Take the early bus home from the big U says father Wracks, your mother and I are going out tonight and you have to give out Halloween candy to the children of the neighborhood.
Yes, I will say Wracks. I will take the four o’clock bus home, have dinner and hand out candy.
Most of the classes at the university either begin early in the morning, or occur early in the afternoon. Why, the Wracks doesn’t know, but his labs are over at 3:50 and he will take the four o’clock bus home. Waiting at the stop on the luxurious neighborhood adjacent to the University, the yellow bus stops and he gets on. At the bottom of the hill, staff physicians at the University get on the bus, and it is crowded, the elite only work part time. The wracks sit in front of the bus near the driver and occasionally talks to him, he has been traveling this route for nearly three years, and everyone is the same and knows him. On the bus today, October 31, are a tall man in a light grey suit. His aquiline features are defined by his eyes, large, light grey and penetrating, and he does not move much, or talk much, and his hair is brown turning grey, and he looks at the Wracks, and the Wracks doesn’t know why. Sitting next to him is a crony with red hair and grey eyes too, in casual slacks, a white shirt and a dark blue tie. They occasionally talk and gesture to each other. The Wracks does not know it yet but this man will be his employer for five years in the distant future. Mid way in Tranquil Hills, they get off, in the exclusive section, together and leave. The Wracks is on his own and at the second to last stop for the 176, he disembarks. The gas station is open, and the pharmacy, and the small market that changes hands has been acquired by another man. The Wracks canters home quickly, enters and fishes a boil a bag from the freezer. His mother is a gourmet chef, and she got tired running a bank, and now works at the Wadsworth in an official capacity. Emptying the bag in a bowl and placing it in the microwave, in three minutes dinner is served. Excellently prepared chicken cooked in onions, peppers and carrots is hard to beat. His parents are on their way out, in costumes and they are going somewhere important because they don’t go out that much.
The candy is in the big plastic bowl says father Wracks. There should be enough and at nine o’clock, set the bowl outside and call it a night.
Good night says mom. Happy Halloween.
They leave in a red ford Cordoba and the Wracks checks on grandma. She says she is all right, has eaten dinner and is content watching Donnie and Marie reruns. He closes her door.
There exists a huge elementary school at the bottom of the hill where the Wracks lives, and people live in his subdivision so their children can walk to school. There should be ample parents at the door trick or treating tonight, and the Wracks sits on the sofa near the entrance hall with a large cache of candy, Butterfinger snack size, fun size milky way, and baby ruth too. He grabs a few and indulges himself. He turns on the spooky orange and purple string lights outside and sits and wait.
Kids in various costumes arrive early, with their parents. The Wracks gives each of them two candy bars, who would guess that giving is so wondrous. Some children wear paper costumes; the newspaper offers free cut out costumes so all kids no matter their financial station can participate in the wondrous activities. Some female children dress as princesses or queens and male children dress as monsters, pirates or adventurers. The Wracks is having a blast. At about seven thirty, as the world slowly darkens, another trick or treater rings the front doorbell. It is a man, with a large hawkish nose, light grey eyes and fine, thinning, light hair. His daughter is a beautiful child, betrothed in a royal blue dress, down to her toes, with a scepter with a star on the end. Very fair, light grey eyes like her father, with some freckles and smiling because she knows someone loves her. All women smile, when in life, they observe that they are loved and cherished by someone. Women respond to affection and caring. She dances in front of the Wracks and smiles and then curtsies. The Wracks gives her four candy bars because she is special, special in a grey and capitalistic world. She in her blueness, smiles, her father smiles and she is gone. Later in night the older kids show up. They dress as beggars, ruffians, vampires and gangsters. They all seem to have small guns, and they point them at the Wracks and he obliges and gives them two candies. They in their masks and guns yell “Happy Halloween”, and run off with their bags of candy. Guns, always guns, males seem to like the masculine association and infatuation with guns. The kids have guns and the Wracks does not question or ask if they are real. They just are. Then the big kids come and their dates dress as beautiful seductresses and female vampires with ruby red lips and then the flow ebbs and no one comes the door anymore, the Wracks sets the bowl outside, closes up, checks on grandma and goes to sleep. In his small bed, underneath the window, the stars in the backyard seem to enter his bedroom and he dreams of the beautiful blue princess in the blue dress, and she smiles and dances in front of him and will be in his mind until he dies. Another day, at the end of October comes and goes uneventfully, and he utters a prayer, before unconsciousness supervenes, that he will have a family someday, and they will go trick or treating, and his daughters will be beautiful and dress as princesses, forevermore. He has stolen a bunch of candy bars from the bowl and he hides them underneath the mattress, so his brother doesn’t take them and his first class at the university tomorrow is biochemistry and it begins at 8 AM.