I’m not typically a huge fan of Halloween. I’m not one for being scared (I leave the room if there is something scary on TV and will not even dare to watch scary movies). I’m also not really one for dressing up in any sort of costume or any of the shenanigans that go along with it. However one year, 10 years ago to be exact, I made an exception. I had a date. A first date. To a Halloween party of sorts. So it was not the sort of thing one could go without a costume to. Anyone who has been to Franklin Street for Halloween knows what I’m talking about. Aside from when I was a child, that was probably the longest I had ever spent contemplating a costume. My parents happen to be visiting and I dragged them out to help me find something to wear that I wouldn’t look like a total idiot in and at least feel slightly comfortable in despite being completely out of my comfort zone. I didn’t even decide what I would actually go with until minutes before I had to leave.
So despite not typically being ‘into’ he whole Halloween thing, I find myself looking forward to it and wanting to do something to mark the occasion. Why? Because 10 years ago, I went on a first date with a guy who didn’t care about making a fool of himself on Halloween. A guy who had the guts to show up at my door wearing a giant Afro wig, aviators, a ridiculous shirt only done up about half way, and can what only be described as plaid women’s pants (trousers, to clarify for my UK friends). I can only guess he was going for some sort of 70s character. I couldn’t help but laughed as I stood on my balcony taking in the spectacle down in the courtyard below me. I fell for him right then and there.
It was a pretty long drive from Winston-Salem to Chapel Hill, which could have made for a fairly disastrous first date. But if that had been the case, I might not have bothered even remembering it now.
That was a Halloween that changed my life. I had met my best friend, and the love of my life, and fallen for him right then and there. I only wish I had a photo from the evening. I’m sure someone has one somewhere.
Happy Halloween!
Champagne & Chandeliers 