“Not so bad yourself Thelma, why aren’t you ready yet?”
“Catherine and Cody just left in the wagon with Caramel a few minutes ago.” Thelma said, opening the window seat cushion and taking out a beautiful Marie Antoinette French Colonial gown.
The dress was ice blue in color and had long sleeves that were layers of white lace. Thelma made a striking Marie Antoinette Colonial figure. The neckline of the gown was square and there were three big bows down the bodice of the dress. Thelma then went to a cupboard and took out the big square hoop that was to go underneath the dress. A couple of swirls with her hands and Thelma’s hair was tall with long curls down one side of her head. “I love a Masquerade party.”
“Are you two ready to go yet?” Said the man walking in the front door. He was very tall and distinguished looking with more gray in his hair than brown. He had a gray mustache. He was dressed like Count Dracula. Luna went up to him and gave him a kiss. “You look very dashing, Hugo. Yes, I believe we are both ready to go now. Are the others over the hill already?”
“Yes, I waited until Caramel was on her way back here before I ‘changed’ Hugo said with a wink and a laugh at his joke as he held out his cloak.
“I’m ready! Caramel said, walking in the front door dressed as Egyptian princess. “Sebastian put so many of those green ribbons in my hair that it was hard to get them out again.” Caramel said.
“Maybe you should have waited until you took us to the hill before you changed into Cindy again.” Thelma said. “This hoop is going to make it hard for me to walk.”
“Perhaps then you should have stayed Twinkle, so you could run ahead of us.” Cindy answered her.
“Don’t look at me!” Hugo said. “I’m not changing back just to give you two ladies a ride.”
“Don’t be silly.” Luna said. Hugo, were you able to take care of that little assignment I sent you on last night?”
“The camera? Yeah, I took it out. I also checked the hotel to make sure she had already checked in. I made sure there were plenty of flyers on the walls about the Halloween party today, she won’t be able to miss them.”
“We are all set then Luna said. Taking Hugo and Cindy’s hands. In a moment there was nothing left but the trail of a blue mist.
Chapter 12
“That is strange, I thought for sure I put the camera in the car. Have you seen it, Cody?” Catherine said, looking under the back seat of their van.
“No, mom, come on, I don’t want to be late.” Cody said, putting his hands up that were like knives in his yellow and black super hero costume. “Let’s just go already!”
Catherine was disappointed in not being able to find her camera. She hoped that someone she knew would be taking pictures so she could get copies from them. Cody looked so cute in his outfit and truth be told, she wouldn’t mind taking a picture or two of Sebastian.
They walked to the Rec Center and found all the activity was around the back of the building. There were back and orange streamers all over and lines to be in the three legged race and other games. Cody rushed off to join Max and some of the other boys he knew from school. Catherine walked over to a very happy looking big Leprechaun. “Hello, Mr. Lucky. You are looking very lucky today indeed.”
“Hello, Catherine. I love what you did with your hair! I am looking forward to sampling the fruits of your labor. I understand you and Isabel pulled an all-nighter in getting this party ready. Good job, great job in fact.”
“Not so much me. Isabel is the genius in the kitchen and Sebastian was the one who brought it all together here. I would be surprised if he got any sleep at all last night. By the way, do you know where I could find him?” Catherine asked, looking around.
“Yep, he is driving the tractor that is pulling the big wagon. Taking the kids on a hay ride around the lake. He is on his third or fourth trip, so when he gets back I’ll take over that duty and he and some of the other fellows will get to the grilling.” Mr. Lucky said.
“Well, then do you know where Isabel is? I’d like to help out where I am needed.”
“Looks like you are needed right over there.” Mr. Lucky said, pointing over Catherine’s shoulder. Catherine looked and saw Cody and Max about to run the three legged race. Catherine turned to thank Mr. Lucky, but he was already gone so she walked over to cheer her son and Max on. She was glad to see that Cody had taken off the super hero hands which were sharp and could do damage if he had fallen while wearing them. Max struggled with the tail on his dragon costume, but they looked like they were having fun.
