Page 113 of How to Prevent a Fumble

He looks down at himself, pulling a lightsaber—a very real looking lightsaber, like one he got custom made—from his brown robe. His entire face is painted green.

“Leo!” Elara calls from the door before shrieking. “I thought I told you to be Luke!”

He rolls his eyes. “Luke is too mainstream.”

“Did you plan this with my daughter?” I ask him, my jaw on the ground.

If there was one thing I was expecting the least, it’s this.

“Why are you dressed as an elf?”

He looks at me, shock plastered on his green face. “An elf? Please. That was last year. More respect, Yoda demands.”

I watch as he walks past me, and it takes me a second to pick my jaw back up.

“What are you supposed to be, anyways?”

I look down at my black outfit.

“Darth Vader?” I’m not sure why I say it like it’s a question, but I’m also not sure what’s going on here at all.

When I finally get inside, I’m greeted by Emmett’s large frame stuffed in a Wookie onesie, and I’m almost instantly overwhelmed by all the sounds happening at once. BetweenElara’s screeching, Emmett’s Wookie sounds as he hugs Leo, and Leo speaking like Yoda, I feel like my head is about to explode.

“Okay! You guys ready to head out?” I ask, hopeful they’ll listen and go with the flow.

Thankfully, they do.

Heading out into the neighborhood, I stay with Leo and Emmett as the girls run up to different doors asking for candy, giggling and screeching as they run off.

It’s adorable, and I’m just really happy that Elara is making friends.

“Where is Elara going to school?” Emmett asks me suddenly. “Junie says she hasn’t seen her at hers.”

I wince. “She’s still going to school about thirty minutes away. Technically our address is still there. I didn’t want to have to move her so soon.”

“Well if you ever need an in for a great school, Junie has begged me to somehow get Elara in. I’m not sure how I control that, but it’s asked nearly nightly.”

His words warm my heart, and I spend a good ten minutes watching the girls with new eyes.

I can’t take this away from her.

Which is why things with Leo need to stay professional.

Professional, you hear me?

At the end of the night, one of Emmett’s neighbors comes out and asks if we all planned our outfits together. We did, apparently, but I was excluded from the chat. Apparently Elara had asked Leo the next morning after confirming plans with me, and told him he needed to choose between certain characters.

Then, Leo had talked to Emmett about what he was being.

Meanwhile, I was told what to dress as with no real say in the matter.

“You guys want a picture together?” the woman says, reaching for Leo’s phone. He hands it over, and we all standnext to each other, the girls in front of us. Elara puts her hat on to complete her look.

Later, when we’re all home, washed up, and in a candy coma, I scroll through my social media to find Leo had posted.

He had posted the photo of all of us, a small emoji over Juniper’s face. There was no need for one over Elara’s since you couldn’t see it.

My chest hurts as my heart pangs.

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