Chapter 40 #2
So…I didn’t discover until now just how much Henley loves Halloween.
With everything going on, I don’t think he even realized until tonight that it’s almost here.
What if we had a surprise Halloween party at his house next week?
Everyone dress up. You can come after you’ve taken the kids trick-or-treating or we’ll have plenty of treats for them at the house… what do you think?
The yeses start rolling in right away, first from Penn and then Sadie and Elle, and by the time we get home with all of the pumpkins, I’ve heard from everyone, and they’re all in.
Over the next week, Henley and the girls make the cutest pumpkins I’ve ever seen.
They have doorknob eyes, metal drawer pull mouths, nuts and bolts noses, squiggly screw hair—you name it, every hardware appliance or tool or old piece of scrap metal that can be spared is used to make pumpkin faces.
When he’s done with one, he names them, and every time the girls come over, they want to meet his new creations.
Gracie talks to Betty and Charlene, her two favorites, like they’re her new besties.
The diversion has been good for him and while he works on them, I tell him I’m decorating his house and yard for Halloween, so our new pumpkin family can feel at home. I carry over the color theme from town—black, white, and green—except we have the orange pumpkins in the mix too.
The girls know about the party, and they’ve been so excited about it, helping with the decorating and working on Henley’s costume. Bree even contributes extra pampas grass she’s not using for her wedding and says she and Alex will stop by the party.
On Halloween morning, Henley’s in the kitchen when I leave for school.
“You look cute,” he says, when I lean down to kiss him.
I’m going low-key with a witch's hat and spider earrings, so I can save my better costume for later.
“I’m not used to the girls taking care of my costume. Have you seen what they’re working on?”
I nod, unable to hide my grin. “It’s gonna be good, don’t worry.”
It's a fun day at school. The kids are more chatty than usual because of all the candy they're getting in every class. But I manage to reel them in when it counts.
Bowie takes Henley to his PT appointment so I can finish getting things ready for tonight, and my mom comes over to help. Bree drops the girls off not long before Henley is supposed to come home, and she can’t get over how great the house looks.
“If you ever need a job, you could always come work with me in the wedding business,” she says, pointing at me before she gets in her car.
“I’m honored you’d even consider that,” I tell her, pleased.
The plan Henley thinks is happening is that after Bowie drops him off, Henley will dress up and sit by the front door passing out candy, while the girls go trick-or-treating. And then we'll hang out with them for a little while afterwards.
When he gets home, the girls are already dressed up in their monster outfits, and they giggle as they lead him to his room to show him the costume they got for him.
I go get ready in another bathroom, piling my hair high around a cutoff two-liter bottle.
It’s giving Bridgerton vibes, but this look came out long before the idea of Bridgerton was conceived.
I angle a mirror to look at the back and laugh at how high it is.
My dress is green, rather than the typical white usually worn with this costume, but the style is so similar to the movie that it’ll still be obvious.
The girls peek into the bathroom.
“Oh my God, you look amazing,” Cassidy says.
“Wow,” Audrey says. “So cool.”
“I want that hair next year,” Gracie says.
“Do you think he has any idea about the party?” I whisper.
“Not at all. He’s ready and we told him you’d be there in a second.”
The girls move out of the bathroom and run downstairs and when I step into the hall, Henley is opening his bedroom door. We stare at each other and start laughing.
“You look perfect,” I tell him. “Frankenstein has never looked so good.”
“Are you the bride of Frankenstein?” he asks, lips quirking up. He stares at my hair in awe and then down my body.
I hold my hand up. “No, no. Not the bride. I’m the girlfriend of Frankenstein. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
I still haven’t stopped teasing him about his proposal…I probably won’t ever stop.
His head falls back as he laughs. “We will have to remedy this,” he tells me. “You look like a bride to me.”
My heart never fails to lose its mind when he says things like that.
