The Summer of Cotton Candy (11 page)

“Now, that’s a funny story,” he said, his eyes lighting up.

As he began telling her the story, she couldn’t help but think about what she had just found out. How on earth could he be a high-school dropout? She didn’t have any overly ambitious plans for herself, but she knew that she was going to college, and she was certainly going to graduate from high school. She always figured that once she got to college she would have the opportunity to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. She wondered what Kurt could possibly have in mind for his. She shook her head, trying not to think about it.

Their food arrived, and they both ate hungrily, making small talk. Afterward Candace got up to use the restroom. A moment later Tamara joined her. “He is even better looking out of his costume,” her friend said.

“He is handsome, isn’t he?” Candace asked wistfully.

“Sounds like he’s pretty funny too. I’ve heard you laughing a lot.”

“Have I?” Candace asked, surprised.

“Girl, what is wrong with you? You’re acting all weird.”

“What if he’s not perfect?”

“What guy is?” Tamara asked.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“So, what’s wrong with him?”

“He dropped out of high school.”

Even Tamara seemed slightly taken aback. “To do what?” she asked finally.

“I don’t know. I don’t think he knows.”

“Well, some guys just take a little longer to figure out what they want from life. It’s probably just a phase. Sooner or later he’ll figure it all out.”

“You think?”

“Sure. He’ll surprise everybody and decide to become a brain surgeon or something.”

“Okay. From slacker to surgeon. That’s a bit of a leap, even for you.”

“Call me a hopeless romantic. Everything else cool?”

“Yeah, he’s very sweet.”

“Great, then get back out there and strut your stuff.”

“Thanks.”

“By the way, your mom? Great taste.”

“Who knew?” Candace said.

“I know. I might have to call her next time I have a big date.” Candace laughed. “Come on, Tam, you’ve got designers willing to help you out with that.”

“True. Call me later.”

“Will do.”

When Candace returned to the table, Kurt was staring at the bill and frowning. “Can I help pay?” Candace asked timidly, worried that the bill might be higher than he had expected.

“No, I’ve taken care of it,” he said, snapping the bill folder shut and placing it on the table. “Shall we go get some ice cream?”

They went next door to get Baskin-Robbins, and then sat outside to eat their cones. It was a nice night — not too warm — and the moon was out and shining brightly. Fortunately the ice cream was hard so that none of it dripped onto her outfit.

Afterward he drove her home and walked her up to her door. “I had a nice time,” she told him, standing on the porch and holding her house key. “Thank you.”

“Did you have a nice enough time to want to do this again?” he asked.

“I would like that a lot,” she said.

“Great. I’ll see you at work tomorrow?”

“You bet,” she answered.

He was standing very close to her, and she was looking up into his gorgeous eyes. Suddenly he bent down and kissed her gently on the lips. It lasted for only a second, and then he was gone and halfway to his car. She leaned against the door for support and touched her hand to her lips. It had been so sudden that she had a hard time believing it had actually happened.

She went inside. She poked her head into her parents’ bedroom and said goodnight before retreating to her own room. She changed into her pajamas and then called Tamara.

“So did he kiss you?” Tamara asked by way of greeting.

“Yes.”

“Tell.”

“It was real quick. He kissed me soft on the lips and then ran to his car.”

Tamara laughed. “He was probably worried that your dad was taking aim at him with a shotgun.”

“Please.”

“Have you met your father? He can be scary.”

“I guess. So are we still on for tomorrow?”

“You better believe it. I’m picking you up at eight, and we’re going to tear up the town.”

“Sounds like a plan. I better get some sleep then. See you in the morning.”

“Night.”

She remembered that Josh wanted to hear about her evening, so she sat down at her computer. She started a new email message and typed in the address:
[email protected]
. In the subject line she typed
Date with Kurt
.

Josh, things went really well tonight. He took me to Rigatoni’s. It was really funny because my best friend Tamara was there eating with her parents. It’s the first time she’s seen Kurt out of costume. Actually, it was the first time I’ve seen Kurt out of costume. I took your advice and tried to just be myself. We had lots of fun, and he even kissed me good night. The kiss was really quick (I think he was worried that my father might be watching through the window) but it was awesome.

More later. Candace

P.S. Did you know he dropped out of high school? That’s a little weird. Oh well. Nobody’s perfect. TTFN.

Candace began to get ready for bed. A couple of minutes later her email alert sounded. She hurried over to her computer and saw that Josh had emailed her back.

Candy, glad things went well. Funny that your friend was at the restaurant. Kurt emailed me a while ago and said how hot you looked. Send a pic if you have it. Josh

Candace grabbed her phone and sent the picture she had taken to his email address. Then she replied to his message.

Josh, I just sent the picture. Let me know if you get it. It’s a little weird, both of us talking to you. You’re not telling him what I’m saying are you? Candy

A minute later he replied.

Got your pic. He didn’t do you justice. Wow! And don’t worry. I’m on your side. Sure, you’re both my friends, but I like you best.:)

It was nearly one a.m. by the time she and Josh said good night. Candace fell into bed and whispered “Thank you, God” before she fell asleep.

