This is an older story that i wrote. It's quite long and not really proud of it.
Spooky’s Diner
In the city of Durango, Colorado stands Spooky’s Diner. It’s located near the outside of town, near Route 550. Its sign can be seen from 10 miles up the highway. It’s owned by Harvey Scheller, who’s now in his early 50’s. He stands behind the counter reading a book. He wears a greasy t-shirt and a Dracula cape. His face is painted white with little dabs of red in the corners. George sweeps the orange, black, and white tiled floor. He’s dressed as a mad scientist, with gloves, lab coat, and Albert Einstein hair. The jukebox plays the Monster Mash. George hums along. George finishes sweeping and looks at Harvey. He says:
“Done, Mr. Scheller.”
Harvey looks up from the counter.
“What?”
“I’m done sweeping, Mr. Scheller.”
“Good.”
“You…got anything else that you want me to do?”
“Oh. Umm…you wipe down the tables yet?”
“No. Not yet.”
“Do that then.”
George goes behind the counter to get some more Windex and paper towels. He asks:
“That it for today, Mr. Scheller?”
Harvey looks up.
“Is that all what?”
“Can I punch in after I get done with this?”
“You’re not done with that yet.”
“Yeah…but it’ll only take a lil while before I am.”
“Get done with that first. Then I’ll tell ya if I’m done with ya or not.”
George continues to sweep. The Monster Mash ends. It starts up again.
Harvey looks up from his book, gets a napkin and marks his spot. He goes to the cash register and starts counting the dollar bills. He sees some crud on his wedding band. He wipes it off with his thumb and smears it against his apron. He resumes counting. 200 short of last week. He sighs and starts recounting. He asks George, without looking up:
The backroom door opens and Charlene and Donna come out one after the other. Charlene is in a typical waitress uniform except with Bride of Frankenstein hair and makeup. Donna is the same except for a witch’s hat that’s now tucked underneath her arm.
“See ya, boss man.”
“See ya, Harv.”
“Ya’ll heading out?”
“Yes we are.”
“You punch your tickets?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, boss man.”
Harvey sees them toting their uniforms.
“You guys wanna uniforms here? So I can send ‘em to the cleaner’s?”
“Look at you…trying to get our clothes off…hahaha!”
Donna cackles.
“Thanks, Harv. I’ll just clean it myself.”
“I’ll clean mine too, boss man.”
“Ok.”
Donna turns her head to Charlene.
“You wanna go out to eat?”
“Nah. I gotta get back home.”
“Aw c’mon.”
“Really. I’m beat.”
“Ok.”
“George?”
“Yeah?”
“Who you ridin’ with? Me or Charlene?”
“I gotta finish this first…”
“Oh. Let Harvey finish that.”
“Mr. Scheller?”
“Hmm?”
“Can I stop wiping counters and go home with them?”
“Whose goin’ home?”
“We are.”
“Let em come with us, boss man. He’s so tie-uhd. “
“Hmmm. Ok. Go home. I’ll wipe the tables.”
“Thanks, Harv.”
“Thank you, Mr. Scheller.”
“So who you riding with, junior?”
“I’m going straight home.”
“I’m going for a bite to eat. So if you come with me I’ll buy.”
“I’ll go with you, Donna.”
“K. Kid’s comin’ with me. Who you goin’ home with tonight, boss man?”
Harvey looks up. He says:
“I think I’ll go home by myself.”
“No fun tonight?”
“Nah. Just sleep.”
“Oh. You need to have fun, boss man.”
“I can’t afford fun.”
“C’mon. I’m sure Charlene would love to take you home.”
Charlene makes an awkward face.
“Hahaha! That face is priceless! Haha. Sorry, boss man. I would take you myself but ...I got junior here.”
She winks and hugs George to her tightly.
“But I’d be glad to have you over later…”
“No thanks, Charlene.”
“Oh really? Well be that way. Haha.”
“What is your last name now anyway, Charlene?”
“I’m back to being a McDonough.”
“Well George can prolly change that for ya.”
“Haha. Good idea. But junior’s too young for me.”
“When has age ever stopped you?”
“When I could get arrested for it.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Ha ha. Very funny.”
