July 28th 2022
Chapter 209
Our Haunting of Nights
As much as they would get into Halloween – and Hallowannie – when the last day of October landed on a weekday, with school, or work, and they would make the most of those days because it was just that big of a thing for them and they carried the spirit with them wherever they went… Oh, it was just as wonderful, if not more so, when it landed on a weekend day. Suddenly, a lot more things were left up to their decision, which in the Friar house meant Lucas and Maya turning to their girls and asking what they wanted to do. Once they'd had their breakfast, that was easy: it was costume time.
They would rotate who looked after the littler girls as they used a lot of the morning to finalize the setup for that evening. Maya would watch them, or Emma, or Eliza, or Ella once she and Tori arrived, Lucas would do it, or even the birthday girl herself. And all the while, the ever familiar games and maze would be coming together, just waiting for the fall of daylight and the arrival of guests, both new and returning.
They'd left it up to Marianne whether she wanted to go trick or treating or not, and if so in what manner. Did she want to go with her friends, or did she want any of them to go with her, too? She chose to go, tagging along as Harper's grandfather would take her and June, and Winnie. Lily would be there, too, and when asked, Tori had been granted permission by her mother to go as well, so it would be 'the six pack' and Lee Beaumont, prowling the streets in search of candy.
Before that, and again by the benefit of it being a Sunday, the afternoon became the stage for Marianne's birthday party, so often little more than a dinner on the day itself. It was impossible then not to make an exception and open up the games earlier than usual, what with the number of kids they had over that day, a lot of them from Marianne's kindergarten class, or blue group up at the ranch… Add to that the Turtle friends, and once you brought all of those right past the games to get into the house… By Hallowannie decree, it was game time.
All through the day, Maya knew she wasn't alone in thinking about the night, specifically about the moment when they would get to tell their birthday girl about her new sibling on the way. They thought about it as they watched her and her friends play, and go through the maze, as Haley arrived, and Marianne got to surprise her with her costume… They thought about it as they got to the presents, and lunch, and cake, and as party pooper Adam Gray overdid it on the food and running around and got sick, as he was cleaned up and picked up by his 'delightful' mother… They thought about it as eventually the guest number started to dwindle, and Marianne and her friends were picked up for trick or treating, which led to an amusing encounter between Melinda Friar and former competitor Lee Beaumont – and Thomas Friar, naturally.
In due time, they thought about it when the actual evening began as they had always had it these last several years. They had lived in this house for a little over a decade now, and they'd had the games for just as long. This was their eleventh year, and they were showing no signs of slowing down. Now that they had the kids, it was only getting better. That counted their own and the ones from school, so many of them milling around and enjoying the games, the maze, the treats, and partaking in the costume contest.
"Hey, how did it go?" Maya asked with a grin as she saw Marianne and her friends were back from their candy hunt, especially as she saw the glowing smile on her baby girl's face. She was treated to a chaotic and very lively retelling of their trick or treating. "Did you have some of your candy already?" Maya asked, 'in confidence,' and Marianne gave an innocent smile. "I'd suggest putting the rest inside if you want to enjoy the games and not end up like Adam," she told her, and fortunately for them both, the message was well received. Marianne did not want to do anything that would make her get sick on any day, but this one more than any.
It was not going to be Halloween at the Friar house without some dose of teenage drama; that seemed to be a prerequisite for them, along with candy and pumpkins, whether it was romantic woes, family secrets unearthed, a teenage pregnancy, a drunk student in need of tending… That had only been a year ago, strange as it could sound. So much had changed for Jenny Marshall in that year, and they came very close to her having this Halloween ruined for her. In what felt like a bittersweet rescue, a few of the others on hand had spotted a few of the other juniors, Ronnie's old crew, prowling about, and they had overheard the boys' plan to get Jenny aside and 'deal with him.' Oh, they had been minding themselves at school, not wanting to end up like Ronnie, shipped off to school elsewhere, but it wasn't as though they hadn't been carrying these intentions in them all the while, and after seeing Jenny at school on Friday, they had apparently gotten it in their heads to act tonight, right there.
Maya had not been able to intervene much further than to make sure they left her house that night, couldn't act in any other capacity, but there could be no doubt that she'd be on the case the next day at school. If she couldn't get through those thick skulls of theirs… As badly as she wanted to salvage this night for Jenny, it had soured things a bit for her, and Maya could understand. She'd allowed her and her friends to take things inside, join the post games portion of the evening, and there they'd gotten to have a far better time.
