Lotto

23

October 30, 1981

"Daddy, you coming today?" Freya asks when's he sits at the table next to Lindsey, Stevie placing a plate of pancakes in front of her.

"I am coming, Uncle John gave me the day off." Lindsey nods leaning over and kissing her head.

"Yay Daddy!" She cheers hugging her.

"Are you excited my little witch?" Lindsey asks lightly tugging on the witch hat on her head.

"Yeah, Max says the Halloween Carnival is SOOOO much fun." Freya beams.

"Alright, hurry up and eat we've gotta go." Stevie sips on her coffee. Roles have changed immensely since Freya started school.

Because Stevie was on staff Freya got priority to attend McKinley Elementary School and because Stevie was on staff, Stevie drove her to school every morning and brought her home unless there was a meeting or something and then Lindsey would come and get her. And as Freya grew up she became way more accepting of Stevie, partially because Stevie was actually trying in her life now, but she was just growing up. She wasn't a baby anymore. She had grown up.

Halloween was a totally unimportant day at McKinley, in the sense that absolutely NO work was done on Halloween. The kids would go to recess and then they'd all go to their classes and attendance would be taken but at 8:30 everyone was requested to be at the front entrance of the school for a Halloween Costume parade. The parents would line the halls and the kids would walk all through the school and show off their costumes. Then it was whole school trick or treating from 9:30-lunch. Lunch was served from 11:00 to 12:45. It was a sack lunch which would be brought to the classrooms. The middle school, because McKinley was a K-8 school, 6-8 would host a haunted house. It gets scarier as the grade level increases but after the haunted house it was then classroom parties until the end of the day or the parents took their kids out of school. Stevie had made dirt pudding for the kids as her contribution to the classroom party. So with a tray of 50 puddings' in hand, she and Freya headed too school.

***

Lindsey knocked on her office door at eight fifteen, she and Freya had left at 7:30, and she called for him to come in and he smiled plopping down on the chair in front of her.

"Hey," She smiles.

"What are you doing?"

"My daily schedule. I have to submit one to Rebecca every morning. It divulges what students I'm working with that day and I what I plan to work on with them. Needless to say, I'm not seeing any kids today." She sighs.

"You look sexy in that dress." He points out.

"Lindsey I am at work." She scolds.

"No Steph, I'm serious. That's the dress you wore seven years ago when we were matched. You fill it out better now, at the time you kind of drowned in it, but you developed hips and breasts after you had Freya and now it fits you really well." Lindsey tells her.

"Well I'm flattered." She smiles kissing him before popping her own witch hat on her head. The whole entirety of the Speech department were dressed as witches.

"Are you in the parade too?" He asks.

"Sadly. We're handing out candy at the parade because it ends right in front of our office and we are the first stop on the whole school trick or treat." Stevie rolls her eyes.

"Will I get to go with Freya to it?" He asks.

"Yes you will my love." She smiles.

"Oh there it is." Stevie points to the speaker in her room where Halloween music is playing.

"So we've gotta go?"

"We've gotta go. Take your coat off stay a while." She holds her hand out.

He obliges and takes his coat off and Stevie drapes it over the arm of her desk chair. He holds his hand out and she takes it they leave her office. They separate, and Lindsey waves to Rebecca before he makes his way to Freya's classroom.

Freya's teacher was a new teacher, a first year teacher, so when Stevie walked in, the poor teacher looked petrified.

"Mrs. Buckingham, I didn't think you were meeting with students today." Mrs. Collins addresses her when she sees her.

"Oh no I'm not...I'm here for the haunted house and the party." Stevie points to Freya.

"Oh my gosh, I totally forgot she was your daughter. I'm so sorry." She looks slightly embarrassed.

"No, don't be...it's totally fine." Stevie smiles

"I literally do it every day. She comes to class by herself and she doesn't even acknowledge you when you come to work with some of her peers, and at the end of the day she always has to remind me that no parent is here to pick her up and she's not riding a bus because her parent is right down the hall. Not to mention Mr. Buckingham brought the goodies I just..." She shakes her head.

"Well I brought the goodies he just carried them in here for me." Stevie smirks plopping down on the chair next to Lindsey.

"Hi momma." Freya smiles clambering off of her seat to crawl on Stevie's lap.

Stevie pulls her up and situates her chin on Freya's shoulder and looks at what she's doing. It's a halloween crossword.

"Alright class, it's our time to go to the haunted house are we ready?" Mrs. Collins asks standing up.

The kids cheer and they all line up, the parents that are there hold their kids hands. Lindsey takes Freya's hand and Stevie holds the witch hat that Freya hands her.

"Do you want to just leave it here?" Stevie asks Freya shakes her head as the group makes their way to the haunted house.

The middle school haunted house for the little ones wasn't that scary. The lights were on and no one was hiding to jump out at them, but it was still scary in the sense that kids were there dressed up spookily and were posed, some where in an electric chair that freaked out when the kids walked by them some were just creepy statues. Freya was clearly freaked out though as she was holding Lindsey's hand in a vice and she was burying her head in Stevie's skirt.

"Mrs. B!" One kid screams and the kids and families all jump at the sound and Stevie turns around.

"Oh my gosh, Bentley." She laughs.

"Ya like?" he asks showing off his Zombie costume.

"Very scary. How are you?" She asks.

"I'm good, it's been a while." He laughs.

"Momma, " Freya whines.

"Honey it's okay he was on of mom's first students here." Stevie explains.

"I remember when you were in your mom's belly." Bentley explains.

"Really?"

"Yeah," He nods.

"Alright well it was nice seeing you, don't be a stranger come see me sometime." Stevie waves.

Lindsey just gives her a look and she smirks, "Yes Mr. Buckingham I tend to be very good at my job."