Updated Apr 19, 2026 • ~13 min read
Chapter 14: Halloween
Asher
Asher discovers that Halloween in Maplewood is apparently a massive community event when Ruby wakes him up three weeks before the actual holiday with a detailed plan for her costume, a list of houses she wants to trick-or-treat at, and a very specific request that Quinn join them for the evening because “families do Halloween together, Daddy, and we’re a family now, right?”
“We’re… working on that,” Asher says carefully, because he and Quinn have been dating—if you can call stolen coffee dates and late-night conversations on her porch and carefully chaperoned dinners with Ruby present “dating”—for three weeks now, and while Asher is definitely falling in love, he’s not sure they’ve reached the “announcing ourselves as a family unit” stage yet.
“But Quinn comes for dinner all the time!” Ruby protests with six-year-old logic. “And you smile at her the way you smiled at pictures of Mommy. And she teaches me baking and braids my hair and brings me cookies. That’s family stuff, Daddy!”
Asher can’t really argue with this assessment because Ruby’s right—Quinn has seamlessly integrated into their daily life in ways that feel both natural and terrifying, and if Asher’s being honest, they probably crossed into “family” territory somewhere around the second time Quinn stayed for bedtime stories and Ruby fell asleep holding both their hands.
“I’ll ask Quinn if she wants to join us for Halloween,” Asher promises. “But Ruby, we need to talk about what ‘family’ means and how we’re being careful not to rush—”
“Can I be a princess?” Ruby interrupts, because apparently relationship pacing is significantly less interesting than costume planning. “Like a real princess with a crown and a dress and everything?”
“You can be whatever you want,” Asher confirms, accepting that the family conversation will have to wait for a time when Ruby is more interested in listening.
Three weeks later, Asher is standing in his living room watching Ruby spin in her princess costume—a sparkly pink dress that Quinn helped modify from a store-bought version to include what Ruby calls “extra princess upgrades” like additional tulle and rhinestones—while trying not to have a heart attack about the fact that Quinn is coming over to join them for trick-or-treating and the entire town is definitely going to interpret this as a major relationship milestone.
“Does Quinn know about the Halloween party at town hall after trick-or-treating?” Cole asks, sprawled on Asher’s couch in his own costume which appears to be “firefighter but make it Halloween” based on the addition of plastic bat wings to his uniform.
“I mentioned it,” Asher confirms. “She said she’d come if we want her there.”
“Do you want her there?” Cole asks with that knowing look that suggests he already knows the answer.
“Obviously,” Asher admits, because there’s no point pretending with Cole who’s known him for twenty years and can read him like a book. “But wanting her there and admitting we’re publicly presenting as a family unit at a town event are different things.”
“Not that different,” Cole points out. “You’ve been dating three weeks. The whole town knows. Ruby’s already calling you a family. At some point you have to acknowledge what everyone else already sees.”
“Which is?” Asher asks, even though he knows.
“That you’re in love with her,” Cole says simply. “That you have been for a while. That Ruby adores her. That you’re building exactly the kind of family you lost when Emma died. And that fighting it is pointless because it’s already happening whether you officially acknowledge it or not.”
Asher wants to argue, but Ruby chooses that moment to run into the room shouting “Quinn’s here! Quinn’s here! She’s wearing a costume!” with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for Christmas morning.
Quinn appears in the doorway wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a makeshift wand with a star on top, and she’s smiling at Ruby’s excitement with such genuine warmth that Asher feels his heart do something uncomfortable in his chest.
“Please, Quinn! You can be my fairy godmother!” Ruby announces, grabbing Quinn’s hand and pulling her into the house. “You have a wand and everything!”
“I borrowed it from Mabel’s granddaughter,” Quinn admits, letting Ruby drag her into the living room. “Ruby mentioned wanting a fairy godmother to go with her princess costume, so I improvised.”
“You’re perfect!” Ruby announces. “Now we’re a real princess story! Princess, fairy godmother, and…” she looks at Asher critically. “Daddy, what are you supposed to be?”
“A firefighter?” Asher suggests, gesturing to his normal clothes because he doesn’t do costumes.
“That’s not a Halloween costume, that’s just your job!” Ruby protests. “You need to be something from the story! Like the prince!”
“I’m not wearing a prince costume,” Asher says firmly.
“You could be the brave knight who protects the princess,” Quinn suggests with barely suppressed amusement. “Firefighters are basically modern knights anyway. Just need a cardboard sword.”
