Ways to Stay Positive When The Pumpkin Patch is in Chaos

By Apple, Raspberry, and Pineapple (in order of parts written) | Content warnings

For more of these characters, check our Picnics page!

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Part One

“We’re here!” Holly hopped out of the driver’s seat, breathing in the cool autumn air and delicious smells coming from over by the food stalls. Signs boasted of fun fall activities and cute photo ops. 

Nick got out of the car on the other side, squinting at the sun like it was a computer screen with its brightness turned all the way up. Or Holly’s Christmas decorations in winter.

She knew the outdoors weren’t typically Nick’s thing, but Freddie had been working so hard to put this pumpkin patch together that even Nick was willing to leave his cave and be moral support.

Holly laced her fingers through Nick’s to guide him through the crowds while his eyes adjusted from the nap he’d taken on the drive over. And maybe she took advantage of the fact that he was still half asleep and led him straight to the pumpkins.

She had a million new recipes she wanted to try, and for that she’d need at least a million pumpkins, right?

There was already a small group of people browsing, but as Holly passed by them, she realized they hadn’t really taken anything. They’d kind of just… moved stuff around. The previously organized pumpkins were now scattered across the walkway.

Holly stepped over a few of them so she could stand in the middle and take in her options.

“So,” Nick said as she scanned for soft spots and dents, “which one speaks to you?”

“One?” Holly asked.

Nick scrunched his brows. “How many are you getting?”

“Like… six?” She figured she’d start low and ease him into the real number. “Plus two for us to decorate while we’re here.”

“Are you gonna have room for all of these in your fridge once you cut them? That thing is packed. Your freezer too. Pretty sure I heard it wheezing the last time it tried to cool.”

Holly smiled innocently, a medium sized pumpkin tucked under her arm as she reached for a second.

“No,” he said, catching onto her plans. He shook his head. “Leave my poor fridge out of this.”

“But think of the food. Pumpkin soup, pumpkin muffins, and I saw these cookies with cream cheese frosting online the other day.”

“You have four different types of cookie dough in the freezer already.”

“So, you’re not gonna eat any, then?”

That got him. Holly could see him trying to map out fridge space in his head. “I can keep three pumpkins at my place,” he said.

“Four.” She knew his freezer was a ghost town.

“Deal.”

 “Hold these, please.”

Nick accepted the two pumpkins she’d been carrying, and Holly turned around to start searching for a third when she caught sight of Freddie. 

He looked extra stressed as he picked up several pumpkins from the walkway.

“This place is amazing,” Holly called out to him.

“Yeah,” Nick added as they wandered over to Freddie. “I can tell you worked some serious overtime.”

Freddie barely glanced up as he attempted to rearrange the display, and Holly recognized the same hurried energy from the staff backstage at her mom’s concerts. He held a pumpkin in one spot, then moved it to hover over another spot, like it was a puzzle piece that wouldn’t quite fit. Finally, he looked up and said, “Do you want this one?”

“Absolutely, I will take that off your hands.” Holly hefted the pumpkin into her arms.

“Thanks. I’ll catch you guys later.”

“They’re keeping him pretty busy,” Nick said with a grimace as Freddie rushed off.

Holly nodded. “I wonder if Maria’s here too. We should look for her.” Not Carly and Lena, though. Holly had heard that those two were finally on a date today. Lily was thrilled.

Holly was almost tempted to see how they were doing, but she decided to behave and send them a million messages later instead.

“I’ll text Maria and see where she is,” Holly said.

Nick used his head to gesture at the pumpkins he was still carrying. “Maybe we pay for these and put them in the trunk first.”

Holly laughed. “Yeah, good call.”

A few trips to the car later, Holly and Nick hit up the food stalls, and Holly felt her fingers warm around a cup of hot apple cider. Maria had texted that they were all gonna meet up at the hayride, so Holly and Nick made their way in that direction.

“Do you wanna try the corn maze?” Nick asked as they passed by.

“Um…” She did not. She definitely did not. She didn’t really want to get into why either, though. She glanced around for something else to grab his attention, but she didn’t need to look far.

Lily came bursting out of the corn maze a second later. Well, more like she skipped the maze part and tore straight through the wall of corn stalks.

“Lil, are you okay?” Holly asked, checking to make sure she hadn’t spilled any apple cider on the poor girl.

Lily was running again before Holly could get an answer from her.

