Chance Encounters

Chapter 53

oOoOo

Not Wonder Woman and Batman, nor Captain America and Cat Woman, as was expected, or some other super heroes from the Justice League. No. Stephanie and Carlos had decided to go with their fun and quirky side (yes, Carlos can do quirky), rather than the predictable, and it was Halloween after all. The music maestro instantly cued the theme song from that infamous TV show from the mid-sixties. Everyone clicked their fingers in time with the theme song. Morticia and Gomez Addams stepped out onto the patio to be greeted with a sudden hush.

A mighty cheer and a chuckle for the moustachioed Ranger, AKA Gomez. He looked mighty fine in his chalk-stripe charcoal suit, white shirt and thin black necktie, right down to the gold fob watch and chain pinned to the lapel of his double-breasted suit jacket. His eyebrows were thicker and his eyes were outlined with a black kohl pencil, and, of course, he had his characteristic long cigar. Carlos twirled his beautiful wife, Stephanie, AKA Morticia Addams, with her long straight black hair which accentuated her fair complexion all the more. The iconic dress was perfect on her svelte, trim figure and such a striking contrast to her pale but beautiful skin, highlighted with her dark red lips and those long fingernails. Her beautiful Goth style necklace and that iconic ring really set off the entire outfit. Walking, almost as if she was gliding, taking little steps because of the tapered fit of her dress at her ankles, she held her graceful hand up to be guided by Gomez. Part of the surprised gasp was due to the long black hair, but that smile and those unmistakable blue eyes were too obvious to belong to anyone else. Of course, she was still Stephanie, the Vixen.

Two sugar skull-faced men approached, wearing black hats, one of which was a sombrero with white and gold embellishments, the other a tilted trilby with red, black and blue roses … Hector and Manny respectively. Their makeup was truly amazing, white faces with black, red and electric blues for decoration and patterns. Hector had a stylised yet lopsided moustache above his crooked skeletal and macabre grin. The moustache was finished off with a swirly flourish and he "twirled" it as he inspected Gomez's moustache, first cocking his head this way and that, before nodding his head in approval. They shared one of those complicated handshakes. Those dark hollow eyes looked quite sinister with the black and red patterns around them, highlighted with the electric blues. Hector wore a short black jacket with gold epaulettes over an extravagant white dress shirt with a fancy lacy ruff and lace-trimmed sleeves. A silky blue cummerbund was tied at his waist with the rest of it hanging down after the knot from his hip. Both had the neck vertebrae visible, with clever makeup. Creepy, but so damn awesome. Manny took Morticia's delicate hand and kissed it with his wicked grin. His dark hollowed cheekbones were accentuated with clever makeup, and striking designs around his deep-set eyes. They reminded Stephanie of the sugar skulls they'd made last night. He winked at her. His bejewelled open waistcoat was stunning, with a red heart on the left with an "H" and mi corazon (my heart) written in smaller fancy script. To break the black, he wore a loose silky red bow around his neck and a matching silky red cummerbund around his waist. Where Hector had that flamboyant white dress shirt, Manny had on a black skeleton t-shirt and long black fingerless gloves with the bones showing. They looked quite spectacular.

"Eres tan hermosa," Manny murmured admiringly. (you are so beautiful)

Carlos was about to lead Stephanie to the cane peacock chair, brought in especially for her, an essential prop for her character portrayal but waited to mingle. A steaming margarita was in her hand in no time. She smiled as Carlos winked at her. Ella and Luis dressed in black and satiny red capes with high collars as a stunning vampire couple, stood beside the chair. Ella squeezed Stephanie's hand with a knowing fanged smile.

A tall imposing figure in a deep purple suit, with that iconic alligator maxi coat, stepped forward. Morpheus was the perfect costume for Tank with his bald head and height. He looked like he had just stepped off The Matrix movie set. He tinkled his beer bottle with a fork and immediately the gathering silenced and waited expectantly. Looking over his small round mirror-lensed glasses, he put his weapon down on the table behind him, a pretend but utterly realistic uzi.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he commanded, "it has come to my attention that in between the recent events of our shitstorm and lockdown adventures, we missed a very important date. Raise your glasses, for Stephanie, and apologies for bypassing your birthday. Happy belated birthday, Stephanie!"

