The Summer of Cotton Candy (6 page)

“Now you just lie down and get some rest. I’ll be back to check on you.”

Candace lay down and shut her eyes. She tried not to think about what had happened, but instead thought about meeting Tamara for dinner at Rigatoni’s. She was supposed to get off at nine and meet Tamara at their favorite Italian restaurant at nine fifteen. She knew it would be cutting it close, but Rigatoni’s was only a couple of blocks from the park. The park was going to be open until eleven, and she was glad she wasn’t stuck there that late. Then again, she was injured, so maybe that meant she could go early. Within minutes she was asleep.

“Dear, are you okay?” It was the nurse’s voice, and Candace could feel her shaking her shoulder.

Candace sat up groggily. “What time is it?” she asked.

“It’s almost eleven. The park’s about to close. Do you feel well enough to get home by yourself, or do you need me to have someone take you home?”

Candace sat straight up. “Eleven? Tamara!”

She thanked the concerned-looking nurse before stumbling out of bed. She headed for the Locker Room, where she had stowed her purse and cell phone. Once she had them, she flipped open her cell and saw that she had six missed calls, all from Tamara.

She groaned and dialed her number.

“Hey, Tam, where are you?” Candace asked when Tamara picked up.

There was a long pause on the other end. “Well, I’ll tell you where I’m
not
. I’m not eating dinner at Rigatoni’s by myself because I finished eating dinner there
by myself
over an hour ago.”

Candace winced. “I am so sorry. My cart went crazy and the railroad guy tried to kill me, and I’ve been in the infirmary.”

“Are you okay?” Tamara asked.

“Yes, I think so.”

“I am still mad at you,” Tamara admitted.

“I’m sorry. I can’t have my cell phone on me in the park, and when I got hurt they took me straight to the nurse.”

“Well, I guess that’s not your fault.”

“Do you forgive me?”

“Yes, but I’m still mad.”

“That’s okay,” Candace said.

“I left you messages.”

“I saw, but I haven’t listened to them yet. I called you first.”

“Well, don’t listen to the sixth one.”

“Okay.”

“Come to think of it, not the fourth one either.”

“Okay.”

“In fact, just erase them all.”

“Consider it done.”

“Okay.”

“So, are we good?” Candace asked.

“Yeah, we’re good. We can go have some ice cream,” Tamara suggested.

“But I haven’t had dinner yet,” Candace protested.

“In that case you’ll have a banana split,” Tamara said.

“Fair enough.”

Twenty minutes later, seated across from Tamara at Big D’s ice cream shop, Candace still felt awful. They gave their orders to the waitress and Candace began to sip her water, waiting for Tamara to speak first.

“I told you this was going to happen,” she finally said.

“I know,” Candace answered.

“It’s going to be like this all summer.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Then quit,” Tamara said. “This is so not worth it.”

“I can’t.”

Tamara held up a hand. “Your expenses are covered.”

“Come on, Tam, you can’t support me the rest of my life,” Candace protested.

Tamara looked like she was about to contradict her, so Candace hurried on. “And even if you could, I wouldn’t want you to. Sooner or later I’m going to have to get a job. Sure, this one has its problems, but I think I need to give it more than two days. I mean, sooner or later I’ll get the hang of it.”

“If this is about that guy, then just give him your phone number.”

Candace could feel herself starting to get angry. Tamara didn’t understand, and she didn’t seem to want to try to either. “This is not about a guy. This is about my life and my future. How am I going to live in the real world if I can’t handle one stupid summer job?”

Tamara studied her for a moment before saying, “You sound like your mother.”

“Well, as much as I hate to admit it, she has to make sense sometimes, and this is one of those things. Please, please, please. I have to try and get through this. Can’t you just try and support me
emotionally
?”

Tamara gave an exaggerated sigh, complete with a full eye roll. “Fine. I mean, if I don’t who will?”

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Candace said. It seemed like a hugging kind of moment but the table was in the way. “VH?” Candace asked.

“VH.”

VH stood for virtual hug, something they had made up when actual hugs were not possible. It was usually a phone thing, but it worked just as well now, and Candace could already feel her mood improving. She saw the waitress headed towards their table, and she picked up her spoon in anticipation. “Banana split, you are all mine.”

“I want to quit,” Candace wailed.

Martha patted her shoulder sympathetically. “There, there, dear. It will be all right.”

“But you weren’t there yesterday, Martha. It was terrible.”

It had taken all of her courage to show up to work. She hadn’t wanted to. She had been sore and embarrassed and more than a little frightened. She knew there was no way she could go back later, though, if she called in sick for a few days.

“I didn’t have to be there to understand. All of us have a story like that one — some of us more than one. It’s part of life and learning. Why, if babies stopped trying to walk the first time they fell down, the whole world would be full of people who crawled.”

Candace smiled at the image. “It’s so hard, though.”

