Zelda and Boone were slowly walking behind Eden, who was zig-zagging across the street as she trick-or-treated. It was a busy neighborhood, one where many New Orleans citizens would take their kids every Halloween.
She and Boone were keeping a close eye on Eden, who was dressed as the Mad Hatter, as she wracked up the candy. Her overly large hat made her easy to spot in the crowd.
Zelda let her mind wander as she walked hand in hand with Boone. Word had gotten out around campus about her and Boone, and other than a few curious looks, no one seemed to mind about their relationship. In fact, it had been a quiet week in comparison to the past few months.
She and Boone had settled into a very domesticated relationship. They still slept in separate rooms, but there was plenty of hand-holding and kissing going on as they tried to figure out what their new normal might be. One thing Zelda was sure of was that he had changed her life completely, and she didn't know what she would do if he suddenly left. It was something that she did her best to avoid thinking about, but she had to be realistic. Boone said he loved her, and she knew she loved him, but he still hadn't promised her anything other than to help her with Charles. He could decide to leave them if it got to be too much to handle, and she wouldn't blame him if he did. There had been plenty of times she had wished she could run away from it all.
Granted, she didn't think there was anything that Boone couldn't handle, but one never really knew until they were tested.
"Mommy, Mommy, look!" Eden held up a full-size Hershey's bar, the holy grail of trick-or-treating.
"Nice!" Zelda called, watching as Eden darted to the next house.
"You're quiet," Zelda said to Boone, squeezing his hand.
"I was thinking about a few things that aren't making much sense." They stopped to watch Eden, patiently waiting for her turn to pick out candy.
"Do you want to run it by me? Maybe I can help you talk through it," Zelda offered.
"I don't want to ruin your night." Boone shook his head.
"It's fine, Boone. The problem of Charles is never very far from my thoughts. That is what you are worrying over, isn't it?" They moved a little bit further up the street as Eden zoomed past them.
"When you spoke to Simone, she said she didn't take the photos, but did she say if she had talked to Charles or not?" He looked at Zelda.
"No," Zelda shook her head, "I didn't think to ask about that, but I can't think of who else Charles could have talked too. He saw the two of us talking in the coffee shop, and after I left Simone, he could have approached her. Maybe he got her to talk without her realizing that she was giving up useful information," Zelda suggested
"Maybe," Boone said in a distracted voice, as something behind them caught his attention.
"Mommy, Mommy, look who I found!" Eden came running over with Poppy Franks, the little girl Eden had had an unsuccessful sleepover with a few months earlier.
"Hello, Poppy!" Zelda greeted as Poppy's father, Martin, followed slowly behind the girls.
Zelda saw that Boone had fallen behind, stopping to help a mother with a stroller that had lost a wheel.
"We meet again," Martin greeted her with an overly cheerful smile as the girls ran off to the next house.
"How are you, Martin," Zelda greeted. "How is your wife?"
"She's fine; she had to work tonight, otherwise she would be here." It was a statement that came off a bit defensive.
"I know the feeling, there have been a few times I've had to skip one or two of Eden's events at school. It's hard to balance jobs and kids." Zelda did her best to let him know she understood.
Maritn nodded his eyes growing wide as Boone rejoined them.
"Boone, this is Martin Franks. Martin, this is my boyfriend, Boone Norris." The words felt odd to say. They hadn't officially called themselves that, but it kind of was what they were. Although, it felt awkward to say she had a boyfriend at her age.
"Boone Norris," he confirmed, "how did you two meet?" Martin asked, looking at Zelda with the oddest expression, it was almost shock and a little bit of awe.
"We're old family friends. The Abbotts and Norrises go way back." Boone said with a grin.
"You're an Abbott?" There was no doubting that Martin sounded shocked by the knowledge as he looked at Zelda oddly once more.
"I am," she gave a strained smile. There was still something about Martin that disturbed her.
"Do you know Zebadiah Abbott?" Martin asked.
"He's my brother," Zelda confirmed as the girls came running towards them once more, ending the conversation.
Martin and Poppy stayed with them for a few more houses before they parted ways.
"Did it bother you the way he asked if I knew Zebadiah?" Zelda asked Boone when Martin and Poppy had gone.
Boone shrugged, "Maybe he or his wife works for one of his companies."
"Maybe," Zelda agreed, still uneasy about the meeting.
"Boyfriend, uh?" Boone bumped her playfully.
Zelda blushed. "I didn't know how else to introduce you. Old friend sounded just as strange." She couldn't help the defensive tone that entered her voice.
"It's alright, Zelda. I like it." He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, then tensed. Zelda could feel everything about him change in an instant as he went on high alert.
"What's wrong?" she asked, looking up at him and then following his gaze. What she saw made her heart stop. Eden was talking to Charles. Zelda rushed forward, grabbing Eden's hand and pulling her close. "What did I say about talking to strangers, Eden," she admonished, her heart was beating fast as the adrenaline kicked in and took over.
"But he's not a stranger, Mommy. We met at my play, remember?" Eden looked confused.
Zelda looked at Boone, who was standing behind Charles, for help. "Eden, why don't you go hit the last few houses on this cul-de-sac before we head home," Boone suggested.
Zelda took a deep breath and followed Boone's lead, doing the hardest thing she had ever had to do, letting Eden's hand go so she could run away towards the candy.
"Why are you here, Strauss?" Boone asked, his voice was hard, and his look was steel.
"I wanted to see my granddaughter in her costume," he smiled, but the smile wasn't nice. Boone's use of Charles's name told Charles that he didn't need to play nice guy with Boone.
"Tell me, what is it going to take to make you go away?" Boone asked, crossing his arms and getting straight to the point.
Zelda kept her eyes trained on Eden as Boone spoke.
"I want custody of Eden, give me that, and I'll go away. If you don't give me that, I will be forced to obtain it anyway I can, and that means talking to the press and then to a judge." He looked at Zelda and then back at Boone. "It helps that the two of you are now living together, so thanks for that."
"We need to settle this because I'm sure that it is not as simple as you make it sound, and we can't talk here. Meet us at my bar at ten on Monday morning. I'm guessing you know which one it is?" Boone asked, with a tilt of his head.
"I do, but know that I won't take less than Eden." Then Charles nodded and turned, disappearing into the crowd. It had been ridiculously easy to get him to agree, and Zelda had her doubts that he would show on Monday.
"Why was he here!" Zelda asked as Boone drew her close. She was shaking in response to seeing him with Eden.
"He wanted to get under your skin, and it worked, but I'm pleased he was here because now I can meet with him and hopefully get him to back off." The look on his face could only be described as determined.
"I guess we know who took the photos since he knows the location of your bar." Zelda wrapped her arm around his waist, trying to absorb some of his strength.
"Possibly," he sounded unsure.
Before Zelda could ask what was on his mind, Eden came running over. "I'm tired, can we go home?" she asked.
"Let's go, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can split up all that candy you got." Boone scooped her up in his arms, passing the candy to Zelda.
"No, it's mine." Eden shook her head, tired, grumpy, and unhappy with the thought that she had to share.
"Let me teach you about taxes, my girl. There's this thing called a Mommy Tax..."
Zelda tuned them out, already worrying about Charles and what would happen Monday, which seemed a long way off from Friday.