In the end, a couple of girls about their age won the race that the two boys had competed in. Max wanted to get back in line and try again, but with a different partner this time. One of the girls who had won the race had black hair and beautiful dark big eyes. She ran up to Max and Cody and gave Max a kiss on the cheek. “You almost won, Max!” She said and ran back off again. Max looked embarrassed, but he also had a hint of a smile on his lips. Cody ran up to his mom.
“We almost won.” He said. “It looked like fun.” Catherine said. “What do you want to try next?” Cody looked around and saw a clown getting into the dunk tank. “Let’s go over there and try and dump the clown!” He laughed and was tugging her along.
During the next couple of hours, Cody participated in the other games they had there. A bean bag form of horseshoes, and one where he had to balance an egg in a spoon and try to get to the finish line before the other kids, without dropping the egg. Cody almost made it.
There was a maze set up and bleachers next to it. Five at a time the kids would go into the maze and have only the instructions yelled by their parent to guide them. The mothers or fathers could only yell Left or Right and it was mostly by knowing your own mother’s voice from a distance that was the real challenge. Cody won out of the first five contestants and ran up to Catherine to show her the big winner’s ribbon they gave him. “Wow, Cody, you did very well!” Catherine told him. “Well, that is because I am used to hearing you yell.” Cody said laughing.
“You won a ribbon!” Catherine turned to see a very good looking Robin Hood. She couldn’t help but smile. She was so glad to see Sebastian. “Promise you won’t steal it to give to the poor?” Catherine laughed.
“Ha- ha, funny mom, I’ll be over there.” Cody pointed to a barn. “What is going on over there?” Catherine said, but Cody had already taken off running.
“We are setting up a pig race. Should be a lot of fun. The pigs take one lap around the pen, it’s built in a circle.” Sebastian said.
“That does sound like fun, shall we join him then?” Catherine said, boldly taking Sebastian’s arm. “Sure. They should be finished setting up there in a little bit. I think the boys ran over this way. I love your hair, is that your hair, or is it a wig?” Sebastian asked. “Nope, all mine, I have the indents of bobby pins in my head to prove it.” She said.
“Instead of asking what you mean by that, I think I will just file that away as girl talk.” Sebastian laughed.
“Max and Cody were partners in the water balloon toss. They came close, but didn’t win. By the way, I was surprised to hear that you weren’t here last Halloween.” Catherine said.
“Why is that?” Sebastian asked her, as they side stepped a couple of zombies.
“I don’t know, I guess because you and your sister seem so much a part of this community, it’s not hard to imagine you being born and raised here.”
“Actually, we came here by way of the expressway. I know how that sounds. I meant that we were caught in a major snowstorm and the car skidded off of the road.”
“Change the snow storm to a thunderstorm and you have the reason Cody and I are here.” Catherine said.
“I would have been fine, could have gotten the truck going again after a while. We could have waited it out once we were safely off the expressway. But when we saw Max, we had to find a town.”
“I don’t understand. Where was Max? Wasn’t he in the snowstorm with you and Isabel?�
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“Yes and no. He was in the storm, but not in the car with my sister and I. We saw him walking. He was all by himself and freezing cold.”
“Where did he come from?” Catherine asked, immediately feeling sorry for any ill feelings she had felt for the young Max.
“He said he and his mother were in the storm and that their car broke down. Max waited in the car with Isabel and I walked a good two miles and back looking for his mother’s car, but I never found it. After that, we had to find shelter, poor kid didn’t know what to think.”
“But you, at least I think it was you, maybe it was someone else, but someone introduced him as your son.”
