Chapter 23 October 31, 2025

Whit and Lucy were silent at the kitchen table eating waffles. This wasn’t their normal Friday morning routine, usually Whit got up early and ate a bowl of yogurt, took a walk, or watched youtube. Lucy slept in until she absolutely had to get up and start her shift caring for Anthony.

Lucy eventually broke the silence, “Mom texted me, she’s kind of pissed.”

Whit lowered his fork, “Yeah, well her Buddies of Jesus church brought that piece of shit to our town so I could care less how she feels.”

Lucy placed an elbow on the table and ran her hand through her hair, “All you had to do was sit there.”

Whit didn’t answer, he took another bit of waffle.

Grace walked into the kitchen, she was wearing a Hello Kitty sleep shirt that went down past her thighs and her hair was a mess. She was holding her phone out in front of her and her eyes were wide.

“What the absolute fuck happened?” she said.

Lucy and Whit looked at her in confusion.

“Umm, guys, you’re on reddit,” Grace said.

Lucy shrugged, “What’s reddit and why are we on it?”

Whit dropped his fork.

Grace sat down at the kitchen table and turned to show them her phone, someone in the back had held a phone up over the crowd. An AI voice said, “Bigot preacher confronts man and woman trying to leave his transphobic sermon. The video started with Whit getting up, and ended with Lucy turning around and saying, “Her name is Grace you asshole.” They are both plainly visible as they walk out.

“How many views does that have?” Whit asked.

Grace smiled, “A few thousand, now, but it was posted a few hours ago.”

Grace refreshed the screen.

“It’s not just Reddit,” she said quietly. “It’s on twitter too.” She lowered her phone and raised her eyes, unable to hide her anger. “Why did you say my name?”

Whit took a deep breath, “He started just like a typical reactionary sermon I guess. Saying music, video games, LBGTQ, all of it was ruining the world. Then he really started in on trans people and I felt like I had to leave.”

“But why my name? What did I have to do with it?” Grace said, her voice raising.

Lucy stood and grabbed her shoulder, “That’s what we don’t understand. He knew about you, he knew our name as well. When Whit tried to leave he actually called him out and said we were keeping Grayson Miller from God’s truth.

Grace seemed to visibly flinch at the mention of her dead name.

Lucy shook her head, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, or your name last night. I was just so pissed.”

“OK, so you were defending me, thanks I guess.” Grace paused for a second and her thoughts turned inward. Whit took her phone from her hand and started reading the comments on the video. Grace took a deep breath, “It was Mom, that fucking bitch. She goes to Harvest Chapel. She was there somewhere. She had to have talked to that preacher. She was always getting religious people to try to talk sense in me. I bet she asked him to pray for me, but he used her, he used all of us, to create a viral moment.”

Whit swallowed. “Someone found my name, in the comments.” He was quiet reading for a moment, then blurted out a nervous laugh. “Wonderful.”

“What now?” Lucy asked.

Whit frowned, “Some of the commenters think I’m Grace, that you were defending me?”

Lucy’s phone rang and she got up from the kitchen table and walked to the living room.

Whit continued scrolling, “All these people, it’s like they want to insert themselves into the story, be a part of it.”

Grace sighed, “It’s the algorithm, it loves stuff like this. It’s all about clicks and engagement. People comment because they are mad, but also because they know that people will like their comments.”

Whit handed Grace back her phone, “I can’t read anymore. I’ve got to get ready for work.”

Whit’s phone rang and he didn’t recognize the number.

“Hello.”

“Oh, OK.”

“Umm alright.”

“Thank You.”

Whit sat the phone down and took a deep breath, “That was Pastor Reynolds from Harvest Chapel. He just apologized, he’ll be releasing a video statement that their church doesn’t condone the personal attacks of Levi Hale.”

They heard Lucy’s voice booming through the living room. “Great, don’t call me again. And next time you need money, call your deadbeat son!”

“I guess Lucy’s Mom isn’t feeling as congenial.” Whit said.

***

Whit walked into the post office break room and saw a cluster of people around a clerk. Immediately she stopped whatever they were watching and put up her phone. The room got real quiet.. “Morning Whit,” people repeated as they walked out. For the next two hours Whit noticed people actively trying to act normal around him. Less banter was directed his way. He saw people whispering and looking over their shoulders. It was obvious, he was the story of the day. This was Mud Creek, small town gossip was all there really was to talk about.

Around ten Whit found himself loading up his LLV on the dock with Fred. The grizzled old city carrier leaned in close. “They showed me a video of you and Lucy telling that preacher off. Just wanted to tell you I ain’t ever had time for TV preachers. You’re OK in my book son.”

Son coming from Fred didn’t feel like an insult the way it had coming from Hale. Whit smiled and shook Fred’s hand.

