1The Good Heart
This can't continue, the doctor thought. She'll never last. If it was something I could just mend or repair, that would one thing but this is a larger problem. A larger problem owing to a dearth of supplies, of course. It's not Igor's problem, but even so I think he could have done better. Surely an old man like myself can't go rummaging for these things. What to do...what to do...
Jack Skellington lay awake on one edge of the narrow bed in his tower. His bones rested lightly against a soft form arranged beside him. His heart, and his future, perched on more uncertain boundary.
For as long as he had reigned as the famous Pumpkin King, Jack had done so alone. Alone, save for his dog Zero. Jack rarely gave the matter much thought. There was always so much work to be done, so much scaring and terrifying. Once in a blue moon someone would ask him if he'd met any nice female monsters lately. Jack laughed the question off as if the very idea were preposterous. I barely have enough personal time to keep my sanity, let alone to entertain thoughts of a romantic nature, he often grumbled to himself. It didn't help that prospects in that area were decidedly slim, an obvious obstacle, but even had that not been the case, Jack had no idea what kind of girl he would want. Halloweentown women had all certainly tried to catch their king's heart, but he was unresponsive. They just weren't right for him. Years before, in his wilder days, Jack courted many of the best female ghouls and sirens passing through Halloweentown. Back then, the idea of finding a queen to rule by his side hadn't seemed like such a pointless mission. None of his past affairs had lasted very long. It used to discourage him greatly, but now he knew he hadn't really wanted them to. He had never felt what others called "being in love"—until now.
Jack blinked in the darkness. Sally slept soundly beside him, her long red hair spilling in tangled waves over a bare, stitched shoulder. Sally was his dearest friend. She was his confidant, counselor, house-mate, and lover. Jack's thoughts wandered, reviewing events of the past several months.
Sally had come to Jack's home after that most fateful Christmas Eve disaster. A new spark between the Pumpkin King and the soft spoken rag doll was obvious to both of them, but neither anticipated anything more from that evening then a quiet sharing of space. Sitting side by side in Jack's room, Sally uttered a confession regarding her use of fog juice. In turn, Jack expressed a rather overdue mea culpa for his obliviousness. Each had been immensely relieved at the other's acceptance. More comfortable, they decided to try another kiss, since the first on spiral hill had gone so well. The second kiss was another unqualified success. There seemed little reason to stop there. Pure joy, a measure of giddy exhaustion, plus glasses of mulled wine, lead to the pair waking up nose to nose in Jack's bed on Christmas morning. Jack had stammered, trying to think of something to say.
"The doctor," he blurted. "Will he be terribly worried? You've been gone all night after all." He asked this even though he knew the answer. Jack had seen the old man's new creation wheeling him across the snowy square the previous night. Sally simply bit her lip and shook her head. She pulled the wool blanket more tightly around her, peeking timidly over the edge.
"Do you still live with him?", Jack asked, frowning. Another silent "no". He continued.
"Where do you live now, Sally?"
An awkward discussion then unfolded between the new couple. Sally had no where to live anymore. That wasn't right, so why shouldn't she stay in Jack's home? It was quite large after all. Even if they hadn't done what they had done, wouldn't it still have been a completely natural thing to offer a friend who had no where else to go?
"Even if we weren't what we are now, I would still say you should stay here.", Jack reasoned. There are many bedrooms in the main portion of the house. It's quite conceivable that you could live here and we'd never even cross paths most days."
Sally tilted her head, untangling his words. She sat up, still careful to remain under the blanket. She pulled her knees to her chest. Finally, she asked:
"Jack? What are we now?"
"We're in love.", Jack answered after a beat. Sally had smiled at that. She relaxed her death grip on the blanket, if only a little bit, and allowed Jack to take her hand. That was how Sally had come to live with him. She never did get around to choosing her own room, a detail that didn't bother Jack in the least.
Jack's thoughts returned to the present as Sally stirred in her sleep. Her eyes opened slowly.
"Hello.", Jack whispered. The ragdoll blinked. She reached out a small hand toward his ribs, feeling blindly in the darkness. Jack touched her cheek. He glanced over her at a sliver of white light seeping in between the curtains.
"Hang on a moment, Sally."
Jack slid his fingertips across her shoulder as he left the bed. It was a bit of courtesy he had picked up to accommodate his love since she lacked nocturnal sight. He pulled a curtain cord. The fabric panels split neatly, revealing a bright, clear, sky. Silver moonlight flooded the tower. Jack grinned.
"Oh, look at this night!" He motioned for Sally to join him by the window. She complied, leaving the bed slowly as it always took a moment to find her balance after just waking up. Upon reaching Jack's side, Sally exhaled with wonder at the sky.
"That's the king, Cephus," Jack said, pointing to a five star constellation. "And if you follow the king...there is the queen, Cassiopeia. Every king needs a queen, don't you agree?"
Jack realized what he had said the moment it left his mouth. Unable to think of a follow-up, he simply smiled. Sally looked up at him, a hint of surprise in her expression. She returned the smile, leaning into his shoulder.
"I love you," Sally whispered. Jack said nothing, but leaned in and kissed her in response. He wished they could have all the time in the world to stand here by the window, admiring the heavens. Wish as he might, Jack knew that morning would come soon enough, as it always did. He enjoyed his work immensely, but these past months with Sally had revealed a number of preferable diversions. Still, such was life. After all, Halloweentown had lost two months of holiday planning because of his failed Christmas, which put them considerably behind schedule.
"Oh well.", Jack sighed. "Though it pains me to say, I suppose we should get back to bed...and by bed I mean sleep.", he added firmly. Sally giggled at that. Jack pulled the curtains closed once more, overlapping the ends to seal out light. He took Sally's hand, leading her back to bed. They climbed in beside one another and she curled close against his ribs. She wrapped her legs around his reed-thin frame. Jack laughed in the darkness.
"You could be the destruction of Halloween, Sally. You know that don't you?"
"Don't say that Jack.", she said. "Though, it's what they all think."
"I was only teasing love. No one thinks that in any case."
Sally didn't answer, only breathed a small, uncertain noise. Jack rubbed her back.
"Anyone who thinks that is mistaken. Time will correct them. No worries, Sally." Sally sighed once more, but with contentment. Jack felt her body grow heavy against him as she fell into a deep sleep. A short distance away, Zero looked up from his basket. Jack smiled at the ghost dog. Like most dogs, Zero took the smile as an invitation. He floated to the bed and draped his little diaphanous body across Jack's feet.
"What do you think of her boy?", Jack whispered. "She's lovely isn't she? Soft, and gentle, and kind...and so smart. I think life's been wonderful since she's been here with us." Jack paused for a moment. More to himself than to Zero he asked: "What if Sally were to live here forever? If this were really her home? What if Sally were to become my..."
Zero wagged a corner of his sheet. Jack frowned. The thought of marriage terrified him, but not nearly as much as the sudden thought of his existance without Sally. He just couldn't picture her anywhere else. He couldn't imagine a night without her wrapped around him, or a morning waking up alone, just he and Zero setting out for another day of Halloween work with no one to come home to. In an instant, his mind was made up. This had to be done right. Sally's sewing bag hung from the bedpost on her side. Stretching so as not to wake her, Jack moved his long arm across the ragdoll's body. He reached into the bag and removed a small spool of thread. Breaking off a short length of the thread, Jack slipped it around Sally's finger forming a loop. He then removed the loop and knotted it. Jack smiled at the tiny circle for a moment. He placed the item on the floor where it would be easily retrieved in the morning. He kissed Sally once more, then settled into sleep.