The Summer of Cotton Candy (10 page)

Once home, she raced up the stairs and peeled off her uniform, then threw open her closet doors and stared in dismay at her wardrobe. She picked up her phone and called Tamara again. “Please, Tam. I’ve got an hour and I don’t know what to wear. Call soon.”

She stood in front of the closet touching first one thing and then another. Finally she threw herself down on her bed and grabbed her stuffed bear.

“Mr. Huggles, what am I going to wear?” she asked him. He stared back at her with his warm, supportive eyes but seemed to have nothing to say on the matter. He was much better at protecting her from monsters than helping her deal with boys. She hadn’t even thought to ask Kurt where they were going, so she had no idea how casual or how fancy to dress up.

Tamara would know. Tamara could tell her exactly what to wear, if only she would call. Candace grabbed her phone and flipped it open, just to make sure she didn’t have the phone on vibrate. Nope. It wasn’t, and there were no voice or text messages for her. There was no help for it; she had no way of knowing when Tamara was going to call.

She heard the front door open and the click of her mom’s heels in the entryway. She got up and crossed to her door. “Mom, could you come help me, please?”

There was a pause from downstairs and then she heard her mom’s steps on the stairs. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes. And no.”

Her mom appeared, looking concerned. “Well, what is it?”

Candace sat down on her bed as her mom came into the room. “I’ve got a date with a cute guy from work tonight and I can’t decide what to wear.”

“Who is this boy and what is he like?” her mom asked, going into her best grilling mode.

“Mom, please. I’ll tell you all about him later, but right now I need your help. He’s going to be here to pick me up in less than an hour.”

Her mom sighed and kicked her shoes off. “Okay, where are you going?”

“I don’t know. That’s part of the problem. Dinner, I think, but I don’t know where.”

“You’re not giving me a lot to work with here.”

“I know, that’s why I need help,” Candace said, letting herself fall backwards until she was sprawled across the bed.

Her mom walked over to the closet. “This guy, how tall is he?”

“At least six feet.”

“Okay, so you can get by with heels and not end up taller than him. Most guys say they don’t have a problem with that, but most of them are lying. What kind of job does he have at the park?”

“He’s one of the costumed characters. Mostly he’s dressed up like the Lone Ranger or Zorro or Robin Hood. He’s really good at it too, he can totally stay in character.”

“Okay, so he’s got a bit of a taste for the theatrical. You’ll want a little drama and contrast in what you wear, then.”

Candace sat up and stared at her mom. She would never have thought of these things on her own. She didn’t think Tamara would have, either.

“Where’s that black skirt we got you last year? You know, the one you never wear?”

“You mean, the skirt I got to wear to cousin Alice’s funeral?”

“Yes, that one.”

“All the way to the left. But I don’t think —”

“Found it,” her mother interrupted.

She tossed the skirt and Candace caught it. Next her mother bent over and inspected her shoes. “These are all you have?” she asked after a minute.

“Yes,” Candace said, feeling inexplicably embarrassed. Her mother turned and looked at her for a moment.

“Put the skirt on. I’ll be right back.”

Her mom headed toward her bedroom, and Candace slipped on the skirt. It was straight and form fitting. It was also shorter than Candace remembered, ending several inches above her knees. In a minute her mother returned, arms full.

“Try on this,” she instructed, handing Candace a teal shirt.

It took Candace a minute to figure out how to put it on. It turned out the shirt was a wrap-around. Once it was on she was surprised to find that it fit really well. She was also surprised that it was lower cut than anything she owned.

“And these,” her mom said, handing her a pair of her shoes. “We wear the same size, so they should fit.”

They were black strappy sandals with two-inch heels. Candace slipped them on and was surprised at how comfortable they were. Her mom nodded. “Those are great shoes. They look great and you can stand all night in them if you have to. Now, pull your hair back in a small black barrette, and let’s see what that looks like.”

Candace did as her mother said and then stared at herself in her full-length mirror. Her mom came to stand beside her and nodded as though satisfied.

“Well?” she asked.

“Wow,” was all Candace could say.

“You do clean up very nicely. What’s nice about this look is you won’t be out of place if he takes you somewhere upscale. If he takes you somewhere more casual, you’ll be comfortable and he’ll be priding himself on having the most dazzling girl in the place.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

She kissed Candace on the cheek. “Don’t say I never did anything for you. Don’t forget some lipstick.”

“I won’t.”

“And don’t let him paw at you. Just because you look stunning isn’t an excuse for him to be ill-mannered.”

“I’ll remember that,” Candace said, blushing at the thought.

“Take your cell phone. If you need anything, or he gets weird or tries anything, or even if he’s just boring you to death, you call and we’ll come get you.”

Candace turned and hugged her mom. Sometimes she got frustrated because she felt like her parents were harder on her than they should be, but she could always count on them to come through when she needed them. “I will,” she promised.

“Okay. Then knock him dead.”

Her phone rang. Candace picked it up as her mom left the room. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Tam.”

“Tamara! I’m going on a date.”

“So I heard. You need help with clothes?”

“Not anymore. My mom totally came through. You should see me; I look hot.”

“Cool. Send me a picture. Since you’re good, I gotta run. Having dinner with the folks tonight.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Don’t forget the picture.”

“I won’t.”

As soon as they hung up, Candace turned her phone around and took a picture of herself. For once she actually managed to take a decent one. She usually cut off half her face when she tried. She sent it to Tamara, hoping she would love the look as much as Candace did.

