Page 21 of The Heartbreak Hex

“Oh?” Old Nick queries. “An outreach program? Why haven’t I heard of this?”

“It’s something the Halloween Neighborhood is trying out,” I lie easily. “If it works well, I was going to take it to the City Council and suggest it to the other neighborhoods.”

“Well, if you’re going to keep your shadow,” Old Nick replies, “I’ll keep mine. Junior? Want to stay for the meeting?”

“Sure, dad,” Young Nick agrees, slightly wincing at the nickname.

“Mr. Mayor?” interjects Bridget. “You have a meeting with the fire marshal in five minutes about the lighting for the Ball tonight.”

“Well, we’ll have to be fast then,” chuckles Old Nick.

Damn.I’m not going to have time alone with Gertrude then until tonight. My stomach flips in nervous anticipation. Gertrude as my date to the Ball. It’s like a dream come true.

I just have to get through a day of local government bureaucracy before then. Hopefully I can make it.

Chapter 10

Gertrude

It’s late when Vlad’s meetings end. We have no time to finish what we were about to start earlier. My heart is on fire thinking about it, though. Vlad asked me to be his date. He wants more with me. Is this some kind of dream?

Vlad sighs at a quarter to eleven as his last appointment leaves. “It’s time to go rejudge all the pumpkins for the Ball. We have to be quick so that they can place the jack-o-lanterns around the village square before the Ball begins at midnight. Are you ready?”

“Just a moment,” I say, pulling out some glamour potions that I brought for just this occasion. I hand one to Vlad. “Let’s get in our costumes first.”

Vlad sighs in relief. “You’ve thought of everything. Honestly, I thought we’d have to just go in our day clothes, since we’ve had no time to shop for costumes.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” I ask. “It’stheHalloween Welcoming Ball; we need to greet the holiday in style.”

Vlad gives me a tired smile and then gently taps the potion bottles together in a silent “cheers.” We drink the potionsand a gentle, sparkling mist rolls down our bodies, changing our clothes into ornate masquerade costumes. Mine is a full ball gown of black gossamer. Delicate lace cobwebs are draped artfully all over the skirt and bodice and the whole thing is topped off with a lace domino mask with a cobweb pattern across the surface. My hair is curled in a gracefully cascading up-do, complete with a cobweb lace fascinator. Vlad’s in a fitted three-piece tuxedo, but with four large black legs protruding from his back. His usual sunglasses are exchanged for a mask that covers the upper half of his face and has extra orb-like eyes on it, artistically arranged to make it appear like he has the face of a spider.

“We match,” Vlad remarks after looking over our costumes. “A spider and a spiderweb.”

“Guess it’ll be pretty obvious that I’m your date,” I tease.

“Good,” Vlad says, surprising me with how serious he sounds about it. His right hand reaches out to grab my left, and threads our fingers together. The action is bold and it surprises me with how right it feels, even with the added intimacy, like we were always meant to be holding hands. “Let’s go, sweetheart. They’re waiting for us.”

We walk through City Hall holding hands, the halls dark and quiet. Most everyone is already in the village square, waiting for the Ball to start. It feels nice to be alone in the quietude, after the day that we had, even though we have to hurry in our bulky costumes to get to the atrium.

When we arrive, the pumpkin farmers are all already there, all wearing different costumes as well. The huge pumpkins from before are now all carved in a myriad of intricate ways, glowing from the inside. I love the sight of them. Seeing jack-o-lanterns like this really makes me feel like Halloween is here.

“Welcome, everyone, to the re-judging of the pumpkins,” Vlad says. “You all know my date, Gertrude Nightshade.”

I blush as the scrutiny of the farmers all lands heavily on me and our still-held hands, but I like that Vlad is so open about us going to the Ball together. Like he’s proud of it.

“Alright,” he continues, “we don’t have much time before the Ball starts, so let’s get to judging.”

Vlad pulls me along with him as we take a closer look at the jack-o-lanterns. Weoohandaahover them like we did the first time, but a little more enthusiastically. The farmers went all out in carving them. Some carved faces and some carved designs or patterns, but they are all beautiful and impressive in their own way.

“Which one do we pick?” I whisper to Vlad. “They’re all perfect.”

“It’s definitely hard to choose,” the vampire whispers back to me, squeezing my hand. “Which isyourfavorite?”

“Oh, no,” I chuckle quietly back. “No way are you putting this decision on me.You’rethe mayor. It’s your job.”

He shoots me a grin. “It was worth a shot.”

Straightening up from our huddle, Vlad announces, “Thank you, everyone, for participating. I’m now ready to declare a winner.”

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