Death of a Pumpkin Carver (5 page)

Hayley silently cursed Liddy for drinking too much Bloody Vampire punch, which consisted of rum, orange juice, pomegranate juice, lime, and seltzer and having to be driven home early by Sonny from the party.

They completely forgot about Hayley and abandoned her.

She was about to call a cab when Darth Vader swooped in and offered her a ride home in his rental car.

Hayley tried to politely decline, but Danny was insistent, and now she found herself in the awkward situation of sitting in her driveway next to Danny whose puppy dog eyes seemed to be begging for a good-night kiss.

“Thanks for the ride, Danny,” Hayley said, quickly reaching for the door handle.

“It's early. Why don't I come in and say hi to the kids?”

He was angling for an excuse to get his foot in the door.

And she wasn't in the mood to give it to him.

“No. I don't think so. Call them tomorrow and make arrangements to take them out to dinner or something. I'm sure they'd like that.”

“Five minutes. Just a quick beer and then I'm gone. I promise.”

“You aren't going to give up, are you?”

He pulled down the mask that rested on top of his head and in his best distorted evil voice said, “You underestimate the power of the dark side.”

“Why do you say that?”

He lifted the mask again and said with a grin, “I'm quoting Darth Vader. He said that in one of the
Star Wars
movies. I forget which one.”

Hayley sighed. “Good night, Danny.”

She opened the passenger's side door and slid out. He leaned over to say something but she didn't give him a chance and slammed the door shut.

She hurried up the steps onto the front porch and inside the house. Once inside, she turned back around and watched him sitting there, a frustrated look on his face.

Then he shifted the car into drive and roared away.

Hayley walked into the kitchen to find Gemma in gray sweats and a powder blue T-shirt that read “Keep Calm and Carry On” leaning against the kitchen counter twirling some buttered spaghetti around on a fork and stuffing it into her mouth, a morose look on her face.

“Everything okay?”

She looked up and cracked a slight smile. Her eyes were bloodshot as if she had been crying. “Princess Leia. Nice. You look a lot like Carrie Fisher.”

“Now or back when she did the first
Star Wars
movie? And be careful with your answer. I'm helping you pay for college.”

“You look good, Mom,” Gemma said before sadly going back to focusing on twirling more strands of spaghetti around her metal fork.

“What's wrong, Gemma?”

“I just had a really bad day at work.”

“Why? What happened?”

“It's Edna. I think she's trying to sabotage me.”

“Why would she do that?”

“To get me fired.”

“Well, that's not going to happen. Aaron's told me on a number of occasions how well you are doing.”

“I
was
doing well. But then today we got backed up because I supposedly double-booked appointments and it was a complete mess. People were yelling about their sick animals having to wait so long and Dr. Aaron got really stressed and after lunch he checked the computer and my name was typed in the system as the one who scheduled all the appointments.”

“So you made a mistake. He'll get over it.”

“But I didn't make a mistake. At least I don't think I did. I don't remember booking any of those appointments. I think Edna did and just typed my name next to all of them so Aaron would think it was me. He was really ticked off and didn't speak to me all afternoon.”

“Well, did you explain to him that you hadn't done it?”

“I wanted to, but Edna was sitting right there the whole time and she is the only other person with access to the computer so if I said anything it was going to look like I was accusing her and what if I was wrong? I mean, maybe I wasn't thinking one day and forgot.”

“You've always been very detail-oriented, Gemma. I can't believe you would do something like that and not remember.”

“I know. I thought the whole thing would just blow over, but then at the end of the day Edna and I got into an argument over the Halloween pet costume contest. You know my original idea was to take pictures of all the animals in their getups and post them on the wall so when people came into the office they could vote for their favorite. But Edna said it would make the reception area look too cluttered and refused to allow me to hang any of them. She told me to just post the pictures on our Facebook page, and I explained how half our customers aren't even on Facebook and that it would only be temporary, and I promised to take all the photos down the day after Halloween, but she refused to budge and it got really tense and that's when Dr. Aaron came out of his office and saw us bickering and he wanted to know why.”

“Well, I was there when you told Aaron your idea. You specifically mentioned hanging the photos on the wall.”

“Right! I thought he would side with me. But he was already mad about the scheduling snafu and he just started yelling that he didn't have time for this, he was late for a Halloween party. He was irritated because I had told him he wouldn't have to deal with any of this and that it was my job to handle all the details like I said I would, and if I couldn't I should just cancel the whole thing. And then he stormed out. It was awful,” Gemma said, choking up.

She wiped a tear off her cheek.

