Amanda assumed it was because of their fight earlier in the day. She felt so guilty for yelling at Sallie and being so angry. Sallie was worried about her. And now Dunc was making up for it. He brought out a stack of light blankets. The weather was turning chilly, but where they were sitting on the back deck was cozy.
Dunc’s mother joined them and pulled her rocking chair closer to the porch swings. Hannah ended up next to Sallie and Dew. She struck up an animated conversation with them.
Amanda was baffled. Typically Dunc’s mother hovered around her. She had only a passing interest in Dew and Sallie. Now she was asking all kinds of questions about when they were married. What were their plans for the future? If they intended to have children. Amanda wished she could save them from the barrage of questions. But Dew and Sallie were giggling and happily talking to Hannah about it.
It didn’t bother them. Amanda sighed and stared into the mug of cider that Dunc had brought her. He sat down next to her and shook out the blanket in his hands. Then he spread it over their laps. They sat in silence, listening to the conversation going on nearby.
“I love you, Amanda.” Dunc leaned over and kissed the top of her head.
“I love you too, Duncan.” Amanda smiled up at him and sipped her drink
Chapter 15
I t rained heavily that morning.
Dunc shook his umbrella outside the door and propped it next to the doorframe. He stomped to get the water off his shoes then knocked. It was earlier than he usually came over.
Sallie met him at the door. “Good morning, Duncy.” She smiled pleasantly. “Amanda is still asleep.”
“That’s okay. Can I come in?”
“Sure.” Dunc stepped inside, and thunder boomed above him. He smirked, feeling like he just had ominous entry music. “If you and Dew aren’t busy today, I’ve got a big project I need help with at my house. I’ll take you out to breakfast.”
“What kind of project?” Sallie bounced around him. “And breakfast sounds great!” She paused and added in a whisper, “I am so sorry about yesterday, Duncy.”
“It’s okay, Sallie.” Dunc smiled. Why don’t you get Dew and come over? Leave a note for Amanda that we’re at my house.”
***
Amanda grumbled as she walked into her kitchen an hour later. There was no sign of Dew or Sallie, and they hadn’t told her they were going anywhere. She spotted a note on the table and picked it up. It simply said: At Dunc’s. Join us! Then there was a little smiling flower doodled on it—morning people.
***
Kids were running in and out of Dunc’s little western town wearing raincoats. It wasn’t raining as heavily as it had been. Amanda made her way past them and blinked as she saw Dunc’s porch. It was full of large, damp cardboard boxes. His front door was open. Dew and Sallie were sitting amidst piles of large cloth bags with reflective stickers on the sides.
Amanda walked up the steps, unsure if she wanted to know what was going on. She stepped through the door to both Dew and Sallie, calling out, “Good morning, Amanda!” simultaneously. Dew had a scoop in one hand full of a variety of small candies. Sallie had a massive box of full-sized candy bars she was dropping into bags. Amanda looked from them to the other side of the room, where there were more stacked boxes. These were full of more bags.
“Good morning?” Amanda whispered. She began backing toward the door, thinking she would instead go back to bed.
“Good morning, Amanda!” Dunc stepped into the room with a grin carrying two full glasses of chocolate milk. He gave one to Dew and the other to Sallie. “Great, you can help me get these things moved into the hallway so we can make room for the rest of them.”
“What are you doing?” She looked down at the floor, where huge stacks of cloth bags were wrapped up into bundles. “How many kids are you expecting.”
“Hmm.” Dunc looked thoughtful. He gave a sidelong glance to Sallie and chuckled. “We have a population of 5,000. Around 2,000 are under the age of 18, so I’d say around 2,000.” Dunc walked past Amanda to move a bundle of bags closer to Dew and Sallie.
“2,000?” Amanda stepped aside and stared at Dunc. “You are expecting the entire town’s kids on this street on Halloween night?” She looked flabbergasted. “Why?”
“Tradition.” Dunc grinned, taking Amanda’s hand. “Now, why don’t you help me fill these bags. With all four of us, it won’t take that long. One scoop of candy. One candy bar. Put it in a box and then grab another bag.”
***
It took several hours to fill all the bags that were on the porch. They filled up the hallway and living room. Amanda was still trying to figure out why an entire town would go to Dunc’s house, specifically to trick or treat. She knew the town sprawled over several miles. Their neighborhood wasn’t particularly big or filled with expensive homes. Then she began doing the math. Dunc had to have spent over $3,000 for all the candy and unique, custom-made trick-or-treat bags. They had screen printing on them that read Happy Halloween. Each bag had a picture of jack-o-lanterns, bats, candy skulls, black cats, or howling wolves.
Amanda also remembered what Dunc had said about his mother cooking. She had been cooking for days. She knew her kitchen was full of pies, cakes, and loaves of bread. It occurred to her that those children would have parents with them. Hannah was baking all these things for Halloween. The thought was overwhelming. WHO did stuff like that?
***
When they finished with the bags, Dunc insisted on taking them