“I’ve come to think of him that way. His mother never came looking for him and we tried finding her, but no luck. This was about nine months ago. Once we got into the village, people were so nice and my truck was pretty well wrecked from sliding into the side of rocks by the exit ramp. We stayed at the hotel for a couple of nights, made sure Max was fed and had warm clothes. After that, we met Luna and she offered me a job of caretaker for her property and things just fell into place. I do think of Max as my son, but he really isn’t related to us. Isabel was offered a job at the school working with the kids doing crafts and art, and then when Luna found out she could bake and use her artistic side with chocolates, she was asked to do the candy for the Chocolate shop as well.”
“What does Max say about who he is and where he is from?” Catherine wondered out loud.
“Never said much. He seems well adjusted in every way and physically he is fine, but Isabel and I can’t help but wonder too why he shows no interest in finding out where he belongs.” Sebastian said.
“Maybe he belongs here, with you.”
“May be, truth is, I wanted to stick around to make sure he was O.K. and to wait with him for his mother to come back looking for him. He has never mentioned a father or any brothers or sisters. He does not play well with others, so I was glad to see him and Cody getting along together as well as they do.”
“I am glad too. Cody, being an only child, has been alone too much in his life.”
“Catherine, I don’t want to pry.” Sebastian started to say.
“I know, truth is, Cody’s father, my husband David, was killed in Iran. Cody was very young at the time and really has no memories of his dad, none that he has talked about at least.”
“I’m sorry. Isabel and I have been pretty much alone in our lives as well. We had an abusive father and our mother died several years ago. We have always stuck together. Our father died and we were actually looking for a new place to settle in when the snow storm caught us. Now, I can’t imagine wanting to live anywhere else.” Sebastian said, handing Catherine a cup of hot chocolate that he got at a booth near the barn.
Catherine was thinking that there was something she wanted to ask Sebastian about something he said earlier, but she could not remember quite what it was now. Cody and Max ran up to them and Cody was telling them that the pig he picked to win was named Pepper and the one Max picked was Salt. There were a couple of other pigs in the race named Sugar and Spice. They all stood at the fence cheering the piglets on. It was a lot of fun watching them squeal and run around the pen. Afterwards, Sebastian led the little group to the big smoke grills.
“Time to get busy cooking.”
“There are so many people here.” Catherine said. “Can I help you, or do you know where Isabel is and if she is working on something I could help her out with?”
“No, haven’t seen her since we got here. She might be in the barn. The doors don’t open there until it gets dark. Strict orders from Luna.”
“That is what I wanted to ask you, Sebastian. You said that you were hired to be care keeper for Luna’s property. I thought that her sister Thelma owned the houses and land over the hill.”
“Far as I know, Luna hired me.” Sebastian said, filling the inside of the grill with hamburgers and hot dogs.
“Luna hired me for the Chocolate Shop and to house sit Twinkle as well.”
“House sit Twinkle?”
“I know, it sounded kinda strange to me as well. I mean, you, Isabel or even Max are certainly capable of feeding the cat and seeing to its care, so why me and Cody?”
“I don’t really know, I just assumed you were looking for a house to rent and that was it. I remember teasing you about Twinkle being the reason you two were there, but I honestly was just fooling around. I am glad you two are there.” Sebastian winked at her just as a couple of teenagers walked up with their arms full of buns and plastic plates.
Cody and Max had run off again somewhere, so she walked towards the Rec Center building. Along the way people stopped her to chat. She stopped to say hello to Lynn from the department store and others who either knew her from Thelma’s Chocolate Shop or from Cody winning the pumpkin mile. That seemed like a life time ago to Catherine.
“Hi Tinkle Bell!” Isabel said walking up to Catherine. Isabel was dressed like a bumble bee in yellow and black. “Hi, you look so cute!” Catherine told her. “You are no slouch yourself with those curls.” Isabel answered back. “Did you just get here?”
“Oh no, Cody and I have been here for hours. Cody has been running around with Max having a ball. He even won a ribbon at the big maze. I was actually looking for you. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Glutton for punishment? You were a life saver last night.” Isabel told her. Just then Cindy and Jill walked up to them. Jill was dressed like a big puppy dog and Cindy looked gorgeous, as always. .
