"Come on, Haley. Let's get to Jessica's party," Breanne said, pulling her older sister with her.
Their mother (Candice) watched them walk away, too stunned to move.
"Wanna buy a costume?" a man asked nearby. She turned and saw him smiling at her. There was something odd and a little disconcerting about that smile. "Or maybe just try one on? Just to see how it looks?" he asked, trying to heighten her curiosity.
But she wasn't having it. She looked at him distastefully and began to turn away. This was exactly the type of person she feared would be taking advantage of Haley at the party. That smile of his said it all. In fact, it wasn't even a smile at all. It was a leer.
"Please, I'll even give you a deal. Buy one costume, get another one free," the man said.
She wondered why the man was so eager for her to buy something. Obviously, the costume shop was for younger people - high school and college students, mostly. Not for middle-aged people like herself (Lou mistook her for being in her thirties, when she was actually into her forties - she just looked young for her age). But he still kept on trying to reel her in.
Eventually, she got so worn down that she just gave in. What was the harm in trying out one of his stupid costumes, anyway? She didn't need to buy it, afterall.
He smiled eagerly, leading her into his store, which was wasn't very big, but still had a wide variety of costumes to pick from.
"Just pick out what you want and then go back there and try it on," he said, pointing towards a door that was labeled DRESSING ROOMS.
Candice shrugged, then walked along the racks, looking for a costume. She didn't have a need for one at the moment, but there could have been a costume party sometime in her future and it was a good idea to have a costume available, just in case.
She browsed for another minute, then stopped when her eyes landed on ...
