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“What, pray tell, are you looking for?” Penelope asked, standing in the doorway to the kitchen while Colin was opening kitchen cabinets, rummaging through them, groaning and moving on to the next.
“Sweets! Candies! Chocolate! Anything to satisfy my sweet tooth, really.”
“There is nothing left. You ate it all already, don’t you remember?”
Colin groaned in frustration, leaning deflated to the kitchen sink, when he spotted the calendar.
“Is it Halloween today?” a smile forming on his lips.
“Yes, I guess,” Penelope replied confused.
“Excellent news!” Colin stormed out of the kitchen with a call of “Back in a sec” over his shoulder.
When he returned, he helped Penelope into her red hooded cape, always the gentleman and she grinned at his gallantry. He gave her a wicker basket, the one they usually brought to buy fresh produce at the farmers market. Penelope thought it was odd since there was no market at this time of day, but she indulged in his antics. Ever since being with Colin, her life had never been dull.
Colin opened the door and cried out, “Let’s go trick or treating!”
Penelope gasped at Colin; she hadn’t gone trick or treating in 15 years. There was no way they could pull this off now, but when Colin turned around to face her, he was wearing a Big Bad Wolf mask and he growled at her. He looked very distinguished in his long leather coat, his furry gloves with long pointy nails and his wolfish mask and she smiled shyly at him.
He still had a way to turn her insides to jelly, just by being him. But she better not tell him, or he would eat her. Nothing could come between Colin and sweets.
She grinned at him before singing the nursery rhyme of Little Red Riding Hood. He held her hand and she skipped along with him, swinging her basket in sync with the tune. And they were on their way, trick or treating together for the first time in their lives.
“Trick or treat!” Colin hollered at every door, while Penelope hummed to her own tune, waiting to see what would happen when the unsuspecting people saw an overgrown bad Wolf and a smaller, but not too small, woman in a red hooded cape.
But the people just smiled and gave them candy.
In one instance Colin growled when the door opened and demanded more sweets or he would eat his prey, pointing a very pointy nail at Penelope, while licking his lips. It worked, and they got more candy.
Oh, Colin was on a roll now. He couldn’t believe how gullible people were. Because he could never eat his Pen, but they didn’t need to know that.
He wondered what happened if he put more show to his demands. So at the next door, he had leaned towards Penelope and scraped his teeth down her neck after making his demands and Penelope had shrieked. Two full hands of candy dropped into the baskets and all Colin could think was “Jackpot!”
From that door on, Colin had made his demands and Penelope had shrieked whenever his teeth hit her collarbone.
If a woman opened the door, they would shriek with Penelope, before giving them candy.
When a man opened the door, he would chuckle at Colin and wink at Penelope, but they would still get candy.
Their basket was filling up fast.
“Should we return home? Our basket is practically overflowing with sweets,” Penelope whispered huskily, her throat hoarse from all the shrieking.
“Not yet, I want to pay a visit to the old bat. Make her pay for every time she teased me.”
“Who? Lady Danbury?” Penelope queried.
“Do you know any other old bat?” Colin chuckled, looking forward to having his revenge with the old woman.
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” Penelope murmured. She liked the old woman. She had always supported Penelope, made her see what was inside her all along and she was very grateful to her. She did not dare predict what would happen if Colin pulled his stunt on her.
“She likes me,” Penelope stated, warning Colin he was making a mistake.
“We’ll be fine.” He was not discouraged by Pen’s warning.
Colin took the loaded basket from Penelope and took her hand in the other while they walked towards Danbury House. They greeted other trick or treaters while enjoying the many displays of the Pumpkin People in Mayfair.
Upon arriving at Danbury House, Colin put down the basket in front of them. It was indeed very heavy with sweets already. He wrung his hands, gloating with the revenge that was to be imminent, while Pen rolled her eyes at him.
“I really think you shouldn’t,” Pen tried for the last time.
“Nonsense, we’ll be grand!” And he pulled the bell.
When the door opened, Colin made his demand and leaned forward to bite Pen, but before he reached her delicate neck, a cane came up and hit him squarely on the head.
“Oh no, you don’t, you big bad Wolf! Pah!”
The cane returned to its regular position, two wrinkled hands on top of it. “Ah Penelope, how lovely to see you!” the woman said, smiling warmly at her.
“Won’t you come in? And you can bring your big bad Wolf, if you insist.”
Pen chuckled while she looked at Colin who was nursing his head, muttering something not to be repeated.
“I already ordered sandwiches and cake when I saw you two walking towards the house. It will be ready shortly.”
At this comment, Colin was inside like a flash.
When offered to sit down in the drawing room, Lady Danbury poured the tea, while encouraging Colin to select his cake.
He took a bite of the cake and groaned happily, when the sugar, jelly and cream hit his taste buds.
“How is your head?” Penelope asked as he held a cold press against the side of his head.
“Like hell and the devil,” he replied, while chomping on more cake. “I’m just glad my mask took most of the hit.”
“Who knew Lady Danbury would be so formidable?” Penelope chuckled. After all, she knew Lady Danbury better than anyone else. “I did try to warn you…”
“I do regard her ladyship with new eyes,” Colin had to agree with his wife, smiling softly at being beaten by the old bat.
“Perhaps— this was not your brightest idea,” Penelope softly stated.
“Perhaps,” Colin chuckled softly. He was not one to accept defeat that easily. He was not that stubborn, but he did have his pride. And his pride had gotten a good beating today. “But, we did get tea and cake, so I guess I won today.”
“Oh, you really are insufferable!” Penelope murmured behind her teacup. And lovely all the same, but he did not need to hear that. She would show him later, when they were back home.