“What do vampires have to do with anything?” Teddy said, adjusting the spiderweb on the couch.
“Because of the movie!” Everett said.
Teddy shook her head. “There are no vampires in Blood Sacrifice.”
“Then what is this movie about?” Everett shouted, exasperated.
Teddy giggled, then full-on laughed, and then couldn’t stop laughing. “A lot of blood. And a lot of sacrifice,” she said through her laughter.
50
“What’s so funny?” Everett asked, a dish towel in one hand and his other hand on his hip. Teddy stopped laughing and took in the scene: Everett in the kitchen, entirely too big for that tiny space. Everett looking at her, a half smile on his face. Everett preparing garlic bread for her friends, whom he was willingly hanging out with.
She just wanted this night to go well. She wanted it to be perfect.
“You’re funny,” she said, walking behind the counter and giving him a kiss. “And you’re sweet. Thanks for making me feel less nervous.”
“Again, I don’t think you have anything to be nervous about. They’re your friends! But I’ll accept this all the same,” Everett said, squeezing her hips.
The doorbell rang, and Teddy’s heartbeat quickened.
“Let me get that,” Everett said, and strode past Teddy before she could stop him.
She watched, frozen, as Everett opened the door. Would this be like it had been with Richard? She didn’t think Everett would be condescending and borderline rude, but you never knew. Maybe she was simply drunk on love and unwilling to see his flaws.
As Everett greeted her friends and Kirsten gave him air-kisses on both cheeks, Teddy walked toward them.
“Très dramatique!” Kirsten said, gesturing to the decorations as Eleanor hugged Everett. And then she leaned toward Teddy and stage-whispered, “Oh, I like this guy.”
Teddy immediately blushed, because Kirsten’s whispers were about as loud as anyone else’s regular speech. But when she glanced at Everett, he was looking right at her. He wiggled his eyebrows, then pointed to himself and gave a thumbs-up.
“Let me take your coats!” Teddy said brightly. “And then you can have a seat at the table!”
* * *
—
EVERYONE LOVED DINNER. Eleanor and Kirsten had oohed and aahed appreciatively when Teddy explained that the lasagna was supposed to symbolize the oozing blood they would later see in the film.
“Love this dedication to a theme,” Kirsten said as she took a sip of wine.
And now they were set up in front of the television, Eleanor and Kirsten on the sofa and Teddy and Everett smooshed into the oversized armchair. As the opening credits played over sinister music, Everett whispered, “So wait. . . . How scary is this, exactly?”
“I guess it depends on what scares you,” Teddy whispered back.
Everett frowned. “You already mentioned bloody entrails, and while before tonight I wouldn’t put those on a list of fears, I’ve gotta say, they’re up there now.”
Teddy winced. “Then this might be a difficult watch for you. How do you feel about eyeballs popping out of heads?”
“Not good!” Everett said loudly.
“Hey, lovebirds,” Kirsten said, throwing a gummy skull at them (Teddy had taken some of the leftover Halloween-themed candy from Colossal Toys), “I can’t even hear the blood or the sacrifice over your romantic mutterings.”
“This is not romantic,” Everett said, pointing at Teddy. “She told me an eyeball is going to pop out of someone’s head.”
“Spoilers!” Eleanor shouted, putting her hands over her ears.
“No, I didn’t. I said ‘eyeballs,’ plural,” Teddy corrected.
“Oh, I like how they made the title look like dripping blood,” Kirsten said, pointing to the screen.
“It’s the attention to detail that makes this a classic,” Eleanor agreed.
Everett shook with laughter. “Your friends are great,” he whispered.
Teddy exhaled and, for the first time that night, let herself relax (or as much as one could relax while watching a blood-splatter-filled movie). She rested her head on Everett’s shoulder as he put his arm around her, and then she caught Eleanor’s eye. Eleanor winked and went back to watching the movie.
This was all okay, she realized. Everett wasn’t Richard, and she could be with him while still having her own dreams. She had friends and her own life, and she might not fully know what she wanted to do with it yet, but she was starting to feel happy.
Eleanor and Kirsten screamed as someone on-screen brandished a knife, and Everett looked down at Teddy.
“Why are you smiling? Do you love this?” he asked, laughing.
“Yeah,” Teddy said. “I kind of do.”
51
The next evening, Teddy found herself thinking about Everett’s puppet dilemma. But even more than that, she found herself thinking about something she could do to solve it. And so she sat down in front of the sewing machine, googling things as she went along, making a wardrobe fit for a puppet.
“You know,” Eleanor said after Teddy explained what she was doing, “it isn’t your job to fix this for him.”
“I know,” Teddy said, frowning as the machine jammed. “Come on, Scott.”
“Kirsten and I love Everett, and he’s not Richard. He’s, like, the anti-Richard. Richard was cold and boring and pretentious and—”
“Okay, I get it. Everyone in my life hated Richard,” Teddy said with a small laugh. “I promise, you don’t have to remind me anymore.”
“All I’m saying is, Everett didn’t ask you to do this. He’s not expecting you to drop everything to solve his problems.”
Teddy opened the top of the machine, moved the thread around a bit, and shut the top again. “I know that,” she said as the machine started. “But . . . I’m actually enjoying this. Is that weird?”
Eleanor smiled. “No! It’s great. You deserve to do something fun. Just . . . make sure it’s really for you, okay?”
“It is!” Teddy said a bit defensively, and Eleanor left it there. But hours later, when Teddy was standing in front of Everett’s door with a puppet-sized dress in her hands, she started to wonder if Eleanor was right. Was she doing it again? Was she melding her life to someone else’s, letting someone else’s passion take over her own?