And they happily toasted and cheered her birthday, using the various endearments as they always do for her, amid glass clinking and hugs and kisses. She was smiling while trying to diminish their regrets.

They all settled back awaiting Tank's next declaration and given commanding his body language, they knew he had more to say. Nodding to Ranger, Tank indicated he was ready for the big announcement. Carlos took Stephanie by the hand, kissed it before she held it high gracefully, in that typical delicate manner as Morticia always did. Together they stepped forward as Tank signalled for the drum roll from the zombie at the music station, that could be Ram, or Woody perhaps.

"Introducing Mr and Mrs Gomez Addams, AKA, Mr and Mrs Carlos Manoso!"

"HOOAH!"

"Wait! What?!"

"Seriously?!"

"When did this happen?"

Then Carlos/Ranger/Gomez stepped forward and explained, holding Stephanie/Vixen/Morticia closely by his side in a loving side hug.

"We, like our brothers Hector and Manny, wanted a small ceremony. We only had our Den family and Tank and Ella, with Luis and Zero. It was in fact a week and a day after theirs."

"Tonight, we wanted to announce and celebrate with you, here with our Den family, and, our Rangeman family." Stephanie further explained. She smiled and nodded to Zero.

On cue, Zero clicked the remote to the large flat screen on the wall and their pouts and disappointment quickly disappeared. Photos of the setting; the Autumn leaves and that beautiful water feature; Stephanie stepping out of the limousine; walking with Hector; Carlos and Stephanie close together before saying their vows; that scintillating kiss … amid whistles and catcalls … the newly married couple a number of times; the wedding feast, a degustation; Carlos feeding Stephanie; Stephanie feeding Carlos one of the four mini desserts; and some more, with a final group photo. A few stunning close ups that Zero had captured showcased what a beautiful, special day it was and how happy and enraptured the newlyweds were.

"HOOAH!"

"A toast to Mr and Mrs Manoso!"

"HOOAH!"

Enthusiastic applause erupted followed by hearty congratulations, with lots of man hugs, back thumping and those fancy complicated handshakes for Carlos; kisses and warm hugs for Stephanie.

As they approached her, Stephanie was curious at the rest of the costumes. Skeletons and ghouls and zombies prevailed and they moved in that creepy bizarre manner, which made her chuckle. Under their ghoulish makeup she recognised Ram, his macabre face with scars and wounds, shuffling towards her, hungrily. Eek! Looking dangerous in black leather, carrying a baseball bat wrapped with barbed wire, like a homemade mace, had to be Woody. Dangerous. Nice. Spooky, especially when they grinned at her with their pearly whites.

"Oh, guys! Really creepy," and she shuddered as she looked them up and down. "Let me guess. Woody? That has to be you. You're Negan with your bat Lucille! And this one … I think might be … Ram!"

Their grins confirmed her guesses, especially that special wink from Woody. Before they could respond any further, a flash of yellow and green suddenly leapt in front of them. They had to laugh.

The Mask, with his distinctive lime green face, and that bold yellow three-piece suit surprised her. Slowly looking him up and down, checking with Carlos over her shoulder, she was beyond curious with this elaborate costume. Carlos was really enjoying her reactions and how her Merry Men had risen to the occasion, some from the dead, he gave her a hundred watter, waggling his eyebrows and his cigar as Gomez. Turning back to the yellow suited man, she looked him up and down again, checking his face for hints.

"Stanley Ipkiss," she muttered softly.

"Oh, my God! Cal? Is that you?"

His grin was confirmation enough. The yellow suit looked spectacular. She touched his forehead where the flaming skull tattoo was hidden under all that green makeup. He tipped his fedora hat in typical Mask style.

"You look … Smokin'!" He sure nailed that memorable one-liner.