“Course don’t know how everyone else feels, might have touched a nerve,” Fred said with a glint of mischief.

***

Whit walked in with his lunch box and dropped it on the kitchen counter. Lucy was already home cutting up vegetables for soup.

“So…” Lucy asked.

“So what?” Whit responded

Lucy glared, “Did anyone say anything?” she asked.

“No, well Fred told me he approved, but they all knew, just tried to avoid me I guess?” Whit said.

Lucy nodded with approval, “Did your parents call?”

“No, why would they?” Whit said. He hadn’t thought about his parents much lately. They had been living it up in a retirement village in Florida for 4 years now. Whit missed them sometimes, and they talked on the phone around once a week. The truth was that Whit hated admitting to himself was that they were gone and he was fine with that.

Lucy raised her hands, shaking the knife. “They are on Faceboook Whit, and the clip is too.”

Whit frowned, kept notifications off on almost everything and barely used social media. He took out his phone and opened facebook.

“Shit, 147 notifications, and 24 messages,” Whit said. He closed his phone and dropped it back in his pocket.

Lucy shook her hands, “Well are you going to read them?”

Whit pulled a can of diet soda out of the fridge. “Nope,” he said.

Lucy grunted and went back to chopping vegetables. “Mom, called, she apologized. She’s coming over for Halloween tonight.”

Lucy and her Mom had a long standing tradition of dressing like witches and handing out candy to trick or treaters from the front porch; they'd been doing it for years.

Whit sat his can down, “Oh, I thought that might be canceled. Do you have your costume ready?”

Lucy kept her eyes on the cutting board. “It’s in the hall closet. Same as always.”

Whit nodded once, then leaned back against the counter.

“Good,” he said. “I’m wearing one too.”

The knife stopped mid-chop.

Lucy slowly turned her head.

“You’re what.”

“I’m going to be a witch,” he said evenly and grinned. “Figured if we’re already the villains of Mud Creek, might as well lean into it.”

Lucy stared at him for a long second, trying to decide if he was joking.

“Whit,” she said carefully, “this is not the year.”

He shrugged. “Why not?”

“Because my mother is coming over. Because half the town saw that clip. Because I don’t need you in eyeliner when she pulls into the driveway.”

Whit crossed his arms. “It’s Halloween. No one cares.”

“This is different,” Lucy snapped.

“Is it?” he asked.

The silence stretched.

Lucy went back to chopping, harder now. Carrots snapped against the board.

“You always do this,” she muttered.

“Do what?”

“Poke the bear.”

Whit walked closer to the stove. “I’m not poking anything. It’s a costume. You and your mom have dressed like witches for ten years.”

“And no matter how I tried to get you involved you wouldn’t. Anyway it’s different now.”

“How?”

Lucy slammed the knife down and turned toward him fully now.

“Because if you’d dressed up in a feminine costume in the past, it would have been funny. When you do it right now, it’s a statement.”

Whit held her gaze.

“Maybe I’m fine with that.”

Lucy’s jaw tightened.

“You won’t do it,” she said finally.

Whit blinked. “What?”

“You won’t,” she repeated. “You’ll say you are. You’ll talk about it. But when my mom shows up, you’ll put on jeans and hand out candy like nothing happened.”

Something in her tone had shifted. Less irritated. More challenging.

Whit felt the familiar prickle of being underestimated.

“I will,” he said.

Lucy snorted. “Please.”

He stepped closer. “I will.”

She studied him now, really studied him. The stress in his shoulders. The exhaustion in his eyes. The stubborn line of his mouth.

Then her expression changed.

“Oh,” she said.

Whit frowned. “Oh what?”

“If you’re really going to do it,” she said, voice cooling into something almost amused, “in front of my mother… I cannot wait to see that.”

He hesitated.

Lucy crossed her arms. “You don’t even have a costume, and I mean a full costume. Hat. Makeup. The dress. The whole thing.”

Whit swallowed. “I bought one from Goodwill a few weeks ago. Before Grace moved in..”

Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Why haven’t you mentioned it?”

Whit sat down and and took a drink from his soda, “I guess after the accident and Grace moving in I got less focused on myself. But now I’m feeling like, Fuck it. Fuck this town, fuck the people in it. Fuck the post office, fuck Levi Hale. I’m going to be a fucking witch, and they can all suck my fucking dick.”

Lucy stood there silent for a moment, unsure if Whit was being funny or losing it. Finally she said, “Good. Because if you chicken out, I will never let you forget it.”

For the first time all day, a flicker of something lighter passed between them.

***

Grace smiled as she walked past a group of children with flashlights on the sidewalk dressed as Wizard of Oz characters and a smiling Mom. She was still wearing her Wal-Mart vest, but in honor of Halloween wore a headband with fox ears.

