The month appeared to speed by for the couple as September progressed into October. Even with the shift to her favorite month, the young mother couldn’t ease the nerves that were bundled up deep within. They seemed to claw at her insides and caused the endless worry to spread. Lydia knew it was from the visit with the detectives’ weeks ago. Their impromptu social call had thrown the pregnant woman off balance. Her husband had tried to alleviate her apprehension, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of foreboding that began to weigh down upon her. Maybe it was her hormones messing with her frazzled nerves? Or maybe Lydia just expected trouble simply because Luke was involved indirectly? She wasn’t sure and carefully kept her mounting worry to herself as to not burden Betelgeuse with more of her antics.

As it was, her ghostly partner was already dealing with her sporadic mood swings. Christ, she felt like a yo-yo; Hellishly bopping up and down at any time of the day. Though, Lydia had to admit he was taking the emotional outbursts a lot better than she was. It was completely unexpected, but it really shouldn’t have surprised her. The poltergeist tended to do things that just seemed to be out of character from the rough and chilling image he enjoyed portraying to the outside world. Plus, there were facets of the dead man that he liked to show only to his little family.

A smile sprang to life as Lydia thought on all the sweet things he had done lately. First with the beautiful necklace then running to wherever to get the various foods her pregnant ass craved. Later in the month when it was time for her birthday, he had surprised her with a party at her folks’ and a night out at an art show. It had been their first real date as a couple. She knew that working with her family and the art show wasn’t his thing, but he had made sure that everything about that night had been perfect. It had been that and so much more. A birthday that she would never forget.

Lydia smoothed her hands over the curve of her lower abdomen and turned in the mirror to get a view of her profile. A rush of happiness overcame her as she caressed the bump lovingly and smiled even larger than before. It truly was a beautiful sight. Her body had already begun to change with her breasts becoming fuller and her lower abdomen swelling to accommodate the growing babe. The said bump was out in full view because of the tight black high waisted skirt and a short sleeved red silk blouse that she decided to wear for the evening festivities. Lydia twisted to her other side and ran her hand over her belly again, before facing the mirror head on.  She adjusted the beetle necklace resting between her breasts then reached up to twirl some loose hair around her fingers that didn’t get placed in the red hair net.  

A whistle sounded in the room and caused the distracted woman to jump with her hand over her thudding heart.  She whipped around and spied her husband leaning against the door frame with their daughter on his hip. His green eyes trailed down her body, before returning to her face with a toothy grin. He catcalled again while his smoky tone washed over her. “You’ve always looked good in red, but mixed with the black, Sweets. It makes you damn right edible!” He licked his lips wolfishly and waggled his brows at his delectable wife. “Mmmm…You know how I like to eat…”

Oh yes, she knew very well. Her cheeks flushed with color while she bit her bottom lip and the room seemed to heat up a bit. Lydia squirmed in her spot and trailed her own gaze down the cocky poltergeist’s well-built form. Her mouth dropped slightly at the sight, and it suddenly felt like it was filled with a bunch of sand. They had decided to keep their costumes a secret until this very night, so seeing her husband in something that wasn’t his usual attire was a little weird and surprising at the same time. ‘Well shit…’ The stunned woman thought as she continued to eye the sexy dead man. Instead of her husband’s chunky black and white suit, he was now dressed in a well fitted black one with thin white vertical pinstripes and a white button up accompanied with a red satin tie. On top of his blonde head was a black fedora cocked to the side. The specter looked unbelievably hot in his Halloween getup and Lydia had to struggle to find her words through her parched mouth. “Wow…”

Her lack of response only flared the already enlarged ego of his and had him grinning even wider with a hand outstretched widely to emphasize his form. “Like what ya see, Babe?”

That smug smirk was what snapped her out of the stupor and a flirty one of her own slid on her features as she batted her lashes at him. “Actually, I do.”

“Then please keep lookin’ Sweets.” His head tilted back, and an animated laugh sprung from him before returning his gaze to her with a wink.

Their tiny child squealed sharply and drew her parent’s attention while she voiced her opinion in baby babble. The only thing that the couple could understand was the words daadaa and mummum.

Lydia bent to Lucy’s level cupping her hands together and gushed happily. “Oh Lulu, look at you!” She scanned the little girl from head to toe and cooed some more. “Daddy dressed you real pretty, didn’t he? You look so beautiful in that red dress and feathered headband.” The faux pearl necklace hung from her tiny neck and at the end was a teething ring that was held tightly in her chubby hand. Lucy giggled at her mother’s attention as she waved the ring in the air and continued to babble.

Betelgeuse cleared his throat and aimed a question in her direction. "You ready to go yet?" 

Lydia straightened and shook her dark head before making her way to the open closet. Reaching down, she picked up her cute red flats and slid them on, while talking. "Yes, just let me put these on and then I have to grab my stole.” The pregnant woman glanced at her flats and sighed deeply. She really wished that she could wear her red stilettoes. They would have went smashing with her outfit. Another sigh left her while she turned back to her husband and stuck out her foot to model her flats. Lydia bit her lip then released it to ask Betelgeuse for his opinion. “Do the shoes look okay? I would wear my heels, but I don’t think I would make it that far walking around the neighborhood." 

