My mother had the habit of falling asleep on the couch just like Andy does.

After dinner, I would go to my bedroom to finish homework, read, or draw. Eventually, I would get thirsty or my sweet tooth would get the best of me. As I came out of my room, I would hear the low hum of our electric fan in the living room and the low voices of actors on the television.

The glow from the television flickered on her resting figure, as she slept on her side, her hair falling past her shoulders and her hands clasped beneath her face.

My mother was a true beauty. Rich, auburn hair. Cornflower blue eyes. Milky skin. As a young woman, she had won the sparkling title of Autumnal Beauty two years in a row at the annual Yellow Leaf Fall Festival. The townspeople of Blanesville would congregate downtown every year to enjoy carnival rides, cotton candy, talent shows and various contests.

The second and final year my mother was crowned Autumnal Beauty was in 1948. Beneath the affectionate light of the moon, as she sat on a large brown carousel horse with silver and white adornments, my mother, Anna Byrne, first set eyes upon my father, Danny Callahan.

He was at a booth making cotton candy and was meant to only stay in Blanesville for two more nights. When my mother locked eyes with his, he did not think anything of it, at first. He had seen her be crowned earlier in the night and thought she looked like a dream. A fairy tale princess with a quiet and timeless beauty.

After the carousel ride ended and my mother walked towards him, she became very real.

My mother would later jokingly tell me that she absolutely hated cotton candy, that she really wanted salted popcorn instead, but when she saw my father her decision was made for her.

They both described the moment they met in much the same way--as if all the noise, all the people, all the lights and energy, had suddenly and achingly ceased. All they could see was each other. All they could hear were their hearts beating. Once my mother stood before him, he took off his apron and handed it to his bewildered cousin, saying only, "I won't be needing this anymore."

Their courtship was quick and they were married young. I was born the following year, on the 11th of October.

I miss the smell of October.

I can see the leaves starting to change color, and I feel as if I can see the blue of the sky deepening, as I always have. I can not, however, smell these changes anymore.

The crisp change of the atmosphere's edges beginning to chill slightly.

The leaves, no longer bright green and soft, are changing and darkening and drying.
When they do finally hit the ground, they each send up a tiny wave of cool and wet earth mixed with the faintest hint of ice and snapped branches.

Nature is not the only form of life that is affected by the seasons, though. Humans are changed as well. It must have something to do with the shift in temperature, day light hours, and that pleasing smell in the air as autumn comes into full bloom.

There was a certain way, a shift of sorts, in the lightness of Jude's steps as he walked out of his room earlier tonight. I knew he would not be back home until morning. That lightness could not be attributed to any feelings of positivity or respect towards his role in the universe, no, it was simply due to the fact that he has become completely untethered.

It is as if he is now letting his environment and those around him make decisions for him. Yes, at times he has made incredibly reckless choices but at least they were his own, of his own doing.

Jude left, enveloped in the darkness of a cool early autumn night. He was careful not to disturb Andy who had fallen asleep on the couch. Once I heard the soft growl of the Falcon's engine, I turned around to look at Andy again.

He was laying on his back. One arm was above his head, the fingers of his hand lost in his curls. His other hand was resting on his stomach, slowly rising and falling with his breathing. One foot was propped up on top of the couch's arm and the other was squished into the edge of the couch.

Earlier, he was just about to select and watch a show, when his face grew very heavy and he leaned forward as he set down the remote. He then completely laid back, and soon after his weary eyes succumbed to a sweet and gently tugging kind of sleep.

I am now able to hold the remote and press the buttons with ease, almost as if I were actually holding it. I can not feel it so much as I just know that it is there in my hands because I can see that it is. The glow of Netflix flickers back onto the tv screen and I am sitting on the couch's arm, a very happy boy.

Andy does not wake easily once he is in a deep sleep, so once I know he is, I take a serious look at my possible choices for the night. With Juliette and Lenny probably returning around 10 o' clock, I have at least an hour and a half of free watch time. I must be careful when choosing something that has already been watched because I have to be sure to go back to where they had last left off.

With so many people watching from the same profile, it is easy for me to watch something new. Their one shared profile is named Andy, well, no, someone changed it a few weeks ago to Candy, but in the past years no one has bothered to add other profiles.

No one seems to notice my viewing habits, and honestly, I love this family's taste in movies and shows and apparently they like mine as well. I have not once heard in the house anyone utter something close to "Hey, who's watching this show?" On the contrary, I am witness to a total ignorance of Netflix watching history. I am in heaven.

I know Andy will most likely not wake up, but I choose with caution--no action or adventure or horror--nothing funny or I run the risk of sending out vibrations that could cause him to stir, so I search for a drama film. I do enjoy watching Robin Williams, so I select Dead Poets Society and make myself quite comfortable on the other couch as I lay back, set the remote on the arm, and watch the opening credits.

I must save the rest of the movie, which I have really enjoyed although it is melancholic, for another time. I see the wash of headlights of what must be Juliette's vehicle behind the curtains. I speedily flip my body over and grab the remote to stop the movie, placing it back where it was before I used it, and hover close to the ceiling, waiting for the girls to enter the house.

I hear the key sliding into the lock, and I see Andy stir on the couch. I detect one more voice other than Juliette's and Lenny's. That must be Krista with them.

