter green uniform jacket hugs his muscular arms and shoulders, the front adorned with fake gold medals he sure as hell wouldn’t earn by his own deeds, even in the fictional land of Oz. A black leather belt is secured around his trim waist and gold braided cords are draped ornamentally from the shoulder of his uniform, denoting yet another honor he would never have earned. Mateo does nothing half-assed, so even though no one outside our home will ever see this, he commissioned a higher quality costume than the theater companies themselves probably use.
“Daddy looks like a prince,” Bella states.
“A Disney prince,” Lily agrees.
“Nope,” Meg disagrees, shaking her head. “That’s a king, kiddos. I’m experiencing some buyer’s remorse. Mia, you still want to be Glinda? We can switch.”
I smirk, my eyes glued to Mateo as I take in each sexy inch of him. “Nope. Three days with my capt
ain. Enjoy being the good witch.”
Mateo winks at me, encircling my waist with his arms and tugging me close. “You look good green.”
“You look good in green. You should just wear this to dinner sometimes. On my nights.”
“Well, we have three of them now,” he informs me, leaning in and brushing his lips against mine. It’s a gentle kiss, more teasing than anything, but my heartbeat still kicks up several speeds. The things this man does to me, I swear.
I smile as he tugs me closer, bringing a hand to his chest and running it down the front of his jacket. “Three is my new favorite number. You look so much sexier in this than the actor we saw at the theater.”
“I’m sure he sings much more capably than I could. We all have our strengths.”
“Ruff, ruff, ruff!”
My eyebrows rise and both our heads tilt down to regard the little Dorothy, shaking her Princess Sparkles/Toto at us.
Rosalie raises her eyebrows. “Come on, Princess Sparkles wants candy!”
“Princess Sparkles?” Mateo questions.
“Don’t ask,” I advise, leaning in for one more kiss before pulling back. “She’s right; candy first, then movie, then bedtime.”
“I love bedtime,” Mateo states.
“No bedtime,” Rosalie says, scowling. “I don’t want bedtime, I want candy.”
“Yeah?” Mateo asks, reluctantly letting me pull away, but keeping a firm hand on my waist so he can keep me at his side. “What kind of candy do you think you’ll get?”
“The good ones,” she enthuses. “Lollipops and candy bars and fruit snacks!”
“I think sugar is the last thing she needs,” Bella states.
“It’s tradition,” Lily insists.
“Not for us,” she disagrees. “Elise usually makes pumpkin muffins for Halloween—now that’s a tradition I can get behind.”
“Muffins are just sad cupcakes,” Lily states.
“That’s my girl,” Meg says, nodding proudly.
“Candy, candy, candy,” Rosalie chants, skipping ahead toward the media room doors. They’re open, typical of movie nights, but instead of the brightly lit room we’re used to, it’s dark and decked out for Halloween.
Inside, the dimly lit media room is decked out with spider webs and rows of glowing Jack-o-lanterns. We carved the Jack-o-lanterns last night—with Adrian, not Mateo. Apparently carving pumpkins is not a thing Mateo does. Meg told him he was being a stick in the mud, but Adrian is an acceptable surrogate to me.
As he carved out heart-shaped pumpkin eyes at Rosalie’s behest, Meg joked, “Did you realize you were signing up to have two families, or was that a fun surprise?”
He doesn’t have two families, though; we’re all one family—just a large, unusual one.
I like being a part of a big family. Plenty of love to go around.
“Rawr!” As we walk into the media room, an adorable little lion lunges at us, trying his best to be scary.
Rosalie sails over to him and shoves Princess Sparkles in his face. “I have a doggie!”
Westley the little lion man loses his ferociousness and takes her doggie, inspecting it. “I like him.”
“His name is Princess Sparkles,” she informs him.
“That’s a lovely name,” Elise says, coming over with a bowl of candy. She’s wearing a long red dress with a gold belt tied around her waist. Her long blonde hair is wavy, and I recognize her as Buttercup from The Princess Bride.
Uh oh.
Oh no.
Suddenly Meg’s pirate comment comes back to me and I turn my head while Elise is busy doling out candy. And there’s Adrian, dressed up as the dashing Dread Pirate Roberts. Black material adheres tightly to every muscled inch of him. He wears a mask and black leather gloves. The man brandishes a sword, for god’s sake.
“I love Halloween,” I state.
My sexy captain chuckles and nips at my ear. Gooseflesh rises up all over.
Seriously, I love Halloween.
“We need pictures,” Meg states, pulling a cell phone from her voluminous skirts.
Mateo’s face is too close. I can’t avoid the temptation of turning my head and stealing a kiss. “We need bedtime.”
“I should’ve sent you two for a snack run earlier. I didn’t think it through,” Meg states.
“I’m really hungry,” Mateo states.
She smirks. “Yeah, I bet you are. It’s too late now. You’ll just have to wait until after we’re all done here. The wait won’t kill you.”
“It might,” he suggests.
Meg pops over and steals a candy bar from Elise’s bowl, then hands it to Mateo. “There you go. That’ll hold you over.”
