Just Beginning (17 page)

Jenny settled in nicely at the paper, honing her interviewing skills and budgeting her time so that deadlines no longer filled her with dread. They spent their leisure time playing tennis—often round robin with Steve—enjoying the occasional movie and dinner out, chatting around their new fire pit over a glass of wine, or fiercely competing during game night. Once in a while Jenny joined the men on the golf course, but she didn’t play often enough to master the game. She was a beast off the tee, but her short game sucked.

Jenny leaned over her vanity to get closer to the bathroom mirror. She swiped red paint around her cheeks, then freshened the triangle painted on her nose before trading the red for the black makeup pen. She drew a curvy line from the corner of her mouth to her rosy cheeks; first one side, then the other to complete an exaggerated smile. She pulled back to get a broader perspective. Consulting the picture taped to the glass, she drew extravagant bottom eyelashes.

Ritz barked as the doorbell rang and children chorused, “Trick or treat.” Gabe answered the door, but she only detected murmuring voices.

Twisting her long hair into a tight bun, Jenny stuffed it under her red yarn wig. She stood and backed up to inspect her costume. Perfect. From the top of her white cap, down the blue dress covered with the classic white smock, to her red and white stripped tights and black Mary Jane shoes, there was no mistaking who she was. Jenny neatened up the bathroom and skipped downstairs.

Jenny loved Halloween. It celebrated the end of her favorite season, in a fun, spooky way. She loved the warm fall colors, the musky scent of dying leaves and smoky fires, and the fun decorations adorning the houses. Some Grosse Pointers got incredibly elaborate and creative. The changing season brought out a nesting instinct in Jenny, and invariably she found herself cleaning house in anticipation of the cold weather driving everybody inside.

Dressed all in black, with cape and mask, Gabe made an imposing figure. The lightsaber and breathing device were his favorite part of the costume. Jenny shook her head. Boys never really grew up. Gabe pulled off the mask and tucked it under his arm.

“Your turn to man the door. Sorry babe, I’ve gotta run into the ER and check on a patient.” He picked up his phone and tucked his wallet in his back pocket.

“Like that?” Jenny nodded at his costume.

“Of course not. I’ll leave my lightsaber in the car.”

“What about the mask?”

“Did Batman go to work without his mask?”

Jenny bit back a smile and shook her head.

“Spider-Man? Superman? Captain America? Green Hornet? The Lone Ranger—”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure Superman didn’t wear a mask.”

Gabe scowled. “Okay, the others then.”

“They fought criminals. They needed to hide their identities.”

“Whatever. I fight disease, repair bullet holes and knife wounds. I save lives, too.” Mask and lightsaber in hand, Gabe headed for the garage. “If I have to work on Halloween, what they see is what they get.”

Jenny laughed. “All right, Darth Vader.”

Jenny stood at the window and watched the taillights disappear down the drive. Having a long driveway tended to discourage trick-or-treaters, since it simply wasn’t as efficient as hitting the streets with houses closer together, so Jenny made sure to reward those hearty enough to make the trek with their choice of an assortment of huge candy bars.

So far they’d only had a half-dozen kids come by. Jenny went into the kitchen, opened the fridge doors, and surveyed the contents.
What does Raggedy Ann want for dinner
? The doorbell rang.

“Trick or Treat,” high-pitched voices chorused. Ritz barked and ran to the door.

Jenny pulled the door open, then smiled brightly at the three older kids. Somehow Michael had conned Alex and her friend Suzy into bringing him over. “Hi. Come on in.”

Michael, dressed as a pirate, bent to pet Ritz and admire her lion costume. “Where’d you get the mane, Jen?”

“She looks like a real lion,” Alex said as she followed Michael inside. “I can’t believe she leaves that on. Sadie wouldn’t.”

“Great costume, Maleficent,” Jenny said to Alex. Then her smile faded as she took in Suzy’s costume. “Oh. My. God. I don’t even know what to say.”

Jenny stared at Suzy’s stomach with mixed feelings of fascination and horror. Suzy wore a tight T-shirt that accented her six-month baby bump. Bloody splotches surrounded baby arms reaching out of her stomach, and she’d attached a miniature pumpkin candy basket to one little hand.

She’d known Alex’s best friend was pregnant, but she couldn’t decide if the brazen display was brave or stupid. Part of her thought it was hilarious, the other half was horrified.

