The Summer of Cotton Candy (14 page)

“I could tell you were crying. It’s okay, you know. God understands when you cry in his house. Nobody can be happy all the time. Last year when my mom died I cried every Sunday for a month.”

The little girl gave her a brave smile and then scurried back over to sit next to her father. Candace stared after her in shock.
It’s true. No matter how bad things look, there is always someone worse off
, she thought.
Thanks for the perspective, God.

She continued to dry her tears, and at the end of the ser vice she slipped out quietly with a wave to the little girl. She spent the rest of the day trying not to think about Kurt and Tamara.

Sometime around four, the phone rang and a minute later her mother came upstairs and handed her the house phone. “It’s for you,” she said.

“Who is it?”

“I didn’t ask.”

“Hello, this is Candace.”

“Candace, this is Martha from The Zone.”

“Hi, Martha,” Candace said, her stomach twisting in knots. She hadn’t expected Martha to be at work until Monday. They must have called her at home.

“Are you okay?”

Candace took a deep breath. “I’m better than I was yesterday,” she admitted.

“That probably wouldn’t take much,” Martha said.

“Yeah. I kind of lost it.”

“With good reason, so I hear.”

“So, what’s the news?” Candace asked, dreading the answer.

“First, a question. Have you ever tried the muffins at the Muffin Mansion?”

It seemed like a strange question. “Sure, they’re great. I love the chocolate with the chocolate chips. They’ve got this new lemony one that’s really good too.”

“That’s what I thought,” Martha said.

“Why?”

“Well, a couple of the employees of the Muffin Mansion also tested positive. It seems that everyone who tested positive, including you, has been eating their brand-new lemon poppy-seed muffins. It turns out, poppy seeds can make you test positive for drug use, since they come from the same plant that opium does.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“I told that guy I didn’t do drugs,” Candace said, relief flooding her to know the cause of the test results.

“I know, and several of your coworkers argued quite persuasively in your defense before the wider problem was discovered.”

“So, I can come back to work then.”

“Yes.”

“So Tuesday then?”

“Actually tomorrow. New schedules came out Saturday. You just didn’t have a chance to see yours.”

“Oh, what are my hours?”

“Monday through Thursday eight to five, Saturday ten to seven.”

Candace blinked, not sure she had heard right. “Those are great hours,” she said at last.

“Yeah, you got really lucky,” Martha said.

“So, that’s it? Everything’s good?”

“Yes.”

“What about Ron?” Candace asked.

“Let’s just say you won’t have any interactions with him again. You’re under my supervision, and if you need to know something, I’ll be the one to tell you.”

“Thank you,” Candace said.

As soon as she hung up, she ran downstairs to tell her parents the good news. They were overjoyed, but not nearly half as much as she was. She was also excited about her new schedule. Fridays and Sundays off so rocked! She ran back upstairs and picked up her cell to call Tamara, then stopped, remembering what had happened that morning. She felt a stab of pain, but pushed it aside, refusing to let it spoil her victory. She remembered the brave little girl in church and dialed the phone. It would be better to get the confrontation with Tamara over with so that they could hopefully move on with their lives.

It went straight to voice mail, so she hung up and called Josh.

“I told you everything would be okay,” he said as soon as he heard her news.

“You were right, thank you. And thanks for coming over last night. That was awesome. My parents went on about how thoughtful you are.”

He laughed. “Parents always like me.”

“How do you manage that?”

“I’m honest, respectful, and not afraid of them.”

“It’s Josh magic,” she teased.

“Call it what you like, it works. So, are you going out to celebrate?”

“I don’t know. I guess I should.”

“Absolutely.”

“What would you recommend?” she asked.

“A quick trip to Zone World in Florida with dinner at On Top of the World.”

“Very funny. It would be breakfast by the time we got there.”

“Okay, then, breakfast with the dolphins at Marine Zone.”

“Sorry, work in the morning.”

“Well, then, I’d have to say pizza and a movie.”

“Sounds great! Which pizza place should I meet you at?” There was a pause and then he asked, “Are you sure I’m the one you want to celebrate with?”

“Absolutely. You’re the one that was there for me when things looked bad. You should be able to share the good times too.”

“Works for me. How about California Pizza Kitchen in thirty?”

“See you there,” she said.

It was nearly ten when Candace made it home, stuffed to the gills with gourmet pizza and carrying a to-go box with several slices in it. She had bet Josh she could eat more pizza than him and had lost by several slices. Loser brought home the leftovers, though, so it felt a lot more like winning than losing. It had felt really good just to be out and to be silly. As soon as she made it home, though, reality came crashing back in.

Her phone rang and she flipped it open without looking at the caller ID.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hi,” Tamara replied.

“Oh, hi, Tamara,” Candace said, her good mood evaporating.

“What’s up?” Tamara asked.

“I might ask you the same question, but I already know the answer,” Candace said, barely controlling her anger.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t act coy. I saw you this morning at the Coffee Garden with Kurt.”

“Yeah, what of it?” Tamara asked, her voice cold.

