Page 61 of Worth the Fall

“A good witch, of course. That’s why I have sparkles!” She spun around and around, her fake hair flying, making her hat fall off.

“And a wand,” Brooklyn added as she reached for the discarded hat on the floor.

“Yep! The wand is for spells. The broom is for flying,” Clara explained like this was all factual information.

“Makes sense to me.” Brooklyn smiled. “You look perfect. I love the lights.”

“Thanks, Miss Brooklyn. Do you dress up for Halloween?”

“Not usually,” Brooklyn answered, and Clara looked so sad.

“Maybe next time, we can be matchers,” Clara offered with a shrug.

“Matchers?” Brooklyn asked.

“Yeah, you know, we can be the same thing. Have matching costumes. Be like twins,” she shouted before spinning again.

Good God, this child was going to kill me.

“Okay, sweetheart. Dinner’s ready. I know you just got into your costume, but you need to take it off before we eat. You don’t want to ruin it before Halloween,” I instructed, and she only pouted for a second before agreeing.

“Be right back.” She disappeared once more.

“I think my daughter might like you.” I held the potpie in my hands as I made my way toward the dinner table and set it on top.

Brooklyn took her newly assigned seat. “I like her too. Not sure about her dad though. He’s kind of wishy-washy.”

“Wishy-washy, huh?” I repeated.

No one had ever called me that before, and I wasn’t sure if she meant it or was just trying to mess with me.

“I’m back.” Clara ran to her seat, all out of breath.

“You okay?” I asked.

“I rushed as fast as I could,” she answered, still breathing hard.

I dished out messy pieces of potpie onto each person’s plate, wishing I’d grabbed bowls instead, as it refused to hold its shape. No one seemed to mind though since the conversation practically slowed to a stop as we dug in. After finishing off her beer, Brooklyn nudged Clara with her shoulder.

“So, do you go trick-or-treating on Halloween, or do you guys go the night before?”

We had a tradition in Sugar Mountain that revolved around the holiday. All the businesses on Main Street were open for trick-or-treating on October 30. That was also the day we held our annual trunk-or-treat at the resort. The two events happened at separate times though, so they didn’t interfere with one another.

Both were considered safer alternatives for parents who weren’t comfortable with their kids walking around after dark, asking strangers for candy at their homes, even if they went with them. Sugar Mountain had always been a safe place to grow up, but there was something about Halloween that put some people on edge. So, instead of taking the experience away from their kid altogether, they got to trick-or-treat in a different, safer way. It felt like a win.

“The uncles come and go with me and Daddy. And then we bring all my candy over to Pops’s house to look at it,” she said before taking another bite of her dinner.

“You bring your candy to your Pops’s house? How come?” Brooklyn was thoroughly invested now. I could tell by the way she leaned closer to Clara without even realizing it.

“Well”—Clara swallowed her food—“’cause Daddy says I have to share. He says it’s too much candy for one little girl.” She made a face like she wholeheartedly disagreed. “So, we go to Pops’s house, I dump all the candy on his table, Pops goes through it to make sure there’s nothing bad in it, and then we split it all up.”

Brooklyn shot me a look that told me she did not approve of this. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. You just give all your candy away after doing all the work?”

Clara giggled. “Notalllllof it,” she said, dragging out the word.

I put up a hand to stop them both. “To be fair, we do also go to Main Street the day before. She gets more candy than any single person needs.”

“One time, I ate all my candy without sharing, and I got real sick.”

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