Nate walked into the costume shop with a certain amount of nervous expectation. He had been invited to his friend Charlie’s birthday party which he decided was a theme costume party. The theme was “Classic Movie Monsters” and Charlie had asked Nate to dress up as a werewolf, something Nate eagerly accepted.
Now, he was trying to find just the right costume items, something that was proving more difficult than he imagined. Nate decided if he was going to do this, he wanted to do it right, but each thing he found still registered as fake to him. He walked over to the werewolf items on the wall and while it was closer to what he was looking for, he felt the familiar feeling of defeat.
“Hi,” said a voice behind him. Nate turned around to see a young man, not much older than him, dressed in a simple dress shirt and a pair of jeans. His black hair was slightly mussed and he was smiling from ear to ear, revealing a dimple on either side of his face. Nate thought he might dissolve into molecules right there. “I’m Colin. Can I help you find something?”
“Yeah, actually. I’m going to a friend’s costume party. I wanted to go as a werewolf, but I’m really having difficulty finding just the right pieces,” replied Nate.
“I know how that can be, you have picture in your head and nothing else measures up. Were you wanting to do a costume or makeup effects...” replied Colin.
“I was thinking makeup would be more fun, and cooler,” said Nate.
“I’m actually a makeup artist myself and I would love to turn you into a real, fierce werewolf,” said Colin.
“That would be amazing,” replied Nate, smiling from ear to ear.
“When is the party?” asked Colin.
“Saturday, actually. So, day after tomorrow.”
“Ahh, that’s pretty quick, if you can stay for awhile so I can make molds of your face, hands and feet real quick, I think I could have your pieces ready by then,” said Colin.
“Wow, all that? How much is this going to cost?” asked Nate.
“To be honest, I’m not going to charge you. I would love to have a werewolf to add to my portfolio,” said Colin.
“Wow, thanks,” replied Nate. “Yeah, I can definitely stay for the castings.
Nate followed Colin to the back of the store to work. While they did, an older woman who turned out to be Colin’s mother watched the store. The talked while he made the casts of his feet and lower legs, as well as his hands and forearms. Colin explained that the store had been in his family for several generations, that they held their costumes in high regard.
He talked about how their costumes were important, that they helped the people that wore them become what they wanted or were supposed to be, that they helped people’s fantasies come true. All through this impassioned speech, Nate found himself falling harder and harder for Colin.