Ruby gasps like this is the most brilliant idea she’s ever heard, and before Asher can protest, Cole is already fashioning a sword from cardboard and duct tape while Ruby directs the construction with the authority of a tiny costume designer.
Ten minutes later, Asher is standing in his living room holding a cardboard sword and wearing a reluctant expression while Ruby, Quinn, and Cole all agree that he makes an excellent brave knight.
“This is ridiculous,” Asher mutters.
“This is perfect!” Ruby corrects. “Now we’re a complete story! Let’s go trick-or-treating!”
Maplewood’s Halloween celebration is exactly what Asher expected—the entire town participating with decorated houses, elaborate candy stations, and approximately three hundred people crowding Main Street in various costumes. Ruby holds hands with both Asher and Quinn as they walk, chattering nonstop about which houses have the best candy based on intel she’s gathered from her classmates.
Asher watches Quinn interact with his daughter—patient with Ruby’s constant requests to visit “just one more house,” enthusiastic about examining every piece of candy, gentle when Ruby gets tired and wants to be carried—and he’s struck by how natural this feels, how right.
This is what family looks like.
Not just him and Ruby managing alone, but the three of them together—Ruby bouncing between her parents with equal affection, Quinn’s hand finding his when they’re walking, the comfortable rhythm of shared parenting that Asher hasn’t experienced since Emma died.
“You’re staring,” Quinn observes quietly while Ruby runs ahead to the next house.
“I’m admiring,” Asher corrects. “There’s a difference.”
“Admiring what?” Quinn asks with a smile that suggests she knows exactly what.
“This,” Asher says, gesturing to Ruby ahead of them and then to Quinn beside him. “You with Ruby. Us together. How easy this is when I thought it would be terrifying.”
“It is terrifying,” Quinn points out. “But also good?”
“Better than good,” Asher admits. “Perfect, actually. Which is what makes it terrifying.”
They catch up to Ruby at Mrs. Peterson’s house where she’s receiving what appears to be full-sized candy bars and chattering about her fairy godmother costume, and Asher stands back watching his daughter and his… girlfriend? Partner? The woman he’s falling in love with?—interact with such natural affection that his chest aches.
“You love her,” Cole says, appearing beside Asher with his own bag of acquired candy. “Not just ‘falling for’—actually love. I can see it on your face.”
“I barely know her,” Asher protests weakly.
“You’ve known her three months,” Cole counters. “You’ve had dinner together approximately forty times if Ruby’s count is accurate. You know her favorite pastry, her coffee order, what makes her laugh, what makes her sad, how she takes her tea when she’s stressed. You know her, Asher. And you love her.”
“Loving her means risking everything,” Asher says quietly. “Risking my heart, risking Ruby’s attachment, risking the family we’re building. If it doesn’t work out—”
“Then you’ll survive,” Cole interrupts firmly. “Like you survived Emma’s death. Like you survived two years of grief. Like you’ve survived everything else life has thrown at you. But Asher, what if it does work out? What if Quinn is exactly who you and Ruby need? What if you get the family you lost back in a different form? Isn’t that worth the risk?”
Asher doesn’t have an answer for that, so he watches Quinn help Ruby sort her candy while talking about sugar limits and brushing teeth, and he thinks about Cole’s question.
Is it worth the risk?
Is loving Quinn worth the potential devastation if he loses her?
Is building this family worth the fear of loss?
Ruby runs back to them with chocolate smeared on her face and grabs both their hands again, pulling them toward the next house, and Asher realizes the answer is obviously yes—it’s absolutely worth the risk because what they’re building is too precious to walk away from just because he’s scared.
The Halloween party at town hall is chaos—kids running everywhere hopped up on sugar, parents trying to maintain some semblance of control, the entire community packed into one space celebrating together. Ruby drags Quinn to see the costume contest while Asher gets them drinks, and when he returns he finds them both laughing at something Ruby said, Quinn’s hand in Ruby’s hair fixing a princess crown that’s slipping.
Asher stands there holding three cups of apple cider and watching them together—Ruby holding Quinn’s hand, looking up at her with such trust and affection, Quinn looking back with genuine love—and he realizes with sudden, crystal clarity that this isn’t just dating anymore.
This is family.
They ARE a family, whether Asher’s ready to admit it or not.
