Chapter 7-Halloween with the Framagucci's

October 31st, 2011

Thirty days. It had been almost a whole month since the hearing and Jessica Stevenson was now Jessica Robinson. After the Stevenson's had been taken from the court, custody of Jessie had been signed over to Bud and Lucille and her last name changed to Robinson. Shortly after the papers were signed, Anthony informed Lewis and Jessie that the Stevenson fortune would be theirs they day they turned eighteen.

But right now, they only thing the twins were thinking about were getting ready for the party. Every year since they had met, Franny Framagucci invited Lewis to her family's annual Halloween party. This year, Lewis was going as Dr. Frankenstein while Jessie was going as witch.

"Are you ready yet?" asked Lewis as he knocked on the door to Jessie's bedroom. He was wearing black pants, a white dress shirt with an old and torn white lab coat over it. Top complete the ensemble, he had a stitch painted on his forehead. He pushed up his right sleeve and looked down at his watch. 6:45. "Jessie! We're going to be late! "

The door opened to reveal a smiling Jessie in a simple black dress that went to her knees with long bell sleeves; a pointed black hat set upon her blond hair. "Calm down bro. I'm ready. No need to get your boxers in a bunch."

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny," Lewis rolled his eyes as the two began to walk down the hall towards the entrance hall.

"This party is being held by your girlfriend right?" asked Jessie as they walked down the stairs, her black high heels clicking on the tile.

"Franny is not my girlfriend," Lewis replied shortly, causing Jessie to look over at him with a raised eyebrow as if to say 'yeah right'. Well, she isn't yet, he thought as he laughed at his sister's look.

Ding-Dong

The sound was heard through the door of the Framagucci household when Lewis pressed the small white button next to the door. It was a small craftsmen style home just a few blocks away from downtown Todayland. The front yard was aglow with Halloween decorations. Blowup pumpkins, orange lights, gravestones, and cobwebs littered the small front yard. The porch was no different. A skeleton sat on the wooden swing, a pumpkin sitting next to it; bats and cobwebs hung down from the rafters and fog settled just above the ground.

"Cornelius!" yelled Franny when she opened the door and took in the new arrivals. The fourteen year old was dressed in an elegant off-white gown of satin, her black hair in a braid and in a matching headband. Jessie looked over at Lewis and saw that his mouth was open as he stared at Franny. She stifled a snort, which knocked Lewis out of his trance.

"Franny! You-you look great," he stammered as Franny flung her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug.

"Thanks. I'm Elizabeth from Pride & Prejudice," she replied as they pulled apart. She then noticed Jessie standing beside him and her smiled widened. She stepped forward and offered her hand. "Hi, I'm Franny. You must be Jessie. Cornelius has told me all about you."

"Nothing bad I hope," Jessie responded as she shook Fanny's hand, glancing over at Lewis who smiled sheepishly in return.

"No, nothing bad," she replied with a laugh, smiling over at Lewis. She stood aside and held the door open for them. They walked past Franny and into the living room of the home, with was decorated even more so then the outside. Black and orange hung from the ceiling, the furniture was covered in black sheets, and small bowels of candy were set on the coffee table and fireplace mantel and Halloween music played throughout the small three bedroom home. Off of the living room were two doors. One led to the kitchen and dining room while the other led to the bedrooms and the main bathroom.

There were only a few people there that Lewis recognized as he looked around the room. Eighteen year old Art, dressed as a chef, was sitting on the couch talking to a blond girl dressed as a mermaid that he did not recognize. There was a cowboy and a ballerina he recognized from elementary school, though he could not remember their names. There were several more people he did not recognize and then there was Gaston, dressed as Evel Knievel and being chased out of the kitchen by his mother.

"Gaston, how many time do I have to tell you," yelled Kristina Framagucci as she pushed her middle son out of the kitchen. "Stop taking all the meat balls. Leave some for everyone else."

"Sorry mom," apologized the sixteen-year old sadly, his shoulders slumped and his head hanging as he began to make his way towards the hallway to the bedrooms. Kristina looked after him and rolled brown eyes after her middle son, her right hand on her hip. Kristina's long black hair was up in a tight bun on the back of her head and she was dressed in a dark blue Japanese kimono. She smiled as Franny, Lewis and Jessie approached her. "Hello Cornelius, good to see you again."

"Good to see you too Mrs. Framagucci," Lewis responded with a smile. Kristina laughed and shook her head at her daughter's good friend. "How many times must I tell you to call me Kris? Mrs. Framagucci makes me feel old."

"Sorry," apologized Lewis, a slight blush in his cheeks as Franny giggled at his reaction to her mother. Kris laughed an extended a hand towards Jessie. "You must be the newest inhabitant of the Robinson household."

"That would be me," Jessie replied as she shook the woman's hand with a smile. Kris smiled and glance towards Franny. "I found out before the press did through Franny's yell over the phone of 'You have a what!?' I'm pretty sure the entire neighborhood heard you dear."

"Yeah, she was pretty loud when I told her on the phone that evening," commented Lewis, rubbing his right ear. Franny turned and glared at him before punching his arm. He exclaimed and moved from rubbing his ear to rubbing his arm, frowning as Jessie laughed at him.

BOOM

The blonde mermaid on the couch let out a scream when an explosion rocked the house, causing one of the candy bowls on the mantel to crash to the ground and shatter on the hardwood floor. The pictures on the wall shake but only one fell. Kris let out a groan of frustration and walked over to the hallway towards the bedrooms. The second to last door flew open and black smoke poured into the hallway, causing the fire alarm to go off. A moment later, Gaston stumbled out of the room, his costume signed.

"Gaston Framagucci!" Gaston cringed as he approached his mother at the end of the hallway where she stood with her arms folded over her chest, tapping her foot impatiently as he son took his time walking over to her. "You know you're not supposed to work on your cannons in the house! How many time-"

Kris stopped and stared at something on the floor behind Gaston. She pushed him aside and knelt down to pick up the fallen picture, whose frame had shattered when it hit the floor. After a few moments knelling, she stood back up and turned around towards Gaston. She glared at her son, tears visible in her eyes. "Grounded. Two weeks."

With that she turned and went into the room at the end of the hallway, slamming the door shut behind her. Gaston hung his head and went back into his room, pulling the door closed softly behind him. Art stood up from the couch and made his way over to the door of Gaston's room and knocked softly before entering. Franny sighed and shook her head before walking into the hallway, Lewis and Jessie not far behind her. She reached the wall from where the picture had hung and let out a sigh and hung her head as she realized which one it was. Lewis walked over to her and placed a comforting arm over her shoulder. "Which one was it?"

"Mom and dad's wedding picture," Franny replied softly, leaning her head against Lewis's shoulder.

Jessie bit her lip. "What happened to your dad?"

Franny lifted her head from Lewis's shoulder and looked up at Jessie. "He died five years ago. Hit by a drunk driver."

"I'm sorry," Jessie replied quietly. "At least you got to know him."