#i had to finish an emergency Halloween costume for the 8 year old i live with

[l0stw00d]

I love you garlic bread slice that is six hours old and rock hard. U are a delicious angel in these dark times

[amelia-blackshepherd]

Pumpkin Girls

So this is part II of Pumpkin boys, this one is a bit longer and takes place a few years after Pumpkin Boys. Halloween spirit I guess and getting my homework done early allowed me to write this. 

The day Before Halloween: Thursday

I’m sitting at the counter sipping my afternoon coffee, when Owen walks through the door along with three of our four children. The only one missing was, Ricky, who was still at college for the day and ‘too old’ for Halloween, especially with his family.

Olivia, the baby of the family, comes bounding over to me with a big smile. She’d gotten to pick out her costume by herself for the first time this year, and she was thrilled about it!  I let her infectious overcome me as I asked, “Did you have fun picking out your costume baby?”

“Yes! Daddy let me look through the whole store until I found the right one. Wait. I’m going to try it on and show you” Olivia excitedly gushes, as she turns to her dad to get her bag. Connor does the same and grabs bag, leaving Owen empty handed.

Owen looks incredibly drained, and I wonder if it’s from costume shopping with a 7-year-old, 12-year-old and a 16-year-old or, if something else happened. I am distractedly concerned about Owen’s tired look, until my 16-year-old daughter, Eve speaks up, “Okay, so I’ve already seen her in about a million costumes today, so I am going to go over to Maddie’s now cause we have plans, is that okay?” She asks more to Owen than me, although she is already heading towards the door, before either of us answer.

Owen replies first, “Just be home for dinner, Pumpkin.” Adding his term of endearment that started when Eve was five and dressed up as a pumpkin for Halloween. Eve nods her head in agreeance as she grabs her coat and heads out the door.

When I turn back around to face Owen, I see a look I can’t quite identify in his eyes. “So, only two costumes for three kids? I don’t think that math is going to work out.” I jokingly tease. But we are interrupted as our two youngest come back in the room dressed as a pumpkin, and Superman.

I fuss over my two beautiful children as they excitedly tell me all about their days. Meanwhile I notice Owen is unusually quiet, he has already seen the costumes, but, normally he loves listening to our children babble on. Something is definitely off with him.

The Night Before Halloween: Later that night, after all the little ones were in bed and we were getting ready for bed I tossed my pillow at him, “O, what’s wrong? You’ve been oddly quiet since you came back from Halloween shopping?”

He grumpily throughs the pillow back onto our bed and replies almost accusingly, “Did you know Eve doesn’t want to go out trick-or-treating with us this year?”

“Well that isn’t exactly a surprise, she is seventeen after all. Did you go out trick-or-treating with your family when you were seventeen? Besides it wasn’t a big of a deal when Ricky stopped trick-or-treating and he was far younger than Eve.” I say trying to help him look at this rationally.

“No, but…” He knows I am right, yet it still upset him. “She said she wanted to go to a friend’s house! On Halloween! She’d rather spend time with her friends than me, us, her family. She didn’t even look at any costumes, because she said, ‘her and Maddie already had plans to do that’! Can you believe that? Not only is she blowing us off for Halloween but she’s… it’s like she doesn’t even want to spend time with me…” He sadly trails off.

“Come on, Babe, if that were true why would she have gone with you, Connor and Olivia to the costume store?” I ask hoping he knows deep down that his daughter still loves him, she is just growing up.

“Because, she wanted to corner me to ask if she could go to Maddie’s party on Halloween instead of going out trick-or-treating like we usually do. She knew I couldn’t say no to her, especially when we were out in public, and I was preoccupied keeping an eye on Con and Liv.”

“I’m sorry babe she is growing up what can I say.” And with that we go to bed, Owen still upset that his little girl wasn’t so little anymore, and me not really seeing it as a big deal.

Halloween Night: Friday

It was only 8:30, and Owen and I were contently back on our comfy couch, handing out candy to the few remaining older tricker-treaters. Our kids were done for the night, partly thanks to the large amount of candy the had collected, also due to the cold October, weather.

As we started watching a movie, our eldest, Ricky, came downstairs, with a bag of chips he likely got off his younger brother. When he saw us in the living room he came over and sat down with us, “Hey you guys are home. No emergencies at the hospital tonight?”

“Why?” I ask, “Are you hoping to score some pre-pre-med practise?” I jokingly say as he recently announced that he was going to do pre-med once he finished college, which we were incredibly proud of. But also, thankful it was a few years away, as he was only in his first year of college.

He laughs before quipping back at me “No, I just figured when dad would be in the ER after he saw what Eve wore tonight.”

I can see Owen’s entire body tense up as he takes in what Ricky just said. “What do you mean?” I ask. But Owen jumps in before Ricky can respond, “Are you messing with me? What the hell was she wearing?” Owen demand to know.

Ricky stammers some before guiltily replying, “You didn’t see her, did you?” When he is greeted with blank stares awaiting an actual answer he continues, “I assumed you guys knew what her costume was, at least to some extent…” He pauses before continuing, as much as he doesn’t want to rat his sister out, he knows not telling Owen and I is not an option. “She was wearing an army costume.”