“Well,” Nick said, voice pitched in a question as they tried to make sense of what just happened, “that is the direction of the hayride?”

Lena and Carly stepped out of the maze next. “Have you seen Lily?” Lena asked.

Holly pointed, and Lena gave a quick, “Thanks,” as she and Carly waved and followed after Lily.

They were gone in a flash, but not so fast that Holly didn’t notice Lena and Carly sporting matching face paint.

Holly looped her arm through Nick’s and trailed after their friends, the biggest smile on her face as they headed toward the shenanigans.

Part Two

Lily didn’t want to brag, but sitting in the backseat of her sister’s freshly cleaned Subaru, she couldn’t help but feel a bit smug. Lena had both hands on the wheel (it’d be more romantic if she’d rest one hand on the center console so Carly could hold it, but of course Lena wouldn’t sacrifice safety for romance because she was obviously part cyborg), and Carly was comfortably cross-legged in shotgun, adjusting her beanie as she took pictures of the foliage outside. 

Yes, Carly. That Carly. The Carly that Lena had been crushing on since… well, Lily only learned about it last year, but it could have been forever. And Lena might have kept it at unrequited for forevermore if Lily hadn’t helped out. 

When Fred invited everyone to his company’s pumpkin patch thing (Lily only half-listened but was pretty sure it involved charity and pumpkins and corn mazes and hayrides), she knew it was an opportunity all-but-offered on a silver platter. All she had to do was casually ask Carly about it when she and Lena and Lily all ended up taking out the recycling at the same time (and planning that only took a bit of memorizing Carly’s schedule and casually readjusting Lena’s to match). Carly mentioned her car was in the shop, Lena (okay, maybe Lily) offered to carpool, and Lily just had to say “it’s a date” while Lena spilled her box of crushed soda cans and became too tongue-tied to take it back.

So it was officially a date. And they all had Lily to thank. Not that she was bragging. 

“There’s a spot!” Carly called, pointing to an empty space between two cars. “Wow, looks like luck is on our side today, huh?”

“We’re going to have a very lucky day,” Lily agreed, unbuckling her seatbelt triumphantly. 

She wasn’t sure why that made Lena start to sputter and Carly snort, but maybe that was them bonding already. 

“Fred!” Lily called, seeing a familiar face.

Fred looked over, looking as frazzled as usual, she noted. “Hey,” he said, like he barely noticed what brilliance Lily had achieved. “Are you guys gonna do the corn maze?”

Lena looked at Carly like she was interested, but Fred started yelling about something. Lily saw her chance to grab Lena’s hand and put her back on track.

“Anyway,” Lily said, trying to get a handle on the situation that Fred almost ruined and walking ahead of her sister to take the lead. “We should take a look at the pumpkins before all the good ones are taken.”

“I think they’re not running out of pumpkins anytime soon, Lil,” Lena pointed out, looking around.

And, sure, they were at a pumpkin patch, but who was to say that all the pumpkins were top quality? Lily opened her mouth to say just that when she realized Lena wasn’t behind her anymore. She and Carly had paused in front of the face painting table.

“Oh, you should definitely get the Frankenstein look,” Lena was saying with a laugh as Lily approached.

“Technically, Frankestein’s monster,” Carly retorted with a playful nudge. “Frankenstein was the doctor.”

“Yeah, but he made the monster. He could have named it after himself.”

“So Frankenstein Jr?”

They laughed, and Lily felt her cheeks go warm without knowing why. Maybe her sweater was making her too warm. Or she ate something bad. That’d explain the weird knot in her stomach too. She cleared her throat. 

“Um, we were going to look at pumpkins,” she reminded them, looking at Lena pointedly.

Lena was too busy looking over the face painting picture book to notice though. She gasped and pointed at something.

“Oh, I’m definitely getting cat whiskers,” she said.

Her tone made it sound like cat whiskers were the coolest thing, and Lily rolled her eyes. They were just lines on a person’s cheeks.

“If you get them, I’m getting them too,” Carly said, and Lily felt that weird knot in her stomach again. 

“Lil, do you want to get your face painted too?” Lena asked as she took a seat.

Lily wanted to point out that the last customer was, like, five, and Lily was practically ten (in less than a year, but that counts). Plus the whiskers and the little nose the person painting on Lena was super childish. She felt herself scowling. 

“No, I don’t,” she said with a huff. “I want to check out the pumpkins before all the good ones are gone.”

