Her gaze peels away from mine when Sidonie kneels down in front of us.
“Did it hurt?” she asks Pixie as she studies her leg.
“It felt nefarious.”
“That was one of the words I got during a spelling bee!” Sidonie cries, staring wide-eyed at her father as if they’ve shared a eureka moment.
Bronco just laughs, comfortable in a way he hasn’t been since the trouble with the Village started. Sure, he still worries about the Killing Joes, and I have no doubt he’s put out feelers to see if he can find and eliminate them for good.
But the man is happy, which is why I sense he won’t run things for too much longer. Bronco Parrish is a man ready to live the good life he’s spent decades building. I’ve decided I’ll follow whatever president he chooses to replace him. I plan to go all-in with the club and stop hiding in the shadows.
That year’s Woodlands’ Pumpkin Patch Party offers a real turning point for my club brothers and me. I’ve gone to these events for years, never doing more than hanging back in a corner and watching the men with their honeys and kids. For this year’s party, I have my own family to focus on.
One of the Woodlands’ traditions involves everyone picking a pumpkin to represent themselves and setting it in front of their houses. This custom is usually the most fun for the younger couples with new babies or grandparents whose family has grown.
This year, Bronco adds three new pumpkins to his stash—a medium-sized one representing Lana, a smallish one for Desi, and a tiny one for Carina.
As usual, Topanga makes sure there’s a giant pumpkin in the patch for me. This year, mine won’t sit alone on my porch. First, we find a small one for Future who carries it around all evening. Fairuza chooses a pale orange one for herself. Dove picks a small one with a curvy stem. Pixie selects a short, wide one since she’s already thinking of baby bumps despite not showing yet. And Topanga gives us a pumpkin seed to represent our little guy or gal.
That night, my club brothers razz me about my giant baby. Their honeys tease about how I didn’t waste any time getting started. I smile and shrug, playing along, no longer hiding. Pixie’s coolness with people certainly helps me seem friendlier. So far, she only likes Topanga, Lana, and Barbie. Otherwise, she has no interest in the other women. I’m sure she’ll mellow out—and the honeys will stop acting as if she’s a dangerous weirdo—once our baby is born.
My new family’s never celebrated any of the outside world’s holidays before, leaving them confused by most of them. In fact, Fairuza looks at me as if I’m nuts when I explain Halloween.
“Why would I want Future to eat a bucket of candy?”
“It’s just a fun thing.”
“He has to wear makeup?” Pixie asks.
“No. He can wear a fireman’s hat.”
Moments like these offer a stark reminder of how I’m outnumbered. The three ladies stare at me, certain I’m selling them bullshit. I look to Future for help, but he just smiles and shows me how he has a block with the letter “F” on it.
“Do we have to do this?” Pixie asks and hugs me. “Is this a requirement to live in the Woodlands?”
“No.”
“Then, we’re not doing it,” Fairuza decides.
Pixie smiles at me. “Candy is gross,” she whispers. “I didn’t like the scary movies I saw at Bronco’s house, and wearing makeup is lame. Halloween is no fun. But we can watch one of your movies that night.”
“I have to go out dressed as a killer and chase teenagers,” I say, and she again looks at me as if I’m fucking with her. “The little kids like candy. The big kids want to be chased around like in horror movies.”
Dove loses her confused frown and embraces a horrified one. I try to see Halloween from their viewpoints.
Chuckling, I nod. “It sounds fucked up, but that’s what they do here. You don’t have to join in. You never have to, really.”
Unsure now, Dove sits with Future on the ground. She’s stuck in a weird age, where she wants to be a teenager like Summer but also craves playing like Bronco’s younger girls.
“How about we skip Halloween this year,” I say, stroking Pixie’s back as she rests her head against my chest. “Then next year, you can do the community stuff if you want.