I ask Tonas if we are going to dress up for Halloween this year. He thinks we should just dress as ourselves or perhaps we can dress as servers for the restaurants Charlie is designing.

“He is excited to make a large, haunted house with restaurants in each area. He is planning on inviting all the children from Joyous. There are tons of things in the works. There’s going to be a big fire and not one that must be put out by fireman. I’m sure it will be big enough to be seen from the Moon.”

Charlie joins us and blurts out, “Okay, Mommy, I got things to tell ya! We’re gonna have a big extravaganza. I get to light the big fire! We were gonna use the crane and swing me over it with a blowtorch, but Papa said no.”

“Yes, I think that would be dangerous!”

“But he said I can use the crane; I just can’t use the blowtorch. I’m going to light it with an actual clicker. It’s child proof but I know how to work it.”

“That does sound safe.”

“I had many ideas that weren’t. Papa said ‘Well, let’s just stop this right now, and only have ideas that are safe. Blowtorches are not for kids. You have to wait until you are grown up before you can have one.’ I just thought I would talk to you, but Papa said that’s not nice. So I’m not gonna go around him to talk to you. I asked him how he knew it would be unsafe and he just did that thing!”

“What thing?”

“When he puts his hands on his hips, and he puts his head up into the air like he’s lookin’ at the stars and then he gives a big sigh. Then I knew it was over. Anyways, we’re gonna use this fire starter that human beings use to light their fires. But not all, ‘cause some still light their fires by crackin’ rocks together, but that’s just too slow, Mommy! I don’t wanta do it that way!

“I got a castle I’m drawin’ and you know who’s gonna make it for me. We’re gonna have a haunted house with a lot of restaurants in it. No shoppin’ malls, but there’s a whole floor of mirrors. They make you look fat, they make you look skinny and sometimes they have boog-a-loogers comin’ out. You get really scared!

“I keep changin’ my mind about my costume.”

“Yes, you do that.”

“I think maybe I want to make it a surprise on the day of. I got an elevator that drops fast! It won’t hurt nobody, but don’t tell anybody. They’ll be very scared when it happens.

“I got one whole section just for the fairies. The plans might change, but right now I got them practicin’ holdin’ really still and then crawlin’ around on this big net. (They’re supposed to be spiders.) They don’t like the black color at all. So I said we could make it black like petrol on water. They said maybe they would like that but without the smell, please.

“You know why we are so special to one another?”

“Why?”

“Because we chose each other. And when you choose each other, then nothing can ever make you go away from each other. If you want to dress up as anything, will you please dress up as a donkey. I love donkeys.”

“I’ll think about it.”