“I didn’t think you’d resort to stealing my boyfriend.”

“Stealing? Girl, you are crazy. We ran into each other and we were talking about you. Which you would have known had you bothered to come over.”

Candace was silent for a moment, pondering what she had just heard. Could it be true? If it wasn’t, why would Tamara lie when she had caught them together? Then again, why had it taken more than a day for Tamara to return any of her phone calls?

She voiced the last question. “Then why have you been avoiding me and not returning my calls?”

“I don’t owe you an explanation for anything. Besides, I’m returning your call now, aren’t I? And you know, how dare you think I would steal your guy? I’m not that kind of person, and I would have thought you of all people would know better than that.”

“Well, you’ve been doing a lot of things lately that I don’t get,” Candace said. “You’ve been blowing me off all summer.”

“I’ve been blowing
you
off? Please, you’re the one who’s so wrapped up in her new job and new friends that you don’t have any time for me.”

“That is not even true! And what, you want me to be miserable all day at my job and hate everyone there?”

“Yes!”

“Well maybe if you’d answer your phone once in a while you’d get to hear how crappy my life has been. Where were you when I needed you? ‘Cause you certainly weren’t anywhere to be found.”

“Tell it to one of your new friends.”

“I guess I’ll have to because it seems I lost my old one.”

“Seems so.”

“Fine,” Candace said, on the verge of tears.

“Fine,” Tamara said.

There was a click as Tamara hung up. Candace grabbed Mr. Huggles and began to cry.

The sun was already broiling at eight thirty in the morning, and Candace was sweating. Her pink and white-striped blouse was sticking to her uncomfortably, and she was afraid that it was starting to become semi-transparent. It was going to be one of those days, she just knew it. Josh walked by, and she envied him his shorts and tank top. “I should have signed up in March,” she muttered under her breath.

It was the Fourth of July, and for the first time her cart was in the Holiday Zone. She credited the new sights and sounds with being the only things keeping her sane in the heat. In the Holiday Zone every amusement got a holiday-themed overhaul every couple of months. The massive hedge maze was the center of The Zone, and was currently festooned with red, white, and blue bunting and patriotic quotes and slogans.

A live stage show featuring the park’s cartoon mascots Freddie McFly and the Swamp Swingers, along with Freddie’s friend Mr. Nine Lives the daredevil cat, began every hour and a half in the largest building in the Holiday Zone. The line to get in and see the air-conditioned show had already wrapped around the building. For the Fourth of July, Freddie and his gang were doing a tribute to the Founding Fathers of America. Candace couldn’t help but wonder about the founding mothers of America and whether they spent their evenings angry at their husbands for coming home late and missing dinner. She had visions of Deborah Franklin clubbing Ben over the head with her rolling pin and complaining to her friends that he was always out late plotting revolution with his buddies instead of home taking out the trash.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, Candace became more and more uncomfortable. There was a giant shade tree fifteen feet away, but Candace couldn’t figure out how to force the cart to roll over into its shade. She tried pushing and then pulling it, but the large cart was too heavy to move. That was probably one of the reasons why it was motorized.

To make matters worse, no one came to relieve her until her lunch break. By then she was panting from the heat and fanning herself with empty cones. Her replacement turned out to be Lisa, who glared daggers at her. Candace wondered why Lisa was hopping around giving people breaks. Could this be some sort of punishment from Martha? Candace shrugged, too miserable to think about it any longer. She made her way as fast as she could offstage and headed for the cantina.

It was the first time Candace had ever actually eaten inside the cantina. She made her way to the counter, got a plate of fried chicken and potato salad, and grabbed a jumbo bottled water. The air conditioning was a blessing after the extreme heat outside. She paid for her food and then eyed the sea of tables with people sitting around them looking for an empty space. It looked like she wasn’t the only one who had opted to eat indoors in the air conditioning.

A hand went up in the air, and a moment later she recognized Sue waving her over. Candace picked her way over and gratefully sank down into the chair opposite Sue. “Thanks.”

“Not a problem. You look like you’ve been having quite the day.”

Candace shook her head. “It’s the heat. It’s brutal out there.”

Sue shook her head. “It’s the first day all summer I’ve been grateful to be cleaning restrooms. At least it’s cool.”

“Wanna trade?” Candace asked hopefully.

“Nope, it’s supposed to get hotter every day this week.”

“Great.”

“You’ve got sunscreen, right?”

“No, why?” Candace asked.

“Your arms are burnt.”

Candace looked down and discovered the telltale signs of red skin on both her arms. “Oh no.”

“They sell sunscreen in most of the shops. You should grab some before you go back out there.”

“Thanks. This is so not good,” Candace said.

“At least you caught it before it got too bad. I saw a woman in the restroom earlier who is on the fast track to a second-degree burn.”

“Eew. I guess I am lucky.”

“Definitely.”

Candace began to eat slowly. The food was good, but she was too hot to be very interested in anything but her water. Sue had returned her attention to a pile of papers she was shuffling through.