Halloween at Glosser’s E-Book

Robert Jeschonek

• Herausgeber: Pie Press
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

It's Halloween 1970, and Erin Lewis can't draw anything scary enough to win the window painting contest at Glosser Bros. Department Store in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The 16-year-old has other things on her mind, like holding a séance at Glosser's to contact her brother, who died a year ago in Vietnam. Will he keep his promise and make contact from the other side? Or will Erin receive an equally shocking message from closer to home? Either way, it will be a Halloween she'll never forget. Neither will the crowd at the annual Glosser Bros. Halloween Parade when she turns one of the floats into her own personal horror show. Don't miss this trip back in time to the glory days of the Glosser Bros. Department Store by Robert Jeschonek, award-winning author of LONG LIVE GLOSSER’S, CHRISTMAS AT GLOSSER’S, EASTER AT GLOSSER'S, and PENN TRAFFIC FOREVER. It's a blast from Halloween past, complete with window painting, the Shaffer twins, and a parade down Main Street...a spooky, nostalgic story for the whole family.

Leseprobe

Halloween at Glosser’s

A Johnstown Tale

Robert Jeschonek

Contents

Also by Robert Jeschonek

Halloween at Glosser's

About the Author

Glosser's Halloween Photo Gallery

1. Special Preview!

Special Preview: Christmas at Glosser’s

HALLOWEEN AT GLOSSER'S

Copyright © 2018 by Robert Jeschonek

www.robertjeschonek.com

Cover Art Copyright © 2018 by Ben Baldwin

www.benbaldwin.co.uk

Photos Copyright © 2018 William Glosser

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in October 2015 by arrangement with the author. All rights reserved by the author.

A Pie Press book

Published by Pie Press Publishing

411 Chancellor Street

Johnstown, Pennsylvania 15904

www.piepresspublishing.com

Also by Robert Jeschonek

A Glosser’s Christmas Love Story

Christmas at Glosser’s

Death by Polka

Easter at Glosser’s

Fear of Rain

Long Live Glosser’s

Penn Traffic Forever

Richland Mall Rules

The Glory of Gable’s

The Masked Family

To Ruby Shaffer, for helping keep the magic alive.

Halloween at Glosser's

"Why not make the flower a meat-eater?" asked Mrs. Mulligan. "Give it some blood-drenched fangs. Maybe have a person's foot sticking out of its mouth. That would be scary, don't you think?"

Sixteen-year-old Erin Lewis just shrugged at the colorful picture she'd painted on the big front window of the Glosser Bros. Department Store in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It was supposed to be an entry in the 1970 Halloween window painting contest sponsored by Glosser's, but somehow, it just wasn't shaping up to be winner material.

Happy flowers and beaming butterflies didn't exactly shout "Halloween." Neither did the other elements of Erin's painting.

"You need to do something about that sun up there, too." Mrs. Mulligan pointed one thick finger at the big, smiling orb in the top right corner of the painting. Its bright yellow color was almost the same as the yellow sweater dress clinging to the art teacher's pudgy body. "Instead of a smile, why not give it a gaping, jagged-toothed maw? Maybe give it some devil horns while you're at it, and some big, maniacal eyes."

Erin sighed and frowned. Her right hand fiddled with the military dog tags that hung from a chain at her throat, turning the cool metal chips between her fingers.

"Look, I'm just trying to help you." Mrs. Mulligan gave Erin's shoulder a squeeze. "You're the best artist at Johnstown High School, but you'll never win a prize if you don't paint something scary, or at least give it a Halloween theme."

Looking right and left, Erin saw other kids her age hard at work painting their own visions on Glosser's big windows. There were vampires, zombies, mummies, ghosts, werewolves, aliens, witches, demons, and all manner of monsters...the usual Halloween-type images. She knew how to draw all that stuff; it wasn't brain surgery.

But she didn't feel like it. It was the day before Halloween, but she wasn't in the mood to paint Halloweeny pictures.

