I felt Connor wrap his warm arms around me from behind, his voice in my ear. “I’m going to light the fireplace in the sitting room.”
“How romantic,” I murmured back, grinning. I turned in his arms, kissing him soundly. “Let’s go make sure the bedroom is okay.”
“Oh no, no,” Connor laughed, pulling away. “If you start that, we’ll never get the candy to the trick or treaters. It’s Halloween, babe.”
I slipped my hands into Connor’s back pockets, my voice low and sweet. “Well, maybe we can pretend we’re not home, hmm?”
“And deny Sammy his candy bars?” Connor asked with a laugh, kissing my forehead.
I sighed without any real heat, letting out a laugh as I agreed. “Yeah, you’re right. Oliver will never forgive me if he can’t steal his favorite candy bars from Sammy’s bag. I think the town is having a hayride too. They usually take the kids all around town for candy and through the woods and stuff. I used to go when I was a kid.”
“Well hell, let’s go then!” Connor’s eyes were wide in his excitement and I snorted out a laugh. I loved to see him so happy.
“I thought we had to give out candy,” I said raising an eyebrow and watching him grow more eager as we kept talking.
“We can take it to the kids on the hayride. I’m sure your brother and Rose will be there. Maybe your dad too,” Connor said, nearly bouncing on his feet. It was adorable to watch him grow impatient for a children’s hayride. I knew that he had probably never been on a hayride before, and I was happy that I could provide that sort of community and small-town fun for him.
“Alright, city boy, let’s go then,” I told him, grinning as he grabbed my hand and the bags of candy from the counter.
“Costumes,” Connor called as he dug around in the chest by the couch, pulling out fairy wings and a lion’s mane.
I couldn't help but laugh in my happiness as I grabbed a quilted blanket from the back of the couch and let Connor pull me through the house until we got to the doorway. There, I let him go start the car under the soft melody of the ancient, shifting oak trees. I stood in the doorway and looked back into the little cottage, taking in the familiar smells of what was now my home. Pale moonlight slanting through the curtained windows covered the wooden floorboards and the full-to-bursting bookshelves. The brick fireplace waited to be lit and I couldn't wait to get back and settled into our little house with the man that I loved. We had come a long way from where we started, and we were both different people than we had been before. I could hear Connor humming Monster Mash behind me and my heart swelled with happiness.
For a long time, I didn’t know what I wanted. I was never sure about where my heart felt at ease. For me, home was people. It was my dad, my brother, Rose, and now Sammy, and Connor. I knew that I could always be happy here. Everything I had ever wanted was right here, tucked into the hills of my hometown and sitting in the car outside. I couldn't believe that I was finally here. I was in the part of my life that I always waited and hoped for. There was a honk from behind me and I grinned, turning, and running to the car as the chill of autumn descended over the early night air. Later, we would watch scary movies on the couch until one or both of us drifted into a peaceful sleep, content in the life that we shared.
THE END