Page 6 of Hold Me Instead (Elmwood Falls #1)

Zachary

Giggles echoed throughout Elmwood Falls Village like some eighties movie come to life.

A toddler dressed like a clownfish exited the veterinary hospital with a group of costumed children and waddled past Zachary, tail fin wiggling.

The kids joined a handful of skeleton-clad adults who waited in the parking lot with a brown dachshund wearing a hot dog bun costume.

They refilled thermoses from a carafe in their little red wagon stacked with winter coats.

The temperature was expected to plummet that night for a short stint, and Zachary recalled when he was six and had to wear a snowsuit over his costume to combat the weather.

He had been disappointed no one saw his Woody costume and thought he was just a regular cowboy.

So the following year, he'd planned to be the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and wear his giant coat under his costume. Instead, it was a beautiful seventy degrees, and he’d walked around like a saggy balloon.

Zachary had come to understand global warming at a young age.

His attention snagged on two families passing in the park.

One family dressed like a team of superheroes, and the other parents wore everyday coats, while the kids ran around as a tiny witch and a dragon.

The parents were spunky, their laughter and shouts reminding Zachary how close-knit the community was.

The Village was the heart of the city of Elmwood Falls, part of a fairly large Midwest metropolis, yet the likelihood of running into someone you knew was high, giving the feeling of a small Wisconsin town.

Zachary stood at the edge of the Elmwood Falls Veterinary Hospital parking lot. There were countless people from his past he might encounter today. Plenty he hadn’t talked to since he’d moved and would be fine never seeing again.

But what unnerved him most was going inside the small red-and-brown brick building where he’d grown up, learned from his father, and worked alongside him. The place where his dad had told him he was giving the practice to Charlie.

“Come on, Uncle Zachy!” His niece Vivi yanked his hand. “It’s a haunted house!”

A sheet of black fabric covered the entrance, attached to the wide white sign that read VETERINARY HOSPITAL in fading black letters.

A scarecrow propped open the front door, and monster music carried across the lot.

Vivi halted, tapping her toes and flinging her arms, the wings of her iridescent butterfly costume flapping in time.

“What are you doing, Vivi?” he asked, arms crossed like a bodyguard.

“We did this”— tap , tap— “for our Halloween dance class!” She turned in a slow circle with zombie arms timed to growls in the song, then busted a kid-version "Thriller" move, her straight black hair swinging back and forth.

“Wow, Viv, is that what you learned this week?” Sandra stopped beside Zachary, setting down a wriggling Spider-Man Alex.

“Yeah!” Vivi shouted, then bolted to the front door.

“Hold it!” Sandra hollered at Vivi, then turned toward the park, eyes scanning. “Where the hell is Jay? ”

Vivi held still, her front half already hidden behind the curtained doorway.

“I’ll find him,” Zachary offered, eager to delay his venture into the past, but the man himself appeared just in time.

Jay Wang sauntered toward them, tray of coffees in hand. His black hair was faded on the sides, the top slicked just off-center. His warm beige skin was already flush with pink from the biting wind.

“Here’s some reinforcements.” Jay handed a drink to his wife and turned to Zachary. “Black coffee, right?”

“Thanks,” he grumbled. How Jay remembered his drink, he had no clue. They hadn’t had coffee together in years. He took a sip, the liquid sending extra warmth through his chest.

Jay lifted his cup in acknowledgment. “Figured we could all use the boost.”

Zachary nodded. “We’ve been doing this what, three hours?”

Jay chuckled, and his grin grew at whatever he saw on Zachary’s face. “Oh. You’re serious? No, only an hour.”

“ One ?” Zachary’s sleep had been shit lately, which had caused him to trudge over to Sandra and Jay’s with low energy as it was, disappointing Alex when he showed up in a navy hoodie and jeans.

His nephew had gifted him a sword for the day, satisfied Zachary met the qualifications and could participate in the festivities.

His sister wore her hair down with a gold crown lent by Vivi, and the kids allowed her to wear a chunky cream sweater, jeans, and trendy brown hiking boots.

Jay was polished in a plum jacket over a black thermal and blue jeans, his black knit derby shoes fresh with a white sole.

He twirled around the scepter Alex had given him for the day.

Both of them had managed to prep their kids and themselves for trick-or-treating.

Zachary had only showered because he’d forced himself on a run first thing that morning.

“Jay, can you grab Viv?” Sandra said, bending to wipe Alex’s nose.

