The Winter of Candy Canes (A Sweet Seasons Novel) (2 page)

Tamara opened the door, and Candace sucked in her breath. Mark was gorgeous. He had auburn hair, piercing green eyes, and model-perfect features. He was almost as tall as Kurt, and he was stunning in khaki Dockers and a green Polo shirt.

“Hi,” he said, smiling.

Tamara glanced at her and rolled her eyes.

“Hi, Mark.”

Kurt drove, and Candace was quick to slide into the front seat with him, leaving Tamara and Mark to the back. She shook her head. Mark was not her idea of a pity date in any sense of the word. Maybe Tamara would come around if she actually talked to him.

They made it to the miniature golf course and were soon on the green. Candace got a hole in one on the first time up to putt, and Kurt gave her a huge reward kiss.

When they moved on to the next hole, Tamara whispered in her ear, “Thanks a lot. This is supposed to be a no grabby zone. Now Mark will be getting ideas.”

“Tam, you really need to relax a little.”

They made it through the course in record time, and Kurt gave Candace another kiss for winning by one stroke. After turning in
their clubs, the guys headed inside to order pizza while Candace and Tamara went to the restroom.

“This date is the worst,” Tamara groaned once they were alone.

“What's wrong with you? He's gorgeous.”

“Really? I guess I just can't see past the Tina mope.”

“What mope? He hasn't even mentioned her, and he's done nothing but smile all night. You should totally take him to Winter Formal.”

“No way. This is a one-date-only kind of thing. I'm not taking him to Winter Formal.”

“Fine. Suit yourself. I'm just telling you that if it weren't for Kurt, I'd be taking him to Winter Formal.”

Tamara laughed.

“As if. There's no way you'd ask a guy out.”

“I don't know. You might be surprised.”

“It's a moot point anyway. I'll find someone to take.”

“You could always take Josh,” Candace suggested.

“You're not setting me up with Josh, so just forget it.”

“Fine.”

“Find out for me, though, if Santa needs a Mrs. Claus,” Tamara said.

“You're going to find some way to be the Christmas queen, aren't you?” Candace asked.

“Even if I have to marry old Saint Nick.”

They both laughed.

On Saturday morning Candace reported to the wardrobe area to get fitted for her elf costume. She was surprised to see Kurt there.

“What are you doing here?”

He smiled. “I'm here to speak to the elves. It's the only time you're all going to be gathered together.”

“Why do you need to speak to us elves?” she asked, momentarily distracted as she saw Lisa walk in, flipping her blonde hair.
Seriously
,
she's not going to be an elf
, Candace thought in despair. Lisa had been a thorn in Candace's side for months. She was Kurt's ex-girlfriend and not at all happy about the “ex” part. Lisa glared in Candace's direction, and Candace grimaced, fighting the urge to say something rude.

“Candace, you listening?” Kurt asked.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“I'm here to talk to all the elves. You see, as an elf, you're part normal referee, part crowd control, and part costumed mascot.”

“So, you're here to give us a mascot pep talk?”

“Something like that.”

“How hard can being an elf actually be?” she asked, more to herself than him.

“You're kidding, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Elves get hazard pay.”

“Seriously?” she asked. The recruiter had failed to mention that. Half of her was wondering how much more money she would see in her paycheck, and the other half was now really worried. What on earth would merit hazard pay at a theme park during Christmas?

“Seriously,” Kurt confirmed. “I did it last year. Never again.”

Before she could ask him anything else, the head of the costuming department, Janet, clapped her hands and called everyone to attention. “All right, go ahead and take a seat if you can find one. Hit the floor if you can't,” she instructed.

“I'm on,” Kurt said, walking toward Janet.

Candace sat down on the floor, envying Lisa the folding chair she had acquired. Candace glanced around. There were about thirty people present besides Kurt and Janet. She thought she recognized one or two of them from Scare, but Lisa was the only one she knew by name.

“This is Kurt, one of our outstanding mascots who works in the History Zone. He's here to give you some instruction, some ground rules, and some survival tips,” Janet said without even a hint of a smile.

Candace initiated a brief round of applause. Kurt winked at her, and she blushed.

“Out in the park, I play Robin Hood, Zorro, the Lone Ranger, and occasionally others. Last Christmas I was sitting where you're sitting, ready for elf orientation. I figured because I was a mascot being an elf would be a piece of cake. I was wrong.”

His tone had become increasingly grim, and Candace shivered.
What in the world have I gotten myself into?
she wondered.

“You are the last line of defense. You are all that stands between thousands of excited, frightened, hopeful kids and Santa Claus. And they will go around you, over you, and through you
to get to him. Last year an elf tripped and fell, and five hundred kids trampled him. He got out of the hospital last month.”

