“Yeah, it is. You’re feeling okay, still, right? I got more ingredients for the potion so let me know when you’re running low.”
“Thank goodness. It’s like night and fucking day with that stuff. Now that I’m not on the verge of puking every other second, I feel pretty normal. Except I’m always tired,” I add with a shrug.
“Well, you look great. And you’re going to look so adorable with a little belly. You’ve always been in such good shape, it’ll be weird to see you with anything but abs.”
“Hah, but I know, right? I’m really hoping my nonhuman side helps me bounce right back after birth. Not that I’m particularly worried about not looking good, but because I’m so used to being athletic, if that even makes sense.”
“It does, though as someone who doesn’t have you-know-who for a father, I don’t get the desire to work out. You know what I say about running,” she laughs.
“Only if someone is chasing you,” I fill in and turn back to the register to ring up another customer. Another line forms as people bring their books up to purchase before we close down for trick-or-treating. We’ve tried being open before, and it’s a little chaotic, plus the store mostly fills with people browsing and not buying anything.
And we like to go all out for trick-or-treating. I run the register while Betty sets up the table out front. She and Kristy already put up most of the decorations today, and we won’t set the candy out until we get there. Learned that lesson the hard way once too, when some asshole emptied our bowl of candy before trick-or-treating officially started.
With just a few minutes to spare, Kristy turns off the open sign and takes the cash drawer out of the register. I quickly organize the books on our front displays, and Betty does a sweep through the aisle, putting away anything that’s obviously out of place. I’ll come back through when we get a lull, cleaning and straightening some more.
There are crumbs on the floor in the children’s section, and the bathroom needs to be disinfected. Neither task takes too long, and with a little magic help, I’ll get this place nice and clean for the morning.
“Think we have enough candy?” Betty asks, hauling two giant bags up from the break room. “We have more in the back too.”
“Maybe we went a little overboard,” I laugh. “Though I’d much rather have too much than not enough, and now I won’t feel guilty for sneaking that Kit Kat.”
“Right? I’ve been eyeing those Sour Patch Kids all day. We got the good stuff this year.”
“We did, and I’m going to pick out a few things for myself before we dump it in the bowl.”
“I like your style,” Betty agrees, and we each take a handful of our favorite candy, saving it for later. We get outside right as trick-or-treating officially begins, and the streets are already filled with kids and parents, all wearing costumes.
“You said your sister was coming, right?” Betty asks.
“She is. She should be here soon. I should probably get my phone and check to see if she got confused with parking or something.” I dash back into the store and get my phone from my purse. I have a missed text from Abby, saying they’re about twenty minutes away thanks to traffic. She sent the text ten minutes ago, so they’ll be here soon.
I don’t want to see Nancy or Scott. At all. I don’t want to waste any time looking at their faces. And I was looking forward to seeing Abby, Phil, and Penny again. Guilt for lying to Abby starts to rise inside of me, and I do my best to squash it. I’m protecting her by not telling her she was shot.
She’s fine. It’s over. Nothing bad is going to happen because of it and there’s no need for her to get upset about something that’s in the past.
The door opens and closes behind me, and Kristy comes out. “You guys good?”
“Yeah, we’re all set,” I tell her.
“I went ahead and locked up the office for the night,” she says, pulling me in for a hug.
“Thanks, you didn’t have to do that, though.”
“Eh, it’s easy. And it saves you time so you can come party with us sooner.”
“Now that I can get on board with.” I hug her back. “I’ll see you later. Don’t drink too much without me.”