Page 1 of Just Once
Chapter One
Angel
“Angel! You’re here early,” says my mom, beaming when she sees me. I’ve just walked into my parents’ house after a two-hour drive from my college campus. It’s Halloween weekend, and I’m going to be at my parents’ house until Sunday night. It might seem weird that I’m spending the holiday at home, especially since there are so many great college parties I could be going to. But my favorite part about Halloween is getting to hand out candy to all the cute kids, and my parents’ house is the perfect place to do that.
“Hi Mom,” I say, giving her a big hug. Then my dad walks into the room and I give him a big hug, too. “I know I’m a bit early. I was just so excited to get up here. The house looks great, by the way.”
“The new decorations look okay?” asks my mom.
“Yeah, they’re amazing,” I say. My mom went all out this year with yard decorations. There’s fake cobwebs, big fuzzy fake spiders, carved pumpkins, and even a fake witch on the roof.
“Thanks, Angel,” says my mom. “You’re sweet.”
“How much candy did you pick up?”
My mom and dad look at each other and both laugh.
“Too much,” says my dad.
“No,” says my mom, pushing him playfully. “It’s not too much. Remember when we ran out last year? I don’t want to have a repeat of that. It was awful.”
My dad shrugs. “I didn’t think it wasthatbig of a deal. There were still plenty of other houses that the kids could go to.”
“Well, anyway,” says my mom. “We have plenty this year. Come on, Angel. Help me mix up a bowl.”
“I’d be happy to,” I say, and we go off into the kitchen to do exactly that.
* * *
The kids start showingup around four in the afternoon. Most of the kids coming around this early are the really young ones. There’s even some babies being carried around by their parents, which is kind of silly because obviously the babies aren’t going to be eating the candy. But I guess it’s not really about the candy. It’s about the fun of dressing up the baby and going around to see all the neighbors. Hell, if I had a baby, I’d probably do it, too.
I’m only twenty-one, so I’m not seriously thinking about babies yet. But I definitely want to have kids. No question about it. Biologically or through adoption, I don’t even care. I just know I want to have them.
The doorbell rings again and I grab the candy bowl and go to open the door. This time it’s a little girl dressed up as a lion. Her parents are standing a few feet behind her.
“Trick or treat!” she says, in the cutest voice imaginable.
“Whoa! A lion,” I say. “Can I hear your roar?”
She takes a big breath, then lets out a hugeRrrrroar!
I laugh and hold the candy bowl down to her. She takes a piece and then smiles up at me and says, “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome, sweetie,” I say.
Before she leaves, though, she takes a second to look at me.
“Are you an angel?” she asks.
“I am,” I say. “Do you like my halo?”
She nods.
“Happy Halloween,” I say, and she waves at me and then runs back to her parents.
I know it’s a pretty obvious costume, me dressing up as an angel. But all these years, I’ve never actually dressed up as one. So I figured I may as well. When my parents saw the costume, they both started laughing with glee.
I set the candy bowl back down and go into the kitchen to see what my mom is up to. The last time I checked, she was busy forming dough into a loaf. Now, when I walk in, I see that she’s cutting up vegetables for a stew.