The Great Candy Caper

HHFC#3: Linus: “You heard about fury and a woman scorned, haven’t you?”
Charlie Brown: “Yes, I guess I have.”
Linus: “Well, that’s nothing compared to the fury of a woman who’s been cheated out of tricks or treats.” – It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

As Elizabeth began to stir, she could feel the sunlight beating down upon her face through the closed window blinds. Thinking how good that felt, she opened her eyes, turned to look at her nightstand clock, and saw that it read 9:00 AM. All of a sudden, she bolted upright, thinking she had overslept. Then the realization hit. She was off of work today, and Grams had Cameron. It was November 1st – her birthday and the day after Halloween.

Elizabeth thought about the night before, how nice it had been to see Cameron all dressed up like a little train engineer, carrying his favorite Chuggin Charlie stuffed toy in one hand and his treasured pumpkin with all his goodies in the other. She would have to remember to get those millions of pictures she took last night developed as soon as possible. And, even though, during special occasions like these, Elizabeth sometimes wished Cameron had a strong male influence in his life, she was just going to relish in the fact that her son was happy and had a wonderful Halloween. In fact, neither her nor her little boy seemed to miss his “Daddy” during the previous evening. Elizabeth tried not to feel guilty by the fact that Lucky’s absence was actually a welcomed relief, and Elizabeth could just enjoy the fun of dressing up and trick or treating with her son. As she rubbed her belly, realizing she was hungry, her mind couldn’t help wonder what this new baby would be like and what kind of character he or she would end up wanting to be on Halloween.

As Elizabeth lazily got out of bed, heading to the kitchen to find something to eat, she had to remember to thank her Grams for her unexpected, early birthday present last night. After trick or treating with Cameron around the hospital all afternoon and enjoying the daycare’s Halloween party, Elizabeth had to admit, as much as she enjoyed her time with Cameron, she had been tired. Being pregnant didn’t help. So, when her Grams suggested she take Cameron home for the night so she could sleep in on her birthday, Elizabeth had quickly accepted. Of course, she had to promise Cameron she would guard his treasured candy, in his treasured pumpkin, from all the ghosts and goblins flying about the night before. Both Elizabeth and Grams felt that it was best to avoid temptation and another induced sugar rush for Cameron, so the treats were taken back to Elizabeth’s apartment for the evening. Of course, that did not mean that Cameron wasn’t bribed with the promise of chocolate chip cookies once he arrived at grandma’s.