"Leah, you're moving around like you've got ants in your pants, hold still so I can get your wings on," Lorelai pleaded.
Leah was anxious. It was Halloween, and according to her brand new pink watch, it was precisely one minute past four, when trick-or-treating hours were to start. She knew she'd learned to tell time for a reason. Since the previous week when she'd informed Emily that Luke and Lorelai were one minute late to Friday Night Dinner, she'd been obsessed with checking the time.
And the time had come to trick-or-treat. Her purple fairy dress with her pretty pink sparkly wings was sure to be the best costume in Stars Hollow. Lorelai had spent weeks perfecting it for her daughter, and Leah was getting ready to show it off.
"Mommy, are you almost done?" she asked.
Lorelai sighed. "Yes, I'm almost done. I just have to get your wings straight and then Daddy and I can take you out to get candy, okay?"
Leah smiled at the thought. She looked down at her pink ballet flats Rory had gotten her especially for the costume, envisioning piles of candy to be organized when she got back to the house. All the Reese's would go in one pile, the Milky Way bars in another… this was going to be the best Halloween ever.
"I still don't know how you convinced me to take her Trick-or-Treating," Luke groaned.
Lorelai giggled as she pinned Leah's costume. "I didn't, she did. But if you're giving me the credit, I am the Halloween Queen."
"The Halloween Queen?" Leah asked.
Lorelai nodded. "Yes. I always make my own costumes, have the best decorations, and give out the best candy! Someday you'll be the Halloween Queen."
Leah was in shock. Her mom was the Halloween Queen of Stars Hollow. That would make her the Halloween Princess… and Luke the king! She giggled to herself, somehow not convinced that Luke would easily accept that title and responsibility. She looked down at her shoes, thinking about going to Trick-or-Treat two important people like her mom and dad.
"All right, I have to change, and we'll be on our way," Lorelai said, running upstairs.
Luke sat down on the couch and rolled his eyes. "If she doesn't come down by 5:15, I'm taking you out myself," he told Leah.
Leah glanced at her watch. Lorelai had ten minutes to get dressed. She started the mental countdown. She sat down next to Luke, her legs dangling off the side of the couch, and turned toward her dad.
"What did you dress up as for Halloween when you were little?" she asked.
Luke shrugged. "I think I was boring stuff. I only went Trick-or-Treating for a few years."
Leah nodded. "Oh. What were you when you were my age?"
"Well, I don't really remember. I might have been a baseball player," Luke recalled.
She giggled. "Did you have a glove?"
Luke nodded. "I did, but I took it off halfway through the night because I couldn't carry my candy bag."
"You could have had people put candy in your glove," Leah suggested.
He placed Leah on his lap. "True, but would you only want a handful of candy, or that whole pillowcase full?"
Leah's eyes lit up. "I want to fill the whole thing!"
"Then a baseball glove wouldn't give you much room, would it?" he asked.
Just as Leah began the thirty second countdown, Lorelai came down in all black with braids in her hair. Leah giggled. "Mommy, you look silly."
"What the heck are you supposed to be?" Luke asked with a roll of the eyes, grabbing his keys.
Lorelai huffed. "Wednesday Adams, hello! Seriously, Luke, if it wasn't Star Trek or Star Wars, or baseball, you didn't even care, did you?"
"That's not all I watched," Luke protested.
Lorelai giggled. "Oh, right, I forgot about Gunsmoke and Bonanza and A-Team. All those manly shows," she said, deepening her voice on the word "manly."
Luke opened the door and ushered Leah and Lorelai outside. Leah stood at the end of the grass, looking at both sides of the street. "Where do I go first?" she asked herself, eyeing each house.
"Let's go to Babette first, she's been dying to see your costume," Lorelai insisted.
Leah quickly ran up to Babette and Morey's house and rang the doorbell. Morey, dressed as Frankenstein, answered the door. "Trick-or-Treat!" Leah squealed.
Babette came running to the door. "Oh, Leah, doll, you look adorable!" Babette shrieked. "You're our first Trick-or-Treater tonight, so you get to take lots of extra candy. And Lorelai, you look fantastic!"
Lorelai curtsied. "Thanks, Babette, you don't look so bad yourself, Miss Bride of Frankenstein!"
"Well, Morey was so stuck on Frankenstein, I figured I'd wanna be involved, too. Leah, two pieces of candy? C'mon, ya gotta take a few more than that!" Babette urged.
Leah gave a smile and grabbed a handful of candy, dropping it into her bag. "Thanks, Babette!" she said.
"Atta girl, dollface. Have fun, get lots of good candy!" Babette said, waving as Leah skipped off to be with Luke and Lorelai once again.
Luke shot Lorelai a glare. "Jeez, how much candy did Babette give her?"
Lorelai patted Luke's arm. "Luke, really, she most likely won't eat it all, and Babette likes Leah. Let her get spoiled once in awhile."
Lorelai and Luke stood back, letting Leah have her own Halloween agenda. When Leah rang Mrs. Kim's doorbell, though, Luke couldn't help but laugh. "She's going to be sorry she rang that doorbell," he said, nudging Lorelai.
Lorelai shrugged. "She's a grandmother now, Luke, you gotta give her a chance. See if she softened up a little."
Mrs. Kim opened the door. "Trick-or-Treat!" Leah said.
"Leah, you look very nice," Mrs. Kim said in a serious tone. She reached for a bag she had pre-made and a pamphlet and dropped them into Leah's pillowcase.
"Thank you," Leah said, confused as to why she wasn't getting candy. She walked up to Luke and Lorelai opening her bag.
Lorelai took the pillowcase from Leah. "I'll get these spinach puffs out of your bag," she said. "Do you have the pamphlet?"
Leah looked at the pamphlet in her hand and began to read it. "The dev… devil…" she started to sound out.
Lorelai took the pamphlet and shoved it into her own pocket. "That's grown up stuff, sweetie. Why don't you go say hi to Miss Patty?"
Leah took off running for the dance studio while Lorelai searched for a trash can. "Fine, fine, you were right," Lorelai said to Luke, throwing away Mrs. Kim's 'goodies.'
As Leah got candy from Miss Patty, Lorelai hooked her arm in Luke's. "Having a good time?" she asked.
Luke shrugged. "If she's happy, I'm happy."
"She's getting so grown up. She's going to be in first grade next year," Lorelai replied.
"I don't want to talk about it," Luke replied.
She smiled. "You like that she's your little princess, don't you?"
"I just… don't want her to get too big too fast," Luke replied.
As Taylor dropped a toothbrush and toothpaste in Leah's bag, and she walked back to her parents, looking sad that she hadn't gotten candy, Lorelai turned to Luke. "I don't, either," she said.