Owen breaths out a sigh of relief “That isn’t bad, you really had me going there, buddy.” But my motherly instincts were telling me Ricky’s wasn’t telling us everything. I give him a serious mom look that he knows better than to ignore, meanwhile saying, “and…”

“Well… ah… it’s very err… adult…” He hesitantly tells us. I quickly understand what he means; our 16-year-old is off at a party dressed in a sexy army costume. While I may have understood what she was up to, Owen’s brain on the other hand wasn’t letting him put it together. I sent Ricky upstairs to check on his siblings, he obliged willingly, probably grateful his part in the conversation was over.

“Owen…” I start off, just as he pieces together what Eve is dressed up like. He cuts me off before I can continue “Oh my god… she isn’t-”

“Dressed as a sexy army woman… I think she is” The disappointment clear in my voice, as I vocalize both our thoughts.

“We have to go get her.” He starts, “Amelia come on, get up, we have to go get that daughter of yours, so I can kill her.” I know he doesn’t seriously mean that last part, and I am also aware I need to be the voice of reason right now.

Still seated on the couch, and very upset with my daughter, I shake my head at Owen. Who frantically wants me to go pull our daughter out of a party. Part of me agrees with him, but seeing as I’ve been this girl. The one who sneaks off to parties and disobeys her parents, I’m also aware it will only make it worse. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, it will only make it worse.” I reply to him.

“So, what? We just do nothing?” He exclaims at me.

“No. She is definitely not getting away with this, but storming over there, with all her friends there. pulling her out of a party, it is only going to make her rebel more.” I say, hating that I am right.

Halloween Night: 10:00pm

I tuck Connor into bed kissing him goodnight on the head, it’s past his bedtime and he’s already half asleep. I meet Owen in the hallway, where he wraps his arms around me, telling me, “Olivia just said she wants to go trick-or-treating with me every year.”

He has a goofy, happy smile plastered on his face. I’m about to send him back to reality telling him, ‘You know it won’t last right? She will grow up too, they all will.’ But I stop myself, as he is having a hard-enough night with his baby girl being off at a party, in a scandalous costume.

Halloween Night: 11:05pm

“She still isn’t home” He storms. I whisper for him to lower his voice, fearing he will wake the kids. It doesn’t work, he continues his ranting, “Her curfew is 11:00pm, not 11:05! Amelia, she has never been late for curfew before, what if something happened to her!” He is really concerned now, as am I, but she’s only a few minutes late, so I’m trying to stay calm.

“I’m sure she’s fine, she is probably on her way home now.” I’m really hoping she is, because if she doesn’t walk through that door very soon, any calmness I have will be gone.

“Probably fine!” He practically fires at me, “If she was fine, Amelia, she’d be home, not out past her curfew, doing god knows what, in a slutty costume…” I can see pain in his eyes as he uses those words referring to his baby girl. He continues, “…At some party, with some stupid boys, oh god… What if she is with a boy! What if he…, Amelia, I can’t deal with this!”

“Owen, she is smart, I’m sure she isn’t off with some guy…” Although I’m not really sure anymore, because the daughter I know wouldn’t sneak out of the house in a sexy costume, and she certainly wouldn’t miss curfew. “If I could make her come home this instant I would, but I can’t, she isn’t answering her phone… I’m scared to O, this isn’t like our little pumpkin.” I finish saying as I pull myself into a hug against Owen’s chest, willing myself to be calm, telling myself that she is fine.

The door swung open moments later, and in walked our daughter, wearing a costume I had feared she was wearing. She stopped when she saw me and her father standing there, waiting for her. “Uh, you guys didn’t have to wait up.”

It boils my blood the way she says it. Like she hasn’t done anything wrong, like she didn’t avoid our calls and texts, like she wasn’t wearing an outfit I wished I never had to see my daughter in, like she didn’t sneak out of the house in said outfit when she knew we were out with Olivia and Connor… I was mad now, I just didn’t know where to begin.

Owen did though, “We didn’t have to wait up! It’s 11:20 young lady, past your curfew, we were worried sick! And what the HELL are you wearing… no don’t answer that, I can see what you are wearing. Why didn’t you answer our texts or calls?” This time he did wait for her to answer.

Which she lamely supplied an excuse of, “Sorry, my phone died, I lost track of time at the party, I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry daddy.” She never calls Owen daddy anymore, unless she wants something, it is her way of softening him up. And it might have worked, had her phone not dinged and lite up at that moment. Causing her to look down at her phone, completely undermining her lie.

“Four weeks, school and home that’s it, no friends, no parties, and no phone.” Owen decisively stated.

“Oh my god! I didn’t even do anything, you are so over reacting!” Eve fought back.

I intervened “Room. Now. Unless you want to add to your punishment.”

Halloween Night: Goodnight

“What happened to my sweet little pumpkin… It’s like all of the sudden she turned into some wild creature, that I don’t even recognize as my daughter.” Owen sighed, as we were heading upstairs to bed for the night ourselves.

I sadly shake my head and tell him what I came to realize tonight, “Unfortunately O, she isn’t our little pumpkin anymore. I think… she is turning into a teenage version of me. Like the hurricane Amelia teenage me, and that is the scariest thing I’ve ever thought.”

Why do they have to grow up, they go from sweet little pumpkins girls, to hurricanes way too fast. “At least for now we still have as our sweet pumpkin, Olivia.” I say on a slightly happier note.