Beneath
The Mask
By:
Vikki
It was Halloween, my
favorite night of the year. Autumn had come in full force and the tree
leaves had turned their various shades of orange and red. The weather was
still warm enough to be able to leave the jacket at home, but there was a
briskness to the air as I hurried to my car.
I had a hard time squeezing myself in my costume into my tiny Dodge Neon.
It wasn't that the costume was large, in fact it was the exact opposite.
The problem was that I could hardly bend in the tight faux leather that made up
my Catwoman costume. I still don't know how I let the salesman at Party
City talk me into such a form fitting costume, but there I was, dressed to kill
and on my way to the Halloween party of the century. For a moment I
wished that I had gone with one of the more comfortable costumes... like a
clown. I bet I'd have made a perky little clown.
Pure luck had gotten me invited to this shindig. Just a week before
Halloween I had ran into my sister's ex. Normally that wouldn't have been
anything out of the ordinary. He is my niece's father after all, so I did
bump into him from time to time. My sister always kept me posted on what
he was up to, and although she and he didn't work out as a couple, he was never
a bad guy.
I ran into Eric at the local convenience store and we struck up a conversation
about the usual stuff... the weather, our jobs, the local sports teams.
The conversation had led to a topic near and dear to his heart... his
band. It turned out his band was performing for a major party on
Halloween night in New York City. I told him that sounded exciting and
wished him a good time at the party.
It was then that Eric
invited me to go to the party. He stated that he'd been given an invite
to bring a date, but he currently wasn't seeing anyone that he wanted to drag
along. He'd be performing most of the night anyway, so why bother?
According to Eric this party was going to be a bash to end all bashes.
Everyone who was anyone in the City that night would be attending.
I hesitated before
accepting, but I had no plans for Halloween. On a fun night of ghosts and
goblins, who really wanted to stay home and watch television? Not
I.
So here I was, heading to a party where the only person I'd know was a member
of the band performing that night. As I drove to New York, a feat in and
of itself, I double and triple checked that I had the small invitation that
Eric had given me. He'd made sure to remind me to bring it, or else I wouldn't
be attending any party. It was strictly by invitation only. Without
it, I'd be swiftly escorted to the curb.
Driving in the city has
never been high on my list of favorite things to do, yet I hadn't wanted to bus
it in while wearing my Catwoman costume. So facing the infamous NYC
traffic was my only choice. After a mere five wrong turns, I finally
found the location I was looking for. I felt a great sense of relief when
I finally parked the car.
As I gathered up my
purse I could see colorfully costumed people entering the hotel across the
street. Clearly I was at the right place. The party would have
officially started by now, but probably wouldn't hit full swing for a good hour
or so.
I carefully made my way
across the street. In the stiletto heels I wore, this was no easy
task. But in order to be a realistic Catwoman, a girl had to take a few
risks. Or so I'd told myself when I had splurged on the new boots.
I showed my invitation
at the door and was pointed in the direction of the ballroom. I could
hear the music playing and could have followed it to find the party even
without a point in the right direction. As I crossed the lobby to the
ballroom, I stopped for a moment to check my reflection in a mirror. I
wouldn't want to enter with my mask crooked.
Satisfied that I looked as good as I could in the outfit I chose, I headed
in. As I opened the door, the joyous mix of laughter and music hit me and
made me smile. The room was packed full of costumed guests. Dare I
hope that at least some of the male guests would be unaccompanied by a date?
"Meow, Catwoman...
meeeeow." A raspy masculine voice came from behind me. I
turned to see a Phantom of the Opera standing there. His face hidden
behind the white mask, but an appreciative smirk was quite evident.
I made a loud purr in
return and chuckled as his eyes widened at my brazenness. I couldn't help
but feel that I knew this masked man from somewhere, but I couldn't see enough
of his face to come to any conclusions.
"Care to join me in a drink?" He asked, with a polite bow.
"I'd love
to." I happily agreed. I felt quite pleased with myself to
have captured the attention of a charming man so soon after entering the room.
I had half-expected to wind up a wallflower, watching the party unfold around
me.
Monsieur Phantom
offered me his arm after flipping his cap over his shoulder with a
flourish. Overly dramatic? Maybe. But it was
impressive. He led me over to the bar and gestured for me to order
first. After ordering my Cosmopolitan, I was surprised by his order of a
simple Coke.
With drinks in hand my Phantom friend led me over to a small table.
"So, sexy, what's a
nice kitty like you doing in a crazy place like this?" He asked
once we were seated.