“I like to think so.”
Awkward silence. Donna says:
“So see you Monday, Harvey.”
“Have a good weekend.”
“C’mon George.”
They leave.
Donna, Charlene, and George all walk away from the diner. Harvey sees them drive off.
“Did you hear what he said to me??”
“Yes ma’am. I heard.”
“Can you believe the way that ass talked to me?”
“No ma’am. But…”
“He’s an old bastard.”
“I think he was just trying to be funny…”
“Well it wasn’t funny. It was damn mean.”
“I’m sorry Donna.”
“Ain’t your fault, junior. Now where you wanna eat?”
“I’m not particular, Donna.”
“You’re too polite. You’ll never keep a woman if you’re too polite.”
“Sorry, Donna.”
“Don’t apologize!”
“Sorry.”
“Too damn polite.”
“My parents taught me to be that way, I guess.”
“Well stop it. Don’t be nice.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“You want Burger King?”
“Sure.”
“Good. I want Burger King, too.”
They go into the drive through. Donna says to George:
“Don’t get stuck working for fast food, George.”
“No ma’am.”
“You’re in college, right?”
“High school.”
“You a senior?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“You goin’ to the night school or somethin’?”
“No ma’am. Just regular school.”
“Jesus. Why you working for ol’ asshole then?”
“Why am I working for Mr. Scheller?”
“That’s who I was referring to, yeah.”
“I don’t know. I need the money I guess.”
“Well get your money and quit.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“I’m serious. Get all the money you want from that bastard and quit.”
“Mr. Scheller is a nice guy…”
“No! It’s not because of him! I mean…it is because of him…you know?”
“No ma’am.”
“I don’t think I do either. “
And they drive off.
Harvey goes back to reading his book. He looks up after the song on the jukebox ends. He walks over to the counter to the seat at the end. It is the seat he has reserved. It’s where his son would sit if he were there. Harvey would have gone over to him. Harvey’s son would have been struggling with his homework.
“What’s you working on kiddo?”
“Math.”
“Need any help?”
“No sir.”
“You sure?”
“Yessir.”
“Ok. I’ll be over here if you need any help.”
A few seconds later:
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Can you help me, please?”
“Ok. What’s gotcha stuck?”
“This one.”
“Ok.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Ok. I’ll help. Put your elbows on the counter like this.”
They would have both put their elbows on the table with their hands in fists.
“Ok. How old are you?”
“5.”
“Ok. And what fingers do you put up for 5?”
Dylan would have put up one hand.
“That’s right. Now how old is your sister?”
“8.”
“Ok. What fingers do you put up for 8?”
Dylan would have put up 8 fingers.
“That’s right. Now put this hand down.”
Dylan would have.
“Now how many do you have left?”
“3?”
“That’s right.”
“Is that the answer?”
“That’s the answer.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
“No problem.”
Harvey would have kissed his son on the head and tossed his hair. He would have gone back to the counter, smiling. He would have turned back and asked:
“You want something to eat, sport?”
But Harvey didn’t do that because his son wasn’t there. His son would never be there.
Harvey wipes the counter with a rag. The jukebox plays the Monster Mash again.
“What’s gonna be on the jukebox, baby?”
“I don’t know…Halloween songs I guess…”
“Like the horror movie themes?”
“I don’t think that’d go well?”
“Really?”
“No. Haha.”
“Don’t you want to see the look on a customer’s face when they’re eating their apple pie and all of sudden they hear RINK RINK RINK RINK?”
“Hahaha. Not if we want them to come back.”
“Pssh. Haha. Who needs loyal customers when you have a bunch of laughs?”
“Well…you give me all the laughs I need.”
“Awww. You’re so cheesy.”
“And you’re so perfect.”
They kissed.
Harvey finished the counter and started the tables he whistled while he worked.
“Baby?”
“Yeah, Junebug?”
“We’re outta Windex.”
“We are?”
“Yeah. Can you pick some up for me while I’m at work?”
“Sure. What do you want for supper?”
“Oh. I’m not hungry.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, baby. You eat. I’m fine.”
“Really? You haven’t eaten at all today.”
