Page 52 of Deciding for Little Dallas
“I wasn’t sure at first. I knew you had the creativeness to come up with the plan, but I wasn’t sure you had the nerve to go through with it. I’m very proud of you for being so willing to open up and be yourself here.”
Dallas loved knowing Daddy was proud of her.
“You’re not in trouble, Bitty. It was a good prank and nobody got hurt.”
She hadn’t thought Daddy was mad at her, but it was always nice to hear it too. Daddy gave her a hug before straightening from in front of her.
He took her hand and they walked into the sitting area. Dallas gasped when she saw the large package wrapped in pretty jack-o’-lantern paper. “Look, Dada!”
Pike gave a long, expressive whistle. “Wow, I see, Bitty! They left you a big gift. You must have been the best ghostie host the spirit world has ever known!”
Dallas wasn’t sure that she’d been the best host ever, but she hoped they felt like she’d been a good host, and even more important, had become their friend.
“There’s a note,” she said, picking it up and handing it to Daddy.?
He opened the orange envelope and pulled out a sparkly Halloween card.?
Dear Dallas,?
Thank you so much for hosting Danica and me. We had so much fun meeting you and trying all of the goodies you left out for us. We’ve been in Host a Ghost for many lifetimes and this was one of the best hosts we had. Thank you for putting your whole heart into making sure we had a good time. You’re very sweet and we are so happy to have you as our newest friend.
Happy Halloween,?
Niki Rope and Danica
“They liked their stay, Dada!”?
“Of course they did, Bitty. You worked so hard to make sure they had a good time. I bet they got you a super special gift,” he said, standing and setting her Halloween card next to one of the pumpkins she’d picked when they’d visited the pumpkin patch.
“Can I open it now, Dada?”
“You definitely have to open it now. What happens if it’s your very own ghost kitty and they need to potty. They might poop in the box,” he said.
She giggled. “Yucky!”
“Do you want me to hold Teefs while you open it?”
“Yas, please, Dada.”
Pike took the zombie lovie and turned her to face Dallas so she could see the unwrapping. Taking her cloth hands in his, he made her clap. “She’s cheering you on, Bitty.”
Smiling, she approached? the package and? grabbed a piece of the taped paper before looking at him for approval.
“I think that’s a great place to start,” he encouraged.
She pulled the paper revealing a black box.
“I gots a box!” she giggled, pulling the rest of the paper off.
“Does it say anything?” Daddy asked, studying the box.
“I don’t fink so,” she said, struggling to flip the large box around.
Daddy stepped in to help and she froze when she saw the fancy red writing on the box.Living Dead Dolls.
“Dallas? Bitty? Are you okay?” Daddy asked, his brow wrinkled in concern.
“I think… I think…” she tried to explain as her eyes filled with tears.
