The Rockmore House

12 | Lightning Strikes

Saturday, October 29, 2016

All that week, when I wasn't at school, the Shipyard, or doing homework, I was working on my costume for Madison's party. Unfortunately the elaborate masks at the peacock lady's estate were out of my price range, so I put together the Halloween twist for my costume on my own.

Using a photograph of a 1920s witch costume as my inspiration, I made a cape out of black tulle with gold crescent moons and stars scattered across the fabric. I added star and moon metallic appliques to a pointy witch hat and clipped glittery star barrettes to the toes of a pair of black heels. I decided to break my "no more heels" rule for the occasion. For historical accuracy.

Madison lived on the river on the north side of town. I pulled up to the end of a line of cars double parked in the circle driveway. The fact that the party started at ten already set Madison's parents apart from all the other parents I knew, who were usually in their pajamas by then, even on Saturdays. I hoped and feared that this was going to be as not-normal as Madison promised. But if I was the only person there who'd taken twenties with a twist seriously, I was turning around and going home.

I flipped down the visor and checked my makeup in the mirror. A tutorial for twenties style makeup recommended accentuating the bow of my lips and rounding off the rest and the result was a weird heart-shaped mouth. I remembered how Pete had marveled at the staying power of my futuristic lipstick when I tested it by kissing him all over his face at a lengthy stop light. As I recalled how he'd laughed when he glanced in the rearview mirror and saw no lipstick prints, I wished I'd actually left a mark. I swallowed hard and pushed the visor back up.

With its tall, arched windows and balcony over the front door with a swirled iron baluster, Madison's house seemed glamorous and out of place in Palmer. As I got closer, I noticed that the tan stucco was chipped in spots and the front steps were settling and beginning to crack.

Two bronze dog statues flanked the stairs to the double door, seated regally with their heads held high. The bronze was burnished to a deep reddish-brown shine on the crown of their heads and along the ridges of their backs where visitors had petted them as they passed by over the years. Madison had instructed me to follow the lights and meet her outside. Along the side of the house, there was a path lined with carved jack 'o lanterns that ended at a cellar door. The doors were propped open and the stone steps leading underground were illuminated by flickering lanterns.

The sight of firelight in a dark corridor triggered the memory of a nightmare and I froze.

"Hey!" Madison greeted me as she stepped out of the darkness.

Her hair was cut in a sharp chin-length bob with bangs. The lines on her dress, beaded in silver and gold, sparkled in the dim light. She had on a quintessential flapper costume with a drop waist and a fringed hem and skeleton tights. There was a line of big glitter flakes neatly arranged under her smoky eyes.

"Look at you!" she exclaimed. "You embraced the theme!"

"You look great! Are you wearing a wig?" I asked.

"Yes, darling," she drawled. "Come join us at the boathouse for the pre-party."

Soft light spilled onto the grass through the three arched windows to the covered back patio. Inside the house, I could see mahogany paneled walls and decorative sculptures and structured leather furniture, but no people. That meant the party was in the basement and at some point I'd have to go down those formidable stairs.

I tried not to wobble in my heels as I navigated the uneven boards of the dock that creaked below our feet. We escaped a cold wind rising off of the river as we darted through the door to the boathouse. The metal bars of the boat hoist were empty for the winter and there were kayaks mounted on the opposite wall. A guy and two other girls sat on the floorboards with their feet dangling over the river. Their faces were lit from below by the underwater lighting that made the water glow grayish green. A girl with a black pixie haircut held a frosted wine bottle over the water.