“He's just under a lot of pressure. Don't take it personally,” Hayley said, gently rubbing her back. “And don't give Edna the satisfaction of canceling the contest. It's a wonderful idea.”

Gemma shook her head. “You should have seen Edna's face after he left. She had this self-satisfied smirk that was so obnoxious I just wanted to slap it off her!”

“Well, it's probably best that you refrained from violence,” Hayley said, picturing herself hauling back and punching that miserable old coot Edna right in the nose herself. “Just keep your head down and continue doing the best job you know how to do. And if Edna causes you more problems, then talk to Aaron. He's a very reasonable and fair man. It'll work itself out. Follow the advice on your T-shirt.”

Gemma looked down at the words.

“Keep Calm and Carry On.”

She smiled and then pushed the plate of buttered spaghetti toward her mother.

“I made too much as always. Why don't you get a fork and help me finish it?”

“I thought you'd never ask. Mary Leighton can't make a decent appetizer to save her life. I almost cracked a tooth on her overcooked chicken taquitos.”

Hayley crossed to the drawer to grab a fork.

She knew in her heart she was right.

Aaron was fair and decent-minded.

But there was a lingering thought in the back of her mind that perhaps Aaron was being tough on Gemma because of her.

He was technically the one who had ended their relationship.

However, on some level she had made it very easy for him and perhaps things were not as amicable between them as she had initially believed.

No.

He would never take out any anger on her daughter, who only wanted to work hard and do a good job for him and make both him and her mother proud.

He was better than that.

Edna was another story.

And Hayley was prepared to do battle if that nasty, bitter old shrew insisted on targeting her daughter.

In her mind, Hayley knew that Gemma was a smart, intuitive young woman completely capable of taking care of herself and no longer needed help from her doting mother.

But in her heart, Hayley was still the protective mama bear ready to maul any threat that endangered her precious cub.

“Remember our first date? It was right here at the Criterion,” Danny said, looking around the historic Bar Harbor movie theater with its grand chandelier, art deco walls, and musty seats.

“We were juniors in high school, I think,” Hayley said, nodding.

“It was around Halloween, too,” Danny said. “I brought you to see a revival of
Halloween
because I knew it would scare the bejesus out of you and you'd cling to me through the whole movie. As I recall, it worked like a charm. Just like I told that Spanky kid his story will do.”

The 1978 Jamie Lee Curtis slasher classic about a babysitter and her friends targeted by a masked maniac named Michael Myers was one of the scariest movies Hayley had ever seen even to this day. That revival which marked their first date was over twenty years ago.

Hayley remembered how excited she was when popular big man on campus Danny Powell had asked her out on a date. She knew he had a roving eye and any kind of relationship with him was doomed from the start, but she jumped at the chance to go out with him.

They only had the one date.

Danny was the kind of guy who was easily distracted by any shiny object and that object was in the body of Beth Sanford, a pretty, stacked blonde and captain of the varsity cheerleading squad.

It wasn't until several years later when Hayley was working in a local ice cream shop one summer that they ran into each other and things finally got serious. Danny came in for two scoops of blueberry ice cream in a waffle cone and flirted shamelessly with Hayley. He asked her to meet him for a drink after her shift at the Blue Oyster, a local watering hole that was eventually bought by Randy and renamed Drinks Like A Fish. After hooking up that night, the two were inseparable for that whole summer and they were engaged by Halloween.

Hayley wasn't sure she had made the right decision coming to the movies with Danny and the kids.

She was already wary of his intentions and a “family” night certainly didn't accomplish her goal of keeping a safe distance.

But Danny was insistent.

His uncle Otis had a secret moonshine run to one of his high-profile clients and wasn't going to be back until late, and Danny didn't want to be stuck in his cabin in Tremont watching TV and drinking beer alone.

So he was determined to have a fun night out with his ex-wife and kids.

Of course he picked Gemma and Dustin's favorite pizza joint, Napoli, splurging on two large pies, and at one point he had everyone laughing so hard over one of his wild stories from his high school days that Hayley had to catch herself because she felt herself starting to let go and enjoy his company like old times.

She couldn't risk that.

She still didn't trust him.

The lights on the chandelier dimmed and the theater was plunged into darkness as the velvet curtains opened and the coming attractions reel lit up the big wide screen.

Danny casually yawned and stretched his arm out slowly, bringing it down behind Hayley, and shifting his body weight so he was leaning into her.

For a brief moment, Hayley was going to let the move slide.

The seats were small and Danny was a big guy and needed room to stretch, but then as his hand snaked around her left forearm she turned and said, “Danny, please remove your arm.”

