Chapter 20
It had been apparent the moment my hand made fleeting contact with Erik’s broad, firm chest that I still wasn’t over our doorstep kiss.
Fortunately, however, the Halloween event, the endless sourcing, planning, prepping and coordinating, along with my stints in the Grow-Well, volunteering sessions and regular visits to Grandad George, kept my mind occupied.
Even when Erik and I were together in the run up to the October half term holiday, we were rarely alone, and that ensured I didn’t have the opportunity to start mooning over him and remembering the glimpse of his bare body, the pressure of his lips against mine and how that had made me feel along with the stirring sensation the recent contact with his chest had aroused… well, it was working most of the time…
‘Before you head off,’ Rafe said that Wednesday morning and just as I was getting ready to walk across to Prosperous Place, ‘can you spare a minute?’
‘Not really,’ I said with a look at the kitchen clock. ‘I need to get on. We haven’t had a decision about the smoke machine yet and I need to book it.’ Rafe didn’t say anything, but his frown spoke volumes. ‘What?’
‘Nothing,’ he shrugged and looked away. ‘I just hope Kate and Luke appreciate how many hours you’ve been putting in to make this work. You’ve barely stopped since they decided to go ahead.’
‘I’m sure they do,’ I said rather defensively. ‘Though they never asked me to go all in, so really there’s no reason why they should appreciate the trouble I’m going to, is there?’
When I thought back, I realised it was a guiding hand and some support that Kate had originally asked for, but I was practically project managing the entire thing single-handed now and constantly checking anyone else involved was on top of what they were supposed to be doing.
I did have Erik, the sidekick I was doing my best to avoid, to help with anything extra, but I hadn’t called on him yet.
Still, no one had complained about my involvement, and it was keeping my mind almost tipsy-doorstep-kiss free, so where was the harm?
‘Why are you going to so much trouble?’ Rafe asked interestedly.
Obviously I wasn’t going to say that it was to stop me obsessing over a kiss Erik and I had succumbed to, but I could tell him the other reason which was both true and a handy diversion from that other motive.
‘Well,’ I explained, ‘as I know you’re aware, Mum never kept me in one place for long when I was growing up, but when I was in my first year at high school, we did stay somewhere for a while.’
The memory of that unusually settled time caused a lump to form in my throat. It was about the only time growing up that I’d felt like I’d belonged anywhere and my friendship with fellow wanderer, Alisha, had further compounded that.
‘Go on,’ Rafe said softly.
‘In that time,’ I told him, ‘I joined a centre very similar to The Chapel. I was never going to be nominated for an Oscar for my acting, but I was encouraged there in a way that I wasn’t at school. I was never made to feel out of place or like I was doing a bad job.’
‘Ah,’ Rafe said understandingly. ‘So, when you visited The Chapel…’
‘When I visited The Chapel,’ I said, picking up the thread, ‘and saw for myself how the kids’ enthusiasms and passions were being encouraged, it really struck a chord.
It didn’t matter if they were the best at something, they were encouraged to have a go with no pressure or judgement from their peers or the adults supporting them, and when you’re at a tender age and want to try things on for size to see if they might fit, those kinds of opportunities are worth more than their weight in gold. ’
Rafe looked rather taken aback by the passionate statement which had tumbled out in a rush, and to be honest, it had taken me by surprise, too.
‘Have you said any of that to Kate or Luke?’ he asked.
‘No,’ I said, as I cleared the emotion from my throat. ‘It’s not a time I generally like to talk about because being uprooted again was so painful. I’d made a friend at that school who was having a similar upbringing to mine, so it felt like even more of a wrench than usual.’
‘Oh Skylar,’ he said sadly. ‘I should have been around more, shouldn’t I?’
‘You’re around now,’ I smiled. ‘And right when I need you the most.’
Mindful that I was now running late, I gave him a hug then rushed off having not heard what it was that he had originally wanted to talk to me about, but there’d be plenty of time for longer chats again once November landed.
‘Kate!’ I called as I spotted her walking back along the road after the school run, ‘Have you got a minute?’
‘Absolutely,’ she said. ‘What do you need? We’re nearly ready to begin setting up now, aren’t we? And Luke has said we’ve practically sold all the tickets, which is amazing.’
‘And he’s got that radio slot later today, hasn’t he?’ I asked, looking down at my checklist, which was never out of reach when I was in event planner mode.
‘Yes,’ Kate confirmed. ‘That’s bound to ensure a sell out when he gives his “last few tickets remaining” spiel.’
