Frances rolled over in her sleep as she heard someone move about the room. She was too tired to get up, so she laid there and slept awhile more. She finally woke up towards the afternoon and tried sitting up in bed.

"Well, good morning to you!...Or should I say Good Afternoon!" Fred spoke, startling her a little, making her jump. "Oh, I'm sorry, honey." He chuckled, sitting down on the bed next to her on their bed.

"It's alright." Frances laughed a little. "What time is it? Why didn't you wake me?"

"Oh, it's around 12:30." Fred said and then grinned at his wife. "I didn't have the heart to wake up someone so beautiful."

"Oh please." She laughed, shaking her head at him.

"I mean it." He smiled, and gave her a kiss on the lips.

"What day is it?" Frances asked him.

"Halloween morning ..Which is why I took off work today. Holiday, you know." He chuckled.

"It's anything but holy!" She muttered.

"I'm kidding!" Fred laughed. "Joe, Nona and the kids are coming over tonight, right?"

"Yes and Freddy's bringing Irene over."

"Think they'll get married soon?" Fred questioned.

"I don't know. Honey, they've only been dating a year!"

"He spends all his time with her...I can tell they're pretty crazy about each other. Why shouldn't they get married?"

"I didn't say they shouldn't get married!" Frances chuckled.

"So what are we giving the kids for treats tonight?" Fred asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, honey! I almost forgot! I'll have to bake some cookies or something."

"Your peanut butter cookies?" He asked, grinning.

"Yes would you like to help me...'little boy'?" Frances chuckled, patting her husband's cheek.

"I can do that."

"Oh, and our place isn't decorated!" She thought out loud.

"It doesn't have to be decorated." Fred said.

"Yes it does!...I know what'll be perfect! Bittersweet." She said trailing off, and went out the back door and started up the road where she took to go visit her mother. She walked up past the little place where her children would play when they were younger. It was a little hill made of reddish brown earthy clay, with the patch of woods at the top. They would have clay fights there, and Freddy used to pretend it was a mountain and climb to the top where the trees were. Well, it was that, and bombard his little sister with clay! She laughed to herself as that memory came to her mind. Where they'd come home, their clothes caked with clay and dirt, and she'd have to get the wash tubs to soak the clothes in and give them baths!

Frances walked a little more past that spot and across from where her mother's little brick house was, there was the little woody vine of bittersweet, all entangled in the tree branches. She took as much of the bittersweet as she thought she needed, and set off back down the hill to her house.

"You're going to decorate...with a weed?" Fred asked, smirking, as she walked through the back door. He placed his hands on his hips for a second and chuckled a little as he walked towards her.

"It's not a weed, it's a vine." Frances looked at him, and in her deep brown eyes, you could see that familiar little hint of liveliness about her. "...and I think it's beautiful." She said, at last. "And what are you doing with those, Mr. Lay?" Frances chuckled, tapping her foot as she saw that he had two pumpkins from her garden. A medium sized one, and a smaller one. Both plump, and light orange in color.

"I thought it would be nice to carve them with the kids."

"Well, if you're going to...carve a pleasant face." She smiled, and rubbed his arm.

"Oh...Kids love a good scare!" Fred laughed.

"Just not for the little ones...we don't want them terrified. Now, will you help me decorate? I think some will do well on the French doors!" Frances said, and started hanging the little vine on one post, and Fred did the other one, and then Frances tried getting the bittersweet pinned on the overhead beam, but she couldn't quite reach it! She suddenly felt her husband's hands on her waist, and he lifted her shorter frame up so she could reach it.

"Well, thank you for the extra help! I could have gotten a chair, silly." Frances laughed. "I'm surprised you can still lift me!"

"Never was a problem." He chuckled, holding her against him a few seconds, and then set her down. He placed his rough hand on the small of her back and admired their work. "Looks real nice."

"Thank you...now to decorate the buffet table." Frances smiled, pulled back one of the French doors, so she could get to the wooden table with drawers and the long little mirror, and set the little vine of bittersweet on the ledge above the mirror. "Now, I'm going to lay down awhile...I am nearly exhausted!" She chuckled a little.

"Slowing down as you get older, huh?" Fred teased.

"I'm 38." She sent him a look. "Besides...I feel like I did when I was pregnant." Frances smiled a little.

"Are you?" He smiled and raised an eyebrow, unsure if it was still possible, him being older now...He was 46, to be exact.

"I think so, it sure feels like it...but I'll make an appointment in a few weeks. Just to be sure." She smiled. "But I hope I am...Maybe you'll get what you've wanted these past few years." Frances chuckled, kissed him and then went into the room that used to be Helen's since she was off at college. They were using it now, so she laid down on the bed and slept.

