Chapter 7
“What you need is one of those high-quality HD cameras if you're going to be a serious filmmaker,” Danny said, sitting on the couch with Dustin, whose head was still spinning over the fact his father was at this very moment hanging out in the living room with him and his best pal, Spanky McFarland.
“I tell Mom that
every
birthday and Christmas!” Dustin yelled loud enough for Hayley to hear in the kitchen where she was chopping vegetables while Gemma prepared a meatloaf to put in the oven.
“Well, your mistake was not asking your dad!” Danny said, chuckling.
“Really? You mean it?” Dustin asked.
Hayley bit her tongue.
Again.
Danny Powell was always full of big promises, getting the kids' hopes up, and then, in the end, not coming through.
She worried he was up to his old tricks and didn't want to see Dustin getting hurt again.
“Halloween's coming up so you know what that means. Christmas is just around the corner,” Danny said.
“That would be so cool!” Dustin said.
Hayley reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of beer, popped the cap off, and strolled into the living room and handed it to Danny. She still instinctively knew when he was ready for another.
“Thanks, babe,” Danny said with a wink, and then turned his attention back to Dustin. “What kind of film do you want to make, son?”
“I want to adapt Spanky's new horror novel into a film!” Dustin said, excitement building in his voice.
Hayley turned to Spanky, who was sitting on the floor and surreptitiously hoarding candy corns from a bowl Hayley had set out on the coffee table. “I didn't know you were an aspiring writer, Spanky.”
Spanky nodded.
He was a shy boy.
Small and wiry.
Picked on a lot by the bigger kids when he was in grade school.
But all that abuse just strengthened his resolve to be better than them, to make something of himself, and Hayley was happy to see he had finally chosen a path in which to accomplish that goal.
She was proud that Dustin had stuck by his childhood pal through all those years of torment when it would have been easier for him to abandon Spanky and join the more popular cliques. But both boys shared a love of comic books and movies and that managed to tighten their bond.
“Horror story, huh? You like scaring the all the pretty girls so they'll scream and grab you to protect them?” Danny asked, chuckling before taking a swig of his beer.
“I guess . . .” Spanky shrugged.
“Spanky's come up with a real spine-chiller,” Dustin said, pointing at a manuscript on the floor next to its author. “He's going to be the next Norman Cross!”
Norman Cross was a best-selling horror and suspense writer who lived half the year at his estate on Lower West Street overlooking Frenchman's Bay. The winter and spring months he spent at his Central Park West apartment in New York or at his getaway compound in Key West, Florida. He had built an empire as the Master of Horror rivaling Maine's other famous fright-meister, Stephen King.
“I was up all night reading it. I couldn't put it down. Lots of blood and gore. It's called
The Devil's Honeymoon
and it's about a young newlywed couple named Kurt and Lila who come to Maine for their honeymoon, and everyone is acting really weird, and it turns out that all the residents in the whole town are these creepy murderous disciples of the devil . . .”
“Dustin, don't give it away! If they want to read it, they're going to have to download it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble or buy the hardcover at Sherman's Bookstore!” Spanky said, popping a candy corn in his mouth.
“That's the way to think, Spanky. Be smart. Don't give anything away for free!” Danny said, slamming his beer bottle down.
Hayley had to laugh to herself that Danny was doling out business advice, given the fact he hadn't saved a dime in his life.
But yet again she held her tongue.
“Maybe you can cast me as the honeymooning husband in your movie version, son,” Danny said, leaning forward expectantly.
“He said
young
, Dad. A
young
couple.”
“Ouch,” Danny said, falling back on the couch. “That one stung. I think I need another beer.”
“I'll get it,” Hayley said, instantly regretting the fact that she was falling right back into the role of dutiful wife.
Danny sprang to his feet. “No, you relax. You don't have to wait on me hand and foot.”
He was really making an effort.
Which only managed to raise her suspicions even more.
What was Danny really doing back in Bar Harbor?
What was his game plan?
Danny Powell always had a game plan.
And it usually involved scaring up some money to pay off a gambling debt or to blow on some extravagance he didn't need.
She was certain of one thing.
His real motive for being here would sooner or later come into focus.
It always did.
Island Food & Spirits by Hayley Powell
I'm sure most of you have spotted my ex-husband, Danny Powell, who has roared back into town. As many of you already know, it's hard to miss Danny! I've received nonstop reports of Danny sightings at Paradis True Value hardware store, the Shop 'n Save, Jordan's Restaurant, and (no surprise here) Little Anthony's Sports Bar & Pizzeria. He's also made the rounds in other towns on the island like Southwest Harbor and Northeast Harbor, dropping in on old fishing buddies and former high school classmates.
Now that Halloween is upon us, I took some time to look back on my years with Danny, who so enjoys this time of year. Although when it comes to Halloween, he can usually be counted on for more tricks than treats!
