by Nicole Ellis
He smiled at me. “Thanks. I would have liked to do it too. Maybe we can reassess the trip in the spring.”
I bit my lip. “How are we doing otherwise—financially?” Me going back to work had allowed Adam to quit his demanding corporate job, but working at the Boathouse paid less than half of what I’d made at my old marketing job in Seattle. “Do I need to find a different job?” I was finally feeling like I’d hit my stride with my event coordinator job and I hoped I wouldn’t have to leave it.
“No. I think we’re fine for now.” He tapped his fingers on the metallic lid. “We have savings and I’m sure things will pick up at my office. In the meantime, I don’t want to dip into our savings too much unless we have to.”
He looked at me. “You know, there is one thing. When I was going over our receipts, I noticed we’ve been spending a lot at the grocery store.”
I tipped my head to the side. “I don’t feel like we’ve been spending any more than usual.” I tried to not buy things we didn’t need at the store and although I’d been buying more pre-chopped veggies and such because I’d been working more, I figured it evened out because we weren’t wasting food.
He opened the lid on his laptop again, tapped the mouse pad a few times, and pulled up a detailed spreadsheet. My eyes widened. He must have recorded every single individual item from all of our grocery receipts from the past three months. He needed some clients ASAP.
He poked a finger at a bolded figure at the bottom. “See, that’s how much we spent on groceries last month.”
I bent down to look at it and then straightened. The total was about what I’d expected.
“Uh huh.”
“Before we were married, I spent about a fifth of that on my monthly grocery bill. I think we can definitely cut down on this expense.”
I looked at him like he was crazy and I had a hard time keeping my voice level when I replied. “Ok, let me get this straight. You’re comparing our grocery bill now with two adults, a preschooler, a baby, and two pets to what you spent as a twenty-something? All you ate back then was ramen. That’s not healthy.”
“I didn’t have ramen noodles every night,” he said indignantly. “When I lived in that house with roommates, we made dinner most nights. But it cost nothing near what we’re spending now.”
I shut my mouth and counted to ten, not speaking to him until I was calmer. “We have to buy food for us, which is more expensive now that you’re home full-time, snacks for Mikey, formula and diapers for Ella, and food for Goldie and Fluffy. Plus, that was seven years ago. Grocery costs are rising like crazy every year. Our bill is bound to be more expensive than when you were living the single life.” I put my index finger to my lips. “Hey, idea—how about you shop for groceries next time? That way you can try and lower our grocery bill.” I smiled sweetly at him.
He brightened. “That’s a great idea. I’ll make a list on the spreadsheet right now. I peeked at the ads for this week and it looks like if I go to four different stores, I’ll be able to save us a few dollars.” He leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to work on some things in my office until bed.”
I tried to remind myself that my husband was concerned about our overall finances and probably hadn’t meant to accuse me of wasting our grocery money. Plus, I knew he’d come home with all the wrong things or impulse buys that we didn’t really need in the house.
“No problem. I have some things to do too.”
I watched him walk down the hall to his office. Goldie hopped up on the couch next to me, taking Adam’s place. He and I sat in silence for a few minutes, with me running my fingers across his silky fur. Adam was normally pretty calm, a go-with-the-flow kind of guy. Seeing him so upset about this made my anxiety over our finances increase.
I knew all small businesses had rough patches and it would be a while before his practice reached profitability, but it was worrisome nonetheless. Had we made the right decision for him to leave his high-paying job? Living in the Seattle area wasn’t cheap and many families had to have two incomes just to make ends meet.
I glanced at a photo hanging over the mantel. Desi had caught Adam, me, and the kids enjoying some family time out in the sun on our trip to Eastern Washington in August. No, it had definitely been the right decision even if it meant tightening our belts. If Adam had stayed at his old job, we’d never have gone on that vacation. He’d regularly forfeited vacation time each year because of his workload. Goldie nudged my hand, alerting me that that I’d stopped petting him. I moved my hand over his fur and he settled back down.
I felt selfish for complaining about how stressful my job had been lately with the haunted house being such a fiasco. We were fortunate to have a family business that I could step into. Plus, although I hadn’t been sure of it in the beginning, it was actually a perfect fit for me, even if I had to deal with clients like Angela.
I’d had my share of both difficult clients and coworkers in my previous marketing position too—it wasn’t something unique to my current job. Back when I worked in the corporate world, I’d had a boss that treated all of the female employees like they were only there to get his coffee and gave all of the best assignments to the men. That had been a rough six months until he’d been transferred to another branch.
In comparison, Angela’s antics were nothing. If I could just make it through Halloween, the future would be a little brighter. Maybe by then, Adam would have a few more clients and our finances wouldn’t be as tight.
Later that week, Desi and I attended another MUMs event, a mommy and me yoga class at the community center. We’d each been partnered with another MUM to do some of the exercises.
After coming out of a downward dog that had turned into more of a wandering dog as I chased after a crawling Ella, I’d returned to our seat on the floor next to a woman about my age. She smiled at me.
