Page 51 of A Second Chance

“Isn’t he the cutest?” Gwen exclaimed.

The little tyke held an orange plastic pumpkin almost as big as him. Autumn’s eyes scanned the facade of the house and came to rest on him, she grinned. He and Dan nodded at each other. Danny reached the bottom step and held his container in front of him.

“What do you say?” Autumn asked her son.

“Tick tick,” the boy exclaimed, then spotted Jason and pointed at him. “Ja.”

“Hey bud,” Jason said, moving toward the steps the boy had climbed. He gathered the child and his plastic pumpkin up. “Have you been trick-or-treating?”

“Tick tick,” he showed his pumpkin.

“You get some good stuff?”

The boy smiled, drool hanging from his chin. Jason was more than aware of his audience, Dan, Autumn, and Gwen were studying him. He tried to ignore them and took his nephew to the swing and sat, placing the child next to him. “What’d you get tonight?” he asked.

Danny pulled a package of crackers shaped like fish from his pumpkin.

“Yeah, those are good.”

He continued rummaging through the pumpkin and came out with a few pieces of candy and handed them to Jason. He collected each piece from the boy one at a time and then placing them back in the pumpkin.

“How about some candy from Gwen?” he asked.

Danny grinned. “Tick tick.”

“Fancy running into you here,” Autumn smiled. She stood next to them, her husband behind her. Dan observed everything and said nothing. Gwen was busy distributing candy to more children.

He nodded. But in recent weeks, he’d spent more time with Gwen than anyone else. Not that he wanted to discuss it. “You guys bring Danny out here for trick-or-treating,” he said, stating the obvious.

“The houses here are closer together; it’s easier for him to walk” she said.

Jason watched, mesmerized at the little guy trying to rip open a packet of gummy candy.

Gwen came over and handed him the plastic cauldron. “I have to go get the extra candy from the kitchen.”

“So, you two are an item now?” Autumn asked.

He shrugged; they hadn’t discussed it.

“You’re together an awful lot.”

“Is Danny’s last name still McMillan?” he didn’t know why he asked, other than to change the subject.

Dan shook his head, a small smile forming at the corners.

Autumn stared at him for a beat. “No, I changed it to Madera when we got married. Although I kept it as his second middle name.”

“Daniel Maxwell McMillan Madera. Isn’t that bordering on child abuse?” he smiled.

“No. I’d considered hyphenating his last name. Nowthatwould have been child abuse.” She studied him. “Although I’m impressed you know his full name.”

He winced. “Ouch. I’m not that big a jerk.”

“I couldn’t resist,” she smiled.

“You should have given him an ‘m’ first name too, and gone total alliteration.”

Dan grimaced, but Autumn laughed. “That’s what I get for giving him Brandon’s middle name.”

---