In honor of the native son's return to Bar Harbor, I decided to whip up one of his favorite fall desserts I used to make when we were marriedâPumpkin Bread Pudding.
It brought back some nice warm memories and, alas, a few not so nice ones. One in particular stood out in my mind. Just the thought of it drove me to treat myself to a Pumpkin Pie Martini Cocktail to calm myself down a bit as I played back that fateful Halloween night over and over in my mind.
The night in question was some years ago when my kids were still very little. My besties, Mona and Liddy, strong-armed me into taking a night off from taking care of my kids and accompanying them to a Halloween party at Geddy's Pub where they were holding a costume contest. The grand prize was a whole month of free cocktails. Needless to say, half the town, including us, were determined to win!
The three of us dressed up as the Three Musketeers right down to the pantaloons, feathered hats, and swords. But only Mona and I stuck to the original plan. Liddy insisted on swapping out her pants for a tight-fitting toga dress at the last minute, announcing that we should at least have one sexy musketeer since Geddy's had enlisted an all-male judging panel. Mona just shook her head in disgust as we headed out the door.
I had left my two kids in their father's custody and he promised to take them to the YMCA Halloween party held every year for all the children in town. Four-year-old Dustin was over the moon with excitement because he was a Batman fanatic and I had bought the last Caped Crusader costume available in all of Eastern Maine. Gemma was going as a cat with cute headband ears, a painted cat nose, and pipe cleaner whiskers. Danny's costume of choice was a Ghostbuster like his favorite actor, Bill Murray. They all looked adorable as I ushered them out the door while the girls and I put the finishing touches on our own costumes.
The Geddy's Pub Halloween costume competition was fierce that year mostly because of the coveted grand prize of free booze! We were having a raucous time and everybody was dancing and singing along to retro '70s and '80s tunes. My brother, Randy, and his boyfriend, Sergio, had won the contest with their tribute to the '80s cop show
Miami Vice
and their pastel Crockett and Tubbs outfits.
While I was rocking out to Cyndi Lauper's “
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
,” I felt a tugging on my pantaloons. I looked down to see Dustin in his Batman costume waving up at me.
“Hi, Mommy!”
I was shocked to see him in Geddy's Pub.
“Dustin, what are you doing here?”
I looked around for his father but he was nowhere in sight.
“Dustin, where's your father? How did you get here?”
He pointed over to the bar where I saw Homer and Marge Simpson. Well, actually it was Ted and Carol Jenkins, a nice local couple who were dressed as Homer and Marge Simpson. Their son Timmy was in Dustin's preschool class and he too was a Batman fanatic. They stood there, stone-faced and fuming.
I suddenly put two and two together and my heart sank.
Danny Powell had taken the wrong child home from the YMCA Halloween kids' party.
Ted Jenkins marched over and explained to me that they found Dustin wandering around the YMCA looking for his dad while their own son was nowhere to be found. Luckily, Dustin remembered where his mother would be tonight. Carol just glared at me, her eyes full of judgment. I was fairly certain I would not be getting her vote for this year's PTA Mother of the Year Award.
I grabbed Dustin by the hand and dragged him out of the pub with Carol and Ted Jenkins hot on my heels and Liddy and Mona bringing up the rear. We jumped into two cars and raced over to my house on Glen Mary Road. I muttered under my breath the whole ride, “I'm going to kill him! I'm going to kill him!”
The cars screeched to a halt and we all piled out and ran into the house. Five crazed adults pushed and shoved and yelled all at once while we all tried to slam through my kitchen doorway at the same time. Dustin got down on his hands and knees and just crawled through our legs.
The commotion startled Danny, who stood motionless in the kitchen watching a mob of people pushing their way inside. He dropped the plate of cookies he was holding and Dustin crawled over to grab one and stuff it into his mouth. Danny was flanked by a wide-eyed little girl dressed as a cat and by a tiny Batman.
We were all screaming at once until Mona shoved her way through the crowd and let out a loud whistle that would have stopped a freight train.
Everyone fell silent.
I marched up to Danny and asked, “Have you perhaps noticed anything out of the ordinary?”
“No. Why?”
And with a flourish, I whipped off the Batman mask to reveal Timmy Jenkins, who was clutching Danny's pant leg, frightened over all the crazy adults waving their arms and yelling nonsense.
Danny's mouth dropped open. I almost felt a bit sorry for him when I saw the light dawn in his eyes and he realized what had happened.
But not enough to let him off the hook.
I berated him for a full three minutes before I heard Mona chuckling, followed by Liddy, and then we were all laughing at the absurdity of the situation.
Everyone but Ted and Carol Jenkins. They failed to see the humor at all. They scooped up little Timmy and charged out of the house, slamming the door so hard the windows rattled.
