"What do you want to go as Maura?" Jane asks as her legs begin swinging by the bed.
"I don't know Jane," she has never celebrated Halloween before, "What is per tradition?"
Jane looks at Maura, feeling sad.
"We can be anything Maura!" She jumps off the bed to sit next to Maura.
"We can go as anything tonight. So, what do you want to be?"
Maura shrugs.
Jane thinks. She walks over to her cupboard to look for ideas. She digs up sheets. She really just wants Maura to have fun. Mrs Isles seems like such a strict mom.
"Come here Maura," she hands her a sheet, "We'll be ghosties! Okay?" She smiles, hopeful.
"Okay Jane," she nods, "What do we have to do?"
"Well first, we draw the eye holes and cut them out so we can see. But we need Ma's help…"
"Will she be okay with us cutting holes in the sheets?
Jane shrugs.
"Maybe? Wait here Maura. I'll go ask."
Jane comes back holding sheets, wearing a smile and nodding.
They draw eyeholes, eat cookies, and wait for Mrs Rizzoli to do the as it be said, adult supervision required actions. The clock hits the seventh hour and let trick-or-treating begin.
"Janie! Hurry! Frankie and Tommy are waiting."
"Yes Ma! One minute!"
"Okay Maura, ready? Can you see where you're going?" She waves her hands along the eye holes.
"Yes Jane, I'm fine. Can you?" She giggles as she imitates the wave.
"Of course Maura! Oh wait!" She digs in her toy box.
"Here!" She hands Maura a crown.
"A crown?"
"Yes, so you can be the ghost princess!"
She blushes under the sheets.
"Thank you Jane, but I'm hardly a princess."
"Well, fine. You're not a princess," she walks over to place the crown on Maura's head anyway, "You're the Queen today, of all the ghosties and the dead. You can be the Queen of the dead tonight!"
They smile beneath the sheets.
"And what would you be wearing?"
"Well, I have to wear this tee-pee tail here," she shows it to Maura, "Because once Ma couldn't find me amongst all the other mummies so she made me wear this tee-pee tail. To identify her little trouble-maker she says. It has J.R. stitched right on it! In capital letters Maura!"
She laughs. "That's just so you won't get lost Jane."
"I'm never lost when I'm with you Maura," she attaches the tail to her pants, "And with my red sox hat on, I'll be identifiable!" Proud at the big word she used.
"Thank you for inviting me Jane," she scratches her nail, nervous, "To trick-or-treat with you."
"Always Maura, you're my bestest friend and I want us to have fun together!"
She knows she can't see it but she looks at Maura with a smile anyway to say, "I just want you happy Maura. I like it when you smile. You look like an angel when you do and that makes me happy so, we should always have fun together! Now come on! Ma's hurrying us!"
They run onto the street, hand-in-hand, excited for the candy.
As the pearly white full moon casts its appropriately eerie glow onto the streets of Boston's suburban homes, we see too Jack-o-lanterns hiding the candles that light their menacing smiles, and if you listen hard enough, you can almost hear the slight cackle of, not witches but of those candles engaging in their soft light cackles of cackling sparks. Almost it seems, as if they're guffawing away in their secret code and frequency at how tasty the wax of the candles may be. Yards littered with toilet paper, roofs adorned with similar rolls for the tricked, and children lined up in front of decorated houses, eager for their turn to yell out the jolly greeting in exchange for their helping of candy.
Older children prowl the streets for easy pickings, but as Angela and Constance are tagging along behind our lovely children, this plot-line will not be followed or taken. Screams resonating from the haunted houses, shouts trailing along each roller coaster's carriage and laughter complements as each little bundle bounces in the bouncy castle. Jolly trick-or-treaters exchanging jokes and greetings as they pass each other; the occasional candy swaps happen too.
Children and adults alike parade alongside each other; some do possess young playful hearts whilst some are guardians of the night. Together a neighbourhood celebrates and a costume parade begins. Children dressed as witches and wizards zooming around on broomsticks, and if you looked closely enough, words like 'firebolt' or 'nimbus two thousand' are carefully etched onto the handles. Princesses and princes make their debuts. Zombies moan and slumber along with vampires, flashing their fanged grins. Sheets of white float along with the ends of their sheets wispy with the wind; ghosts or clouds, takes some discernment. Werewolves perched on the edge of curbs, howling towards the moon; a pack of four harmonizing. Five Batmans, four Supermans, close to seven Iron Mans and three Spidermans passes our little family unit.
A beautiful silence envelopes the family as they settle on the streets. Frankie and Tommy sorting through their acquired stash and each trying to get as many bars of their favourite candy as they can.
"I want the snickers bars Tommy!"
"Well, I want Mars then!"
"You can have Uranus!" He laughs.
"Frankie!"
"Boys," Angela shakes her head, "Share your candy."
"I don't know how you do it Angela," Constance admires the exchange. Maura and she have never been quite as candid.
"We just do what we can, to keep our children safe and happy," she reaches to offer a pat on the shoulder, "You're doing alright Constance. Don't worry your senses away."
They look to their daughters. They watch them sitting on the streets, in their sheets, looking to the stars. They can see the twinkling night-sky matching their twinkly eyes.
"Maura, guess what?" Jane asks.
Maura shakes her head. She doesn't guess.
Jane smiles; knowing.
"Okay, you don't guess. I just wanted to say, you're the only Queen of the dead today."
"You're the only red sox cap wearing ghost today."
"I'm the only ghostie to get to trick-or-treat with Maura Isles tonight too," she looks to Maura," Are you having fun Maura?"
"Of course Jane, look at all the candy! I even got fudge clusters!" She shakes her triumph bag of goodies.
She laughs. "You always smile at fudge clusters!"
"I smile at you too Jane! We can share?"
"You can have some of my Hershey's kisses too!"
"Thank you for tonight Jane," she holds her hand, "I'm glad my first Halloween's with you. You're my best friend Jane."
She blushes.
"Maura?"
"Yes Jane?"
"I have something for you," she reaches under the sheet, touching the stem tucked into the front pocket of her jeans, "I hope it's not squashed or anything. I hope you like it," she hands Maura a sunflower.
Maura's eyes water a little.
"Thank you!" She hugs her.
She hugs her.
"I hope you're always smiling that smile of yours Maura, because it's brighter than the Sun!"
As if on cue, a canon, no I mean fireworks, goes boom and the fire lights spread across the night-sky. Our little darlings rest their heads on each other and cross their pinkies together.
"Life-long best friends, Maura."
"Life-long best friends, Jane.
They nod, together.
A/N: Hi there, thank you, for the time~
I wrote this then, to get to my happy place; and I hope it delights you too, as it delights me still.
Thank you, for the time=)