Sam was already scowling when he opened his front door. Not a good start. ‘Hiya, Sam. It’s Halloween crafts day in the village hall on Saturday and I wondered if you’d like to come.’ He opened his mouth but she carried on. ‘It usually turns into a bit of a party because there’s hot dogs and punch. Might be a good opportunity for you to meet a few other residents.’
‘Halloween is weeks away.’
Not the response she’d hoped for but still a response. ‘Two weeks. It’s to get the children in the spirit of things with making broomsticks, autumn wreaths, scary masks – that sort of thing.’
‘Don’t tell me the village is big on Halloween as well as Christmas.’ He sighed heavily.
She didn’t like his tone. ‘Big? It’s huge. We turn Holly Cross into a ghost town and recreate Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video on the green.’ His eyes widened. ‘Has Leonora not dropped off your zombie costume yet?’
He wagged a finger at her. ‘You’re joking. You almost had me there. I don’t suppose the Christmas thing is an elaborate hoax too by any luck?’
‘No, that’s very real. We use events to bring the community together throughout the year. There’s the Valentine’s dinner, Easter Egg Hunt, Summer Fete and at Halloween all the children dress up and go trick-or-treating. It’s a lovely evening.’
‘Not in my experience. Kids high on sugar, banging on your front door, kicking pumpkins up the street and egging your house – not my idea of fun. Anyway trick-or-treating is basically begging with menaces.’ He gave her a broad smile.
‘What is wrong with you?’ It came out more forcefully than she would have liked and it certainly wasn’t the subtle coaxing of finding out his underlying Christmas issues that she’d planned.
Sam pulled his head in. ‘What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with this village? Do you think it’s normal to decorate your house every five minutes? To do everything together? Because it’s not.’
‘It’s called community and more importantly it’s fun. You should try it sometime.’ They were snapping at each other now.
He looked genuinely hurt by her words. ‘I’m fun!’
‘Prove it.’ She put her hands on her hips. ‘Pumpkin picking and Halloween crafts are from ten until two thirty Saturday.’ She slapped a leaflet against his chest and stormed off.
13
23rdOctober
Vicky loved Halloween probably even more than she loved Christmas but she daren’t mention that to Leonora. Leonora was fully focused on Christmas and generally gave the Halloween events a wide berth. No one person was really in charge of Halloween; it just sort of happened with the help of everyone getting involved. Sarvan and Jassi from the pub were a big part of Halloween as the Highway Inn was usually decked out in spooky trimmings and the focus for adults on Halloween because they always did a themed buffet and special cocktails – quite the money spinner. It had got Vicky thinking that perhaps she was missing an opportunity. She lived in a village that people travelled to for events throughout the year. There had to be some way of her using that to make a bit more extra cash – she just had to figure out how.
Eden was also a fan of Halloween, mainly because of the unlimited sweets, and had been pondering over her costume for some weeks. She had whittled it down to witch, vampire or a character fromPaw Patrol. Vicky was hoping she’d go for witch because that was the easiest costume to source and also the cheapest as she had accessories from previous years.
‘Blythe!’ yelled Eden, the moment they set foot on the village hall steps.
‘Hey, lovely. Are you excited?’
‘I am. This year I’m going to be a vampire Marshall on a broom!’ she declared, before running off to join the other children.
‘What’s a vampire marshal?’ asked Blythe, hugging her friend in greeting.
‘Marshall is a character fromPaw Patrol. It looks like I’ll be making a vampire dog costume this year.’ Vicky was already wondering exactly what that would look like.
‘I met a vampire dog the other day. She went by the name of Honey. Looked like she’d rip your throat out on command.’
‘Nice. Does she need a dog walker?’ asked Vicky. Business was business and if she could walk Princess she could probably walk any dog.
‘Don’t think so.’
Sarvan came over and greeted them both warmly. ‘You guys know there’s soup back at the hall after the pumpkin picking? And the usual buffet on Halloween at the pub?’ He held up a leaflet for the latter.
‘We’ll be there,’ said Blythe.
‘What’s the soup?’ asked Vicky.
‘Spicy pumpkin of course,’ he said, with a grin. ‘Or witch’s brew with eye of toad for the kids.’ Vicky gave him a look. ‘Creamy tomato with spinach croutons,’ he added.
They chatted as more and more people arrived. Everyone in the village with children had turned out and most of the other residents too. It didn’t matter that their children had grown up and left home; it was still fun to get together with others and watch the children choose their pumpkins.