“Because I wasn’t hungry today.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Well I wasn’t.”
“Let me make you something.”
“Baby, I’m not hungry.”
“Eat. For me.”
“Ok…if you insist…”
She smiled. Harvey smiled back.
“Sit down, love. Let me make you something.”
“Ok.”
“What you wanna eat? A sammich?”
“Oh. I’d love a sammich.”
“I’ll make you a sammich then.”
“Thank you, baby.”
“No problem. Turkey?”
“Turkey sounds delicious.”
“Ok. Turkey. You want your bread toasted?”
“Yes, please.”
Harvey got two pieces of bread.
“Did I ever tell you what happened at work, yesterday?”
“No ma’am.”
“Well…Suzanne quit.”
“She quit?”
“Yeah. And she made a huge ass deal about it, too.”
“How?”
“Well…I told she’d been coming in constantly late these past couple of weeks, right?”
“Right.”
“Well…turns out Janie was gonna fire her today after Suzanne’s shift was over.”
“I thought you said Suzanne quit…”
“Let me tell the story, please.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s ok. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
“So anyway…Janie was gonna fire Suzanne…”
“Right.”
“Well Ricky, with his big mouth, must’a let it out to Suzanne when they were out on their break.”
“He did?”
“Yeah. And Suzanne was so damn mad that as soon as she parked her truck in the parking lot, she walked straight into Janie’s office and slammed the door behind her and she tore Janie a new one. The whole place shut up and tried to hear what was going on. Baby…toast…”
“Oh.”
“What was I saying?”
“Everyone shut up…”
“Oh yeah. I mean…you could hear muffled voices through the walls she was screaming so loud. And everyone shut up to try and hear it.”
“You want mayo?”
“Yes, please. And a like 10 minutes after she went in, she came out. She turned back towards the door and said in the loudest voice possible, ‘And here’s your ugly effin’ uniform, Janie. I was tired of wearing it anyway.’ And she took of he shirt with her name tag and everything. And she stormed outta the place in her bra and her skirt!”
“Hahaha. Oh my God!”
“I know, right?? Like really?”
“I can’t believe Suzanne would do that.”
“She must’a been crazy! And the whole place was dead silent after that.”
“Really? You weren’t laughin’?”
“I didn’t know whether or not to laugh yet.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. Even Marcus was quiet.”
“Marcus was quiet?”
“Yeah. And you know, nothing can shut him up.”
“Well…apparently a white trash woman taking her top off can.”
“Hahaha. Yeah.”
“Here’s your sandwich, baby.”
“Thank you sir.”
She took bite out of it and smiled.
“It good?”
She swallowed.
“It’s delicious.”
“Thanks.”
She took another bite. She said:
“I can’t believe I haven’t told you that before now.”
“Well you were tired last night.”
“But still. I strictly remembered it for you.”
“Aww. You did?”
“Yeah. Right after it happened I was like, ‘I gotta tell Harvey ‘bout this’. But I fell asleep on you instead.”
“It’s ok. I’m glad you told me now, baby.”
He kissed her. Afterwards, he licked the mayo from the corner of his mouth.
“Let me get your plate.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“What time you gotta go in tonight, baby?”
“Eh. Bout 6.”
“And you get off at 1?”
“Yeah. Prolly 1:45 tonight though. I’m gonna help Janie clean a lil before the next shift.”
“Man.”
“What?”
“She’s had you work late all this week.”
“Yeah. But…it’s money.”
“Yeah.”
“It’ll all be better when we win the lottery, baby.”
“Haha. Yeah.”
She got up from the table and hugged Harvey behind.
“Thanks for the sammich, honey.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I love you.”
“I love you more.”
He turned around and kissed her.
“You sure you gotta work tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“You sure you don’t wanna call in sick?”
“Wish I could, darling.”
“Well have a good day at work, ok?”
“Ok. You don’t have to stay up for me.”
“I want to, though.”
“Ok.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too.”
They hugged.
“Don’t forget the Windex, please.”
“I won’t.”
“Please don’t run off with any beautiful women, either.”
“I could never do that. Have a great day, ok?”
“I’ll try.”
“Ok.”
“See you then.”
