The Last Waltz

Chapter 27

Poppy was sure Mary would pick a romantic costume for herself and Isaac, such as Romeo and Juliet or Bell and the Beast, but they got Jessica Rabbit and Roger Rabbit.

Jessica's costume was fabulous. The long, skin-tight red sequined dress fit perfectly. She had to call her mother and aunt for advice on how to get her hair just right, but the overall look was spectacular, and he felt sexy in the stiletto heels.

She could hear the music from the DJ in the great hall filling the castle and was excited for everyone to start arriving. As she started to pull on her long gloves, there was a knock on the door, and she called for them to enter. When she looked up to see who it was in the mirror and saw a giant bearded rabbit standing in her doorway, she couldn't help but start laughing.

He was a grumpy rabbit.

"Oh, poor Mr. Rabbit!" she cooed as she walked up next to him and left a big red kiss on his cheek. "There, now the costume is perfect!"

Isaac stepped back, looked at her, and shook his head.

"What is something amiss?" she asked in a deep husky, knowing she looked good as she ran her hands down her hips and gave a little shimmy.

Isaac growled, a sound she hadn't heard in a long time, and a thrill chased through her at the sound of it.

"Don't worry," she said, throwing her arms around his furry neck. "Jessica belongs to Roger Rabbit."

Their eyes met, and Poppy was lost.

A moment later, they heard Peter coming toward them, making whooshing noises as he ran down the hall with his Superman cape extended behind him, and Mary was trailing behind him in her witch costume.

When her uncle turned to look at her with a grumpy face, she started laughing.

"You could have made me Eddie at the very least and saved my dignity," he grumbled.

"But Jessica didn't love Eddie. She loved Roger," Mary said as if it made perfect sense. "You said I could pick out the costumes."

"I didn't, your Mom did!" Isaac shot Poppy a displeased look.

"I'm happy with mine," Poppy said, looking at herself in the mirror again.

"You look beautiful!" Mary said in awe.

Isaac muttered something under his breath and stomped off.

"Wait until Aunt Siobhan gets a look at you. She's downstairs looking over the food, trying to find something wrong." Mary rolled her eyes.

"What's her costume?" Poppy asked, picking up her cigarette holder and joining the children in the hall.

"She's a cat," Peter said as he ran ahead with his cape flying behind him.

"Yeah, she didn't try very hard. She's wearing a black bodysuit with a tail and ears, and she drew on the whiskers and a nose." Mary stopped on the landing in front of a massive full-length mirror. "Let's get our photo."

She and Poppy stopped, with Peter popping his head in at the last moment, just as she took the photo. When she looked at it, she smiled, liking it.

"We good?" Poppy asked, noting that her red hair looked perfect for the costume. Mary had chosen well. "I don't care what your dad says, I love my costume," Poppy assured Mary, who grinned.

They continued down the stairs, and Mary cackled under her breath as Siobahn looked up and saw Poppy, her face turning pink in dissatisfaction.

"Siobhan, I'm glad you could make it!" Poppy said as she reached the bottom of the steps.