Page 93 of The October Arrangement

“No. You don’t.” I winked.

We walked around the festival. My father gave Mary a wad of cash to buy us some donuts and cider. We sat on a bench and waited for them.

“I permanently hired Bella for Montclair Living,” I said.

“What?” My father turned and looked at me. “I thought we agreed to only let her handle the Tribeca project for now.”

“She was all upset over the company she was working for, and she called herself a loser. She was tearing up, and it bothered me. So, I just blurted it out after I ripped up the ten rule list.”

My father hooked his arm around me. “I’m proud of you, son.” He smiled. “I can see how much you like her. I’ve never seen that look in your eye before.”

“She’s okay,” I said.

“Simon.”

“Fine. I think I’m falling in love with her.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Excuse me?” I glanced at him.

“You’re already in love with her. And she is with you.”

My father and I never really had meaningful conversations. We’d spent most of our time together arguing over one thing or another, especially the way I lived my life. But after he told me more about my mother, I felt closer to him than I’d ever had.

“Maybe,” I said.

The girls returned with bags of donuts and cups of cider. Bella sat down next to me, while Mary sat on the other side of my father.

“Damn, these are delicious,” I said, after taking a bite of the cinnamon sugar donut.

“Right?” Bella smiled. “You can only get them here.”

“Really? That’s not fair at all. So, you’re saying that I have to wait until next fall to have them again?”

“Yes.” Bella nodded.

“Before we leave, we’re buying at least three more dozen.”

We’d finally made it over to the pumpkin patch. It was our last stop before we headed home. I wouldn’t lie. They had some pretty good-sized pumpkins.

“I love this one.” Bella pointed.

I walked over and picked it up. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She smiled. “Now, you pick one.”

I wandered through the patch and found the perfect pumpkin. The only problem was that a child was standing in front of it, yelling for his parents. I walked over to him.

“That’s one of the best pumpkins in this patch,” I said.

“I know. It’s too heavy to pick up.”

“I’ll make you a deal, kid.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a fifty-dollar bill. “This is yours if you step away from this pumpkin and find a different one.”

“Deal, Mister.” He grinned as he ripped the bill out of my hand and ran to where his parents were. I bent down and picked up the pumpkin.

“Did you just pay that kid to let you have that pumpkin?” Bella asked, shaking her head.