I Screamed When I Saw What Was Parked In Our Driveway. Then I Learned My Husband Had Bought It.

I Screamed When I Saw What Was Parked In Our Driveway. Then I Learned My Husband Had Bought It.

Briefly

"One evening in October 2023, I went outside to check the mailbox in our Florida suburb and found a white hearse parked in our driveway. Beneath the moonlight, it glittered like a ghostly apparition. I froze and wondered if death had finally come for us. We'd each recently battled life-threatening health challenges. I'd survived a brain tumor while Tomer had undergone open-heart surgery. We were still in our 40s, and while medical intervention had bought us more time, my anxiety continued to soar."

"Inside, Tomer lounged on the sofa. "I think there's a hearse in our driveway," I yelled. Tomer worked for a commercial vehicle leasing company and sometimes drove home in a newly acquired limo or party bus. I figured the death van would be gone by morning. The next day, I found Tomer outside, reaching into the back where the dead bodies go. He clutched a clump of white fluff from which he spun decorative webs. Tomer had arranged our Halloween décor inside: plastic skulls, cemetery gates, and a canine zombie. I eyed the metal latches running across the vehicle's floor and realized they must be what held the coffins in place. "This will be our trick-or-treat station," he said. "Like trunk-or-treat, but better." He pointed at a carpeted edge. "The candy bowl will sit here.""

"I wondered how many coffins had touched the same spot. "Between my heart and your brain, we've missed years of fun," Tomer said as he juggled a decorative gourd. "This Halloween, we're taking back our lives." I couldn't believe it. He never even watched scary movies with me. Was this sudden embrace of the macabre his way of managing mortal angst? If so, then I needed to support my spouse, but the hearse was creeping me out."