(

Helen quietly snuck in through the front door. She wanted to come home from Bayless Business college and surprise her folks! She saw her father sitting on the little couch reading the paper.

"Hi Papa!" She said quietly.

"Helen!" Fred grinned and set down the paper and wrapped his daughter up in his arms. "How's my college girl? We've missed you!"

"It's only been four weeks Papa!" She laughed. "...but I've missed you too." Helen smiled, hugging her father closer. "Where's Mama? And Freddy?"

"Freddy's with Irene right now..." Fred began.

"Of course!" Helen sighed and smiled a little.

"And your mother's taking a little nap."

"Oh! I'll go up and see her!" She said, and opened the door to her room, so she could go upstairs, but seeing her mother asleep in her bed, she looked back at her father. "You're using my room?"

"Yeah." Fred said. "I fell down in the basement last week, hurt my knee. Your mother didn't want the same, or worse happening upstairs, so she had us move downstairs since it isn't being used."

"Well, that's fine then. Are you okay Papa?"

"Oh yeah! Sprained it a little, I'm fine."

"Good." She smiled back at him, and headed into the room and sat down on the bed next to her mother. "Mama." Helen grinned, seeing her mother wake up.

"Well, bless my soul!" Frances smiled and sat up when she saw her daughter. "Helen!" She grinned and leaned so she could hug her. "I've missed you, baby girl!...What in Heaven's name are you doing home?"

"Mr. Bayless gave us the weekend off...and I just had to come home! I'm homesick!"

"Well, you're home now for a while!" Frances smiled, and hugged her youngest child again, just 18 years old.

"You okay, Mama? Feeling sick? It's not much like you to rest...you're always up and about."

"I just feel tired, a little bit nauseous. I'll be fine, don't worry about me...You're home. Let's focus on that." Frances smiled. "Your little cousins are coming over tonight and we'll have some good food and a bonfire."

"Sounds like fun! Can I make something?"

"Well, sure, if you want to!" Frances smiled.

"I'll make my fruit salad!" Helen smiled. "I'll go to the store and I'll be back!"

Helen made her trip to the store and back, to buy her ingredients for the fruit salad, while her parents started baking cookies .. and later Frances' brother Joe, his wife Nona, and their kids, Fran, Leonona, whom they called Snooky, Joey, George also known as Pudge , and their youngest, Dolores, otherwise known as Butzi made it to their place. Freddy and his girlfriend Irene Duggan made it over a little bit after they did.

"Well, the treats are all on the table for the kids well, everyone, I should say!" Frances smiled. "Fred thought to carve pumpkins with the kids so we'll do that outside now. Back door is open whenever you want something to eat, alright?"

"Freddy, you said you wanted to help the younger ones with their pumpkin?"

"Sure Papa but first I wanted to catch up with my little sister." He grinned, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh Freddy, we can do that outside. I want to visit with everyone anyway."

"I need to talk to you about something." He whispered.

"Freddy, I can get the kids started on it." Irene spoke up.

"You sure you can do it?"

"Yes, you silly I can handle a knife." Irene laughed and kissed her boyfriend and followed the little ones outside.

"So Freddy, what is it?" Helen asked him.

"Uh...um." He stuttered. "Um...how's college? How's that going for you?"

"Um...Fine! It's only been a month. Not much to say about that...I am looking for a job."

"That's good...that's real good."

"Freddy, what is it?"

"I don't know how to say this! Okay?" He almost yelled, leaning against the wall.

"Just calm down and tell me!"

"I've asked Irene to marry me."

"Well, that's great!" Helen smiled and hugged her brother. "That wasn't so hard! Now was it?" She smiled, and Freddy just stared at her, and Helen's smiled vanished bit by bit, and she looked into her older brother's brown eyes ...She could tell there was something else he wasn't telling her. "What's wrong?"

"Irene...That's what's wrong...Irene said." He said, but stopped.

"What?" Helen whispered.

"She told me she's pregnant."

"Oh." Helen said, a little shocked and wasn't sure of what to say.

"It's mine of course...I can't believe I've screwed up like this...Doc told her she's about three, maybe four months along. We're not so sure.

"You're not sure? How can you not be sure? And you've waited THIS long to say anything?"

"She told me a few weeks ago!...And it wasn't the first time that we did anything, okay?...There was that one date...and the one time in the woods and..."

"Oh my God, you had sex in the woods?" Helen nearly yelled. "Gross! Shut up,...no more! I don't need to know about my brother's sex life with his girlfriend!...Why are you telling ME anyway? Do Mama and Papa know about this?"

"Are you kidding me? No! I don't know how to tell them!"

"They need to know, Freddy."