As the three girls enter the living room and Krista goes to shut the door behind them, Lenny turns to her and places her hand on her forearm, motioning over to the slumbering Andy. Krista's eyes widen and she softly whispers "Oh" as she gently closes the door.

"Let's go to the kitchen and grab some snacks. Hey, Lenny, why don't you put a show on so there's some background noise. Maybe it'll help him sleep more if we get a little rowdy," Juliette quietly instructs, with a quick flick of her brow, as she and a deeply grinning Krista head toward the kitchen.

"Okay," replies Lenny. She picks up the remote and quickly selects the last thing that was watched, and plays it from the beginning. I may get to finish watching that movie tonight after all.

They are as stealthy and efficient as Russian spies on their search of the kitchen for snacks and drinks.

Lenny gets up on her tippy-toes to reach for a box of double chocolate vegan cookies up in a high shelf. She had placed them there, purposely, several days ago, behind a bag of flour and a container of baking powder, to intercept the late night cravings of a snack-seeking Jude.

She then fills the kettle with water and gets out a pack of rooibos chai tea bags and some cashew milk.

Juliette looks in the pantry for something she hid in the back of a shelf as well. Behind boxed dry pasta and cereal, is a bag of popped kettle corn. She takes it out, it has not been ripped into yet, smiles, and goes to the fridge for some water. 

Krista is busy at the counter with a cutting board in front of her. She had gotten four Granny Smith apples from the hanging fruit basket beneath the cabinets and is chopping them into uniform slices. After she is done with that, she spoons a huge dollop of crunchy peanut butter onto a plate and then, one by one, fans the apple slices around it. Lastly, she lightly shakes some cinnamon sugar over the heap of nut butter and scantly over the sliced fruit as well.

Both Lenny and Juls look at her adoringly as she shows them the pretty plate of food and they pretend to clap in giddy approval.

With snacks and glasses of water in hand, they all flow into Lenny's room.

It was partly because her room was large and inviting, and partly because they could all look out onto the porch which Lenny had adorned with small solar-powered black cat lanterns and tiny orange pumpkin lights the other evening in anticipation of Halloween.

I like the orange, glowing lights, too. Nothing quite replaces the dazzling way Christmas lights have of awakening the inner child in you, though. Of course, that holiday will come and go again before I know it.

They set their night-time picnic on the floor, on top of the blanket Juliette had laid out in front of Lenny's bed. They no longer talk in whispers after Lenny closes her bedroom door.

"How was the movie, Lenny?" asks Krista, her hand knocking into Juliette's as she tries to get some popcorn out of the bag, too.

"It was pretty good," is all she says.

"What did you...see again?" Juliette asks between crunching on her popcorn.

"Flatliners."

"Ohhhhh! Diego Luna! I love him!" Krista bursts out.

Juliette giggles and smacks her friend's shoulder playfully, "Who don't you love?"

Krista rolls her eyes and snatches the bag of popcorn out of Juliette's hands.

"Hey!"

"Seriously, though," Krista continues,  "Did y'all have a good time? I know this boy of yours is a cutie! He doesn't talk through movies, though, does he? That's the worst."

Juliette nods in agreement, her mouth full of popcorn.

"No, no talking. He does laugh really loud at any funny parts, though. Or, well, those parts he finds funny. I bet my water is boiling now, I'll be right back. Do you guys want a cup of chai tea, too? Milk? Sugar?"

"Yes! Yes--yes," Juliette and Krista answer in unison and then giggle.

"Quick," Krista whispers after Lenny has left the room, "Spill! What happened with Professor Hottie?"

"Oh my God, Krista," Juliette whispers and snatches the bag of popcorn back, "We are not talking about this right now."

Krista pouts, pathetically, and lets out a huge sigh. She then bats her lashes and does not take any popcorn from the bag when Juliette offers.

"Ugh," Juliette growls, "Fine, I'll tell you what happened." She pauses to listen for Lenny. "Well, nothing really. He just sat across from me for about an hour or so, doing professor things on his laptop. I don't know!"

"Okay," Krista thinks, "That is what he was doing, on the outside, but what was going on on the inside?"

"Excuse me?"

"Don't be so naive, Juls! How was he acting while he was typing away on his laptop, doing those super hot professor things he does?"

Juliette thought for a moment.

"He cleared his throat a few times. Shifted around in his seat. Brought his fist to his mouth at one point..."

"Oh my God!"

"What?"

"Juliette!"

"What?"

"He's so hot for student!"

"Shut. Up."

They both shovel popcorn into their mouths when Lenny enters the room with a tray of steaming chai tea lattes.

A/N:

Ghost talk. Love talk. Girl talk. It's all good!!
❤️❤️❤️

Hope you've enjoyed this new chapter featuring Daniel's POV.

If you enjoyed this chapter, please show your appreciation for my story by clicking on the 'vote' star or leaving a comment. It would mean a lot to me to hear from you. 😊

I am going to start attaching popular songs from the 1950s and 1960s in Daniel's chapters. It's the music of his time, and I love it so much as well!!

I have attached Paul and Paula's "Hey Paula" simply because it's an incredibly cute and innocent love song. 💕

Thank you so much for reading!!
Silent readers, I adore you all, even if I don't see or hear from you. (Daniel can understand that completely, hehe.)

xo,
Leanne