Stepping forward was another ghoulish character but a bit more distinctive, in a peculiar way, not like the Walking Dead. His white messy face and that wild blonde and white hair was not from the Walking Dead, nor was he a zombie. He looked like he had just been zapped with some high voltage electric shock which made him look all the scruffier. He gave nothing away just yet, but had a smug grin. He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, which immediately made her think of Lester. But that didn't seem quite right. She eyed him again, up and down, looking at his height and build. Hm … tricky. His black and white striped suit was familiar, much like a jailbird, but it was a suit, with a shirt and tie. His white face with the large deep-set dark eye sockets was distinctive as was that receding hairline. He hugged her warmly, a nice hug, but it felt kind of creepy. He looked like a two-bit hustler or a car salesman, even a prisoner with those stripes, just with his ID number missing. Stephanie giggled.

"Have you been eating parsley? Or what is that green stuff on your face? … algae? … mould?"

He grinned broadly. Stephanie giggled and smacked her forehead.

"Bobby? Is that you under all that white? You … Oh my God! You're Beetlejuice!"

"It's showtime!" Beetlejuice called out.

And the music zombie cued Harry Belafonte's Banana Boat song. Everybody joined in the chorus enthusiastically. Soon they were all dancing in character, of course, just like in the Beetlejuice movie. The Zombies and skeletons looked quite hilarious. Who would have thought the Rangeman guys would be dancing to a calypso song?

"Day-O! … Daylight come and me wan' go home."

Two huge mafia guys appeared, looking really intimidating. Tiny and Shorty. They had their characters down pat, right to the heavy Italian accents, which wasn't that hard for either of them, of course. It seemed that they channelled their Godfather-style, old Sicilian à la Jersey accents easily.

"Ma-am? Is this creep a-bothering you? We can sort him out for ya, ya know, poi-manently. We have ways of making him disappear. There's a nice plot, er, spot for him by that herb garden out there."

The fat cigar, the violin case, the pin-stripe suits, their ties, and their black hats really fitted the bill. Tiny was both impressive and imposing in a black shirt with rolled up sleeves, with white suspenders attached to his pin-striped trousers. He was wearing those classic black and white shoes. In his hand he had one of those old-style machine guns, ready for action. Shorty was very imposing as a mafia boss in a full three-piece suit, plus a red kerchief in his upper pocket and a diamond ring on his pinkie.

Stephanie just loved all this. She chuckled at their antics as they tipped their hats, dragging Beetlejuice away with them.

"Hey, guys. Easy on the suit. You know I'm already dead? Don'tcha?"

Carlos was enjoying Stephanie's delight in everyone's actions. He knew she loved Halloween and this is probably the first time she got to celebrate it, in style as an adult. He was watching and smiling at her indulgently. Secretly, he really got a kick out of watching how his friends, the Den family and the Rangeman family, had dressed in great costumes and were relaxed and having fun being in character. They deserved a bit of down time, especially after all the recent excitement. But that's the game they're in.

Stephanie beamed at him. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, settling them across her stomach in a warm hug.

"Mon cheri, this is totally fantastic!"

"Oh! Tish! You spoke French! I love it when you speak French!" Carlos, now Gomez, took her arm and proceeded to kiss her, along her arm, from her hand up to her neck.

"Oui, Bubele," Morticia crooned, her hand cupping his cheek from over her shoulder. "Je t'aime."

Gomez went berserk with passion, kissing her neck and then dipping Morticia into a classic dip, his lips capturing hers in a scintillating, passionate kiss. Was this still Gomez or was he now Carlos?

The wolf whistles and catcalls brought them back. He grinned a typical Gomez grin.

"Later, Gomez," Morticia purred. Amid the whistles and all, there was laughter.

Suddenly another figure appeared in front of Morticia, also dressed in a black suit and hat. No weapons, she noted as she scanned him up and down. At first Steph thought he was another mafia guy, but the gloves and matching bandages on his head dispelled that idea. Channelling her pensive Morticia pose, Steph was considering the options, tilting her head this way and that, when she suddenly burst out laughing and hugged him. Carlos nodded and grinned. Tank did the same.

"Man, that is so cool!"