I had to laugh.
"Well that's an original line." I commented
sarcastically. "Are you going to ask my astrological sign
next?"
I didn't know what it
was that made me so vocal. Usually among strangers, I'm more reserved...
almost timid. Yet something about being masked made it much easier to be
free with comments. With a mask on my face, I could be anyone or anything
I desired and no one would know the difference.
"Ooh, the kitty has
a bit of a bite, does she?" The Phantom teased me.
"Only when
provoked." I countered as I attempted an innocent smile. In the
form-fitting costume I wore, I'm sure the smile was anything but innocent.
"I think I've found
myself a feisty little putty-tat." He joked, his voice mimicking
Tweety Bird.
"So, tell me, Mr.
Phantom, do you pick up a lot of strays, or am I just a lucky
kitty?" I joked back.
"A gentleman never
tells." He replied.
"I wasn't asking a
gentleman, I was asking you." I stated as I took a deep sip of my
drink.
"Ouch!" He replied, his hand held to his chest as if I'd struck
a nerve. "You don't know me well enough to know that much about
me... yet."
I couldn't believe what
was happening. Was I really sitting there flirting with a complete
stranger? That was so unlike me... and yet I had to admit, it felt
great.
My new friend and I
continued our conversation as we sipped our drinks and watched the other
partygoers. Every now and then one of us would point out an extremely
unique costume that we spotted in the crowd. As much as we talked, I
found myself realizing that I was learning very little about the man that sat
across from me. Admittedly, I didn't offer much information on myself
either, but it was a curious situation.
"Uh oh... should I
be scared?" I commented after awhile.
"Why?" He questioned.
I gestured over towards where I saw a couple dressed up as Batman and
Batgirl. "Looks like the Batcouple has arrived." I
laughed.
"You don't need to
worry about them." My masked Phantom replied.
"Will you protect a poor defenseless kitty if things get ugly?"
I asked, unashamedly batting my eyelashes.
"Of
course."
Just then the caped
crusader and sidekick started heading our way. I glanced over at the
Phantom and realized that he knew the tall man and the blonde at his
side.
"What's this I
see?" Batman asked. "Can it be that my friend the
Phantom is fraternizing with one of my enemies?"
"Oh I do believe
Ms. Kitty has seen the error of her ways."
I nodded as I
laughed. "Yes, this cat only walks the straight and narrow.
I'm a good girl now." I stated.
"Batman, Batgirl,
won't you join us?" The Phantom offered.
"We'd be
delighted." Batgirl replied as Batman pulled over a couple
chairs. As she took her seat with us, her caped date and my masked buddy
wandered over to the bar to get drinks for us all.
While he was away, I
took a moment to glance over at the woman who'd joined our table. She
looked vaguely familiar, but once again I couldn't place where I might know her
from. I was going to ask, but I felt awkward and decided it was probably
just one of those times when someone reminds me of someone else. We
politely smiled at one another but neither of us broke the silence that fell.
The guys eventually
returned with our drinks and a moment passed where we all tried to think of
something to say.
"Have you seen Spiderman around anywhere?" Batman eventually
broke the quiet.
"Not in the past few minutes." The Phantom replied.
"I saw him talking with a Britney Spears but that's the last I've seen of
him."
"Spiderman?"
I asked casually.
"He's another friend of ours." Batman explained.
"And is there a Super-man around here somewhere?" I joked.
"Not with us...
although I do believe I did see one over that way..." Batgirl
replied, as she gestured across the room.
As if beckoned by the
mention of his name, Spiderman suddenly appeared at that moment. He pulled
a chair over without being invited and sat down next to Batgirl.
"This party sucks." He stated as he glanced over at me.
"Why hello there Catwoman. I don't believe we've met!"
I smiled in response.
"You're not having a good time?" Batman asked.
Spiderman turned to look at his friend and shrugged. "Its ok, I
suppose. But I can't seem to find any gal who'll let me recreate that
upside down kiss scene from the movie." He replied, a pout evident
in his voice.
"Cheer up,
Spidey. The night is young." The Phantom stated.
"Where you from,
Catwoman?" Spiderman asked.
"Jersey." I replied. "How about you?"
"I'm a man of the
world." He replied. "I'm from everywhere."
