Chapter Text
The sun was shining brightly overhead as Bethany walked down the main drag of town on her way to Aunt Chrissy's diner, fallen leaves crunching satisfyingly under her feet. It was such a nice day that she'd decided to forgo driving to meet the Collars for lunch in favor of getting some fresh air. Fall was in full swing now in mid-October and the vibe of her favorite season alone was enough to calm her nervousness. There was no actual reason to be nervous, or so she kept trying to tell herself. This was a perfectly normal lunch outing and she wasn't going to be interrogated about her love life, since as far as Tracy and the girls knew, she didn't have one.
Truthfully she really didn't. Things with Ville were great, of course, and their texts and phone calls over the last week had been the highlight of her days. But it had only been days, and for the most part they kept things light and humorous between them. After the first few intense conversations where they'd debated the wisdom of this entire arrangement, they had settled on leaning into a casual and low pressure relationship. There had been no dramatic declarations of deep feelings beyond "I like you" (which Ville had suggested they both get tattooed somewhere dumb like the bottom of their feet as a joke, which Bethany had quickly shot down). Therefore, there was nothing to share with anyone, least of all her deceased boyfriend's relatives. Bethany could only hope her private pleasure with the whole bizarre situation didn't show on her face.
As she opened the door to the diner, Bethany was immediately overwhelmed with the comforting smell of coffee and breakfast food, and her face broke into a smile. She spotted the titular Chrissy behind the counter chatting with a couple of regulars and gave her a friendly wave.
"Oh, hey Beth!" Chrissy called, returning the wave energetically. Her vibrant red curls shook with her movement, and her eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled. Bethany had always thought Chrissy had a real Molly Weasley vibe. She treated everyone like they were her family and it endeared her to everyone she met.
"What's up, Chris?" Bethany asked, coming over to lean on the counter.
"Not a lot," Chrissy admitted, refilling one of the older men's coffee. "It's been a quiet day so far. I think people are taking advantage of the break in all the gloomy weather. How are you? How's school?"
"I'm doing great, actually," Bethany said honestly. "School is a nightmare, of course. I thought my suffering would end after prerequisites, but no. Still tearing my hair out, questioning my life choices every other day."
"Aww, I'm sure you're doing just fine," Chrissy said encouragingly, grabbing a slice of coffee cake and sliding it over to Bethany. "Fresh out of the oven, go on and have some on the house."
"You spoil me," Bethany grinned, grabbing a fork and digging in. The coffee cake had the perfect crackly sugar crust on top, and she hummed happily as she chewed. "You're a goddess, you know that?"
"It's amazing I can fit my giant head through the door every day, the way you compliment me," Chrissy laughed. "Whatcha up to today, girly?"
"Meeting Tracy and the girls," Bethany replied, taking the small glass of milk Chrissy offered her gratefully. "You know, the monthly lunch date."
"That's great!" Chrissy said, wiping her hands in a dish towel. "It's so nice to see you all still spending time together."
"Yeah," Bethany sighed, looking wistfully out the window. "The Collars have always been good to me, especially when my family has been a pain in my ass. I appreciate them a lot."
"I know they appreciate you, too," Chrissy said kindly. "How have you been holding up? You look good. More bright eyed and bushy tailed than you had been."
"I'm doing much better lately," Bethany said carefully. "I've been getting out more, staying more on top of stuff I need to get done. Vera got kind of sick of my BS and forced me to leave my apartment last week. She had the right idea, as usual."
"Ohh, that girl," Chrissy laughed, shaking her head. "She was here the other day actually, her and that writer friend of yours. She said the two of you went to a concert. She might have also mentioned you got to meet a certain singer..."
"Oh, way to go, Vera," Bethany groaned. Chrissy giggled and gave her a swat with the dish towel.
"Hey, no big deal, I'm just teasing," she said. "I remember you coming in here when you were in high school, wearing T-shirts with him on them. What was his name again?"
"Ville Valo," Bethany said. "He sang for HIM, they broke up a while ago. He was here last week on his solo tour."
"Good for him!" Chrissy said with a nod. "Vera said he's still got it. What was he like when you met him?"
"He's lovely," Bethany said, grinning despite herself. "We had a really good talk... Honestly I think the whole reason I'm feeling better is because of that, silly as it might sound."
"That's not silly at all!" Chrissy said, her eyes twinkling. "So... Was there a spark? Come on, you can tell Aunt Chrissy." Bethany stared at her, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights.
