The Pumpkin House Read online

  As they were leaving, Sarah stopped Ronnie before he pedaled off on his bike down the road in the opposite direction she took to get home.

  “I want to apologize to you, Ronnie.”

  “Apologize for what?” Ronnie asked with a confused look on his face. He couldn’t imagine anything she needed to apologize about.

  “I was so preoccupied with dredging up my own crap from the past that I completely forgot to find out how things were going at home with your mom. I should’ve asked sooner about her, and I’m sorry. Best friends shouldn’t act like that.”

  Ronnie smiled at Sarah, amazed at how unselfish and considerate she was.

  “Don’t worry about it, Sarah. It’s no big deal.”

  They started riding their bikes down Miller’s Road in opposite directions. Ronnie had pedaled about thirty yards before he stopped and turned back to look at Sarah. To his surprise, she’d also stopped and was looking back at him. They waved good-bye to one another and then rode their bikes home, each of them looking forward to the next day when they would get to see each other again.

  Part Five:

  October 29th, Two Days ‘til Halloween

  Ronnie was late getting to the Pumpkin House the next day, arriving at a few minutes past noon. When he went around to the back of the farmhouse, he found Sarah already working on the jack-o’-lanterns. Mr. Keenan was helping her. Even though Ronnie was only volunteering, he felt a little guilty for not showing up on time, like he was letting both Sarah and Mr. Keenan down despite the previous night’s horrible events.

  “Sorry I’m late, Mr. Keenan.” Ronnie’s tone was genuine but there was a noticeable undercurrent of despondency as well.

  Mr. Keenan looked up with a furrow of concern across his brow. Ronnie knew the old man could tell something was wrong with him, but Mr. Keenan didn’t push the matter. He merely stood up, grabbed a hold of his cane, and handed the list of names over to Ronnie.

  “That’s alright. It gave me and Sarah a chance to talk about some stuff. If you need anything, just let me know.”

  Mr. Keenan’s eyes lingered on Ronnie a moment, conveying how this last statement had been mainly directed towards him.

  Once Mr. Keenan was gone, Sarah bombarded Ronnie with a barrage of questions, wanting to know if everything was alright and why he was so late.

  Ronnie glanced at the jack-o’-lanterns to see how many they had left to do. Sarah and Mr. Keenan had been hard at work, leaving only about thirty or forty jack-o’-lanterns to finish for the day.

  As Ronnie set the list of names and pen on the table, Sarah came over and sat down beside him.

  He struggled with where to begin, feeling so dazed and overawed by the previous night’s events. Sensing his difficulty, Sarah laid a supportive hand on his arm. Ronnie looked up and noticed how she was smiling at him in that way which somehow told him everything was going to be fine.

  But Ronnie wasn’t sure it would be alright this time.

  “Last night, Mom and Rick went out to dinner. No surprise, but they came home fighting. I was in my room watching TV when I heard Rick’s truck pull into the driveway. I could hear them arguing before they even walked through the door. But it didn’t sound like it was over anything major, so I turned up the volume on the TV because I didn’t want to listen to them. I just thought it was their usual bickering.” Ronnie paused as tears welled up in his eyes. “I couldn’t have been more wrong. The arguing got worse. Rick started saying crap about me and my Dad, how I was worthless just like him and how I thought I was better than everyone else. Have I told you about my Dad and Rick?”

  Sarah shook her head.

  “Well, the funny thing is they used to be best friends when they were little. Of course, their friendship was formed out of close proximity rather than common interests. They grew up in the same neighborhood, but once they got into middle school, their friendship ended. They started hanging around with different groups, you know how it is. I think Rick always hated or resented my Dad for their friendship ending or something. Maybe that’s why he wanted to be with Mom so bad once Dad was gone, kind of like his way of getting back at him.

  “But last night, when Rick brought up my Dad and started in on me, Mom didn’t back down like she normally does. I think she’d finally had enough of Rick, realizing how cruel and mean he is, and she was going to break up with him for good.

