Luc pointed down the hall and took out his fangs. “Bathroom. She’ll be out in a minute. Thanks for giving up your Halloween night and watching Chris.”
“Happy to spend time with my favorite creeper.”
Luc shook his head, “He’s all about Minecraft these days. Brandee says all the kindergarteners are. But she doesn’t want him to watch any of the videos on YouTube.”
“Videos? I thought it was a game.”
“Oh, yeah. Videos of songs about Minecraft, videos of people playing Minecraft, and on and on.” Luc rolled his grey eyes.
“Got it.”
“Brandee wanted me to tell you there’s brisket and twice-baked potatoes from Jessie’s Pub in the fridge. Make sure you eat some. Are you sure it’s okay if we aren’t back until after eleven?”
“I’ll make a giant plate, and it’s no problem at all. Enjoy yourselves!”
Luc smiled widely, “Thanks again.”
“Hey there!” Brandee said. She was tall and curvy and usually had long, wavy blonde hair, but today it was jet black. She was wearing a tight, low-cut dress with flowing cuffs that went down to the floor.
“Okay, Morticia, slay.” Hannah gave her friend a careful hug.
“You look super cute, too! Love the sweater!”
Hannah did a little curtsy, and then she took off her hat and put it on the kitchen counter. She sat down at the table next to Luc. “Thanks, it’s from work.”
“I figured. So, Chris has eaten his weight in candy and we put the rest of it away. He can stay up until eight-thirty because it’s Halloween and there’s no school tomorrow. Please make sure he brushes his teeth. We’ll worry about a bath tomorrow.”
“If he gives me a hard time, I’ll just usethe voice.” She dropped her voice at least an octave.
Brandee gave her a quick hug. “I knew I could count on you.”
“Anytime.” Hannah walked over to Chris. “Hey, buddy, aren’t you going to say trick or treat to me?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Hannah watched Brandee and Luc take their coats off the hooks by the door and put on their shoes. The door clicked open and shut as they left.
“Do you have candy?” Chris asked, not taking his eyes off the TV.
“Better than that. She reached into her pocket and crinkled the little gift bag she’d brought.
Like opening a can of cat food had Smoky running over to her at home, the scrunching sound of a gift got Chris to drag his eyes away from the TV and run over to her.
“What is it, Auntie? Oh, I forgot, Trick or Treat!”
“Here you go!”
Chris dumped out the small bag that held a small container of Play-Doh, a top that lit up when you spun it, and a neon orange bouncy ball with a jack-o’-lantern face.
“This is awesome, Auntie Hannah! What is this?” He held up the little top.
She ruffled his thick dark hair and then showed him how to spin the top so it glowed.
“Bruh, that’s so cool!” He grabbed it and made it spin himself.
Dollar store for the win!Hannah couldn’t believe he’d called her bruh. She’d have to ask Brandee when kindergarten had corrupted her sweet little Chris. She laughed at herself and got up to make a plate of carryout from Jessie’s Pub.
A few minutes later, she’d made herself cozy on the couch and was eating her dinner. Chris had abandoned the top and the bouncy ball and was driving a Matchbox car over the flattened Play-Doh on the coffee table. She pulled out her phone, remembering her plan to send a fun and sexy selfie to Kate. Maybe she’d think of something to say later, or maybe Kate would text her first. That would be amazing and would squash the little doubts that kept bubbling up. She’d brought her tarot cards with her, and tonight she planned on asking the cards where things were going with Kate. She could start with a one-card pull to ask if the selfie was a good idea once Chris went to bed.
AfterToy Story of Terror,Chris wanted to watch Snoopy. So, she put onIt’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.She was surprised at how much Chris paid attention to the decades-old TV special. Hannah hadn’t spent time watching TV specials on Halloween nights when she was a kid. As far back as she could remember, she’d divide up her candy, leaving the stuff she didn’t like in a bowl on the kitchen table and hid the rest in the back of her closet where her parents and her brothers wouldn’t find it. She’d always saved the fun-sized Snickers bars for last because they were the closest to real food and good to have available when there wasn’t anything in the house to eat.