Around her, people stirred and muttered to each other in frightened tones. Candace had to admit that her own heart was starting to race in fear. This had to be why Josh had said it was a level-one stress job.

“So, here are a few tips. Rule number one. Remember, you're the adults. What you say goes. Don't let them intimidate you. Also, don't let their parents intimidate you. Just follow your procedures. Make sure you call for security if they try to mob Santa.”

Candace noticed that several people near her were looking pale and nervous. She didn't blame them. She didn't like the sound of things either. She also wondered vaguely when she had become an “adult.” She was only seventeen, and that didn't qualify her as an adult anywhere else in the world.

“Rule number two. Remember to keep smiling. It's what we do here at The Zone. It also helps diffuse tense situations and gets people to relax. Grumpy elves lead to cranky children and impatient parents. No one wants that.”

Kurt flashed a giant smile as an example, and Candace noted that most people instantly smiled back.

“Rule number three. You're also representing Santa. Don't make him look bad. Christmas time at The Zone should make happy memories for the children who come here.”

Heads were bobbing all around the room. Candace wasn't the only one who had come to see Santa at the theme park when she was younger.

“Rule number four. No one gets candy canes until after they've seen Santa. This means they sugar up on their way out, and Santa doesn't get candy stuck in his beard and blame us for providing poor elf service.”

Candace thought of Becca and wondered if there'd ever been any incidents with her friend and the candy canes.

Becca's sugar-hyped exploits in the park seemed to be legion in number and epic in scale.

“And the most important rule in The Zone is … ?” Kurt asked, cupping his hand behind his ear.

“Let players play,” Candace chorused with everyone else.

“Excellent. Good luck to you all. I'll debrief the survivors on the other side.”

“Thank you, Kurt,” Janet said as he moved to sit on the floor next to Candace.

“You were great,” Candace gushed, “although now I'm terrified.”

“Then I did my job,” he said.

Elves began to scatter to different costumers as the fittings began. Candace stood slowly, savoring the moments alone with Kurt. “That story about the referee who got trampled — is that true?” she asked, suspiciously.

He grinned. “I have no idea. They told me that story last year, and it scared the daylights out of me.”

“Just another urban legend you're promoting?” she teased.

“You know me.”

She smiled, but there was something else on her mind. “I've got a question for you.”

“What?”

“I was just wondering, if you don't have any plans, would you like to come have Thanksgiving with my family?”

He hesitated.

“It's not like there'll be a spotlight on you or anything,” Candace hastened to say. “There are always loads of people. I think Mom's expecting thirty this year.”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

“So, you'll be there?” she asked.

“I'm working until one that day.”

“Dinner's at two.”

“Then I'll be there,” he said.

“Great!” she said, a little more enthusiastically than she had meant to. While she was excited at the idea of spending Thanksgiving with him, her parents had really pushed for it. Still, with so many people around, it wasn't like they could put Kurt in the hot seat.

“Candy!” Janet called.

Ready to be transformed into an elf, she ran over to Janet.

Fortunately, when she tried it on, her costume seemed to fit just right. Candace turned in front of the mirror. She was wearing a glitter-covered green dress that ended a couple inches above her knees along with red tights and green pointed-toe shoes. It was by far the best uniform she'd had while working at The Zone.

“Will I be wearing a hat?” she asked Janet.

The woman shook her head. “Boys wear hats; girls wear these,” she said, handing Candace a wreath of glittery green holly.

“Cool.”

“It should look really nice with your red hair. You're all set for Christmas,” Janet said.

“Thanks.”

“And in case the temperature drops too low, we have these green velvet coats lined with white fake fur,” Janet said, showing her one.

“At least I'll look festive,” she said, turning once more in front of the mirror.

“There you are!”

Candace turned and saw Martha, one of the supervisors, bustling toward her.

“Hey, Martha!” Candace said, giving the older woman a quick hug.

“Don't you look like Miss Christmas yourself,” Martha said with a smile, her gravelly voice seeming even a little deeper than it had a few weeks before. “I see you opted to go the elf route.”

“Josh talked me into it,” Candace admitted.

“That one's got a bit of mischief in him,” Martha said with a smile. “I notice he didn't sign up to be an elf.”

Candace shrugged. “I'll just have to find some way to pay him back.”

“That's the spirit.”

“So, what's up?”

“I'm trying to catch all the elves to give them their schedules,” Martha said, handing Candace a piece of paper. “This is when you'll be working. All the excitement will start bright and early at seven a.m. the day after Thanksgiving.”

“I didn't think the park opened that early,” Candace said. She had never had to report to the park before eight a.m.

“Park opens at eight, but elves need to be in place and briefed before then.”

“Ah.”