"I know you can do it." Mrs. Mulligan nodded eagerly, and her high, blonde hairdo bobbed. "Remember, carnivorous flowers and a demonic sun."

"I don't think so." Looking down, Erin noticed a spot of yellow paint on her olive drab Army-style t-shirt. At least she had a dozen more of them at home. If any paint had gotten on her Army camouflage pants, she couldn't see it among the gray and brown splotches of fabric.

"This is only your second try," said the teacher. "And hey, it's better than your first draft, right? The one with the fluffy bunnies and kittens?"

"I don't want to work on it anymore," said Erin. "I'm done with this one."

"Then how about starting over? Third time's the charm, right?" Mrs. Mulligan grabbed a big brush from a tray on a nearby ladder. "Paint over what you've got there and show us something better suited to the holiday."

Erin's short brown pigtails flicked back and forth on her shoulders as she shook her head slowly. "Maybe I should just quit."

"Not yet." Mrs. Mulligan leaned close and locked her gaze with Erin's. "Just give it one more try, honey, okay?"

Erin recognized the tone of deep concern and encouragement. She'd heard it many times in the past year, ever since the Bad Thing had happened.

She knew it was well-intentioned. Other people were just trying to help by showing sympathy for her loss and giving her a little special treatment.

So why did it still make her want to kick over a couple of paint cans and run away?

"Come on, Erin." The teacher pressed the big brush toward her. "Show us what you can do. Bring home that first prize and make us all proud."

"Okay." Erin took the brush. She would give it another try, though she knew in her heart it would just be another waste of time.

"Great." Mrs. Mulligan grinned. "I can't wait to see what you come up with."

With that, the teacher marched off, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of a pocket in her dress as she headed across the street to Central Park.

Leaving Erin to sigh, then dunk the brush in a can of white paint and slap the start of a fresh coat over the flowers and butterflies on the window.

"What'll it be, sweetie?" The little brown-haired woman in the red smock smiled behind the soda fountain counter in the Glosser Bros. Department Store Cafeteria. "The usual?"

Erin nodded. "Yes, please, Ruby. One chocolate milkshake."

"And what else?" Ruby's kind smile widened, and her eyebrows lifted. "Should I make it a double?"

"No thanks." Erin didn't smile back. It just showed how bad her mood was, that one of her favorite people couldn't cheer her up.

Ruby and her sister Ruth had been there for Erin since she was a little girl, the first time she'd lived in Johnstown. She'd moved to Ohio with her mom and brother six years ago, then had come back to Johnstown one year ago after the Bad Thing happened. She'd needed friends more than ever at that point, and had picked up right where she'd left off with Ruby and Ruth. It was good having some supportive adult friends, since Mom was still a mess from the Bad Thing, and Erin's father had never been in the picture from the beginning.

"Here you go." Ruby lowered her voice to a whisper as she handed over the chocolate shake. "And I gave you something extra, after all."

Looking down at the shake, Erin saw it had three maraschino cherries on top instead of just one. It was enough to get a small smile out of her at last. "Thanks, Ruby." She reached over with two dollar bills to pay for the shake.

"On the house." Ruby wouldn't take the cash. "So what's got you down, anyway?"

Erin sighed. "I'm disqualified from the window-painting contest. My paintings weren't scary enough."

Ruby shook her head. "They just threw you out?"

"They gave me three chances." Erin thought of her third painting, which had turned out to be the stylized face of the lady from the ads for the Gee Bee stores (also owned by Glosser Bros.), smiling at a basket of puppies. "Three strikes, and I'm out."

Ruby picked up a parfait glass and polished it with a white rag. "I'll bet they were all wonderful." She leaned forward across the counter. "It's their loss, disqualifying you like that."

"Thanks." Erin sipped the shake through her straw. It was delicious as always.

"You can come and paint my windows," said Ruby. "I'd love anything you paint."

"Thanks, Ruby." Erin sipped some more shake.

"I'll bet there are lots of people who appreciate you," said Ruby. "People who make you feel better instead of worse."