His green gaze moved to her feet and shrugged lightly. "They look just fine Babe, though I wouldn’t have minded seeing ya in a pair. Maybe you can wear them for me tonight?"  The poltergeist returned to her face and wiggled his brows as he shifted their child to his other hip.

Lydia ran the tips of her fingers over his clothed chest and winked saucily while making her way passed him. "Hun, I believe that can be arranged…"  

He groaned loudly and watched her hips sway back and forth as he followed her down the hallway to the coat closet. "Fuck, you're killin' me here Sweetheart."  

Her lips twitched in amusement at his comment but stayed silent. She opened the door to grab the black faux fur stole from the hanger and wrapped it around her shoulders before going back in to retrieve the other coats. Lydia handed her husband his dark trench coat along with their daughter’s white faux fur jacket and broke her silence with a large smile. "You're already dead my dear husband."  

The dead man chuckled and slipped the coat on the child then passed her to her mother, so he could throw on his own. Adjusting his dark trench coat, Betelgeuse turned back to his wife to relieve her of their daughter and brazenly spoke with a jiggle of his light brows. "Well shit sweets, you wanna little death?"  

Lydia giggled while she seized the pumpkin bucket that he had juiced a few hours before and continued to flirt with him. "Baby, what I experience isn't little by any means."  

His eyes trailed down her body and licked his lips once again. “With the way you soak the sheets, No, I guess it’s not.”

Her face flushed with color and the same heat from before came flooding back. She forced herself not to fan her flushed cheeks and cleared her throat then tried to change the subject. “You do remember that this is a neighborhood block party for the cul-de-sac, so you need to keep the language pg or at least pg 13. Unlike you, some parents try to curb their mouths.”

His face contorted into outrage and let his pregnant wife know his horror. “What?! I have to censor myself? You never said shit about that! I’m an adult I can swear and it’s one of my little pleasures!”

Lydia sighed and made her way to the front door. “I didn’t mention it, because I knew you would say no.” She pulled it open and twisted back to face her husband with a pleading look. “Please behave. This is Lulu’s first Halloween.”

Betelgeuse scoffed loudly as he by passed her and held the screen while she shut the entry behind them. “Women, I know that it is and I ain’t gonna ruin it for her.” His gaze shifted from his wife to their babbling child and coo at her. “Right Bug. Daddy wouldn’t do that to you. No, he wouldn’t.” He tickled her belly and earned a bunch of giggles then barked out a laugh of his own.

Lydia’s lips twitched at the happy sounds of her husband and child and the slight tension began to lessen some. Her lips curled even more as she turned to see Betelgeuse making goofy faces at Lucy, who in return was trying to copy her father. Clearing her throat drew her husband’s attention, and a cheesy grin was sent her way. She rolled her eyes and told him that she was ready go. “Okay, I’m ready. Do you have the diaper bag?”

The poltergeist stared down at her with a raised brow and a shrug his broad shoulders. “Um…No…”

Ugh. They forgot the diaper bag. Shit. A frustrated puff of air escaped her tiny frame then a low groan followed. She stepped away from her husband and turned towards the door. “Crap. I’ll go grab it.” His free hand shot out and wrapped around her wrist as he spoke. “Naw Babe, I got this.” She was about to question him when he snapped his finger and produced the full diaper bag. His green eyes twinkled brightly and winked cheekily at her. “We got it now.”

The young mother tried to smother the smile that wanted to come through at her husband’s antics. Now wasn’t the time for humor. Seriously did he just use his powers out in plain sight? What if someone had seen him? What if those detectives were watching? Sometimes her hubby was too impulsive. She sighed deeply and placed her hands on her hips. “Betelgeuse, you just can’t use your juice when we’re in front of our house. What if the neighbors had seen? Or those damn detectives? You can’t take risks like that. Please tell me that you will not use your powers at the party?” Ugh, she sounded like the naggy wife. Something that she promised she would never be. God forbid that she’d end up like Delia. Lydia shuttered at the thought and watched as her husband snorted with a shake of his head and descended the steps.

Betelgeuse paused at the bottom and addressed her while she carefully followed behind him. “Babe, I’ve been around a long fuckin’ time and know the rules better than anyone else. Hell, I break most of them. I know not to expose breathers to my juice. I ain’t gonna put my family at risk just for some kicks.” He reached for her hand and wove his fingers with hers before bringing them up to kiss her knuckles. “Relax Sweets. No one saw shit; Neither the neighbors or those fuckin’ investigators. Not that they would be back and spying on us on Halloween of all days. You’re startin’ to sound as paranoid as me, Babe. Didn’t I tell ya not to worry about them? If they return, I’ll deal with it. I told ya I gotta backup plan. Shit’s gonna be fine Sweetheart.”

Lydia released another sigh and tried to shake the nerves that were once again bubbling forth. “I know it is. I’m just being a nervous nelly that’s all. These damn hormones are really messing with me.”

His gaze softened as he freed a deep breath of his own and pulled her close to kiss her temple. “I realize that Sweets, but I’d never do anything to jeopardize what we have, nor would I let anyone else.  Ya got that?”

She leaned in and rested her cheek on his chest before nodding. “Yeah, I got it.”

“Good.” Betelgeuse bent down to kiss her crown and gave her a tiny squeeze then released his hold. He stepped away and sent her a warm smile while holding out an arm for her to grab. “Now come on Dame. Let’s blow this joint. We have some houses to hit up.” His smile widened and waited for her to follow his lead.