“Well, if it was easy, they wouldn’t call it
work
, would they? You just need to stick in there. You’ll get the hang of it, I promise. And who knows, you might start to like working here. I just know that whenever you start out anywhere, it’s hard. And a theme park, fun as it is, is no exception.”

Candace thought about it for a moment before she had to admit, “You know, Martha, you’re really smart.”

“Comes with age and experience,” the older woman said. “Mark my words, in another week, you’ll start to feel better about all this.”

Candace had to admit that Martha was right. She had made it to the next Saturday, and things were starting to feel easier. The scratches on her ankles had healed, and she was starting to feel like she was getting the hang of the cotton candy cart. It had moved two more times on her now, and she had walked calmly beside it to the new locations without incident.

Better yet, she was beginning to appreciate the freedom that came with working a cart instead of one of the attractions. The biggest advantage was that you never knew where you would be next. After spending the previous day stuck in the Game Zone and listening to the sounds of all the midway games — loud music, popping balloons, buzzers, and the other dozen things mixed in — she was glad for a change of pace. It was with relief that she found out she’d be spending the day in the History Zone. The History Zone was broken into five sections: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Medieval Europe, Colonial America, and the Old West. Her first stop of the day was in the medieval area.

The medieval area of the History Zone was one of Candace’s favorite parts of the park. The fairy-tale castle wrapped around a courtyard where vendors sold fresh apples with slices of cheese and a caramel dipping sauce, roasted turkey legs, and a variety of princess- and dragon-themed merchandise. Inside the castle you could visit Marion’s Shop, which was filled with everything a little girl could want, or Prince John’s Ill-Gotten Gains, where young Robin Hoods could find all the plunder they dreamed of.

The castle walls extended along a massive banquet hall that was home to King Richard’s Feast. Diners ate family style at the long tables and joined King Richard in a celebration of the engagement of Robin Hood and Maid Marion. There were four seatings a day during the summer: at eleven, two, five, and eight. Candace had celebrated several of her birthdays there when she was younger.

An archway in the other castle wall led to the entrance of A Very Grimm Adventure: a dark ride through the twisted tales of the Brothers Grimm. The ride was much more frightening than any of the fairy-tale rides in the Kids Zone. As a little girl it had always scared Candace, and she had loved every minute of it.

Outside the castle walls was an area where everyone in the family could try their hand at archery. Farther on was the forest that was the home of the Merry Men. Players took a coach ride through the forest and were stopped by Robin’s band of thieves who would playfully harass the passengers.

Through the month of July the medieval area was host to the Lady-in-Waiting and Squire Training Camps, which were half-day camps for kids under the age of twelve. In this training camp, boys and girls would learn all the skills they needed to be the perfect squire to a knight or lady-in-waiting to a princess. When she was ten, Candace had spent a whole week one summer in Lady-in-Waiting Training Camp.

The cart was set up close to the archery range, where players were honing their skills with bows and arrows under the tutelage of Robin Hood himself. Candace strained to get a better glimpse of the green-clad figure but couldn’t tell if he was the same guy she had a crush on.

“Hey, Candace!” She turned to see Becca approaching with a small bakery bag in her hand.

“Hi, Becca,” Candace called, smiling.

“Still haven’t gotten your new name tag yet?” she asked.

Candace shook her head. “I’ve been promised that I’ll get it soon.”

“You better, otherwise your name will permanently be Cotton Candy.”

“Great.”

“Here, I brought you a muffin. It’s a new kind we’re trying out at the bakery, and lots of people are hooked.”

“Thanks,” Candace said, taking the bag and stowing it away to eat on her break. She grabbed a stick and swirled it around in the vat until she had a fluffy mound of pink to hand to Becca.

“Awesome,” Becca said as she took the cotton candy.

“This is getting to be a regular thing with us,” Candace noted.

Becca nodded, her eyes wide. She stepped closer to Candace and lowered her voice. “I was thinking we could make this a permanent arrangement.”

Something in her voice creeped Candace out, although she wasn’t sure why. When she was a kid, a traveling evangelist had done a revival at her church. She remembered the way his eyes had glittered and how much he had overwhelmed her with the sheer force of his belief. Becca had that same look in her eyes. The only word that Candace could think of to describe it was
obsession
.

“Um, sure,” Candace said, holding up her hand as though to fend off an attack.

“Awwwesome,” Becca said, dragging the word out. She turned and walked away, clutching her cotton candy in her fist. Candace shuddered as she watched her go.

Once Becca was out of sight, Candace returned her attention to the archery area. She was startled to discover that Robin Hood was headed her way.

She got a good look at his face. He was Orlando-Bloom handsome. With the dark hair and crackling eyes, he was more like Orlando Bloom in
Pirates of the Caribbean
than in
Lord of the Rings
. Several clusters of girls scattered throughout the area stopped to stare and point. From the way her heart started pounding, Candace knew that he was her mysterious masked stranger.