My Ex-Husband Mocked Me for Bringing a Date to His Halloween Party, Saying ‘No Man Would Ever Date Someone Like…
He listened without trying to fix anything, which I hadn’t realized was rare until I experienced it. He had an eight-year-old son named Oliver and a hard divorce behind him. His ex-wife kept disputing his visitation days, and he picked Oliver up from school whenever he was allowed to.
Neither of us liked talking about our exes. It was an unspoken agreement. I’d never asked his ex-wife’s name, and he’d never asked for the name of the woman Jason left me for.
“I don’t want to drag him into my mess,” I told Nina.
“Let him decide whether it’s a mess.”
That evening, after checking Ben’s math worksheet twice, I called him.
“Can I ask you something ridiculous?”
“Depends,” Daniel said. “Does it involve moving furniture?”
“Worse. A Halloween party.”
I explained that my ex-husband had more or less dared me to show up alone. I didn’t mention Christy. I didn’t want to hear myself say the words “his secretary” out loud again.
The line went quiet.
“You’re asking me to pretend we’re dating,” he said slowly.
“Just for one night. You can say no. Honestly, you probably should.”
“Actually,” he said, “it sounds entertaining. Oliver talked me into buying a costume last week. It’s just sitting in my closet.”
“Are you sure?”
“Completely. I’ll pick you up at six.”
When I asked what the costume was, he laughed.
“Nope. It’s a surprise,” he said. “But I promise you this. When I walk into that party, nobody’s going to know who I am.”
Part 2: The Man in the Silver Mask
Jason called twice more that week to “remind” me about the party. The second time, he asked whether I was still planning to come, and he sounded almost disappointed when I said yes.
“Just making sure,” he said. “I’d hate for you to feel awkward.”
“I won’t,” I said, and hung up before he could explain why I should.
On Halloween afternoon, Ava sat cross-legged on my bathroom counter while I got ready. I’d found my costume at a consignment shop on Fourth Street for $27.50: a fitted black dress, lace-up boots, and a long velvet cape the color of plums. The witch hat came free because the brim was bent.
“Hold still,” Ava ordered. She had a silver eyeliner pencil in her hand and the tip of her tongue between her teeth. One by one, she drew tiny stars at the corners of my eyes.
When she finished, she leaned back to study me.
“You look like a queen,” she said.
“A witch, actually.”
“A queen witch.” She said it the way she said things that were settled.
I looked in the mirror, and for a second I didn’t recognize the woman there. It wasn’t the stars. It was that she was standing up straight.
Ben charged in, sword first. “Can you make Dad walk the plank?”
“Not tonight, honey.”
“Next year?”
“We’ll see.”
Jason pulled into the driveway at five on the dot to collect the kids. We’d agreed I would bring them back to my place after the party. He didn’t get out of the car. He just honked twice, and Ava’s shoulders crept up toward her ears.
At six, the doorbell rang.
Daniel stood on my porch in a dark three-piece suit, black gloves, and a silver mask that covered everything but his mouth and jaw. Thin swirls etched into the metal caught the porch light. Behind him, a pack of trick-or-treaters dressed as dinosaurs stopped to stare.
“Who are you supposed to be?” I asked.
“A mysterious guest.”
“Very specific.”
He offered me his arm like we were in an old black-and-white movie. “You look wonderful, by the way.”
I opened my mouth and nothing came out. It was such a small thing to say. But nobody had said anything like it to me in so long that it knocked the air out of me, and I pretended to search my purse for my keys so he wouldn’t see my face.
The house on Linden Court glowed from the end of the block. Cars lined both sides of the street, and music thumped from somewhere behind the garage. Paper bats were taped to every front window, and two inflatable ghosts swayed on the lawn.
Daniel parked two houses down and cut the engine. Before I could open my door, he reached over and took my hand.
“Still comfortable with this?” I asked.
“Ask me again in ten minutes.”
Inside, the house smelled like cinnamon candles and fresh paint. Ava spotted us before we’d made it past the foyer.
“Mom! You came!” She wrapped her arms around my waist, then tipped her head back to examine Daniel. “Cool costume.”
“Thank you,” he said seriously.
Ben appeared out of nowhere and challenged him to a sword fight. Daniel blocked exactly twice before clutching his chest and sliding down the wall, and Ben announced his victory to the entire hallway.
For five minutes, everything was lovely.
Then I saw Jason cutting through the living room toward us, dressed as a vampire in a cape that probably cost more than my car payment. Christy was on his arm in a sequined cat costume, ears and all.
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