"This is going to be so fun. I can't wait to see what we look like!" Sally was practically bouncing as she and Dan walked to the costume shop on the day of the party. Inside, they found the white-haired bearded man and his wife, a pleasantly plump woman with a lightly wrinkled face and gorgeous silver hair.
"Welcome back," the man greeted them. "We were just getting things ready. No time to lose! Step into the back, please."
They followed the man through a door behind the counter, into a room that looked like a small beauty parlor. There were three hairdressing stations with a full stock of hair care supplies. On the other side of the room were changing stalls and wall-mounted mirrors. Further into the room, Dan and Sally could see other beauty-enhancement work areas such as manicure and pedicure stations, as well as a full-sized bathtub.
The elderly woman entered with her arms full of Sally's costume and accessories. She deposited them in one of the changing stalls.
"Now, there's a few things to be said before we proceed," the man spoke, clasping his hands together as if preparing to give a lecture. "First and foremost, we aim to please. We're dedicated to making your costume as convincing as physically possible. Now that does involve a few procedures that are more intimate than you might come to expect from a mere makeup job. If at any time, you're uncomfortable about any of the steps we're going to take in custom-outfitting your costume, don't hesitate to speak up. You won't hurt our feelings. Right, dear?"
The woman emerged from another changing stall, having just put Dan's costume inside. "Absolutely positively. You especially, um...what's your name, sir?"
"Dan," Dan said.
The woman smiled. "Dan. Yes, we're going to need to do a little more work on you. So just tell us if you want to skip any step of the fitting."
"Well," Dan said, turning to Sally. "It would be cool to have the best costumes at the party. I'm game for just about anything."
"Delightful!" the man boomed. "And you, young lady. What's your name?"
"I'm Sally," she said.
"Alright, Dan and Sally, just one last thing to keep in mind. If you decide to change anything about your costumes at the last minute...wig choice, clothing color, another outfit altogether, we'll do what we can to accommodate."
"We love to improvise," the woman said.
"But, please do try to tell us about any change you're thinking of before we get too far into the process, or else we might not be able to make the proper adjustments, and you'll miss your party. Is everything hunky-dory?"
Dan and Sally nodded in agreement. "I don't think we'll change our minds about anything, but if we do we'll make sure we don't speak up too late," Sally replied.
"Enough standing around," the woman said, waving the air in a fussy manner. "Let's get these kids ready to party!"
She beckoned Sally toward the back of the room, while the man escorted Dan to a workstation. "As I was saying, there are a few extra preparations we'll need to do for you. Please take a seat."
"What kind of preparations?" Dan asked. "Shouldn't I put the costume on first?"
"Not quite yet. Y'see, before we custom-fit the outfit to you, we've got to custom-fit you to the outfit."