Halloween Night
(an On Life and Living snippet)
by WesleysGirl
There are candles in the pumpkins on the front steps, which always makes Rodney at least twice as insane as he is the
rest of the time, even though the candles are small and the steps are cement, which as far as John is concerned means
it's not like they're going to set the house on fire.
On the other hand, maybe the candles are just a cover-up for what Rodney's really worrying about.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asks, not for the first time.
"She's thirteen," John reminds him, also not for the first time. "She's trick or treating with three friends. She
has a flashlight, a cell phone, and a whistle. They're staying on the sidewalks and they'll be back by 7:30. It'll
be fine." It's nice to feel like the calm one for once, as far as Kayla's concerned.
The doorbell rings and Rodney stalks from the kitchen to the front door, throws it open, and thrusts the bowl of
candy into the arms of a startled witch. "Take one -- one -- and leave the bowl on the porch," he snarls, then
pushes past John on his way back into the kitchen.
"Nice," says John. "We'll have neighbors banging on our door asking what the hell we did to scare their kids
before the night's over."
"Then we won't answer the door," Rodney snaps.
"Hey," John says, practiced at the art of Rodney-soothing. He slips an arm around Rodney's waist and gives
him a crooked, awkward half-hug. "It'll be fine."
"You're just saying that because you always want to be the optimistic one," Rodney says, but he sighs and relaxes
into the embrace, pushing his face into John's neck.
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