Danny joined in, howling, until I reminded him that we would be discussing his irresponsibility after the kids went to bed. He bowed his head and slinked out of the room. Luckily, Dustin survived this little drama. We didn't see much of the Jenkins family after that. I overheard someone say at the Shop 'n Save they had moved to the big city of Boston where it was safer and more civilized.
Oh well.
Of course, taking a trip down memory lane always works up a hearty appetite. So thankfully I had my bread pudding fresh out of the oven, not to mention a delicious, soothing cocktail to wash it down with, so bottoms up, everybody!
Â
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
Ingredients
6 cups cubed stale French bread
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 16-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup raisins
Â
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix your bread cubes with the milk and cream and set aside to let the bread absorb the milk mixture.
In another bowl beat your eggs then blend in the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Pour the pumpkin mixture and raisins over the bread mixture and gently combine by stirring.
Pour into a greased 13x9 baking pan and bake one hour or until pudding is firm when a butter knife comes out clean and top is golden brown.
Remove and let cool 30 minutes. Get out some bowls, scoop some in, and enjoy.
Â
Pumpkin Pie Martini
Ingredients
2 ounces RumChata cream liqueur
1 ounce vanilla vodka
1 ounce pumpkin liqueur
Pinch of ground cinnamon for garnish
Â
Pour all of your liquid ingredients into an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake well.
Strain into a chilled martini glass and sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon on top if desired.
Chapter 8
Hayley was annoyed by the fact that when she went online to research Halloween costumes for women all the descriptions included the words “sexy” or “sultry.”
The men's costumes glaringly did not.
Sexy nurse.
Sultry Egyptian goddess.
Sexy police officer.
Sultry dreamy genie.
It was insulting.
But she didn't have time to spend ranting on her soapbox because she had to come up with an idea and fast.
Her solution was simple.
Princess Leia.
Not sexy Princess Leia.
Just Princess Leia.
She had a white floor-length dress and a belt that she could tie around it.
She had a pair of white boots from Disco Night at the Masonic Hall last summer.
She had a wig she could fashion with side buns.
And Dustin had a plastic ray gun in his toy collection she could borrow.
Done.
Problem solved.
She wasn't enthusiastic about going to Mary Leighton's annual pre-Halloween party that night. She just wanted to stay home and watch TV, but Liddy was adamant that she get out of the house and go and just enjoy herself.
And to insure that Hayley didn't try to back out with some lame excuse, Liddy and her boyfriend, local attorney Sonny Rivers, who was roughly half Liddy's age although she would never admit it, showed up to escort her.
Hayley hated the idea of being a third wheel, but Liddy was simply not taking no for an answer.
When she descended the stairs in her Princess Leia costume, Liddy and Sonny applauded warmly.
“See! I knew you'd come up with something great!” Liddy said.
Hayley did a double take.
Liddy was virtually unrecognizable in a strapless minidress with a sweetheart neckline corset top and a gold overskirt with lace trim and panniers and hoops that gave the dress the classic baroque look of full exaggerated hips. Her legs were covered with suggestive white lace thigh highs and she also wore a sky-high powdered white wig and carried an elegant feathered eye mask.
Liddy had obviously embraced the whole “Sexy Marie Antoinette” costume.
It was a getup fit for a queen.
Sonny's costume was almost as impressive. He was dressed as a pirate in a revealing black lace-up shirt that accentuated his smooth barrel chest, a black pirate captain hat, eye patch, billowy black pants, leather boots, and a deluxe seventeen-inch pirate cutlass.
“You two look fantastic!” Hayley said, feeling as if her last-minute thrown-together Princess Leia costume was uninspired.
“I know! I've been searching for the perfect costume for months! Ever since I saw that Sofia Coppola movie about Marie Antoinette on Netflix I've been dying to get just the right look,” Liddy said. “And when Sonny showed up at my door dressed as a pirate I nearly fainted.”
“Her favorite sex fantasy is being captured by a pirate so I already had everything in my closet,” Sonny said.
“Not in front of the child, Sonny!”
Dustin, who was lounging on the couch with Leroy and Blueberry sleeping next to him while watching a Vin Diesel movie, suddenly realized and burst out laughing. “Me! She's talking about me!”
“He's almost sixteen, Liddy, I think he can handle it,” Hayley said.
“Doesn't your mother look great, Dustin?” Liddy asked, trying to get Hayley excited about going to the party.
“I like the ray gun,” he said giving her a quick once-over before turning his attention back to his movie.
“That's because it's his,” Hayley said to Liddy and Sonny before turning back to Dustin. “Don't give Leroy and Blueberry any more snacks. They're getting too fat. Have a good night. I'll be home early.”
“Not if we have anything to say about it,” Liddy said. “You need to get your mind off you know who.”
“Who?” Hayley asked.
