Death of a Wicked Witch. Lee Hollis
adorable, but refrained from commenting on in this rather tense moment. I felt so guilty. Bruce squeezed my hand so hard he cut off my circulation!
Thankfully, the zombies finally receded and we continued on our way. We came upon a docile-looking family roasting marshmallows over a campfire. The wagon slowed and we were able to watch the peaceful, serene scene until suddenly out of nowhere a marauding band of chain-saw-wielding lumberjacks came out of hiding and chased the family around before turning their attention toward us. The lumberjacks suddenly ran up behind the wagon, which was now racing to escape. I thought Bruce was going to faint. In fact, he may have actually passed out for a moment, or maybe he was just frozen in a state of shock. But then, as a lumberjack barreled up along the side of the wagon, waving his chain saw inches from Bruce, he was wide-awake, waving his arms, and screaming again!
When the last of the killer lumberjacks had run back into the darkness of the woods, I finally had the time to explain my unfortunate mistake to Bruce. Suffice it to say, he was not happy about it, and even the promise of gorging on my delicious subs and washing them down with a few strong cocktails when this terrible nightmare was over did not seem to brighten his mood in the least.
The rest of the frights were a little less gruesome: a scary ghost, knife-wielding goblins, a cackling witch. Not for kids, but Bruce wouldn’t have to start taking heart medicine.
Mercifully, the wagon finally came to a jarring halt. I thought the ride might be over, but unfortunately it wasn’t because hundreds of furry, fuzzy, gross black spiders suddenly dropped from the sky and fell all around us, onto the wagon, and worst of all on top of our heads. Everyone in the back of the wagon screamed and brushed the terrifying spiders away! It took me a few panicked moments to realize that the spiders were just a lot of fake rubber spiders on strings descending from the trees while others were being thrown at us by people hiding in the woods.
Unfortunately, poor Bruce, who has a crippling fear of spiders, had seen enough. He pushed me out of the way, leaped over the side of the wagon, and hightailed it out of there. I wasn’t sure if Bruce was running away from me or the spiders.
I knew that would be the last time I would ever get Bruce Linney to join me on a Haunted Hayride. But with that said, I had a whole year to butter him up with my delicious Italian subs and sandwiches so I wasn’t going to count him out just yet.
Speaking of subs, this Italian sub is a great addition to any party, and topped off with a mouth-watering Maple Bourbon Cocktail on a chilly October evening, well, let’s just say, it’s scary good!
MAPLE BOURBON COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS
2 ounces bourbon
1 ounce pure maple syrup
½ ounce fresh-squeezed lemon
Pinch of ground cinnamon
In a cocktail glass, add your bourbon and maple syrup and stir until combined.
Add the lemon juice, pinch of cinnamon, and ice cubes, and then stir and enjoy!
ITALIAN SUB
INGREDIENTS
1 pound of deli ham
1 small onion, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
8 slices white American deli cheese
Dill pickles
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
4 Italian sub rolls
Cut your rolls in half, but not completely through. Layer your cheese and ham on each of your rolls. Top with pickles, tomatoes, onion, and green pepper.
Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
And don’t forget to serve with some crunchy potato chips!
Chapter 8
By the time Conner had rolled off the hood of Bruce’s car and landed facedown on the ground, moaning, Bruce had already jumped out of the driver’s seat, and was kneeling at his side as Hayley and Gemma came flying out the back door to see if Conner was all right.
Bruce gently touched his back. “You okay there, buddy?”
Conner didn’t answer at first because the wind had been knocked out of him, but soon he managed to nod his head a bit, and then gasp, “Yes, but could you help me stand up, please?”
“No!” Gemma cried. “He may have broken a bone or something and moving him could make it worse!”
Conner pressed the palms of his hands on the ground and rolled over on his back so he was facing up and smiled at Gemma. “It’s okay, Gemma. I’m fine.” He then held out his hand, which Bruce grasped, and slowly, Bruce carefully helped to lift him up onto his feet. Conner slowly dusted himself off. “Seriously, I don’t think anything’s broken.”
He took a step and winced in pain.
“I think we should take you to a doctor and get you checked out,” Hayley urged.
Conner shook his head. “No, please. It was just a shock falling like that. I only have a few scrapes and bruises. Seriously, if I honestly felt there was something wrong, I’d go straight to the hospital.”
They all stared at him skeptically, but Conner was insistent. He did agree to postpone finishing the rooftop decorations until a later time, and also promised not to proceed without Bruce present to keep watch and catch him if he happened to fall again. He wanted to forget this whole clumsy accident happened and just go to dinner as planned. He limped inside the house to change his shirt, again dismissing a slightly sprained ankle and begging them all to relax.
When he reemerged, his foot appeared to already be better. They piled into Bruce’s car, no one wanting to bring up the now heavily dented front hood, a result of Conner’s fall. They drove to McKay’s on Main Street, which was one of the few restaurants in town still open after the tourist season had died down after Labor Day. They were sipping on cocktails and wine and munching on pretzels and beer cheese, perusing the menu, deciding on their entrees, when Hayley noticed Conner wincing again.
“Conner, what is it?” Hayley asked.
“Nothing, I’m good,” Conner lied, keeping his eyes glued to the menu, not wanting to make an issue out of what was bothering him. “The Tempura Tuna Tacos sound delicious.”
Gemma slapped her menu down on the table. “You’re obviously in pain! What’s wrong?”
Conner sighed. “My shoulder’s a little sore, that’s all.”
They all focused on his left side, where he had landed on the hood of the car. The swelling on his arm and shoulder looked as if it might burst through his shirt, like Bruce Banner when he got angry and transformed into the Incredible Hulk.
“That’s it,” Gemma said as she stood up from the table. “We’re going to the emergency room.”
“Can we just wait and see if the swelling goes down? If it hasn’t by the morning, I’ll go see a doctor,” Conner begged.
Gemma reached over and rolled up the sleeve of his shirt. His arm was turning purple. “We’re going right now. Come on!”
Conner knew he was not going to win this one. He shook his head, annoyed and frustrated, and they all stood up to leave as Bruce handed Hayley the key to his car. “You take him. I’ll pay for our drinks and meet you over there.”
Luckily, the hospital was only a few blocks away.
By the time Hayley and Gemma had parked the car and escorted Conner into the ER, his arm had only gotten worse.
Nurse Tilly, a perky RN with a bright demeanor and infectious smile, was manning the reception desk. She took