As the last of the kids left the yard Terry switched off the front veranda light. He watched the parents protectively round up their little terrors, all hyped up with excitement, and bellies aching with lolly overload.

‘That’s us out for another year,’ he said with a sigh. There were kids everywhere outside the house, yet no little footsteps sounded from the dark hallways inside.

‘Lisa?’ he called. She had left the last few families for him to look after on his own, and he expected she would be depressed again. ‘Are you okay? The trick or treaters are done for the night!’

‘Good,’ she said from the dark behind him, and he gasped.

She was shrouded in shadow, yet he could see the outline of the sharp object she had brought with her from the kitchen.

‘What…?’ he started.

‘I can’t stand it anymore,’ she said. ‘All of those people with kids, and we’ve been trying for so long!’

‘Take a deep breath, Lisa. Relax and we’ll talk about it.’ He edged closer, confused by what she was wearing, but not quite able to see through the gloom.

‘No, I don’t think I will relax. I’ve worked out how to fix the problem.’

‘Things aren’t bad, Lisa! We’ve just been unlucky!’ She raised the silhouetted object to her chest and Terry leapt forward, snatching it away from her and rolling them into the light.

‘That’s the sort of enthusiasm I like, love,’ Lisa said with a wicked grin, wriggling her naked, chocolate-coated body beneath him. ‘Now give me back my paintbrush. You’re in for your own sugar high tonight!’

Constructive criticism welcome. © 2008 Damian Herde