A short while later, Sally went alone to the cemetery to gather fresh herbs. Jack
remained at home with the twins. The ragdoll hummed softly to herself as she walked
with her basket. Zero floated behind, stopping now and again to sniff decaying things.
Sally knelt between the headstones where not too terribly long ago she had plucked
sprigs of deadly nightshade in an effort to win some temporary freedom. Tonight she
sorted through the botanicals selecting mild decongestants and fever reduction agents.
Sally was so absorbed in her task that she didn't hear Shock approaching. "Galloping"
was perhaps a more accurate term than simply approaching. The small witch tripped
over Sally's basket and launched through the air, landing splayed among the foxglove
blossoms. Sally jumped.
"Shock! Are you alright? What is the matter?", Sally asked. Shock leapt to her
feet without a moment's hesitation. She narrowed her eyes and scanned the hilltops.
"Yeah, I'm fine. That Lock! He's gonna pay, no doubt! I thought I saw him
coming this way."
Sally smoothed her skirt around her knees. She went back to picking plants.
"I haven't seen him near here Shock. Is everything alright between you two?"
Shock looked at Sally like she was crazy.
"No it's not alright! It's never alright, cuz those boys are stupid. We're supposed
to work together against everyone else, but he thinks it's soooooo funny to practice his
tricks on me! That shows you right there that he's stupid, because I can be ten times
worse than he could ever dream of being! If I were him, I'd be really nice to me and try
not to make me angry!"
"What did he do to you today Shock?", Sally asked. Shock started to say
something, then stopped. She began again.
"Oh, I'm not even going to go into it, I'd rather talk about what I'm going to do to
him!" She pounded her tiny fist into her palm. Sally placed a handful of leaves into her
basket and wrapped them lightly in a damp rag. She rose, and headed back toward the
path to leave the cemetery when a thought struck her. It was an odd thought. Very odd
indeed. Sally stopped in the pathway and bit her lower lip. She turned back toward
Shock who was still seething.
"Shock? Had you heard that Jack and I were planning a trip this week? He has
some holiday business in London. It's a human city."
Shock snapped out of her revenge planning with some annoyance.
"Yeah, I heard. Why?"
"We've had a slight change of plans. It seems that Jack will be going
away overnight on his own. The babies have colds, so I am staying home with them. I
was just thinking that maybe you might like to keep me company while Jack is away."
Shock wrinkled her nose. What was this all about? Sally sensed the girl's confusion.
"It's just that I thought maybe you would enjoy a night away from the boys. You
don't really have any females to spend time with, neither do I really. Perhaps we could
talk."
The two stood in silence for several seconds. Finally Shock sniffed and shrugged her
small shoulders.
"Erm....nah. I don't think so Sally. I mean, I just don't think we'd have much to
talk about you know? I don't really like just sitting around with old people."
Sally widened her eyes. Speaking strictly in a chronological sense, she was not at all sure
she was that much older than Shock. It was rather amusing. She brushed her long hair
behind her shoulder and picked up the basket.
"Alright then Shock. The offer stands if you change your mind. Bye now." Sally
turned and headed back to the house. Shock watched her go, and as she did questions
bubbled in her head like carbonation.

Sally chopped up the herbs and placed them in a tiny gauze bag. She then lowered the
bag into an earthen pot of boiling sugar-water. Before long, a pleasant, floral aroma
wafted around the small kitchen. Jack sat at the table reviewing notes for his trip. Sally
left the herbal brew to steep took a seat across from her husband. Eye sockets still
focused on the paper, Jack stretched out his hand to her. Their fingers interlaced.
"Do you need me to press your suit before you leave?", Sally asked. Jack looked
up with a grin.
"Ah...it will be fine. Thank you, babydoll. Are you sure you will alright while
I'm gone? You won't be unbearably lonely?"
Sally touched her wrist to her forehead and sighed dramatically.
"Yes, I will be lonely, but I will be a strong pumpkin queen until your return."
"That is a good point you know. You are the queen. When I am away, you're in
charge.", Jack said in a playfully stern tone. Sally nodded with mock solemnity.
"Indeed. I will do my best to be a fair and just ruler.", she said. Jack pounded his
fist on the tabletop.
"Oh come now, Sally! I'm giving you a whole night to be in charge. Run this
place with an iron hand! Tell em what to do! Go get the Mayor out of bed in the middle
of the night and order him about! You're the queen!"
By now the couple was laughing hysterically. Jack composed himself at last.
"Seriously though, this will be the first night we'll been apart outside of Halloween, and
that is a bit different after all. I'll be thinking of you and the boys the entire time."
Sally kissed his hand.
"You will be on my mind too Jack, as always. You know, I was considering
having a friend over to keep me company that night. I rarely spend much time talking to
other females, and I think that it would be good for me to do so, don't you?"
"Well, I never really thought about that specifically, but now that you mention it,
I do think it would be of great value to you to have some close female friends.", Jack
agreed. "Who did you have in mind? I know the witches and you generally don't...erm,
talk much. Goodness, you weren't considering striking up a camaraderie with Jewel
were you? I'll bet you two would have loads to talk about."
Sally scowled.
"I doubt that.", she said flatly. "She has half of the doctor's brain, so somehow I
just couldn't talk freely to her about...girl things. I saw Shock today while I was picking
herbs. I invited her to stay with me."
If Jack's complexion could have gone more pale than its usual alabaster, it most certainly
would have. His jaw dropped slightly.
"Shock? Shock?! What on earth made you choose her?"
"I'm not sure exactly, the idea just came to me. I have reasons I
suppose.", Sally replied softly. "She said 'no' in any case. She wasn't interested."
Jack scratched his skull. He squeezed his wife's hand. It was sad that Sally's invitation
had been rejected. She was rather distant from most of the townsfolk, due in no small
part to her natural bashfulness. Sally took her time when it came to making friends, or
even acquaintances for that matter. She had a tendency to observe interactions from a
safe distance before making her cautious approach. To many, her behavior was
misinterpreted to mean that she saw herself as better than others. It was a shame that
when she reached out to someone for friendship, they chose to turn her down. Still, Jack
reminded himself: This was Shock they were talking about. He felt quietly guilty for
harboring a small kernel of relief that one of the terrible trio would not be roaming the
house while he was away. True, those children were getting so much better since
Oogie's demise, but they still had a long way to go. Before he could think of anything
more to say, Sally got up to finish the cold medicine.