  “I only wish she would’ve realized it sooner. If she had, maybe she wouldn’t be in the hospital right now.”

  “Oh no, Ronnie, what happened?”

  “Before I even knew what was going on, I heard hitting, screaming, crying, and things breaking. I was so shocked by what I heard coming from the living room that I couldn’t move, frozen on the spot. I mean, deep down I’ve always known Rick would one day hurt Mom really bad. But when he finally did it, I couldn’t believe it was actually happening. I kept trying to get off my bed, but it was like my legs wouldn’t listen to what my brain was telling them to do. I have no idea how long I sat there; it could’ve been seconds or minutes. All I know is that it seemed like an eternity while I could do nothing except listen to Mom get the crap beat out of her.”

  Ronnie paused a moment. His eyes were full of shame as he silently pleaded with Sarah to believe him.

  “When I heard the front door slam shut and Rick’s truck squeal out of the driveway, I was finally able to move. I ran into the living room.

  “It was horrible, Sarah. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Broken glass was everywhere. Rick had pushed her into the glass curio cabinet she kept her knick-knacks in. It was smashed to hell, the knick-knacks in such broken, unrecognizable pieces that I couldn’t tell what was what. Mom was lying on the floor and wasn’t moving. Her whole face was swollen, covered in blood, and already bruised up. I don’t know if Rick punched her or kicked her once she was down, but he messed her up real bad. Her right eye was starting to swell shut, and I could tell her left one was hemorrhaging.

  “I was too scared to move her or even touch her. I yelled a few times, trying to wake her up, but she wasn’t responding. I thought she was dead until I noticed her shallow and labored breathing. I ran into the kitchen, grabbed the phone, and called 9-1-1. Once I gave them our address, I went back into the living room with Mom.

  “That was the longest ten minutes of my life waiting for the cops and the ambulance to get there. I felt so helpless because there was nothing I could do to wake her up. But even more, I felt so guilty because I hadn’t stopped Rick from beating the crap out of her. I’d just been so shocked and horrified at what was going on that I couldn’t move to help her.”

  Sarah gave him a reassuring look, trying to convince him how it wasn’t his fault. But Ronnie felt the guilt oozing off him as if he’d just climbed out of a sewer after having been trapped inside for weeks.

  “The ambulance arrived first. While the paramedics were poking her with needles, hooking her up to machines, and trying to stop the bleeding, the cops got there. The police officer pulled me over to the side, telling me not to worry and how Mom was going to be alright. They were finally able to get her stabilized enough to move. I rode with the cop to the hospital.

  “On the way, he asked me what happened. I told him how Rick had beat Mom up, and he asked me if I saw Rick do it. I told him I didn’t, but I’d seen Rick do it plenty of times before. Then, he asked me if I actually saw Rick was the one in the house arguing with Mom. I hated to admit it, but I hadn’t. I could tell by the look in his eyes there was a good chance Rick would get away with it unless Mom was willing to press charges.

  “When we reached the hospital, the cop sat out in the waiting room with me. About an hour later, the doctor came out and said Mom had two broken ribs and something called a cerebral confusion.”

  “Do you mean a cerebral contusion?” Sarah asked.

  Ronnie nodded his head.

  “It’s basically a bruised brain. It happened to my uncle a couple of years ago when he had a bad car wreck.”

&nbs
p; “The doctor also said Mom would have to stay in the hospital for a few days so they could get the swelling on her brain to go down. The cop asked the doctor if Mom was conscious and if he could talk to her. The doctor hesitated but said it would be alright as long as he didn’t press her too hard with questions or stress her out.

  “About ten minutes later, the cop came walking back down the hall. I could tell by the look on his face it hadn’t gone like he’d hoped. He sat back down beside me and let out an aggravated sigh. He told me Mom wasn’t cooperating. She wouldn’t tell him what had happened or who had done it to her. He thought she was too scared to have Rick arrested or even to file a DVP on him.”

  “What’s a DVP?”

