Maybe Baby

Run Devil Run

Two and a half months later, October 31st

"Daddy! Get up!" Sophie was picking up lots of language every day, and now talking to him most of the time. 

"Good morning, Sophie. I'm up, okay? But tired." He stretched and yawned, trying to come alive.

He loves hanging out with her, especially seeing her enthusiasm to everything, and he wondered what it was like, viewing the world so purely and new.

Joe got out of bed, still in pajamas, and went to the kitchen to begin making breakfast. He made pancakes since it was special, even putting some cinnamon in.

"What day?" She asked, sipping apple juice.

"What's today? Halloween. Actually, it's a night.. You'll see later. We get to wear costumes, remember?" 

"Oh yeah!" She squealed, remembering vaguely looking at clothes in a store.

The two finished breakfast, then went to the park. 

-----

Sophie wasn't used to going to the park still, they only went once in a while, and she was afraid of most people. So she liked to sit on the benches and watch, mostly. 

"You can go play, if you want. I'll be right here, like always." Joe reassured her.

"Okay," Sophie got down and went to play on the playground.

Joe sat contemplating, trying to keep busy in the day. Maybe he should buy some pumpkins and carve them. Oh, but she's too little for that. Well, she can paint.

Yes, that's what he'll do. But for the meantime, Sophie seemed to be enjoying climbing and jumping around.

--

Now at a Trader Joe's, Sophie and her dad wandered near the 'pumpkin patch,' which was just hay and squashes outside the store. "Which pumpkin should I get? There's so many." 

"Dis one, Daddy. Is." Sophie pointed to a nice, big orange one.

"All right," he put the vegetable in his hands. "And which do you want?"

The toddler thought about it for a good minute, before picking up a little green pumpkin.

"Nice choice. We can paint that one later, and I'll make a face on mine." 

Sophie clapped her hands, almost dropping the pumpkin, before walking inside with him.

--

Sophie was staring at the lady giving free samples of spiced cider, and asked if they could go over. Joe had put a few cooking things in a basket.

"Oh, sure. That's right, you've probably never been to this store, huh? That person is putting out food and drinks so people can try it first. Do you wanna try?" Joe waited patiently.

"Yes, I do." She slowly nodded, hesitantly going over.

The two of them got to try some, Joe thinking it tasted nice. Sophie made a face, but tried another tiny sip she still had.

"It's okay if you don't like it. Tastes pretty strong." Joe told her, but she shook her head.

-

"I do, Daddy." Suddenly she changed her mind, playing with the paper cup.

"Should we buy some?" 

"Mhmm." She put the cup in the trash now.

He chose a bottle and went to pay, the cashier giving Sophie stickers. 

"What do you say, Soph?" 

"Thank you," Sophie held the stickers clenched in one hand while she watched the employee put their items in a reusable bag Joe bought.

The employee smiled, finding the scene adorable. "You're welcome, sweetie." 

---

Joe already had some washable paints, so he gave Sophie them and showed her a little on a paper how it worked. He got to work on designing his pumpkin.

"Hm.. Hey, Soph, what should this look like?"

Sophie looked up briefly, and simply answered, "Kitty cat." 

"Ok. I'll try to make it look like a kitty cat."

They both worked creatively, each doing their best attempt. It turned out pretty well. Sophie's was very abstract, but you could tell she worked hard.

Joe took pictures of the pumpkins side by side, after putting an electric candle in his to make it glow when the lights were off.

---

To keep Sophie entertained next, he got things ready to make pumpkin cookies and she played with a stack of blocks and little people on the floor. "Hey, do you want to help bake a treat?" He asked softly.

Sophie walked over curiously and said yes. She had no idea what baking was.

"We can make cookies. And put chocolate chips in, if you like." Joe offered, tying her hair in a little ponytail to stay out of the way.

"Oh! Yeah, yeah!" Sophie understood, and got to mix the batter.

--

It made a bit of a mess, but was worthwhile, because now the kitchen smelled like autumn. 

When the cookies came out of the oven and cooled, Joe and Sophie had one and smiled in content. 

Slightly overcooked, but nice and crunchy. Sophie didn't know how much she'd liked cookies, since she hadn't tried many, being so young and all.

"Now what?" Sophie was getting used to staying busy.

"Now what," Joe repeated, thinking. "We can play a game before dinner. You can help make dinner too, honey. Only if you want." 

The little girl agreed, and showed Joe how to play a game with the stuffed animals.

----

After dinner, they got dressed. Sophie was a koala and Joe was a zookeeper. She loved animals.

Finally, they went trick-or-treating. Sophie was shy at first, but soon got used to how it worked. Though she was a bit young for some of the candy. 

Joe ended up carrying his daughter for half the time, which made the costume make more sense as well, but she was tired and he didn't have a stroller.

Sophie pointed out lots of Halloween decorations near houses, not wanting to go to all of them but just talking. Joe did his best to respond and answer any questions.

--

The last house they went to was small, but had decorations and lights on. So he knocked.

"Twick treat," She held her bucket out like she'd been practicing the whole time.

"¡Que linda! What a pretty girl. So cute." The lady smiled and gave her some candy.

Sophie thanked the woman and the two of them returned home. She stayed in her costume because it was comfortable and she wasn't ready to stop being a koala bear.

Joe sat on the couch nearby and watched her play with toys, which she was currently pretending the animals were trick-or-treating too, and that was adorable.

"Did you have fun, Soph?" Joe yawned again.

"I do, Daddy. Fun." She carried on with her game, beaming in delight.