‘Not exactly.’ Blythe shook her head. ‘It was still attached but not by much. Thank goodness the owners were more bothered that they’d forgotten about the viewing and for leaving the place in a state. That definitely got me out of sourcing another Justin. That would have been an interesting one to explain on my expenses claim.’
Vicky took a breath to calm the giggles. ‘You should have brought him tonight.’
‘Who?’ asked Blythe.
‘Nearly-headless Justin. We could have taken him trick-or-treating. Although a complete Justin is probably scarier.’ She shivered at the thought. Vicky wasn’t a fan.
‘Come on, Mum!’ yelled Eden from downstairs.
‘Eden’s been ready since four o’clock,’ said Vicky, putting on her giant alien head. She didn’t see why you had to stop dressing up once you were an adult. If she was going out on Halloween then she was entering into the full spirit of things. She wasn’t alone; quite a few of the village residents dressed up. Blythe wasn’t one of them. ‘Are you sure you don’t want Eden’s witch’s hat from last year?’
‘Certain. Come on,’ she said, leading the way back downstairs.
Thanks to the foam head Vicky couldn’t see where she was going and missed her footing. ‘Cra—’
Blythe spun around and grabbed hold of her.
‘I’m fine. I’m fine,’ she announced, hanging on to the rail and righting herself. ‘For a moment there I thought I was going to get Biebered,’ she said, setting off her giggles again.
Eden was waiting for them at the bottom. ‘What are you doing?’ asked the creature, with its hands on its hips. Vicky had struggled with Eden’s outfit because they couldn’t agree on exactly how to put together the vampire-Marshall concept and Vicky was also restricted by cost. Some of the children in Eden’s class had their pick of outfits because Mum and Dad could afford to buy them whatever they wanted. Vicky couldn’t do that but she also didn’t believe that was what Halloween was about anyway. Homemade outfits were more in the spirit of the evening and a darn sight cheaper.
Eden was wearing a furry trapper hat Vicky had found in a charity shop and had added felt ears to. Thanks to face paint Eden had bushy eyebrows, a shiny black nose and a beard. A red jumper and thePaw Patrolbackpack she got for her birthday completed the look that Vicky was calling Were-Patrol.
‘You look amazing,’ said Blythe, planting a kiss on Eden’s hat.
‘No, I don’t,’ said Eden, with a fierce pout.
‘Oh… um…’ Blythe looked unsure what to say.
‘I look super scary so I’ll scare people into giving me lots and lots of sweets.’
Vicky was relieved. ‘You are super scary. Come here, strange earth creature.’ She grabbed her squealing daughter and after a tickle fight and a cuddle they headed for the door.
*
Thankfully it was a dry evening and not too cold. Not that the children ever noticed. They were far too busy running around. Many of the houses they visited had made a real effort with their decorations. One had fake cobwebs all over their front garden and a giant spider guarding their front door. Another had a skeleton with flashing red eyes that reared up as they approached and scared Blythe, which Eden couldn’t stop laughing at. All the houses they visited proudly had their pumpkins on display.
This year Arthur’s pumpkin hadHappy Halloweencarved into it. Eden knocked on the door and it opened a crack. ‘Who dares to wake the Mummy?’ asked Arthur, in a croaky voice.
Eden giggled. ‘It’s me, Eden. I’m a Were-Marshall fromPaw Patrol,’ she shouted, through the gap.
‘Oh, that’s okay then,’ said Arthur, in his normal voice, opening the door fully to reveal himself wrapped from head to toe in white toilet roll. He offered Eden a bowl of chocolate bars and while she was mulling over her options he spoke to Vicky and Blythe. ‘Evening, ladies.’
‘Hi, Arthur,’ said Vicky. ‘Great costume. I might nick that idea for next year.’ She loved something she could do on a budget.
‘Top tip,’ said Arthur, handing them each a mini Mars bar. ‘Buy the quilted because the cheap stuff breaks and you end up looking like the Andrex puppy with sheets left all over the house.’ He shook his head wisely.
‘Happy Halloween, Arthur,’ said Blythe.
‘Thank you,’ said Eden, taking something from the bowl. ‘Happy Halloween!’ she called, as she skipped off to the next house.
On their rounds they encountered all manner of outfits and folk chorusing ‘Happy Halloween!’ It really was a cheerful party atmosphere that met them wherever they went and none more so than at Phyllis’s; she had made a bucketful of green jelly and hidden the sweets in there for the children to dig out, which they all thought was the best thing ever. Some of the younger ones were slightly confused and also took a handful of jelly thinking that was the treat.
‘Aww, I got slimed,’ said Eden, as she happily shook jelly from her hands.
They turned onto the green and Sam’s cottage came into view. ‘Well, well, well,’ said Vicky, pointing ahead.
16
