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“Fine,” Maya said. “Nothing to see here, but it looks like you have an interesting story to tell.”
Olivia patted her forehead, getting paint on her fingers. “Yeah, about that.” She turned to Ariana. “Your welcome poster isn’t going to be quite how you envisioned it.”
Ari tried to hold back a smile but failed. “No problem, and it isn’tmine. The party is for everyone. Have fun with it.”
“I already am.” Olivia left the room.
Ariana turned to Maya. “Do you want some help with those skulls?”
“Maybe.” She held up the decoration again. “Do you mind holding the stool? Or I can hold it and you can hang these. You might have better luck.”
“Luck is for St. Paddy’s Day. Let’s make your Halloween vision come to life.”
They laughed as Maya hung the skulls around the entryway in a jagged, crooked way. Ariana wasn’t sure what her friend was going for until it all came together.
Ariana clapped once Maya was safely on the ground. “It’s perfect!”
She beamed. “It did come out pretty good, didn’t it?”
“I’ll say! Everybody’s going to love it.”
Maya snapped a few pictures. “Now I want to see what everyone else is up to.”
They wandered through the main level of the house. Ari, Damon, and their friends were hard at work getting everything ready for tomorrow’s party.
Halloween was almost here. The day she counted down to all year long.
Each room was in various stages of disarray with decorations up, down, and in boxes. Ariana had accumulated more holiday boxes than most people kept for Christmas — she’d been fortunate they hadn’t been in the house when it burned to the ground. Plus her friends had brought some of their own things, like Maya’s skulls in the entryway. Even Bella was smiling as she pressed gel decorations to the windows.
It was all starting to come together, but they still had so much left. Halloween was only one day away — the big party was the next night. Sometimes she ended up pulling all-nighters the night before. It was hard to tell if this would be one of those years. At least they had an army of people helping. She might actually get some rest tonight.
She checked on Rita, who was reviewing the menu. “How are you holding up?”
“Great. You know me — I’m on my feet all day.”
“If you need to rest, don’t feel bad about it.”
Rita grabbed one of Bella’s cookies. “I won’t, but I might have to get shopping soon. These ingredients aren’t going to buy themselves. And you still want the appetizers from the bar and grill?”
“Definitely.”
She jotted another note. “Okay, I’ll get that order put in soon. We have a lot to cater tomorrow, plus the restaurant is bound to be busier than normal.”
Bella came over. “Did someone say shopping?”
Rita frowned. “I can’t take you with me, sweetie.”
“Why not?”
“You’re in hiding.”
“Father can’t be everywhere, and he doesn’t know where I’m staying. He couldn’t find me the other day. He has no idea I’m staying here, or that the Joneses live across from you. I’ll be safe.”
Ariana bit her lip. “About that…”
Rita’s eyes widened. “What?”
“I didn’t want to say anything, but the other day I got a threatening voicemail from an unknown number.”
