Page 50 of A Cup of Autumn
“Looks great.” And one less thing for her to have to do.
“The place where the town orders from offers other items.” He opened a catalog with sticky notes on various pages to show her spider rings, vampire teeth and Halloween-themed pencils. “It’ll be tight with the budget but it’s doable. There won’t be money for anything else.”
He impressed her. It must have taken him time to figure out what items they could afford. “I appreciate you researching candy alternatives and keeping the workload down.”
“Proposal one is the easiest. It’s also the most boring.”
“You make that sound like a bad thing. I like the other items you found. Those aren’t boring.”
His eye twitched.
She hadn’t seen that before.
“The second proposal will take more work and volunteers but… Let me show you.” He turned over the top page on the other stack to a different flyer.
This flyer didn’t mention trick-or-treating. Instead, it listed more—crafts and other activities.
Raine peered closer. “The First Avenue Halloween Scavenger Hunt.”
He nodded. His excitement was palpable. “The street would have to be closed like they do in December.”
“I’m sure city hall or the police department have a form to do that. I can see what’s required if we go this route.” She emphasized the last part of the sentence.
“Or I can,” he offered.
She wanted to take him up on it, but common sense prevailed. “I’m local and in charge of the event. It might go over well coming from someone putting on an event for the association.”
He nodded. “I spoke to Taryn. She’s willing to supervise kids decorating a sugar cookie. Taryn can do pumpkins and bats. Mr. Jones can get small pumpkins the kids can color with markers and stickers. And Margot can sew scarecrows the kids can stuff with straw in front of the town hall. For your shop, you can hand out small cups of Witches’ Brew or pumpkin punch instead of candy.”
Okay, she was impressed times ten with this proposal. He’d even been proactive by finding help for activities ahead of time. But she had no idea what was involved with the scavenger hunt. She scanned the various pages under the second flyer.
He’d listened to her. Raine wanted to hug Keaton. She studied his plans. Every activity was detailed with cost estimates and the number of volunteers required.
“You’re right,” she admitted. “This one would be more fun.”
“You’d be surprised what you can discover on the internet. Especially Pinterest.”
“You succeeded pulling it all together. I would have never considered any of this.”
“In full transparency, my first effort was, shall we say, too highbrow for kids. My second included glitter, which I learned is a ‘no’ for parents.”
That made her laugh. “No glitter experience, so I’ll take your word for it.”
“Research.” His cheeks reddened. He quickly opened a notebook. “Here are plans for a haunted house, corn maze, and a DJ playing Halloween music, but those things depend on the budget and volunteers. The two of us can only do so much.”
“After hearing proposal number two, number one sounds boring.”
His face lit up with an I-told-you-so expression. “That’s why I saved the second proposal for last. What do you think?”
Each word dripped with anticipation—thick like the caramel apples were dipped into.
“The scavenger hunt for stamps, stickers, and items are more interesting than getting candy. The crafts and activities give the event a good mix so it’s not all the same.”
His mouth dropped open. “You’re considering it?”
“Yes, but we may have to simplify your plans. I want to make sure we can pull it off successfully.”
“Of course.”
