Love Thy Neighbor

5

Eager to get those horrifying thoughts out of her head, Melodie set her sights on purchasing Halloween decorations to put on the inside and outside of her home. Snoopy wouldn't be alone much longer.

Lights were wrapped around the bannisters in front of the house and hung down along the windows. Tinsel joined the lights at the window, orange and black mixed with purple. Pumpkins, both real and fake, stood guard on either side of the porch stairs.

A blow up Halloween themed archway would now greet kids and adults alike as they wandered up their walkway which was lined with fake blood and had black cats lining each side. Mickey, Minnie, a giant despicable me minion, a huge dragon and an army of ghostly inflatables joined Snoopy in the yard.

Melodie heaved some deep breaths as she took in her work. She started at the crack of dawn, before Devin was even awake. He'd only shaken his head at her purchases and eagerness to decorate. He passed her with a hug and kiss and a "have fun" wave as he left for the day. She barley paid him any mind, her focus was elsewhere.

And now? Now her efforts had paid off. The yard and house looked perfectly ready for the trick or treaters to scamper through and collect their candy. She couldn't wait for Halloween night to arrive.

"You really outdid yourself, Mel."

Melodie turned from admiring her work to admiring the man next door. He stood there wearing a a pair of dark blue jeans, a white shirt with a jean jacket over it. He held a bag from the store with bags of candy heaping out of it, a grin on his face.

"Got inspired during a late night drive the other night. Felt my little Snoopy decoration was lonely." Her eyes found the grass as she admitted something else. "I was jealous and want kids to talk about my house and decorations and be the place all the kids want to come to. Is that bad?" Her eyes rose once more, noticing Christian had taken a couple of steps closer to her.

"Not bad at all." His grin never faltering. "I find it highly amusing and genuine. You seem to only want the best for kids, with this kind of entertainment you're providing them."

"I feel a little selfish. Wanting the kids to come here and love the new people, you know."

Christian freed a hand, placing it on her shoulder. "It's not selfish. It's okay to have wants like that. Wants that other people may give you a side-eyed look over but oh well. You do you, Mel, that's all you can do. Do what you want despite what others may tell you."

That got her head thinking. His words hitting a little too close to home, hitting issues she'd never spoken aloud. Issues she'd dreamt of the past two nights instead of dreaming about her husband. Issues that were now resurfacing since she was no longer preoccupied with decorating. Her thighs squeezed together on instinct.

That's wasn't lost on Christian who withdrew his hand from her shoulder. He cleared his throat though it seemed it should be her trying to regain her voice instead of him. He stepped back and observed her once more before speaking.

"You know, after the trick or treating, I was thinking about having a little adult party afterwards. Costumes and candy and all of it. You and Devin in?" He stalled momentarily on Devin's name, putting a little venom into it though that slipped past Melodie's brain.

Melodie's brain went into thinking about a party at Christian's place. She wondered what costume he'd wear. What costume she'd wear? What if they secretly matched? What if she could slip this under Devin's nose, have him thinking they'd match when in reality she was matching with Christian.