in Llanview 2009

Destiny wheeled Matthew into the operating room and the neurosurgeon helped her lift him onto the slab. He was out cold and his body felt like a bag of stones. She figured that was what you called “dead weight.” She was pretty sure Matthew was going stay unconscious since she’d just finished striking him on the back of the head with a large rock. No time for proper anesthesia tonight. Destiny looked around at the makeshift operating room. The Llanview High gymnasium sure seemed different at night!

Destiny took a few steps back from the slab where Matthew lay and tried to convince herself they were doing the right thing. She knew it was going to be an unorthodox surgery. This doctor was 26th on Matthew’s list of competent East Coast surgeons. But they agreed on him because he promised anonymity and, best of all, he could do the procedure for what David had left from the “Have A Seat” money.

The doctor with the wild bed-head hairdo was gloving up and he was directing Destiny to do the same. She’d agreed to assist while David stood guard outside.

Destiny pointed to the basketball hoop above their heads. “See that? Matthew’s gonna be dunking shots three months from now. I know it. Matthew really wants to play.”

“Oh, he will, my child,” said the doctor.

Next to the slab a plastic chest of ice sat on a gurney. A disembodied pair of legs stuck out of the chest. From what Destiny knew, the legs belonged to a basketball player at Llanview High who insulted his shop teacher. The teacher went mental on him last week and used lots of machinery. The authorities never found the boy's legs.

Destiny pulled some dayglo sneakers out of her pink vinyl beach bag. “These belong to my brother, Shaun. They’re size 13. Are you going to be able to use them?”

“Yes. That’s perfect. When I’m through with the procedure, Matthew will no longer be a size 10.”

The doctor had brought a boom box. When he pressed "play," creepy organ music piped out. Destiny thought of how Greg commanded the surgical suite at Llanview Hospital. “My brother likes smooth jazz or Stevie Wonder in the O.R.” She went over to tie the doctor’s surgical mask for him. “But I guess your music will be okay.”

The doctor dragged his scalpel across Matthew's L5-S1 lumbar disc as the surgery got underway.

Over at the Rehab Center, Rachel and Sky reported for duty. Rachel spotted a large plastic pumpkin on Schuyler's desk. "Where did this come from?" Rachel wanted to know.

Schuyler looked up from his paperwork. "I lifted it from Gabby's desk. A kind of Halloween trick. Care to wager how long before the old bat notices it's gone?"

"Are there treats inside?"

"Well, yeah!"

Rachel shifted uncomfortably. "That might be a problem," she said.

Schuyler swiveled around in his chair until he was facing her. "Sit down. Sit down and tell me what's wrong. Cuz it's Halloween, girl, and I don't want to see any frowns on counselors."

Rachel took her seat and sighed. "When I flunked out of law school, way back in the dark ages . . ." she cast her eyes downward, "I had a hard time kicking drugs. I mean a really hard time. And I started developing some bad habits. I turned to other things.”

Sky stopped her. “You mean prostitution, right? Rachel, I know about your past. So why are you so freaked about Halloween? Did your johns make you dress up like a fairy princess or something?” He stifled a laugh. “I mean, come on.”

Rachel realized that things sometimes got weird in their too-cozy office. It had to do with the lack of boundaries. She knew that her day with Schuyler Joplin would be weird as once more she opened her soul up to him. “But it’s not just Halloween. It’s Easter and Valentine’s Day and Take Your Daughter to Work Day, and Talk Like A Pirate Day. And all those Hallmark Card holidays. I’m saying that I replaced one addiction for another—that I’m hooked on candy.”

“Oh. You too?” Schuyler folded his arms across his chest and shifted. “Because I kinda am also. Addicted.”

Rachel shook her head. “I can’t believe it. I thought I was the only one. I’m sorry to hear about your problem, but you can’t have it worse than me.”

Schuyler got defensive. “My problem? It’s not a problem, it’s a monkey on my back! Listen, when I was living in Vegas, I used to hang outside m&m World on the Strip, pleading with tourists to go in and bring me back some chocolate. I almost got arrested a few times. It wasn’t my finest hour.”

“Well I went to prison. And do you know where Statesville sits? It's just outside of Hershey, PA. When they let us out in the exercise yard, the smell of chocolate was overwhelming. Inside was no better. I started stripping for the guards in exchange for Mars Bars. I really lost my dignity.”

Sky wanted to help Rachel if he could. But first, he wanted to outdo her in the drama department. He was so competitive that he actually made a terrible counselor. No one's suffering resonated with Schuyler. His addiction had to be stronger. He stood up and put his hands on his hips. "You’ve heard of a sugar high? Well, that was me. I’ve gotten baked on Reese’s Cups and Tootsie Rolls. My eyes were red—I was actually altered!”

“Tootsie Rolls?" Rachel exclaimed. "The midgies?”

“Fuck that! I'm talkin' the full size logs.”

Rachel got up too and they dove into the pumpkin at the same time. She pulled out a miniature bar and smelled the wrapper, inhaling it. “Snickers!"

Schuyler opened his fist. “A Nestle’s Crunch, oooh, and some Skittles. Sweet!”

They scarfed down the sweets and then reached back into the pumpkin for more. Schuyler ending up just dumping the thing right onto the floor and they got on their knees and went to town. Ten minutes passed. There was a small tapping outside.

“Did you hear that?” asked Rachel.

“What?”

Rachel picked herself up and walked over to the door. She cracked it open a hair and scanned the hall. “We have clients outside,” she alerted her coworker.

"Oh, yeah. My schedule . . . ." Schuyler rolled over in the pile of goodies.

"Sky, can you pull it together? They're trying to stay clean and they're counting on us."

"Okay," said Schuyler. He took a deep breath. "Let me go outside and talk to them. Maybe I can get rid of them real fast."

Schuyler ventured into the hallway to see three clients leaning against the wall.

"Dude," said Asher. "I'm feeling kinda messed up. I think I'm gonna turn into a werewolf or something." He pressed Sky's arm. "Got any sugar?"

Sky ignored Asher and scanned the other faces. Mayor Lowell's kid (Justin). One of Rachel's female clients. "Okay," Sky said. "I'm going to cut this short today. Everybody gets credit for being here. I'll let your parole officers know things are A-O.K."

Asher kicked at the floor. "You don't have Halloween candy, dude? Can't I get a Milky Way, bro?"

Schuyler made a quick exit. "Sorry, no treats. Bye, bye now. Stay safe." He closed the door to his and Rachel's office as fast as he could. Inside, he turned to Rachel. "They want our candy."

"Oh, I don't think so," declared Rachel. "That ain't happening." She eyed the pile of candy and wrappers. "Maybe one more for me."

"I don't like where this is going," Sky admitted under his breath. "Oh, what the hell, I'll have more too." He dropped to his knees, grabbed a KitKat and tossed it towards Rachel, who caught it.

"You know, I was lucky because I never shared needles," he said wistfully. "But I'm feeling dangerous and I'm in a sharing mood now. So do me up, baby. Break me off a piece of that Kit-Kat Bar."

Rachel snapped the cookie-like wafer in half and little crumbs deposited on the front of her blouse. She giggled. Sky did too.