She stared again at herself in the mirror. “I can’t believe I never realized how cute this skirt is,” she said, twirling.

After fixing her makeup and transferring her things to her small black purse that she usually took to church, she headed downstairs to wait. Her father looked up from his magazine, eyes narrowed.

“What do you think, Daddy?” she asked.

“Turn.”

She did a slow twirl. “Well?”

“Very nice.”

“You think he’ll like it?”

“I’ll think he’s a blind fool if he doesn’t. I also think I’ll slap him walleyed if he stares.”

“Daddy, you wouldn’t!”

“Care to test that theory?”

“No, just be nice, please.”

“I’m always nice,” he said. He reached into his pocket and dug out his wallet. “I know you haven’t had a chance to cash your paycheck yet, and I don’t want you going out with some strange guy without money. Just in case.” He pulled several bills out of his wallet. “This is a loan only. I expect to be paid back.”

She took the money from him and slipped it into her purse. “I will,” she promised.

“Now be careful, and call if you need us.”

“I will.”

At exactly six thirty the doorbell rang, and Candace ran to get it. Kurt stood there wearing khaki Dockers and a black button-down shirt. His eyes widened when he saw her, and she couldn’t help but smile like an idiot.

“Wow, you look great,” he said.

“Thank you,” she answered. “You look very nice too.”

His eyes widened more, and she felt a hand descend on her shoulder. She stiffened slightly.

“Young man, make sure she’s home before midnight,” her father said.

“Yes, sir.”

“Dad, this is Kurt. Kurt this is my father, Mr. Thompson.” She didn’t know what else to say. She turned and kissed her father on the cheek. “See you later, Dad.”

He didn’t look at her but continued to stare at Kurt in a way that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Her dad could be scary when he wanted to.

A minute later she was in Kurt’s car, and they were pulling away from the house. When they had turned off her street, Kurt seemed to relax.

“What does your father do for a living?” he asked.

“He’s an attorney,” Candace said.

“I believe it.”

“So, where are we going?” Candace asked.

“This little Italian restaurant called Rigatoni’s. I hear they have great food. Have you ever been there?”

“Once or twice,” Candace said with a smile.
Once or twice a month was more like it.
She settled back into her seat. For some reason it made her more relaxed to think that she would at least have the home-court advantage, so to speak. It meant she could focus the majority of her attention on Kurt and on making sure she didn’t say something lame.

“Welcome back, Candace,” the waiter said with a smile.

“Thank you, Anton.”

“Do you know what you’d like?”

Of course she knew what she was going to order, but Kurt had never been there before. “I think we’re going to need a couple of minutes,” she said.

“Very well. I’ll be back with your bread.”

Kurt was looking at her with raised eyebrows. “Once or twice?”

She shrugged. “It’s one of my favorite restaurants.”

“Then I guess I picked well,” he said.

“Yes, you did.” She smiled.

When Anton returned, Candace ordered the chicken fettuccine alfredo, and Kurt ordered the classic spaghetti with meat sauce. When the waiter had departed, Kurt leaned closer.

“So, tell me about yourself.”

“Well, I’m an only child. My dad’s a lawyer. My mom’s an environmental activist. I’m working as a cotton candy operator, as you know, and it is my first job ever. Next year I’m going to be a senior, and I’m really looking forward to that. I like roller coasters, cookie dough ice cream, Italian food — obviously — and movies.”

“So then, this would be a perfect date if after dinner we went to a movie where we ate cookie dough ice cream and then took a quick spin on one of the rides in the Thrill Zone?”

She laughed. “Maybe all but the last part. It’s funny. Working at The Zone makes me less inclined to spend my downtime there.”

He smiled. “I get that. I used to spend every weekend at that place until I started working there. Now unless I’m there to work, I’m not there.”

“I guess that happens to everyone.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised. Quite a lot of refs spend their free time there too. It’s like some weird obsession with them. Fans first, employees second. I feel kind of sorry for them.”

“I don’t know where they find the time,” Candace said. “I’ve had barely any free time since I started working there. There’s no way I could keep it up year round with school and everything.”

He nodded.

“So, what about you? Where do you go to high school?” she asked.

“I don’t.”

Her eyes widened. “So, you’re in college?”

“Nope. No school for me. I actually dropped out of high school the middle of last year.”

She laughed, but quickly stopped when he didn’t join her. “Oh, you’re serious?”

He nodded. “I couldn’t stand school so I figured, why bother?”

“Oh.” Candace wasn’t sure what to say next. Fortunately, the appearance of some familiar faces kept her from having to come up with something. She waved and Kurt turned to look. Coming through the door were Tamara and her parents. The three of them looked shocked and waved back. They were quickly escorted to a table but Tamara broke off from her parents. Candace stood up quickly and hugged her. She wished she could thank her for saving her from further embarrassing herself, but that would have to come later.

“Kurt, this is my best friend, Tamara. Tamara, this is Kurt,” Candace said, making the introductions.

“How do you do?” Kurt asked, shaking her hand.

“Well, thank you,” Tamara said. “Well, don’t let me interrupt. I can see my parents are waiting for me.”

She turned away from Kurt and whispered “Call me later” to Candace before joining her parents.

“Wow, how weird was that?” Candace asked.

“Pretty strange,” Kurt admitted. “So, where were we?”

“You were telling me how you came to be Robin Hood,” she said, making something up to avoid talking about school.