I am so glad Gabe’s not here!
He’d be apoplectic.

On an older woman it’d be irreverent, and ghoulish, and funny, but on a pregnant teenager, in conservative Grosse Pointe...it was... Oh my God. Jenny couldn’t take her eyes off Suzy’s stomach.

“Have your parents...seen...uh, you?” Wide eyed, she tore her gaze from the ghoulish sight to look at Suzy.

“It was her mom’s idea,” Alex said.

Jenny’s jaw dropped open. She knew Suzy’s parents had been supportive about her decision to keep the baby, but this...this went beyond support. “Nooo. You’re kidding.”

“Nope.” Suzy wagged her head back and forth.

“Uh... How many houses have you gone to dressed like that?”

Michael poked her. “You are
so
gullible.”

“What?” Jenny frowned. “Why?” she looked from one kid to the other.

The girls burst out laughing.

“You should see your face,” Suzy giggled.

“It’s priceless,” Alex grinned.

“
Very
funny. Okay, you got me.”

“My parents almost had a heart atta—”

“Your mom thought it was kind of funny,” Alex corrected.

“Yeah,” Suzy smiled. “But Dad threatened to lock me in my room until I promised to wear this mask,” she held up a cat mask, “and come straight home after we came here.”

And Jen thought she’d been a difficult teen. Oh, man. She felt sorry for Suzy’s parents. She winced. “Did my parents see you when you picked up Michael?”

Alex rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t do that to Grams and Pops.” She frowned and looked around. “Where’s Dad?”

“But your dad’s fair game.”

“Well,
yeah
.”

Michael came out of the kitchen. “He’s not in there.”

“He’s at work.”

“Here.” Alex handed Jenny her phone and pulled Michael and Suzy close. “Take our picture.”

Jenny raised the iPhone, then lowered it. “No. I’m not going to be an accomplice in tormenting your father—at least not that way.”

“
Fine
. I won’t send it to him. Just take the picture.”

Jenny narrowed her eyes at Alex.

Alex harrumphed and made a face. “I promise.”

“Fine.” Jenny raised the phone and zoomed in, taking a close-up of the kids from the waist up.

“One more, please,” Alex said. Her phone started beeping. “Hurry. I’m running out of battery.”

This time Jenny lined it up to the left so Suzy was cut out. She handed back the phone and simultaneously thrust the candy bowl at them to distract Alex from checking the pictures.

The doorbell rang, and Jenny hurried off to hand out more candy to a Tin man, a clown, a witch, and a baby in a stroller dressed up as a pumpkin. Suzy lowered the kitty mask over her face, and the three kids followed the crowd out.

“Where to next?” Jenny asked.

“Back to Suz’s house so she can change, then I told Grams and Pops we’d follow Michael and his friends around for an hour or so.”

That was nice of Alex to bother with Michael and help her parents out that way. “That’s nice of you.”

Alex shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

“What cut of their candy are they giving you?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Alex opened her eyes wide, innocent.

“Been there, done that, Maleficent,” she said dryly.

“Two pieces each—her pick,” Michael said as they got in Alex’s car.

Jenny laughed and waved them off, as another group of kids from the left rushed across their lawn. Jenny duly admired the black cat, witch, and Sponge Bob costumes and held out the candy basket as their parents walked up to the door. The woman had a chunky baby dressed as a pumpkin in one of those slings across her chest. Looked heavy.

“Hi. I’m Dan and this is Wendy. Are your parents home?”

Parents
? Jenny frowned.
They think I’m the kid.
Natural enough assumption given her costume. Jenny smiled and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Jenny.”

They shook her hand. “And the ghost and Sponge Bob are our kids, Penny and Caleb. We’re your neighbors three doors down,” Wendy said as she rocked side to side. “I’ve been meaning to stop by before now to meet your parents, but this one,” she patted the drooling baby’s head, “kept me busier that you’d believe—not that he’s a bad baby, but—”

“We were excited to hear the new neighbors had a teenage daughter. Do you babysit much?” her husband interrupted.

“Not at all actually, but my
step-daughter
, Alex, does. You just missed her, but I can give you her number if you’d like.”

Wendy frowned. “Step—Oh—Gosh, I’m sorry. I... You just look so young, I assumed...”

