Stories of Halloween - I Guess I’ll See You Next Year

It was the morning of Halloween when Rhonda opened up her kitchen door, walked in and started cleaning. The boys had made a proper mess of things. Dishes were piled up, the margarine had been left on the counter and the bananas were so dotted with black and brown spots that they could barely be considered edible. And what was that horrible smell?812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0mtGtBTQu

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Rhonda sighed as she changed the garbage sack. There was a wicked crick in her neck and her back hurt. Such is the price of getting old she thought to herself. She took the trash out and threw it in the rubbish bin. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBfxTKRl3C1

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Mrs. Wiggins, from across the street, was doing the exact same thing. She had a gaggle of boys, too. Mrs. Wiggins was dressed in a baby blue bathrobe and slippers. She hadn't quite gotten her day going from the looks of it. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXyIgRmSLRb

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“Hello, Regina,” Rhonda said. “How’s Henry and Matthew?” Henry and Matthew were her two boys. They went to the same school as her Johnny, Mikey and Billy. They played football together and got on very well. So well that their families had spent many a summer day together having barbecues and swim sessions in the Wiggins’ pool. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdbMrg9SfS

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Much to her dismay, Mrs. Wiggins didn't return her cordial greeting. Mrs. Wiggins dropped the trash bag she was holding and it split open and spilled rubbish onto the sidewalk. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3Eoi3B0EV

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Regina Wiggins whimpered and ran back into her house with a look of terror on her face. “How very rude,” Rhonda said, but then she thought better of it. “Don't be judgmental,” she muttered to herself.812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8IdN2gX6v6

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She remembered that Regina suffered from IBS. Irritable Bowel Syndrome. When she felt the need to run to the bathroom she had to go right away or an unfortunate accident was sure to follow. The IBS had taken it’s toll on her poor neighbor. Aged her prematurely. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0c1tK39WpF

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Being the good neighbor that she was, Rhonda cleaned up the trash that Regina had spilled onto the sidewalk. She decided that she would bring Regina a nice cup of tea later and find out if she was all right. But not until she finished cleaning that dreadful kitchen.812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2oqenYPfSV

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She filled the sink with suds and water and began cleaning the dishes. Most of he kitchen had been put back in order, but there was still a dreadful smell coming from something. One of the boys had probably dropped a piece of fruit behind the trash can. It wasn't unusual. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAJQ6rgTvR

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The clinking and clanking from her cleaning of the dishes awoke her husband Eddie. Eddie walked into the kitchen and he paused at the door. He looked at Rhonda for what seemed an eternity, but was actually no more than a few seconds. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvMPQclIrB

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The look on his face was one of bewilderment and worry. “Well hello to you, too, dear,” Rhonda said. “Are you hungry?” she asked. “Have a seat and I'll make you a bite.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWx8jtqJgfQ

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Eddie stood there in his boxers and white tee shirt intently watching his wife of twenty seven years. His eyes were wide and his wispy, white hair was out of place. He took a step backwards. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhoL18ChcA6

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“Sit down if you want some breakfast, Eddie,” Rhonda said again. Eddie took a step forward and paused. He took another sheepish step. “Sit down, you unusual man,” she instructed him again. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYO9qWdhWM

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Eddie pulled a chair out and sat at the table. Eddie’s eyes never left Rhonda as she stepped over to him, bent down and kissed him on the forehead. Eddie’s brow wrinkled in horror and confusion.812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ55RoO4JqWe

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Rhonda grabbed a skillet that she had just washed and sat it on the stove. She walked to the refrigerator and shook her head when she opened it. “My word,” she said. “I really need to go grocery shopping. It's as bare as bones in the ice box.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxC390K6czu

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She pulled out an egg carton and opened it. There were only two of them in it. Clicking her tongue, she took the two eggs and sat them next to the skillet. She ignited the burner and put a wee bit of olive oil into the skillet. Before long the two eggs were sizzling.812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtav3N0xHFu

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“I would make you some toast, but it seems we are out of bread,” she said. Eddie watched her in silence. When the eggs were finished she dished them onto a plate and sat them in front of her husband. He just stared down at plate of eggs. Every now and then he would look up at his wife, who was now sitting across from him.812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmj2X8759Jl

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“Well eat them,” she said with an annoyed tone. “Would a thank you and a good morning be too much to ask?”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCH0Ys6b1u

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Eddie shook his head. “Thank you, dear,” he replied. “And good… good morning.” He picked up his fork and began to put small bites into his mouth. He chewed, but all the while he never took his eyes off of Rhonda. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0La1L9it5

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“I swear,” she said, “everyone has forgotten their manners today. It must have something to do with it being Halloween.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1nPmJBOzs