Once she caught her breath, Stephanie declared, "Rodriguez! That is so clever and funny. Of course, you would choose the Invisible Man!" and she laughed some more as The Mask high-fived him.

Next was a gorilla. Seriously? A gorilla. Right. Of course, he was King Kong. He held a replica of a miniature Empire State Building. But, the demonstrative manner and familiar hug and that flamboyant dip with gorilla nuzzles in her neck, made her laugh. It wasn't hard to work out.

"Lester Santos!"

A slightly muffled response from the hairy face, "How did you know it was me, Beautiful?"

"Oh, I don't know … you're always trying to sneak a smooch, but the dip confirmed it. Aren't you a bit hot in there?"

"Oh, Beautiful. You know I am H. O. T. HOT. But, wait a moment, I'll soon fix that."

Her curiosity was piqued, but knowing Lester Santos, she figured it was going to be something outrageous. Carlos smiled and shook his head. He knew his cousin was up to something, he always had mischief in his intent. Everyone was watching their colleague speculatively, as money quickly changed hands. He was about to remove his gorilla head but shook his index fingers, then slowly made to unzip his hairy body suit, but stopped, making the universal "sh" sign with a large hairy black finger to his large black lips. They could visualise a wicked wink as well. More money changed hands. Carlos facepalmed and shook his head. Lester was renowned for his notorious mischief and pranks.

"Did you say outrageous, Babe?"

She looked at him in surprise. "How did you know? Did I say that out loud?"

Carlos just winked. "Brace yourself."

"Un momento por favour," the gorilla remarked dramatically with a flamboyant pose with outstretched arms, before disappearing behind a folding screen. (Exit stage right.) The gorilla head suddenly appeared on one of the end posts, followed shortly by the hands, the hairy body suit and the large boot-like paws which he lobbed over the top. It was all a dramatic distraction while he made a quick change. He had a captive audience. The intrigue was suspenseful. So many possibilities.

Stepping from behind the screen in a hooded cloak wrapped around him entirely, he winked dramatically at Zombie Ram at the music station and handed him a small business card. Ram grinned wickedly. Quickly tapping a few keys on his laptop and Lester stepped out of his cloak in a leather lace-up vest and tiny leather pants with suspenders attached to fishnet stockings. Wearing 50's pearls, arm mitts, a wild curly wig and the extravagant makeup of Frank 'N Furter from the Rocky Horror Show, he carried it off by performing part of the song I'm Just a Sweet Transvestite amid raucous catcalls, laughter and whistles. There was a lot more muscle on display than Tim Curry had, and he managed to strut his stuff in high platform shoes. Stephanie was impressed with his sweet T-bar platform walking skills. He had obviously done this before. How interesting … Frank 'N Furter kissed her hand.

"If you change your mind, Beautiful, I could show you a good time," nodding at Carlos with a wicked smirk, pulling the tiger's tail. And then the next Merry Man stepped forward.

"Omigod! Thor!"

Thor approached the peacock chair, going down on bended knee in a respectful bow to his goddess.

"Hal! You look mighty awesome."

He grinned and stood tall with his red cloak swirling and that hammer held aloft showing his impressive musculature on his bare arms. He had to be careful not to put a hole in the patio roof, being so tall already. Hmm-mm. Watch out Chris Hemsworth. You have some mighty serious competition!

Everyone nearby laughed, pointing at Stephanie. She nodded, conceding to their laughter and smiled, realising she must have said that out loud. It was really funny. Hal did not even blush.

"Your praise is much appreciated, milady," Thor replied graciously with another bow, then turned around with his red cape flowing behind him. Yes. Very impressive.

With rattling bones and a snake around his neck and another wrapped around his arm … (YIKES! Who the hell brings snakes?) another skeleton stomped dramatically into place. He winked and pointed his long staff at her, which had a cobra head with emerald green eyes, causing her to shudder. Stephanie is not fond of snakes especially after finding some in a bag on her door, and, one of her skips used to keep them as pets. Focusing on this character, she was mesmerised by his mysterious appearance. He wore a lop-sided hat with feathers tucked in the band and he had a skull-like face. Around his neck was a necklace of bones. He rattled with his hand shaking some beads and bony bracelets. He was a voodoo witch doctor and danced and shimmied a few steps side to side, in character, rattling and hissing. The huge grin was a give-away with those dimples.

