October to October

{Chapter Four}

   Lauren wished she had someone mature she could talk about sex with. It was frustrating when three of your best friends never even had boyfriends, and your sister was the president of the "It Can Wait" club in high school. Lauren was vice-president, and she once believed in it strongly. Now she didn't know. It wasn't that she wanted to have sex with Jake, but she would like to discuss it with a friend whose eyes didn't grow large and disapproving if she even mentioned the word. It was another thing on the list of topics she knew her friends were uncomfortable with. Lauren sometimes wondered why they were so scared of certain subjects, and why she was too. It had to be unhealthy, she thought.

   Jake came over that night, and he acted surprised for the party Ruth threw for him every time he came home.  She said it was her duty to welcome him home as his future sister-in-law. Lauren watched her Dad laughing and talking with Jake. They got along really well. He already called Jake his 'future son-in-law,' and he called Alex his son. He said you couldn't ask for two better young men. Lauren didn't know why this bothered her, but it did.

  Ruth got out the karaoke set after dinner, and she started the night with one of her Carrie Underwood songs. Everyone in the family swore that Ruth was the best singer they'd ever heard, and she could easily win any TV singing competition. 

  "You're the most talented woman in the world!" Alex exclaimed as Ruth finished her song, and the living room full of people burst into applause. He kissed her as his future mother-in-law snapped a picture.

  Lauren felt the scene was getting to be too mushy for her, and she pulled on her red cardigan as she made her way outside. No one would notice she was gone. Hope and Wren were too busy making sundaes for the younger kids, and Monroe and Lauren's mothers were both taking pictures of the party to later post all over the Internet as proof of their perfect evening. 

  October was growing cold, and she knew she should have put on a warmer coat as she made her way down the street. She loved the street she lived on. The trees were tall and covered the entire street in an arch, and at the moment their leaves were orange, yellow and red and gleaming in the falling light of the day. Her feet crunched on the dried, fallen leaves on the sidewalk, and she realized she had started walking towards the purple Victorian.

  "Hi!"

  Lauren jumped in surprise. Joan was on the steps of the shabby porch and gutting a pumpkin. A guy with messy brown hair was sitting beside her and carving what looked like an intricate design into his own pumpkin that was one of the biggest Lauren had ever seen. Joan was wearing a white men's shirt that had purple streaks on it and jean shorts with yellow tights underneath. The boy's overalls were cut off at the knees, and his bony legs were sticking out of them even though it was freezing out.

  "Hey," Lauren said slowly as she stood at the end of the sidewalk.

 "This is my roommate Henry Owens," Joan said. "This is Lauren. She's a friend of Hope's."

  "Oh hey," Henry said and waved a pumpkin gut covered hand. "I know Hope. She's pretty cute for a religious nut."

  "Shut up," Joan ordered him.

   Lauren guessed she should defend her friend, but she didn't feel like it as she walked towards them and sat down on the big porch next to Joan. "Isn't it a little early to be carving your pumpkins?"

  "Probably," Henry admitted, "but we can never wait. It's too much fun."

  "It is," Joan agreed. "Want to help? We have five of them we're going to put on the porch."

  "Sure," Lauren said as she started to roll up her sleeves.

  "Let me get you one of Henry's long sleeved work shirts," Joan said as she stood up and walked towards a pile of boxes. "He still hasn't brought in all his shit. Aha, here are his artistic supplies or junk as I like to call it."