We all had a good
chuckle at that. Before anyone could continue the conversation, Darth
Vader and a Storm Trooper joined us. It was clear to me that the guys
knew the two Star Wars characters. I was impressed by Vader because he
even went so far as to get a voice distorter to make his voice sound eerily
like Darth Vader's. I was surprised when the Storm Trooper spoke, for it
turned out that whomever was behind the mask was a woman. I had
automatically assumed that both were men. Wrong assumption on my part.
Soon everyone was
chatting, and I felt like I was an outsider looking in. It wasn't that I
was purposely left out of the conversation, because Phantom and the others
would do their best to draw me in. However most of what they discussed
seemed to be inside jokes. Yet I had fun just sitting there listening to
their comments.
"Hey, has anyone
seen the Mummy around?" Spiderman asked after a bit.
Everyone looked around, but answered in the negative.
"I wonder where
he's hiding." Darth Vader added.
"Is he another one
of your friends?" I asked my Phantom pal.
Mr. Phantom nodded his head.
"How many of you are there?" I questioned with a laugh.
"That's it. Five of us guys, two of us with wives."
Spiderman answered for his friend.
I nodded my head as I
glimpsed someone dressed as a mummy at the bar. "Hey, is that
him?" I asked, pointing. It was Halloween after all, and more
than likely there would be more than one mummy attending the party.
"Looks like
him." Spiderman agreed as he jumped up and ran over to the
bar. He stalked up behind his pal as we watched.
Just as the Mummy had
grabbed his drink from the bartender, Spidey sprung shouting "BOO!"
rather loudly. Mummy man jumped, spilling his drink all down the front of
his tightly wrapped costume. Spiderman laughed hysterically but quickly
moved out of the way before retaliation could occur.
The Mummy only took a moment to recover and soon he was chasing his
friend. Those of us at the table were quite amused and we laughed as Spiderman
got chased around our table a few times.
Finally Spiderman pulled my chair out and put me right in the way, between
himself and his mummified pal.
"Ack!" I
had exclaimed as the Mummy tried reaching around me to grab Spiderman. I
felt like a pickle in the middle and had no escape.
"I'm sorry!
I'm sorry!" Spiderman told the Mummy.
Eventually the Mummy and
Spiderman called a truce and Spidey returned to his seat. The Mummy
pulled over a chair to join us as well. I chanced a look over at him.
He was wrapped tightly with bandages over his entire body. Even his face
was covered, minus a small space for his eyes and mouth.
It was a tight
fit at the table, but not uncomfortable. There was a sense of comaraderie
about the gang. Even I couldn't help but feel welcome after awhile.
At first I'd felt invisible, but it wasn't long at all before I felt right at
home. Soon we were all laughing and joking. I had forgotten
completely that there was a party going on around us. In my mind there was
just that one table.
Time passes quickly when
you're having fun, and that night was no exception. Five minutes before
midnight, the host of the party called for everyone's attention. The band
quieted as the host spoke and announced that on the strike of midnight it would
be time for the unmasking. This announcement made me somewhat
nervous. Once the mask came off, I couldn't hide any longer. The
people I'd enjoyed conversing with for the night would see me as I truly
was.
In a positive light, I'd get to see who my companions were. I was anxious
to see the people behind the masks. I'd come to enjoy the company of each
and every one of them, and hoped that after this night was over that maybe,
perhaps I would have a few new friends that would stay in touch.
Never for one minute did I expect the surprise that was awaiting me at the
strike of midnight.
As the last minutes
before the witching hour ticked down, I noticed that the Phantom sitting
next to me appeared to be as nervous as I was. Was he worried of my
reaction once I saw his face? That couldn't be it, I thought. Maybe
he was just anxious to get his mask off.
Finally the countdown
was on. Thirty seconds to unmasking. As if an unspoken agreement
passed between those of us at the table, we all stood up and waited as the
entire room started counting down. 29... 28... 27...
I took a deep breathe as
the numbers got closer and closer to zero. I couldn't explain the
nervousness. What did it matter what seven strangers thought of me when I
revealed my face? More than likely I'd never see them again anyway.
Yet I hoped I would.
5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
Zero!
"Off with the masks!" The host announced.
I giggled nervously as I
watched everyone slowly begin to peel their way out of their masks. I
slowly worked at my own. Suddenly I realized that my hair had been
squished beneath for all those hours, I was surely going to be a funny sight
once the mask was off. I finally told myself 'Just do it' and I pulled
the mask completely off my head.
I shook my head a
moment, hoping to give my hair a little bit of bounce as it fell free.
