“Hey Deej, is your sister still a realtor?”
Chapter 22
Elle
The sky is a brilliant blue, and the breeze makes me glad I layered up for the pumpkin patch. I twisted my hair in a braid and put a beanie on before I met Sadie at the pumpkin patch. It’s pretty late in the season and all the best pumpkins have been picked, but that’s fine, what pumpkins are left tend to make for the most interesting Jack-o-Lanterns. Some of the pumpkins will have soft spots, but we can just carve those parts out. Halloween is this upcoming Wednesday, so they don’t need to last long.
Sadie waves me over, her blonde hair in a high ponytail and her pumpkin earrings dangling as she hands me a cup of hot cider. “Hold this and I’ll take our annual pumpkin patch picture.” She positions her phone on the railing of the fence for the hayride out of the field and snaps a picture using the timer after she positions how she wants us. “Cute.” She says after examining the photo.
“Send it to me. Please” I add.
“Already did!” Sadie knows how important photos are to me. I like to look back at my memories. “Now, let’s drink our cider and look for pumpkins that are usable!”
I smile and get in line with her for the hayride to take us to the pumpkin patch. We stand in line for what seems like forever before we’re ushered on the wagon. “I like this type of hayride a lot better than last night’s.”
Sadie gives me a sympathetic look. “Was it that bad for you?”
“You know I hate scary things. Having Archer to snuggle with after was a huge help though. I didn’t have to worry about anything getting me knowing that there was a 6’4, 220 something pound, man next to me that could probably fight anything off.” I smirk.
“Mmm. I bet that’s nice.” Sadie nudges me. “Did you have fun though last night? I had a lot of fun. I loved having a big group like that, reminds me of my friend group from college ya know.”
“I did have fun! I really liked Deej and Mack.” I pause before continuing, “Did Phoenix seem off to you last night?” “He did seem more grandstand-y than normal, but I mean, he might have felt like, I don’t know, small? Compared to literal giant ass football players.” Sadie comments. “I mean let’s flip the script here for a second, let’s pretend we were around a bunch of Taylor Swifts, don’t you think we would be weird too?”
“No, you’re right, I guess I’m just so used to the Phoenix we know that it was just really odd to see how he acted last night at the festival.”
Before we can discuss things further the wagon jostles us, spilling our cider as itstops at the patch. The teen boy working explains what we need to do when we find a pumpkin we want and then lets us loose in the field.
Sadie and I split up looking for pumpkins we can use for Trunk or Treat and our classrooms. I find a few and mark them and then head over to Sadie as she calls my name.
“Hold these, right…. Here.” She grins wickedly as she positions two smaller pumpkins right at boob level. “I did promise your boyfriend a companion piece to the titty pumpkin painting.” She snaps several pictures and then sends them to me and Archer in a group message.
I’m laughing so hard I snort as I set down the pumpkins. My phone buzzes in the pocket of my leggings and I pull it out to see a separate message from Archer.
Man Giant: how much do I need to pay Sadie to get you to do that topless?
Rolling my eyes I type out a response, hit send, and continue my search for usable pumpkins.
After Sadie and get what we deem is an appropriate amount of pumpkins for our pumpkin stations and Trunk or Treat, we ride back to the main part of the farm and continue to enjoy the beautiful weather.
We wander around the farm. The sun still warms the air, the breeze from earlier picks up carrying the scent of dry hay, cider, and just a hint of woodsmoke from a distant bonfire. We pass the corn maze. A scarecrow stands at the edge, its plaid shirt faded from weeks in the sun, straw peeking from its cuffs like wild hair.
The petting zoo is nearby. As we pass we see goats perched on stumps, sheep laying in the shade, andthe world’s chillest pony that flicks its tail lazily while toddlers reach out to touch its soft coat. Chickens roam their coops looking for children to terrorize and a peacock struts through the enclosure. Most of the animals seem to enjoy having visitors as it means treats are given as part of a donation incentive. Wrinkling our noses as we pass by the animal stink we beeline for the concessions.
Sadie and I grab another cup of cider to replace the ones that perished to the hands of the wagon as well as a pack of donuts to split between the two of us. We make our way down a row of stalls that line the gravel path, their decorations weathered but still colorful. There are garlands of faux leaves, wooden signs painted with phrases like “Hello, Pumpkin” and “Witch Better Have My Candy.”
We stop to inspect each stall. Sadie purchases a new wreath for her front door. I end up purchasing a “If you’re not Archer Bell, then I’m not answering the door” welcome mat. I had to because it made both Sadie and I laugh when we passed it.
“Okay,” Sadie pauses outside my car. “Don’t be mad when I tell you this.”
“You know that’s not the way to start a sentence if you want to instill confidence.” I arch my eyebrow and open my trunk, putting my welcome mat in with my pumpkins. “What did you do?”
“Nothing BAD.” Sadie explains. “I just bought a Tyson McCreery jersey to wear to Wolves games. I thought it would be kind of weird if I wore yourboyfriend’s jersey.”
“Right. Weird.” I smirk. “Are you sure it had nothing to do with how cozy you two were last night?” Sadie shoots me a look, and I drop my line of questioning, I do however keep my grin plastered on my face. “So will you have this jersey in time for tomorrow’s game?”
“Yes, I bought it in the store.” Sadie states, like she doesn’t online shop for literally everything else. However, I keep that thought to myself.
“Well. I can’t wait to get pictures of us to send to the men in our jerseys tomorrow.” I state, noting how Sadie blushes ever so slightly. “It’s supposed to be cold though, so I’m wearing some of my cold weather running gear under the jersey along with my Wolves beanie. Do you need some?” I ask.