"I know that...Mama's probably going to have a fit! That's why I decided to tell you first."

"Hey kids!...Your Mama wants you outside to help with the pumpkin carving." Fred walked in suddenly. "What's going on?" He asked, staring at them as they both became quiet. "Helen, Freddy. I'm waiting...What is it?" Fred looked at his 20 year old son, and then at his 18 year old daughter...both looking guilty. "Helen,will you tell me what's going on?"

"It's Freddy's problem! Not mine!"

Fred looked back at his son. "Freddy,come on. Out with it."

"Irene's pregnant." He mumbled.

"She's what?..." Fred asked sternly. Freddy didn't know if his father was terribly angry or if he was just upset. "You got her pregnant." He stated, at last.

"Yes sir." Freddy said. He wasn't going to hide the fact. He stared back at his father, waiting for what he was going to say.

"Like I should say much of anything." Fred sighed and looked solemn. "Look at me with your mother." He began to say but Freddy spoke up again.

"I've asked her to marry me, Papa."

Fred smiled a little. "But I'll say this. Like father, like son." He said, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, what are we gonna do? I need to tell Mama, and she's not going to be happy with me."

"We'll worry about that later. C'mon outside."

"All right." Freddy said quietly and followed his father and his sister outside to the back yard where they were carving pumpkins on the little sidewalk. Fred made a really scary looking face on the larger pumpkin for the older kids, Fran, Snooky and Joey. Freddy and Irene helped the two younger kids carve a cute little face on their pumpkin. Well, Freddy was doing most of the carving and Irene was playing with four year old Pudge and two year old Butzi. Later everyone huddled around a fire that Frances had made. They started telling scary stories. One about the man with a golden arm, and someone suggested that Frances tell the story about the enchanted forest in Germany.

"People say that there's this haunted forest in Bavaria, Germany. At night, it's dark, cold, and spooky. When you first walk into the forest...you feel...someone...or perhaps...something...jump on your back. It feels like a large, heavy weight….and you feel that you can't get it off of you! It stays with you the whole time you walk through the forest...and then!" Frances said sharply, looking around at her little nieces and nephews and the rest of her family...the fire's glow giving her a creepy looking complexion. "...just as you leave the forest you hear someone yell….something….."

"What do you hear Aunt Frances?" Little Joey asked, hanging on every word that she said. "What do they yell?"

"Boo!" Little Butzi piped up, her little hands at her face…The sound the two year old had made, made her older sister Snooky, who was sitting next to her, jump! "Dey go BOO!" She said, yelling "boo" once again, which made everyone laugh.

"Why say that?" Pudge asked.

"It scawey!" Butzi said and again everyone laughed till their sides nearly ached! When it all died down, Frances continued the story.

"Just as you leave the forest you hear a shrill, ghostly voice, It goes a little like this…."Naaaamon!...Naaaaamonnn!" Frances immitated the voice. "Namon,…..WEEEEEEEEE!" Frances yelled, which made little Joey fall off the log he was sitting on, to which all the kids laughed!

"Are you okay, Joey?" Irene asked, helping the seven year old up.

"Yeah, I'm fine…thanks Irene."

"You're welcome."

"Go on, Aunt Frances! I wanna find out what happens!" Fran said excitedly.

"Where was I? Oh yes!...Then...whatever was on your back jumps off in a split second and the heavy feeling you felt is gone! Some say...it is an evil ghost...making sure you don't disrupt anything in HIS forest!...Others say it is a friendly ghost, and wants to make sure you get through the forest with no trouble..."

"Which is it?" Fran asked.

"I say it's a mean ghost!" Joey said.

"I want it to be a nice one!" Snooky told him, and then the two began fighting about it.

"Mean!"

"I want it to be a nice little ghost!"

"Well, I say it's a mean one!"

"Nice!" Snooky growled.

"Mean!" Joey yelled. "Besides! There's no such thing as a friendly ghost!"

"Well, there should be!" Snooky raised her voice.

"Children, that's enough yelling." Nona told them and they quieted down. "Let your Aunt Frances finish the story."

"Well, which is it, Aunt Frances?" Snooky asked.

Frances grinned at her niece. "I think you'll have to go to Bavaria, Germany and find out yourself...just don't do it on Halloween night!" Frances said, her voice sounded eerie and her face looked solemn.

A/N: Frances would decorate for fall rather than Halloween, Using bittersweet. It grows in the woods behind, and near our place. I spotted some while walking in the woods today! :)

Namon, weeee! is a ghost story Frances used to tell, and the story was passed down through the years.

Well, it is Halloween today...For those that celebrate it, I hope you have a safe time out trick-or-treating or whatever you do on this night.