Lydia laughed loudly then wove her arm through his and swept her other arm out in front of them. “Well then Fella, lead the way and show this gal a good time.”

“Any time Babe.” The poltergeist winked and chuckled in amusement as they began to walk down the sidewalk.

Slowly the couple approached the first house and climbed the steps to ring the doorbell. They took a step back, so that whoever answered had enough room to open the screen door to greet them. Lydia brought the bucket up so Lucy could grab onto the handle to hold it out when an older woman dressed in a cat costume with a large bowl of candy tucked against her side answered.

Lydia smiled and greeted her with the traditional Halloween saying. “Trick or Treat, Mrs. Goldburg!” Lucy began to babble something loudly while shaking the bucket at the older woman.

Mrs. Goldburg beamed brightly and returned the greeting. “Happy Halloween. Don’t you three just look so cute?! I love the matching costumes. Mr. Goldburg and I used to do the same thing when our kids were little. Are you going to the block party?”

With a quick nod, Lydia confirmed that they were eventually heading that way. “Yes, we are.” She wondered if the older couple would be going as well and asked the woman. “Are you and Mr. Goldburg going?”

Mrs. Goldburg’s smile dimmed slightly as she shook her head and placed some candy in Lucy’s bucket. “No. Mr. Goldburg isn’t feeling well, so we are staying home. Our kids and the grandkiddos will be stopping by shortly and I think that they might go.”

That sucked that they wouldn’t be there tonight. Mr. and Mrs. Goldburg were one of the very few neighbors that she knew quite well. Mrs. Goldburg has been known to pop over from time to time to drop off some apples or preserves from her various apple trees. The woman was so sweet and greatly missed the hustle and bustle that came with having a house full of children. Mr. Goldburg, well, he was wacky and at times irritable grandfather type. When she thought of him, Walter Matthau as Max Goldman always came to her mind. Lydia hoped that his cold wasn’t too bad and that he improved in a couple of days. “Aww, that’s too bad. Please tell Mr. Goldburg that I hope he feels better.”

The sound of children could be heard as the made their way up the path marking that it was time to cut the chit chat short. Mrs. Goldburg eyed the new group then turned her focus back to the couple.  “I will my dear. You three have fun.”

“We will. Bye.” Lydia waved as some kids ran passed them and up to the door drawing the older woman’s attention.

They weaved through the rest of the group and made their way to the next house. Betelgeuse lightly bumped hips with his wife and snorted. “One house down now a billion more to go.”

A snicker shook her tiny frame as she rolled her eyes and bumped him back. “It’s not that many houses. Most look like they have the bowls of candy sitting on the stoop. It shouldn’t take us that long.”

She had been wrong and underestimated how big their cul-de-sac truly was. When driving in a car it doesn’t seem that long, but apparently walking was a different story. It took some time to make it to the neighborhood event, since their house was in the middle of the dead end and to hit every residence they had to zig-zag from place to place until they reached the party.

When the couple arrived at the event, they found the road blocked by a huge tent. It was a festive shade of orange and stretched width wise from one side of the road to the other and at least three lots long. There were also several small games going on outside with some kids bouncing from here or there and their parents trailing quickly behind.

The trio made their way to the tent entrance and was greeted by a tall curly headed blonde woman dressed in a glittery pink ballgown with large iridescent wings. She bounced on the balls of her feet, making the shimmering extensions look as if they were real and moving on their own. The bubbly blonde revealed a big toothy smile when she recognized Lydia and readied some papers in her hands. “Lydia! Like I’m glad that you could make it. This must be like your husband.”

Lydia returned the gesture to stop the cringe that wanted to come through at the sound of the woman’s outdated speech. Do people even talk like that anymore? She wasn’t sure but couldn’t fault the woman. Even though the blonde did come off as a little snobby at times and had the stereotypical valley girl speech pattern, honestly, she wasn’t that bad. It just took a while to get used to her and maybe a smidgen of patience. Nothing Lydia couldn’t handle. Her husband was a testament to that. The pregnant women stifled the giggle that wanted to spill and gave her husband’s arm a light squeeze then waved with her free hand. “Hi Clare, and yes, this is my husband, Benjamin.”

Betelgeuse tipped his hat and flashed her a friendly grin. “Nice to meet you ma’am.” Lydia could tell that he wanted to say more but must have realized that his smartass comments would not have been welcome. She could just imagine the things that were sitting on the edge of her husband’s tongue. Oh, how this must be killing him right now?

Lydia coughed a little to hide the snort, but Clare never noticed it, nor the underlining containment in the dead man. The perky woman greeted him with an enormous amount of enthusiasm. “It’s like nice to meet you as well.” She bounced some more making the wings move with greater momentum and seem like they were trying to lift the thin female up and away from the whole event. Clare produced another toothy grin then passed them a sheet of paper from the pile she was holding. “The party is in full swing and like here is an itinerary of what kind of activities and booths that we have. I am so glad you guys could come and like have fun!”

The couple both nodded at the sunny blond as they made their way into the large tent. The poltergeist leaned down to whisper in his wife’s ear. “I feel like throwing up now. Did she have to be like so goddamn cheery and what the fuck is up with the valley talk?”

She lightly slapped his arm and tried to keep her own voice down. “B, language and she’s actually a really nice person.”

