Page 78 of Cadenbury Town Does Halloween

I walk behind the counter and hang my coat and scarf up. Have I mentioned how cold it is?

I smile at the customer as he leaves, and Pa turns to look at me. I don’t know what he sees in my eyes, but he pulls me into a hug.

I hug him back; Pa gives the best hugs. Well, my Adhan does as well, but Pa’s hugs are somehow special.

“What happened?” he asks, pulling back.

I sigh and tell him everything. “I thought I had dealt with the feelings involved with the dream, but I guess not.”

“You always used to take a few days to get over a nightmare. You’d start by trying to turn it into something fun like you did with your multiple murders. Then you’d not want to talk or thinkabout it. You’d be afraid to sleep for a few days, but then you would fully recover from it.”

“I’d forgotten that,” I reply. I’ll have to let Adhan know how I’ll be dealing with that dream. “Anyway, Alfred wanted to stay close to Justice, so I offered to come in and cover for him.”

“It will be good for you to be here today. I’m going to get coffee and cake for both of us,” and with a pat to my shoulder, he walks off to the tearoom.

I smile at people as they walk in and out and soon Pa is back with said coffee and cake.

I take the plates so Pa can put the drinks down and notice they are both big slices. I look at him. “Is Clarence not in?”

“He’s in,” Pa says, picking his plate up. “He knew you needed a large slice today. Don’t worry though we won’t tell your Ma.”

“Thanks. Are you and Ma coming to the BBQ later?”

Pa nods and swallows his bite of cake. “We are, those Stone brothers make the best burgers.”

“I know right? Apparently, it’s a super secret family recipe.”

“Well, whatever it is, it’s lovely.”

Paand I are kept busy for the rest of the day. Alfred didn’t use to be open on Sundays, but Pa convinced him that Sunday opening would be good. So, he tried it for the first time a few months ago, and it was so successful that he carried it on. I think it helps that Pa and I work here, as everything is shared evenly. The only difference is that no meetings are held on Sundays.

I manage to find a spare moment and take our cups and plates back to the tearoom. Cal is clearing a table and Clarence is leaning back against the drinks counter, a smile on his face, watching him.

“Hey Clarence,” I say, as I put the dirty crockery down.

Clarence looks me over and nods. “You’ll be alright young’un.”

I nod. “I will and thank you for the large slice, it was just what I needed.”

“It was, but it will be back to small slices from tomorrow,” he tells me.

“I can live with that. Are you and Callum coming to the BBQ when we’ve finished here?”

Clarence nods “We are, we need baby snuggles.”

Cal walks over with a full tray and puts it on the counter. “So many baby snuggles.”

I look at him. “You okay Cal?”

He sighs. “My buttercream flowers were a disaster. They didn’t even last two minutes. I don’t know what I did wrong.”

“I don’t know much about using buttercream to make flowers, only what I’ve seen on TV, but did you remember to put it in the fridge for a bit before you tried to pipe with it?”

Cal gasps and then pulls me into a hug. “I completely forgot to do that. Thanks, Ernest.”

I pat his back. “You’re welcome. Don’t forget you can use magic to help.”

Cal shakes his head. “No, I want to decorate without using magic.”