It was 7:55PM when James Pennington and his youngest child, Amelia, returned home from almost an hour and a half of trick or treating. Slung over his shoulder was a pillowcase full of candy his little one had managed to collect from the generous neighbors that gave out handfuls of treats instead of just one piece while she held onto a small pumpkin pail that was barely a quarter full.

Her pale cheeks had been pinched by winter turning them a rosy pink giving her fairy princess costume almost a doll like look.

Halloween costumes this year was easy. Aside from buying her a glow in the dark wand, so she had something bright to walk around with, everything else she already had upstairs in her costume toy chest. A lavender dress with a very full neon pink tutu and the silver crown her Pretty Pretty Princess board game she was given for her birthday this year.

To make sure she kept warm, James made sure she wore a pair of leggings over her stockings and that they brought along her winter jacket if it turned out her sweater wouldn’t be enough. As it turned out it was a good thing he brought it since about a half hour into ringing doorbells, and and shyly saying ‘Trick or treat’, it began to sprinkle. Not that it deterred the children at all, but it did make the night drag on a bit longer for the parents left standing on the sidewalk while their small group of children ran amok yelling ‘BOO’ at one another.

Now that they were home though he ushered Amelia to her bedroom with instructions to go change into her pajamas followed by a promise that if she did so in the next 5 minutes he’d let her have one piece of candy and let her stay up to watch a movie. Amelia’s had eyes lit up with the prospect of not having to go to bed right when they got home and without further encouragement or persuasion she launched herself at her father's legs, wrapping her arms around one calf with an excited ‘YAY!’ before shuffling her feet down the hallway to her room.

By the time she was all ready for bed, save for brushing her teeth, James was already sitting on the couch with a bowl of popcorn in his lap waiting for her to join him. While she was upstairs he had carefully hid a good 90% of the candy they brought home knowing that if she saw it laying out on the table she may very well end up eating a good portion of it in one sitting; or maybe that was him who was prone to such eating. Either way it was in a place up high enough that even he had to get a stool to reach it.

Curled up on the couch beside her father, Amelia reached into his lap and grabbed a small handful of kettle corn. One by one she plopped each kernel into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully as they began watching the opening scene to Hocus Pocus which had just started on the Family Channel.