The Spring of Candy Apples (A Sweet Seasons Novel)

by Debbie Viguié

  Sue and Candace, who were evenly matched in speed, were each building one of the smaller pyramids. In the center, Pete, Corinne, and Traci worked together to construct the largest pyramid. Pete and Corinne constructed the bottom part and left Traci to build the top in a blur of flying hands and cups. They were aiming to finish all three pyramids simultaneously, but they were still a few seconds off.

  “Break,” Sue croaked finally.

  They all collapsed onto the grass. Sue’s younger brother and sister, who were acting as their audience, went inside and came back out with ice water for everyone. Candace drank hers down thirstily and then fell backward onto the grass.

  “Anyone else need Tylenol?” Pete asked, fishing some out of his pocket.

  “Yes,” Candace moaned. “I feel like my fingers are going to fall off.”

  “Are you sure we can’t just leave it at the pyramids?” Corinne asked.

  “We all agreed. Pyramids, Eiffel Tower, Stonehenge,” Sue reminded.

  “It will be cooler that way,” Traci said.

  “If we can still bend our fingers,” Pete commented.

  “It will look awesome,” Candace said.

  “Okay, let’s take a go at Stonehenge,” Corinne said.

  With a groan, Candace and the others got up.

  “We can do this,” Pete said. “Just remind me which part of Stonehenge I’m building.”

  “I don’t even remember which part I’m building,” said Sue.

  “Maybe we should work on the Eiffel Tower next,” Corinne suggested.

  “Okay, next time somebody remember the diagram,” Candace said.

  “What diagram?” Traci asked.

  “I thought we made a diagram of this last time,” Candace said.

  “We talked about making one, but we didn’t actually do it,” Sue said with a sigh.

  “Well, then let’s make one this time so we’ll have it for next time,” Candace said.

  “I’ve got a better idea, ditch Stonehenge and pick a new third thing,” Pete said.

  “Like what?” Traci asked.

  No one could think of anything else. Sue went inside and came back out with a large piece of construction paper and some markers. “Fine, but let’s diagram it out.”

  12

  Saturday morning, Tamara picked up Candace, and they drove to school where they met up with Mr. Bailey and the rest of the drama class in the auditorium. Mr. Bailey had brought donuts, and Candace eagerly scarfed one down, having overslept her alarm and missed breakfast.

  “Okay everyone, today is the beginning of the end. Today we construct sets, which means the play is just around the corner. From here on out, we’ll be working harder, practicing longer, and getting used to our sets, props, costumes, and, ultimately, makeup.”

  The guys in the class groaned at the mention of makeup, and the girls laughed.

  “Thank you all for coming out this morning. Thank you also for those of you who have persuaded loved ones to be here.”

  A couple of fathers nodded tiredly.

  “All right, let’s get to work,” Mr. Bailey said, rubbing his hands together like a villain in some old melodrama.

  Candace and Tamara set to work painting some of the walls for the prison backdrop. It was slow going, but they had an easier time of it than some of the others who were working on hinging walls together.

  Josh and James showed up at nine a.m., as promised, and were instantly surrounded by admiring classmates of Candace and Tamara.

  “My guy,” Tamara announced, laying a kiss on James.

  Candace laughed at Tamara’s marking of her territory. She moved over and hugged Josh, fighting the sudden urge to kiss him on the cheek.

  “Thanks for coming,” she said.

  “Not a problem, because you know we guys have nothing better to do on a Saturday than build stuff,” he teased.

  “That’s why we girls will always need you.”

  “Well, I guess that works.”

  “So, what do you want us to do?” James asked.

  “Set construction,” Mr. Bailey said as he walked up to them. “Glad to see you guys.”

  “Give me a hammer,” Josh said.

  “Give me a paintbrush,” James chimed in.

  “How about I give you both hammers and then graduate you both to paintbrushes later?” Mr. Bailey suggested.

  “That works,” Josh said.

  They all moved toward the stage where several people were already busy hammering. They worked for three hours. Tamara frequently took a break to run over and give James a thank-you kiss. Candace couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous. She had the feeling, though, that even if they had still been together, Kurt wouldn’t have offered to help out.

  Candace finished the section she was working on and moved on to a new part of the wall. Next to her another girl was already busy with her paintbrush.

  “Your boyfriend is awesome,” Kira said. “So cute and funny, and he’s willing to help. Where do I get one like that?”

  “He’s not my boyfriend; we’re just good friends,” Candace said.

  “Oh. Does he have a girlfriend?”

  “No.”

  “So, he’s free?”

  “I guess,” Candace said, becoming intensely uncomfortable with the questions. Kira was nice, but Candace didn’t want her hitting on Josh.

  “So, what are you, an idiot?” Kira asked.

  “Excuse me?” Candace asked.

  “He likes you. You like him. What’s the problem?”

  “I told you, we’re just friends.”

  “Then you’re both idiots,” Kira snorted.

  Before Candace could retort, Mr. Bailey clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Lunch break. Grab a hot dog and a soda,” he said, waving to a table at the back of the auditorium.

