Page 3 of Halloween in Sleepy Hollow
Our little group gets bigger as Shea, another of my good friends, joins us. She’s dressed in a blue denim shirt with the sleeves rolled up and has a red, polka dotted bandana wrapped around her hair. She smiles as she continues, “I couldn’t help overhearing. If you’re worried about any of the boys getting ideas, I’m sure Oliver wouldn’t mind stopping by the house to say hello.”
Thea’s eyes light with interest. Shea’s husband, Oliver, is a police officer, so he would definitely add an intimidating element to the party. But a moment later, Thea shakes her head. “I’m trusting that everything is going well. And I talked to Laila about it last night. She knows to call if there’s anything that makes her uncomfortable.”
“Okay.” Shea grins. “I remember my first boy-girl party. I was thirteen. And I was so excited because Quinton Pennington?—”
Grant snorts. “Quinton Pennington? Was that his actual name?”
Shea giggles. “Yes. It was. But he was the cutest boy in eighth grade, so I didn’t care about his name.”
“That reminds me,” Thea interjects. “I haven’t heard anything, but maybe I should see if Laila texted and I missed it.” She rummages in her purse for a few seconds before frowning. “Crap. It’s not in there.”
“Did you leave it at home?” I ask.
“No. Because I came straight from work, and I know I had it there.” Thea taps her lips with her finger as she thinks. “I must have left it in my office. I was hurrying, trying to get into my costume before Ben came to pick me up. So it’s probably still sitting on my desk.”
“I’m sure Laila will try Ben if there’s a problem,” Scarlett says. She pats Thea’s arm and offers her a consolingsmile. “You guys can just swing by the library to get it on your way home.”
“Except Laila might not want to tell Ben if it’s something boy related,” Thea replies. “She goes to me with that sort of thing. So if a boy is bothering her and that’s why she wants to leave…”
I can tell from the tight grip on her purse strap that Thea’s really concerned. So I suggest, “How about if we head to the library to get it?” Angling my chin at the craft table, I add, “They seem fine on their own. So if we’re gone for fifteen, twenty minutes, it won’t be a problem.”
Thea stares at Ben and Elias for a second. They’re both painting their pumpkins silver, and I’m assuming the intention is to make two pumpkin-robots. She smiles. “I suppose you’re right. It shouldn’t take too long to walk over there.”
“I can go with you,” Shea offers. “If you want the company. Oliver is over at the safety station, just checking on things. So I’m on my own until he’s done.”
Thea glances at me. “If you want to stay, Ari, I can go with Shea.”
“No, it’ll be fun. We’ll go on a little adventure. And maybe on the way back, we can swing by Greta’s Goodies to pick up some desserts for later.”
Grant chuckles. “Don’t you have enough candy already?”
I shake my head. “No. You can never have too much sugar. That’s a proven fact.”
“Well, that’s not quite how it works,” Scarlett starts.
Shea playfully swats at her. “On Halloween, it does.”
“Okay.” Thea lifts her chin. “Let me just tell Ben. Then we’ll make a trip to the library.”
After a quick farewell, with Winnie barely giving me a second glance as she meticulously covers every square inch of her pumpkin with sequins, we’re on our way to the library.
It’s not a long walk, maybe a quarter mile from the town park to the library, which is located at the other end of Sleepy Hollow’s small downtown district. During the day, I wouldn’t think twice of making the walk on my own. And honestly, on a night like tonight, with a good quarter of Sleepy Hollow in attendance for the Halloween Fright Fest, it’s probably safer than daytime.
Still. There are some memories that cling harder than others.
Memories of being trapped in the dark.
Memories that still creep back into my dreams, even five years later.
And I’m not the only one with sticky memories. Thea has them, too. So does Shea.
“Thanks for coming with me, you guys,” Thea says as we leave the park and start heading towards the library. “I know I could have gone on my own. Or waited until later. But?—”
“It’s not a problem.” I loop my arm around hers. “I wouldn’t want you walking to the library on your own at night. No matter how safe it is. And I’m sure Ben wouldn’t want you to, either.”
Thea shakes her head quickly. “No. He would most definitelynotwant me walking by myself.”
“Oliver would flip,” Shea says. Following my lead, she locks arms with Thea, so now we’re walking side-by-side as a linked trio. “He doesn’t even like me to go shopping on my own.InSleepy Hollow. So walking to the libraryon my own at night? On Halloween, no less? I don’t think so.”