“Look at you though.” I laugh when he walks toward me. “This costume works perfectly with your brace. You don’t even have to fake the stiffness…it’s built in. And the girls did an amazing job on your makeup. I'm impressed.”
He laughs. “Yes, they did. I’m guessing you helped them with this idea? Because it is pretty perfect for what I'm going through.” He points to the bolt coming out of his head and we laugh.
“We might have brainstormed together.”
His hand grips my waist and he tugs me closer. “Come here.” His fingers trace over my blood-red lips. “I love these red lips. Gives me all kinds of ideas for later.”
“These red lips are game,” I say, pulling his finger into my mouth and sucking it.
He hisses in a breath.
Something clatters downstairs and we both freeze.
“Everything okay down there?” he calls.
There’s a long pause and I hold my breath, wondering if the surprise is blown.
“Yes, Daddy. Everything’s fine,” Audrey calls back.
My body relaxes and I hope that we’ve taken long enough getting ready that everyone has gotten in place by now.
“Should we go hand out candy?” I touch his smoothed-down hair, laughing at how stiff it is.
“Let’s do it.”
We walk downstairs and the lights have been turned off, so there’s only the glow of the twinkle lights from outside.
“Why is it so dark down here?” Henley asks.
When we reach the foyer, the lights come on at the same time as the music, and everyone is standing there, all dressed up in their Halloween costumes.
Rhodes is a mummy, and Levi is a ninja. Elle is Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Bowie and Becca are pirates. Penn is Batman and Sam is a Colorado Mustang.
Calista and Javi are Beauty and the Beast. My mom is a teddy bear.
Everyone looks phenomenal. But Weston, Sadie, and Caleb win the prize for most creative costumes…
Weston is Colonel Sanders, and Sadie and Caleb are the chickens.
“Boo!” They all yell.
Henley holds onto my hand and the wall and once he’s caught his breath, he starts laughing.
“Holy shit, are you all trying to kill me?” He clutches his heart and everyone laughs.
Penn reaches out and bumps his fist. “Did we really manage to surprise you?”
Sam is beside Penn, and Henley bumps his fist next.
“Looking good, Sam,” he says.
Sam flushes and then stares at Cassidy with adoration. The few times I’ve seen him around the girls, it’s obvious he’s starstruck by Cassidy. From what I can tell, Cassidy is clueless about his crush.
“Dad had no idea…did you?” Cassidy says, turning to smirk at Henley.
“That you guys were creating this elaborate surprise behind my back?” He bops her nose and turns to me, his eyes warm. “No idea.”
He tugs me closer and leans in.
“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” he says under his breath.
“Trying to do my part to keep you hopping, Henley Ward. And that smile looks really good on you.”
The party is a success. Henley laughs more than he has in so long, and when we crawl into his bed that night, he sighs and turns to look at me.
“You make everything better, Tru,” he says.
“That’s how I feel about you too.”
“So, how long did Frankenstein and his girlfriend date before they got married?” He nuzzles into my neck and his fingers trail up between my legs.
“You’d have to ask him,” I say, already heating up from his touch.
I kiss him before he gets a chance to say anything else, too hungry for him to think about what’s next…
Except this, right here, right now.
“I’m ready to move in with you if you still want me,” I tell him.
His eyes widen and he grins. “Really?”
“Really.”
“What made you decide that?”
“I don’t want to hold back from you for another second.
Hearing the regrets my mom has for holding onto my dad all those years…
I don’t want to regret a single thing. I want to be with you.
Wasting a minute missing out on this beautiful thing we have because of fear or being cautious…
I trust you. I trust our love. I don’t have anything to be afraid of when it comes to choosing you. ”
He lowers his forehead to mine. “This is the best news ever…the only thing that would be better is if you’d become my bride.” He grins, already knowing how I’m going to react.
“One of these days, I’m going to surprise you and say yes.”
“I’m living for that day.” His hand drops to my hip and he kisses me until I’m one limp noodle. “I’m living for all the days that you’re by my side.”
“We’re forever, Henley.”