by S. L. Baum
Adeline scrunched her brow. “That is strange.”
“How are you supposed to function without a timeline?” Pauline asked her husband.
“That’s what I told him,” Sheriff Tucker said. “I made him set a date. So he said Thanksgiving. Well, his last day will be the day before Thanksgiving. He said they’ll leave right away. I guess a holiday weekend is as good as any to make that kind of a drive.” As he spoke, the sheriff watched Krista’s reaction, studying her body language and her facial expressions. He’d always been good at reading people. “You look a little surprised, Kristanta Jessmina Vita.”
“I guess I am a little surprised, Sheriff Albert Tucker. I mean, I knew about the move – about them wanting to go to Charleston. I just hadn’t heard they’d decided on an exact time to leave,” Krista said, rocking slightly backward and shifting her weight to her heels.
“I don’t think he had an exact time in mind until I told him that I needed one,” the sheriff stated. “Sounds like he’s confused about what’s going on.”
“Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away,” Krista noted.
“Maybe his family is really putting on the pressure to move, since Ben and Marlene put it off earlier this summer,” Pauline reminded her husband. “You know how family can be with pressure,” she nudged Adeline with her elbow.
“Pressure. You can’t be talking about me. I’m the most laid back person around,” Adeline said, although she couldn’t keep a straight face as she uttered the words.
“I’m going to get back to Sam,” Krista said as she started to back up. “I’ve got to help him set up the table with the candy. Happy Halloween.”
Albert Tucker watched as Krista made her exit. The girl looked worried; she looked secretive, and he was sure she knew more about what was going on with Ben and Marlene than she was letting on. The whole thing had a stink to it, and he didn’t like it. But he figured it wasn’t really his business and thought maybe he shouldn’t dwell on it too much. Because, while Ben and Krista seemed evasive, he didn’t think any laws were going to be broken in the process of whatever was going on.
As Krista walked back, Sam waved to Sheriff Tucker, Pauline, and Adeline, and then turned around to focus his attention on the table he was supposed to be setting up. He locked the legs into place and flipped the table upright. As he smoothed the black tablecloth across the top, Krista walked past him. She looked slightly bewildered, and a little confused.
“I’ll get the big bowl of candy.” She motioned to the inside of the diner, pulling at her bottom lip as she walked.
While she was in the diner, Sam set up the two jack-o-lanterns that Jim had carved, putting them at either side of the tabletop. He was lighting the candles inside of them when Krista came back out with the bowl. She set it down, pulled at her bottom lip again, and then placed her hands on her hips.
“I’ve got to call Doctor Baker,” she told him. “I’m going to sit in my truck for a few minutes while I’m on the phone. I’ll be right back.”
“Is anything wrong?”
Krista frowned as she looked at him, but shook her head. “I just have to ask him a question.”
Sam pulled her closer to him. “Are you sure nothing is wrong?”
“Not with me… maybe someone else. It’s a patient. I can’t really talk about it.”
“Okay. I just want to make sure you’re good. You look worried,” he told her.
Krista focused on him for a moment and tried to clear her face of emotion. “Just a little concerned. I’ll be right back.”
After sliding into the truck, she closed the door and dialed Doc’s cell phone.
“Doc, where are you?” Krista asked, the moment he answered.
“I’m about to leave the center and head to Main Street. What’s going on?”
“Sheriff Tucker just informed me that Ben told him that he’s leaving town for good on Thanksgiving. Did Ben or Marlene talk with you about this?”
Krista heard Doc sigh into the phone. “No. He did not.”
“What’s he thinking? Are they leaving without letting me help her, or does he think he can pick a random date for this to happen? He didn’t discuss any of this with me.”
“With me either, Krista.”
“Apparently Ben first told the sheriff that he’d be leaving at some unknown date, at a moment’s notice. But after the sheriff said he needed an exact day, Ben said Thanksgiving!” Krista paused. “Thanksgiving! That’s just a few weeks away from now. I don’t know what the man is thinking.” Krista gritted her teeth and clenched her fist.
