October 26th 2022

Chapter 299
Our Spookies in Groups

It was a wonder that it had taken Lucas as long as it did before he did something like this, but what really mattered to him right now was that he did have the idea, and he was finally getting to implement it. Sure, it wasn't every year that Halloween would land on an after school program day, but they could work around it fine, maybe adding on a bonus day on the thirty-first of October, if it should land on a Tuesday or Thursday or on a weekend. Here they had all these kids, aged four to twelve, on their very decorated ranch, on Halloween, which he knew from the last couple of years meant that many of them would show up costumed and eager for candy, and maybe games… So why couldn't they work with that? He'd been welcoming kids from the area back at his house for over a decade now, doing just that, so why couldn't Sullivan Stables have something similar for the kids of green, blue, red, and yellow groups? The ranch as a whole had its usual thing, including the yearly hunt for the numbered figurines, but he was thinking about the kids who'd be spending a few hours here with them, fresh out of school… and he was thinking of Marianne, too, of course, because how could he not? Seven years old… Seven…

When he went to collect her and her friends, to bring them to the ranch and blue group together, he had to laugh, spying the group as they came along in their costumes, such a mix of tastes and styles, which was to say nothing of the varying skills of those who'd made their costumes and the hair and makeup that went with them. They all looked like they were especially excited to go to the ranch today. None of them, not even Marianne, knew exactly what they were in for, but what they did know was enough to have gotten the gears of their imaginations spinning.

"Both wings intact this time?" Lucas looked to Winnie who, as she'd done on the first Halloween that he'd known her, had become a fairy, courtesy of her mother's wing-making. They both looked fine now, but he had to check, recalling that day and how sad it had made her to see one of them damaged.

"Uh huh," Winnie nodded with a smile and shimmy of her shoulders to get the wings merrily flapping away.

"We didn't let anyone get near them," Marianne reported.

"That's good," Lucas smiled.

From what he had seen of her classroom, Marianne and Winnie had very nearly gotten to sit one behind the other, except that between Friar and Grayson there was Gray. Adam, the breaker of Winnie's first set of wings, was sandwiched between them, like an interloper, which wouldn't be so much of an issue most times, except when he would get up to some trick or another, or when Marianne would be compelled to turn around in her seat to say something to her best friend, only to find herself looking into the boy's mocking face first, or when Winnie would want to get Marianne's attention, and he would be in the way.

Today, when Winnie had shown up with her new wings, according to the girls, he'd had a look like he remembered the last time, too, and any opportunity that might come along for him to mess with this set, well… The last time was three years ago, and they were not such little girls anymore, no. Also, they had more friends, and all day long they rallied, enough so that they made it through to now, and all was well. There was no chance that the kid would be anywhere near Winnie's wings for the rest of the day, as his mother had made it clear already that she would not send her son to the Friar house, not after he'd gotten sick last year. The fact that he'd gotten sick because he'd stuffed his face despite their warnings that he would regret it, well… Maybe someday Adam Gray would not be such a little bully and brat, but right now he was, so it was no big loss not to have him around, frankly.

For now, they weren't thinking about the evening, the party, the games, none of that. Right now, it was the Sullivan Stables ASP Halloween Bash, and everyone was very loud and very excited as they passed the decorated arch. If not for their seatbelts, Lucas could imagine that they'd all be squeezed together, trying to see out the window as much as far as they could. For now, they had to contend themselves with craning their heads around as much as possible while they continued on toward the parking lot.

"We're sticking together, alright, guys? No running ahead, please," Lucas told them as they started to climb out of the minivan. None of them had any need of assistance anymore, so they were scrambling out, one after the other. Marianne, Winnie, June, Harper, Mosi, and kindergartners Tori and Lily… Some of them had needed to stow parts of their costume in the back to fit in their seats, so these were restored to them, and finally they could make their way out to find the rest of their group.