‘And May has confirmed overnight that she’s rallied enough local am dram chums to put someone in every room that you’re opening,’ I was delighted to say.
‘Excellent!’ Kate clapped, then unlocked the gate. ‘So, what do you need from me? If anything.’
‘An answer about this fog machine,’ I told her. ‘Today is the last chance we’ll have to book it, and I know it’s not the cost that’s delaying a decision because we’ve sourced a really good price on hiring for the week.’
‘You’re right,’ she said, ‘it hasn’t been a cost issue, and we know it will create a really spooky atmosphere, but we’ve talked it over and we don’t want to have it in the house.’
‘Why not?’
‘We’ve had a look online,’ she explained, ‘and even though everything says they’re safe, we’re a bit concerned about having it running indoors for so long.
We’re keeping windows and curtains shut so it will be dark inside, and consequently, it could build up a bit.
The last thing we need is to aggravate Abigail’s asthma or anyone else’s for that matter. ’
‘Of course,’ I nodded and quickly came up with an alternative idea. ‘I understand that. How about if I ask the company if they have an outdoor model instead? We could put it in the fern garden as that’s a part of the spooky outdoor trail, couldn’t we?’
‘Oh yes,’ Kate said, ‘that’s a brilliant compromise. Let’s go for that, if they’ve got one. The weather looks like it will be okay, not windy or anything. Will it need electric though?’
‘I’ll find out,’ I said and made a note on my list.
‘Is there anything else I can do?’
‘I don’t think so. Erik and I are going to look over the decorations this morning, to make sure we’ve got enough and then allocate them room by room.’
It was the only thing we would be tackling alone, and I had given myself a stern talking to earlier about how it wouldn’t be an issue because there was so much to focus on.
‘In that case, I’ll double check everything’s all set for the Beastly Banquet,’ Kate said. ‘Now, there’s a sentence I never thought I’d hear myself say!’
We were laughing as we arrived in the kitchen and Luke and Erik were sitting at the table drinking coffee and chatting.
They looked up as we walked in. Erik was wearing that wretched ruby coloured henley shirt – I say wretched because I adored the way he looked in it – and his hair was tied back, which made the most of his bone structure.
Given that his sports career had involved getting knocked about on a rugby pitch, he looked good for it!
‘With an event to launch here in a few days,’ Luke grinned, ‘laughter is something I wouldn’t have expected to hear.’
‘That’s because you’ve never had me organise one for you, isn’t it?’ I smiled at him.
‘Good point,’ Kate said. ‘Would you like a coffee, Skylar?’
‘Yes, please.’
I noticed Erik was the only one of us who wasn’t smiling, but he was looking at me. I wished he wouldn’t, especially with his hair pulled back from his face so I could see the whole of it. Why was he looking so tense?
‘Shall we get on?’ I suggested, once I had my coffee to look at rather than him.
‘Yep,’ he said and stood up. ‘Lead the way.’
The dining room looked completely different to how it had been on the evening of the autumn equinox.
It was stuffed full with boxes overflowing with Halloween decorations, a large and eclectic mix to switch between the day and evening tours, along with spooky polystyrene statues and even a couple of paintings with moving eyes which I didn’t like at all and turned straight to the wall.
‘Idiot,’ Erik smiled.
‘What?’ I objected. Ordinarily I would have been pleased to see his mood lift but not when it was at my expense again. ‘They freak me out.’
‘Mission accomplished then.’
‘I’m not sure we should have them up during the day when the kids will be going round,’ I said, with a shiver. ‘They’ll be terrified.’
‘Isn’t that the point?’
‘Um,’ I said, ‘let’s vote on it when we decorate the rooms. We’re going to set things up so it’s easy to switch between day and evening tours so they could be added to the changeover list.’
May Madison herself had offered to be the guide on the evening tours which were for adults only and had a gothic, rather more sophisticated theme in keeping with the house.
She, Luke and Rafe - who had decided not to play storyteller - had come up with a blood curdling script featuring ghosts and ghouls which was a blend of fantasy and fact.
The most spine-chilling parts for me were the facts, such as the retelling of how one of Luke’s ancestors had hung himself from a tree in the garden as a result of having his heart broken. Now I knew which tree it was I’d been giving it a wide berth since listening to May read that part.
‘I’ve no idea where half of this has come from,’ Erik said as he looked around the room. ‘And I’m sure it’s multiplying just like you said your decorations were before the equinox party.’