My Favorite Pumpkin (Part 2)

A Fictional Halloween Story

Welcome back! I’m Alex. I recently started telling a story about one of my fondest Halloween memories from when I was 11.

In part 1, I talked about my best friend Liz and her mom, Faith, who were grieving the loss of two family members named Max and Tyler. To cope with their sadness, they painted pumpkins with faces similar to their deceased family members’.

My mom, younger sister, and I wanted to cheer them up by painting more pumpkins for them. Also, I hoped my pumpkin would impress Liz because I had a huge crush on her!

Anyway, here is part 2!

The next day, I woke up at 9 a.m. Liz was usually awake at that time. My mom was still asleep. So I dialed Liz’s number using the landline. (This was the 90s…before I used a cell phone.)

As I tried to punch in the numbers, my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I could hardly breathe! It was so stupid because Liz and I talked EVERY day. But this day felt like a huge deal. Getting rejected by Liz would crush me! My heart would be like…a squashed pumpkin.

Finally, I dialed her number. There was no going back.

“Hello?”

Oh, my God! I thought. Liz’s gentle and soothing voice usually calmed me down. But this time, I still had trouble getting my words out.

“Hey…Liz? It’s Alex.”

“Hey, Alex! What’s up? How are ya?”

She sounded so pleasant. I could see her smile through her voice. Now I calmed down.

“I was wondering if you and your mom wanted to come to my house today. We sort of have a surprise for you.”

Sort of? Really, man?

“Ooh, I love your surprises! Let me ask my mom. She hasn’t gotten out of the house much. So this will be good for her…for both of us.”

“Okay, cool! How about 11? We can have lunch.”

“Sounds great! I’ll call you back in a little bit to let you know!”

“Okay! Oh, and…you can wear your Halloween costume if you want!”

“Okay!” she laughed. “Talk to you later.”

“Yes, yes, yuh-YES!” I shouted after hanging up the phone. Looking back, I laugh at how my voice cracked back then.

After my geeky victory dance, Rosie cried, rubbed her eyes, and waddled into the living room.

“Someone’s excited!” my mom chuckled, picking Rosie up to console her.

“Yeah. Sorry for waking you guys up. But I called Liz! She’ll check with her mom to see if they can come over!”

“That’s great, Alex! I hope they can! But remember. You and Liz are just friends. She seems like she could just use a friend right now.”

“You got it.”

But I didn’t get it. After I took a shower, I flexed my muscles to see if I got any stronger. Then I checked my face for any facial hair. But nothing. I was weak and baby-faced.

If only I could be a man! I thought.

It was just 5th grade. But early puberty ran in my dad’s side of the family. He was a jerk to my mom. But for some reason, I still missed him. Maybe I just needed a male role model in my life to teach me how to do manly things.

Anyway, after sulking for a little bit, the phone rang. I was still dressing up in my costume — the green Power Ranger named Tommy! My mom answered the phone. I only heard fragments of the conversation.

“11:30? Uh-huh. KFC? Yeah…Sounds great!”

“They can come?!” I beamed after getting my costume on.

“Yep! Until then, let’s have some pumpkin-shaped pancakes and watch a Halloween movie!”

“Okay!”

But I couldn’t concentrate on the pancakes or the movie. Instead, I was trying to picture Liz in a princess Halloween costume. Maybe she would be Sleeping Beauty or Belle. Or maybe she would be Kimberly, the pink Power Ranger!

“I forgot part of my costume,” I lied. “Be right back!”

After I went up to my room, I whipped out a notebook. I had 10 minutes to write Liz a letter! It had to be perfect!

To be honest, I only remember including my favorite things about Liz — her laugh, creativity, kindness, and pretty eyes. Then I drew two pumpkins next to a pumpkin patch. Any other boy my age would have puked at a letter like that. But what can I say? That was the romantic in me.

Anyway, the doorbell rang at exactly 11:30. Liz was dressed in a pink Power Ranger costume! We both laughed.

“Great minds think alike!” she said. “You look good, Tommy!”

“You too, Kimberly!”

Absolutely beautiful! I wanted to say.

Her long brown hair and blue eyes looked even more attractive with the pink suit. I could just imagine my pasty skin and bowl cut looking dorky with my green costume. But it didn’t matter at that moment.

“So…you wanted to show me something?”

“Yes! Hold on!”

“This is exciting!” Faith said. It was nice to see her in good spirits.

“Okay, here they are!” I said, bringing two 7-pound pumpkins into the living room. My mom brought Rosie’s pumpkin out as well.

“They’re not quite as good as yours, but — ”

“They’re perfect!” Liz cried, hugging me. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome.”

I still remember the adrenaline rushing through me as Liz’s soft hair brushed against my cheek.

“Max and Tyler were huge fans of Halloween,” Faith said. “They would have loved to see your pumpkins! You guys did a wonderful job!”

“Thank you so much, Faith! And I know you guys aren’t religious, and it sounds cliche. But I truly believe that they are watching over you,” my mom said.

The four of us ate KFC and carved pumpkins. Liz showed me how to make the perfect Jack-o-lantern smile. Then she started painting the head black.

“What are you doing?”

“Adding your hair to the pumpkin. This is you,” she said.

“Wow…um…Thank you.”

In that moment, it was just us. Our moms were in the living room talking about something that was probably super boring.

“Liz, I have…one more surprise for you. Want to come to my room? I’ll keep the door open so we don’t get in trouble.”

Liz smiled and rolled her eyes. “Alex Lance, always the rule follower,” she commented as we ran to my room.

“I know, it’s lame. It’s just — ”

“No. It’s really cute…and sweet.”

Before I had the chance to give Liz the letter, she pulled me close and lightly pressed her lips to mine. It was perfect. Nothing in my pre-adolescent life could compare to that moment.

“Well…That was a better surprise than what I have for you,” I whispered shyly. “Um…Wow.”

“That was amazing. But I still want to see your surprise.”

Instead of giving Liz the letter, I read it to her. After that, we kissed again. Of course, our moms found us and scolded us. We were grounded for a week. But it was worth it.

For the next 7 years, we were inseparable. We coordinated our costumes and painted pumpkins together around Halloween. We snuck around a lot, made out behind the bleachers, and endured the torture of detention and groundings.

After we graduated from high school in 2003, we went to college together. Both of our mothers found boyfriends again. Rosie was 11, and art was her favorite subject. My mom sent me photos of Rosie’s work. It was brilliant!

In October 2010, Liz and I got married. Instead of having a conventional wedding, we dressed up as the Power Rangers. (Geeky, but perfect for us). We vowed to always paint pumpkins together. At the end of our wedding, Liz said something I’ll never forget.

“You’ll always be my favorite pumpkin from the pumpkin patch.”

Turns out, we wouldn’t be the only pumpkins in each other’s lives! In 2012, when we were 28 years old, we welcomed two little pumpkins — Sam and Blake.

Things haven’t been perfect for our little pumpkin patch, especially during the pandemic. It was hard for Liz to teach art via Zoom. Homeschooling the twins while working as a computer programmer was strenuous for me. But with our mega force, we prevailed!

Liz and I are pushing 40. The twins are almost at the age I was when I told Liz I liked her. I’m not ready for that “pre-teenage” phase yet. But for now, I’m enjoying our Halloween traditions — painting pumpkins, dressing up as the Power Rangers, and trick-or-treating! I will always love my pumpkins and our pumpkin patch!

Thank you for reading “My Favorite Pumpkin.” If you enjoyed it, check out more of my Medium stories and a free sample of my new eBook below.