Catching up

 "Oh, I don't know what to think," Bom said to Minnie. Halloween was coming and she knew they needed to be thinking about what to do with the kids and trick or treating. There was no time to dwell on Joon these days. "Is it possible Niah wants Joon to date Poppy?"

"Kids? You never know what they might pull." Minnie was busy stringing some pumpkin lights up around the outside doorway to make it look festive on the front porch. She thought it best if they all went trick or treating together and the husbands could hang out giving out candy at Minnie and Josh's.

"Do you know what's going on with Jay these days?" Minnie asked.

"Well, he keeps pretty quiet too." Bom nodded. She felt Jay didn't want her to know Lindy, anyway. "I guess they are doing OK."

"She's really something," Minnie shook her head about Lindy. "She upped and left on the Fourth. Does he think she might lose it on Halloween?"

"God, don't even think it." Bom gritted who was looking through another trashbag of costumes, wondering what she could use to dress her boys in. "Jay's got Hope. I just hope it's a very quiet night, you know."

"When's Ivy having her baby?" Minnie went to look for more lights, but she found Christmas lights instead. They were at least white lights so she strung them up too. 

"Soon. I guess." Bom hated to admit that she hadn't seen much of her. "She was in the hospital not all that long ago."

"Really?" Minnie looked back at her as if she'd been a bad friend too. "Where does the time go?"

"It'll be Thanksgiving before you know it." Bom shrugged.

"I need to get Christmas on layaway while I still can." Minnie sighed. "Well, do you think Joon will hit it off with this Poppy?" Here they were back to Poppy and Joon.

"I can't really see him doing anything," Bom felt quite sad for Poppy and Niah. "But Niah is over at Poppy's. A lot. They are making sugar cookies today. Keanu was so mad. He wanted to go, but I thought it was good for the two to  have some alone time, you know."

"Well, if Poppy and Niah can be friends, maybe Joon will notice," Minnie said as she went back to her box of lights. She found the red hot chili peppers. "I still don't know what to do with these. I don't even remember when or where we got them." She shook her head.

"Let's wait on those," Bom winced. 

"Yeah, like maybe never." Minnie smirked.

"Oh, don't say that. Didn't you have them on your tree last year?" Bom thought she remembered the red-lit peppers.

"It wasn't me." She told her that they very well knew who could have put them on the tree. Slater.

Koda guessed it was best that Vanna's mom Patty showed up later. After all, the move was a real headache even if they were in the same apartment complex. Yes, they were closer to Slater now but somehow Koda had done most of the moving and Vanna had done all the ordering around. She hadn't wanted him to call Brandon and Declan to help, but in the end Brandon came to the rescue and fixed the bathroom door and the toilet.

Brandon and Koda now worked together at the senior center. They both cooked hot meals for the eldery and Brandon did some maintenance on the side. It was just the idea that the two of them were together that made Vanna furious.

They would go round and round about it, but she could even see Brandon was a lifesaver, and even when her mother got in from New Orleans it was Brandon and Declan who entertained her.

Once upon a time, Patty was Heather Graham's doppelganger. Although Koda didn't see it and made the mistake of asking, "Are we talking about the mystery author?" That didn't settle well with Patty or Vanna. As it was, Patty was between boyfriends. She mentioned that Vanna's father was engaged.

"I can't even imagine what that woman might be thinking," her mother told him all about Stan being overweight now. "He's going bald, you know."

Koda knew to keep his mouth shut. He guessed he knew where Vanna got her inner beauty from or lack of. Patty ate whatever Koda cooked and never complained. She did want to go shopping more, but Vanna said she was on a spending freeze. Of course, Koda didn't think this was true. Vanna wanted a couple of party wigs for Halloween. Although, he was certain they weren't going to any Halloween activities. 

Thankfully, a fellow her mom met at the casino called her and asked if she wanted to ride with him on his Harley up to North Dakota before it got cold. And she said yes.

Vanna shook her head no and then got in a fuss with her mom about her health and had she had her annual physical exam. Of course, Patty looked back at her as a reckless teenager. No way was she getting a mammogram.

The whole visit left Vanna in tears. "What's happened to my mother? Why is she like this?" She said she'd never been that smartmouthed when Vanna was growing up. "She made me read every night and I had to do all these books of practice arithmetic. What happened to that person?"

All Koda could do was hug her. "She's just doing some things she always wanted to do before it's too late." 

But Vanna just cried harder. Her mom didn't even want to see her older sister. Of course, her sister didn't invite anyone to her destination wedding. "I didn't think Mom would be that mad about it."

"Well, she'll be the first to know when we get married," Koda said.

"We're getting married?" Vanna looked at him with a smile.

He cleared his throat. He hadn't planned on asking her this way, but .."Sure, you just tell me when." He smiled back thinking they didn't even have couple's rings. All he had on him was a turquoise wedding band that was his grandmother's, but it was in his pocket. He pulled it out, thinking she'd be mad again. But the ring fit perfectly on her finger and she was elated.

Vanna smiled more and kissed him as if he was the best, after all. "This is all I need. Let's go to the courthouse tomorrow."

"But..but don't you want to tell your mother?" 

She looked at him so as to not question her.

"Sure, we'll do that." He smiled back thinking this was just the beginning and it wasn't even winter yet.