The Magic Of Halloween Night

Chapter 3

I chatted with Gabby for a few more minutes and then headed to the elementary school to pick Paisley up. She’d been on my mind all day, and it did my heart good to see the huge grin on her face when she slid into the passenger side of my car.

“I take it you had a good day.”

“Very good,” she replied, fastening her seatbelt.

“So, what happened to make today a very good day?” I asked as I pulled away from the curb.

“Jillian Weatherby broke her arm.”

I couldn’t help but frown. “And Jillian breaking her arm is a good thing?”

“No.” She giggled. “Of course not. It’s just that I really wanted to be Adrianna in the school play. We’re doing Cassandra the Teenage Witch this year. I tried out for Cassandra’s best friend, Adrianna, but Jillian got the part, and I was cast as supporting witch number five. But when I showed up for rehearsal today, Mrs. Oxford pulled me aside and told me that Jillian had broken her arm and wouldn’t be able to participate. She asked me if I wanted to take her place and play the part of Adrianna.”

Now I smiled. “That’s wonderful, Paisley. You must be so excited.”

“I am, but I have a bunch of lines to learn before Monday. Will you help me?”

“You know that I will. Gracie too.”

Paisley rolled down her window just a bit. “Is Gracie back from seeing Grandma?”

“I’m not sure,” I answered. “I haven’t been home yet.”

“Do you think she will be able to come home soon?” Paisley asked the question she’d been asking ever since an ambulance took her grandmother away.

“I’m not sure,” I answered the question with the same response I’d been giving her for the past week. “Let’s see what Gracie found out.”

By the time we got home, Gracie and Tom had returned from visiting Ethel. Gracie very gently informed Paisley that while her grandmother was doing much better, she still had a long recovery ahead of her and would most likely be away for an extended period. As I had on several occasions, Gracie assured Paisley that she was welcome to stay with us for as long as she needed to, and as she had with me, Paisley asked Gracie what would happen to her if her grandmother didn’t ever come back. Gracie managed to skirt the issue, but it seemed clear by the expression on her face that she didn’t have any more answers than I had.

After Paisley had her snack, I shooed her off to do her homework. I intended to follow her upstairs and make sure she had everything she needed, but I wanted to hang back for a minute to talk to Gracie. “Did you talk to Ethel about Paisley?” I asked.

“I did,” Gracie informed me. “It’s too early to know if she will be able to return home or not after rehab, but she did say that the medical personnel at the hospital had been hinting around to her that she might want to look into assisted living.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

“Ethel is worried about Paisley, as she should be. She told me that she has a niece who might be able to take her if necessary, but it isn’t an ideal situation. The niece is a nice woman, but she already has five children of her own and really would prefer not to raise a sixth. Ethel did, however, assure me that if she needed to guilt her niece into taking custody of Paisley to keep her out of foster care, she would.”

“I’d hate to see Paisley end up in a home that’s already so overcrowded,” I said. “I’d also hate to see her end up in a temporary situation where she wouldn’t be able to really settle in.”

“I agree. Ethel and I discussed the possibility of transferring legal custody of Paisley to me if she can no longer fulfill the role of her guardian. While I would be willing to fill in if need be, we did agree it would be better to find someone a bit younger.”

“You’re talking about me,” I said.

Gracie opened the oven and slipped in a casserole dish. “Have you considered it? You love Paisley, and you wouldn’t have to do it alone. Tom and I would pitch in, same as we always have.”

I poured myself a glass of juice and sat down at the table. “I guess the idea has crossed my mind. With the family curse and all, I figured I’d never have a child, and I was actually fine with that, but I do love Paisley, and I know you and Tom do as well. Between the three of us, I know we can provide her with a safe and happy place to grow up.” I paused and then continued. “Having said that, it is a huge commitment. What if something happened to you, and I was left to raise Paisley on my own?”

“Nothing is going to happen to me,” Gracie assured me. “But even if something did, you’d be fine.” She must have noticed the doubt on my face since she suggested I take some time to really think it over. Nothing was going to happen today or even this month. We had time to look at all the options before coming to any decisions. For all we knew, Ethel might do better than the doctor predicted, and she might very well be able to continue her role as guardian.

“I guess I should go up and check on Paisley, but before I do, I wanted to talk to you about my new assignment at work.”

“Oh, and what is that?” Gracie asked.

I told her about the movie being filmed locally and explained that I was going to be tied up for more than a week beginning Monday. Gracie assured me that between her and Tom, they would make sure Paisley was well taken care of. Once I was certain that Gracie didn’t have a problem with me taking on such a demanding assignment, I headed upstairs to check on Paisley, and then I went across the hall to my bedroom to call Hope and Naomi. If I was going to be tied up, I needed to let them know my ability to volunteer might not be what it normally was. I still needed to tell Cass about my assignment, but I figured I’d do that after dinner.

Hope assured me that while she valued my efforts as a volunteer, she was sure they could get by without me. She agreed the assignment covering the filming was too good an opportunity to pass up. I assured her that since the assignment didn’t start until Monday, I would be able to help out tomorrow with the barn decorating party and over the weekend at the Harvest Festival as planned. After I hung up with Hope, I called Naomi, who was equally thrilled for me.

“Of course, we can cover for you,” she assured me. “I read an article about that movie just this past week. It sounds like it’s going to be a good one and, to be honest, I’ve always wanted to watch a movie being filmed. Maybe I’ll show up one day, and see if they are allowing spectators.”

“I can get a feel for that sort of thing on Monday and call you. If they do allow spectators, you should totally come up for the day.”

“I can’t believe you’re actually going to have the opportunity to meet Logan Underwood. What a babe.”

“He is rather easy on the eyes,” I agreed.

“You know who else is going to be in that movie? Harrison Roberts.”

“Who’s Harrison Roberts?” I asked.

“He’s a supporting actor who hasn’t done anything really big, so you may not have heard of him, but you have met him.”

“I have?”

“Harrison Roberts is his stage name. His real name is Robert Harrison, and we went to high school with him.”

“Robert from chem lab?” I asked.

“One and the same,” Naomi confirmed. “He was a total nerd back when we knew him, but he’s changed. A lot. He’s gotten taller since high school, and it appears he works out quite a bit since he’s filled out rather nicely. I guess he’s considered to be quite the catch these days.”

“I’ll have to look him up before Monday. I can’t wait to meet everyone. Dex gave me a partial list of the cast members, and it seems as if there are some pretty big names playing the supporting roles.”

“I have to admit that I’m a tiny bit jealous.”

“It is a fabulous opportunity,” I agreed. “I’m hoping to be able to interview the major stars individually, and I’d like to delve into the behind-the-scenes undertakings involved in making a movie. I just hope I don’t end up being star-struck and tongue-tied.”

I chatted with Naomi a while longer and then went back in to check on Paisley. She’d finished her homework, and wanted to go over the lines she needed to learn by Monday, so we spent the rest of the evening doing that. By the time I made it back to my bedroom, it was late. Still, I decided to log onto my computer and look up Harrison Roberts. Naomi was right. The guy was a babe, and he didn’t look at all like the boy I remembered from high school. Well, except for the eyes. He’d always had really intense blue eyes that made you feel like he could look directly into your soul.

I wondered how he’d ended up with a career as an actor. I seemed to remember he was a serious sort when I knew him. Smart. Quiet. Sort of awkward. I was sure he’d go into a field like physics or medicine. If you’d asked me back then where Robert would end up, never in a million years would I have guessed that he’d turn out to be America’s next heartthrob.