Page 40 of Pinch

11

Haddy

Halloween is on a Friday this year, which happens to land perfectly for our annual celebration. Usually, we have to adjust our date to accommodate Mav’s schedule, but they have a rare Friday night off.

They’ll be back on the road Saturday, but it’s for a game in Anaheim, so not too far.

We all love Halloween. When I was a little girl, my fall break always fell around this time, and Mom and Dad would pack us up to head south to Newhope to spend the holiday with all the Bradfords.

Besides Christmas, it’s the holiday I most associate with my cousins, and every year we go all out.

“What do you think?” Mav stomps into the kitchen, where Gina and I are stringing the Styrofoam balls we’ve covered in cheesecloth.

They’re cute little ghosts, and we’ll hang them everywhere, inside and outside the house.

Our cousin is dressed in what looks like a hairy ape-likecostume with a pink ribbon in its hair and a pink belt tied in a bow around his waist.

“What are you?” Gina frowns. “Mrs. Chewbacca?"

“There’s no Mrs. Chewbacca,” he groans. “I’m Big Foot!”

Tilting my head to the side, I squint up at him. “Did Big Foot wear a pink ribbon in his hair?”

“He does on the clock app. Haven’t you seen the video of him walking with the purse?”

“Yeah, I didn’t know what that was supposed to be about.”

“You should just go as regular Chewbacca.” Gina stands, carrying four ghosts on her fingertips to hang on the front porch.

Mav pretends to snore, and I bump him with my hip as I pass, carrying more ghosts to hang outside. “I’m going as Princess Leia. We can be a pair, like they were in Cloud City inThe Empire Strikes Back.”

“Haddy!” Gigi whines from where she’s climbing the ladder at the front door. “You changed your costume?”

“I didn’t change it!” I walk over to where she’s stringing ghosts along the orange twinkle lights.

“But she wears that puffer vest in Empire! I thought you were wearing the white dress from the awards ceremony at the end ofA New Hope.”

“You’re going as Princess Leia?” Gav walks up from where he just finished hanging bat silhouettes in the trees.

His cap is on backwards, and the short-sleeved black tee he’s wearing makes me wonder if any of his clothes can accommodate his muscular physique. It’s stretched so nicely over his pecs.

“It seemed like the obvious choice.” I shrug, and my stomach tingles when our eyes meet.

“Obviously, Princess.” He winks at me, and I blink down,fighting a goofy grin and wishing my cheeks didn’t flame red every time he did that.

We haven’t had a chance to talk for real since the day of the charity clinic, but I’ve thought a lot about what he said. I’ve thought about what Mav said about how people don’t change that much. Every time, it leaves me feeling uneasy.

I can’t believe Karen would lie to me, but I don’t know why Gavin would lie to me either. It was all so long ago, I’m not sure why he still cares about what I think today.

Except… I think I do know why, and the reason makes my insides all hot and zippy.

He was genuinely disgusted with Rob “the knob.” He gave me his sweater to wear to the games.I was ready to break up with her the day we met…

“What are you going as, Gav?” Gina climbs down the ladder and folds it.

“I hadn’t decided yet, but now I have an idea.”

“If Mav goes as Chewy, and Hads is Leia… What can I be?” she pouts.