Epilogue
One Year Later
Katrina dipped her hand into the gooey contents of the pumpkin’s core. The slimy strings and wayward seeds clung to her skin as she worked to scoop all the innards out.
Willem stood beside her at the kitchen worktable. His strong hands quickly removed most of the pumpkin guts with one mighty scoop. The aroma of sweet chocolate with a dash of spices filled the air, the contents simmering in a pot behind them.
The past year had been full of learning and growth as a couple. They had a quiet winter wedding where they shared their vows at the church by the bridge where they had met.
In the spring, Father passed away. They held a funeral in his honor and buried him next to Johannes’s grave. She grieved, but the ache did not quite entrench her soul with Willem by her side.
Healing didn’t come all at once, but it came in the quiet moments—one moment, one hour, and one day at a time.
However, some months were more challenging than others.
Willem struggled with appearing in public and hosting guests in their home, but he always made an effort to try.
Sometimes nightmares of the battle and Johannes’s death plagued his dreams, but she would be by his side to soothe the terrors away.
Willem visited his parents often, helping them whenever he could. Katrina enjoyed sitting with them on Sunday evenings and listening to Charlotte Van den Broek tell stories about her son.
Unfortunately, it took the villagers a few months to accept Willem into their community, but in time, they grew to accept him as one of their own. Brom found another young woman to marry and seemed happy with his new wife. As for Ichabod…
No one knew where he mysteriously ran off to.
His disappearance inspired new rumors to surface, even though Katrina refuted them each time.
But once the stories began, there was no stopping them.
Katrina and Willem could only smile when someone claimed the Headless Horseman chased Ichabod through the forest and threw a flaming pumpkin head at the schoolmaster.
Smudge hopped onto the counter and sniffed the contents of the pumpkin they put on a tray.
“Ah, ah,” Katrina tsked. “Those aren’t for you.”
“His eyes have been following you since you’ve dangled those strings in front of him,” Willem said with a sly smile.
“Well, I don’t imagine this tastes good,” she said. “We’ll need to separate the seeds and put some cinnamon and sugar on them.”
“I like the sound of that.”
Katrina hummed to herself as she sorted through the sticky mess. Willem’s mouth thinned as he concentrated on carving a face into the pumpkin he cleaned out.
“What do you think?” he asked. He turned the carving her way, and she smiled. Two triangle eyes, small eyebrow slits, a nose, and a jagged mouth stared back at her.
“It looks awfully familiar,” she said playfully, tapping a finger to her mouth.
“I thought I’d commemorate this moment with a reminder of what brought us together.”
She giggled. “Your pumpkin head?”
“Yes, otherwise you’d have been too frightened to speak to me. That’s why I put it on.”
“From what I remember,” she said, “it was because you saved me from the bridge.”
“Actually,” he said, “I believe it was something else entirely.”
“What do you suppose then?” she asked with one brow raised.
Marta bustled in, took one glance at the simmering pot, and announced, “It’s ready, dears! Come get your cups.”
Willem hooked his hand around the crook of Katrina’s elbow and whispered, “Hot chocolate.”
Katrina blushed, remembering her idea of sharing the chocolate drink with a headless specter, hoping it would be a presentable gift for the ghost who saved her.
She and Willem accepted the steaming teacups with a dollop of whipped cream. As she sipped her drink, she laughed when some of the cream stuck to Willem’s lips.
“Here,” she said and leaned forward to kiss the cream from his mouth.
“What was that for?” he asked with a gleam in his eye. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“You had whipped cream right there.” She gestured to the spot.
“Ah, I see.” He took another drink, purposefully getting whipped cream all over his chin.
“Oh, you two,” Marta said. “Don’t get too lovey in here.”
Katrina chuckled and gently placed another kiss on his lips. Cream stuck to her skin, but she cherished this moment and the love he poured into their kiss.
She supposed he was right. Hot chocolate had brought them together, and she couldn’t be happier.