“Oh my goodness, your daughter is so beautiful. All that red hair,” she gushed. She glanced at me. “And I see where she gets it from. What I wouldn’t give to have hair that color naturally.” She held up a lock of her own hair, which was a lovely shade of dark brown.
I smiled at her. “Thank you. It runs in my family.” It never failed to amaze me how fascinated strangers were with Ella’s red curls. I wondered if my mom had gone through the same thing with me when I was a baby. “How old is your little girl?” I motioned to the baby she held in her arms.
She tilted the child to face me. “Daphne’s a Christmas baby, so about ten months old. And yours?” Her daughter was wearing a beautifully crocheted unicorn cap.
“She turns one in a few days. I’m Jill, and this is Ella.” I positioned Ella in front of me and handed her a ball that I’d pulled out of the diaper bag. I’d had my doubts, but this MUMs group was turning out to be more fun than I’d thought. It was nice being around other moms with children the same age as mine, and I was again grateful that I had a flexible job that would allow me to pop out of the office for the afternoon to spend time with my daughter.
I loved that Desi had kids around the same age as mine, but I needed to meet new people with kids too. All of my former co-workers and many of my old friends were childless, so it seemed like every year I lost touch with more and more of them as our lives went in different directions.
She beamed at me. “I’m Maria. It’s nice to meet you.”
I held tight to Ella as she fought to squirm away from me. “Where did you get that gorgeous hat? I’ve seen other babies wearing them. Did you all get them from the same place?”
She pointed at Lisa. “Lisa makes them. Aren’t they wonderful?”
“She makes all of those? I wish I was that talented,” I said wistfully. I’d tried to crochet a blanket when Mikey was a baby, but it had turned out rather lopsided.
“Me too. It takes her days to make each one of them.” In a quieter voice, she said, “I guess that’s why she can get away with charging so much for them.” She rearranged Daphne’s hat.
&
nbsp; “Are you guys talking about the hats?” Desi came over with Lina and looked from Maria to me.
“Maria was just telling me that Lisa is the one who makes these. Apparently she has a business making them.” I turned to Maria. “This is my sister-in-law, Desi, and her daughter, Lina.”
They exchanged pleasantries.
“So you’re telling me that Lisa made all of the hats the babies here are wearing?” Desi asked, her eyes wide. “That’s a lot of work.”
Maria looked around at the other attendees. “Yes, looks like it.”
“Have you been a member of this MUMs group for long?” I asked. “Desi and I just joined a couple of weeks ago, but it’s been fun so far.”
She nodded vigorously. “Oh, yes, I was one of the founding members of the group since Daphne was born fairly early in the year.”
“So you’ve known Lisa for a while?” Desi asked.
Maria nodded again. “She’s been our leader since we started. She’s great, isn’t she? So full of energy.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how she does it all.”
I glanced at Lisa. Her blonde hair hung in perfect waves down her back as she held her baby up while doing the Warrior Two position. It must have taken hours in the gym and in MUMs stroller groups to achieve her slim physique.
“No kidding.” I chased after Ella. At this rate, I’d have a slim figure soon without stepping foot in a gym. She’d be walking soon and then I’d really have to run to keep up with her when she took off.
“Did you ever meet Mindy?” Desi asked.
“No,” Maria said. “But I heard what happened to her. How awful. Lisa was really shaken up about it. I’m glad I wasn’t there that day. I’d planned to come and help move the Halloween decorations, but Lisa called me and said they didn’t need any more help.”
I stared at her. Didn’t need any more help? It seemed odd that Lisa would have told her that because the shed had been packed with decorations for the haunted house.
“Had you been to Angela’s house before?” Desi stuck Lina on a blanket for some tummy time. Lina looked up at us as if she were in pain and promptly laid her head down to the side to fall asleep. “Her house is gorgeous.”
“I’ve been there one time,” Maria said. “Angela isn’t usually very friendly with the women in the local MUMs groups, but for some reason, she offered up her house for the group picnic last summer.” She looked toward Lisa. “Lisa organized it, but Angela let us have it on a beautiful spot of lawn overlooking the water. She wouldn’t let anyone in the house though.”
So, Lisa had been to Angela’s house before and would be familiar with the backyard.
“Did Lisa and Mindy ever argue?” I let Ella wander a few feet away and then stood to get her.
Maria laughed. “What, do you think Lisa killed Mindy or something?”
Desi and I looked at each other before I scooped Ella up.
Maria stopped laughing. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Lisa would never do that. She and Mindy always got along. Now if it were Angela that was murdered, that might have been a different story. Everyone had spats with her.” She stood. “I’d better get home. My husband will be home soon and I need to start dinner.” She picked up Daphne and walked away with her.
“So we may not be her favorite people,” I said to Desi.
“No kidding. Perhaps we should be a little more subtle if we’re going to ask the MUMmys more questions.”
“MUMmys?” I smiled.
She shrugged. “It sounded appropriate. But I’m serious. I like this group and I don’t want to jeopardize any of the friendships we’re forming, so let’s try to keep any sleuthing on the down-low.”
“Fine with me. From everything you’ve said and what I’ve witnessed, none of the MUMs seem to know much about Mindy anyway.” I checked my watch. “Maria was right. It’s getting late and we’ve got to pick up Mikey and Anthony from preschool. Do you want me to grab Anthony and drop him off at the café while you close up?”
