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Rhonda let a small smile grace her lips as she looked over at the living room where the tv was playing yet another Halloween movie. From what she could tell, it was either “The Nightmare Before Christmas” or “The Corpse Bride” but she wasn’t exactly sure. What she was sure of though was that the scene before her made her heart beat with warmth.
Laying on the sofa in front of the Tv was her husband Vincent who was currently passed out from a sugar overload and from taking two hyper seven-year-olds around the neighborhood to go trick-or-treating. That thought brought her to look at their two seven-year-old twins Wes and Buffy who were laying on top of their Dad passed out from their own sugar overloads.
Rhonda couldn’t help but smile even more at the sight before leaving her work in the kitchen alone and walking into the living room. She watched three of the people she loved most in the world for a few more before she carefully picked up the oldest of the twins, Wes, who was dressed as a lion and clasped him in her arms. She hummed gently as she headed towards the stairs, bouncing him gently as she went.
She found the sound of her black boots tapping against the hardwood floor soothing as she carried her son to his room. She hung the dark brown jacket he wore in his closet before she got him dressed for bed in his spider-man pajamas. She tucked him in underneath the batman covers and turned on his nightlight, leaving the door open a crack in case he needed her or Vince.
Once Wes was put to bed Rhonda tiptoed back downstairs to gather Buffy in her arms. She held her daughter, who was dressed as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz gently in her arms. She bounced Buffy the same way she had bounced Wes, keeping the little girl asleep as she went to tuck her into bed. She left the sparkly red shoes bedside the butterfly covered bed before dressing her in her Snow White nightgown and tucking her into bed. As she left to head back downstairs, she turned on the nightlight and left the door cracked just as she had done with Wes.
Rhonda stretched her arms over her head, touching the tip of her witch’s hat as she did so before letting her arms drop back to her side. Once she made it back down to the living room, she looked over at Vince who was still fast asleep on the sofa, snoring lightly as the movie on the tv that Rhonda now knew was “The Corpse Bride” was nearing its end.
For a moment Rhonda stood there to watch Victor and Barkis’ fight before she turned towards her husband and quietly walked over to him. She grabbed the blanket off the back of the sofa before unfolding it and placing it over him. She was sure he would be fast asleep on the sofa for the rest of the night. Once he was covered up, she leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against his lips before pulling back with a gentle smile. She giggled as she watched Vince snore once more before she turned around and headed back to the kitchen where their Halloween themed dinner was still scattered about.
Rhonda wasn’t even sure that the surrounding food was considered dinner, since most of it was candy and the other half was little snack foods. She simply shrugged and began to tidy up the kitchen by putting most of the sweet treats away in the fridge and throwing the orange plastic cups and pumpkin printed plates in the trash.
As Rhonda cleaned up, listening to the sounds of the credit music coming from the living room, she felt her phone buzz and she froze in the middle of the kitchen. She could hear the witches laugh ringtone going off as she stood there before she snapped out of her trance. As Rhonda blinked, trying to get her focus back she threw the plates and cups she had piled up in the trash before turning around and grapping a smaller pumpkin printed plate.
With the plate in her hand, she turned towards the fridge and opened it up wide once more before reaching inside and plucking a caramel apple from where they sat inside the fridge. The green apple was covered in thick caramel with tons pooling at the bottom, which Rhonda nodded her head in approval of.
She sat the apple down on the paper plate before looking towards the living room to see if her husband was awake. She noted that he was still fast asleep before heading towards the door and pushing up the screen door with her hip to head outside.
She sighed as the crisp Autumn air hit her, making her shiver slightly as a cold gust of wind ruffled her black blouse and blew around a few leaves. She pulled her hand away from the plate to press it against her witch’s hat to keep it from flying away.
With one hand holding the plate and the other holding her hate in place, Rhonda walked down the steps of her front porch and down the path that led towards the opening in the white picket fence. As the wind kept blowing as gripped the plate tighter before stopping at the end of the path.
She took a moment to look around before leaning down and placing the plate on the ground. She made sure the apple was standing up straight and that it wouldn’t fall down before she turned on and headed back up the path. She wiped her hands on her old, faded blue jeans as she stood back up.
Rhonda had done this ever since she was fifteen, leaving caramel apple out for a special someone who she hadn’t seen since she was fourteen. Rhonda winced as the traumatic memory tried to come rushing back, but she shook her head and focused on the pumpkins that lined her path and covered her yard.
She let her smile come back as she looked at all the surrounding pumpkins, knowing that the wind would blow them out when it was time. Just by looking at them, everyone could tell which ones were made by her and Vince and which ones were made by Buffy and Wes. Rhonda giggled at the pumpkin guts fight they had all ended up having in the middle of carving them, which resulted in a picture starring all of them covered in the inside of all the pumpkins they had carved so far.
As Rhonda’s black boots scuffed against the concrete, a sound from behind her made her stop. For a moment she didn’t move afraid that if she did that the person behind her would run away but soon the want to see him overpowered her will to stay still so with a deep breath she carefully turned around to face the gape in the picket fence.
Rhonda stopped and stared at the black button eyes that were stitched into the burlap fabric. The button eyes stared back into her own brown eyes, but neither moved.
She didn’t move closer, and he didn’t move away, both just standing there before he leaned down to pick up the caramel after she had left for him just like she did every year. Rhonda wanted to say something, she wanted to tell him “hello” and ask how he had been, but she stayed silent and waited to see what he would do.
Rhonda watched as he moved the apple to his other hand that was holding the burlap sack he carried around before he reached into the said sack and pulled something out. She couldn’t see what it was but she knew he had placed it on the plate. Though she couldn’t see it she already knew what it was since it was the same thing he had left every year.
Once he placed his gift on the plate he stood up and looked back at her like he had before. They stood there for a few more moments just looking at one another before the creature did what he had done all those years ago.
He gave a simple nod and waited as Rhonda nodded back, then upon seeing her nod he turned back around and walked away.
Rhonda didn’t move as he walked down the sidewalk into the darkness before completely vanishing before her eyes. It was only when she couldn’t see the orange of his suit did she finally move to walk back down the path.
She let her feet guide her to the plate that was left behind and when looked down at it she saw the same item she had seen for many years now. There on the plate was a large jack-o’-lantern lollipop that smiled up at her happily.
Without even thinking about, she reached down and picked the sucker up from where it was placed and she couldn’t help but smile back at the inky black face.
She twirled the orange and black stick around in her hand, watching how the neon-colored lights from the Halloween decorations across the street gleamed off of it
“Happy Halloween,” Rhonda said into the night before she turned around on the path once more and headed back to her house to snuggle up with Vince.