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Prompt: pumpkin picking

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(magic in the night) when pumpkins glow by moonlight

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"Mommy! I want this one!"

Melissa made a vague noise of agreement, before she nodded absently, and took a gulp from her extra-large hazelnut coffee with a turbo shot from Dunkin' Donuts. It might seem heartless, but to be fair, this was almost the fiftieth time that her four-year-old son Eric had said this about a pumpkin. The absolute cuteness had worn off after the fifth or sixth time watching him squat down and inspect the pumpkin and look up with a bright smile declaring it the one.

"That's a great find, buddy," her husband, Shawn, said with false enthusiasm.

She leaned over to give a kiss to his jacket covered shoulder, because Shawn had finished his own coffee—extra-large, black—an hour ago at the petting zoo. He was an amazing husband and father, but he just didn't do kid friendly places unless it was pumpkin picking in fall or Santa in December.

Taking another long sip, wanting to savor the flavor, and needing that boost of caffeine, Melissa waved her family off as Eric yanked his father by the hand over to another but larger pumpkin. It was then that she saw them—alerted to their presence by the female's sweet giggle.

The male of the pair was gorgeous; fit muscular figure dressed in dark jeans and a fitted grey sweater, a chiseled face with dark-blue eyes. His female companion was just as beautiful, wearing a cute pink coat with matching knit-cap, golden blond hair flowing in waves that made her envious and bright blue eyes wide behind stylish glasses. They made quite the striking pair and she was unable to take her eyes from them.

Must be newlyweds, she thought, as she observed their interactions. How the man never took his eyes off her, always in physical contact and listening intently to every word that passed through pink painted lips. The way her eyes lit with his every smile or nod of his head.

It made Melissa feel slightly wistful for that time in her life. Though, Shawn had never looked like that, she thought with a quirk of her lips and taking another drink. Nor had her husband ever once looked at her the way this man watched the beauty at his side. This was the stuff romance novels were made of—the kind she read whenever there was a spare minute of peace and wanted to escape for a while. Never did she think this kind of love existed.

As they came closer, the little blond bent down to intently examine a pumpkin on the larger size. "Do you think this'll work?" she questioned, continuing before the man had a chance to respond. "I want one that's big, but not too large," she paused to scowl at her companion when he raised his brows and smiled smugly, "you know that's not what I meant! Anyway! The size should be large enough to fit the Sorting Hat, but not so much that there's more pumpkin than carving."

The man chuckled with a deeply with a smile, while Melissa hid her own smile behind her cup of coffee. This woman could talk faster than she breathed and she'd always found people like that interesting.

"Felicity," he said dragging the syllables in a smooth voice. "I'm sure you'll find the perfect pumpkins to use," his voice softened in tone to sooth.

"I want to wow the Geek Squad," the woman, Felicity a name that suited her, declared with emphasis, seeming to reference something that made the man smile faux-innocently. "Oliver, these pumpkins must become perfect Jack-O-Lanterns! We need at least five; I want the Sorting Hat, the TARDIS, R2-D2 and C-3PO, BB-8, and the sigil for House Stark," she paused to take a deep breath and give a firm nod, "then maybe some smaller ones to carve into faces."

Melissa bit her lip to keep herself from laughing at the utterly bemused look on the handsome Oliver's face, while listening to her son's childish voice with half and ear. Not even she understood it all; only the Harry Potter and Game of Thrones references.

"That's… Uh, that's a lot of Jack-O-Lanterns, hun," he murmured, eyes wide. "Are we trying to burn out nice new house down?"

Felicity rolled her eyes dramatically with a snort. "No. We'll only set a few on the porch to decorate. My masterpieces will stay indoors where demon teens can't harm them. Also, I read online that you can light them with glow sticks to prevent fires, and it's safer for children. Like little Sara who might visit sometime," she explained in a firm voice, maintaining eye contact with her other half who only looked on adoringly.

She considered what the blond said about glow sticks; it was an excellent idea and Melissa was left to wonder why she'd never heard of it before. Or at least how perfect Barbra Henshaw from down the block with her picture perfect family hadn't had it typed in bold and highlighted on her yearly list of what's Halloween appropriate that she mailed out to all the families.

Smiling wickedly, Melissa mentally said her goodbyes to the romance novel couple and wishing them luck with their Jack-O-Lanterns, in return for the wonderful idea the talkative blond had given her. Drinking the last of her coffee, she walked off in the direction of her family with renewed energy.

"Alright little man, daddy and I are going to pick out three of your favorite pumpkins to take home now!" Melissa said with a grin, carding her fingers through his dark hair. "It's time to go, we've been here long enough now. So no pouting."

"What's got you so excited, Mel?" her husband asked, with a puzzled frown.

Impulsively she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "I got the idea to use glow sticks to put in the pumpkins from this other couple," she explained excited, "figured it'd give me and Lauren the chance to wipe that self-righteous look off perfect Babs face!"

"Alright. We'll stop at the little shop before we leave to pick up some," he said with a chuckle of amusement.

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[End]