A large snort left him, while he guided them to a place to sit and continued to talk in her ear. “Yeah, Yeah. No swearing. A nice person or not, Babe. Miss San Fernando Valley doesn’t seem to be your type?”

Lydia moved closer to her husband to sidestep a little kid that came barreling passed and answered his question with one of her own. “Miss San Fernando Valley?”

The poltergeist wrapped his free arm around her shoulders and led them in the direction of the tables. “Yeah that’s where that type of speech originated from and it seemed fitting.”

Her brow rose with the fact her husband had just thrown that out of thin air. “How do you know that?” ‘How the hell does he know all of these things?’ She thought to herself as he replied back. “Like I’ve said, I’ve been around a long time. Plus, I took a test once when I was bored and scored a 250.”

A test? What kind of test would you need a score of 250? “What kind of test did you take?”

“Some IQ thing that this guy was doin’ in the Netherworld. He nearly wet himself when he saw my score and began squawkin’ about me bein’ unmeasurable or some shit. When he started to lose it, I got the hell out of there.”

The test he had taken was an IQ test and he scored a 250. Wasn’t that something like an unmeasurable genius? No wonder the other dead guy had been freaking out. That’s a big deal and made everything about the poltergeist a little clearer. “You scored a 250 on an IQ test? That explains a lot and remember language, B.”

He gave her a sour expression and released an exasperated breath. “Ugh. This shit sucks!” Betelgeuse sneered some more before going back to his missed question. “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. Now I answered your question. You gonna answer mine?”

Lydia rolled her eyes as he blatantly swore once again. Some habits will never cease, especially with this man. She didn’t bother to remind him this time and answered his inquiry. “I know Clare isn’t someone that I usually associate with, though I really don’t associate with anyone these days. She’s not that bad. I can deal with the cheeriness from time to time. Plus, we rarely run into each other with her living near the entrance of the Cul-de-sac anyway.”

They found a vacant table in the corner and set down their belongings in one of the empty chairs. Betelgeuse pulled a seat for his pregnant wife, before turning to her. “Babe, why don’t you sit for a little bit? I’m sure your feet are hurting ya. I’ll go get us something to drink then we can see what all the hoopla is about.”

Hoopla? Lydia snorted at his choice of words but did as he asked and sat carefully in the chair. Her feet were aching a little, so resting a tiny bit wouldn’t hurt. Her husband pushed in the chair slightly then stepped to the side while she reached out to take Lucy from him. “Here I’ll take her.”

He waved her away with a shake of his head and directed his attention to their daughter. “Naw, we’re good. Right Bug?” Lucy shook her head along with his own and babbled some before gumming her teething ring. He chuckled and returned his focus to his wife. “Relax, Sweets. We will be right back.”

She slipped her feet out of her flats and wiggled her toes as she requested a drink. “B, something with lemon please.”

The poltergeist rolled his eyes and slowly began to walk away. “Yeah, yeah. I know the drill woman.”

Lydia watched her husband disappear through the crowd then swept her gaze over the sheer number of people that came to this event. Everyone was dressed in various costumes with some running around playing the various activities, while others either conversed or danced amongst one another. She couldn’t believe that all these folks lived in the cul-de-sac. Not that she knew all of her neighbors, nor has she gone to this event since moving into her place. Having fun had been the least of her worries at the time. Christ, she had been a step away from being the cat lady minus the damn cats.

The sound of her name drew her from her thoughts and had her head whipping in the opposite direction. A man dressed as a prince with what appeared to be a grey smock was waving at her while he waded through the crowd. “Lydia? Lydia Deetz?”

This guy looked vaguely familiar, and it wasn’t until he was closer that she could read his smock. In black lettering it spelled out, Invincible Catering. Instantly she knew who this was and couldn’t believe in all these years that she was running into him. “Vinny?” Her eyes widened and yelled out his name in shocking surprise. Vince was an ex. Her first to be exact. Hell, her first everything. They met when they were both First Years in college, but their relationship only lasted until the end of Third year. They both had wanted different things, so they had decided to go separate ways. Lydia had thought that their last conversation would be just that.

The astonished mother observed the costumed man making his way closer and noticed that his happy features doubled when he realized that she clearly recognized him. He stopped a few paces in front of her and scratched the back of his dark head. “Yeah, it’s me.”

Lydia slipped her feet back in her flats and slid her chair backwards, so she could quickly stand up. She stepped away from the table and returned the smile. “It’s good to see you, Vince.”

His chocolate colored eyes took in her appearance and warmed considerably as his grin widened. “It’s good to see you too, Lyds. You look great! How have you been?”

The scrutiny her ex was throwing her way was beginning to make her feel slightly uncomfortable but laughed it off as jitters from running into a past partner. “You don’t look too bad yourself. I’ve been good. I’m married now, and we have a daughter. So, it’s no longer Deetz, but Geist.” She outstretched her left hand and wiggled her fingers to display her ring.

Vince glanced at the band in disbelief and swallowed roughly, while he dragged his fingers through his hair. “Wow…married and a kid…”

She brought her hand back to her side and popped the p as she spoke. “Yep.”

His attention made its way back to her and a weak smile appeared on his face. “Well, that is what you wanted after all. It was one of the reasons why we went our separate ways.”