He looks at the Milky Way bar like it offends him. “I don’t like candy.”
“That’s not normal,” she informs him, shaking her head and snatching the candy right back out of his hand. “I don’t know why I like you, I swear to God.”
“Look at him in the uniform again,” I advise.
He takes a step to the side so I’m not obstructing the view.
Meg’s eyes travel over all the sexiness displayed before her. “Oh, yeah; that’s why.”
We spend the next few minutes taking pictures. Rosalie tries to steal Adrian’s sword. Hermione abandons us to discuss The Princess Bride with the Dread Pirate Roberts. Bella rounds up Dorothy and the cowardly lion and leads us all to the next room.
“Trick or treat!” Rosalie says, thrusting her basket toward Sal.
Westley wordlessly holds up his little pumpkin pail with the expectation of candy.
Francesca and Sal went on the nose; he’s dressed in a slick pinstripe suit and fedora—a gangster. She’s his moll, wearing a 20’s style flapper dress.
“Aw, man,” Meg complains, elbowing Mateo. “Look, why didn’t we do that?”
“Hey, you picked the costumes,” he reminds her.
“I call those for next year,” she states. “I already know what you look like in a fedora. Mia will approve of that costume choice. We can both wear flapper dresses—one for each arm. It’s gonna be awesome.”
“You want me to go as a mob boss for Halloween? Really?” he asks skeptically. “I’m a mob boss for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
“But Sal’s a boss and he did it,” she states.
“Then you should’ve married Sal,” he replies.
“Bite your tongue, Fiyero,” Francesca says, shooting Mateo a dirty look.
Bella opens a silver sparkly handbag that’s serving as her treat bag. “I love your headband. You look so pretty.”
Francesca beams at her as she drops some candy in her bag. “Thanks. I love this Holly Golightly thing. Super cute.”
“Do you know who I am?” Lily asks, leaving Adrian’s side to get some candy.
“A girl who has a crush on Adrian?” Sal guesses.
Lily’s face flames and Francesca jams an elbow in his oblique.
“Ouch,” he says, rubbing his side.
“He meant Hermione,” Francesca states. “Your costume is really cool, I like it.”
“I don’t have a crush on Adrian. We both like books,” Lily mutters, glaring at Sal as she takes her candy, then returning to Adrian’s side.
“Salvatore Castellanos, no picking on little girls. No one likes a jerk,” I admonish.
His jaw falls open and he looks at Mateo instead of me. “Is she for real?”
“Nice guys only,” he returns, his voice dripping with amusement. “Sorry, Sal.”
After Sal and Francesca’s room, we continue on to the next ones. Alec mans his own room dressed as a vampire—I think because all it required was wearing a cape over a suit. I don’t really know the men in the rest of the rooms. We ran out of family members we like, so Mateo called some soldiers in to do the job. The kids are pretty into the candy gathering now, so they don’t care. They run from room to room, taking candy from strangers—candy Mateo bought from “strangers” Mateo employs. So, Morelli style trick-or-tre
ating, but it works.
Leaning into Mateo’s side as we head back toward the media room, I tell him, “I think they like trick-or-treating.”
“Yes, I’d say so.”
“We’ll have to do this every year. Next year we can be flappers. I’m very interested in seeing you in this fedora.”
Glancing down at the green cleavage pushed up and nearly spilling out of my dress, he informs me, “I’m very interesting in seeing you out of this dress.”
“You show me yours, I’ll show you mine,” I tease.
His hand snakes around my waist and he pulls me firmly against him, halting my journey toward the media room. “That can be arranged. Let’s skip the movie.”
“We can’t skip the movie,” I tell him, attempting to push his hand from my hip.
His grip tightens. “We can do whatever we want.”
“The kids are looking forward to watching the movie together.”
“Sal and Francesca are here; they have Meg, Adrian, and Elise. Lots of moviegoers tonight. They won’t miss us,” he insists. “I don’t want to watch Hocus Pocus. I want to rip this dress off you, bend you over your bed, and fuck you senseless.”
“That does sound like much more fun,” I admit. “And I have been a very naughty witch.”
He runs a hand over my ass, then gives it a squeeze. “See? Bad witches need to be punished.”
“I’m really glad I’m the bad witch.”
He chuckles in my ear, then trails his lips along my neck. “Come on. Let’s go upstairs.”
“Please?” I ask, sweetly, leaning my head back against his shoulder. I let my head fall to the side, nearer to his ear. “Let’s watch the movie with everybody first. Then I’ll let you do whatever you want to me afterward.”
“I always do whatever I want to you,” he reminds me.
“I know; I don’t have anything new to offer you.”
“No room to negotiate, then. You lose.”
“Mateo.” I take his hand and turn, giving him a little kiss, then dragging him toward the media room.
He lets me pull him along, but voices his objection anyway. “I won. Why are we going to the media room?”
I don’t tell him he lost, but I’d say by the time we’re settled in on the couch with Rosalie on his lap and Meg on his other side, he figures it out.
