Jon carefully walked down the steps in his four-inch heels, trying to ignore the swish of the dress and not keep dropping a hand to hold the slit together. He sighed and centered himself. Everyone is going to look bizarre. You know this now. But you should be used to it, apparently? I think? So try not to react too much.
And then he turned the corner into the kitchen and entirely failed that plan. "Holy shit, Dad."
"Language, Jon!" his father responded, not unkindly. "But I get it. Looks like I got one of the theater costume closets, huh?"
Jon's father, Roger, stood in the hall, just about ready to leave for work, but in an outfit far from his normal button-down collared shirt, dress pants, and professional shoes. Instead, he was... extremely poofy. His dress was white with a red floral print, a red sash was fitted firmly around his waist, and red lace striped around the dress as it poofed out and out. White heeled shoes peeked out from just under the skirt, and a sun hat with a matching red ribbon sat on his head. Topping it off, in his white lace gloves he held a white parasol above his head.
"You look lovely, dear," Jon's mom, Linda, said, smiling and gently patting Roger on the cheek. "Now, don't let any ruffians lead you astray today."
"Going to be pretty amusing in trying to complete some sales, that's for sure!" he laughed, heading out. "See you all later."
Mikey looked up from his cereal. "Nice dress, Jon!" he chirped. "Look at me!" Jon's little brother wore a grey pinstriped suit with a dark tie, looking very much like a de-aged business man. "Dad helped me tie the tie."
"Looking... good... Mikey," Jon was able to slowly get out.
Zoe came storming into the kitchen, and yanked a banana out of the fruit bowl. "Not a word, not one word, you hear me!" she fumed. A pink cardigan rested over her pink crop top, and a pink pleated skirt revealed plenty of pale leg underneath. Zoe wore more colorful makeup than she would ever use in a decade, let alone a single day. Large pink hoops dangled from her ears. "The Barbie that normally enjoys these ridiculous clothes should be happy I'm not pouring black paint on it all."
"Your dark clothes will be back soon enough, Zoe," Linda said softly. She rested her hand on the girl's shoulder; dressed in her surgical scrubs, she looked like a doctor come out to comfort a patient. "I know this is a frustrating month for a lot of us, but just remember, it's only a month. I'll help you find more black options once November comes to balance out the memories of having to wear this now, okay? And it's okay to be angry until then."
Zoe sighed. "Thanks, Mom."
Jon was stunned. Zoe and his mom never got along that easily. His mom was definitely never that supportive of Zoe's goth presentation before. Where did that shift come from?
Linda glanced at the clock. "Oops, well, you and Jon better get going to school or you'll be late. Besides," she smiled, "I'm sure you'll want to be in the group pictures with everyone like usual, Jon. Do you both want me to drive you over before I drop off Mikey?"
"That... would be great, actually. I'm not sure how long it would take me in these heels," Jon stammered.
Zoe squinted at him. "What are you talking about? You're basically an expert in heels like that every October."
"Oh, um, sure, of course, it's just, you know, been a while since... the last October?" he attempted.
Linda rolled her eyes in good humor. "Alright, well, grab your bags and let's get going, everyone."
All three kids got their backpacks and headed for the front door. Outside, sitting on the front porch across the street, their elderly neighbor Mrs. Whitaker waved at them. "Good morning, all! Happy first of October!"
Linda waved back. "Good morning to you too, Dolores! You look very comfortable in those sweatpants and sweatshirt!"
"You wouldn't believe how soft these are! I need to get a pair for myself once November comes! Of course, I don't know why it says 'juicy' on the backside. I might need to look that up!" Mrs. Whitaker called back.
This is going to be a long, long, confusing month, Jon thought, as he piled into the car with his siblings.