Yes, it was. She had wanted to have a family one day and Vince, well, he had said that he wasn’t even sure if he even wanted any at all. It had been the day that Lydia had realized that even though they loved each other it just wasn’t enough. They were two different people beginning to travel down separate paths. “Yeah, we both wanted different things.”

Vince ran his hand through his dark locks once again and shifted from one foot to another as he sighed heavily. “We sure did, though things change the older we get. We may not have wanted something when we were younger, but now that we are older it looks pretty damn good.” A bittersweet smile formed on his features while he reached out to softly stroke her cheek. “You really do look stunning, Lyds.”

The action made the uncomfortable feeling return and she sent him a weak smile. “Thanks, Vinny.” Before she could pull away from the uneasy act her husband’s gruff tone cut through the underlining tension. “Babes…Who’s…this?” He clearly ground his teeth together and somehow contained the swear words that would have normally come out of his mouth.

Lydia whipped her head towards the sound of his voice and quickly stepped away from her ex. Her eyes widened, and her own voice pitched sharply as she called out to him. “Benjamin!” She spied the tick in his jaw flying a mile a minute and realized that her husband was extremely pissed off. An angry Betelgeuse was a dangerous Betelgeuse. She had to defuse the situation before he did something hasty. “B, this is Vince.”

The nervous mother avoided eye contact with the other man and introduced the poltergeist. “Vinny, this is my husband Benjamin.”

Lydia eyed both men and watched as her ex sized up her husband then tilted his chin at him. “Nice to meet you, man.”

Betelgeuse did the same while his jaws ticked even faster. “Uhmm, You too.” Looking between Lydia and the unknown man, the poltergeist didn’t pussy foot around as he questioned them. “So, how do ya know each other?”

Vince opened his big mouth before Lydia could respond. “Lyds and I used to date in college.”

The dead man seemed even more irritated by the other man’s explanation. “Really? Hmm. That’s interesting.” He sent a raised brow and a sharp look in Lydia’s direction but said nothing to her.

Uh oh. That couldn’t possibly be good. Not that she understood why he was so upset. It wasn’t like he has ever talked about his past relationships and who she dated has no effect on their relationship anyway. Well except for now that is. How was she supposed to know that they’d run into an ex of hers especially here of all places? If she hadn’t known about the Netherworld, she would have sworn the gods were messing with her.

Her ex grinned cheekily at her husband then flashed it in her direction with a wink. “Yeah, we had a lot of firsts, now didn’t we Lyds?”

Oh my god. Was he asking for a death wish? Her husband was going to slaughter the man if he didn’t shut the hell up. She awkwardly smiled and rubbed the back of her tense neck. “Yeah, we sure did...” Christ, this was fucking uncomfortable. Lydia tried to change the subject by introducing their daughter. She pointed to Lucy as she spoke. “Um…this is our daughter Lucy.”

Vince glanced at the little girl then turned back to her mother. “Wow, she looks just like you, Lyds. The only difference is the blonde hair and the hazel eyes.”

Lydia laughed nervously and brushed Lucy’s bangs off her forehead. “I know I hear that all the time.”

He laughed along with her and continued on as if her husband hadn’t come along and interrupted them. “I bet. How old is she?”

Taken a little back, she was surprised at his sudden interest in Lucy. Vince had never been one to be interested in kids. Like she said before, it was one of the reason they had broken up. Lydia hesitantly answered his question. “Bug…She is 10 months old.”

Vince scratched his head with his brows crinkled in confusion. “Bug?”

Another laugh busted from the pregnant woman and shook her head before tilting it at her husband. “It’s Benjamin’s nickname for Lucy.”

“Cute.” His tone was laced with sarcasm and hinted that he didn’t find it cute at all.

Lydia tried to hide the grimace that wanted to break through as she watched Betelgeuse twitch at the remark. She really hoped that Vince would zip his lips, because she wasn’t sure how much more her husband would take before he snapped.

The other man’s gaze traveled down her body once again and the uncomfortable feeling from before returned causing her to move closer to her husband. “I have to say Lyds, you look good for just having a kid 10 months ago.”

Betelgeuse switched Lucy to his other arm and wove the free one around her waist. He pulled her carefully to his side and puffed out his chest with a boastful grin as he retorted.  “That she does, especially with her carrying our second child.”

Surprise flooded the living male and his mouth dropped open. His attention moved from the dead man to the woman in his arms. “You’re expecting another?”

Lydia went to rest her hand underneath her husband’s limb and smiled happily. “Yes, I’m 3 months along.”

“Wow…” Vince’s features damped, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he struggled to swallow. “I…I knew you wanted kids, but I didn’t think you’d have them so close together.”

She went to respond but her husband beat her to it once again. He pulled her even closer and winked before turning back to the man with a smug expression. “Man, what can I say? I just can’t seem to keep my hands off MY wife, especially when she looks like this.”

The other man seemed to grind his teeth together as his gaze bounced between the couple. “Benjamin you’re a lucky man.”

Betelgeuse’s chest expanded even more and shook his pale head in agreement. “That I am. “

A woman in a witch costume yelled as she made her way passed them causing Vince to turn away from the couple. “Vince! I need your help with the appetizers.”

Lydia’s eyes closed and thanked her lucky stars that the uncomfortable situation would be over soon. If she could run and kiss that witchy woman she would. She opened her eyes and spied the distracted man twist back to them with a sigh.