“That would be great.” She made a face. “I like getting involved with other moms, but I’d forgotten how much effort it takes to make and keep friends.”
“No kidding.” I put Ella in her stroller and waved at Desi. “I’ll see you soon with Anthony.”
“Bye.”
11
The next day, I was at work and everything seemed to be going wrong with the haunted house, starting with the additional decorations Angela had ordered a few weeks ago.
“There’s more in the truck, right?” I eyed the small cardboard box the delivery driver held out to me.
“Nope. This is it, ma’am.”
“There were supposed to be five large boxes of cobwebs, not one tiny box.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. I only deliver them and this is all that’s on my manifest.”
I took the box and set it down while I signed for the delivery. His truck’s engine roared as he jetted off to his next stop, leaving a trail of exhaust that lingered just above the asphalt in the parking lot.
I stared at the box, wondering what I was going to do. This definitely wasn’t enough to cover all of the main room of the Boathouse. I may not have had the details of Angela’s plan for the haunted house, but I clearly remembered her saying she’d ordered enough cobwebs for the whole thing. What was I going to do? This was going to be the worst haunted house Ericksville had ever seen.
I moved the box into the event space near the decorations the police had returned to us after they concluded their investigation of the shed at Angela’s house. I shuddered, thinking about the lid popping off of the sarcophagus, revealing Mindy’s body. The police still had the coffin, and I fervently hoped that Angela wouldn’t be replacing it. I didn’t think I could take having one at the haunted house, although I suppose it would have added another layer of eeriness to the decor.
I gazed at the empty walls and floors. There was less than a week to go before the haunted house opened to the public and I needed to somehow transform this room into a magical destination that would scare the socks off of everyone in Ericksville. Right now, the clean hardwood floors, whitewashed walls, and big windows were more suited to a summer wedding.
A hand touched my shoulder and I whirled around.
“Sorry!” Beth smiled at me. “You’re awfully jumpy today.”
“I was thinking about the haunted house and perhaps creeping myself out a bit.”
“Ah,” she said. “Did you decide what you’re going to do?”
I shook my head. “No. Halloween is definitely not my strong suit. My family wasn’t that into it. I’m going to go online to get some ideas, but I’m sure they won’t be up to Angela’s standards. I’d hoped she would be able to help, but it looks like that’s not going to be anytime soon.”
Beth tapped her finger against her chin. “You know, we do know someone who loves Halloween.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Adam?”
She nodded. “Yep. He always did the displays on our front porch when the kids were young.”
Hmm. I wasn’t sure how I felt about working alongside my husband at the Boathouse, but I was running out of options.
I sighed. “I’ll ask him. Thanks for the suggestion.”
“No problem. Remember, if you need me for anything, I’m right down the hall.”
I didn’t have any events to manage that day, so I’d dressed more casually than normal and actually had pockets to hold my cell phone. I pulled it out of my sweatshirt and called Adam.
“Hi, honey,” he answered before I said a word.
“Hi.” I paused. “I have a favor to ask of you.”
“A favor?” He chuckled. “What kind of favor?”
“You know how I’m working on the Ericksville Haunted House?”
“How could I forget? You’ve been talking about it nonstop for the last month.”
“I haven’t been that bad—right?”
“Um, sure. Anyway, what about it?”
I heard him tapping his pen on his desk.
“I was hoping since things aren’t too busy at the office, that you might want to help out with it. Angela is still being held at the county jail and I don’t know what she wants it to look like.”
“But it’s in only a week. Some of those things take time, like building a hay maze, or a graveyard, or any number of things.”
My mind was spinning. The last haunted house I’d been in had been when I was a teenager, and I didn’t remember most of it because I’d been too busy laughing at it all with my friends. I didn’t want the teenagers in town to be laughing at our haunted house.
“So can you help with it or not?”
“I can help. There are so many things I’d love to try.” He sounded giddy. “When do you want me there?”
“Anytime is good.”
“I’ll see you in ten minutes.” He hung up the phone.
When he got there, he toured the main room, scanning every detail of it as though it was his first time seeing it, not the five hundredth time since he was a kid.
I hung back near the entrance, waiting for him to finish his assessment. The inside of the Boathouse smelled like the chocolate chip cookies Desi had baked that morning. Too bad she hadn’t left any in my office before taking them over to the café. With any luck, I’d have time to sneak over there for one before the end of the day.
“Ok. I have some ideas, but I don’t know what we have to work with.” He scanned the stacks of decorations I’d piled in the corner. “We can use most of it, but we’re going to need more.”
“What did you have in mind?” I was almost afraid to find out.
“I’m thinking a haunted farm would be fun to do. We can stack hay bales in that corner for a maze, build a barn structure over there, and then maybe have different scenarios representing rooms of the farmhouse like the kitchen or storage areas.” He spread his arms wide, enthusiasm spreading from his voice. “Imagine a barn with zombies popping up from the hay, reaching their fingers out to touch you.” His eyes gleamed with excitement.