“See you then.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
She left and Harvey went back to work.
Harvey finished wiping the tables. He put the Windex back beneath the counter. He went into the kitchen.
“Should we hire a chef you think?”
“Nah. You can be the chef, baby.”
“I can be the chef?”
“Yeah. You’re a great cook.”
“Yeah. But I couldn’t do it professionally.”
“There’s classes, baby.”
“Ok. I’ll be the chef. What do you want to do?”
“What do I want to do? I’m gonna be the cashier.”
“Awesome. Who’s gonna be the waiters and waitresses?”
“Our kids are gonna do that.”
“When they’re babies?”
“No. Like…when they’re 10 up to high school.”
“Who’ll be the waiters until then?”
“My sister.”
“Angela? Haha.”
“Yeah. And we won’t even have to pay her. We can just give her chicken sammiches.”
Donna and George were eating their hamburgers.
“How you like your burger, junior?”
“It’s good.”
“Good. You owe me 8 bucks.”
“Oh.”
George reaches for his wallet.
“I’m just messin’ with you.”
“Oh.”
“Haha. Learn to lighten up.”
They ate some more.
“So how long have you been workin’ for Mr. Scheller?”
“A long, long, LONG time.”
“How long?”
“ ‘Bout 7 years.”
“Why do you work for him if you hate it?”
“It’s money.”
“Oh.”
“I coulda left but I never did. Now I never can.”
“Sure you can.”
“Nah. I’m old.”
“No you’re not, Donna.”
“Don’t kid me.”
“You’re not.”
They ate.
“Now, I’ve been wondering this for awhile…”
“What’s that, kid?”
“Why would someone like Mr. Scheller open up a themed restaurant?”
“You mean…why would a stick in the mud like Harvey open a place that’s supposed to be fun?”
“I guess that’s one way of putting it…”
“I don’t know.”
“I thought since you…”
“I honestly don’t know why. Harvey never said and I never asked. He just did.”
“Huh.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Harvey turned off the light in the kitchen and walked to his office. He took off his cape and pt it on the coat rack. He put the apron on the hook next to the cape. He went to the sink in his office and started wiping off the makeup.
“And what will the dress up as?”
“Like…old movie monsters…”
“That’s awesome!”
“I know, right?”
“I wanna be Dracula.”
“You’d be a good Dracula.”
“Who you wanna dress up as, baby?”
“Umm…that’s a good question…”
“Bride of Frankenstein?”
“Nah.”
“A vampire?”
“No. Can’t have two vampires.”
“Umm…this is tough…”
“A mummy?”
“Be hard to talk wouldn’t it?”
“Yeah…”
“We’ll come up with somethin’.”
“Yeah.”
Harvey puts cold water on his face. He walks out of his office and turns out the light. E gets his book from the counter. He turns off the dining lights and leaves the diner. He locks the door and walks to his small black car. He drives off. He passes the sign.
It’s 10 feet tall. It’s bright and luminescent. It can reportedly be seen 20 miles either way down Route 550. It has a large arrow with bulbs of yellow pointing towards the diner. Below it is a florescent ghost with neon eyes. It’s surrounded by the words SPOOKY’S and DINER. Below that is a caption that reads:
“Where it’s always Halloween.”
Harvey drew that sign on the back of a work memo and brought it home.
“I love it.”
“I drew it on my lunch break.”
“It’s great.”
“It’d prolly be better if you drew it.”
“I think it’s perfect.”
“Thank you.”
“I love it.”
“His arm is flimsy.”
“Which one?”
“This one.”
“Oh it’ll be fine. We’ll cover it with one of the Os.”
“You really like it?”
“I love it. I really do.”
“I love you.”
“I know.”
“I tried putting eyes in the Os.”
“Huh.”
“Yeah. But they always looked like boobs.”
“Hahahaha. You’re too cute.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
“I know so.”
“Hmm. It’s gonna cost a fortune though.”
“Eh. We can afford it.”
“We can?”
“We’re gonna win the lottery aren’t we?”
“Yeah. I forgot about that.”
Donna and George drive down the road.
“Tell me where to turn, kid.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“So ya got a girlfriend George?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“You do?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“What’s her name?”