“Looks like I got to go.” He grabbed a napkin off the table and pulled a pen out of his pocket. He quickly jotted something down on it and handed it to Lydia while flashing her another warm smile. “Here’s my number. We should get together for old times sakes. That is if your husband doesn’t mind?” The man eyed Betelgeuse with a silent challenge before trailing back to Lydia.

The poltergeist shrugged his shoulders as he tried to play it cool. “Why should I? I got nothin’ to worry about. It’s just two acquaintances gettin’ together to shoot the shit.”

Vince laughed and pointed out that him and Lydia had been more than just that. “I believe we were more than just acquaintances. We did date for three years after all.”

Lydia tried not to wince when she heard Betelgeuse growl under his breath and noticed that the tick in his jaw moved even faster. He opened his mouth to retort but the woman from before came out of nowhere yelling for Vince once again. “Vince! Help!”

A hand ran through his dark mane and he sent Lydia an apologetic smile. “Sorry I really have to go, Lyds. Make sure to call me, Okay?”

The nervous mother tried to carefully watch her words so not to enflame the already heated situation. “Y…Yeah. It was nice to see you Vinny.” Of course, she wouldn’t call him. That would be inappropriate and just as uncomfortable as this whole conversation had been. Hell, she was just trying to be polite. Damn her parents for instilling good manners.

Her exes face brightened at her response which had not been what she had wanted. “You too Lyds. Hopefully I will hear from you soon. Bye.” He sent her another smile before hurrying to the witch waiting for him.

She waved weakly at his withdrawing form and raised her free hand to rub her face. Shit. She was exhausted, and they hadn’t even done anything yet.

Next to her, Betelgeuse blew out a ragged breath and quickly removed his arm from her waist. He said nothing as he stepped away and marched to the table to sit down.

The tired woman pinched the bridge of her nose and puffed out cheeks in frustration then slowly followed suit. She spied the forgotten drink on the table and reached out to draw it to her. This was not how she expected the night to progress. It’s Halloween and right now they should be having fun not sitting here angry and pretending that everything was fine when it was the opposite of the truth.  Neither said anything for some time before Lucy began to fuss quite loudly.

Lydia observed her husband lightly bouncing their daughter to try and soothe her some, but nothing seemed to work. Lucy was mostly likely tired. It was way past her bedtime, so it was a miracle that she lasted this long. The small child’s fussing continued, and Lydia realized that her husband’s attempts to soothe her would be for nothing. It was time for them to go home and put their cranky child to bed. There was any point of staying anyway. Neither one of them was having fun. Finally, she got up the courage to be the first one to speak. She cleared her throat and rubbed around the rim of the glass. “B, why don’t we just head home? I’m feeling kind of tired, and it’s past Lucy’s bedtime anyway.”

He shrugged his shoulders and stood up from the table. He didn’t even look at her as his cool tone cut over the noisy crowd. “Sure.”

She tipped back her drink and didn’t bother to say anything else as she set it roughly down on the table then stood up to grab their stuff.

They left the tent in silence and managed to make it home rather quickly. Lucy had fallen asleep on the walk back, so Betelgeuse had juiced her into pajamas and tucked her into bed. The couple both kissed her goodnight before making their way to their own room.

The frustrated woman kicked off her flats and broke the stillness permeating the space. “Why are you so mad?” She couldn’t stand the damn silence any longer and needed to understand why he was so pissed at her. She didn’t do anything wrong, so why was he this angry?

He kicked off his own shoes while he refused to look in her direction and tightly answered her. “Who said I was mad, Sweets?” The tick moved a mile per minute as he slowly began to remove his button down.

Lydia scoffed forcefully and sat at her vanity to take down her hair and remove her make up. She tossed the items she had been holding onto the vanity then watched her husband through the mirror as she began to remove a few pins. “I’ve been around you enough to know when you’re pissed off.”

He finally looked up and sneered at her. “What just because we’ve been around each other a lot, you think you know me?”

Her teeth clenched tightly together, and her brow furrowed as she tried not to get herself worked up because of his dicky attitude. “I’ll admit that I don’t know everything about you, but I do know some things and one of those things is when something is bugging you.” Yeah, the fucking ticking in the jaw was a big indicator. Like one of his neon signs flashing brightly. Not that she would tell him that. Some things would be just for her to know.

The poltergeist removed his button up and threw it on top of the laundry basket. “Why would I need to be mad?”

Lydia stopped pulling out the bobby pins and twisted around on her stool to face him. “You tell me?”

He didn’t answer her question as he tipped his head in the direction of her vanity. “You got a reason for keepin’ that?”

She turned to see what he was talking about and realized that he was focusing on the things she had thrown on top of the vanity surface. The numbered napkin was amongst the items and was clearly what the dead man was talking about. Shit, she had forgotten all about it until now. For a man that claimed to know just about everything, didn’t he understand that she wasn’t interested in anyone but him? So of course, Lydia wasn’t going to keep it. She hadn’t planned on it and if the young mother had been thinking straight when they left the tent, she would have thrown it in the trash there. “No, I wasn’t planning on keeping it. I’m going to throw it away as soon as I’m finished.”

“Hmph…” The poltergeist made a sound as if he didn’t believe her and pulled the undershirt over his head.

Her dark gaze shifted to a glare and couldn’t stop the urge to snap at the dead man. “What the hell’s that sound for?”

