"What is this stuff, anyway?" Shock asked, squinting at the garishly labled jar. "Pea-nut but-ter? What's it for?"
"It's for poor Rupert." Mrs. Corpse replied with a hurried sigh.
"Huh? The werewolf? What happened to him?"
"I'll take care of it this time." said Sally. In their distraction, she and Mrs. Corpse skipped briskley over Shock's puzzlement. "I just made bread yesterday morning." Sally continued. "We have plenty. I made it very plain too, when I remembered the moon phases.
"Thank you, dear. You're always thinking ahead." Mrs. Corpse said earnestly. The large woman turned back to Shock, extending her hand with expectation. "Jelly?"
"I couldn't find that." Shock answered, shrugging. "Well, I did actually, but I found too much of it. A hundred different ones. There were so many, it was stupid! I was going to ask someone else what we should get, then I forgot to go back..."
Mrs. Corpse slumped her shoulders as if this was the most difficult news she'd received in ages. Sally waved off the crisis.
"The jelly is easy enough." she said. She looked up thoughtfully, going through her pantry shelves inside her head. "I'll manage it with currants. That should be close, don't you think? But it's already after noon. I need to go home and get started, or it won't be finished by tonight."
"What are you doing this for again?" Shock prodded.
"Rupert!" Mrs. Corpse answered with impatience. "It's the new moon tonight! He'll be a mess! Always is!"
"Why ever can't Dr. Finklestein find a way to put a stop to this silliness?" one of the witch sisters interjected, stepping into their discussion. "Isn't there some kind of shot or something? Such mollycoddling!"
The witch's query was directed at Sally, presumably the subject matter expert in what the old doctor could, or couldn't, accomplish. Sally only relieved Shock of the peanut butter jar, murmuring again about needing to get back home to make the jelly before moonrise.
"What ARE you guys doing?" Shock shouted. It was the third time she'd voiced her curiousity. Frustration bubbled over in her shrill voice, since the previous two attempts yielded nothing useful from the townswomen. Downright ungrateful, Shock thought, especially since she'd taken time out of her and the boys' Halloween evening in the human world to wrangle up that weird jar of peanut goo, by request.
"We always make Rupert dinner on the new moon, since he won't come out." Mrs. Corpse at last explained. "Just sits in his house, shivering and crying. It's the same every month. We've tried a few different dishes, but he wouldn't touch a thing before we started with the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I decided we should try those when he goes through his spells, poor thing. We hoped it might make him feel safe, until he's back to normal."
"Well, why isn't anyone else making stuff for him, instead of just you two?" asked Shock.
"You have to be very careful with him." Sally said, nodding. "He's so confused."
"He doesn't remember a thing, not a thing." added Mrs. Corpse. "Doesn't even recognize Jack! He did try to venture out that once, and Jack only tried to help him..."
"He hasn't come out since." Sally said sadly. "During his spells, I mean. And that's just as well. The vampires would be on him in a heartbeat. So to speak."
"Right. So...We deal with him. It's only one night a month." sighed Mrs. Corpse.
"Well. Have at it, ladies." said the witch with a chuckle as she headed back across the square.
Shock laughed in surprise at the revelation. She'd never given much thought to Rupert before, one way or the other. Wait until the boys found out about this... As if reading Shock's mind, Sally raised her finger in the space between them.
"Don't even think about plotting something with Lock and Barrel to tease him!" she warned. "You'll be sorry when he gets his teeth back!"
Shock rolled her eyes, but had to admit that was a good point.