  “It’s a Domestic Violence Petition. She could basically take Rick to court and the judge could issue a domestic violence protective order, preventing Rick from even going within fifty feet of her. But the cop thought Mom was afraid Rick would do something worse to her if she did press charges. I have a hard time imagining anything could be worse, other than killing her. The cop also told me this was how it sometimes happens in abusive relationships. The victim becomes so scared of the abuser that they won’t go to the authorities even though they could help them and protect them. But, the cop said, unless Mom came around and pressed charges or at least filed a DVP on him, Rick would get away with it since I hadn’t actually seen him do anything to her.

  “I felt like crap. If I would’ve just came out of my room when they got home or gone in there when he was beating the crap out of her, then he would be behind bars right now. But, like I said, I just froze when it happened.”

  Once Ronnie finished, he felt emotionally on edge like a destructive storm had ripped through him as he relived the entire horrible night again. But he had to admit how talking to Sarah about it made him feel a little better.

  Sarah remained silent, merely staring at Ronnie with a sad look in her eyes. He could tell she wasn’t sure how to react, and he honestly didn’t expect her to say anything. His mother was laid up in the hospital beaten to within an inch of her life while Rick still walked the streets.

  No words of comfort were going to change those facts.

  “Did you talk to your Mom?” Sarah finally asked. “Try and get her to press charges against Rick?”

  “Yeah, I talked to her before the cop left the hospital. He thought maybe I could talk some sense into her. At first, I tried to be compassionate and sympathetic, telling her she needed to tell the police how Rick had beaten her up and how they could keep him from doing it again. She refused, not even giving me a reason why. That just made me angry. I told her if she didn’t do anything about it, Rick was going to do it again – only next time she might end up dead. She still wouldn’t tell the police Rick had done it or press charges against him. I gave up. Before he left, the cop told me maybe she would come around in a couple of days.”

  “I’m so sorry, Ronnie. Like the cop said, maybe your mom will–”

  “She won’t,” Ronnie interjected. “I know deep down she won’t, Sarah. Mom’s too scared of Rick now. He took any fight she might’ve had in her and beat it out of her.”

  Sarah changed the subject, not wanting to push the matter any further and upset Ronnie even more. “Where are you staying while she’s in the hospital? And how long is she going to be in there?”

  “They’re not sure yet; at least a couple of days they said. Aunt Ruth said I could stay with her. I just hope it’s not for too long because her house has that old-lady-musty-and-stinky-perfume-smell to it.”

  Sarah laughed and playfully smacked Ronnie on the arm. “You’re so mean!”

  The laughter helped break the palpable tension which had been draping over them since Ronnie started telling his story, a tension so tight Ronnie had felt strangled by it.

  “What made you come over here today? You should’ve stayed with your mom since all of this just happened last night.”

  “They let me stay at the hospital last night with her. She didn’t wake up until about ten o’clock this morning. She was more alert but she looks like hell. After a little while, she asked why I wasn’t at the Pumpkin House. I told her I wasn’t going today, but she said that was nonsense and tried to reassure me she would be fine. I wanted to stay with her, but she just kept telling me to come over here. So, I did. Besides, maybe these jack-o’-lanterns will take my mind off everything. For a little while, at least.”

  “So, you do feel up to getting some work done?”

  “Sure,” Ronnie answered as he picked up the list of names. He wanted to get right to work so he could get his mind off everything as soon as possible. He felt like he’d been consumed by the situation for days rather than hours.

  They worked languidly over the next few hours on the forty or so remaining jack-o’-lanterns, neither one of them in any hurry to finish up with the day’s work. They were up to the names beginning with the letter P and wouldn’t have too many jack-o’-lanterns left to do tomorrow.

  Mr. Keenan wouldn’t officially open up the Pumpkin House until tomorrow night, the day before Halloween. But people had already started coming by to get a look at the jack-o’-lanterns on display. Mr. Keenan didn’t care; as long as all 853 jack-o’-lanterns protecting the good souls of Smith’s Grove from Old Notch-foot were completed and put out by midnight on Halloween, then Mr. Keenan was fine.

