“Just one little sign, a ghost, preferably. Something to reward me for believing in Halloween,” she remarked to her husband one evening. But lately her husband didn’t say much. She didn’t know if he was becoming deaf, or depressed, or just didn’t give a hoot about what she had to say. He had taken to feeding the dog, which surprised and delighted her. Maybe he was taking a liking to Gisella, a little Llaso Apso/ Golden Retriever mix. She wasn’t much on looks but had a wonderful Golden Retriever personality. Her husband Frank never was interested in the pup, so it was a shock when he started to feed her.
Her sister Mabel was acting strange lately, too. When Agnes phoned her, Mabel would hang up on her.
“Did I do something to offend you?” Agnes hollered into the phone before the line went dead. So she paid Mabel a visit, with equally weird results. She pounded on the door until her sister answered. Then Mabel stared out into the yard. Agnes squeezed past her to get in the door. Her sister didn’t say much, either. She cried a lot and didn’t even offer her a cup of tea.
“Something odd is going on,” she told Gisella when they sat in the park. “Why are they all acting so strange? Is it me? Did I do something to them?” She thought up all sorts of reasons.
Another of her favorite October pleasures was watching scary movies on TV. Sometimes Frank ignored her, falling asleep in his chair during the best part, but one evening he took the remote and channel-surfed without asking her if she minded, and not even during the commercial.
“Frank Malenfont, you ignorant jerk! I’ve put up with the silent treatment and your rude behaviors, but don’t you DARE change the channel when I’m in the middle of a good movie! You ungrateful, egotistical…OOOHHHH!! You make me so angry I could just…spit nails!!” Frank never blinked an eye. He stared at the TV as the programs flipped past.
“I’ve had it with you!” she yelled as she stormed out the door. He did sit up and notice when she slammed the door. She peeked in the window and watched him look around. He got up to check the door, but it was too late. Agnes was leaving.
She stood in the driveway pondering her next course of action. Agnes realized she had painted herself into the proverbial corner. Here she was--no coat, no car keys, not even the dog. So she decided to take herself for a walk in the park.