After I Do |H.S.|

Carved Pumpkins

I took a deep breath and juggled the two pumpkins in my arms, grunting and cursing under my breath until I finally got a free hand to close the car trunk. Hefting them up higher, I made my way up the porch steps, moving around the boxes of Halloween decorations that needed to go up sometime in the next few days. 

I slid my key into the lock and turned it to the right before opening the door. "Honey, I'm home!" 

A grin spread across my face at the sound of footsteps quickly flitting down the steps. "Hi, Harry," Grace smiled, racing to my side to help carry one of the pumpkins. 

I leaned down and kissed her forehead softly. "Hello, my beautiful wife. How has decorating been going?"

She sighed and looked around our living room, her eyes flitting between all the fall decorations strategically placed around the house. "It's going okay. I think it looks a little too... Pinterest-y."

 I let out a snort. "'Pinterest-y'? Sunflower, I don't think that's a word."

"Sure it is. I just said it." She grinned up at me again and my heart melted into goo at her feet. I couldn't stop myself from leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on her lips. I'd die a happy man if I could lay before her and stay there for the rest of my life. "It looks good. Don't overthink it," I murmured against her lips.

Her nose scrunched and she playfully smacked me in the stomach. "You're a man. Of course, you'd say that. C'mon, I have the table set up on the back porch."

I smiled softly and followed her through the house to the back where sure enough, she had a fold-up table out with a plastic sheet thrown over the top along with some knives and other things to help with carving. 

Grace placed her pumpkin on the table and picked up her phone. "I found some ideas online but I'm not sure what I'm gonna do yet." She moved closer and showed me her camera roll. There were tons of pictures ranging from cute faces to scenery expertly carved out into the side of a pumpkin. I hummed under my breath and scrolled, and scrolled... and scrolled. 

"Jesus, how many pictures are there?"

She laughed lightly and moved close enough for me to wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her to my side. "You were gone for a while and there were so many good options. But I keep coming back to these." She stopped my scrolling and tapped on an image of three pumpkins carved to look like little houses. "They're so cute and they look like those little fairy houses people make, but just... in a pumpkin."

"If you like these, then we'll make these."

Grace clicked her tongue. "But what about all the other good options?"

I smiled softly at her and leaned in to run my nose along her cheek. "We have so many years to make all the carved pumpkins you want to make, Sunflower," I said, placing a kiss on her neck.

She shivered lightly before looking up at me with a smile and so much love in her eyes it almost made my knees tremble. "I love the sound of that." She reached up and ran a finger along my jaw before taking a step back. "Fairy houses it is."

I nodded and handed her phone back so she could play some music as we got started gutting the pumpkins, laughing as she dramatically gagged at the feeling. We set aside all the seeds so she could make something with them later and got started on the carving, talking and singing along to the soft music from her phone. We took many breaks to get some snacks and dance to the slower songs before Grace ran into the house to grab some stuff from her arts and crafts materials to add to the pumpkins. 

Three hours later, I stood on the front porch with her in my arms as we looked at the two pumpkins sitting on either side of the front door, hers on the left with a wide door and two little circular windows cut out, with twigs and fake moss glued on to really sell it, and mine on the right with a slim tall door and five rectangular windows with fake shudders attached.

"I love them. So much," she sighed.

I rubbed my cheek on the top of her head and smiled. "Good. I'm glad. Did you have a fun time making them?"

She spun in my arms and wrapped her hands around my waist, resting her chin on my chest. "I had the best time. Thank you for doing this with me, Harry."

I leaned down and kissed her twice. "Always."

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short n' sweet :)

happy (almost) halloween everyone!

-lots of love, Tate

(also new drinking game, take a shot every time "pumpkin" appears lol)