“Janis?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Hw old is she?”
“She’s the same age as me.”
“Ya’ll in the same grade?”
“She’s one under me.”
“She’s under you?”
George blushes.
“Ummm…”
“Hahaha! Sorry. That’s sweet. You like her?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“That’s sweet. How long’ve you guys been goin’ out?”
“6 months.”
“Wow. Congrats.”
“Thank you. Turn up here.”
“Ok.”
She stops in front of George’s house.
“You got school tomorrow?”
“It’ Saturday tomorrow.”
“Oh. Well…you hanging out with your girlfriend this weekend?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Well have a good night, kid.”
“You too, Donna.”
Harvey parks he car in his driveway. He walks inside. He turns on the lights. He goes out into the back yard and lets his dog into the house. The dog goes into the living room as Harvey goes into the kitchen. Harvey comes back into the living room; his dog is asleep on the couch. Harvey says to him:
“How you doin’, Curly?”
Curly’s tail wagged but he was soon asleep again.
“I feel the same way.”
He walks into the kitchen and gets some milk. He drinks it from the carton. He sees the drawing on the fridge. And the old note.
Good evenin' baby
Hope you had a good day
I’ll prolly be asleep when you get here
So I won't have much to say
I’m sorry we can't talk
But I gotta get some rest
Just know that I love ya
And that you're the best
There’s chicken in the microwave
If you feel hungry
We done ran outta coke
So I made you some tea
I tucked in the kids
And picked em up from school
Tomorrow I think
I’ll bring out the kiddie pool
I washed all yo clothes
And I ironed yo dress
I know you think that you're just a waitress
But you always look your best
We’re also outta soap
So tomorrow I’ll go to the store
The earring you lost
Is in the candy bowl by the door
Well the bills came in today
I don't know which credit card to use
Poppy’s got the flu again
And Dylan needs new shoes
I hate that you gotta work late
Every day this week
Because of this schedule
We hardly get to speak
We need a vacation
Somewhere to get away
Maybe we can all go to the beach
Next Saturday
I miss you baby
In every shape and form
I made sure that when you came to bed
That your side would be warm
You’re more than exhausted now
And will prolly go to bed soon
Well know this
I love you
“Hey, baby.”
“Hey…”
“Did I wake you up?”
“Nah…”
“Go back to sleep.”
“I wasn’t asleep. I was waitin’ on you.”
“Ok.”
“You get my note?”
“The one that was on the fridge?”
“Yeah.”
“I did.”
“You like it?”
“I loved it.”
“There actually is some chicken in the microwave if you want it. I made it for you.”
“Aww. Thanks, sweetie. I’ll eat some later.”
“Ok.”
They kissed.
“I’m gonna go take a shower.”
“Ok.”
“I love you. Go to sleep.”
“I love you too. And I’ll go to sleep when you do.”
“Ok.”
George walks into his house. He goes upstairs and passes his parent’s bed.
“Hey, champ.”
“Hey, dad.”
“How was work?”
“Good.”
“Whatcha do?”
“Nothin’ much. Just cleaned.”
“You get your paycheck?”
“No sir I think I’ll get it tomorrow.”
“You tell him to give it to you tomorrow.”
“Yes sir.”
“You want me to tell him?”
“No sir.”
“I can if you want.”
“I want to take care of it by myself.”
“Ok.”
“You gonna take off that uniform?”
“I was just about to.”
“Ok.”
“Ok.”
“Night.”
“Night. You gonna take to Janis?”
“Yes sir.”
“Tell her I say hi. Don’t talk to long though. We’re almost outta minutes.”
“Yes sir.”
“Love you.”
“Love ya, too.”
Harvey rests on his bed without his clothes on. He stares up at the ceiling fan.
“You still up, baby?”
“Yeah. Waitin’ for you.”
“Aww. So sweet.”
“Hw was work, baby?”
“Ugh!”
“That good huh?”
“It was horrible!”
“Well lay down here wit me and tell me about it.”
“Well…”
The phone rings.
“Hello?”
“Harvey?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s Charlene.”
“Hi, Charlene.”