“Dad,” Dustin said, petting the top of Leroy's head absentmindedly. “She's talking about Dad.”
“Where is he tonight anyway?” Hayley asked, disappointed he was in Bar Harbor and not spending every free moment with his kids.
“He said he had plans. We're going to get together tomorrow night. Bye. Have fun,” Dustin said, not taking his eyes off the TV.
After leaving the house, it took ten minutes for Liddy to climb in the back of Sonny's Mercedes parked out front because of her giant, unwieldy, powdered white wig. She had to crank her head to the side in order to keep it firmly in place and not crush the top of it on the interior roof of the car. Hayley jumped in the passenger's seat and Sonny drove them to Mary Leighton's house on Bowles Avenue just a few minutes away.
The party was in full swing when they arrived. A lot of guests had similar ideas. There was an abundance of Avengers and Justice League superheroes and scores of Disney characters that never seemed to go out of style. The hostess, Mary Leighton, was dressed as Maleficent complete with black horns on top of her head and over-the-top white makeup and ruby red lipstick. Music blared and half a dozen people had cleared the middle of the living room to dance to one of Taylor Swift's hit songs while the rest of the costumed guests had to shout in order to carry on conversations.
“I'll get us some drinks,” Sonny said, making a beeline for the table with a large punch bowl and stacks of plastic cups.
Hayley and Liddy took in the spectacle before a loud grunting noise caused them to both spin around and find themselves face to face with a prehistoric caveman. His long-haired wig was matted and tangled. He wore a fur pelt over his tall, muscled frame and he carried a big plastic club right out of the Flintstones.
It took Hayley a few seconds before she even recognized him.
“Aaron?”
Aaron snarled and growled some more.
Liddy giggled coquettishly. “Aaron, you look so sexy as a caveman. So manly and powerful.”
“I thought pirates were your sexual fantasy,” Hayley said with a smile.
“What? I have to be limited to just one?”
Aaron playfully bopped Hayley over the head with his plastic club. “Me drag you back to my cave now.”
Hayley laughed.
Liddy fanned herself with her feathered eye mask. “Oh my . . . Is it me or is it suddenly very hot in here?”
“No, it's you. Definitely
you
,” Hayley said.
Aaron noticed someone over by the front door. “Excuse me. I just saw a friend of mine come in. I'll catch up with you later.”
He touched Hayley on the arm and then weaved his way through the crowd. Liddy whipped her head around to see who he was so anxious to talk to but shrugged it off when Aaron shook the hand of a golfing buddy who had just arrived dressed as a vampire.
“I heard he just started seeing someone,” Liddy said, frowning.
“Aaron? That's nice.”
“It doesn't bother you?”
“We broke up months ago. No, it doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I'm happy for him.”
“Are you sure you're not just putting on a brave face?”
“No, Liddy. I'm not.”
“Aren't you the least bit curious to know who it is?”
“Not really.”
“So if I happened to know the name of this new woman in Aaron's life, you wouldn't want me to tell you? I mean it's just a name I've heard in passing. I have no proof they're actually dating . . .”
“No, I don't want you to tell me.”
Liddy raised her eyebrow, unconvinced.
“I'm serious, Liddy.”
“Okay. I believe you. You'd rather not know.”
“Why? Do you know?”
Liddy grinned. “I knew you would want to know.”
“I don't. Forget it. It's none of my business.”
Liddy suddenly gasped.
“What?”
“Turn around.”
Hayley turned her head to see Darth Vader breathing down her neck behind her.
It was a very elaborate costume complete with a black cape and light saber.
“I think he's come to kidnap Princess Leia and whisk her back to his ship to have his way with her,” Liddy said breathlessly.
“That's just what
she's
hoping will happen. There's a lot going on inside her head tonight,” Hayley said.
“Dance with me,” Darth Vader said in a deep, distorted voice very similar to the actual movie character.
He placed his black-gloved hand on the small of her back and led her out to the dance floor where they jumped around for the remainder of the Taylor Swift song before it segued into an Adele ballad and Darth Vader pulled her close to him.
She indulged him for a few moments before her curiosity got the best of her.
“Okay, who are you?”
“Darth Vader,” he said, again with the strikingly real
Star Wars
villain voice.
Hayley reached over and yanked up the mask.
“Danny?”
“Hey, babe,” Danny said, flashing that charming smile, his expressive green eyes twinkling.
“Did Dustin tell you I was coming to the party dressed as Princess Leia?” she demanded to know.
“No. I swear. It's a complete coincidence. Great minds, you know? What do you think the universe is trying to tell us?”
“It's telling me I need a drink and you're an evil space villain bent on destroying the world,” she said pulling away from him and racing over to Sonny who was holding her plastic cup of punch, leaving Danny on the dance floor as a woman in a racy raccoon costume swooped in to take her place and tried to get Darth Vader to dance with her.