by Elizabeth Wordsmith

Created on: April 23, 2008   Last Updated: June 11, 2008

Unexpected Treats

This year my mom had decided that my friend Mary and I should take my little brother and sister trick-or-treating with the neighbor kids. "After all," she remarked, "you two are sixth graders and should start to take on some responsibilities. And you're a bit too old to be trick-or-treating yourselves, don't you think?"

"But, mom!" I exclaimed. I seemed to be saying that a lot lately without too much effect.

"Oh, Joanie, don't look so glum. It'll be fun!" And with that said, she turned to tend to my dad who had just had foot surgery and was holed up in his favorite arm chair with his swollen foot propped up on the ottoman.

"Come on, Mary. Let's go hang out for a while before all the great fun begins." So my best friend and I bounced up the stairs to listen to music and chat with our friends on-line.

Later, after a light dinner of soup and sandwiches, Mom got Billy and Lucy all donned up in their outfits. Dora and Diego. How unoriginal. But they looked cute. As Mom was setting the candy out in the entry, the neighbor kids showed up with their mother.

"Joanie, I can't thank you and Mary enough for letting Andy and Carrie go with you. They are so excited!" Mrs. Anderson exclaimed. Andy and Carrie were dressed as Sponge Bob and Princess Aurora. "Very cute," I commented. Mary and I giggled.

Minutes later, with four preschoolers in tow, we headed off into the neighborhood in search of loot. What a handful those kids were,and loud! Their high-pitched squeals had my ears ringing. Mary and I had to run to keep up with them. It seemed there were hundreds of kids running, screaming, and criss-crossing the streets. Ours is a great neighborhood on Halloween since we all tend to go a little over the top with the decorations. So, everyone in town shows up.

The third house into our evening was Mrs. M's. She's been our neighbor ever since I can remember. Recently her husband died unexpectedly and she's been having a rough time. Mom said she might even have to sell her house. I was surprised at how much effort she'd put into her decorations. She always had, but I didn't expect it this year. Maybe she's starting to feel a little better, I thought.

"Wow!" Mary exclaimed. "This is sooo cool. Man, could we have used her to help us with our haunted house!" Our school haunted house had been a little ho-hum this year. I made a mental note to get Mrs. M's assistance the next year. She had everything: bats in trees, a stuffed witch sitting next to her broom and a

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