Page 52 of A Second Chance

“True.” Brandon had delivered Danny under dire circumstances, ones that he’d caused. Jason pushed the thought away.

“Oh, and you’re not a jerk at all,” Autumn said. His sister’s support of him had never wavered, and his gut tightened because he never deserved it. And sometimes, it gave him the sense of drowning. But how dare he not appreciate the love and support she offered? It was a circle of anxiety that left him dizzy if he let his thoughts run wild. His shrink said it was because he didn’t feel worthy. And that was an understatement. For most of the past three years, he’d felt… broken.

Danny smacking his knee, brought him back to the present. The toddler climbed from the swing and rummaged through the leftovers in the bottom of the cauldron. He held up a packet of fruit snacks.

“You like those?” The boy smacked the bag against his thigh several times.

“He’s not opening those for you,” Autumn said, picking up her son to his protests. “You’ve had enough.” Danny tried to jerk away from his mom, becoming furious, he cried out. “He’s getting tired,” she explained. “We need to go.” After Danny almost leaped from her arms, Dan took the boy, who continued to protest his plight, but unable to jerk free of his father, laid his head on Dan’s shoulder and sobbed.

Autumn collected Danny’s pumpkin and hugged him. “We need to go,” she repeated as Gwen reemerged with a bag of candy. They hugged and she dumped the candy into the cauldron at his feet. Autumn, Dan, and a crying Danny descended the steps and he watched them move down the sidewalk back toward the square where they’d parked.

By the time his sister and her family left, the sun had set behind the horizon, the dark bringing out the larger groups with older children and teens. Gwen’s front porch was all dressed up with string lights of large orange bulbs, and they glowed against the increasing darkness. The town had installed new street lights since he’d left; they resembled old fashioned street lights with a gas flame and created a warm glow down the street.

He and Gwen passed out candy and swayed on the porch swing together in between groups. Jason loved being with her, even comfortable in silences, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he still needed to make it up to her for not remembering their past… for not remembering her.

A car pulled into the driveway and Natalie exited and walked around to the other side and hauled a giant bag out of the passenger’s seat. That bag was bigger than she was. He wondered if he should help but she carried it to the porch with ease.

“The drive home was certainly a fright,” she said taking the steps. “Terrified I’d run over a child. They’re everywhere.” She opened the front door and set the bag inside, then turned back to them.

“How are you, Jason, dear?”

“I’m good, ma’am. Thank you. And you?”

“Just helped bring a new life into this world. I’m wonderful.” She beamed.

“Did Jeanne have her baby?” Gwen said.

“Seven pounds, seven ounces. And after seventeen hours of labor. Told her seven was her lucky number.” She laughed.

He didn’t think seventeen hours in labor sounded very lucky.

“Well maybe, thirty-one is the lucky number. It’s Halloween, after all.” Gwen said.

“Speaking of that. I need to get ready. I’m meeting the girls at Laraine’s. The rest of them are already there.”

“Hey. McMillan.” A voice came from off the porch.

***

Gwen watched an older man in a long-sleeved flannel shirt and dark pants storm up the walkway, stare fixed on Jason. Even in the dim light, she could tell his face was red and he was screaming. Jason sprang to action, he leaped from the swing next to Gwen and met the man head on at the bottom of the steps. The button-down shirt he wore unbuttoned over a t-shirt flapping in the breeze. Wind blowing in from the south had taken an edge off the chill. She followed but remained on the porch.

“Look son,” the man spat, “this is not how things work around here, you little shit.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, sir,” Jason said, his posture rigid.

“Edgar, what are you on about?” her mom asked, still sitting in the chair.

But the man didn’t take his eyes from Jason. “My customers. You just waltz into town and think you can take my customers, you gotta another thing coming.”

“I haven’t gone after anyone. People have called me in the middle of the night or early morning for help.”

Edgar stared at Jason like he was the dumbest person on the planet. “That’s not business hours, son. You make them wait for business hours.”

“Or you get your ass out of bed and charge them a little more.”

Natalie laughed. “Oh, Edgar you go on. You’re old and need to retire. What’s the big deal if he takes care of people you don’t want anyway?”

“Shut up,” he barked at Natalie then looked at Jason. “You’re taking my customers.”

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