Ghost Granny

by Carol Colbert

  It appeared that everyone on Main Street was also closing up for the evening. Jill waved to her as she passed the restaurant’s large front window.

  When Catherine rang the bell near the top of the hill, she was startled to hear a loud howling, as if wolfs were calling to each other, instead of the usual bell to summon a ride. Very nice touch.

  “Hi mom!” Cody’s voice startled her. “Cody, hi, you guys done hauling to the Rec Center?”

  Sebastian, Max and Cody joined her at the top of the hill. “Not by a long shot. You have good timing, we are just going back for another load. I meant to warn you about the bell change, sorry I forgot.” Sebastian said.

  “No problem, it scared me a bit, but that is what Halloween should do.” Catherine laughed.

  The little group got into the wagon and road over the wooden bridge. Caramel and Ace were roaming in front of the house and Cody ran up to pet them. “Why don’t you two go in and change clothes and then meet us at the house in about a half hour. We have a lot of work to do and I know Isabel is already setting up our work stations. It will be hard work, but it should also be a lot of fun.” Sebastian said.

  “How long do you usually work into the night when you have the make and bakes for the Halloween parties?” Catherine asked.

  “This is our first Halloween here.” Sebastian said.

  That surprised Catherine a great deal, although she wasn’t sure why. She and Cody went into the house and changed clothes and ate a sandwich. They made sure Twinkle had fresh food and water before walking down the back lane to Sebastian and Isabel’s house. When they walked in, Catherine was surprised at the massive kitchen area that was behind and separate from the regular kitchen that she and Cody had been served Isabel’s stew.

  Isabel greeted them and quickly gave each person directions on what to do. Cody and Max were to place the tiny red hots into the chocolate spiders to represent their eyes. This while the chocolate in the molds were still cooling. Isabel had already made a big vat of pumpkin batter and Catherine was asked to put the orange cupcake holders in the pans and to scoop the pumpkin batter into the cups. The batter had raisins in it and another vat had walnuts in with the pumpkin.

  Sebastian was busy in the corner carving the biggest pumpkin Catherine and Cody had ever seen. They were going to have the kids participate in a pumpkin carving contest tomorrow with much smaller pumpkins, but this one would sit at a place of honor as a centerpiece.

  When Cody and Max had run out of red eyes for the spiders, they were given the task of using the pumpkin shaped cookie cutters and cutting out cookies and putting them on the baking sheet so Catherine could place them in the oven for them. After they were baked and almost cooled, the boys would then sprinkle them with orange sprinkles. Isabel was baking pumpkin pies and also cutting up apples to make apple pies.

  “Sebastian, did you guys remember to take the big punch bowl over to the Rec Center?” Isabel asked her brother.

  “It was already there, but I did make sure it was clean and the ice cream that will be a part of the punch is in the freezer over there already. The boys and I set up the tables with the orange and black table clothes, the monster plastic plates and the plastic punch glasses. We have to get as much stuff over there yet tonight as we can. I need to get there early tomorrow morning to get the grills all going so they will be nice and hot for when the hamburgers and hot dogs are grilled.”

  “Are you doing all of this by yourself, Sebastian? “ Catherine asked. “It sounds like an enormous amount of work.”

  “You would be surprised at how much Luna has accomplished in the last two days. I’m telling you that it is amazing what they have set up over there. During the day everyone will be outside. That is where the pumpkin carving contests will happen, the three legged race, various other fun games for the kids and the adults. “

  “When all the messy type of games are over, like bobbing for apples, then we will go into the Recreation Center and everyone can get their grilled hot dogs or hamburgers outside and then go inside where we will have the salads and desserts set up. I am not sure what exactly else Luna has planned, but I am pretty sure she has a fog machine in there.”

  “A fog machine, that sounds very Halloween like. Should be a lot of fun.” Catherine said.

  “A blue one!” Cody said.

  “A blue what?” His mother asked.

  “A blue fog machine. I saw a lot of blue fog all over there it really looked cool.” Cody said.