"What all did Vee tell you, exactly?" she asked suspiciously.
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," Chrissy winked. "I think she had to tell someone or else she would have exploded."
"I'm going to kick her ass," Bethany sighed, shaking her head.
"Better me than someone else," Chrissy said with a shrug. "You know I won't say anything to anyone. I, for one, am very happy for you. Whatever comes of it, it's nice to see you looking like yourself again. I think Mason's happy too, wherever he is." Chrissy patted Bethany's hand and glanced up as the bell over the door jingled, announcing the arrival of the Collar women.
"Bethy!" Mary exclaimed, hurrying over to give Bethany a big hug. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."
"Probably because you haven't," Bethany laughed, giving the younger woman a squeeze. "All I do is work and beg my professors for mercy these days."
"That's why you're Mr. Franklin's favorite," Mary grinned. "Even his sons play second fiddle to you, I hear."
"Won't mean much if I never get licensed," Bethany said with a roll of her eyes.
"You stress too much," Tracy admonished, coming over for her turn for a hug. "I'm sure you're doing much better than you think."
"Thanks, Trace," Bethany smiled, looking up at her. Tracy was a tall, thin older woman with dark brunette hair and warm brown eyes, and both of her daughters were practically carbon copies of her. They reminded Bethany of supermodels, and she always felt small and mousy in comparison.
"You're going to be the best mortician in the country someday," Cassie chimed in, giving Bethany's hand a squeeze. Cassie was the youngest of the Collar kids at seventeen, and had secretly always been Bethany's favorite of the two girls. She was optimistic and cheerful at all times, and it was hard not to let it rub off on you after spending enough time with her.
"Thanks, guys," Bethany said, her cheeks turning pink. "How about we go sit down before I float away on a cloud of glowing praise?"
"I'll bring over some menus!" Chrissy said brightly as the women sat down in one of the cozy booths, taking off their jackets and settling in. Chrissy bustled over with the menus and three mugs, which she quickly filled with coffee before returning to the counter.
"How's the dog grooming business going?" Bethany asked Tracy, beginning the tedious task of emptying far too many creamers into her drink. The Collars had owned the local pet store, aptly named 'Collars', for decades. They were remarkably successful, even with the big chains popping up all around the area. Around six months earlier, they'd decided to offer dog grooming to stay competitive. Tracy groaned and shook her head.
"Remind me who thought adding a groomer to the store was a good idea again?" she sighed, stirring a Splenda packet into her own cup. "Oh, right. That was me. We've gone through four hires already, and all of them, quite frankly, were terrible. I don't know if we just have the worst luck or if there's absolutely no one who knows how to give a dog a haircut in the tri-state area."
"It's not like we're offering crap pay, either," Mary grumbled. Mary was the store manager, and thus also the hiring manager. "It's like a dollar more an hour than PetSmart to start! I think someone's put a curse on us."
"We'll find someone eventually," Cassie said confidently. "And if not, maybe I'll learn how to groom dogs and we'll call it a day."
"Oh, no," Tracy laughed. "I remember the state of your Barbies' hair, no one in their right mind would let you near their pet with the clippers."
"Customers don't have to know about that, mother!" Cassie exclaimed, shooting Tracy a look. "I'd imagine if I go to dog cosmetology school or whatever I'll probably get a little less risky with the scissors."
They all laughed, and the conversation continued to flow easily. Bethany found herself relaxing, feeling silly for being so nervous before. She really had to stop that overthinking thing.
buzz buzz
Bethany blinked and glanced at her phone where it sat on the table, the screen quickly flashing to inform her that Ville had sent her a message. She looked around at the other women who were deep in discussion about a new applicant they were considering, so she decided it was probably fine to be on her phone for a moment. She tapped the notification and had to restrain a snort at the message.
"Burst into flames yet?"
Bethany quickly typed her reply:
"Nah, everything's fine. I'm a dumbass."
She set her phone back down just as Chrissy came back around to take their food order. The group decided to split an appetizer platter as usual, and Chrissy disappeared again, hurrying to the kitchen.
"So, anyway," Tracy was saying, "to get off the subject of the store before I have a nervous breakdown, I've been thinking. I think we should throw our Halloween party again this year. We skipped it last year because none of us were really in the spirit, but I'd really like to get back in the swing of things."
"Really?" Cassie gasped, looking delighted. "Oh, my gosh, yes! Yes, yes, yes, I have so many ideas saved on Pinterest right now, it's unhealthy."
