“If you’re sure.”
I stepped back and nodded. “I’m excited to go out incognito. Believe me.”
I grabbed the leather satchel I’d found at the same thrift store and looped it over my neck and shoulders. I checked my keys, money, and phone and flew down the stairs and out the back door where my old yellow VW Bug was parked.
I paused at the door.
This car wasn’t exactly inconspicuous. Maybe I should have my dad drop me off. I’d probably have to park a long way off anyway.
Stop being a nervous Nelly.No one would notice it. Heck, people probably didn’t even remember the car anymore. It would be just one of many that needed to be picked up later when the parade was over.
I tossed the bag in the passenger seat and backed out of the garage.
Driving into town caused a huge wave of deja vu. I’d driven the roads a million times. Some of the old staples like Angelito’s and The Daily Scoop ice cream shop were still where I remembered. The bookshop and taco place were new, however. My stomach growled at the idea of tacos.
I was already starving.
I barely got down Destiny Street when the crowds started barring the streets. I found a parking spot near the park and checked my makeup in the mirror. I’d gone simple, only really adding some freckles to the bridge of my nose.
“Here goes nothing,” I said to my reflection. I got out and followed the foot traffic toward the bank where people were signing up for best costume. I bypassed that table and slipped into the crowd.
The kids were happily trunk or treating at festively decorated cars parked on the street while everyone waited for the parade to begin. Vendors were selling street-fair food and a bunch of food trucks were making a killing near town hall. I bought a few soft tacos and ate as I lazily made my way along the sidewalks peeking into the shops that were still open.
There were quite a few empty buildings with leasing signs in the windows.
A familiar drumbeat had me craning me neck. The Haven High marching band always started off the parades. Instead ofour usual red and gold uniforms, they were all dressed up like zombies and playing “Thriller.”
Various vintage convertibles slowly drove down Destiny Street with themed costume couples.
Haven always went all out for the major town holidays.
At the back end of the cars people started following in their costumes. Each store and restaurant was decked out with spooky gear and tried to lure people off the parade with their wares.
They got me a few times, but I was too content to slowly walk with the rest of the parade and to take a left down what used to be Columbus Ave, but now had a shiny new sign decreeing it Reynolds Avenue.
The hometown millionaire had made a name for himself.
It was a circuitous way to the Reynolds farm, but the day was so nice I didn’t mind the walk.
I was used to running five miles on my treadmill to keep me in shape to run around for two hours a night. I found myself dancing with the kids in their adorable costumes. I was surprised to see so many dressed up inThe Princess Bridecharacters, but the little girl beside me made an adorable Princess Buttercup with her long, wavy blond hair.
A surprising pang hit me out of left field.
Kids had never really been on my radar. I’d been so career focused for the last five years that there had been no room for it. Julian certainly hadn’t been father material.
Shaking off the memories of my ex, I had to laugh at the influx of teens whojoined the parade from a nearby development. The sweetly adorable costumes were now of a distinctly adult flavor. Sabrina Carpenter costumes led the pack as well as tight fitting Avengers and DC superheroes. And of course the usual witch, vampires, and zombies with a smattering of cops and firemen.
Small-town America might be changing with the encroaching tech world, but Halloween always brought people into town.
I kept hearing people talking about the Reynolds farm. The small-town rumor mill was always brewing up some hot tea. Evidently it was supposed to be the ultimate end of the parade.
I started to lose some steam. The tacos and funnel cake I’d eaten made me glad I had a fluffy sweater to hide how tight the band on my skirt was at that point. But when we rounded the bend, two twenty-foot Frankensteins tied to a massive arch had everyone talking. A far cry from the old farm sign of my childhood. I remembered the small farm stand Mrs. Reynolds had run right through my high school days.
Now, the weathered wood was replaced with a wrought iron fence at the end of the drive. Instead of closing off the property, it gave it a grand entrance. I couldn’t quite read the sign under it, but a temporary banner declaring Haven Halloween Haunts flapped in the breeze.
The cars that had been slowly leading the charge were now parked along the winding road that led to the Reynolds farm.
My mother hadn’t been kidding about the changes to the farm.
