How many of these tiny pumpkins can I fit in my backpack?

[Marnie Sullivan]

Marnie double- and triple-checked the twisty chain securing her bicycle to the rack on the curb before she was satisfied enough to walk away. The bulletin board in the student union this morning had had two (two!) "Lost Bike" notices on it, and she didn't want to take chances. One extra glance, and then she strode into the market, thumbs tugging on the backpack straps at her shoulders. (For the first couple of weeks she'd worn it on just one shoulder, until she'd noticed enough upperclassmen ignoring that particular grade-school tradition of feigning a casual air that she did as well. Her back had been thanking her for it.)

She paused just inside the entrance, just off to the side where she wouldn't be in the way of other shoppers. The market's displays were already crammed with a distinct theme: Halloween. And from here Marnie could scope a few out, and still wait where Dr. Neville could easily find her.

It hadn't been Marnie's intention to shop for decorations together when she'd called her old school psychiatrist. All she'd wanted was to make sure she wouldn't be stepping on any toes by festooning the place she was renting from his partner for the approaching holiday. But she'd accepted the offer all the same; the University of Vermont offered far more new faces than familiar ones, and enough time had passed since March that she felt much less awkward around Dr. Neville's.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Shopping for decorations might not have been Marnie’s intention, but that had no bearing on Sean extending an invitation for her to tag along with him.

The psychiatrist loved Halloween. All of the enthusiasm that most people reserved for family holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving, or couple’s holidays like Valentine’s Day, Sean poured into Halloween.

He disliked gore and violence, and he had no tolerance for the obsession with slasher films, zombie hordes, and overly-sexualized yet glamorous vampires. But candy? Costumes? Children? Apple and pumpkin flavors? Harvest decorations and folk art?

The psychiatrist loved all of that.

He and Josh had plenty of decorations, and they had yet to decide on their costume theme for this year. However, he was always on the hunt for new decorations, since old ones fell apart, and, besides, he liked to have a few fresh gourds around. Not to mention the need for new candy.

He had arrived before Marnie, and, when he sensed her arrive, he made a beeline for the entrance, greeting her with a smile and handing her an empty basket. “Good afternoon.”

They had four weeks until the holiday and, thus, despite the theme of their shopping trip, he couldn’t wish her a “Happy Halloween.”