This is a Halloween short I wrote for a contest our local writers' guild is holding. It features three of the characters from my book, True Blue Forever, when they were children.

“Well, I don’t care what anybody says. I’m not skipping Mr. Frankenstile’s house.”

Jeana’s long red curls bounced defiantly under the crown of her Cinderella costume as she marched down the sidewalk, followed by a swashbuckling Wade and Billy Joe’s skinny version of Spiderman.

“Why’d you have to go and tell her?” Billy Joe asked. “You know how hard-headed she is.”

Wade shoved him as they trailed behind Jeana. “It’s your fault, DuBose. You’re the one who made the stupid joke about him turning into a blimp from eating all that candy by himself. All I did was tell her I saw him buying it at Delchamps today, like he expected anybody to come to his house.”

“I never believed all those stories about him anyway,” Jeana said. “And I can’t stand the idea of him sitting in his living room with a big bowl of candy, hoping somebody will ring his doorbell. He’s probably just a sweet old man and can’t help it if his name sounds like he’s a monster.”

“No, but he doesn’t have to glare at people under those freaky eyebrows of his,” Billy Joe muttered. “Looks like he’s got Siamese caterpillars stuck to his forehead.”

Wade snickered. “Yeah, and what about that mutant claw he’s got for a hand? How’d you like to see that thing coming at you in the dark?”

He twisted his hand into a replica of the old man’s and crooked it at Billy Joe. Their laughter ended when Jeana stopped and turned around with her hands on her hips.

“It’s probably from arthritis just like your grandma’s, Wade Strickland. And you should be ashamed of yourself for making fun of him.”

Wade kicked at a piece of candy corn on the sidewalk and didn’t look at her. “Aw, Jeana. You know I was just kidding.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s funny.” She turned to Billy Joe and pushed his shoulder. “And you shouldn’t be making fun of anybody’s eyebrows with that mop on your head for hair.”

He poked a blond curl inside his mask. “Hey, watch what you say about the ‘fro.”

Jeana rolled her eyes and resumed walking. “I’m going to his house right now. I don’t care what y’all do.”

The boys traded resigned looks and followed her to the old white house on the corner. But when she started down the walk leading up to the porch, both boys stopped outside the gate.

“Jeana, there’s not any lights on,” Wade said. “I don’t think he’s even home.”

“Then I’ll find out in a minute, won’t I?” she said over her shoulder.

“We’ll just wait for you here!” Billy Joe called. “Yell if you need help and Wade will come running!”

They watched her disappear into the porch’s gloom. When the door opened, they could barely make out a hunched figure framed in the dim light, but they couldn’t hear anything being said. After the longest three minutes of their lives, they saw Jeana coming back down the steps.

“Let’s go,” she said when she rejoined them on the sidewalk outside the gate. She started to walk away, but Wade grabbed her arm.

“Wait,” he said. “What’s wrong, Jeana? Why are you crying?”

“And where’s your candy bag?” Billy Joe added.

“He didn’t buy that candy for trick-or-treaters,” Jeana said, wiping her eyes, “because he said he never expected to get any. He took the candy to the hospital and gave it to his granddaughter and all the other kids with cancer. So I gave him my bag so he could take it to them too.”

Both boys put an arm across her shoulders as they walked down the sidewalk toward their houses, and Billy Joe said, “We’ll share our candy with you, Jeana. But I got dibs on all the wax lips.”