Page 71 of Now and Then

“Alright,” Hunter says with a grin, swinging the shop door open. “Let’s do this.”

I step inside, the bright lights of the store illuminating rows of outlandish costumes and props. The smells of plastic and musty fabric fill the air, and I immediately feel like a kid again. A motion-activated monster lets out a shriek from somewhere near the register, and I jump. “I can’t believe this is where you brought me for our first official date.”

“This is not our date,” Hunter says. “After is. And you and I both know if we don’t find costumes for Greer’s party, she’ll give us detention.”

Greer does take her holidays very seriously, and, with only a week to go until her party, we’ve got no more time to waste.

I reach for a sparkly fairy costume and hold it up to Hunter’s body. “How about this one?”

He raises an eyebrow, a playful smile tugging at his lips. “A fairy, huh? I always thought I’d be more of a knight in shining armor.”

“It’s Halloween,” I laugh, fluttering the wings. “The one night of the year you can get away with wearing something ridiculous. And I think the wings would look very fetching with your Stetson. Maybe I could add glitter to it.”

He pulls the costume from my hands and forcefully places it back on the rack. “Don’t even think about touching my hat.”

I cross my arms over my chest in mock defense. “Alright then, your turn to pick.”

We scour the racks for several minutes, neither of us saying a word. I swear, if he picks some kind of creepy horror mask, I might have to fight him.

He slides his hand around my waist and pulls me close, whispering in my ear, “You look incredible by the way.”

I blush, smoothing my hands down the front of my body. He refused to tell me the plans for tonight, so I’d gone for dressy casual—black velvet pants, a hunter green sweater, and black boots. I might have also paired it with a matching white lingerie set, you know, just in case. Somehow he matches me in dark wash Wranglers, a hunter green pearl snap, and his black Stetson.

My eyes linger on him—How long has it been since we just had fun together like this? Without the bickering or the weight of the past getting between us? Hunter laughs as he pulls out Wilma and Fred Flintstone costumes and tries to squeeze into the tunic right in the middle of the store.

A laugh bubbles out of me as I turn away from the Flintstone tunic, and for a moment, I’m not here in the costume shop anymore. I’m back in another October, another version of us, when life wasn’t so complicated.

Sutton: 10 years old. Hunter: 13 years old.

“Sutton, come on!” Hunter tugs at my hand as we run from house to house dressed as pirates.

He is so much faster than me, always one step ahead, but I don’t mind. I like running after him. His eyes light up when he’s excited. Luke comes barreling through, his eye patch barely hanging on, and runs right into me, making me drop a Kit Kat.

“Luke!” I snap. “Will you knock it off?”

My brother laughs and pops two more chocolates in his mouth. “We should go to Mrs. Jensen’s house next.”

“Definitely.” Hunter wipes his mouth, a piece of candy sticking to his lips. I smile at him, feeling a pull in my chest.

Hunter glances over at me. “She always gives out soda pops, and I’m dying of thirst.”

Without missing a beat, he spins me around in a quick circle. I giggle as we run down the block, getting swept up in his laughter and energy. Everything is fun with Hunter.

We were so carefree as children, so connected in ways I hadn’t realized until now. I know Navy’s right. We aren’t starting from scratch. Our foundation began long ago when we were two goofy kids.

Hunter suddenly disappears around a row of costumes. When he pops back into the aisle with a huge smile on his face, I know I’m not going to like what he picked.

“I found it.”

My eyes widen at the costume. “Absolutely not. I am not wearing that.”

He smiles ear to ear. “C’mon, I think this might be the best idea I’ve ever had.”

“How in the world does it even work?” I inspect the package.

Hunter dives into an explanation, but the more he talks, the more claustrophobic I get.

“Hunter, I cannot wear this. I need something with more structure.” I shove the costume away.