I’m not sure how many letters it is supposed to be but the word could be ‘moon.’ It starts with the letter M. There could be a full moon or a new moon. The moon is a Halloween thing. I hope this helps.
"Mrs. Pontellier will ask Mrs. Ratignolle to help her learn how to better plan proper menus for her family" is the best option from the list but it should be noted that this is subjective.