He stared at her for a second and then cracked a smile. “Sure, babe.”

He lifted his arm, respecting her wishes.

Gemma and Dustin made their way through the aisle with bags of popcorn and cups of soda and a whole cardboard tray loaded with boxes of Junior Mints, M&Ms, and packages of Red Vines.

“Are you planning to feed everyone in the theater?” Hayley whispered, stunned by the amount of food they were carrying.

“We're hungry,” Gemma said, tearing open the plastic packaging and taking a bite of licorice.

“It's not like we didn't just polish off two whole pizzas across the street,” Hayley said, shaking her head.

Dustin was stuffing fistfuls of popcorn into his face.

“I almost forgot, Dad. Here's your change,” Gemma said, reaching into her pants pocket and pulling out a ten-dollar bill and some coins.

“You can keep it as long as you split it with your brother,” Danny said, winking at her.

Hayley nearly fainted.

Danny had given the kids forty bucks.

Where was all this spare cash coming from?

He was obviously making a point.

He wanted to make it clear he was a good father.

Generous.

Giving.

Reliable.

Many of the things he hadn't been when they were married.

The previews concluded and the feature film started.

The familiar piano theme from
The Exorcist
began playing and the credits rolled. Hayley loved this time of year when the Criterion Theatre featured a Halloween Chiller series of classic horror films. Unlike
Halloween
, this movie didn't scare Hayley much. She wasn't afraid of the supernatural, only real-life threats like crazed serial killers and man-eating sharks. But she loved the movie anyway and couldn't wait for the part where the little girl possessed by the devil spins her head all the way around and vomits pea soup.

The kids had never seen the film and she was confident they were going to think the gross-out scenes were cool.

Dustin leaned over Gemma to talk to Danny. “Hey, Dad, when we were standing in the popcorn line . . .”

“Shut up! The movie's started!” Gemma hissed.

She hated people talking during a movie.

It was one of her biggest pet peeves.

“You shut up! You're not the boss of me,” Dustin snarled.

“Mom, tell him to be quiet,” Gemma whined.

“I was just going to tell Dad about running into two of his friends,” Dustin said before turning his attention back to the screen where Max von Sydow was discovering a strange amulet on an archeological dig in Iraq.

Danny swallowed a handful of popcorn and then turned to Dustin. “Who was it?”

Dustin shrugged. “They didn't tell me their names. I asked if they went to high school with you but they said no. They weren't from around here.”

Gemma sighed and huffed and rolled her eyes, trying to watch the movie.

Danny whipped his head around and scanned the theater. Suddenly he audibly gasped and his face turned a ghostly white.

He turned back around and stared at the screen, obviously disturbed.

“Is everything all right?” Hayley asked.

Danny nodded, his eyes darting back and forth.

“What is it?”

Hayley spun around and spotted two large muscular men, one bald and goateed and the other with a thick head of wavy black hair and a tan complexion, possibly Hispanic. They sat in the back row and seemed to be staring daggers at Danny.

“Come on. Let's go home,” Danny said.

“What? The movie just started!” Gemma whispered.

“I'm not feeling well. You can stay if you want to but I have to get out of here,” Danny said, jumping to his feet and dumping his bag of popcorn on the floor.

Danny quickly made his way through the row of seats toward the aisle, knocking knees and stomping on feet and causing a loud commotion.

Gemma and Dustin exchanged confused looks, then picked up the tray of candy, grabbed their sodas, and followed their father.

Hayley couldn't believe what was happening.

But she wasn't about to stay and watch the movie alone.

She stood up and quietly apologized to the patrons as she scuttled past them and chased her ex-husband and kids up the aisle and out a side exit door.

Danny was already halfway to his rental car when Hayley and the kids caught up with him.

“Who are they?” Hayley asked, curious to know why Danny was suddenly experiencing a full-on freak-out.

“Nobody. The pepperoni on the pizza just didn't agree with me. You could have stayed for the rest of the movie,” Danny said, inserting the key into the ignition and starting the car even before Hayley and the kids had a chance to jump in.

“What kind of trouble are you in, Danny?” Hayley asked, her tone measured.

“No trouble. Let's go home. We can watch another movie on Netflix.”

“We didn't even get to the part of the movie everybody talks about where the devil takes over the little girl's body,” Gemma said, pouting as she got into the backseat. “I heard that part was sick!”

“The priests manage to get the demon out of her in the end and she lives happily ever after at least until the sequel which sucked big time,” Danny said.

They drove the rest of the way home in silence.