“Cleopatra?” Catherine said. “You look amazing.” “Who is Cleopatra?” Cindy asked, looking a bit confused. Catherine was also confused, but she did not want to point out that appeared to be the costume Cindy had on. She quickly changed the subject.
“Have you tasted any of the cookies that Isabel and I made last night? Some of the booths have them with hot chocolate. Max and Cody decorated them.”
“You and Isabel made those delicious cookies really fancy.” Jill said. “Yes, but you should have seen Catherine last night, she looked like she had dumped a bag of flour over her head.” Cindy laughed. “I don’t know about you girls, but I am off to find me a hamburger.” “I’ll join you.” Jill offered. “See you two later.”
Catherine was about to ask Isabel if Cindy had been at the house last night and how she could have seen her with flour all over her, when a big gust of wind blew their way.
“With these costumes having wings, we might just take flight if it gets any windier.” Isabel said, just as Luna walked up to them. “There you two girls are. Are you enjoying the festivities so far?”
Catherine and Isabel assured her that they were having fun. “I will see the both of you in the Rec Center then, not until dark though. Thank you both so much for all of your hard work. What wonderful additions you have made to our community.” Luna said. Catherine was about to say something when Luna either sneezed, or pretended to, and blue glitter rained down among them.
When the glitter settled to the ground, Catherine had forgotten what she and Isabel had been speaking about just a moment before. “Are you getting hungry, Isabel? I think I could use a hot dog about now.” “Sounds good” Isabel agreed and the two young women walked off in the direction of the grill.
Chapter 13
The day was winding down and along with it, the sun. It was almost time for the Recreation Center to open its doors. Catherine and Isabel had been sitting at a picnic table talking about the day when a gust of wind blinded them for a moment. When they opened their eyes there was a zombie falling towards them. The two ladies jumped up just in time to avoid being crushed by the very large zombie who fell at their feet.
“Are you O.K.?” Isabel asked the zombie. “Yes, how clumsy of me, I am so sorry!” The zombie said. “I don’t know how I lost my balance. Sorry if I scared you.”
“We are fine, did you trip on something?” Catherine asked the zombie. “Not sure. Oh, I am Nick.” The zombie of
fered them his rather big furry hand to shake and then laughed. “So much for first impressions.”
Catherine and Isabel introduced themselves and started to chat about the day to their new zombie friend. Nick had a nice voice and although it was hard to see what he actually looked like under all that zombie make-up, you could tell that he had nice features too.
Sebastian walked up with Max and Cody. “You guys ready to go inside now? Oh, I see you’ve met my sister, Nick.” Sebastian said to the zombie. “Oh, which one is your sister?” Nick asked. “I am.” Isabel told him. “How do you know my brother?”
“Nick has been a big help with the heavy lifting for the party and has helped me out on a few other projects. I’m surprised you two haven’t met before.” Sebastian said.
“Can we go in now?” Cody asked. Isabel looked up at the zombie. “Would you like to join us, Nick? That is, if you’re not here with someone already.” “I would love to.” Nick answered as Sebastian and Catherine smiled at each other.
They walked to the front of the building where a big line had already formed. The doors to the building were still locked. A man’s voice over the loud speaker told the crowd to be prepared to be amazed. Just then all of the surrounding lights went dark. All the areas like the barn and dunk tank and other attractions that had been brightly lit up until now, went dark. They heard the wolves howling, which Catherine recognized as being from the bell near the top of the hill. Cody pressed closer to his mother and she smiled down at him, putting her arm around his shoulder.
Lights came back on, but they were lights in front of the building where all the people were standing. They were bright orange and when they blinked off for a few seconds and then came back on, they noticed that the double doors had indeed opened. There was a large structure there that looked like a deranged clown. Everyone had to step into the clown’s mouth to get inside the building. You had to enter one at a time and the back of the clown’s mouth was covered with a black sheet so when someone stepped in, the people behind them could not see where they went.
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