"Only if Beth does everyone's makeup again," Mary piped up with a smile in Bethany's direction. "You're a special effects makeup wizard."
"I'm really not!" Bethany laughed. "I look tutorials up on YouTube and wing it. You've seen me do it!"
"Yeah, but being able to actually recreate the look in the video by the end is pretty friggin' impressive," Cassie argued. "I tried it once and I just looked like I'd glued toilet paper to my face and splattered myself with fake blood."
"I mean, that kind of is the process," Bethany said with a shrug.
"But it needs the artist's touch!" Tracy grinned. "I think I'd like to do it on Halloween proper this year, since the 31st is a Saturday. What do you say, Beth, you in?"
Bethany froze then, remembering her conversation with Ville about his visit the day before. His days off were the 30th, 31st, and the 1st. His plane would land on Friday morning.
"Oh, crap," she muttered, rubbing her forehead. "I just realized, I have a friend coming in from out of town that weekend."
"So bring them along!" Mary said cheerfully. "The more the merrier. Unless they're not a Halloween person, but I have trouble believing you have any friends who aren't Halloween people."
"Oh, he's definitely a Halloween person," Bethany laughed nervously. "Not so much a people person, though. I don't know how he'd feel about a party with people he doesn't know."
"He?" Tracy asked, seemingly intrigued. "Is this a new friend of yours?"
"Mom, don't be weird," Mary said chidingly. "No need to give her the third degree."
"I'm not!" Tracy protested, taking a delicate sip of her coffee. "I'm just curious. We know most of Bethany's friends."
"Most of my friends have been my friends since high school," Bethany said carefully. "But uh... Yeah, this is a new friend. Very new, actually. We met last weekend at a show."
"Ooh, fun," Cassie smiled. "Was it Ville Valo?"
"What?" Bethany squeaked, her heart leaping into her throat.
"The show," Cassie clarified. "I know Mace bought you tickets before... well, you know."
"Oh!" Bethany said, swallowing hard. "Yeah, yeah it was. Vera and I went. It was nice, we had a lot of fun."
"I'm sure Mason would be glad to know that," Tracy said softly. "He was so excited to surprise you with those tickets. He knew you'd be over the moon."
"I was," Bethany said with a nod, her eyes downcast. She could feel the guilt and sadness creeping in again. "He couldn't have given me a better last gift."
They were all quiet for a moment, and Cassie reached across the table to give Bethany's hand a reassuring squeeze. Bethany looked up into the girl's kind eyes and managed a smile as Chrissy came back with their lunch and sat it down in front of them.
"Anything else I can get you, ladies?" she asked gently, sensing the mood at the table. The women all shook their heads, and Chrissy nodded and swept off quietly.
"So, what's your friend's name?" Mary asked, keeping her tone light as she took a french fry from the heaping plate of food.
"Oh, um," Bethany hesitated, casting around her brain for some sort of answer. "His name's Will."
Well, it's not a complete lie, she thought, cringing inwardly. This was not where she'd wanted this conversation to go at all.
"You said he's from out of town," Mary continued. "What brought him to a show here?"
"Ah, it was the best date for him to see Ville's show," Bethany invented quickly. "He works a lot, but he's a pretty hardcore fan, so, you know. Come hell or high water, he was going to get to one of the shows."
"That's dedication," Tracy chuckled.
"Seems like Ville Valo inspires that in people," Mary said, giving Bethany a knowing look. "How many posters did you have, again...?"
"Please don't," Bethany said, pulling a face. "I was a weird teenager, let my cringe rest in peace, I beg you."
"He is good-looking," Cassie admitted. "I'm not really big on his music, it's a little depressing for my tastes. But he's nice to look at."
"Anyway, definitely bring Will along to the party," Mary said with a tone of finality. "He'll warm up to everyone. It'll be fine!"
"I, uh, I'll talk to him about it," Bethany said lamely, picking at a napkin. "We'll see."
Everyone seemed satisfied with that, and conversation turned to party planning and decoration ideas. Bethany participated in the least stilted fashion she could manage, but on the inside she was trying to tamp down her panic. If she didn't go to this party, that would go over really poorly. If she brought Ville to this party, especially after feeding the Collars that cobbled together cover story, that would most likely also go over poorly. Maybe a meteor would strike earth on Halloween morning and she could avoid this whole mess. That was a possibility, right?
Ville's just going to love this.