“Sounds like we need to confront them both, so we can find out,” Doc said.
Krista blew out a slow breath, “I guess so. Well, no use worrying about it now. I’m at the diner if you want to stop by.”
“Alright. Do you want me to go over to Ben’s and talk with them?” Doc asked.
“No. Not without me there to explain more of the process to him.”
“Alright. I understand.”
Krista hung up the phone, and returned to Sam’s side. “Did you get an answer to your question?” he asked.
Krista shrugged. “Not really. But I’ll figure it out soon. It’s fine. No worries.”
“So, back to Halloween fun?”
“Absolutely!” Krista rubbed her arms. “It is pretty chilly out tonight, and it’s still fairly early. It’s just going to keep getting colder.”
Sam stood behind Krista and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her into his chest. “Jim’s bringing a propane heater from the back. We are going to set it up behind the table, right here.”
“Oh, that’s perfect. Just keep your arms around me until it gets here.”
“Or I can warm you up in other ways.”
“I’m not sure that’s appropriate out here in the open.” Krista leaned back into him.
“You’re probably right,” Sam agreed with a small laugh.
The heater came out, music was turned on, and the children started parading up and down Main Street. Superheroes, princesses, aliens, ghosts, zombies, athletes, mini policemen, and cartoon characters marched by. The little children, tweens, and teens stopped to say the magic words while holding out their bags and buckets to capture their hoard of goodies. Krista and Sam took turns passing out the candy, with Pete and Opal coming out when they could to join in the fun. Jim brought out hot drinks, and a few scrumptious snacks.
But Halloween in Cedar Creek wasn’t just for the young. Many of the town’s adults were dressed in costumes as well. People walked around to greet their neighbors and friends, and also to see what kind of dress-up everyone else was playing. It was definitely a night to recapture youth, to jump out of the mundane and a time to do, wear, or be something unexpected. Even Abe and Eli got in on the fun, dressing up as Laurel and Hardy. They were both shocked Krista knew who they were, and Krista silently thanked her grandmother for watching the duo when Krista was a young girl.
Krista was completely enjoying the evening and had pushed all her concerns away, until she saw Ben and Marlene coming her way. They had outfitted themselves in black from head to toe, with plastic vampire teeth in their mouths and painted dripping red blood on their faces. Marlene seemed particularly pale, but Krista could see that she’d enhanced the look with white make-up on her face and dark kohl outlining her eyes. Doctor Baker was walking with them as they approached the table in front of the diner.
“I vant to suck your blood.” Marlene held her hands up, like she was going to claw someone.
“Not my blood!” Sam quickly covered his neck. “It’s good to see you two out tonight. It looks like you’re feeling better.”
Marlene smiled. “I am.”
Sam extended a hand to Ben. “Enjoying the evening?”
“Marlene made me put this on. I’m not a costume kind of guy”
“I twisted Krista’s arm a little too,” Sam told him.
“And she looks great!” Marlene exclaimed. “As do you, pumpkin,” she told h
er husband. “You’ve made me very happy.”
Ben gave Marlene a hug. “That’s what I’m here for.”
“Doc, is this really a costume?” Krista asked as she inspected her boss.
Doctor Baker stuffed his hands into the pockets of his bright red pants. He had worn a red suit, a white shirt and tie, with shiny black boots on his feet. He’d embraced the Santa look for Halloween. “It is my official Halloween, Santa-ish suit. I pull it out twice a year, Halloween and Christmas Eve.”
“Well, you look great,” Krista told him.
“The Richardsons and I were just talking about your morning routine with Marlene. I think we may have a few revisions. Could you come away with us, for just a couple minutes?” Doc motioned to her.
Krista looked at Sam. “Go ahead. I’ve got this,” he told her.
“I’ll be right back,” Krista said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. When she was near enough to Doctor Baker to whisper a warning, she told him to walk away from the motel. “They’ll ask questions.”
Doc looked over at the sheriff, his wife, and his sister and nodded his head in understanding. He steered the group in the opposite direction, away from curious ears.