Betelgeuse crossed his arms over his bare chest and returned her glare with a heated one of his own. “I wasn’t sure if you’d toss it or not. You looked quite chummy when he was touchin’ and flirtin’ with ya. The fuckin’ cocksucker had the balls to do it right in fuckin’ front of me!”

Lydia quickly stood up knocking over the stool while she threw her hands up in the air. “Betelgeuse, you’re acting like I was flirting with the man.”

His arms fell to his sides and tightly fisted his hands as he snarled. “What the fuck do you call it? I come back to find some asshole touchin’ my wife and she ain’t pushing him away. You just fluttered those big eyes of yours and smiled like a fool!”

To hell with that. She had not been flirting with anyone, especially her ex. Christ, he had made her feel very uncomfortable the whole damn time. You do not flirt with someone that makes you feel uneasy. The sharp glare remained, and she stomped her foot several times in frustration. “Goddamn it, I was not flirting with Vince!”

Fingers ran roughly through his shaggy mane and a loud snarl ripped from him. “That’s not how it looked, Sweetheart. The douche was practically fuckin’ ya with his eyes!”

Lydia tried to keep her temper in check but couldn’t stop the frustration that bubbled over. “He was not!”

The poltergeist’s green eyes flashed brightly, and his features contorted angrily. “Fuck if he wasn’t! I’d fuckin’ recognize that stare anywhere. He wanted between those sweet little thighs of yours and would have tried if I hadn’t come back.”

The pregnant woman didn’t care if her ex had been flirting with her or not. She wasn’t interested in another man other than her husband. Plus, what her and Vince had together had been years ago. Even if Vince still felt the same way, she no longer did. Her heart belonged to her husband now. “Even if that so, I’m a married woman and not interested. That ship already sailed a long time ago.”

The dead man scoffed some more then rotated his neck from side to side and cracked it loudly.  “Yeah well, tell Romeo that, cuz he could care less if you’re takin’ or not. He fuckin’ still wants ya!”

Wasn’t he listening to her? Why couldn’t he believe it when she said that she wasn’t interested? That should be the thing that counts, right? Her hands went to rest on her hips and her tone held an edge to it. “As I told you before, I’m not interested in him! Why are you getting so worked up about this? YOU are my husband and why would I want someone else? Christ Betelgeuse, you never acted like this about Luke. Why Vince?!”

Betelgeuse snarled and ran his hand through his blonde strands again. “That’s cuz the fuckin’ douchebag is breathing, while the little piss ant is dead, dead, deadski!” He pulled at the hairs and continued with his omission. “The breather fuckin’ wants you like I do. It was in his bloody eyes. I don’t fuckin’ know what I’d do if I lost you, Babe. If someone took you from me, I….” Her eyes widened at his confession and the clear frustration boiling underneath the surface. He halted his words when he saw her surprised expression and released a loud growl before swinging around to hit the wall in aggravation. “Shit!”

Lydia jumped at the unexpected action and let out a small startled squeak. Her husband stiffened at the sound and shoved his other hand roughly through his hair then blinked out of sight.

The pregnant woman stared at the empty space wondering why her husband had just up and left. Her brows furrowed, and she buried her face in her hands for a few seconds. Why did he leave? Did he think that he had frightened her? She hadn’t been scared in the least and knew that he would never harm her. He had just stunned her for a moment, since she was not expecting her normally calm husband to be perturbed enough to hit something.

A sheen of tears flooded her vision, and she had to take several breaths to try to force down the overwhelming urge. ‘Goddamn hormones!’ Lydia thought as she closed her eyes and continued to take in calming breaths. Crying wouldn’t solve a thing and definitely wouldn’t bring back her husband. He would return after he cooled his rising temper, though Lydia wasn’t sure how long that would be. All she could do right now was finish what she had been doing. Eventually the dead man would be home, and they could figure out what the hell had just happened.

The young mother just stood in the spot for a few more minutes before opening her eyes and making her way back to the vanity. She bent over to pick up the fallen stool then sat down to continue to extract the bobby pins from her hair. When her raven locks were free of the hair pins, Lydia pulled the net from the base of her neck and tossed it onto the table. She grabbed a brush, quickly running it through her long tresses and placed it up in a loose bun. After that, she proceeded to remove her makeup with a makeup wipe then made her way to the dresser to grab her favorite comfy pajamas. Slowly stripping out of her costume, Lydia tossed the articles on top of the dirty clothes basket before pulling on her oversized pajama shirt.

On her to the doorway, she seized the marked napkin from the vanity and crushed it in her palm. “Stupid exes.” Lydia grumbled to herself while she glanced at her now untidy table and made her way out of the room. Damn, the table was an utter mess. Shit, she’d have to come back and clean it up, but right now was not the time. After she got rid of the unneeded number, the freezer would be her next destination. There was a wonderful tub of lemon sherbet calling her name. The last stop would be the family room where she would plop her tired butt down and watch a few horror movies on the boobtube. Yes, that was exactly what she needed at the moment. Some good ole murder and mayhem.

A few hours later, the sound of footsteps jostled the sleeping woman awake and caused her to groggily sit up on the couch. Her hands rubbed her sleep crusted eyes before looking in the direction of the noise. Her tired peepers widened as her chocolate gaze met the bottle green pools of her husbands. He slowly approached her exhausted form and dropped onto his knees in front of the couch.