  Once they were finished for the day, Ronnie pedaled his bike down the road, in a hurry to get to the hospital and check on his mother. Sarah stared after him until he was out of sight, worried not only about Ronnie’s mother but about what Ronnie was going to do to Rick.

  Part Six:

  October 30th, the Day before Halloween

  Ronnie stood in front of the Pumpkin House.

  The lights emanating from the jack-o’-lanterns illuminated the entire front property, giving the illusion it was late evening just as the sun was sinking below the horizon rather than late at night. Ronnie glanced at his watch. It was almost ten o’clock. The cars coming out to the Pumpkin House to look at the hundreds of jack-o’-lanterns on display had stopped their bumper-to-bumper drive-by about an hour ago. But Ronnie remained hidden in the woods beside the road, making sure no one else was going to come by and waiting for Mr. Keenan to go to bed.

  Five minutes ago, all of the lights in the house had been turned off.

  As Ronnie hunkered down and scanned his eyes over the rows upon rows of jack-o’-lanterns, he thought back to the day’s earlier events.

  This morning, there had only been about sixty jack-o’-lanterns left for him and Sarah to finish on the final “work day” at the Pumpkin House. When Ronnie had called off Rick’s name, he’d almost dropped the stack of papers onto the ground. His eyes had shot over at Sarah, who gave him a strange look before writing Rick’s name on the bottom of the pumpkin, like she was seeking conspiratorial approval to leave Rick’s name off the jack-o’-lantern. But he hadn’t stopped her.

  Looking back now, it would’ve made Ronnie’s job easier because he wouldn’t have to take the risk of getting caught like he was now. But it also would’ve involved Sarah in what he was going to do, and Ronnie didn’t want to do that to her.

  When they’d finished with the last jack-o’-lantern, Ronnie and Sarah had stayed and helped set out the remaining jack-o’-lanterns. Ronnie made sure he was the one who set out the jack-o’-lantern with Rick’s name on it. This fantastical and last-ditch plan had been forming in his mind ever since Sarah had given him that strange look before she wrote Rick’s name down, and he wanted to make sure he knew exactly where Rick’s jack-o’-lantern was placed.

  Ronnie cleared his head of the day’s previous events. He glared at the jack-o’-lantern protecting Rick’s “good” soul from Old Notch-foot. It looked exactly like the other jack-o’-lanterns, the same simple face carved into it. But as he stared at it longer and longer, the smiling face on the jack-o’-lantern seemed to change into something different, morphing into the face of a monster with
a malevolent grimace.

  Ronnie shivered as a cold, creepy feeling crawled up the length of his spine like a snake coiling around each individual vertebra. He wondered for a brief moment if maybe he wasn’t going crazy, having a nervous breakdown because of what Rick had done to his mother. It wasn’t only how the face of the jack-o’-lantern had seemed to change, although that in and of itself was screwy enough; he also questioned his sanity because of why he was out here in the first place and what he was planning to do.

  Ronnie still didn’t know if Mr. Keenan’s stories about Old Notch-foot were true or not. He’d fought with believing them all week.

  But Sarah believed the stories.

  And for some reason, hunkered down out here in the dark, that was enough for Ronnie. Knowing Sarah believed in Old Notch-foot erased his doubt and strengthened his resolve. Besides, there wasn’t anything else he could do to make Rick pay, and his mother wasn’t going to press charges against Rick for what he’d done to her.

  Ronnie’s plan was a long shot, but it was the only choice he had.

  Ronnie took a deep breath and slowly stood up. He glanced at the farmhouse one last time to make sure Mr. Keenan wasn’t looking out the windows or standing on the front porch smoking his pipe.

  The coast was clear.

  He sprinted over to the jack-o’-lantern with Rick’s name on it and dropped down to his knees, looking around to make sure he hadn’t been spotted.

  No one was around.

  After he removed the battery-powered artificial light, Ronnie grabbed the jack-o’-lantern and dashed back towards the road. When he got there, he spun around back towards the farmhouse.

  He still didn’t see anyone.