“We can do that after,” Carly said from the chair next to Lena, getting identical makeup.

Lily felt her scowl deepen, and she looked away quickly. She was having a conversation with her sister, not Carly. Why did she have to butt in?

But this was supposed to be the perfect day, and Lily had to remember that. She took a deep breath and forced a smile on her face before turning back to her sister. Lena and Carly were snapping selfies together and giggling. 

“I should wear this to work,” Carly was joking. “Can you imagine calling the super to fix the drain, and I show up like this?”

Lily didn’t think it was that funny, but Lena was wheezing. 

“Or going to set up mice traps like that,” she suggested with more giggles.

Giggles. Her sister was giggling.

“Oh my god, right?” Carly laughed, shaking her head. “My cousin would be getting the weirdest messages from the tenants.”

“Wow, so she does read the messages we send her.” Lena feigned surprise. 

“Every one,” Carly confirmed. “Right before hitting the delete button.”

“We should go now,” Lily said loudly.

She meant to the pumpkins, but Lena looked around at the line for face painting.

“Oh, you’re right. Sorry!” She flashed an apologetic smile to the queue. “Lil, you’re sure you don’t want anything?”

Her sister’s makeup was cute. And Lily loved cats. But that was besides the point. Plus, Lena was already matching with Carly. She gave a nonchalant shake of her head. Lena and Carly stepped away from the stand, and Carly grabbed Lena’s hand.

“It got busy fast,” she noted, nodding to the crowd that seemed to double in size. 

“Huh? Yes, fast.” Lena looked pink under her cat whiskers.

Lena dropped behind the pair, since there wasn’t enough space to walk in threes. The crowd was loud, and she couldn’t hear what Carly and Lena were talking about. Or laughing about. Probably some dumb adult stuff. She sighed. Maybe having Lena bring Carly wasn’t as perfect as she thought. 

She glanced around and stopped in her tracks.

“What are we doing?” she asked, her voice loud enough to make Carly and Lena jump. 

“Corn maze,” Carly said, nodding to the entrance next to them.

“I can read that,” Lily snapped, feeling her scowl returning. “But it’s not on the list.”

“What list?” Lena and Carly asked at the same time, and Lily wished they would stop acting so couple-y for two seconds. 

The list for the perfect date that involved picking the perfect pumpkin together, having a lot of smiling pictures in the perfect lighting, riding a hay ride together, laughing over cups of warm apple cider,… basically the list of everything they haven’t done and without all these dumb sidetracking things her sister and Carly seemed set on doing.

“Nevermind,” Lily mumbled. 

If they wanted to have a not-perfect date, they could do it. They just couldn’t complain when they realized Lily was right. 

At least, that’s what she thought when she followed them into the maze. But then they were still giggling and taking pictures as they seemed to take every wrong turn. 

“We’re not going the right way,” Lily said after they reached the fourth dead end. 

“We’ll get there eventually,” Lena said. 

“Yeah, this is just the scenic route,” Carly added with a smile as she led them back to the fork in the path. “Should we try this way next?”

She pointed to the left, and Lena nodded. The knot in Lily’s stomach twisted like wet clothes being wrung out.

“No,” she said, crossing her arms. “That’s the wrong way.”

“We haven’t tried it yet, though,” Lena pointed out. 

“I’m telling you, it’s the wrong way,” Lily repeated heatedly. “Why aren’t you listening to me?”

“Lil,” Lena began, her eyes widening. “Are you okay?”

“No, because you’re going the wrong way!” Lily realized her voice was loud, but she couldn’t control it. “It’s this way!” She pointed to the right.

“Okay, we can try that way,” Carly said quickly. 

“I wasn’t talking to YOU!”

“Lily!” Lena exclaimed. 

Lily felt her eyes well up, and her throat began to squeeze.

“Forget it,” she said. “Just… go off on your own. It’s what you want anyway.”

She turned and sprinted down the path to the right before Lena could see the tears spill out. Her sister obviously didn’t want her around, and Lily was fine with that. She’d just get out on her own and—

It was a dead end. Lily screamed and pushed herself into the corn stalks. This stupid maze was obviously broken and didn’t even have an exit. She felt leaves smack into her and she trudged between thick stalks that caught on her jeans and slapped at her face. If she had been wearing cat face paint, it’d have been ruined by now. She pushed herself out of the maze, pulling flecks of corn stalk (and possibly some of her own hair) off her head. 