"Zip! Omigod, you look so scary. Are those snakes real?"

He shook his head, bowed deeply before strutting away with his staff, looking quite regal in a scary kind of way. Steph shuddered again.

A couple of skeletons approached Steph, one in an impressive pin-striped suit with a striking bow tie that looked like a stretched spiky-winged bat or was it a cat? His wide, round, white skull face was simple with large black eyes, a small nose cavity and a large sinister smile line. His hands were accentuated with long bony fingers. The other was an entire skeleton right down to each finger and toe joint, with every bone detailed on the black body suit. He was wearing a black and red top hat, and a black long tailed jacket with red lapels, holding a silver skull-topped cane. So devilishly dapper.

"Hmm … let me see …" Stephanie was thinking, wracking her brains, loving the intrigue. "Jack!" she said pointing at the wide, round, white-faced one. He beamed happily. He liked that she knew who he was.

Carlos looked at his beloved wife in confusion.

"Jack is the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town! I wonder … of course, Zero. That looks fantastic."

"How did you know it was me?"

Stephanie chuckled, "Your 'props'. You still have the TV remote and, I reckon it was a bit tricky, but that camera was a slight hint." He grinned, shaking his head, strolling off to continue taking photos.

"Now, I think, under that hat," she said to the other skeleton, "you must be … Vince!" at which he did a nifty soft shoe shuffle with skeleton arms waving limply, finally moonwalking away. Cool moves!

Speaking of devilishly dapper, the devil himself arrived, making a dramatic flamboyant bow, with his black and red cloak swirling widely. Junior made a very handsome devil and with his wicked grin, he knew it. His horns were small but clearly visible. Under his high-collared cloak, he wore a red and black embossed waistcoat, with a lacy black and red neck ruff, over a black silk shirt and black trousers. The red trident in his hand was wielded with ease.

"Oh, Junior. You make a devilishly handsome demon!" He swaggered away, bobbing his head side to side smugly.

"Ahem!"

"Ooh, Carlos. Is someone jealous? You are the most devilishly handsome demon I know."

"I intend to prove to you over and over again tonight Querida," he whispered close to her ear as he nuzzled her neck, causing a moan to escape from Stephanie's lips. Then she gasped. Carlos looked up in surprise. Ah yes, he thought, that would do it.

The last one glided silently, dark and sinister, causing Stephanie to shiver involuntarily. She assumed her Morticia pose with arms folded, looking him up and down, then lifted one hand, tapping her chin in a pensive pose. Cheekily, she did a head count, check-listing her Den family and the Rangeman crew. The body silhouette nor his face gave her any clues since it was all hidden under that huge dusty black cloak which seemed to have cobwebs trailing along the sleeves. Shivering again, she nibbled on her finger knuckle briefly whilst she was counting and eliminating.

A triumphant smile indicated she knew who the Grim Reaper was.

"Binkie!"

Through his skull face he grinned, nodded and slowly turned using his reaper scythe as a staff.

Show and tell time was over. Drinks and food were enjoyed. The music was an eclectic mix interspersed with classics like Michael Jackson's Thriller and that of course made everyone line up for the classic dance moves. These guys were so talented. DMC's It's Like That, DJ ReDo Run This Town, and other hip-hop dance songs had them challenging each other in turn with their cool moves. The dance offs were impressive. But generally, it was talking, eating and drinking and occasionally breaking out into chorus.

Stephanie smiled and sighed contentedly.

"C'est magnifique!" Morticia purred.

"Oh! Tish! I love it when you speak French, Querida. Say some more. Bon soir. Ooh-la-la."

"Darling. Not in front of the children," she giggled.

"Tish. When you speak French, it really drives me wild!" Gomez looked like he was about to tear his hair out.

"Gomez, mon cheri, later, darling. Later."

