Recap:
Madison gasped. "I think I'm having the baby."
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"I called Madison's number in San Francisco again today," Andy told Ephram at dinner. "I got nothing. I just can't track her down."
Chapter 6:
"Am I allowed to Trick or Treat at my own house?" Delia asked Ephram, dressed cutely as a pirate. Typical Delia… so untypical, Ephram had thought while chuckling when she picked out her costume.
"Of course," Ephram said, dropping a piece of her favorite candy into her bag. "And with that, your Trick or Treating venture has officially begun."
Delia smiled and ran outside to meet Nina and Sam. Andy and Nina were taking the two children together.
"Okay," Amy said, coming out of the bathroom in her sparkling Cinderella ball gown. Her hair was twisted up and she had on a little bit of shimmery makeup. "You've put it off long enough, Ephram," she said, handing him his costume.
"Wow, Amy, you look beautiful," Ephram said meaningfully.
"Yeah, yeah, quit stalling," Amy said playfully, pushing him towards the bathroom.
Ephram rolled his eyes and went in. He came out a few minutes later in a Prince Charming suit.
Amy had to try hard not to laugh. She was delighted that he had decided to do this with her, but it was so weird seeing him in a costume like that!
"You're laughing!" Ephram said defensively.
"No, I'm not," Amy covered it up by going to kiss him. When she pulled away she noticed a bit of shimmer on Ephram's lips. "Oops," she said, grabbing a tissue and wiping it off. This time Ephram couldn't help but laugh. Then the doorbell rang. "Come on," Amy said, grabbing his hand and the bowl of candy off the counter.
Ephram opened the door. "Trick or treat!" Three loud voices rang out. It was Brittany, Delia's old friend, along with another girl and boy her age. Brittany was dressed obviously as a miniature Britney Spears. The other girl had on a hot pink dress, and Amy could tell she was wearing a blond wig with a hot pink bow tied in it. The boy was dressed suavely with his hair wet and combed over to the side.
"I like your costume," the girl told Amy softly.
Amy smiled. "Who are both of you supposed to be?" Amy asked the girl and boy as she and Ephram dropped some candy into their bags.
"I'm Barbie," the girl said before pointing to the boy, "and he's Ken!"
The young boy rolled his eyes a little. He didn't seem too happy with his costume.
Amy laughed. "You both look very cute."
"Bye, have fun," Ephram told the kids before shutting the door.
"See, wasn't that fun?" Amy asked him playfully.
Ephram just smiled.
About an hour later, the doorbell rang for about the twentieth time. Amy was sitting on the living room couch, and Ephram was in the kitchen looking through the pantry for more candy.
"Ugh, I don't know if I can stand to see one more witch. Why is it that EVERYONE dresses as a witch on Halloween?" Amy ranted not realizing anyone was listening.
"Because they're SCARY!" Ephram yelled running into the living room, jumping over the couch to land right beside of Amy.
She let out a high-pitched shriek. "You're so obnoxious," she joked. Ephram started tickling her. She was getting ready to shriek again when the doorbell rang again. "Stop, Ephram, stop!" Amy said, "There's kids at the door!" She pulled away and got up off the couch. Grabbing the bowl of candy, she opened the door.
"Bright?" Amy said, dumbfounded.
"Hey, little sis! Ooh, thanks," Bright said, grabbing a handful of candy.
"Hey man, what are you doing here?" Ephram asked as Bright walked inside.
"Eh, the costume party over at the Café kind of died down earlier than I expected, so I went ahead and closed up," Bright explained.
"Well, kids are probably finishing up, it's 9:30," Amy said.
"Yeah, I'm surprised that Dad and Nina aren't back with Delia and Sam yet," Ephram said.
"Were you guys planning… um… you know, anything… special for tonight?" Bright asked tentatively.
Ephram laughed. "No, not really. Why?"
"How about we go back over to our place and crash for a while?" Bright said.
"Sounds good to me," Ephram said.
Just then, Andy, Nina, Sam, and Delia all walked in the house, looking beat.
"Wait till you see how much candy I got!!" Delia yelled, running up to Ephram.
"Sounds like you've already eaten half of it," Ephram joked.
"I wanna see," Bright said, plopping down on the couch with Delia.
"You can have a jawbreaker?" Delia offered Bright, blushing.
"You're just about right, Ephram. I'm sure Delia and Sam sneaked more candy than they were supposed to on our way home," Nina said. "Come on, Sam, we'd better go. See you later, Andy," Nina said, kissing him on the cheek.
Andy smiled. "Bye."
Ephram smiled. He wondered what was up with his dad's relationship with Nina, but decided that then wasn't the best time to inquire about that. "Hey, Dad," he said. "I'm gonna go over to Bright's for a couple hours."
"Okay, that's fine. Just be back by 11:30, alright?"
"Will do," Ephram said. "Bye," he said, putting his arm around Amy and walking out the door.
"Dad?" Delia asked her dad right before he was about to turn out her light for the night.
"Yes?" Andy replied.
"Do you think that all the ghosts come out on Halloween night?"
"No, honey. Actually, I don't believe there are such things as ghosts. So I don't think you have anything to worry about."
Delia nodded. Andy got up again to turn out the light, but was interrupted again.
"Dad?"
Andy sighed. "What is it, honey?"
"Does Madison's baby have a daddy?"
"So, Delia asked me last night about who Madison's baby's father was." Andy told Ephram the next day.
Ephram winced. "What did she think?" When it came to he and Madison, he had always been concerned about Delia's emotions since the beginning.
"I think she understood," Andy said. "I tried to explain the seriousness of the situation to her, but she just kept talking about how she was going to be an aunt."
Ephram tried to smile. "You know, Dad, after all that's happened, I think I'd be happy if I just knew where the baby was. Because not even knowing if it's alright, or if it's in good care… it kills me."
"I know." Andy said.
"Well, I think I'm gonna turn in early," Ephram said. "But if Amy calls, wake me up, okay?"
"Okay," Andy said with a small smile as Ephram headed upstairs. And somewhere, about 500 miles away, a wailing newborn baby was being carried upstairs to its crib by its weary mother.
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Coming up in chapter 7: a big arrival. Don't forget to check back in! ;)