Halloween Romance
Sequel to
Mischief Night Magic
Part One: Saturday Morning

I know its going to sound corny, but being with Gwendoline made me feel like I was a child again. I mean, why else would I wake up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning? Or maybe it was the savory smell of bacon frying and the strong smell of coffee brewing that made me leave the warm comfort of my nest of covers and pillows. Following my nose, I slipped out of bed, my feet shivered as they touched the cold wooden floor. A few seconds later, I slipped them into a pair of fuzzy slippers that seemed to be placed near my bed. Funny I don't remember Gwendoline buying any slippers for me during our shopping spree yesterday.

Not that I minded, I welcomed the warmth of the fuzzy slippers. Once I'd gotten the sleep from my eyes I noticed that hanging upon the hanger that had been driven into the center of the bedroom door was a housecoat that was hanging from a pink hanger. Without thinking I slipped the house coat on and tied it around my slender waist. Then without thinking, and partly overcome with hunger I left the room and followed the tantalizing fragrance of fried bacon. And soon I found myself standing in the kitchen.

The first thing I noticed was how the first rays of the morning sun reflected off the linoleum floor. A few seconds later, my eyes were drawn toward Gwendoline who was hovering over the gas stove. A bright, blue flame burned in one of the eyes and with practiced grace Gwendoline held a cast iron skillet over the flame, the handle wrapped in towel. The popping of hot grease and the smell of bacon cooking rose up from the skillet.

“Good morning sleepyhead.” Gwendoline said as she  balanced the skillet in one hand and used a fork to remove the bacon with the other. I watched in amazement as Gwendoline swung the skillet over and poured the grease out into an awaiting can.

“I was wondering when you'll wake up. I thought you might have decided to join the dead in their sleep.” Gwendoline teased as she added more bacon to the skillet and a few links of sausage,

“That smells good.” I said choosing not to engage Gwendoline.

“You're going to need a big breakfast. You have a big day ahead of you. First we need to finish cleaning up the cemetery. Then you need to get ready for the dance. Your costume is sleeveless, so that means you need to shave under your arms. And you need to shave down there too. The dance starts at six and ends at midnight. So we don't have time to waste.” Gwendoline said.

I blinked and looked up from my first cup of coffee. Slowly I shifted my eyes and I gazed toward the clock that hung upon the kitchen wall. The big hand hovered just above seven and the small hang hovered just above four. So it was seven twenty in the morning. I thought it was way later than that. But still if the dance started at six that still left me a good eleven okay not really eleven, more like ten hours and forty minutes to spend. That seemed like more than enough time.

“And before you say 'We have plenty of time' I want to remind you time has this funny way of slipping through your fingers. So, no, we don't have plenty of time. We barely have enough time as is.” Gwendoline said as she titled the pan and turned the links of pork sausage with a tin fork.
“Also you and I need to talk about something else.” She said as she returned the skillet to the fire, with graceful practice she cracked a few eggs and broke them. Soon they were sizzling away. “Now, your a teenager, and your also a teenage girl as far as I'm concerned. Now I was once a teenager,and I can remember how I was at those teenage dances. And I'm not so naive that I'm going to assume your not going to find a cute boy who's going to make you hot and bothered.”

I blinked and blinked again. I soon felt my face turn red as a beetroot.

“Now, before we go to the dance. You and I are going to stop down at Dollar General again. And I'm going buy you a pack of condoms. And I want you to keep them on you. And if you meet a special boy tonight I want you to use them.” Gwendoline said as she peered at me.

At that moment my eyes went as wide as saucer plates.

“Wait WHAT!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. I yelled so loud that the porcelain plates in the china cabinet started to rattle around.

“Trust me. I was a teenager once. Once the mood takes hold, you guys tend to throw caution to the wind. The only thing that boy is going to be thinking about is scoring a piece of ass for the night and the only thing you're going to thinking about is getting some dick.” She sighs. “Trust me, I was a teenager once wild and free once before. And somebody always spikes the punch at these parties. Yes, it's a school sponsored event.” Gwendoline said, sighing. “That only means you need one and a half cup of punch to get sheet faced instead of the normal two or three.”

