All Treats, No Tricks

When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
‘tis near Halloween.
~Author Unknown

My Halloween treat came today - a couple of hours spent with Jacob. He has been terribly busy these past couple of weeks, completely tied up with mid-term tests and assignments. Nonetheless, he did agree to find a couple of hours this afternoon to share lunch and a chat.

Before I hit the 401, I stopped at the grocery store to supplement the treats and gifts I had already packed into my car. I had earlier bought some Halloween candy for him to eat - a yard of licorice, gummy brains and candy covered sunflower seeds. While at the grocery store, I picked up a box of chocolate bars he could distribute to the neighbourhood kids on Halloween night, a large box of sushi for his dinner tonight, some souvlaki pork steaks, apple juice, rice crispy treats, soup and a crate of clementine oranges. He was very pleased. I gave him the small gifts we brought for him from New York and the mail that has been piling up for him since Thanksgiving.

We went to Montana's for lunch and sat in the bar. Though not really hungry, I ordered a large lunch after Jacob suggested that he would eat whatever I did not, if not at the restaurant but as a snack late tonight. He told me he has been working until three o'clock every morning and has finally taken up drinking coffee in order to function in the eight thirty classes that start his every school day. He is exhausted but can't stop now. He has two mid-term tests and seven major assignments due next week. His last mid-term test is on November 9, he just has to hang on until then. He is young. He'll manage.

After lunch we stopped at the Metro store for a few additional supplies - a few more boxes of Halloween treats for Sunday, a few bottles of Coke, a birthday cake and candles for one of his roommates who turned nineteen today but who will be writing a mid-term until eight thirty tonight and another first thing tomorrow morning. It's a lousy way to spend a milestone birthday, but at least there will be some acknowledgment of her special day.

I dropped him off and though I tried, I didn't do as good a job at hiding my tears as I usually do. Oh well. Misty eyes are hardly the worst thing. At least there were no great wracking sobs.