She could feel that her nose was dripping snot, and the tears seemed to never end as they flowed down her cheeks.

“Lil, are you okay?” It was Holly, who Lily normally loved. Holly was the best! But right now, Lily didn’t want Holly. She didn’t know what she wanted.

The next thing she knew, Lily was tucked under a hay wagon. It looked like it was supposed to be a photo opportunity, but luckily no one seemed interested in that. Or the girl sniffling underneath. 

“Lil?”

Okay, almost no one. Lily tried to scoot further underneath the hay wagon. Lena’s head peeked underneath. 

“Lil?” she said again.

“Go away,” Lily mumbled, hugging her knees. 

“Can we talk?” 

“I don’t want to.”

“Okay.” Lena plopped down next to the hay wagon and hugged her knees closer to her, mirroring Lily’s position. “Then I’ll talk, and you can listen.”

Lily wiped her face to make sure none of the tears left evidence and gave an indifferent shrug.

“I’m sorry,” Lena said. 

That made Lily look up. Her sister looked concerned, even though it was dulled a bit by the whiskers.

“I’m sorry,” Lena said again. “I was having fun with Carly and didn’t realize that we were ignoring you. That wasn’t right, and it wasn’t nice. I’m very sorry for that, and Carly is too.”

“You were having lots of fun,” Lily agreed morosely. “Like you didn’t even want me there.”

“Lil, I always want you with me,” Lena said, scooting a bit closer. “You’re my sister, and my favorite person in the world. I want you to know that, and remember that even if I’m dating anyone, you are always going to be a top priority for me.”

“Always?”

“Always and forever,” Lena promised with a smile. 

“I guess…” Lily sighed. “I guess I thought I wanted you to be happy and have a girlfriend, but I didn’t realize that meant sharing you. And I think… I might have overreacted a little.”

“I think you had a very valid reaction to a situation that upset you,” Lena said. “Though, maybe we should avoid Fred for a little. He’s probably going to have a heart attack over the Lily-shaped escape path in the corn maze.”

“Oops.”

“Eh, it’ll be something to laugh about later,” Lena said with a grin. “Like, maybe after he’s had some Motrin and a nap.”

“I’ll make him something to say sorry,” Lily offered. “Like pie or cookies or something.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“And I should probably say sorry to Carly too,” Lily guessed. “I kinda yelled at her a little.”

“Kinda,” Lena said, stretching the word like it wasn’t the word she would have used. “But she understands.”

“I know! I can make it up to her!” Lily exclaimed. “I can fix the date by—”

“Maybe,” Lena cut in quickly— “we store some of that Lily magic for another time, huh? I don’t want us to replay Thanksgiving last year.” She paused. “Or Christmas a couple years ago.”

“But…” Lily wrinkled her forehead as she tried to think. “What should I do then?”

“How about we just all spend time together?” Lena suggested. “Maybe pick out a pumpkin, drink some apple cider, and destroy our teeth on some caramel apples?”

“I’d like that,” Lily said, inching herself out from under the wagon. 

“We can even take a hay ride later,” Lena suggested, offering her hand to Lily.

“That sounds perfect,” Lily agreed, letting her sister help her to her feet. “And, Lena?”

“Hmm?”

“Can we… can I get cat whiskers like yours?”

Lena smiled and squeezed her hand. 

“Of course, Lil. Let’s go.”

She didn’t drop Lily’s hand as they traced their way back towards Carly, who was waiting for them with a bag of fresh kettle corn.

Part Three

Frederick didn’t even realize how late it was until he saw Maria. It felt like he’d been running on fumes until he saw her, and then his whole being felt revived. She was beautiful as always, her hair braided with beads on the ends, wearing a long coat. Her makeup was done—her lids glimmering and her lips shiny.

He kissed her on the cheek so as to not ruin her hard work. “Hey,” he said.

She giggled, returning the peck with one of her own. “Hey to you, too. You alright?” she asked. “Long day?”

Freddie sighed, remembering to breathe. He hoped he didn’t look like too much of a mess. He ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah,” he said.

Maria looked around. “Well things look great—”

“Ayo, Fred!”

He spun around, feeling stupidly like a dog with its ears perked up after being called. He saw Percy jogging towards him, waving the polaroid camera that Freddie had specifically assigned to the photo op by the corn maze. “Perce—” he started.

