Sarah put the knife down to pick Violet up and set her on the edge of the table so she’d have a better vantage point to watch. “Careful, I’m going to cut this,” she said, and the girl nodded, somberly. She watched Sarah cut into the pumpkin with such a look of concentration that Sarah had to bite her lip to hide a grin.
She cut a neat hole. “Can Miss Sarah cut mine instead of you?” Violet asked Chuck when he held up his own pumpkin stem. “Hers is so much neater.”
“Replaced,” Chuck said, holding the pumpkin stem to his heart (and leaving a wet blotch on his T-shirt. “Replaced in my daughter’s heart by a blonde.”
“Aw,” Violet said, and scrambled off of the table to hug him. “I still love you lots, Daddy.”
“No, no, I see how it is. You’ve chosen Sarah over me. I hope you can live with your choice, Megabyte. She cuts a neater hole.”
“But you’re better at lots of stuff, too.”
“Like what?” Sarah asked as she pulled Violet’s smaller pumpkin to her, in order to cut the stem out. She was getting better at playing along, she thought, when Chuck was being melodramatic, even if she wasn’t quite to the level of making monkey noises and bouncing around the room with the others. She wasn’t quite that far gone, after all.
“Like…” A frown line appeared between Violet’s eyebrows as she thought it over, tilting her head to look up at first Chuck and then Sarah. “Like…”
Chuck started laughing. “This is inspiring so much confidence,” he told Sarah.
“You’re taller!” Violet said, pointing at him. “There.”
“There you go,” Sarah said. She set Violet’s pumpkin, with the steam very neatly cut out, on the table between them. “You’re taller.”
“Glad that’s settled.” Chuck waggled his eyebrows at her before he turned to his daughter. “Are you ready for this next part? It’s ooky-icky part. Now we get to reach in and pull out guts.”
Violet peered into her pumpkin. “Looks gross,” she said. “Is it safe?”
“Sure, it’s safe.” Chuck reached into his pumpkin, digging his entire forearm into the goop. “Safest thing on the plan—oh, God! Oh, no!”
Sarah had to forcibly stop herself from reaching for her gun.
“What is it? What is it, Daddy?” Violet, ever the curious, crept closer to him, her eyes wide on the pumpkin while Chuck pretended to twitch and to writhe in place. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s—” Chuck yanked his hand out; it was now covered in glistening orange goo, with a few tendrils of orange and stray pumpkin seeds stuck in the mess. “It’s turning me into Pumpkin Man!”
“There’s no such thing,” Violet said, but she looked uncertain.
“I can feel—the changes coming—” Chuck, other hand on his elbow, continued to wiggle about before all of a sudden he went absolutely still. He turned the world’s biggest, scariest grin on his daughter. “Better run, Megabyte, or you could become Pumpkin Girl!”
He reached out with his gooey hand; Violet needed absolutely no prompting whatsoever to take off running, already shrieking. “Save me, Sarah!” she called over her shoulder, and Sarah was too busy laughing at the both of them to notice that this was the first time she’d become Sarah and not Miss Sarah.
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Date: 2012-10-30 10:56 pm (UTC)She cut a neat hole. “Can Miss Sarah cut mine instead of you?” Violet asked Chuck when he held up his own pumpkin stem. “Hers is so much neater.”
“Replaced,” Chuck said, holding the pumpkin stem to his heart (and leaving a wet blotch on his T-shirt. “Replaced in my daughter’s heart by a blonde.”
“Aw,” Violet said, and scrambled off of the table to hug him. “I still love you lots, Daddy.”
“No, no, I see how it is. You’ve chosen Sarah over me. I hope you can live with your choice, Megabyte. She cuts a neater hole.”
“But you’re better at lots of stuff, too.”
“Like what?” Sarah asked as she pulled Violet’s smaller pumpkin to her, in order to cut the stem out. She was getting better at playing along, she thought, when Chuck was being melodramatic, even if she wasn’t quite to the level of making monkey noises and bouncing around the room with the others. She wasn’t quite that far gone, after all.
“Like…” A frown line appeared between Violet’s eyebrows as she thought it over, tilting her head to look up at first Chuck and then Sarah. “Like…”
Chuck started laughing. “This is inspiring so much confidence,” he told Sarah.
“You’re taller!” Violet said, pointing at him. “There.”
“There you go,” Sarah said. She set Violet’s pumpkin, with the steam very neatly cut out, on the table between them. “You’re taller.”
“Glad that’s settled.” Chuck waggled his eyebrows at her before he turned to his daughter. “Are you ready for this next part? It’s ooky-icky part. Now we get to reach in and pull out guts.”
Violet peered into her pumpkin. “Looks gross,” she said. “Is it safe?”
“Sure, it’s safe.” Chuck reached into his pumpkin, digging his entire forearm into the goop. “Safest thing on the plan—oh, God! Oh, no!”
Sarah had to forcibly stop herself from reaching for her gun.
“What is it? What is it, Daddy?” Violet, ever the curious, crept closer to him, her eyes wide on the pumpkin while Chuck pretended to twitch and to writhe in place. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s—” Chuck yanked his hand out; it was now covered in glistening orange goo, with a few tendrils of orange and stray pumpkin seeds stuck in the mess. “It’s turning me into Pumpkin Man!”
“There’s no such thing,” Violet said, but she looked uncertain.
“I can feel—the changes coming—” Chuck, other hand on his elbow, continued to wiggle about before all of a sudden he went absolutely still. He turned the world’s biggest, scariest grin on his daughter. “Better run, Megabyte, or you could become Pumpkin Girl!”
He reached out with his gooey hand; Violet needed absolutely no prompting whatsoever to take off running, already shrieking. “Save me, Sarah!” she called over her shoulder, and Sarah was too busy laughing at the both of them to notice that this was the first time she’d become Sarah and not Miss Sarah.