  “Mr. Lucky and Jill are helping out too.” Sebastian said. “Once we have enough here ready for a run, I will load them up into the biggest of the carts and me and ole Ace will take them to the hill where Mr. Lucky and Jill will be waiting to help us. I am sure a lot of people will be there to help. This town seems to go all out and it really is a group effort.” Sebastian told Catherine.

  “I am surprised to hear that you weren’t here last Halloween, Sabastian, seems like you are such a big part of how the town runs, and do so much for it.” Catherine said, turning to where Sebastian had stood a moment ago. He was no longer there.

  “Catherine, could you check the pumpkin pies in the first oven? Those six should be ready by now. We can put them onto the wire racks and then load them directly onto the cart with all the cookies and candy over there that is ready. The pies can cool on their way to the hill and Rec Center. These six apple pies are ready to go into the oven and I think the boys finished the chocolate bats and dragons.”

  “I wish I was as organized as you are, Isabel.” Catherine told her.

  “I started this morning, actually.” Isabel said. “It takes a lot of prep work to have things go smoothly once you get going. You haven’t seen the biggest project yet.” Isabel teased. “A four foot statue of Luna, made out of chocolate.”

  “No! Are you telling me that you carved it yourself? That is fantastic!” Catherine said. “Did you go to school to learn how to do all of this stuff?”

  “Actually, I have always loved to be creative with my baking and cooking, but Sebastian and I never had much of a chance to follow our dreams. We haven’t had an easy life. After coming here, everything just sort of fell into place and here we are. I can honestly say I have never been as happy or felt so at peace with my life as I have since we have been here. I think Sebastian will agree with me.”

  Catherine took a quick look around to make sure Cody and Max were outside helping with loading the carts before she took a deep breath and asked one of the questions that had been on her mind for days now. One of many questions she had. “Is Max’s mother from here? Is that what landed you and your brother in this village?” Catherine hoped she was not over-stepping her bounds.

  “I have no idea where his mother is from.” Isabel answered.

  Just then Twinkle ran into the room and jumped on Catherine’s arm, causing her to drop a big measuring cup of flour she had been holding. Flour flew up into Catherine’s face and went in her hair and onto her apron.

  “Would you like to take a break, Catherine? We have been at it for a few hours now, why don’t you go clean yourself up some and catch your breath. I will be O.K. for a while in here.” Isabel said.

  “Well, I suppose I should. I don’t want any of this flour getting into the white chocolate truffles. Let me take a quick shower and I’ll be right back.”

  “Take your time, I am used to this, but you need to pace yourself, we still have a lot more work to get done tonight.” Isabel smiled, taking a sheet of cookies out of the oven.

  Catherine walked to the big house, passing Caramel and a couple of deer along the way. She was just opening the back door when she thought she saw a puff of blue smoke. She walked over to the fire place to make sure there was no fire there that was spitting out blue embers. She quickly took a shower and changed her clothes. Catherine had planned on going right back to the big kitchen to help Isabel, but instead she made herself a cup of tea and went to sit on the swing on her front porch, deciding she deserved the break Isabel told h
er to take.

  Although it was October, there was not much of a cold chill or wind to the air. Catherine held her big mug of tea with both hands and put her feet up underneath her and took a deep breath.

  It is so beautiful here, so peaceful. Catherine thought, looking up at the full moon and all the stars in the sky and out towards the big pond with the wooden bridge. The air smelled sweet from the flowers around the porch and the delicious smells coming from the big kitchen they were baking out of.

  Catherine’s eye caught the sight of a big box at the bottom of the stairs. Looking into it she found what looked like feathers and bells that perhaps might be used to decorate the carts and/or the mini ponies. Caramel walked up to the porch and nudged Catherine’s arm, her big brown eyes looking at her.

  Catherine patted her head and said “You will look very pretty in these feathers tomorrow, Caramel.”

