Happy Halloween(Marla) Nina sighed as she waited for Beth to finish using the copy machine. The woman seemed to always be using it when Nina needed it. Nina found Beth irritating. Beth wasn’t unkind or obnoxious. Beth was just so…basic. In fact, she was downright boring. She always dressed in pretty much the same outfit - a skirt, a blouse, sometimes a cardigan. She never told amazing stories about her weekends. She was just Beth. Whenever there was a company potluck breakfast, she brought blueberry muffins. Blueberry muffins! Every time! She’d smile and say, “If it ain’t broke, right?” which was so cliche! And the weird thing was that everyone raved about her stupid muffins. Nina had shared her opinion of Beth with more than a few coworkers, but if Beth knew it, she never showed it.

Beth finished her task and smiled pleasantly at Nina as she went back to her desk.

Nina made her copies and returned to her own seat, trying to concentrate on her work and forget that she had had to wait yet again for Beth to hurry up already with the copy machine.

She moved a stack of papers aside to reach for her coffee mug. In honor of Halloween, she had been using her Halloween mug. It was painted to look as if it were wrapped like a mummy, and it said “Mummy needs coffee!” She’d bought it because she thought it was funny, since she didn’t have kids. She did, however, have an iguana. Well, tomorrow would be a great day, because she planned to wear her Halloween costume to work.

The next morning, Nina dressed up in her pirate costume. It was perfect - sexy, but not so much so that she couldn’t wear it to work. She styled her hair and did her make up, grabbed a toy parrot, and went out the door. She listened to her favorite music all the way to work. It was going to be a great day. Work was always more casual and more fun on holidays.

She was the first to arrive, which didn’t bother her a bit. She’d have a chance to see everyone else’s costumes as they arrived. Sam showed up first, and he apparently had decided not to dress up. But he wouldn’t. He hadn’t dressed up the year before, either. Josie came next. She took off her coat, and Nina could see that she was dressed entirely in black, which was just kind of an easy way to handle the day. Nina sat back down. She didn’t want to keep peeking over her cubicle.

A few minutes later, she grabbed her coffee mug and headed to the breakroom for her first cup of coffee. Boring Beth was there, of course, filling her own mug. She wasn’t dressed up, but that didn’t surprise Nina at all. Beth turned and started to smile, but then said, “Oh!”

“What?” asked Nina.

“Umm, why are you dressed like a pirate?”

“Umm, let’s see. Because it’s Halloween?” Nina said, aware that she sounded rather juvenile, and wishing that she said something else.

Beth said, “But tomorrow’s Halloween.”

“What? Oh, no. Tell me you’re joking,” said Nina.

“I’m not,” said Beth.

Of course she wasn’t. Boring Beth never joked about anything.

Nina’s face flushed with embarrassment. “What am I going to do? This is awful.”

Beth walked past her quickly and pushed the break room door closed. Then she locked it. “Don’t worry. Not everyone is here yet, so not everyone knows. I always keep an extra change of clothes and shoes here. Do you want to borrow them?” Beth’s voice, usually so boring, was now comforting.

Nina said gratefully, “Really? That would be wonderful.”

Beth smiled and said, “Stay here. Give me three minutes.” She returned with a small bag. “Here you go.”

Inside the locked break room, Nina quickly changed. Then she bundled her costume under her arm and went quickly to the bathroom to remove some of the makeup. She checked herself in the mirror. She was wearing a black skirt, a blue shirt, and low-heeled black shoes. Beth’s boring clothes. But, turning a few times to see herself in the mirror, she saw that she didn’t look bad. Not bad at all. Maybe Beth did know a few things when it came to clothing. And then Nina felt ashamed. So many times, she had said unkind things about Beth, and now Beth was helping her! And in that moment Nina felt sure that Beth DID know that Nina had talked about her. But why, then, had Beth been so willing to help her?

Nina walked back to her desk and hid the costume and boots under her desk. Then she went to Beth’s desk to give her back the bag. She wanted to say, “I didn’t deserve this kindness. I’ve said mean things about you.” But she didn’t. Instead, she said, “Thank you, Beth.” She said it with sincerity.

Beth smiled and said, “You’re welcome, Nina.” No sarcasm. No bitterness. Only true kindness.

That evening, Nina was at the store when she saw a long-sleeved black shirt that someone had paired with a Halloween kitty ears headband. Nina rolled her eyes. “How basic,” she almost said aloud. Then she had a thought. She bought the shirt and headband.

The next day, again in her pirate costume, Nina went to work. When Nina arrived, she gave Beth back the clothes (freshly laundered) and shoes. Then she gave Beth a small shopping bag. “Wear it if you want to. It’s okay if you don’t.”

Beth peeked into the bag. “That might be fun.” She and Nina exchanged smiles, and Nina went back to her desk.

They did not become best friends, but they did become friends who could help each other, trust each other (Nina eventually apologized for the gossip.), and laugh together. And every Halloween, they dressed up as a pair. It was a yearly reminder of what had made them friends.

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