Zachary snagged her cup just before it toppled.

Jay located their daughter, now only visible by the one leg extended outside the black curtain of the clinic, and jogged over to her.

He stooped and gently tugged her back outside, movements animated.

As she walked inside with her dad, Vivi’s smile grew as if she was about to embark on her young life’s greatest adventure.

How the two of them managed to make this Halloween as normal as possible for the kids was beyond him.

Sandra looked exhausted from the emotionally draining week, and Jay was bouncing around, trying to anticipate anything and everything.

To Zachary, that seemed like wasted energy when life apparently thrived on an ambush approach.

“I’m tired!” Alex cried out, arms hanging low for emphasis.

“Woah, he looked like you right there,” Zachary said to his sister, chuckling as Alex walked in small circles, swinging his candy bucket out to the side.

Sandra stood and grabbed her coffee, downing large gulps. “I wish this was spiked,” she muttered.

Zachary smirked. “We can leave, you know? Or…” He hesitated, weighing the options. “I can finish up with them, if you two want a break.”

Sandra bit her lip as she considered, hair whipping her face in the crisp breeze. She shook her head. “No, it’s okay. We made it all the way to this point, only have these three stops left. Besides”—she smirked, adjusting the crown—“you’re not getting out of going to see Dad.”

Hospital visits weighed him down. He did better when he could move, could physically do something. Sitting there while his father rested wasn’t it. His visits thus far had been brief, often timed to avoid being alone with his dad awake.

He focused on his nephew, now seated on the ground as he sorted candy into small piles on the asphalt.

Zachary squatted beside the toddler, surveying the loot.

Almond Joys were piled with blue Jolly Ranchers, Tootsie Rolls with Snickers.

Kit Kats with red Jolly Ranchers. He smiled. “Which are your favorite, buddy?”

Alex placed a Reese’s down and pointed to it, then pointed at the blue pile, and the red. Then reached into the bucket for more.

“Yeah, it’s hard for me to pick just one too.” Zachary grinned up at his sister, surprised by her soft smile. He cleared his throat, then tussled Alex’s short black hair. “How about a piggyback ride through the haunted house?”

“Mmkay,” Alex murmured. He supervised as Zachary returned the candy to the bucket, pointing a tiny finger at each remaining piece. Once the candy was safe, he pushed himself up and held out his arms.

Zachary stood with Alex secured to his back, those little hands gripped tightly around his neck. “Let’s do this. Hey, you okay?” he asked Sandra.

She nodded, eyes pooling, and looped her arm through his. “I’m just really glad you’re here.”

“Me too!” Alex shouted into Zachary’s ear, energy rebooted.

Sandra laughed as Zachary winced a smile, but he still tickled Alex into shrieks of laughter as they walked inside.

Cheesecloth hung from the lobby ceiling, softening the glow of overhead lights.

Ghosts floated above the gray front desk, and a giant Frankenstein stood guard, holding a robotic pumpkin with a black cat popping up and down.

Zachary heard Alex gasp at the sight, then felt his legs straighten and stretch as he tried to slide off his back.

“Slow down, bud,” Sandra said, following him over to the monster. She spoke softly to him, and he stared, wide-eyed.

Each of the patient rooms had a different monster theme and glowed with purple and green lights, staffed by employees who handed out candy. Zachary caught sight of Jay and Vivi as they disappeared into a room that greeted them with a witch’s cackle.

“Oh my word, Zachary Lee. It’s been too long!”

Zachary turned, immediately wrapped in Maura’s embrace, her head barely reaching his chest. After a tight squeeze, she held him at arm’s length.

He smiled down at the woman who’d known him since birth. “It’s good to see you, Maura. I like your new look,” he said, knocking a squiggly eye springing around her head.

Maura gave his cheeks a light pinch. “Still a smart-ass.”

He smiled. While years had added laugh lines and wrinkles, Maura was as sunny as always. She had to be close to seventy now, but exuded the energy of a cycling instructor.

“How’s your father today, dear?” she asked softly, keeping their conversation private.

“Same. Longer rounds of staying awake. Mom’s with him now, and we’re going by after the kids are done.”

“Mhm.” She studied him. “How about you?”

“I’m fine.” He shrugged. Did it really matter right now ?

She narrowed her eyes. “Have to take care of yourself, you know. Was just saying the same thing to Dr. Harris. You know her, bleeding heart for these animals, just like your father. She’d probably sleep here just to make sure we could function as close to normal as possible.”