Page 63 of The King of Halloween
Adam gave a little salute, then he walked backward into the dark.
Suddenly, Raj raised a hand to his mouth and called out, “If you see any jerking, add a bit of grease.”
“Just like my last Saturday night,” Adam called with a laugh.
At least he seemed to be enjoying himself…
Raj hustled as fast as his weary legs could take him. Somewhere inside of him, that fifth cup of coffee was working overtime. He’d woken at five, bright-eyed and certain this would be the day. And now he had his date traipsing through plaster forests and plywood graveyards to try to save his ass.
The walkie-talkie chirped on Raj’s belt. “So far, no broken plugs, but I did give a mummy eyeing me up a quick one-pump lube job.”
Okay, maybe he’s enjoying this too much.
“Should I be jealous?” Raj asked. Damn, this one was fine. He hustled around a corner, eyes down to follow the wires with his flashlight.
“You told me to. Who am I to rain on your cuckold fantasy parade?”
A small giggle broke from right beside Raj. He whipped his phone up, blinding the kid dressed in a black bat costume. “Damn, Mr. Choudhary. Warning next time.”
“Sorry.”
“So…are we getting paid?”
“Yes, if tonight…once we open. Everyone…” Raj peered through the scare hole in the wall, spotting a number of vampires flirting with zombies. “Scare actors,” he shouted into his channel hooked to the intercom, “please remain in your hiding spots. We will be tinkering with the mechanics, and I don’t want anyone getting hurt.” It took a few minutes, one zombie having to get a vampire’s number, before the kids wandered off.
The last thing he needed was some horny teenager getting decapitated by accident. Not that any of his props could do that, but the way his luck was going, who knew? Maybe someone snuck in a chainsaw limbo bar behind his back.
This is a bad idea. Not just the haunt, but everything. The hotel. Giving up on my career. Moving halfway across the country. Thinking I could love again.
An image of Adam on his throne bouncing a young girl on his knee flared through Raj’s mind. He didn’t remember that happening exactly, but it felt close enough to reality to wrench his heart.
“Another room down,” Adam called over the walkie-talkie. “I think I’m in a boudoir now? Ah, yes, there’s the headless lady. Don’t mind me, ma’am. Please return to your vanity.”
“Hey.”
The heavy footsteps paused on Adam’s end. “What’s up?”
“You…you do well with kids,” Raj said diplomatically.
“The trick is to go still and try to make yourself as big as possible. Or maybe that’s how to deal with cougars.”
Adam wanted a laugh, but Raj was clinging white-knuckled to his walkie-talkie. He pressed it so close to his mouth, his lips brushed against the speaker. “I mean the small ones. At the giveaway, you did great on your throne.”
“Ignoring the inevitable mutiny, you mean.” Adam chuckled. Then the silence sharpened to razor wire. “Why are you telling me this?”
He couldn’t do this. Not again. Not stand there and have his heart crushed because he was missing that key ingredient. Like he was the broken one.
“Raj…” Adam’s voice fell softly, like he was whispering in a library. “Do you have a kid?”
A laugh barked from Raj’s throat. “No. The exact opposite.”
“I’m uncertain what that means. I’d guess no testicles, but we both know that isn’t true.”
“My ex, I was… We were together for five years. It was serious. So serious we were talking weddings and forever to have and hold.”
“I see…” Adam said without a hint of emotion.
Meanwhile, Raj’s heart boiled with a brew of shame and fear. He couldn’t stop scratching at the back of his neck like Jordan was staring at him in judgment. “One day, he says, ‘I want to have a baby.’ Just out of nowhere. All that money we’d put aside for the wedding, for a down payment, was earmarked for a surrogate, for an egg. I didn’t know what to say.”