“It’s okay.” Jenny smiled. She swept her hand up and down in front of her. “I
am
dressed as a doll.”

“Hey, you kids wait for us,” Bob called out as the children ran across the lawn toward Steve’s house. “Well, welcome to the neighborhood, we’d better catch up with them.”

His wife backed up and with a faint wave hurried after her family.

“Come, Ritz.” Jenny returned to the house and shut the door. “Somehow I doubt we’re going to be bosom buddies with them.” Apparently they were in dire need of a babysitter and had little interest in being neighborly.

Her phone rang. Jenny looked at the number.
Judith
.

“Jenny, it’s Judith.”

I know.
“What’s up?”

“Is Alex there? She’s not answering her phone.”

“Her battery probably died, it was beeping when she was here.” She put the candy on the entry table and crossed her arms. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Judith sighed loudly. “How long ago was that? The kids are waiting for her to take them trick-or-treating.”

Jenny frowned. It wasn’t like Alex to blow off a commitment. Judith wasn’t going to like finding out that Alex was with Michael. “Does
she
know that?”

“Not yet. Dave took them out, but they want to go longer and he’s not feeling well.”

And you told them Alex would do it. And what about you? You could take your own kids trick-or-treating like a normal mom
.

“She left about ten minutes ago. They should be at Suzy’s house soon.”

“Fine. I’ll try there.”

“Judith, wait. While I have you on the phone I wanted to ask you something. Would it be okay if the kids came over here during the day on Thanksgiving? I know it’s your turn to have them for Thanksgiving, but this will be the first holiday dinner we’ve hosted in our new house and we were hoping the kids could join us. They’d be back by four, in time for your dinner.”

“We have the kids for Thanksgiving this year. Gabe had them last year.”

“I know, but the house wasn’t done, and we went to my parents. This year we’re having it here, and we wanted the family together. I thought, maybe, the kids could celebrate at both houses—that’s why we moved it up to noon.”

“So the kids will eat turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie and get back to our house stuffed,” Judith said flatly.

“No! I’ll remind them to just snack. They’ll be plenty hungry when they get to your house.”

“No.”

“We wanted the whole family together for our first holiday in our new house.”

“Touching, but no.”

Jenny struggled to hold onto her temper.
Come on; bend a little
. “I...will you think about it?”

“Nothing to think about. We’ve got the kids Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, and Gabe gets them Christmas and New Year’s. That’s the schedule.”

God forbid they amend the schedule. “Maybe you could have them for New Years instead?”

“No.”
Click
.

Jenny scowled. “Goodbye to you, too.”
Bitch
.

Jenny went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. The doorbell rang. She took a big gulp as she scooped up the candy and rushed to the door.

“Trick or treat.” Sophie, dressed as a miniature Elsa, stood in front of her brother, a vampire.

“Hel-lo. Well, Ms. Elsa, you’re looking lovely tonight.” She pointed at her white gloves. “Glad to see you’ve got those on so we don’t have any accidents.” Jenny bent down and wrinkled her nose as if confiding a secret. “Red wine is best served at room temperature, not frozen.”

Sophie giggled.

Jenny turned to Josh. “And you, sir, look very dashing and frightening with those fangs, I might add. I hope you’ve already fed tonight.”

Josh nodded as a deep voice out of the dark said, “Well, well, well. I always suspected Raggedy Ann was a lush.”

Jenny peered past the bright porch light into the darkness. “Funny, Grant.”

“Ohhh,” Sophie squealed. “Lion.”

Jenny turned to the kids and backed up. “Come on in.”

Sophie and Josh ran to the dog and knelt before her, petting her. Ritz bore the attention with her usual good nature and got in a few friendly licks of her own. Steve and Annie stood in her entry, looking around.

Steve had a huge burger in one hand and bag of fries in the other. He swallowed and said, “Where’s Darth Vader?”

“Work.” She held up her glass. “Wine?”

Steve looked at Annie in question.

“We can’t.” Annie said. “It’s getting late, and they need a bath.”

“Have you had dinner?” Steve asked.

Jenny shook her head.

Steve handed his fries to Annie to hold, then split his burger and passed half to Jenny. She considered refusing the food, but it smelled heavenly and Steve knew she loved cheeseburgers.