"Let's get a reeeeal big one!" Georgie chirped in glee as he skipped and trotted through the pumpkin patch. "I wanna carve a big smile on his face!"
"Not t-t-too big, Georgie. Otherwise we w-w-won't even be able to carry it back home," Bill said calmly as he casually perused the autumn gourds.
"You like this one?" Bill asked, holding up a white pumpkin.
Georgie stared blankly at it. "Mmm, I don't know. A white one? Pumpkins are supposed to be orange."
"Yeah, normally. But that's what makes th-this one unique."
"Nah."
Bill shrugged and placed the white pumpkin back in its place. "Okay. You're the pumpkin picker here."
As Georgie continued to browse the patch, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw his brother holding a large, orange pumpkin covered in ugly, bulbous warts.
"Wanna get this one, Georgie?" Bill asked while trying to hold down his laughter, knowing what his brother's response would be, but wanting to humor him anyways.
"Ew, no, get that thing away from me!"
"What? It's orange, just like you wanted!"
"Orange with no warts!"
"Oohh, okay, now you tell me," Bill said as he placed the pumpkin back, laughing.
"How 'bout this one?" Georgie carried with him a medium-sized pumpkin—a little large for a boy of such small stature, but not too large for Bill that he couldn't carry it for a few blocks. It was a plump, round shape with a brilliant orange hue and a clear complexion—no warts.
After a not-too-long walk back home, being careful not to drop their precious pumpkin to splatter all over the sidewalk, their autumn crop was brought to the kitchen, ready to be carved into a good old jack-o'-lantern.
"Now, we open up zhe cranium!" Bill bellowed in a faux German accent as he punctured the top of the gourd with a carving knife. Richie was normally the one with the wacky voices in their group, but Georgie liked it when Bill did them, too. He carved a circle around the stem of the pumpkin, then opened it up. "Und now, ve remove zhe brains!" Bill scooped up a large handful of pumpkin innards and threw them on Georgie's lap, who was currently sitting on the kitchen counter.
Georgie shrieked in surprise, followed by, "Eeeeww, Billy!" as he giggled in a mix of disgust and excitement. He scooped up the innards himself and threw them back at his brother—some sticking to his shirt, while most of it plopped down onto the kitchen floor.
"Oooo, mom's gonna get m-m-mad at you for making a mess!" Bill said with a wide grin on his face.
"Oh, calm down, Billy; I'll clean it up. Besides, I wouldn't have made the mess if you didn't throw it at me!"
"Whatever. Are we g-g-gonna carve the pumpkin or not?"
After scooping the rest of the inside of the pumpkin clean, both the brothers worked together to bring the pumpkin to life: Georgie drew the design of the pumpkin's face with a marker, and Bill carved out the face with the knife, since Georgie couldn't use the knife himself, of course. Mom said so.
The end result was a jack-o'-lantern with one eye larger than the other, a crooked nose, and a wide, gaping smile. Sure, it had its imperfections, but in the Denbrough brothers' eyes, that's what gave it its heart.
"Let's name 'im Larry!" Georgie proposed.
"Larry? Why L-Larry?"
"I dunno," Georgie shrugged. "He just looks like a Larry."
Bill lightly giggled. "Okay, Larry it is."
Larry was fed a candlestick and placed out on the Denbrough porch, ready to ward off any evil spirits that may approach their house on All Hallows' Eve.