The poltergeist’s pale hand went out to reach for her but stalled as if he decided that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. Instead he jerked it back to his side and silently waited for his quiet wife to make the first move.

A large amount of relief washed over the tiny woman at the sight of her ghostly spouse and couldn’t help the tears that flooded her vision. Christ, she missed him. The salty liquid spilled down cheeks as she launched herself at the dead man and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

Betelgeuse let out his own sigh of relief at the sudden contact and encaged her tiny body with his embrace. He closed his eyes and buried his face in her hair taking in her sweet scent.

She twisted her face so that her cheek rested on his shoulder and whispered softly into his ear. “I missed you…”

His hold on her tightened and spoke amongst her dark locks. “’Ah fuck Sweets, I missed ya too.” Betelgeuse pulled back, so he could see her face and groaned when he saw the tears. “Shit Baby, don’t cry.” His fingers gently wiped the salty trails away then leaned down to kiss her softly on the lips. “I’m sorry I left the way I did Sweetheart, but I needed to separate myself from the situation and to cool down.”

Lydia sniffled a little while she talked. “I figured that was what you were doing…” Well she had hoped that was what he had been doing. If she would have thought differently it would have driven her mad with worry.

He wiped more tears from her face and continued with his words. “Babe, I didn’t mean to freak out on ya and… I didn’t mean to…scare ya…” Betelgeuse held his breath and some unknown emotion passed quickly over his features as he waited for her response.

Lydia realized that her husband had indeed thought that he had scared her or maybe even thought she was now scared of…him. “Oh, Hun, you didn’t scare me. Sure, I was a little taken back, but that was because I’ve never seen you like that. I know that you would never hurt me!” Shit he wasn’t Luke and she knew that. He’d never dream of hurting her and has told her that on many occasions. Hell, he treats her like a fucking queen. One that shits rainbows and multicolored glitter everywhere and doesn’t care that she is a walking and squawking mood swing machine.

“I know Sweets, but I shouldn’t have freaked like that. That’s not how we flow.” He blew out a large breath as he forged on. “Like I told ya before, you guys keep me grounded and in the right frame of mind. I’d lose my shit if I didn’t have ya with me. Fuck, you saw what happened tonight and the dick wasn’t even a fuckin’ threat.” A hand rubbed the back of his neck, and he released another lungful. “You mean so much to me Babe. More than anything in this world and the next.”

Warm liquid pooled in her eyes again, and she reached out to grab his hand to try and soothe his troubled mind. “B…I’m not going anywhere. We’re not going anywhere. You have nothing to worry about. The only man I want is you. No one can ever compare. You…You make me whole.” Her other hand came up and grazed her fingertips over top of his cheek bone then cupped his jaw tenderly. He really didn’t know the depths of her love for him, did he? They say actions speak louder than words, but maybe some things need to be spoken aloud. A tear escaped and slid down her face as she confessed the magnitude of her feelings. “I…I love you, Betelgeuse.”

The apprehension seemed to melt away from the poltergeist’s body, and a toothy grin broke out on the dead man’s face. “Sweets…”  Betelgeuse pulled her hand from his cheek and swiftly yanked her to him, so he could kiss her soundly on the lips. He ended the kiss to rest his forehead against hers and softly whispered in return. “I love you too. So fuckin’ much.”

Lydia beamed brightly and tipped her face up to connect their lips together once again. She threw her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. Their lips broke apart when her back hit the couch cushion and a giggle rippled between them.

Her husband towered above her and ran his fingers over her cheekbone just like she had done with him. He leaned in and quickly pecked her on the mouth then crack another large smirk. “So, Babes, what did I miss while I was gone?”

Lydia’s face flushed with color as she eyed the empty tub on the coffee table and sent her husband a bashful smile. “I ate a whole tub of sherbet and watched those scary movies you promised to see with me.”

Betelgeuse skimmed the empty carton on the table then to the random horror movie playing on the tv. His lips twitched even more, and he coughed to cover the chuckle, but didn’t broach the subject. He peeped at the carton for a second time and coughed a few times before he leaned down to snatch the remote from the floor. “Hm…I did, didn’t I? Well let’s see what’s on, Babes.” The poltergeist hummed slightly while scrolling through the available movies.

Her brows rose at his poor attempt to hide his amusement but couldn’t fault him for it. If he had eaten the whole tub of sherbet, then she would have laugh too. Well…maybe…She really did like her lemon sherbet, so she may have been a tiny bit upset that she hadn’t gotten any. Oh, who was she kidding? She would have gone all pregnant hurricane on his ass. She bit back a giggle and watched her hubby scrolled through the movies.

Betelgeuse slowly moved through the horror section and pause on one that interested him. He removed his green eyes from the screen and cocked his head in the direction of the tv. “Have ya seen this one tonight?”

Lydia glanced at the television and notice that her husband had found the 1973 version of the Exorcist. No, she hadn’t seen that one yet. She knew that the movie was one of his favorites and it hadn’t felt right to see it without him. “Nope, I wanted to see that with you.”

Another grin split his features as he pressed play and tossed the remote on the coffee table. “Good.” Betelgeuse juiced himself into pajama bottoms then carefully positioned himself behind her on the couch. He gently pulled her closer as he snapped his fingers to bring forth a blanket while they settled in to watch the flick.