Once again Gomez kissed Morticia's arm wildly. He certainly enjoyed it, as did Morticia, and each time they had to be reminded that they had company.

"What! I'm Gomez. My Morticia speaks French and you know that drives me wild. That's who I am," he grinned unapologetically.

"Oh … poor Carlos. Pauvre petit cheri." (Poor little darling) froma taunting Mask, doing a sexy little shimmy close to Carlos. No effect. Gomez didn't even reach for his arm.

"Damn. It didn't work for me. You have all the power, Morticia." Cal conceded with a chuckle and a dramatic bow.

A group photo was arranged around Morticia's chair. Stephanie took up a typical Morticia pose with her arms folded and that enigmatic smile, with her beloved Gomez beside her with his cigar. Everyone crowded around. They had to wait a bit for the Walking Dead and skeletons to shuffle and drag themselves into position. Not to be outdone, in true character, as Lester but mainly as Frank 'N Furter, he sprawled on the floor in a reclining pose in front of Morticia's peacock chair, one knee bent with his gloved hand resting on it. Zero set up the tripod and took a series of photos, some in character. And of course, some not so plain crazy antics.

Everyone was really having a great time and knowing they were sleeping over to be collected sometime the next day, after breakfast in the limousine Hummer, they could let loose.

Frank 'N Furter and Beetlejuice, Lester and Bobby, were eyeing Morticia speculatively, admiringly, especially her svelte figure. Bobby and Lester had kept their word under threat of potential future "de-uncle-ing" by not hinting about their secret wedding to anyone. The fact that Stephanie had mentioned the 'uncle' word made them wonder.

Manny nudged Hector, nodding in the direction of Bobby and Lester as they watched their not so subtle behaviour checking out the Vixen/Morticia/Stephanie.

"Let's have some fun, mi amado," as he pulled a flick knife from his hat. (my beloved)

Hector audibly groaned at his husband's endearment and the slick sound of the knife. "Si, mi rey," he whisperedseductively. (my king)

Lester flinched a little when he heard and felt the knife in his ribs. Bobby's eyes went wide as he too was feeling the blade of Hector's flick knife slide down his cheek.

"And what are you two creeps up to? We saw you looking at our Vixen. What gives?" Manny remarked in a sinister whisper.

"We never said a word. We want to be uncles! Really. We were just looking, you know, checking."

"Checking?" Hector quizzed.

"Yeah," Bobby explained. "Checking if perhaps, you know, have they … are we … argh, never mind. We wanna live to be uncles. Our Vixen looks so beautiful."

"Si, our Vixen is muy precioso hermana," Manny agreed. (beautiful/precious sister)

The knives disappeared, replaced with another beer and friendly knuckle bumps. Lester chuckled at Manny and Hector with their sinister faux threats. The mood and the atmosphere was perfect for a Halloween celebration.

Suddenly there is an almighty BANG! Everyone suddenly resumed Rangeman protective mode as weapons were drawn, and a protective honour guard surrounded Steph and Carlos, who had pushed Stephanie behind him protectively. She also had her knives poised.

A booming laugh as another bang followed by that distinctive whistling sound as fireworks lit up the back yard. Everyone relaxed and chuckled at Tank's surprise.

"HOOAH!"

Even though Stephanie really did like fireworks, Carlos whispered in her ear as he nipped her ear lobe and nuzzled her neck from behind.

"Babe, Querida? I think it's time for dessert …" He grinned wickedly as he captured her lips. "How do you say dessert in French?"

"Oh, Bubele, le dessert." Her French accent sent a shiver down his back.

Carlos groaned looking lustily into those beautiful blue eyes.

"Is it later yet, Morticia," Gomez asked in a deep sexy bedroom voice.

"Oh yes, Bubele, it is later." Morticia whispered lustily.

Carlos picked her up and together they stole away while everyone was enraptured with the fireworks. Upstairs, as the bedroom door closed and locked, Carlos grinned.

"Let's make our own fireworks, Babe."

oOoOo

TBC

not The End, almost finished.

But an epilogue was called for, a Ranger POV, as someone so diplomatically insisted/demanded.