AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thanks for waiting so long for this. The story is pretty close to done. Oh, and remember how I said not to expect much of the Ducks in here? Forget that. The Ducks will be featured fairly prominently from now on. Oh, and I put the District 5 pond behind Hans' Skate Shop because I felt like it. And I don't know for sure which character Dorothy Anne is (been awhile since I read The Magic School Bus), so I guessed it's the one Kaley's trying to dress up as. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

A NEW LIFE – CHAPTER SEVEN – TRICK OR TREAT

Kaley pulled her parka closer around her and shivered. Minnesota was already darn cold, and it was only October. The pond behind Hans' shop had already begun to freeze, and the Ducks were saying they could skate on it by Thanksgiving. The very thought of skating outdoors made Kaley shiver. She'd already made Gordon buy her a parka, even though it was, as he put it, "only forty degrees outside." If the weather keeps progressing like this, I'll need four parkas. Kaley thought.

"Hey, Kaley!" Kaley turned around and saw Connie waving to her from the other end of the schoolyard. Smiling, she headed over. The ducks had accepted Kaley with surprising-almost creepy-eagerness. Well, guess they figure it's best not to get Coach's kid mad. She thought.

"Hey Connie, what's up?" Kaley asked. "Oh, hi Lynnette." She said to Lynnette Brosnan, a girl from her history class.

"Hey, listen Kay, Lynnette and I were talking." Connie began. "We decided a whole bunch of us should do Halloween together."

"Halloween?" Kaley asked. She'd totally forgotten.

"Yeah, Halloween." Connie said. "You know: trick-or-treat, candy, costumes?"

"Oh, yeah, of course!" Kaley said. "I'd just forgotten."

"So, you game?" Lynnette asked.

"Sure, but…when's trick-or-treat?" Kaley asked. "Gordon and I may be out of town."

Connie and Lynnette exchanged glances. "Next week; Thursday night." Lynnette said.

Kaley ran it through her mental calendar. "Yeah, sounds good."

"So, what are you?" Lynnette asked.

"Huh?" Kaley responded.

"What are you?" Connie repeated. "Costume?"

"I…I actually don't have one yet." Kaley stammered. "I didn't do a whole lot of trick-or-treating in Baltimore. Didn't live in the greatest neighborhood. My friend Aubrey and I used to put on our hockey jerseys and go in our apartment complex."

"That was it?" Lynnette asked, dumbfounded.

"Well, yeah, but we got lots of candy." Kaley said with a smile. "What are you two doing?"

"Guy and I are doing the Star Wars thing." Connie said. "Guy's going as Luke Skywalker and I'm Princess Leia."

Kaley smiled. "Ah yes, you two will be so cute together."

Connie blushed. "I think Charlie's gonna be Marty McFly…you know, from Back to the Future?" When Kaley nodded, Connie continued; "Tammy's gonna be some figure skater, and Averman…" She giggled. "Averman's a clown."

"Well, it certainly suits him." Kaley said. "What about you, Lynnie?"

Lynnette gave an embarrassed smile. "Velma from Scooby-Doo." She said. "My Great Dane Thor is gonna be Scooby."

Kaley suppressed a laugh. With short, thick brown hair and black glasses, Lynnette certainly did fit the Velma part perfectly.

The bell rang, forcing the girls to cut their conversation short. "Listen, I'll think about it and tell you guys tomorrow, OK?"

Connie and Lynnette nodded. "Right, got it."

Kaley headed into the school. Great. She thought. Now what am I gonna do?

Kaley breezed into the apartment at two-thirty that afternoon and found Gordon sitting on the recliner reading a book. "Hi, Kaley." He said. "How'd school treat you?"

"No worse than normal." Kaley dropped her backpack on the floor near the coat closet. "Connie and Lynnette decided a bunch of us should do Halloween together."

"Sounds cool to me." Gordon said. "Any ideas for a costume?"

"Not really." Kaley admitted. "When I trick-or-treated in Baltimore, Aubrey and I used to put on our hockey jerseys and go to different apartments in our building. When people asked what we were, we'd tell them we were Wayne Gretzky's nieces."

Gordon chuckled, glad to see Kaley was getting involved with the kids at her school. "When's trick-or-treat?"

"Next Thursday night." Kaley said. "We'll be here, right?"

"Should be." Gordon said. "Even if we're not, maybe you could stay with Connie."

"OK." Kaley said. "Well, I'm going to see what I can come up with."

"Have fun." Gordon said as Kaley closed the door to her room.

