Page 81 of Game Over

“I’m perfectly capable, thank you. Here, bring the wagon over.” Lifting it easily, I set it down as gently as I could, making sure not to squash Em’s pick. I dusted off the dirt on the front of my denim overall dress and the sleeves of my undershirt.

“Well, it certainly is big,” Spencer said as he started to examine it.

“That’s what she said,” I snickered, unable to resist the joke.

“I’m so done with you.” He shook his head, but he couldn’t stop laughing either. “Now. We got your caramel apples, tons of baked goods, and now your pumpkin. Are there any other booths you wanted to go back by to check out, or anything else you wanted?”

“Hmm, no, not that I can think of. How about we get some food and take a break at one of the tables?”

“Yes, that thing. It sounds perfect, let's go!” Emma grabbed the wagon handle and led the party. If it was my guess, she was probably starting to get hangry. Actually, she was probably hangry five minutes ago and didn’t say anything.

Spencer sent us to find a table and went off to get us food and drinks. Thankfully, it had cleared out some since it was a weekday and later in the evening. Currently on stage, there was a woman playing guitar and singing an acoustic version of “Work Song” by Hoizer. Her voice was lower and full, similar to mine, and I couldn’t help but sway and sing along with her.

“I’ll never get tired of hearing you sing. I don’t know why you didn’t pursue that as a career. Your voice is beautiful and has a unique rasp to it.” Spencer said in greeting as he came back over with tons of cartons and cups in tow. Fried Oreos, funnel cake, corn dogs, fries, and some fresh lemonade and water. We put them all in the middle and shared everything.

“She and I have already had this conversation,” Emma said as she snatched a carton of fried Oreos up. “Multiple times, actually.”

“I didn’t have that luxury. Yes, I love it, and it would have been amazing, but I had to have safety and security. Unfortunately, making it as a singer isn’t always practical.” I pulled a paper plate and a fork over to me. “Oh, this funnel cake is heaven in my mouth.” I all but moaned as I continued to shovel more into my mouth, powdered sugar flying everywhere. It was perfectly fried and had the right amount of powdered sugar sprinkled on top. Meaning every inch was coated in it.

“That’s how I’m feeling about these Oreos. They’re perfect.” Em’s mouth was stuffed, and she had little puffs of powdered sugar spraying out as she talked.

“I agree. All of the above. These are perfect.” Spencer managed in between bites of his corndog. Swallowing, he then moved on to the fries and praised the food truck that made them.

I took a long sip of the cold lemonade and looked around the area again. The sun had set, and all the twinkling lights were on, casting a hazy, warm glow around us, and a slight breeze blew through, causing them to sway along with the trees. It was truly beautiful and peaceful. After we finished eating, we loaded everything up into the back of the car and headed back home. All of us were full of greasy food and sleepy now. Once we made it inside and discarded all of our items on the table into one big heap, we all sank onto the sun-warmed couch and fell into food comas. Today was one of my favorites and a memory I would cherish, as simple as it was.

CHAPTER 37

A Love Like the Addams

Halloween arrived in the blink of an eye, and Allie’s excitement for today was truly infectious. All week she’s talked nonstop about this little get-together, and at this point, it’s got me more excited too. Seeing her bright smile, eyes crinkling in the corners slightly, makes me so incredibly happy. I’d give her the moon on a string if she smiled like that all the time.

Throughout the week, we worked on getting everything ready, so we had less to do on Saturday and could enjoy time together. After sleeping in and having a slow morning, we finally got up, headed to the kitchen, and made homemade cinnamon rolls together. Her granny’s recipe, she had told me proudly, as she taught me step by step what to do. I helped carefully measure each ingredient and kneaded the dough before shaping it to sit and rise.

The house smelled of warm butter and cinnamon, mixed with the deep aroma of coffee and sweet caramel, while the sunlight filtered in through all the windows. It was cool enough outside, so I opened all the windows to let the crisp air in and soaked up every moment. I never thought I could have this type of home. A home that was full of love and quiet, where every room felt like my safe space, and now I got to share that with someone I loved.

Sitting here on the couch, bundled up with our mountains of blankets, and warm, gooey cinnamon rolls in hand, was truly the perfect way to start our Halloween morning. As we lay there, we decided to try out this new co-op horror game that I thought would be right up her alley. I knew that video games weren’t her thing, but I liked that she seemed genuinely interested in learning about what I played and trying to play some games herself too. The quality time was what we loved the most.

“Okay, so we have four giant bags of mixed candy. Surely that’s plenty to leave out for people, right?” Allie asked in between bites, a small drop of the cream cheese frosting clinging to her lip. Reaching over, I swiped the stray drop away with the pad of my thumb, darting my tongue out, and licked it off. Her eyes were tracking the movement. She swallowed, and her eyes flicked up to meet mine. I gave her a lazy smirk before peeling myself off the couch and making my way to the kitchen, dumping my plate in the sink.

“I mean, surely we will. I’m not sure how many children are in your neighborhood, but if anything, we’ll have lots left over.” Grabbing the scissors nestled in the knife block, I started cutting all the bags open and pouring them into bowls. We made sure we had options for everyone, sugar-free, some with no nuts, and the regular candy. Allie didn’t want anyone to be left out of enjoying today. I separated them all accordingly and labeled each bowl so everyone knew of the options we had.

Allie busied herself making sure we had all the snack stuff and ensuring all the decorations were out. I knew it was only going to be our close friends coming, but she still wanted it all to be picture-perfect. There were spider webs draped across any surface, random little spiders stuck in the webs, and then we worked for hours making shadowed figures to put on the wall and windows to create a haunted house feel. It aligned perfectly with our costumes, and I couldn’t wait to see it all come together. Allie’s mind was a beautiful place, and seeing all her hard work come together was something special.

“This has been a fun day so far. I’m glad we got to spend it together.” Walking up behind her as she situated a stubborn web in its place, I snaked my arms around her, resting my head on her shoulder. Allie leaned into me and signed contently, taking in her handiwork.

“Me too. I’m excited for tonight too. I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun.” She finally said after doing another sweep of the area.

“Jacob and Carson have been texting me today too, talking about it. I guess as you get older, a lot of holidays lose that spark, so this is a nice change.”

“They really do because you have so many more responsibilities as an adult, and it isn’t the same.” Her phone let out a soft ding, and she flipped it over to check the notification. “Oh, Olivia texted that she’s here. I’m gonna go help her, and then when I’m done, it’ll be time for me to get ready. Do you need anything?”

“No, I'm good, sweetheart. I love you so much.”

“I love you most.” Giving me a quick kiss, she made her way to the front door to let Olivia in and help her.

While she was helping her sister, I decided to go sit out back with Dolly and look through her Pinterest board that Emma sent me to start my planning. I wanted to make sure everything would be perfect. I’d also already been warned again, if I ever did anything to hurt her, she was a nurse and knew how to end me, and make it look like natural causes. Emma was a little thing, but she was terrifying if she needed to be.

After feeling satisfied with my findings and letting Dolly get some more of her energy out, I headed inside to check on the girls. I could hear them talking and laughing, and it made me smile.