CHAPTER TWENTY

ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT, I almost felt bad that most work for Harvest for All’s Halloween fundraising fell to others. But not quite.

In the fifty-degree temperatures, I sat on a lawn chair outside Mr. Markle’s grocery. Scoobie had propped my foot on pillows and a donation bucket sat on my lap.

Costumed children went from business to business collecting candy, and many pint-sized witches, ghosts, and superheroes stopped to ask about my cast. I told them I was clumsy and to be careful on the stairs. That was enough of an explanation.

Harry had convinced six downtown businesses to have fundraising jars on their counters and boxes for food donations outside their front doors. Several boardwalk stores had also opened for the evening, and I could hear Bruce Springsteen’s music emanating from that direction.

Thanks to the Ocean Alley Press, local radio stations, and signs all over town, children and their parents toted cans for our shelves and dollar bills to donate.

Aunt Madge, Daphne, and Aretha wove among the downtown stores passing out candy from plastic pumpkins that said, “Thank You from HFA,” and letting people know where they could donate. Mayor Madge’s “good witch” costume was a hit.

Sylvia sat inside the grocery store and directed Terry and other high school students to load boxes into our van, which had already made several trips to Harvest for All. Every now and then Terry came out to tell me the number of cans and boxes people had bought in the store and put in the donation tubs.

Max decided he should watch over “Mrs. Scoobie,” and did so wearing a clown outfit, complete with large shoes and a bulbous red nose. I pretended not to know Reverend Jamison and Father Teehan, who were both dressed as Friar Tuck and kept losing the pillows they had under their robes.

By seven o’clock, the twins could barely walk and both climbed onto the chaise lounge with me. Scoobie put their plastic pumpkins of candy under my chair. “Watch out for mommy’s foot.”

Leah yawned. “She has a cast.”

Lance frowned. “And she still won’t let us write on it.”

I grinned. “The day before it gets taken off you can color all over it.”

Scoobie knelt next to me. “How are you holding up?”

“Amazingly well. It’s good to talk to people about fun stuff, for a change.”

Aunt Madge and Harry, who had paired with her Good Witch role by dressing as the Munchkin mayor from the Wizard of Oz, walked up. “You do know,” Aunt Madge said, “how lucky you are, Jolie.”

Lance sat up straight. “I think I ate too much candy.” He leaned over the side of the chair and threw up on the sidewalk, just missing Scoobie’s shoes.

“Eww!” Leah yelled.

I wiped Lance’s face with a Kleenex while Scoobie sat on the sidewalk and laughed.

“I am the luckiest woman in Ocean Alley.”

 

THE END

 

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