  “Awesome, I haven’t had a Casper dog in a couple of years,” James said, jogging past Candace on his way to the table.

  “Craft ser vices at its finest,” Josh joked as he walked up to Candace.

  Kira elbowed Candace before taking off.

  “What was that about?” Josh asked.

  “Just horsing around,” Candace said vaguely.

  A minute later, Josh, James, Tamara, and Candace had their food and a spot on the floor.

  “So, when do we get to see this spectacle?” James asked.

  “Two weeks,” Tamara said.

  “Awesome, we’ll be here,” Josh said.

  “Oh, no,” Candace protested.

  “What?” Josh asked.

  “I don’t need you to watch me make an idiot out of myself.”

  “Come on, Candace, you’re going to be great. You already are,” Tamara said.

  Candace rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t say that. I’m trying, though, and at least I feel like I am starting to understand Aldonza.”

  “See, you’re light-years ahead of me. I don’t understand my character much at all,” Tamara said.

  “You’ll figure it out,” Candace said. “It’s kinda cool when you start understanding who these people are and why they do the things they do.”

  “Thinking of becoming a professional actress?” James asked.

  “No! I don’t want people to come to this; I can’t imagine if this was my job.”

  “You’re going to be great,” Josh said, giving her his most dazzling smile. “And you can’t stop me from coming.”

  “Me either,” James chimed in. “Although to be fair, I’m going to be paying a lot more attention to Tamara than you. No offense.”

  “None taken,” Candace said with a laugh.

  Candace finally made it home, exhausted and paint streaked. It had been a grueling day, but all the major set work was done. The touch-up work could be done during class time by students waiting for their scenes. James and Josh had stuck in to the very end.

  She walked into the kitchen, wanting to get a drink of water before hopping into the shower. Her parents looked up from the kitchen table, their fac
es serious. Fear pricked her spine.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Aunt Bess is sick,” her mom said.

  Aunt Bess was her dad’s younger sister. She lived in Florida, and although they talked all the time on the phone, they rarely got to see her in person.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Candace asked, fingers curling around the back of a kitchen chair.

  “She’s going to have a hysterectomy,” her father said, his voice shaking slightly.

  “Will she be okay?”

  “She should be,” her mom said.

  “When?”

  “Friday,” her mom said.

  “Good Friday?”

  “Yes.”

  “Dad and I are going to fly out for about ten days and help take care of the kids. Uncle Tom’s going to have his hands full with taking care of her.”

  Candace’s cousins were six, eight, and nine years old. She had only met them a couple of times. She said a quick prayer for them. They had to be terrified by what was going on.

  “We’ve talked about it, and we don’t want to take you out of school,” her dad said.

  “So, I’m staying here?”

  “Yes, I’m so sorry,” her mom said.

  “It’ll be okay.”

  “We hate the thought of leaving you alone for Easter,” her dad said.

  “I know Tamara and her family are going to be out of town visiting her grandparents,” her mom said.

  “It will be okay,” Candace said. “I’ll find something to do. I’m a lot more concerned about Aunt Bess.”

  Her mom stood up and hugged her hard, which scared Candace a little bit. “Thank you,” she whispered, and her voice was shaking. Candace hugged her back.

  Candace finally went upstairs, showered, and then settled into her room. She called Tamara and left a message for her. Then she called Josh and told him about her aunt.

  “That’s terrible. I’ll be praying for her, for all of you,” he assured her.

  “Thanks, I appreciate it. I’m just freaked out a bit. I’m not used to seeing my parents scared like that.”

  “Understandable.”

  It was after midnight when they finally hung up.

  Sunday night, Candace and Tamara were a few minutes early to youth group and had staked out their favorite couch. “I’m not happy that you’re going to be alone on Easter,” Tamara said when Candace filled her in.

  Candace shrugged. “It will be fine. I’m sure I can find something to do.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us to Dad’s family reunion?” Tamara asked.

  Candace rolled her eyes. Three days trapped with Tamara’s extended family was not her idea of a good time. Nor Tamara’s for that matter. “I went to one of those like six years ago, remember?”

  “How can I forget?” Tamara asked gloomily.

  “You could bail and stay with me,” Candace suggested.

  “Can’t. ‘Rents are firm about this one,” Tamara said.

  People were trickling in. Jen came over and sat near them.

  Suddenly Candace saw a familiar face come in the back. “She actually showed!” Candace said.

  “Who?” Tamara asked.

  “Lisa.”

  “Lisa? The one we hate?” Tamara asked.

  “Yes. I mean, no, we don’t hate her.”

  “We don’t? When did this happen?”

  “I don’t know. The last few days. We called a truce, and then she started asking me about God.”

  “Freaky.”

  “Tell me about it. Now she’s here. Freakier.”

  Candace waved, and Lisa walked over slowly. Her eyes were wide, and she was staring at everything and everyone. Candace stood up. “I’m glad you could make it.”

  Lisa nodded, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “Thanks for inviting me,” she said.

  “Do you want to sit with us?” Candace asked.

  Lisa shook her head slowly. “I’m just going to sit in the back.”

  “Oh, okay, that’s cool. Do you want me to introduce you to anybody?”

