Page 136 of Protecting What's Mine
“I guess trick-or-treat is your favorite night of the year, isn’t it?” Mack asked the dog.
Sunshine gave a happy little bark, and Mack obligingly fed her a treat.
“Dr. Mack, what’s your favorite candy?” Mikey asked, batting his long lashes at her.
“Get your own girl, Charm School,” Linc said, playfully elbowing his nephew out of the way.
“Where to next, Uncle Chief Linc?” Rapunzel Leah wanted to know.
“The Morettas,” he decided.
Their motley crew of costumed children cheered.
“What’s so great about the Morettas’ house on trick-or-treat?” Mack asked as Linc threaded his fingers through hers.
“You’ll see,” he said, squeezing her hand.
Aldo and Gloria were the King and Queen of small-town Halloween. They were dressed as Sonny and Cher, a seemingly adorable inside joke that Mack made a mental note to ask Gloria about later.
Their garage was decked out in not-too scary haunted house fashion. Aldo manned a grill on the street, handing out hot dogs, hamburgers, juice boxes, and cold beers to costumed visitors. Gloria, her mother, and Aldo’s mother ran carnival games from tables in the front yard. There were baked goods and candy and vegetable trays and conversations happening everywhere.
Linc’s nieces and nephews dispersed on the lawn, heading for the games, the garage, and the orange and black inflatable bounce house.
“Wow,” was all Mack could say.
Her handsome sidekick reached into a cooler and produced two beers. “Wonder Woman?”
“Aren’t there open container laws?” she teased.
“We each get one,” he explained. “Then you can help me drive my drunk sisters and brothers-in-law home.”
“Just what kind of a bet was it?” she asked.
“A really stupid one,” he said.
“Dr. Mack! You’re right on time!” Ellen, dressed as a cop with a badge that said Fun Police, hurried over. She gave Mack a hard hug and Linc a wink that he returned.
“Ellen, you look great,” Mack said. It was true. Her patient-slash-friend was glowing. Her face looked brighter, a little leaner. And there was a definite sparkle in her eyes.
“I feel great,” she said. “I had no idea how much I missed swimming, you know? And guess what?”
“What?”
“My husband started coming to the gym with me. He’s been lifting weights while I swim, and then we walk the track together for twenty minutes before he goes to work. I haven’t had to yell at him about his boxers for two weeks! And my father-in-law and I started cooking dinners together. The man had never used a microwave or loaded a dishwasher in his life. Now he’s on Pinterest saving Bolognese recipes.”
Mack laughed. “That’s great.”
“Are we still on for next week?” Ellen asked.
“Yeah. Sure,” Mack said. “Ladies’ Night.”
“Great! Do you mind if I bring a couple of my girlfriends? You know, make it a real Ladies’ Night?”
“Uh. No, I don’t mind.” Maybe she’d invite Gloria and Harper and Sophie, Mack thought. Then wondered who in the hell she was having girlfriends that she could invite places.
“Awesome. I’ll see you next week. I better go get my kids. They’re nearing the Close to Vomiting Candy in the Bounce House phase. Love the tights, Linc!” Ellen jogged off and poked the inflatable wall with her plastic nightstick. “All Kowalskis will now exit the bounce house.”
“Put that beer down, right now!” Cher Gloria, wearing her chubby-cheeked baby, hurried toward them.
