“It’s okay.” Autumn dished out candy to the four boys on her stoop. “Everyone’s still trying to get used to it.”
“I like your costume! Pinocchio!” another boy shouted. “Does the nose grow?”
I snickered and she shot me a hard look. “No, but I don’t lie anyway.”
“Hey, Mr. J, why aren’t you dressed up?” Deon called.
Autumn put the orange candy-filled bowl under her arm and waited for my answer. My retribution for laughing at her.
It was disturbing how badly I wanted her to keep those suspenders on in bed. “I don’t dress up.”
“Why not?”
“There’s no trick-or-treating where I live.” Perhaps in some neighborhoods, but not in Silver, I left it at that.
Deon grimaced like he couldn’t imagine living in such a dystopia. “Bye, Js!”
He darted off with the rest of the boys.
I took the bowl from Autumn as she shut the door. “I have no idea what any of them are dressed as.”
“Deon’s a wrestler. I can’t remember the name, but there was just a movie about him. Caleb’s Iron Man, Joséis Spider-Man, and Lakin looked like some vaguely familiar anime character. I think I heard him say he was going super saiyan.”
“What’s that mean?”
“I’ve been told over the years, but my head spins, and I start getting fandom terms mixed up. I think it’s like superpowerful.”
More kids piled onto the stoop. The sounds of them arguing over who got to ring the doorbell came through the door.
Autumn put her hand on the doorknob but didn’t turn it. “I’d better wait, or I’ll upset the balance.”
The doorbell dinged. Sprinkles was nowhere to be seen. I couldn’t imagine a rescue like her sticking around for the chaos that was doorbells and handing out treats.
Every time Autumn answered the door, cheerful shouts of “Miss K” and “Mrs. J” would ring out. Autumn would chat with each kid and their parents, and even more kids would peek in at me, shamelessly curious. Many of them shouted a greeting.
I couldn’t walk through the hall of Silver and get this many greetings.
While Autumn doled out treats, I marveled over how good those absurd shorts made her ass look.
During a lull, she shoved the bowl into my arms. “I’ve got to go to the bathroom.”
Panic crowded inside my chest. “Wait—what—how many?” My desperation reached new heights when I counted only about ten pieces left. “What if I run out?”
“Two pieces each.” She disappeared down the hallway. “There’s another bag in the cupboard by the fridge,” she called.
The doorbell rang and I froze like a deer in the middle of an interstate.
It rang again and someone shouted, “I already pushed it” on the other side. If they pressed the button again, Autumn would think I couldn’t handle this simple of a job.
I opened the door to find three little wide-eyed girls staring up at me.
“Where’s Miss K?” the tallest one asked.
Another girl elbowed her. “It’s Mrs. J now.”
The third bounced up and down, her fluffy skirts shaking. “Trick or treat!”
I wasn’t about to announce Autumn was in the bathroom. “She’ll be back.”