  “No.”

  Lisa turned and walked toward the back of the room, where she found a seat in the corner. Candace continued to stand awkwardly for a minute before reclaiming her seat.

  Candace couldn’t help but feel nervous throughout the evening, and she kept glancing back to see how Lisa was doing. The other girl was doing her best to keep to herself despite the efforts of people who were trying to introduce themselves to her. It was a good meeting, and Candace was grateful for that.

  When it was over, Candace stood up, but by the time she had reached the back of the room, Lisa had already gone.

  “Everything cool?” Tamara asked.

  “I guess. I just wish I had a chance to talk to her afterward,” Candace said, actually regretting not having offered to give her a ride in the first place.

  “Chill. If she wants to talk to you, she will.”

  “I guess you’re right.”

  Monday afternoon, Candace tried to find Lisa, but she didn’t seem to be at work. She finally wandered over and stood under the crosses in the Holiday Zone again, reflecting and praying. Josh found her, and she could tell at a glance that he had something on his mind.

  “I have a totally awesome idea,” Josh said.

  “What?”

  “You should spend Easter with my family.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. You could come for the whole weekend. It would be fun.”

  “Your parents wouldn’t mind?”

  “I already asked them, and they’re excited about it.”

  “That would be great, but, my parents are going to want to know stuff about your family.”

  “Like what?”

  “They’re going to want contact information, I’m sure. Phone number, address, names.”

  “Oh.” Josh sighed. “I see where you’re going with this. You know what, go ahead and tell them. Your parents are cool. I’m sure they can keep a secret.”

  “So, it’s okay to let my parents know who your parents are?”

  “Yeah.”

  She hugged him. “This is going to be awesome!”

  “Told you.”

  When Candace got home, she found her parents upstairs packing.

  “Do you need any help?” she asked.

  “I think we have it under control,” her dad said.

  “I just wish we didn’t have to leave you alone for Easter,” her mom said.

  “Josh invited me to spend the weekend with his family,” Candace said, not entirely sure how they would react.

  Both her parents looked instantly relieved. They stopped packing and sat down on the bed.

  “That’s very sweet of him,” her mom said.

  “I’m not surprised,” her dad added.

  “We should have them over for dinner when we get home,” her mom said.

  “We’ll need their phone number, just in case,” her dad said.

  “Mr. and Mrs. . . . you know, I don’t think we’ve ever heard what Josh’s last name is,” her mom said.

  Candace bit her lip.

  “What’s wrong, honey?” her dad asked.

  “You have to promise not to tell anyone. I’m one of the only people at work who knows who his parents are.”

  “Are they famous?” her mom asked.

  “Are they criminals?” her dad asked simultaneously.

  “A bit famous. Not criminals.”

  “Who are they?” her dad asked.

  “John and Lilian Hanson, the owners of The Zone.”

  13

  “I didn’t see that one coming,” Candace’s father admitted.

  “Josh’s parents own the park?” her mom asked.

  “Yes, along with Zone World in Florida,” Candace affirmed. “At work, people don’t know because he doesn’t want to be treated differently.”

  “I could see where that would be difficult otherwise,” her mom said.

  “W
hen we invite them over for dinner, we’ll have the game night of all game nights,” her dad said, a smile lighting his face.

  “Josh is on my team,” Candace said, staking her claim.

  “I call John,” her dad said.

  Her mom stuck her tongue out at both of them.

  “What day are you leaving?” Candace asked.

  “Friday afternoon,” her mom said. “I still wish there was a way for us to spend Easter together.”

  “I have an idea about that,” Candace said. “It won’t be on Easter, but we can still celebrate Easter together.”

  “We’re all ears,” her dad said.

  “Well, you know King Richard’s Feast in the History Zone?”

  “How could we forget it? We celebrated several of your birthdays there,” her mom said.

  “Well, I found out that for this entire week, up to and including Sunday, they have a special Easter event called the Great Carrot Brunch.”

  “The Great Carrot Brunch?” her dad asked. “Is it hosted by bunnies?”

  “I think so,” Candace admitted.

  “You have Friday off school, right?” her mom asked.

  Candace nodded.

  “What time is their earliest seating?”

  “Ten a.m.”

  Her parents exchanged quick looks. “Let’s do it,” her dad said.

  “Can you make the reservations, honey?” her mom asked.

  “Absolutely.”

  She went to her room, called, and reserved three seats for the brunch. When that was done she hopped on the computer and IMd Josh.

  My parents said I can spend the weekend.

  Cool. Did they ask about my parents?

  Yes. They won’t tell, but now they’re planning a game night for all of us after Easter.

  LOL! That should be fun.

  I called dibs on you. My dad called dibs on your dad.

  Should have called my mom. She’s a wicked good player.

  Mom will be happy.

  Always a good thing.

  Guess what!

  You’ve decided 2 invite all the refs 2 the play.

  No!!!!!!!

  I could invite all the refs.

  Don't U dare!!!

  We’re going 2 the Great Carrot Brunch Friday b4 they leave.

  Can U pick me up there?

  Of course. Have u ever been?