Right after that I finally glanced at my tablemates. I couldn't have been
more shocked if it had been Elvis standing before me. I'm sure my mouth
dropped to the floor as my eyes took in the members of the famous group The
Backstreet Boys.
I looked at them one by
one and saw a matching amused _expression on each of their faces. My
Phantom friend, AJ, chuckled at the stunned _expression on my face.
"I take it introductions are not necessary?" He asked.
I could only stammer
some nonsensical reply.
"But we don't know your name," Howie pointed out as he finished
unwrapping the Mummy's bandages from his face.
"Yeah, we can't
continue to call you 'Catwoman'." Nick added as he tossed his
Spiderman mask in the air and caught it.
"I think the cat's
got her tongue." Kevin's wife Kristin spoke up with a teasing
laugh. She and her Bat husband both smiled at me.
My eyes moved over to
Darth Vader and the Storm Trooper. Brian and Leighanne were smiling at me
as well.
I couldn't believe that
all night I'd been unwittingly talking nonsense with the Backstreet Boys.
No one I knew would ever believe this. I hardly believed it and I was
standing right there in the middle of them.
"I'm Vikki." I finally found my voice to introduce myself.
"It's a pleasure to
meet you, my dear Vikki." AJ stated with a bow. He took my
hand and placed a gentlemanly kiss upon it.
"It's a pleasure to
meet all of you." I replied, once again looking at each one of them.
We all sat back down at
the table, which surprised me. I figured that people as famous as those
guys would have more exciting people to talk to, but it appeared as if they
were truly interested in continuing the conversation with me, even after
knowing that I was no one special.
I must admit that at first it was awkward again. What did one say to a
group of men that one had admired from afar for so long? The words were
not easy in coming. However after another Cosmopolitan in me, which Nick
had conveniently gotten for me from the bar, I was quickly finding it easier to
speak.
I even managed to ask
Brian if I could play with his voice distorter. Soon we were all making
our voices sound funny with it.
I can't remember ever
laughing so hard as I did in those early hours of the morning. We sat
talking for ages it seemed, and yet at the same time it felt to me as if time
was my enemy. With each hour that passed, it drew me nearer to the time
when I would have to bid a fond farewell to my party pals. I had no doubt
in my mind that after that night, I'd never see them again, other than on stage
or on television. In a way it saddened me, but at the same time I was
happy to have had one night with the Backstreet Boys in a setting that didn't
involve hundreds of screaming fans vying for their attention. I got to
see a free spirited side to each man and the two wives that I'd never have been
able to see as just a fan. It was an experience that I never would have
traded for anything in the world.
At half past four in the
morning, the party started to wind down. The band had quit playing and I
realized that I hadn't even had a moment to say hello to Eric. I'd
forgotten completely about how I'd been invited to the party to begin with.
As it must, the night
was coming to an end and the guys had to be going. We said our 'I had fun
tonight's and our 'good bye's. I was ecstatic to receive a hug from each
and every one of them.
As AJ hugged me last, he placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, which I'm sure made
me blush. I could feel my cheeks heat up from the brief kiss. I
could only smile as AJ shook my hand once before following his friends out of
the room.
It wasn't until they'd disappeared through the doorway that I realized that AJ
had placed something in my hand when he shook it. I glanced down to find
a small piece of paper. On it he'd written 'Alex' and a phone number as
well as an e-mail address. I could only stare at it in surprise.
Alexander McLean had given me a way to contact him after that night. I
hadn't even asked for it and yet he'd provided it to me.
I felt as if my feet
were floating high above the ground as I left the hotel and made my way to my
car. I didn't know if I had the nerve to call AJ, but I thought that I
might just e-mail him.
Looking back on that night now, I know it was one of the best times I'd ever
had.
I did e-mail AJ a couple
days after the party. Surprisingly enough, he replied. Since then
we've been e-mailing one another quite often. I'd given him my phone
number in one of the first e-mails I sent him. We've talked on the phone
a few times and I've gotten to know quite a bit about my masked Phantom.
Some moments its hard to think of the sexy Phantom and the Backstreet Boy as
one and the same person. Yet they both are a part of a man that I am
beginning to fall in love with via e-mail and phone calls. I haven't admitted
this to him, and I don't know if I ever will, but AJ and the Boys are scheduled
to be in New York City next week. We've made plans to meet up, and I've
been invited to sit in on a recording session with the guys.
Can life get any better than this? I don't think so... but I'll let you
know next week after I see my Phantom again.
Tell
Vikki what you thought of this story!