Night Shift

He worked feverishly well into the night
His children in bed early for the school day ahead
Left his wife whom he had waited patiently for her slumber
His wait had paid off handsomely
As quietness fell over the house he left silently
Pulling the door shut behind him carefully
The box, he had left in his car along with the shovel and his “tool kit”
He idled the car down the block pacing himself
Nervous, anxious and alert
Parking on the side of the road he killed the engine
Leaning back in his seat
Looking for any sign of life
Satisfied he opened his door, pushing it shut without latching it, he had removed the dome light
He headed for the trunk
The thick brush at the side of the road quickly broke to the clearing
He had planned it all so well he thought, laughing
He had been careful not to return
No need to draw attention to himself
Or his “garden”
He retrieved his prize lugging the dead weight back to the trunk
Wrestling it in
The ride back to his house was silent
His mind raced with thoughts
The lights still out he coasted into his drive
Exiting the car he opened the trunk
Brushing the smudge marks from the bumper earlier missed
Grasping the box he lifted it, setting it in the drive before gently closing the trunk
He headed into the garage, through the door to the basement
His work shop
He started with his drill
A large enough hole to work a saw through he thought was all he needed
The saw was slow work
In and out
In and out
Yet it paid off in time
He used a screwdriver to remove the “cap”
He slid his hand, protected by a rubber glove into the awaiting hole
Scooping and cleaning the waste
Next he thought he would start at the eyes
Best to work from top to bottom
Less mess he thought
Carefully, with surgical precision
He worked his scalpel
Extracting what he so precisely had
Carved away
Running his finger from eye socket to eye socket
He traced it down to the nose
His work here done quickly
Now for the mouth
The shape of the mouth says so much he thought
As he sunk the knife deep
Careful not to break the teeth
That would not be good he thought

He had laid out plastic bags to contain the mess
He carefully grabbed the four corners, shaking the matter into the center, carefully walking to the bathroom sliding a bit at a time
Enough to carefully flush
With out stopping up the sewers lines
He rinsed the bag clean in the shop sink
Laid it out to dry
Returning to scrub the tools and his hands
He then sat, admiring his work
Lighter in hand he lit the candle sitting half burned on the table and stood walking to the light switch
Turning off the lights he was delighted to find
his creation somewhat alive
Daunting
Haunting
Returning to the table he picked up the candle
Carefully easing it through the skull cap
And replaced the cap with his other hand
The pumpkin glowed brilliantly
Blowing out the candle he snuck up to bed
They would be so happy with his surprise he thought
as he passed his children’s room
Slipping under the covers his wife stirred, not waking
He leaned to kiss her, soon closing his tired eyes
Slipping into a sleep
Lost in dreams
Of halloween