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Eddie just nodded his head. The look of worry and confusion hadn't left his face. He took a few more bites of his egg. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44mLA8gROo

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“Well what is on your mind?” she said to him. “I can see something is bothering you. Out with it then.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQnqXYpFqlL

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He sat his fork down and looked at her intently. “How?” he asked gingerly. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBRlzWodei

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“How?” Rhonda asked. “How what?”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08W9lGnrgw

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“How are you here right now?”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllAYoc1h4b

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“What kind of question is that? I live here.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWW6dObPsx

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“But, but…”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2i5yaiCtGs

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“But nothing. I live here. What kind of question is that? I swear, Eddie, old age is finally getting to you. Making your mind soft.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyIAu0oy4l

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Eddie picked up his fork again and took another bite. He sat the fork back down on the plate. “I don't know what's going on right now.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcw5fhZnY7b

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“You are sitting with your wife having breakfast,” she said to him. “As pathetic of a breakfast it is. I apologize for letting the shopping lax.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zOU12R5oe

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“I'm the one who does the shopping now,” Eddie replied. “I don't keep much here. I eat out most nights.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOY0ltB6dx

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Rhonda rolled her eyes and stood up. She walked over to the garbage can and looked behind it. “Do you smell that?” she asked. “It smells like something's gone rancid.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSyPge87pD

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She searched the kitchen for a few minutes. Her husband stared at her the whole time. His look of worry turned to one of wonder. Then his wonder turned to seriousness. His eyes hung on the floor while she searched for what was rotten. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbPLjmXD9Q

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“I bet Mikey left a piece of fruit out,” she said. “It wouldn't be the first time and it won't be the last.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBsRgKypo2

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“Mikey doesn't live here anymore, babe,” Eddie answered. “None of the boys do.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTwgySOBR9

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“Nonsense,” she replied.812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡefhcfDUcsG

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“Mikey is off in college now,” he said. “Johnny is in the army and Billy is working at the DMV. He has a family of his own now.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvpu6GhtL2

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“Ha ha. Very funny,” she said with no amount of amusement in her voice. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlvGqHdr0RE

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“I'm telling you the truth, babe,” he said. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TWfwImXM1

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Rhonda grabbed the small pad that sat on top of the refrigerator and grabbed a pen. She started making a shopping list. “Is there anything you need from the market? Razors? A new toothbrush?” she asked. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70PesU2sqR

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“Sweetheart,” he said, “you have to listen to me.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqO830yPq8

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“I don't have time for your nonsense,” she replied. “I have to get the house in order before the boys get home.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl84Lk0Zgk6

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“Baby, the boy's ain't coming home,” he said, “I told you. They don't live here no more.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8OMUdPUtJ

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This time she slammed the yellow pad she was writing on down on the counter. “Enough with this nonsense, Eddie!” she declared. “I have enough to do without you adding to the list with your foolish pranks! I need to go to the market and get groceries and Halloween candy for the kids in the neighborhood. Now are you going to make yourself useful and help me or are you going to sit there and continue to be a horse’s ass?”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rh4uo9Mdo

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Finally finding the courage, he stood up and walked over to his wife. He gently put his hand on her shoulders and turned her around to face him. “Babe,” he said quietly, “you've been dead for twelve years.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUrTbbGwdeE

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She lifted her eyes to meet his. “Rhonda,” he said, “honey, you've been dead for twelve years.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡga79EeuGnA

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Rhonda pushed him away. “Enough of your tomfoolery!” She cried out and then went back to writing her list. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRB3DaQkSJ

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He put his hand on hers and stopped her from writing. “I'm not fooling you, babe,” Eddie told her. “You got in a car accident after you dropped the kids off for school. Twelve years ago today.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpt78AP94d

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She put her pad down and sat the pen on top of it. What was he saying to her? Then suddenly it came back to her. Just like Eddie had said, she had been driving to the market after dropping off the boys and a van came out of nowhere and hit her station wagon. Then there was nothing but blackness. Until earlier when she walked into the kitchen. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlReKcaA1At

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Pulling out a chair for his wife, Eddie sat her down and then sat on the edge of the table. She looked confused. Almost as confused as Eddie did. “Okay,” she said in barely a whisper. “Okay. Will you help me find what that horrible smell is, Eddie? And then I'll go back to where I came from.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9naPzknVA

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Eddie nodded. “I would help you with anything, darling,” Eddie replied. “But I think what you are smelling is yourself. You been in the grave a long time.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKw2xIDVe7

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“He’s right, mom,” came a voice from the entrance to the kitchen. It was Mikey. There he stood, grown and handsome. Beside him stood Billy. He was much older than he was the last time she saw him.812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOmgxgUZlu

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“My boys!” Eddie cried as he ran over to hug them. “When did you get here?” 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPueLsMZYsU

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Billy returned his embrace. “We got here a few minutes ago. It took us a few minutes to process what was going on, so we just sat quiet in the hallway.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUbbY2m2r2

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“We figured you could use a few minutes alone,” Mikey added. “To sort things out.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKuYDxmZ39

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“Oh,” Eddie replied. “Where’s Johnny?”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNN7uwirsD

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“Johnny couldn't be here, pa,” Billy replied. “He's living overseas now. You know that.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgZ6CkXnQX

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“Oh yeah,” their father replied. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡur3VuGxAob

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The boys turned their attention to their mother. “Hi, ma,” they both said. They took turns giving her a long hug. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMIalGWznZ

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“I don't know how I got here,” their mother said to them. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1Jp0FlxEi

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“It don't matter,” Billy said softly. “But you can't be here anymore. It isn't right.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrra2qHfVgf

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Mikey took his mother’s decaying hand into his own. “You need to go be at rest again, ma,” he said. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdtVrESZR7A

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“Okay,” Rhonda relied. She knew he was right. She didn't know where he came from, but she knew it wasn't natural for her to be where she was now.812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9PcvGV1fd

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Billy opened the back door and motioned for her to follow him. Holding Mikey’s hand all the while, she did. The four of them walked out into the back yard. Under a tall tree there was a hole dug in the ground. There was a wooden cross at the head of the hole. “That's where you came from, ma,” Mikey said to her. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF53DlmfHTM

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“I'm buried in the back yard?” she asked. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirsCiRYMIZ

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“We had you in the cemetery for a while,” Billy answered, “but every year on Halloween you would dig your way out of your grave and make your way back here. It got to be a real hassle sneaking you back into the graveyard, so here you lay.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPIsStp3ii

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They all sat and just stared in silence for a few moments. Rhonda broke the silence. “I guess it's time for me to go,” she said. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6jPbpN95T

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The boys and their father nodded. They boys took two shovels that were there waiting for them and turned the hole into a nice, deep, rectangular grave. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡviQP0zlG6E

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They all said their goodbyes and their mother climbed into the freshly dug grave. As soon as she laid back in the dirt her eyes closed and she was gone once again. The life had slipped from her. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfutmC41EX

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“How did you boys know? Why did you come here? You aren't playing hooky from school are you, Mikey?” Eddie asked. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqJiHV9dPv

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“No, pa,” Mikey replied. “I'm not playing hooky from school. I haven't been in college for ten years. I graduated. I have a family of my own now.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODfJX3Ivrj

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Eddie’s brow furrowed once again. “What?” he asked. “You just enrolled last year! You couldn't be done already!”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPBRMOZHxv

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“Billy patted his pa on the back. “It's true, pa,” he said. He's been out for years now.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHCH49LjmK

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“This is insane!” Eddie exclaimed. “This whole morning has been bonkers!”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4szTowbN8

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“It has, pa” Billy answered. “It is every year.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqZ6rYkPDz

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“Every year?” Eddie said. “It ain't ever been like this! I would have remembered a morning this whacky!”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbY0RaPv9yM

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Mikey turned his father a half turn and nodded towards the east end of their back yard. A hole, not unlike the one Rhonda has come from sat there waiting. “It happens every year, pa,” Mikey replied. “We don't know why, but it does.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyo8rcTMtI3

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“Naw,” Eddie responded, shaken. “Naw it can't be right.” He looked at his hands. There was no decomposition of the skin like Rhonda had. There was no stink on him like there was on her. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaxs6yZWB0G

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“It is, pa,” Billy answered. “You died six years ago. Had a heart attack at the factory. On Halloween morning. Just like ma.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4sUVB4DsN

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“But that ain't right,” Eddie muttered. “I ain't rotten like she was.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiE8lGSWAA9

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“It's true, pa,” Mikey said. He put his arm around his father’s shoulders and led him to the hole. “Every year on Halloween you and ma both come back. We don't know why. You just do. And we don't know why you aren't rotten. We can't figure that out.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVWhXN6tBy

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Eddie’s look of confusion turned to one of acceptance. “Well it is what is I guess. It was good seeing you boys again. You know your mother and I love you dearly.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyLLZXXe4cW

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“We know,” Billy replied. “We love you, too.”812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdwQhY9HLT

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The boys took their shovels and dug the grave while their father watched. When it was finished Eddie walked over to it and said, “I guess I'll see you next year,” he and the boys both laughed uncomfortably and Eddie jumped into the hole they had dug. As soon as his feet touched the dirt of the grave his body fell limp and lifeless once again. For another year at least. 812Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7YsyxST7x

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