Part I.
Around 2:30pm on Saturday afternoon, I put the dogs in the backyard and went to pick my way-overripe-because-I-haven't-picked-for-a-week raspberries in the side yard. All of a sudden, I heard Jack barking his "play with meeeeee" bark, which is rather loud and demanding and can quite easily scare the barkee who is not familiar with his many different barks. Fearing that Jack had cornered the downstairs tenant's girlfriend - who isn't comfortable around large animals with teeth - I bolted from the side yard around to the front of the house and ran...smack into a gaggle of trick-or-treaters exiting my front porch as no one answered the door.
(Who the heck trick-or-treats at 2:30pm?)
"Oh, hi!" I stuttered. "I don't have any candy, but, um, can I offer you some raspberries?" (It being 2:30pm, I hadn't yet bought candy.) A darling little princess and butterfly looked at the bowl and promptly let out dual wails. Thereby setting off the infant pumpkin in his father's arms who, by now, was giving me a look.
I thought they were typical American corn-syrup-and-sugar fiends upset that the proffered bowl held fruit. And so I knelt down to the tear-streaked pair and told them that I would run inside and get some treats (I send a care package to a soldier every month and was planning on mailing it Monday...no problem if borrowed some cookies in the meantime, right?) if they didn't mind waiting just a moment. The girls backed away to the safety of their father's legs.
Did I have something in my teeth? Had I forgotten to wash off that morning's facial mask?
The father gathered his little teary brood and left without a word. I walked inside shaking my head and just happened to catch a glipse of myself in the mirror.
Not only were my hands and palms stained a bright red - raspberry red, incidentally - but my white top was splattered with drops of juice and a crimson handprint. I even had a smear of juice on my cheek!
They were the first and last trick-or-treaters of the day. Evidently, word about the crazy lady on the block spread fast.
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5 comments:
LOL That'll teach them to go trick-or-treating before dark!! Sorry, that was rude of them. Just because it's a Saturday doesn't mean you should have to primp yourself up and hang out all day with a bowl of candy in case they feel like dropping by.
LOL nice way to scare the kids. Yeah I was doing the same but we were actually trick or treating. I was a vampire with blood coming down my chin handy out candy. LOL the looks on the kids....priceless. :-)
I didn't have any trick-or-treaters here. One, I had to work. Two, I took a nap after getting home from work. Three, I left before dark to go check out a scooter (two wheeler). They may have knocked on my door, but I wasn't home...
Sounds like the quintessential Kodak moment...
Mrs. C - Actually, I learned that in some towns (generally, the SAFEST ones, go figure) no one goes out after dark. This happens to be one of those towns.
Dragon and Mark - I would have loved to have had a camera!
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