I was at a loss for words.

“Anyway go ahead and eat up.” She said, flipping the eggs in the skillet. She tossed the eggs onto a nearby paper plate. Added a few links of pork sausage and crispy bacon. And then a few pieces of toast. Once the plate was loaded down she pushed it in front of me and smiled.

I looked down at the plate, then at Gwendoline and then back at the plate. And without saying a word. I started to chow down. And much to my amazement the food tasted really good. Gwendoline soon sat down beside me and smirked a little as she passed one of her fried eggs onto my plate. And in a gentle scolding tone of voice she turned to me and said.

“Next time, wait till I'm seated please. We still need to say grace.” But she did not seem mad. More bemused than anything else. “Anyway, eat up girl. We still need to finish cleaning up the cemetery. I always like to have the grounds looking halfway clean before All Soul's Day.” She said as she sat down started to tackle her own plate.

Breakfast was a silent one. Gwendoline seemed to hyper focus on getting out and cleaning the cemetery. I seemed hyper focused on just eating. New's that I'll spend my Saturday morning lurking around the graves did not sit well with me. I always felt like I was being watched as I stalked among the rows of headstones and crosses. Searching for discharged pieces of trash and such.

“Hey Gwendoline.” I said at last. “Is the cemetery haunted?” I asked. I was expecting a 'No' followed by a 'Don't be silly, ghosts are not real' comment. But instead Gwendoline said, without skipping a beat.

“Very haunted.”
“The cemetery is very haunted. Many of the soul's entombed here have unfinished business. Sometimes they even rise up from their resting place and wander among the stones. You gotta be careful out there. Some are harmless. Some are wicked, all were once human and some still have faint traces of their humanity remaining in the empty shell that is their soul.” Gwendoline said as she chewed on her toast. She swallowed the dry bread down with a mug of fresh coffee.

“That's why 'All Soul's Day' matters. The prayers Fr. Bell recites for the dead at the altar, the ringing of the church bells. Reminding the dead they are not forgotten and shall not be forgotten. It puts many of them at rest. Some though don't go toward the light and linger around. Some have been haunting this cemetery since it was founded in the late nineteen hundreds.” Gwendoline added with a shrug.

I blinked and blinked again. But I don't think Gwendoline noticed the surprise that came over me. I think she just shrugged her shoulders and smiled as she nibbled on her toast. I returned to nibbling on my breakfast and soon enough both of us were done eating.

“Okay” Gwendoline said as she collected the plates from the table. “Heather go change into some work pants and a shirt. And be sure to wear a light jacket too. It's going to be chilly today. Again like last time, pick a section and start cleaning. We'll break around noon for lunch. After lunch I want you to get a short nap and then get a good hot bath. Shave under your arms, your legs, trim the bush. Wash and condition your hair. And then we'll change into out costumes and head to the dance.” She paused. “Sound good?”

I just shrugged my shoulders. My mind seemed to have shifted gears and was now hyper focused on the upcoming dance.

“Sure.” I said. As I pushed my chair back and stood straight up. “I'll go ahead and get ready then.” I said as I pushed my chair back under the table and moved out of the kitchen. A few minutes later I found myself in the bathroom. Brushing my teeth and brushing my hair out, after that was done I went back to my room, or should I call it the guest room. At this point I thought the room was mine, so I'll call it mine. Once I was in my room, I changed into the pair of jeans I wore Friday. Gwendoline must have washed them because they smelled a little fresher than they did when I took them off.

Anyway I slipped the jeans on, then I slipped on a pair of socks, and old pair of sneakers, you and finally an old shirt, work clothes you know. Then I headed out the door. Gwendoline called out that she'll join me shortly. I only nodded my head. And without much fanfare I started to clean where I left off yesterday morning.

To Be Continued.