“Umm…I’m sorry for calling you so late.”
“It’s ok. What’s the problem?”
“Umm…I need an advance…”
“I’m gonna give ya’ll your checks later.”
“I know, I know. But…I need next weeks too.”
“What you need it for?”
“Well there’s this new…”
“Can we talk about this some other time?”
“Umm…but…”
“Come by my office Monday and we’ll talk about it.”
“But…”
“Talk to you Monday.”
“Ok…”
“Good night.”
He hangs up.
“You know what we should do?”
“What, baby?”
“We should open a restaurant?”
“A restaurant?”
“Yeah.”
“What kind of restaurant? Please don’t say it’s an Italian one. I’m tired of Italian restaurants.”
“No. Like a diner.”
“A diner?”
“Yeah.”
“Here?”
“No. Not here.”
“Where then?”
“You know? After we win the lottery and move to Colorado.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. We’ll open a diner.”
“Is it gonna have a cheesy 50’s theme?”
“No. I thought of doing something original.”
“Like what, baby?”
“What’s your favorite holiday?”
“Halloween.”
“That’ll be the theme.”
“What?”
“Yeah. And we’ll have all Halloween décor. Make it kinda scary but kinda cute. Have things like ghost shaped waffles.”
“I love waffles.”
“Who doesn’t?”
“What would w do with a restaurant?”
“Well…we’d run it.”
“We’d run it?”
“Yeah.”
“We don’t now how to run a restaurant.”
“We can always find out. Can’t be that hard.”
“But there’s things like money, and people, and all that.”
“We’ll find all that out.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. And you know what?”
“It’ll all be ours.”
“Huh.”
“You like the idea?”
“It’s an awesome idea.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s a little crazy but so are you.”
“Thanks, baby.”
“You know I love you.”
“I love you too. So it sounds like a plan?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Harvey curls up on the bed and falls asleep. George gets on the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Mr. Hasbun. Can to speak to Janis, please?”
“Ok.”
“Thank you.”
“Hello?”
“Hi, Janis.”
“Hey. How was work?”
“Good. How are you?”
“Good.”
“Good.”
“When’d you get in?”
“Just a lil while ago.
“Oh.”
“You know what we should do when we get married and stuff?”
“What, baby?”
Harvey wakes up and walks into the kitchen. He makes himself a pack of microwavable mac and cheese. He has a Coke and sits down at the table. He sits in front of an empty chair.
“Mornin’, baby.”
“Good morning.”
“How’d you sleep?”
“Like a baby. You?”
“I died.”
“That’s cute. Please don’t die on me.”
“I promise.”
“Good.”
“You want some breakfast?”
“Sure.”
“Eggs, baby?”
“Sounds delicious.”
“So I was thinkin’ bout a name for the diner this morning?”
“You were?”
“Mmmhmm.”
“What name you think of?”
“How about Spooky’s?”
“I love it.”
“You do?”
“Mmhmm.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Harvey cleans his plate and got dressed. He goes out the door without a kiss. He leaves Curly on the couch. He drives off.
On Monday, Spooky’s will be closed. The orange tiles will not be shining by fluorescent light. The jukebox darkened and no songs heard. The burgers in the freezer, the Bisquick in the shelves, the eggs in the refrigerator next to the chef’s salad, the Windex beneath the counter shall all be unused. Will the restaurant be renovated? Or sold? Be transformed into a Wendy’s? A Denny’s? A soulless wonder for all to see? It may. It probably will be or will the spot be leveled? Will the glass break along with the custom made tiles, the red booth seats, the bar, the office in the back with all of its loneliness? Will it be turned into a parking lot? A place where kids go since it’s abandoned and destroyed?
And the sign. What shall happen to it? It will not light for all to see. Yellow neon will not be seen from up and down the highway. It will be stripped of its goodness and it’s greatness. The light gone along with the purpose. Will it rot and crumble like the drawing of it on the refrigerator? It will be a ghost. A ghost of a ghost. It will stand with no way to cut it down. With the light gone along with the joy and the metal and the light bulbs, all who pass will be able to tell that it once said in the big space where the words used to be: Spooky’s Diner “Where it’s always Halloween.”
