The Tale of Tessa Crane (Halloween Chronicles #2)

Chapter Two: Not So Sleepy Anymore

I thought dinner was awkward, but after dinner was so much worse. At least during dinner, we had the act of eating to distraction us, but now, we were in the living room, waiting for the rest of the Cranes to arrive. It was a little after ten o'clock and the rest of our family was supposed to be arriving any minute.

Mom adjusted the plate of the apple pie, tucked a strand of her brown hair behind her ear, straightened the pie server, and then repeated with the peach pie. She was about to do the same to the pumpkin pie, but Dad placed a hand gently on her shoulder.

"It's all perfect, Betty," he smiled, adjusting his glasses. "Why not have a seat while we wait?" He patted the spot next to him.

Mom tweaked the pumpkin pie plate and then sat close to Dad. "I know it's probably silly and no one ever eats it anyway," she sighed, "I just thought the whole night didn't have to be all 'doom and gloom'."

"I'm definitely going to have a piece of apple once everyone gets here," I said, getting the reaction I was hoping for, a grateful smile from Mom. "And you know the twins will devour the pumpkin pie the second they get here."

We fell into a comfortable silence, just another of the many we had already found ourselves in since I arrived home after the bakery. Dad's eyes were unfocused as he lazily trailed his finger around the rim of his coffee mug. Mom was eyeing the pies and reached out to adjust the peach one again. I was sitting on the floor, tapping my fingers against my knees. My phone vibrated and I glanced at the screen to see Amanda had sent me a picture of her at Jenna's Halloween party. She was posing with some other girls she was friendly with. They decided to do a group costume and each girl was dressed as a different Wonderland character. Amanda had chosen to dress as the Red Queen. It looked like they were having fun, and even though I didn't love Halloween, I was a bit jealous. Thankfully, I wasn't able to dwell too long on what I was missing out on, because just then, the doorbell rang.

We all stood up, but no one made any movement towards the front door. The doorbell rang again.

"I'll get it," Dad said, putting down his mug and sidestepping around the coffee table.

The extended Crane family was small. It was just Dad and his younger brother, Uncle Eric, so it was just our two families. Dad and Uncle Eric definitely had similarities, they were both tall and lanky, "the Crane genes," we called it, and they both had hazel eyes, but other than that, they were quite different. Dad had copper hair, freckles and glasses, while Uncle Eric had blond hair, dimples and a square jaw.

When the other Cranes entered the living room, Uncle Eric immediately signed to Mom in ASL. Hi, Betty. How are you?

Mom was moderately deaf and had a behind-the-ear hearing aid. She had some issues with it, but this current one seemed to be working just fine. Dad and Mom started dating in sophomore year in college so Uncle Eric had more than enough time to learn ASL. He was almost as proficient as Dad and I.

"I'm doing good. Well, as good as can be considering. Finally got this thing working again." Mom smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing the hearing aid. "How are you guys doing? How's city life?"

"Different," Aunt Jessie said. "It's always a shock coming back here." While we decided to stay in Sleepy Hollow, Aunt Jessie and Uncle Eric decided to move to New York City after the twins were born. "It's easy to forget everything with the hustle and bustle of the city."

Aunt Jessie looked young, but she was actually older than Dad. She was a petite woman with blond hair and blue eyes. The twins, Jane and Elias, turned twelve last month and looked just like Aunt Jessie with their blond hair and blue eyes. Jane always looked like a mini-Aunt Jessie, but especially at this moment with their matching black sweaters and dark jeans. Both the twins immediately sat down in front of the pumpkin pie and Aunt Jessie was quick to cut them each a large slice. Since the twins were twelve, Aunt Jessie would be staying with them instead of coming to the ritual.