Until they got there, the outdoor festivities were still going, winding down to the announcement of the costume contest winners. As she'd predicted, the big winners of the night were unanimously Maia Bennett and Ash Bell. As amazing as their costumes had been on Friday, on this night they had gone and added the last elements of it, evolved to the next level in a way their teacher could not have imagined. They were both on the crew for the musical at school, with makeup, and costumes, and she knew they would be a credit to that crew for however many of the four years in which they would participate.
"I don't want to take it off," Marianne shook her head when it came time for her to get ready for bed.
"Pumpkin, you gotta…" Lucas told her, but she just yelped and bolted to hide. This only went and brought her to nearly collide with her mother, who 'captured' her and asked the now giggling girl where she was headed.
"I don't want to take it off," she tried again.
"What part? The costume, the hair, the makeup?" Maya asked. Marianne made a motion over herself. "All of it," Maya understood. "Listen, we've had that happen before, remember? Last year? Nap time? After that, everything was a mess. It's like the pumpkins. You have to enjoy it while they last, but when it's over, you have to let go. The difference here is, if you want to look like this again, we can put it all back on later. Plus, you'll sleep better being yourself again, just Annie in PJs."
She'd made her point, so Marianne relented and allowed herself to be transformed back into a regular six-year-old girl. Once she was all fresh faced and ready for bedtime, she did her usual check on her baby sister in her crib. Mackenzie was asleep, and Marianne watched her without disturbing her, unaware of the signed discussion happening behind her back. They'd thought of telling her right here, when she got into bed, but maybe it would be preferable if they did it further away from the sleeping babe.
"Hey, how about one last stroll in the maze?" Lucas asked. Marianne turned back to look at him.
"In the dark dark?" she asked, amazed.
"Are you scared?" he asked, knowing the answer before she gave it, a firm no. She was not spooked by Halloween things; she was the queen of Hallowannie after all. "Then let's go. You can protect us from the monsters," he looked to Maya, who couldn't even make as though she was too scared herself.
So, down they went, and as tall as she was getting, Marianne was still not so tall that she couldn't be lifted on to her father's shoulders, there to be carried into the maze from this great vantage point.
"Someone's there!" Marianne whispered as they went further in, and she wasn't wrong. All Maya had to do was call out and, a few seconds later, the winners of the costume contest had wound their way back from the heart of maze, where it could be anyone's guess whether the freshmen had been enjoying the quiet of night, the stars, or one another's lips. Either way, Maia and Ash wished their teacher and her husband and daughter a good night before hurrying off, laughing quietly with one another.
They met no one else as they went along. Usually, they would check that the maze was empty and then close it off, but this had either not happened, or the couple had gone and snuck in afterward. Either way, they would let it pass. They had something more important to think about. They reached the heart of the maze and, when they got there, Marianne was brought down from Lucas' shoulders and back into his arms, so the three of them were roughly at eye level with one another.
"Guess what," Lucas told the birthday girl. "We've got one more present for you."
"You do?" Marianne asked, greatly intrigued. She looked at her father, and her mother, but she saw nothing in their hands, or in pockets… "What is it?"
"Well, you know how we told you once that we were surprised when we had Mackenzie when we did, because we thought we might not have another baby so soon after Kacey, and Remy, and Lucy?" Maya asked her. Marianne nodded. Yes, she remembered them telling her that. "Well…" Maya smiled over to Lucas, then back to their daughter. "We've got another surprise coming." It took Marianne a few seconds to catch her meaning, but then she did, and she gasped.
"You're going to have a baby again?" she asked, and Maya nodded. "No way!" Marianne exclaimed – definitely loud enough to have awakened her baby sister if they'd stayed in the room – and her parents broke into laughter.
"That's what I said," Lucas informed her, and now Marianne laughed, too. "Are you happy?" he asked, and she nodded. "Yeah?" he asked, and she nodded harder before turning to her mother and holding out her arms. Maya very gladly picked her up and held her close. Oh, she was getting heavier now, harder for her to hold like that, but far from impossible, especially at a time like this. By the time she was set down again, Marianne was still very giddy, too much to be able to go to sleep so easily. "Alright, birthday exception, one last one," Lucas told her. "Movie time?" Oh, yes, Marianne wanted this. She got to sit on the couch between her parents and they started one of her current favorites. She barely made it twenty minutes before she was asleep, leaning against her father, but it was the best way she could have ended her birthday.
TO BE CONTINUED
See you tomorrow! - mooners