  A sound drifted in from the lake and Catherine looked in that direction. The night was clear, but it was a ways to the lake and Catherine’s eyes were tired. She saw, or thought she saw a tall man walking with a much shorter plump lady and they were laughing. Catherine wondered who they were. Caramel nudged Catherine’s arm and it made her drop her tea. At least this time it did not spill on her and she was glad the mug had not broken.

  Oh well, time to get back to work anyway. Catherine said. She picked up the mug and walked into her house to rinse it out and then turned to go out the back door. She almost tripped on Twinkle.

  “My goodness, Twinkle!” One of us will have to be more careful about where we are walking.” Catherine said, going to the cupboard and taking out a couple of kitty snacks for the cat. Twinkle looked up at Catherine and ate the snacks from her hand and then purred and walked into the other room.

  Chapter 11

  It was close to midnight when Catherine put her arms around a very sleepy Cody and announced that they were done for the night. Catherine was finding it hard to keep her eyes open another minute. They had worked hard, they all had.

  Sebastian and Isabel had told Cody and Catherine not to worry about waking up early in the morning. They were all set as far as help getting the rest of the decorations and food to the hill and plenty of help from the town to help them from there. Catherine did not argue. She knew that both she and her son had been a big help and she felt good about that. She wanted to in some way give back to the village. She was very grateful to the town for welcoming Cody and herself and making them a part of their community.

  She also knew that she would sleep very well tonight and even better knowing that they did not have to be up at any pre-set hour. Cody took a quick shower and fell into bed, asleep before his head hit the pillow.

  Catherine washed her long blond hair and then twirled little pieces of her hair around her finger and secured it with a bobby pin, repeating the process until her hair was all pinned into little circles. She usually wore her hair in a ponytail or a braid, but since she had the Tinkle Bell costume to wear tomorrow she wanted to have her hair as curly as she could get it. I hope no one needs me to help anymore tonight. Not with a head full of these pin curls!

  Preparing her hair for the party reminded her to check again to make sure what she was planning to wear was not in the fireplace. Satisfied that all was as it should be, Catherine laid down in the big bed with the very comfortable white down covering and fell into a deep sleep.

  Catherine dreamed of the full moon and the beautiful stars. In her dream she was on the front porch in the big swing, only this time she was not by herself. Sebastian was sitting next to her and had his arm around her. She looked into his green eyes and brushed a piece of his dark brown hair out of his eyes and smiled up at him. She felt very comfortable in the dream and just as Sebastian was going to kiss her, the scene changed. They were in the wagon on their way to the hill. The wagon was decorated for the holiday and the back of the wagon was full of pumpkins.

  They noticed a blue mist surrounding the wagon and then Catherine saw Cindy standing on the wooden bridge. She looked beautiful, magical. The moonlight was reflecting on her beautiful long blond hair and she was wearing a long white gown that was both simple and elegant.

  In the dream, Catherine watched as Sebastian stopped the wagon and got out to walk up to Cindy. Then the two of them walked away from the wagon, hand and hand, laughing. Catherine was left all alone in the wagon in the middle of the bridge. The air turned cold and a sudden storm brought a downpour of rain and lightning. With each lightning bolt Catherine could see Cindy and Sebastian walking farther away. Continuing their walk to the woods, neither of them looking back towards her.

  Catherine did not know how to maneuver the big wagon in her dream to turn it around and was not going to try to drive it back to the house or further to the hill. She stepped down off of the wagon. The pumpkins changed into lit jack-o-lanterns with grotesque faces and they were all laughing at her. Then she heard the sound of wolves howling and the air filled with bats.

  Catherine started running back towards the house. The bats were beating their wings against her face along with the rain drops that were large and painful.

  “Ouch” Catherine said out loud, waking up. She opened her eyes and saw Twinkle close to her face, trying to take one of the bobby pins out of her hair with her teeth. “Stop that!” Catherine said, swatting Twinkle away from her.