Percy didn’t even greet Maria. He popped open the back of the camera, sending a fresh wave of panic down Freddie’s spine. He was surprisingly casual for handling an open polaroid camera that wasn’t where it was supposed to be. “Ramon told me to ask you where the other film is,” Percy explained. “Do we have more?”

“Oh,” Freddie breathed out, feeling himself relax. He took the camera, popping out the empty cartridge. “Yeah, it’s in the truck.”

Percy looked at him and Freddie could just about visualize the question mark popping out over his head.

“I’ll show you,” Freddie said. He turned to Maria, running a hand down her arm. “Sorry, Maria. You should look around and have fun. The drinks are good. I’ll catch you later, okay?”

She smiled knowingly. She always knew. “Sure thing,” she said, patting him on the arm. “Go on, we’ll have time later.”

He wanted to look back as they walked away, but Percy was elbowing his side, saying something about the great turnout and the effects social media could have changing the world. Freddie missed the first part, he was thinking about the possibility of running out of film, wondering if they should send someone to buy more.

They grabbed the bag that held the extra boxes of… everything for the instant camera and headed back to the corn maze. He was handing Ramon the film when he heard someone else call his name.

“Fred!”

When he spun around, he saw Lily, Lena, and… Carly? Oh, Maria had said something about that, hadn’t she? “Hey,” he said, trying to take the moment to catch his breath.. “Are you guys gonna do the corn maze? There’s a– Ramon, you aren’t supposed to open it!”

Freddie snatched the camera and the film canister from the other man so he could properly replace the film. “Sorry, I just– Oh. Hi.”

Lily must have dragged the other two off, because they were gone. Instead, standing behind him was Maria, holding a small, palm-sized pumpkin. “Should we decorate it for your apartment?” she asked. “Put a little candle on top and it would fit right in!”

Freddie looked at it as he handed Ramon back the polaroid. “I don’t know, maybe,” he answered. “If you want, we can.”

Her excited smile wilted. “You okay, Freddie?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, kneading out a knot that had started to form. He wanted to say no, I’m really not. It’s what Maria would have wanted—for him to  communicate, to say what was wrong. But this was nothing, not really. He could handle this—it was just a little bit longer before he’d be off work and he could crash into his bed and relax. But saying that? It felt stupid. It felt weak, like he wasn’t doing his job. Freddie sucked in a breath.

Maria rubbed his free arm. “Hey, it’s okay,” she said. “Don’t worry so much, everything’s going great.”

“I don’t know,” he managed.

“You did a good job setting everything up. Everything looks so cute.” She hugged him, but Freddie felt smothered by her words that he knew weren’t true. “Everyone’s having a good time.”

“Actually, I…” am not having a good time, he thought.

Maria held him at arm’s length, cupping his face in her hands, squishing his cheeks. “Some kids were crying about the bees at the activity table, but there’s nothing you can do about that,” she added with a laugh. “So, calm down, okay? It’s all okay.”

Freddie pried her arms away. “Sorry, I… I just remembered something I have to do—”

“Freddie?”

He dropped her hands and strode over to the pumpkin painting table.

“Freddie!”

Stella was manning the table. She looked between Freddie and Maria calling his name. “What’s up, Frederick?” she asked, wiping wet brushes off with a paper towel.

“There’s bees bothering you?” he asked.

She grimaced. “Yeah, they’re here by the trashcan because people keep throwing their drinks and food trash here.”

Freddie nodded. “Okay, I’ll move this one over in that corner. I’ll bring you a little one for the paper towels, okay?”

“You don’t have to—”

“It’s okay. There’s one in the truck. I figured you can never have enough trash cans at these things,” he said. “You need more paint?”

“I’m running low on black…”

“Got it.” Freddie gave her the thumbs up, and he heard her laughing as Freddie pulled the large trash can to a relatively empty corner, closer to the drink stall. Then he went back to the truck, grabbing a small trashcan and the big bottle of black paint for the pumpkins. He hauled it back to the grounds and helped Stella rearrange. He was in the middle of pouring paint into smaller squeeze bottles for her when Opie walked up, scrolling through her phone.

“Fred,” she said. “You wanted walkways in the pumpkin patch, right?”

He looked at her warily. “Yes?”

“Oh okay, ‘cause those tiktokkers that were here, uh…” she narrowed her eyes at the children nearby. “… They messed up the patch.”