By now, it would usually be that each group would have its meeting spot and, once they were all present and could get going, they would lead off toward whatever activity was first up for them. Today was different, in many ways. The first sign of this was that all four groups were gathered and kept together, so that there many, many children spread out near the big tree, four clusters each as noisy as the next. Today was not going to be about a competition. It wouldn't have been fair to pit four-year-olds against twelve-year-olds. Those of them who'd been at the end of year 'graduation' days for the groups – which was most of them at this point – would have seen something similar to their various activities. They had called those a non-spooky version of what they did at the house for Halloween, so now it was… the spooky version, the ranch's version…

The one thing they had never been able to have at home, much to Maya's regret – because she would have loved to pull it off so much – was a haunted house. The two of them had a very… memorable connection with one of those, many years ago, so it felt like just the thing they needed, but then… oh, it would have made things much too complicated. But then Sullivan Stables… Now, that had potential… especially now that Juliet had moved out of her house, Marianne Sullivan's old house.

She was never one to put things off, so when she'd found her new home, she'd quickly gone about packing her things and getting settled out there. Now she was driving in through the arch every morning like the rest of them when she went to work. In the meantime, the house had been sitting empty. The plan was for Lucas to start and see to whatever work they might want to do in the new year, hopefully in spring. Lucas had definitely gone in there more than once since Juliet had moved, cleaning this thing, fixing that one, trying to figure out a plan for when they would start the proper work, in the middle of his workdays. He couldn't help it. This had been his grandparents' home, his mother's childhood home… He had so many memories attached to it, and he wanted to do right by it, wanted to make it shine.

For now though, 'shine' would not be the word to use. They had brought ghosts on to the premises, turning the entire place – or several rooms in it at least – into some desolate-looking place. Oh, he and Maya had had such a great time plotting out the rooms, and the stories… Each group had its own story to follow, and after being in the house, finding clues marked to each of their group colors, they would head back out on to the property, seeking what they'd need and finding it all through games set up around the ranch. When all this was said and done, they would get to return to the house, presenting their findings to receive their final prizes.

Going along with blue group, Lucas knew that it wouldn't be long once they entered the haunted house and began to encounter the ghosts before Marianne started to realize she knew these spirits. No amount of makeup and costume pieces and distorted voices would be enough for her not to recognize her Nana Katy and several of her castmates. It hadn't been in Lucas' plan to recruit them all into this, but then as soon as Katy had heard about the haunted house, she'd gotten this spark in her eyes that reminded Lucas of his wife… and a few of his daughters. She'd come back to him the next day, offering herself and some of her fellow actors to play the parts of the ghosts. It would be a fun afternoon for all of them, and they wanted to do it, so who was he to say no? They really rose to the challenge today, and Lucas didn't know that he'd ever been happier for how they'd become a part of the ranch's family.

Even if Marianne did recognize them, she didn't say a word. She just went wide-eyed for a split second, and she would smile to herself every once in a while, but that'd be all. No one around her would be the wiser, not unless they figured it out on their own. Where the younger kids were concerned that was less of a concern, but maybe the older ones, yellow group especially, would pick up on it. With the blues, they just went through the process, mostly unaware whenever Marianne would try to discreetly wave at one of the ghosts, or when they in turn would very quietly wish her a happy birthday. She looked so deeply happy all the while, unlike some of her friends and group mates, who looked spooked enough to want to run out of there as soon as possible.

"What did you guys think? Not bad, huh?" Lucas smiled when he led his group out of the house after they'd returned from completing their 'tasks,' to receive their prizes. Some of the kids continued to be a bit on edge from 'the scares,' though there was also a slight edge of excitement to it, like yes, they had been scared… but they'd liked it. The others had known all along that they'd liked it, and they were talking over one another as they told him and co-monitor Pedro about it.

Whether he'd say it aloud right here or not – he wouldn't – the one whose opinion mattered the most to him in that moment was Marianne, and he looked to her as the others spoke. She was standing at his side, both arms locked around one of his own, the way she did sometimes. It told him that she was in a good place in her head and heart, and it made her want to be close to him. Lucas smiled, turning until he could put his free arm around her and bend to kiss what part of her head he could, minding her costume.

They had already planned to take the girls up to the high school, so they could all see Maya's classroom in its haunted studio setup, but they were definitely going to bring them to see the haunted house, too. The ghosts may all have gone and resolved what kept them earthbound by then, but it would make for a pretty good exploration, too, some spooky times at the haunted house of Sullivan Stables.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners