Page 38 of Love's Harvest
Each storefront window was filled with decorations among their offerings.Halloween flags, fall flowers, orange and black ribbons wrapped around the streetlight poles, all lent a festive look to the street.For children like Mia and Emily, it was a fairyland.That, and receiving the treats from people at various locations was a child’s dream come true.
At Poppy’s store, Sarah accepted a cup of wine from Blake, who was helping Poppy out.Smiling, she thanked him and oversaw the treats handed to the girls.Poppy was adorably dressed like a kitty cat, complete with a whiskered half-mask.Blake wore a pumpkin hat.
“I hope you’re enjoying your first Halloween Walk,” Sarah said to Blake.“April is doing a fantastic job at my store.”
He chuckled.“I’ve never seen anything quite like it, but it’s nice.”
“Have fun,” she said, leading the girls next door to the flower shop.
There the girls were delighted to get a flower pinned onto their costumes.
When they returned to the hardware store, Sarah’s mother took the girls inside so they could watch the other kids playing games in the window.
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By about eight o’clock, the younger children were ready to go home.Sarah said goodbye to her parents, thanked the staff members who’d helped out at the store, and headed home with the girls.
“There you are!”came a familiar voice.
Sarah turned to find Aaron walking toward them.
The girls jumped up and down saying, “Look what I got!”
Aaron smiled at Sarah and spent some time with the girls while they showed him their treats and prizes.
Watching him, she was touched by how kind and gentle he was with them.
“Carry me,” said Mia.“I’m too tired to walk.”
Aaron glanced at Sarah and then said, “Okay.I can take one of you.”
“I’ll take the other,” said Sarah.
With a child in his arms, Aaron walked steadily beside Sarah, keeping the conversation light.
Before they even reached Sarah’s house, both children fell asleep.
“Guess the celebration was a success,” said Aaron.
“It’ll take more than one day for them to recover from the excitement and sugar, but it was worth it.Everyone pitched in to make it a nice, safe Halloween for the kids.Will you come inside?I’m ready for a glass of wine and some peaceful moments.”
“Sure.I’m glad I ran into you.I was late getting to the Walk.I’d promised Whitney and Nick that I’d help them by passing out candy at their house while Nick worked and Whitney took Timothy out to see the sights.”
“I love that everyone pitches in to make it a special event for the kids,” said Sarah, patting Luke on the head after she unlocked the front door.
Inside she led Aaron to the girls’ room to put them down for the night.This was one time they could skip brushing their teeth.She took off their shoes and got them out of their costumes and then covered them up.
Aaron stood by watching her.“You’ve got this down to a routine.Very impressive.”
Chuckling, she said, “I had to learn how to handle two babies pretty quickly.C’mon.It’s a nice night.We can sit on the deck.”
In the kitchen, Aaron opened the bottle of wine she handed him.“I’ll be right back.I have something to show you.”
She returned to the kitchen to find him already outside on the deck.She turned the deck lights on low, then took her seat, and lifted her glass.“Here’s to our friendship.It goes back quite a way.”She handed him the photograph she’d found recently.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a picture of us lying on a towel on the grass at the Lilac Lake Cottage before the Gilford girls fixed it up.We’re facing one another smiling and there’s a poetry book open.I remember that day so well.”
