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EVERYONE HEADED OUT into the neighborhood, the kids running ahead to start their trick or treating. Alex pushed Rosie in her stroller next to Mark, who pushed Emily in another stroller, and Jamie took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Everything was perfect now.
The neighborhood had been decorated for the occasion – someone had hung jack-o’-lanterns on the streetlights so that it illuminated them, giving them glowing expressions. But rather than be scary, with creepy eyes and jagged teeth, they had been cut out in cute faces so that the kids would like them, too.
Sheets had been thrown over some of the bushes with eyes cut out of them, and somewhere, music was playing.
The whole thing was just amazing.
The twins ran into the first house, the driveway lit up with lights all the way to the front door as if it was a landing strip for the kids to come. Markie didn’t follow – he clung to Jamie’s leg, unsure.
“Go on, sweetheart,” Jamie said, putting her hand on his shoulder and kneeling. “Follow Lily and Benton, see how they do it.”
“Will it be okay?” he asked.
Jamie pulled him into a tight hug, squeezing him against her. It felt so great to know that all her kids were safe.
“Absolutely,” she said. “Look, everyone is doing it.” She pointed around the neighborhood, where everyone was in the street, kids running around in costumes, going from one driveway to the next to ask for candy.
Markie watched the other kids for a while, and then he smiled, jumped up and down twice, and then he ran to follow Lily and Benton. Alex and Jamie waited at the top of the drive, keeping an eye on the children, making sure that everything was okay.
But there was nothing to worry about now.
Just yesterday, Jamie and Alex had been so nervous of everything that could go wrong, they probably would have cancelled trick or treating. And that would have been a damn shame. It was ridiculous that they had been made to feel so unsafe in their own home.
But that was a thing of the past. Jamie knew that everything was okay now. The danger was gone, her children were safe. And she and Alex could rest easy.
“You made all of this happen,” Alex said.
“We both did,” Jamie said.
Alex shook his head and squeezed Jamie, his arm around her shoulders. “No, sweetheart, this time, it was all new. If it wasn’t for what you did yesterday, we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy tonight at all. And it would have been terrible to have to cancel. This is easily becoming one of my favorite things to do with the kids.”
Jamie smiled. She loved how involved Alex was in the kids’ lives, how willing he was to get completely immersed in being a dad. He dressed up, he played make-believe, he baked pancakes with sprinkles in them. He did everything to make the kids’ childhood an amazing one.
Who could have asked for a better father?
Jamie looked at Mark and Erica, who were happily strolling down the road. Emily was far too young to trick or treat, but in a couple of years, she would join Markie and the twins.
And then Rosie would, too.
And Jamie couldn’t wait for that. She couldn’t wait to see how they grew up, how they remained friends, just like the six of them were.
And then it would be Paul and Christine’s turn, too.
They really did have a great group of friends. And the best part was, they were family.
When the kids came out of the driveway again, running to the next house, Alex and Jamie followed them.
“Are you okay about everything now?” Alex asked.
Jamie nodded. “For the most part, yeah.”
“What’s still bothering you?”
Jamie hesitated for a moment. “I just don’t understand why Brianna would do it, why she would terrorize us like that, make our lives a living hell.”
Alex nodded. “Who knows why people do things.”
Jamie giggled at his vague response.
“The truth is, though,” she continued, “I don’t think I need to know. Not the specifics, anyway. What I do know is that my mother got under her skin. You should have seen the place she lived in – it was a dump. She was obviously looking for something to hold on to, something that wasn’t as terrible as the life she had.”
Jamie explained to Alex how everything had looked where they had found Brianna. He shook his head.
“It’s strange. She came to our house every day at some point. You see someone every day, you think you know them. And then it turns out you had no idea.”
Jamie nodded. “I thought the same thing. She was just so eager to please my mother. And since that was the thing my mother had come to her about, she thought that if she took it further, it would make a difference. At least, that’s what I’m speculating. Honestly, I don’t know exactly what went through her head.”
“I think it’s crazy,” Alex commented. “I know your mother can be quite difficult to live with, and I understand your need to please her. At least, that’s how it was when I meet you. But to do something so terrible to children? That doesn’t make sense to me, no matter what your reasons are. I am just glad it’s all behind us. And finally completely over.”
“It’s all done now, right?” Jamie asked. She had been confident after she had seen Brianna taken to the police station, but sometimes, doubts still snuck up on her. After all, it was difficult to let go of the panic and trauma when it had been her constant companion for a year and a half.
“Yeah, it’s all done now,” Alex confirmed. “Your mother can’t come near us, and I am sure Officer Halloway is going to make sure that Brianna goes to prison for real, this time. She is in our corner.”
Jamie nodded. “It seems like we have a few people on our side, a few more than I had initially thought.”
Alex planted a kiss on her lips and they left the dark subject matter behind. They watched their little ones saunter up to a front door where they politely received their candy and said, “Trick or treat,” and “Thank you.”
Jamie leaned against Alex and sighed contentedly.
“Being a parent is so fulfilling,” she said.
“Absolutely,” Alex said. “I don’t think I am going to get tired of saying it, either.”
Jamie giggled. “You’re right, we say it a lot.”
“Shows you it’s true.”
Jamie nodded and they watched the kids.
“So... we are sure we want to stop at four, right?”
Alex burst out laughing. “Yes, woman! No more!”
Jamie laughed, too. She loved having children and she loved doing the parenting thing with Alex. But maybe he was right: four was a good number to stop at. They were lucky, with the twins that had been two-for-one. And then Markie, and then Rosie.
Perfect.
They continued walking down the road, watching the kids with one eye as they spent time together.
“I think I’m going to take some time off work,” Alex said.
Jamie frowned at him. “You know, you don’t have to do that. The worst is over – we are all safe now. You can go back to the office and know that nothing is going to go wrong.”
Alex shook his head. “It’s not about that,” he said. “Consider it let paternity leave.”
But Jamie was still shaking her head. She knew how important Alex’s job was to him. He had practically lived in his office once upon a time. “I can handle the home stuff,” she said. “You don’t have to step back.”
Alex turned to Jamie, stopping for a moment. “I want to,” he said, taking her hand in his. “I want time with my family. Real time. Quality time. Not the type of time where we do damage control, hoping that we will stay afloat. I want to be around so that I don’t miss the little things. I want to be there for the key moments. Before we know it, the kids are all going to be grown and out of the house.”
“Oh, my goodness, don’t say that,” Jamie said, shaking her head. “It’s such a scary thought.”
“I know, but it’s true. The twins are almost five. Can you imagine? Five years have flown by in a snap. Before we know it, we are going to be celebrating their tenth birthdays. Eighteenths. The graduations, colleges...”
“Stop,” Jamie giggled. “We just got them and now we have to think about sending them off into the big wide world?”
Alex smiled. “We still have a lot of time with them. But it won’t last forever, and that’s just the thing. I want to be around for it, I want to be home more so that I can see them growing up. I don’t want to look back one day and know that I have a successful company, but that I wasn’t there for the key moments in my children’s lives.”
Jamie wrapped her arms around her husband. Every time she thought that he couldn’t be a more perfect father, he did something to trump it, to prove that he could be even better than he already was.
“This scare just reminded me what is important,” Alex said. “I would hate to have anything like this ever again, but it snapped me awake and for that I am grateful. I don’t want my time with the kids to slip through my fingers.”
Jamie kissed Alex. “You are incredible,” she said. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he said. “Are you going to cope with me being home more often? Or am I going to get in your way?” He grinned at her teasingly.
“Oh, I think I can get used to it,” she said and kissed him again.
