It's in the Bag
Nikola walked slowly down the street next
to Gage. The fallen leaves crunched
under their shoes and there was a definite hint of the long winter to come in
the air. Nikola shivered because Gage
hadn’t let him wear a coat. He was sure
that the three thermals under his costume were the only things that kept him
from succumbing to hypothermia. Nikola
would suffer through it though because it was Halloween night and Gage was
having the time of his life taking Hana from door to door begging for
treats.
Nikola reached up and scratched his head
for the hundredth time that night – the temporary hair dye Gage had talked him
into using was making his scalp itch.
Nikola decided that he really didn’t care for dressing up. At least he’d talked Gage out of making him
dress up as Dracula. If he had to hear
Gage beg him to say ‘I vant to suck yer blood’ one more time he’d kick the
man’s ass. Nikola swore his accent
sounded nothing like the Count’s but Gage got a kick out of it none the less.
“Want to try this one, B?” Gage asked Hana
who was walking at his side.
“Sure that looks like a good one,” Hana
said eagerly.
Nikola snorted. Hana thought every house looked like a good
one. Why wouldn’t she? They all gave out candy by the handful. Nikola followed them up the porch stairs. Gage waited for Nikola to step up beside him
before he rang the doorbell.
Nikola fidgeted while Gage stood with his
bag positioned in front of him waiting for the unsuspecting homeowner to open
the door. It took only a moment, most people
were ready and waiting to hand out their treats as quickly as they could so
they could shut off their light and have some peace and quiet for the rest of
the night.
The door swung open and an older lady stood
there frozen in shock after just a glimpse of them. Gage elbowed Nikola, “Trick or Treat,” they chorused. Gage’s rendition of the phrase held much more
pep than the lack luster version Nikola muttered out.
Nikola waited for the inevitable to
happen. “Aren’t you boys a bit old to be
trick or treating?” the lady asked as she took in the two giant Oompa Loompas
on her porch.
Gage smiled as he said, “But I got all
dressed up and I’m lugging around this huge bag. It’s practically empty. See?” he said as he pulled the bag open.
The lady looked inside – they all did. “Trick or Treat!” Hana yelled from inside the
bag making the poor woman jump in surprise.
Hana giggled at her trick that kept on working.
“Oh my!” the woman exclaimed. “That was some surprise. You tricked me so I guess that means I have
to give you a treat,” she said with a big smile at the little girl in the giant
bag. She reached into her bowl and
brought out three full sized candy bars and put them in Hana’s bag.
“Wow thanks!” Hana said with big eyes for
all that candy.
“Thanks,” Gage said, all puffy chested. He was damn proud of himself and his crazy
idea for Hana’s costume.
Nikola also thanked the lady before the
three of them made their way down the stairs and back out onto the
sidewalk. Gage put his arm around
Nikola’s waist immune to the stares they got from the other parents walking
their own little ghosts and goblins around the neighborhood. “See, we’ll have that bag full in no time and
then we can go home and I’ll do exactly what I promised you I’d do if you
dressed up with me,” Gage said.
“She gave me three big chocolate bars,”
Hana said interrupting the images that had just started forming in Nikola’s
mind. She was looking into her bag,
inspecting her haul not paying any attention to her babo and daddy.
“I know, that’s the third house in a row
that’s given you extra treats. Told you
my idea would work,” Gage said with a wink.
Nikola shook his head. Gage had come up with the idea for him and
Nikola to dress up like they were the ones trick or treating. It had also been his idea for Hana to go
dressed as a giant trick or treating bag that Gage appeared to be
carrying. Gage had wanted to just tape a
bunch of paper bags together but Hana had blanched at going as a brown paper
bag for her first Halloween – she wanted to be Cinderella. Gage’s mom had thought up a much better
idea of making a decorated bag out of purple felt and glued on Halloween images. The design had convinced Hana that being a
bag was as good as being a princess plus she loved a good prank as much as Gage
did.
Nikola scratched his head again. “You’d better make good on that promise, this
hair dye is eating my head and I’m pretty sure that orange isn’t my color,”
Nikola complained while looking at his orange tinged hand.
“I told you I’d make sure every inch of
your body is clear of green dye and orange paint. I’ll keep my word… even if it takes all
night,” Gage said. His husky voice
promised a long shower and much, much more when they got home.
Nikola’s shiver had nothing to do with the
chill in the air. He decided that maybe
dressing up wasn’t so bad after all.
Have a happy and safe Halloween everyone!
CL