Kaley stood in front of her dresser. "Let's see…what have we in here?" She said out loud to herself. Ashley had always referred to Kaley's clothing as "gunny sacks" because they were all so loose and casual. Maybe I could go as a bag lady. Kaley thought wryly. Opening the top of her drawer, she found a light purple turtleneck sweater he mother had bought her at a yard sale a few years back. Ashley had been an expert bargain hunter. The people at Goodwill had known her by name, she'd kept her eyes out for yard sales, visited the flea market on a regular basis, and dashed to Wal-Mart every time there was a sale. Kaley didn't think she'd worn new clothes for ages.

Well, maybe I could do something with this. Kaley thought, opening another drawer. A lime green skirt glared out at her. Ugh. What flea market did Mom get this at? Kaley wondered. Hmmm…what would this look like? She thought, holding the ensemble in front of her. I could be someone who lost a bet.

Kaley's eyes fell on an old copy of The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System. "That's it!" She said out loud. "Dorothy Anne!"

"Who?" Gordon asked from the hallway.

"Nothing, never mind." Kaley said. "Just found a costume, that's all."

"Who's Dorothy Anne?" Gordon asked. "Friend of yours?"

"Uh, no, not really." Kaley said. "Just found a costume, that's all."

"Well, all right." Gordon said. "Come on. It's time for dinner."

"Ooh." Kaley emerged from the bedroom. "Are we cooking tonight or ordering in?"

"We're making our favorite thing for dinner." Gordon announced.

Kaley rolled her eyes, knowing what was coming.

"Phone calls." They finished together.

"Oh my gosh, Kaley, that's hysterical!" Connie laughed as Kaley stepped out of the apartment. "You look just like Dorothy Anne!"

"Really?" Kaley gave each of her pigtails a tug. "And you look just like Princess Leia."

"Why thank you." Connie gave a twirl of her white dress.

"Hya!" Guy grunted, jumping around the corner with a toy lightsaber extended. "You killed my father!"

"Cute, Guy, real cute." Connie grumbled.

"See you at seven, Gordon!" Kaley called.

"See you then!" Gordon hollered back. "Have fun! And make sure you get lots of health food, like crackers and seven-grain bagels!"

"Yeah, right." Kaley laughed, closing the door.

Soon, the group had met up with Charlie, dressed very convincingly as Marty McFly (right down to the "life preserver," or the bright orange down vest), and Lynnette, looking so Velma it was scary. Thor even had a collar that looked like Scooby-Doo's.

"Trick-or-treat!" The group hollered when they got to Hans' skate shop.

"Oh, look who it is." Hans laughed, giving them each a handful of candy.

"Hey, thanks!" Kaley said. "Does he always give this much?" She asked Connie.

"He doesn't have a whole lot of other trick-or-treaters." Connie explained.

"Plus, he loves us." Charlie put in.

After a few moments, Connie asked, "So, why don't you call Coach 'dad'?"

"Huh?" Connie asked. "Oh, uh, I dunno. Just doesn't feel right, I guess."

"Why not?" Connie asked. "I mean, can I ask?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." Kaley said. "It's just…well…I mean, I still don't really know him all that well-"

"But still, I mean, he is your father." Connie said. "If he'd decided to give up on you when your mom died, you'd probably still be in inner city Baltimore, living in a foster home waiting to be adopted."

"Sometimes I wonder." Kaley said as they approached another house.

"Trick-or-treat!" Charlie, Lynnette, and Guy yelled. Connie and Kaley had been so busy talking that they'd missed their chance.

"Well, look at y'all." A thirtyish woman with a thick Southern accent said as she handed them all their candy. "Now it's cold out tonight, y'all. Don't go catchin' pneumonia!"

"It's not cold." Charlie said as they walked away from the house. "It's…nippy."

"What were you saying?" Connie asked.

"Oh, I was saying that sometimes I wonder if he just did it out of obligation." Kaley said. "And sure, he's here now, but…he was gone for my whole life."

Connie shook her head. "Uh-uh. No way." She said confidently. "Coach wouldn't do that, Kaley. I'll bet you anything he didn't want you in a foster home. He wanted to see you. He wanted to make up for lost time and have a relationship with you and give you a chance for a better life. I think that qualifies him as 'dad.'"

"Hmmm." Kaley said. It certainly did give her something to chew on.

Gordon glanced at the clock. Quarter to seven. Kaley would be home soon. Just then, the door banged open. Gordon turned around and saw a very cold-looking Kaley. "Chilly out there?" He asked.

"Yeah." Kaley said. "I had them drop me off early. Couldn't take it anymore. Hey, um, I was kinda wondering…"

"Yes?" Gordon prompted.

"Uh…well…" Kaley looked up at him with a sheepish smile. "Can I call you dad?"

Gordon grinned and wrapped her into a huge hug. "Oh, Kaley." He said. "I can't think of anything I'd like to be called more."