Seraphina
Copyright© 2025 by Krista*
Chapter 5
Something was troubling Eric. However, even after asking what was bothering him, Seraphina was unable to get a specific answer from him. It was a mid October Friday and they were eating lunch in the break room.
“I’m leaving, first thing tomorrow morning to head back up to Oregon. Not looking forward to the drive,” he commented as he poked at the leftover pasta he had brought to eat. “There is some stuff up there that I have to take care of.”
“How long do you think you will be up there? Is this part of what is on your mind so much?”
“With luck, I will have everything wrapped up by Tuesday, so I can return on Wednesday. As for what’s on my mind? I will let you know all about it, once I’m able to. Please trust me on that.”
“Okay. Just make sure that you’re here for ‘Trunk or Treat’.”
“Are you kidding?” he grinned. “I wouldn’t miss that for anything!”
‘Trunk or Treat’ was being held the Saturday before Halloween. The dealership was working with the local chamber of commerce to have all the vehicles on the lots moved and consolidated so there was a large area for the employees of Gold Mine Motors to set up activity booths for children. There would be a number of sunshades set up where people would hand out candy and treats to children as they made the rounds, in costume. Adults would be encouraged to dress up as well, but were asked to avoid any costumes that were overly frightening. There would be food, games, activities and contests, as well as live music. The goal was to have a safe, fun and relaxed environment to celebrate and parents would be able to keep control of the kids.
“Ruth is so excited about this that she is climbing the walls!” Seraphina laughed. She is working with mom to make a costume, but I’m not allowed to know what it is, yet.”
“Sounds great. What are you planing to wear?”
“Something simple. I have a black leotard and black tights. That along with a black mini skirt, some cat ears on a headband and some whiskers on my cheeks from makeup and I’m all set.”
“No tail?”
“Nope. I’m a Manx.”
“Remind me to stop at PetsMart to get some catnip.”
She blushed slightly and inquired “What do you plan to do for a costume?”
“Not sure yet. But I can assure you it will not be like the costume I made for myself when I was ten.” At her nod for him to do so, he continued. “Right around Labor Day weekend, I made a giant globe with chicken wire and attached it to an old scout back-pack frame. Then I applied multiple layers of paper mache to cover it all up. It took some time to dry between layers. Then, I painted it to look like a giant bloodshot eyeball. I cut out a circle where the iris was and put in black screen to hid my face but allowed me to see out.”
“Oh my, that sounds complicated!”
“It was. My father and someone else had to actually lift the thing up over my head and lower it onto me, so I could get my arms in the straps for the back-pack frame. Then I discovered I had severely limited vision. I had to be guided along the sidewalk to go from house to house.”
“Oh, I would love to have seen that!” she giggled.
“If I can find an old picture, I’ll show you. So there I was, tottering along, unable to see, people pointing me in the general direction, with a crowd of my friends, going door to door to beg for candy. When the goodies were being handed out, I had to squeeze my hand out from the hole on the bottom of the eyeball to hold out my pillowcase. I made out like a bandit!” a hearty laugh escaped him. “Everyone thought my costume was the funniest thing they had seen in a long time, and I was rewarded for my creativity!”
Seraphina knew all too well that if she had seen a child with a costume like that, she would have dumped half the candy bowl in his sack.
Walking to their cars at the end of the day, she paused and kissed him lightly. “Text me when you get there so I know you’re safe.”
“Will do.”
“Mommy? Where is Mr. Eric?” Ruth looked up from her dinner plate, Saturday evening. She had quickly adapted to seeing him on a frequent basis, either to take her mother out alone, or sometimes all of them together. In her heart, she loved the idea of them all going out to do things, almost like a family. She knew that her Daddy was in Heaven because there was a bad sickness that caused a lot of people to die, but she longed for the concept of two parents to make a family with her. When the three of them were together, she could pretend.
“He had to go back to his home in Oregon for a few days, sweetheart. But he will be back here soon.”
“Okay. Will he be at Trunk or Treat?”
“He promised me that he would be back in time. But he didn’t tell me what his costume was going to be, so we might not recognize him.”
“Do you love him? Are you going to get married? If you do get married, what about me?”
Looking over at her smirking parents, Seraphina sighed. “I like him a lot. He’s very special to me. I want to hope that he thinks I’m special to him, and you as well. And us getting married? I don’t see that happening. Not for a long time anyway. But if we did get married, the three of us would all share a home together.”
“Can’t he move in here with us?”
Seraphina bit her lip and looked at her father. “That’s a GREAT idea!” Try as she might, she was unable to prevent the laughter erupting as she saw her fathers face turn red and his eyes go wide open.
As often happens, the voice of reason came from the grandmother. “Sweetie, how about we wait on making plans concerning who lives where. Let you mother and Eric decide if they even want to get married.”
“But she’ll be switched, if she gets hitched, on a bicycle built for two!” Ruth sang out.
“Dad, I wish there was a better way to do this.”
“So do I, son. So do I. But for now, keep doing what you’re doing until we get the answers we’re searching for.”