“What do you mean messed up,” he deadpanned, screwing tops back onto Stella’s paint bottles.

“Thanks, Frederick.”

Opie slid her phone into her pocket. “Like, made it more random. No walkways.”

Freddie heaved a sigh. “Did you fix it, though?”

“Oh, no, I wasn’t sure how you wanted it organized, so…”

“We talked about it during the meeting beforehand,” he said. “Like we wanted it to be accessible. Why did you come talk to me if you were there at the meeting.”

Opie looked at him with wide, unknowing eyes.

“Help Stella,” Freddie decided, thrusting the jug into her hands. He marched over to the pumpkin patch. There were signs asking to please keep the walkway clear, but clearly someone had missed the memo, Opie included. Freddie bent over, moving the bigger pumpkins out of the way and stacking the smaller ones on top of those. It didn’t have to be organized, he thought, but it had to be neat.

“This place is amazing!” Holly shouted.

Freddie felt like he probably looked like a deer caught in the headlights. 

Nick was with her, pretending to look grumpy, but still holding all of Holly’s pumpkins.  It was nice how well they complemented each other. “Yeah, I can tell you put in some serious overtime,” Nick said.

That’s putting it lightly, he thought. There was a pumpkin in his hands that he couldn’t fit anywhere nice, and he saw Opie jogging over towards him, which couldn’t mean anything good.

“Do you want this one?” he asked, thrusting it into Holly’s hands and then going to meet Opie far enough away that his friends wouldn’t know what a disaster this actually was.

“Why did you give this to me?” she asked.

He nearly dragged his hands over his face. “So you could finish helping Stella?” he asked, rhetorically.

She answered anyway. “Stella said she didn’t need anything else.”

“Cool,” he said, snatching the paint back. “Thanks.”

“Do you want me to put that back?” Opie asked.

“Nope, I got it.” Freddie lugged it back to the truck, taking a moment to himself. He could hear the pumpkin patch in the distance, hear the sound of people enjoying themselves. Exhaustion hit Freddie all at once when he  stopped moving, and he thumbed through the plastic bags in the back seat of the nonprofit’s vehicle, pretending like he was working. He took a deep breath, readying himself to jump back into the fray.

“Hey, Freddie?”

He spun around. Maria was standing a few feet away, her brows raised. She had a cup in one hand, her other on her hips.

“Hey, sorry, it’s been… crazy,” he started. He slammed the truck shut behind him and met her halfway.

“Can you do me a favor?”

His heart sank as he thought about what else could go wrong. Maybe there were fire ants in the corn maze, or the bees were back, or everybody finished and nobody even liked the event or—

“Drink this,” Maria said, pushing the cup into his hands. “And take a deep breath.”

He took a sip of apple cider, watching her over the rim of the cup. He downed it in one, then crumpled the cup and shoved it into his pocket. “Okay, I’m sorry, I’m good,” he said. “What do you need, love?”

She laughed, knocking her knuckles into his chest. “That was the favor,” she said. “That and a go around on the hayride.”

“I don’t know if I have time, there’s so much to do,” he mumbled. She was already taking him back to the grounds, reaching into his pocket to throw the trash away. “Can we do it later?”

“Have you even taken a minute to look around?” she asked. “How was the drink?”

“Good, just…”

“Let’s get another one, then,” she decided. She tugged him over to the stall and held his hand as he fidgeted, waiting in line.

When they got to the front, the vendors greeted him. “Hey, Frederick!” they shouted, pushing Maria’s money back to her. “On the house!”

“Thanks,” he said, forcing a smile. The sugar from the drink was almost as invigorating as holding his girlfriend’s hand. “How are things going?”

“Great!” the cashier said. “Instead of tips, we put out a bucket for donations. Look at how much we got!”

She pointed to a bucket painted like a pumpkin, filled with bills and loose change.

He felt Maria elbow him in the ribs as he grabbed the cup. He was slightly in awe of it. He hadn’t even been to see the front for other sales yet—

“All thanks to you, huh?” Maria snuggled up to his arm. “I’m proud of you.”

He kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks.”

She laughed and urged the cup back to his lips. “Drink up. I bet you haven’t even been taking care of yourself at all, huh?”

He felt remarkably sheepish, but even more endeared. “You know me too well.”

“Yeah, yeah, I love you too much, too. Everyone’s meeting at the hayride. Let’s go meet them!”