Page 94 of Marcus in Retrograde
“Life is like that. Unexpected.”
I kissed his lips, softly, and gave him a smiled as we turned to head back to the Gaggle at the end of the hall. They were all bouncing on their feet, clearly ready for a free meal.
“I know we have to go feed that lot, but I am so damn ready to go home.” Marcus sighed, lacing his fingers in mine.
“Hey, um…speaking of…” I rubbed my neck with my free hand. “Why don’t we just make this whole thing official, and um…you know. Kind of…”
“Mingle our dirty laundry?”
“We already do that.” I sighed.
“Then there’s no reason to keep two hampers, is there?”
I grinned. “Only if we plan on rescuing more wall kittens.”
MARCUS
October, one year later…
“THANK YOU!” I CALLEDOUT TO THE couplewalking away from the register. The little rabbit between them took her part seriously, and hopped along, much to the chagrin of her parents.
“Damn she’s cute,” Chase said. “I also cannot believe those two are parents.”
“I can’t believe how right you were about this Garcia Pumpkin Patch,” I said, opening the register to count out for the day.
The sun was right on the horizon, and the sky was dusky blue and pink and it all faded out over our heads to the first star in the east.
“Venus is rising,” Chase teased me.
“First star,” I said, ignoring him.
“Firstplanet,” he corrected.
“Astronomical body.” I lifted an eyebrow.
“Why thank you.” He laughed.
Shaking my head, I tried not to laugh and lose my count. Chase puttered around, straightening the scales, shutting up the paints and brushes, locking up the carving knives.
With just two more days before Halloween, the pumpkin carving contest was in full swing, too. The entries would be welcomed until six on Halloween, and then the art teacher from the local high school would come by and judge them by nine o’clock Then the pumpkin patch would open again until midnight for a little country fair.
Tomorrow, the patch would be cleared, and all remaining pumpkins moved to a little area in the front for anyone who still wanted to enter the contest or buy a pumpkin. Tomorrow night the fair would be set up—a dunk tank for the high school principal seemed to be the most anticipated.
We’d taken two weeks off this year to help with the end of the pumpkin patch. Last year it had only been one, and it had been apparent they needed us longer than that.
Beth, Tony, and Abuelita had managed most of it, with some help with Rachel, when her mother could watch the baby, or it was a good night to bring her. But October was already chilly and she didn’t want the tiny girl out in the cold too much.
Rider was nowhere to be seen, of course. Not while his brother was around.
But tonight, we had close to 200 pumpkins sitting on the hay bales that enclosed the patch, and they were all glowing merrily with fake candles inside. The big lights overhead switched off as I locked up the cash box and handed it off to Beth. She winked and patted my arm.
The only things still glowing as the sun disappeared were the pumpkins and the solar lanterns we had hung around the place for ambiance. It was one of the prettiest sights I’d seen.
Next to my boyfriend, of course.
“One more check for lost hats and gloves?” I asked Chase.
“One more, like we do every night.” He motioned me off to the right, and went off the left on his own.