“I know. Who needs to sleep in?” Martha said, shaking her head.

“It's cool. Last year I was at the mall with my mom at four a.m.,” Candace said with a shudder.

“You'll probably wish you were there again,” Martha said grimly.

Candace smiled at her. Martha smiled back. “But you'll do fine,” Martha hastened to assure her.

Wow, it really does work
, Candace thought.
I might just have to spend the entire season smiling.

Monday at lunch, Candace and Tamara were sitting together at a table with a bunch of other girls. Everyone had been driven inside by a steady drizzle of rain all morning. Inside the cafeteria, the only topic of conversation was Winter Formal.

“Who are you going with, Candace?” one of the girls asked.

“I'm taking my boyfriend, Kurt,” Candace said, pride in her voice. “He's in college.”

“And he's gorgeous,” Tamara added, as though on cue.

“Ohhh,” several of the girls chorused. It was nice for a change to be one of the girls with a guaranteed date. It definitely put her in the minority at the table.

“So, Tam, who are you taking?” Candace asked.

“Still haven't decided,” Tamara admitted.

“Didn't Bryce ask you?” one of the girls said.

“Didn't half the football team?” another quipped.

“Yeah, but it's the other half I'm interested in,” Tamara joked.

“Seriously, Tamara, you could have any guy here you wanted,” another said enviously.

“I guess that's the problem. I don't want any of them here,” Tamara said.

“I'm telling you, you should ask Josh,” Candace said.

“Will you lay off the Josh thing?” Tamara said with a roll of her eyes. “I've told you. He's a great guy, but it's just not … right.”

“I totally get that,” Stefanie, the queen of the airheads gushed. “When it's not right it's … like … it's … I don't know, wrong.”

Candace bit her lip to keep from laughing.

“What she said,” Tamara sighed.

“I guess that's okay. There's always Mark.”

For a moment she thought Tamara was going to throw her soda in Candace's face.

“That is soooo not funny.”

“Mark who?” Stefanie asked.

“Mark so-not-going-with-me, that's who.”

“Oh.”

“Change the subject,” Tamara warned.

Candace smiled. “Kurt's coming to my house for Thanksgiving.”

That got the attention of the whole table.

“No way! Bringing the boyfriend to a family function?”

“You are so brave.”

“My boyfriend swears he'll never be in the same room as my parents.”

“What's the big deal?” Candace asked. “It's just dinner, and there'll be lots of people there.”

“Are you serious?” Tamara asked. “Having the boyfriend officially meet your parents, spend some time with them, share the
family
meal. That's totally major.”

“It's like you're saying he's the one,” Stefanie said solemnly.

“Is he the one?” several of the others asked in unison.

“The one what?”

“That you're going to marry,” Tanya said with a shake of her head.

“No! What? I don't know. I haven't even graduated from high school yet. Marriage is way far down the road.”

“But you think about it, right?” Kayla asked, a dreamy look on her face.

Kayla was the other one in the group with a steady boyfriend. Clearly she did think about marrying her guy. Candace thought about it sometimes too. Well, she more worried about it than thought about it. “I don't even know if Kurt's right for me.”

Suddenly, there were eight other girls eager to help her figure that out. Tanya even pulled a compatibility quiz out of her backpack.

“Good going,” Tamara said with a smile.

“At least they're not talking about you any more,” Candace growled.

“Yup. Life is good.”

Fortunately, lunch was soon over, and the next classes flew by until the last period of the day arrived. Candace met back up with Tamara in the auditorium for drama.

It turned out Mr. Bailey had a surprise for them. “We're going to be holding auditions for the spring play before Christmas vacation this year. I realize it's a break with tradition, but we're going to need to hit the ground running with this particular production. Auditions are going to be held in three weeks.”

“What play?” Jill, one of the sophomores, asked.

“Ah, that's the exciting part. We'll be doing a musical this year —”

Before he could say which one, Jill jumped to her feet and shrieked, “Yes!” Several of the other girls started muttering excitedly.

Mr. Bailey cleared his throat and projected his voice above the din. “And it's not
High School Musical
.”

Jill groaned in despair and slumped back into her chair. Candace bit her lip to keep from laughing.

“We'll be doing
Man of La Mancha
— the story of a brave man, Don Quixote, who takes on the role of becoming a knight and ignores the criticism and interference of others in his pursuit of the impossible dream.”

Candace felt an instant sense of relief. If she remembered correctly, there were really only three female roles in the play. Dressing up in costume and being on display at The Zone was one thing; being on stage and forgetting her lines was quite another.

“I bet you play the lead,” Candace whispered to Tamara.

“Who says I even want it?” Tamara shot back.

“Drama was your idea, remember?”

“Only vaguely. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”