  Catherine noticed that it was morning and looked at the clock. Eight a.m. Catherine took her shower and peeked in at Cody who was still asleep. She made herself some coffee and then went outside to sit on the swing, taking a throw blanket from the couch with her. The mist was low in the sky and formed an eerie beauty to the land and trees. Her mind went back to her dream. She was thinking about the part where she and Sebastian were sitting on the swing together when Twinkle jumped up and settled herself into Catherine’s lap.

  “Looking for more bobby pins?” Catherine said, stroking the purring cat. Twinkle really was a beautiful animal. She had long white hair and pretty blue eyes. Catherine felt a stab of conscious. “I haven’t been playing with you much, have I, Twinkle? Your mommy loves you very much and Cody and I are here to make sure you are well fed and happy. Sorry, girl, I will try to do better.” Catherine said, picking up Twinkle to hug her.

  Cody came to the door rubbing his eyes. Catherine said good morning and put Twinkle down on the swing. “Cody. I hope I didn’t wake you up. I wanted us to sleep in this morning since we have such a busy day ahead of us and got to bed so late last night.”

  “You woke me up last night, you were talking in your sleep. What did you do to your head? What are all those silver things in it?”

  “Bobby pins to make my hair curly for the party today. I was talking in my sleep? Sorry I woke you up, what was I saying?”

  “I don’t know, something about Sebastian, I think.” Cody said. “What is for breakfast?”

  Catherine and Cody had orange juice, toast and a bowl of cereal with a banana in it while talking about the make and bake fun they had last night. Cody wanted to go find Sebastian and ask if he could help him again.

  “Why don’t you just relax this morning and play with Twinkle? We worked hard and we worked late last night and I think Twinkle is feeling a little bit left out. We have both been so busy, all we do is feed her, but she also needs someone to play with.” Catherine said, pouring herself another cup of coffee. “We will be at the Rec Center all afternoon, let’s just enjoy some quite time for right now, O.K.?”

  Cody asked if it were alright if he gave the cat some treats. Catherine, seeing Twinkle’s bowl empty said that would be fine since Twinkle already ate her breakfast.

  “Can we bring Twinkle with us when we go to the party today, mom?”

  “Oh no, Cody, I am afraid Twinkle will get lost, that is a long way for her to try and find her way back here if she did.” Catherine said.

  “But that is not fair just leaving her here all by herself while we have fun.” Cody said.

  “Twinkle is alone when
we are at school and work and besides, she has other animals here to play with. I see her over by the deer a lot when we are in the wagon coming over the bridge. Why don’t you play with her until it’s time to get dressed to go to the party? I am sure she would like that.”

  An hour before the official start of the festivities mother and son were ready. “You look cool, mom, I like your hair.” Cody said. Catherine looked in the mirror and smiled. “I do too, I sure have a big head right now.” She laughed, shaking her head and all her curls bouncing around. “If it weren’t so much trouble, I might wear it like this more often.”

  Catherine made sure Twinkle had a bowl full of food, plus she put a couple of snacks on the window seat knowing that Twinkle would eventually jump up there to sun herself and take a nap. She put cold water in her kitty bowl and gave Twinkle a big hug before leaving the house. Twinkle sneezed into Catherine’s hair.

  Sebastian had been there a half an hour ago and made sure that Caramel was hitched up to the cart that was to take Cody and Catherine to the hill. Caramel had dark green and orange ribbons and bells all over her and seemed to prance rather than just walk, to the hill. It was a small cart, one that Catherine could manage by herself as far as the hill at least. Catherine and Cody were in good spirits and looking forward to the party. Sebastian had not been in costume when he was there earlier, so Catherine was also looking forward to seeing what he would be dressed up as.

  Twinkle sat on the window seat and watched the wagon pull out. She jumped down to the floor and stretched to her full height again. A tail of blue mist came in the back door.

  “You look pretty good, Luna.” Thelma said, taking in her sister’s dark gray long suit and black high boots. Luna was dressed like an English Nanny and had a little hat on her head and a white ruffled blouse under her suit jacket.