Ruby calls Quinn for help with something, and Quinn goes without hesitation, and Asher is left standing there processing the fact that he’s absolutely, completely, terrifyingly in love with Quinn Mitchell.
“You’ve got that look,” Mabel observes, appearing at his elbow with her usual perfect timing. “The ‘I just realized I’m in love’ look. It’s very recognizable.”
“Is it that obvious?” Asher asks, not bothering to deny it.
“To everyone except possibly Quinn and Ruby,” Mabel confirms. “Though Ruby probably knows on some level. Kids are perceptive about these things.”
“I’m terrified,” Asher admits, because Mabel is one of the few people he can be honest with about feelings. “Of loving her, of losing her, of everything this means.”
“That’s how you know it’s real,” Mabel says gently. “If you weren’t terrified, it wouldn’t matter enough to be scary. But Asher, that girl over there? She’s terrified too. Of trusting you, of building a life here, of believing this is real. You’re both scared, which means you’re perfect for each other.”
“Judy’s meddling logic,” Asher observes with a slight smile.
“Sometimes Judy’s right,” Mabel says, patting his arm. “Don’t waste time fighting what’s already happening. Just love her and let yourself be loved back.”
Quinn returns with Ruby, both of them laughing about something, and Ruby immediately asks if she can go play with her friends while the adults talk.
“Stay where I can see you,” Asher instructs, and Ruby nods before running off to join a group of princesses and superheroes.
“She’s having the best time,” Quinn observes, settling beside Asher against the wall. “Thank you for letting me join you tonight.”
“Thank you for coming,” Asher says. “And for being patient with Ruby’s constant demands. I know she can be a lot.”
“She’s perfect,” Quinn says firmly. “And I love spending time with her. With both of you.”
There’s weight in how she says it—not a casual statement but something more significant—and Asher turns to look at her directly.
“Quinn,” he starts, not sure what he’s about to say but feeling like something important needs to be acknowledged.
But Ruby chooses that moment to return with an announcement: “Emma’s mom said there’s a photo booth! Can we take a family picture? Please?”
Asher freezes, unsure how to handle this—Ruby casually referring to them as family, Quinn standing next to him looking equally uncertain, the weight of this moment pressing down on all of them.
“I’d like that,” Quinn says quietly, and she’s looking at Asher with such hope and vulnerability that his remaining walls crumble completely.
“Yeah,” Asher agrees. “Let’s take a family picture.”
They crowd into the photo booth—Ruby in the middle, Asher and Quinn on either side—and the camera captures four shots: Ruby making silly faces, all three of them laughing, Ruby kissing both their cheeks, and the final one with Asher’s arm around Quinn’s shoulders and all three of them smiling genuinely.
Looking at those photos later—the proof that they’re building something real despite all the fear and complication—Asher can’t deny it anymore.
He loves Quinn.
He loves her patience with Ruby, her integration into their lives, the way she makes their house feel like home again.
He loves how she understands his grief without trying to fix it, how she builds trust slowly, how she’s brave enough to risk her heart despite Marcus destroying it.
He loves her.
And watching her help Ruby with her candy sorting while chattering about sugar limits and bedtime routines, Asher realizes that Cole was right.
This is worth the risk.
All of it—the fear, the vulnerability, the possibility of loss—is worth it for the family they’re building together.
Later that night, after Ruby is asleep and Asher is walking Quinn back to her house, they stand on her porch in the Halloween darkness.
“Tonight was perfect,” Quinn says. “Thank you for including me.”
“You’re part of this now,” Asher says, taking her hands. “Part of our family. Ruby knows it, the town knows it, I know it. The only question is whether you’re okay with that.”
Quinn’s eyes shine with tears in the porch light, and she nods.
“I’m more than okay with it,” she whispers. “I love you. Both of you. And that terrifies me, but it’s true.”
“I love you too,” Asher says, and saying it out loud feels both terrifying and liberating. “I didn’t think I could love anyone after Emma. But you’re… everything. And I’m done fighting it.”
He kisses her then—properly, without Ruby watching or the town interfering, just the two of them acknowledging what they’ve both known for weeks.
They’re in love.
They’re building a family.
And despite all the fear and complication and meddling townspeople, it’s absolutely perfect.
Walking back to his house later, Asher sees the photo booth pictures still in his pocket and smiles.
Cole was right.
He loves Quinn.
And maybe—just maybe—that’s the best thing that’s ever happened to him.
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