“Look Mommy, she’s dressed as a Wal-Mart fox,” one of the kids said.

Grace giggled and turned the corner of the sidewalk and saw three witches on the porch. She recognized Lucy and smiled. “Three witches, isn’t this a bad omen or something?”

Scary music played out of a little boombox on the porch and Lucy stood up from her chair, “Well hello there, what is your costume?”

Grace laughed, “I’m a worn out Wal-Mart employee who wants a shower and bed.”

A heavyset witch to Lucy’s right stood up and stretched out her hand, “Hello, you must be Grace.”

Grace took the hand and smiled, “Hello.”

The woman appraised Grace and seemed to glitch for a moment before letting go of the hand. “Good to finally meet you,” she said.

The tall witch to Grace’s left stood up, her face covered in green makeup and sharp, wicked eyeliner. Black hair framed her face. Grace shook her hand, but the witch said nothing.

Awkwardly Grace waited for her to do something before finally saying, “Hi, nice to meet you.”

“Hi Grace,” Whit said in a deadpan low voice.

“Whit? Oh shit,” Grace started laughing. “I had no idea.”

Lucy chuckled, “Yeah Esmerellda here has fooled everyone so far.”

Grace laughed, “Well you certainly fooled me Esmerelda,” Grace quickly winked. Then passed them by on the stairs.

“You’re welcome to hand out candy with us,” Lucy said.

“Thanks, but I’ve got to get a shower and rest,” Grace said as she went in.

“We ordered pizza, if you want some,” Lucy said.

“Thanks Mom,” Grace said with a chuckle. Lucy smiled and felt her cheeks blush.

Carla watched the door close and waited a few seconds, “Wow, so she used to be a…?”

“Grace is a girl Mom, period.” Lucy said.

“Yeah, I mean her voice is a bit off, but close enough. She seems really nice,” Carla said.

“She’s a good kid,” Whit said.

“So what’s the plan? How long is she going to stay with you?” Carla asked.

“That’s kind of up in the air right now, the trailer she was living in was insured, and Grace had alot of nice stuff in there. I think her Dad is just going to give her all the money, but I don’t think he wants to put another trailer there,” Lucy explained.

“Sounds complicated,” Carla said.

“Yeah they are weeks away from a payment so she’ll be with us for awhile I think, but it’s not a problem.”

***

By nine o’clock trick or treating was over, the boombox was put away, Carla was gone, and Lucy sat on the couch showered and in her PJs watching Halloween 2. Whit was still dressed like a witch.

“Well I was wrong, you did it.” Lucy said.

“Thanks,” Whit replied.

“Why don’t you go get that facepaint and makeup off,” Lucy said.

Whit nodded, he had been putting it off, but his time as a witch was ending. He got up and started to go to the bedroom.

“Oh hey Esmerellsa, would you take these pizza boxes out to the trash?” Lucy asked.

Whit smiled, “Sure.” It was one last time to step outside in a dress. He chuckled at the big pile of Amazon boxes nearby the trash can. Grace had been ordering a ton of stuff since losing almost everything she owned when the trailer was destroyed. Coming back in he locked the door and noticed an odd pink light coming from the back hallway leading to the spare bedroom.

He saw it was coming out from under Grace’s closed door, he got a little closer and heard some noises. Then the distinct sound of a chime, he’d heard it before on a livestream. The sound of a tip alert. Then he heard the voice.

“Oh, thank you so much, DaddyJ, that’s so generous of you,” It was Grace, but the voice was different, breathy, like she was performing.”

“You want to see the tail again?” she teased lightly. “Okay… just for you.”

Whit froze, he realized he wasn’t breathing.

“Only because you’re my favorite tonight,” she added, voice sliding into a playful purr.

The sound of her moving, Another chime, then digital applause.

“Listen Chat, It’s Halloween, and this kitten needs some love,” he heard Grace say. “No chat, it’s way too early to go private tonight. Check out my links, and my wishlist. You guys know your babygirl lost everything. Yeah Rib, I was literally in a tornado. It was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. I went from streaming to being in the Emergency room. Yeah Alphadon, I went to the hospital dressed cute, tights with bows, a little skirt... Oh, you’re terrible.”

Whit started walking backwards from the door and down the hall. It suddenly came together. . All the stuff from Amazon was from her wishlist, he’d been delivering it for Months before he even met her. The way she was dressed the night of the tornado.

Grace was camming. How had he not seen it?

Whit reached the kitchen and stopped. Grace was inside a world that Whit had looked at from the outside for years. He had been the horny guy in the chats, he had roleplayed as the girl with others. What did this mean? Was this OK? Grace was an adult, she was not their kid, but Lucy would flip out if she knew.

It had to stop.