Page 40 of Something Cryptid This Way Comes
His forehead creasing, he swipes his finger across the screen, and as he reads the message, he smiles.
Ever unrolls his bag of pumpkin spice donut holes and the scent of cinnamon and cloves drifts along the breeze. “How is opening night at the haunted house going?”
“Great. Peter texted me a pic of the line waiting to get in. It’s stretched down the block.” Trevor pockets his phone, relieves me of his cruller, then lifts it to my lips, offering me a bite. He and I were at the carriage house to welcome the night’s first guests to the haunted adventure, and stayed for an hour and a half. We had a steady stream of people the whole time. “He said it’s been going strong since Bram and I left to come here.”
“That’s great.” Ever tilts the bag to Dmitri before taking a treat for himself. “A lot of people who came to my booth today mentioned it.”
I hold up my donut so Trevor can try it. “You were busy every time I looked over. I know your honey is popular, but I guess I underestimated how much people love it.”
“We sold out of almost everything we brought.”
Trevor holds up his hand to Ever for a high five. “Nice.”
We arrive at the kids’ area. Since it’s almost nine o’clock, a lot of the entrants in the under twelve category aren’t here, but several tweens and most of the entrants in the teen category mill around in front of their pumpkins. Four voices call outDmitri’s name, and he and Ever head over to speak with the animated group.
The judges chose the winners late this afternoon, during the break between the carving portion of the day and the display opening tonight. All the entries will be displayed here at the festival grounds until the first of November, which gives visitors and Maplewoodians time to view the designs.
Trevor and I pass pumpkins carved by kids with more skill than I’d be able to do. We point out our favorites. A mouse eating cheese. Cats, dogs. A firetruck built out of carvings.
Sipping the hot coffee keeps my hands warm and helps chase away the chill from the wind. “I’m thinking back to my attempts as a kid. Triangle eyes and nose, and a smiling mouth. I wasn’t very creative.”
Trevor laughs. “You, me, and Charlie made a mess of Agnes’s kitchen the year we tried scooping out the pumpkin guts ourselves.”
“Charlie started it. He flicked the first spoonful at me.”
He bumps my shoulder. “He was five.”
“And thought he’d invented a great game. What kind of brother would I be if I didn’t encourage his creativity?” Smiling at the memory of orange goo, strings, and seeds, and our laughing faces as we faced off in the epic pumpkin battle, I tear off another bite of donut.
“Catapulting spoonfuls of guts at each other was pretty fun. Messy to clean up though. Still, I give it a ten out of ten.” He snatches the bite of donut from my fingers and pops it in his mouth with a grin. I give him a shove and he just laughs then offers me more of his cruller.
We reach the section with the teen category. More elaborate and detailed carvings spread out along the aisle. Display lights positioned at each table add an artistic element. But Trevor’s attention is on the large barn-like structure out thisway, not the pumpkins.
“Trev, you okay?”
“Hmm? Yeah, just wondering.”
“Wondering what?”
His gaze contemplative, he faces me. “If I stop holding the haunted house, maybe the festival committee could take over. They could move it here.”
I scan the structure. “And hold it in that huge barn?”
“Yeah. The barn is used for other festivals and it’s sitting empty tonight. I could donate the props to get them started. There’s a ton of space out here if they want to expand beyond the barn. And holding it here, they could probably keep the ticket prices low.”
I know how heavily the haunted house issue has been weighing on him. The rest of my donut is gone in two bites. I wipe my hand on a napkin, then wrap my arm around him. “I think it’s a great solution.”
His forehead puckers with his raised brows. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. You get to keep all the inn’s rooms open and available. And don’t have the extra expenses or work that come with hosting the event. The festival grounds are a convenient location. We know this place is equipped for large crowds, lighting and sound, and the committee and town would have more resources if they take it over. Sounds like a win-win to me.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.” He sighs. “I still feel like I’m letting people down, but…”
I squeeze him against me and kiss his temple. “It’s okay if you decide to stop hosting the event. You do enough. You don’t have to do it all.”
He tilts his head into mine and melts into my side. The tension in his shoulders eases. “Thanks. That helps. I think I needed to hear that I’m not being a selfish ass.”
“Definitely not.” I place another kiss on his temple. “Now that the decision’s made and you know this year’s hauntedhouse will be the last one at the inn, maybe the stress won’t feel as weighty. You can relax and enjoy it more.”