The next morning when Tamara picked her up at eight, Candace tumbled into her car yawning.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Tamara asked.

“I was up late emailing with Josh.”

“Oh,” Tamara said, her voice suddenly frosty.

Candace wasn’t in the mood to deal with that so she let it go. “That was cool last night when you showed up at the same restaurant.”

“It was pretty funny,” Tamara said, her voice relaxing. “You know, my parents kept suggesting that we ask you and Kurt to join us.”

“Oh my gosh! Are you serious?”

“Totally. I finally said, ‘What part of
date
don’t you understand?’”

“I bet that went over well.”

“My mom was ticked, but my dad thought it was hilarious. I think he thought we had interrupted enough. That’s why he paid for your dinner.”

“He what?” Candace asked, suddenly alert.

Tamara glanced at her, looking puzzled. “Kurt didn’t mention that?”

“It must have slipped his mind,” Candace said grimly. “I went to use the restroom, and when I got back he was staring at the bill with a weird look on his face. I was afraid it was more expensive than he had thought, and I volunteered to help, but he said that he’d already taken care of it.”

“Okay, that’s odd. My dad paid for it and had Anton put a note to that effect in the bill holder.”

“I wonder why Kurt didn’t say anything?” Candace asked. It seemed really weird to her.

Tamara shrugged, clearly not as worried about it. “Maybe it made him uncomfortable or embarrassed, or he just didn’t know what to say.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“He was probably planning to impress you by paying for your dinner, and Dad ruined his plans. Guys are weird. Sometimes they get all proud about the strangest things.”

It made sense, but Candace still didn’t like it.

After eating breakfast at Denny’s, they headed for the mall where they walked around and did some serious window shopping. Next they headed for the movie theater where Candace was determined to catch up on the movies that she wanted to see.

It was a good day mostly, but every time Candace brought up work or anyone there, Tamara got all weird acting. Candace was getting tired of it, but didn’t know what to say or even how to bring it up. So she kept her mouth shut.

“Wanna go for coffee?” Tamara asked as they left the last feature.

Candace glanced at her watch. It was already nine o’clock. “I better not. I’ve gotta be to work early.”

“Oh, that,” Tamara said shortly, a note of disdain in her voice.

“Are you going to come by the park tomorrow?” Candace asked.

“Maybe.”

“I’d love for you to meet Josh and some of the others.”

“We’ll see. I’m not sure I’ll be in the mood to meet new people.”

“Well, then just come by and say hi. Work that season ticket.”

“We’ll see.”

They had reached Candace’s house, and she got out of the car slowly. “Well, see you tomorrow, hopefully.”

“Yeah, night,” Tamara said before driving away.

Candace stood and watched her go. She couldn’t help but feel like she was losing Tamara, but she wasn’t sure why or what she could do to stop it.

Candace didn’t sleep well, plagued by worry over Tamara and anxiety over going back to work and seeing Kurt. The stress of both was too much to let her sleep more than a few fitful bursts.

The next morning she was moving slowly. She was so exhausted she barely made it to work on time. When she got there, Martha was waiting for her with arms crossed and a stern look on her face.
Uh-oh
, Candace thought. She had no idea what for, but she could tell she was in trouble.

“What is it?” Candace asked Martha.

“You signed up to work overtime yesterday, and you didn’t show up.”

For a horrible moment she felt her heart plunge, but a moment later it rallied. “I didn’t sign up to work overtime,” she protested.

Martha raised an eyebrow. “Then do you care to explain how your name got on the list?”

“I don’t know how my name got on the list, but I didn’t put it there. I can barely handle working forty hours a week. Why on earth would I sign up for more?”

“That’s what I would have thought, but apparently you did.”

“Show me,” Candace demanded. And in that moment she realized that she was more like her father than she would ever have dreamed. If they wanted to declare her guilty, they were going to have to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.

Martha led the way through the Locker Room. There, near the entrance, was a wall with sign-up sheets on it. Under
Wednesday,
someone had written her name. Only they had misspelled her last name, leaving off the
p
in Thompson.

“That’s not my handwriting, and whoever wrote it didn’t even spell my name correctly,” Candace said, anger flooding her. Until that moment she had thought there must have been a genuine mistake, that somebody with a similar name had signed up, and people had misread it. Now she knew that someone had deliberately done this to her, and she had a pretty good idea who.

“Do you know who might have done this?” Martha asked, her conviction wavering.

“Lisa. Becca warned me that she played tricks on people, and she hates me. Tuesday night when I was on my date, it was with her ex-boyfriend.”

Comprehension dawned in Martha’s eyes. Slowly she began to nod.

“I’m going to get her,” Candace vowed.

Martha put a hand up. “You don’t want to do that. If you start trading revenge with her, it’s going to get ugly. It’s going to get out of control, and someone could get really hurt. Leave it to me. There are proper ways to deal with these things.”