“What’s with the whole Thanksgiving exit?” Krista hissed at Ben under her breath.
“I don’t know. Marlene and I have been talking. She’s got me convinced that she’s going along with this, no matter what, so I put in my notice. I panicked when Tuck wanted a departure date, and I just picked the next holiday.”
“Why’d you talk to him at all yet? What was the rush?” Krista kept a smile on her face as they walked along in case anyone was looking at the four of them.
“Because he was worried about leaving the sheriff without proper notice, and that would mean he might not get the recommendations he needs to find work in Charleston,” Doc explained. “He told me that much as we walked over to the diner to get you.”
“So you just picked a random day for your wife to die? I can’t make Marlene sick enough to be on the verge of death. I can only step in when her body gets there on its own.” Krista wanted to shout. She’d gone into panic mode. No one had ever tried to give her a timeline before.
“I screwed up,” Ben admitted. “What are we supposed to do now?”
“We could accelerate my symptoms,” Marlene suggested. “Stop taking my meds, stress out my system.”
“Oh, God, no!” Ben almost yelled. A few heads turned their way and he lowered his voice. “You are not forcing your heart to give out on you!”
“If you want this done by Thanksgiving, you might have to,” Krista sighed.
“The sooner the better,” Marlene said, her voice chipper. She had cast all her hopes into Krista’s basket. As desperate as she was for a miracle, she’d clung to the first one that appeared. She knew it was crazy, but some part of her knew that it would work… so it didn’t feel crazy. It felt right.
“Doc, talk some reason into her,” Ben pleaded.
Doctor Baker put his hand on Ben’s shoulder as they continued to walk. “Ben, I don’t know what to tell you. You can go back to Albert and tell him that you were mistaken, that it may be months from now before you leave. Or you can stick with Thanksgiving and I can go against all my medical oaths and training and assist you and Marlene in making sure her heart starts to fail.” Doc shook his head. “I can’t believe I just said that.”
“I can’t believe it either,” Ben gasped.
“Nor can I,” Krista hung her head as they walked. She’d never suggested someone accelerate his or her symptoms before. It just seemed wrong.
“Well, I can. Seems like a solid plan to me. Let’s leave the car here and walk all the way home,” Marlene suggested. “That’ll strain my heart.”
“Absolutely not. We are not doing that.” Ben shook his head in refusal. “I’ll think about it tonight…” he told Doc. “And figure out what I should do.”
“What we should do,” Marlene reminded him. “Actually, I’ll decide what I should do. It’s my body, my heart, my life.”
Ben’s shoulders slumped with the weight of her words. “I know, sugar. I know.”
“It would have to be done naturally. I won’t administer any drugs that would adversely affect you,” Doctor Baker told Marlene.
“I’m sure we can figure this out,” Marlene told them all. “No more talk about my ridiculous heart. Let me enjoy this evening. It will probably be my last Cedar Creek Halloween.”
Ben’s face went blank with those words. While Marlene was talking about moving away, all he could think about was the end of her life. He still hadn’t embraced Krista’s abilities. He simply didn’t believe there was such a thing as a Deathtaker. He was trying to mentally prepare himself to let Marlene go, on her own terms. It was the hardest thing he’d ever tried to do, but he wanted her to enjoy the time she had left. Marlene was happy again, for the first time in a long time.
“Call me tomorrow,” Krista told them. “I’ve got to get back to Sam.”
“I will,” Marlene promised as she dragged Ben over toward Frank’s Drive-in. Krista heard her sing out, “Ben, let’s get milkshakes!” Her voice was filled with joy.
Doctor Baker gave Krista a silent wave and walked off on his own. He wanted to go home to think about the best way to allow one of his patients to decline to near death within the next few weeks. Doc knew he’d help Marlene in any way he could. It was his job, after all, to do what he could to make things right… even if he had to go down the wrong path to end up at the right destination.
Krista banged her fists against her sides. She didn’t like the time constraint and she didn’t like the thought of Marlene making herself worse. Krista didn’t like the whole situation. What if Marlene caused herself to have a massive heart attack and Krista wasn’t able to get to her in time? She walked toward the diner, trying to make sense of it all. As she approached Sam, she could no longer conceal her worry, and she put her hands up to cover her face. Her heart thudded in her chest.
Sam immediately wrapped his arms around her, and Krista rested her cheek against his shoulder while she hugged him tight. “I can feel your heart beating against my chest. Did you run over here?”
“No. I’ve suddenly got the worst headache,” she told him.
“I told you I thought something was wrong,” he said, rubbing her back. “Did you take anything for your head?”
She saw the opportunity to mask her concern for the whole Marlene situation with his belief that she’d been feeling ill all evening. Lies. Could someone start a relationship with lies? It probably wasn’t the best idea. Maybe that is why her grandmother never remarried after her husband had died, and why her mother never wanted a relationship with her father. Lies drove a wedge, even if they were told to protect the ones you love.
“No, I didn’t. It was barely hurting before, but it has been growing all night,” she lied. “I probably should.”
“I’ll ask Opal. She has a whole medicine cabinet in the back. She’ll have something for you to take,” Sam told her and then kissed the top of her head.
“Thank you,” Krista said as he pulled away from her. “Can you get a huge glass of water too? That always seems to help my headaches.”
“Absolutely. Be right back.” Sam spun around and went into the diner.
Krista watched him go inside.
“Trick-or-treat!” A little girl excitedly screamed behind her.
Krista grabbed some candy from the bowl and turned around. She jumped back in mock fear. “Oh no! You’re a scary one,” she told the black robed figure. The little girl’s hood was so deep that Krista couldn’t see her face.
The girl turned to the adult behind her. “Mom, where’s my thing?”
“Dad’s carrying it, he’s coming now, with your brother,” she told her daughter.
Krista looked behind them to find a little cowboy, holding on to a man’s hand. The man was carrying a plastic scythe. “Hurry, Daddy!” the girl called out to him. “I nee
d my thing. I need it.”
“You said you didn’t want to carry it anymore,” he said. “Here. Carry your own weapons.”
The girl turned back around. “I’m The Reaper!” she said in her best scary voice.
“You certainly are,” her father laughed.
She pulled her hood back and looked at Krista. “I remember you from school. I’m Tianna, I’m seven, and I hate princesses.”
Krista put the candy she was holding into the black bucket the girl was carrying. “You make a good Reaper, Tianna,” she told her.
“I’ve decided I’m the kind of Reaper that comes after,” she whispered to Krista.
“Her grandfather is a mortician,” the father explained. “She is very interested in death right now.”
“And this one is interested in cowboys,” the mother said as she swooped up her son.
“That’s Trey. He’s only two.” Tianna pointed to her brother.
“I’m fwee!” Trey shouted.
“Not for a little while, sweetie. You’re still two,” their mother corrected.
“Kids’ resale!” Krista exclaimed as a light went off in her head. “You guys own the store at the corner of Main and Fifth. Right?”
“Yes, we do. I’m Tawny and that’s my husband Tyrell. We’re the Tysons,” Tawny said in introduction. “You’re Krista. I’ve seen you around. Thankfully, we haven’t had a reason to see you in a professional sense.”
Tyrell gave her a wave.
“Not needing to visit Doc is always a good thing. It’s nice to meet you guys.” Krista smiled.
“I think it’s time to go home. The cowboy looks plumb tuckered out,” he said in a drawl.
“I’ve got the cowboy, you get Death,” Tawny told her husband. “Goodnight, Krista.”
“Goodnight.”
“Bye!” Tianna waved as she walked away with her parents.
“Goodbye, Death.” Krista waved back at the girl.
Sam came back outside with a cup of water and two pills. “I told Opal that I’m taking you home. You look like you need to rest.”
Krista swallowed the pills. She was starting to get a headache after all. “Thanks, Sam. I think I’ll be fine. Let’s just give these a few minutes to kick in.”
