Matchsticks and Candy Canes

by C. E. Wilson

  But he wanted to take her outside of Sweet Mix. She deserved that much.

  As he stood, he spared a glance at the top of her head. “School?” he asked. “I didn’t know your kind went...” he trailed off with a frown and hoped he hadn’t offended her.

  “We don’t have a traditional high school,” she said, “but there was a wonderful woman who took students until they were fifteen. It was fun, but there’s nothing after that.”

  Carter hummed to himself as he started to walk. It was shocking how much he had to slow his steps so Brynne could keep up, and even then, he could tell she was close to jogging. He slowed down even more until his boots practically dragged across the snow and he finally reached the door and pulled it open so she could enter the restaurant first.

  “Do you miss it?” he asked quietly as she caught up to him. “School, I mean.”

  “Sometimes,” Brynne said, stepping over his loose shoelace. “Beats standing outside in the cold all day.” She laughed weakly when she leaned way back to look up at him, noticing his face was twisted into a look of pity. Uncomfortable, she quickly looked away.

  As she stepped into the restaurant, she suddenly was seized by self-consciousness. Everyone there was dressed in clean, hole-free clothing and clearly had some sort of job. They could at least buy a plate of spaghetti without counting every single penny in their coin purse. She also realized with a shock that some of the people seated were elves like her! She was so surprised that she didn’t even notice more people attempting to come in after them. Humans. Startled, Brynne clung so close to Carter’s jeans that he accidently took her along with one of his strides as he moved to claim an empty booth.

  “I still don’t understand why you have to be out there every day.” He trailed off as he noticed a slight weight on his left leg and glanced down. “B-Brynne,” he choked out, realizing that she was clinging to him. Clinging to his pants. His face turned red as she scrambled away. “What are you doing?”

  “Nothing!” she squeaked as she pushed some fluffy, brown hair away from her face. “I’m fine.” She ducked back close to him as two couples strode past the two of them. They were all human.

  “You don’t have to be nervous,” Carter said, hoping his blush had faded. “You’re safe here. This is a safe place. No one’s gonna judge us.”

  “Safe? That’s easy for you to say. You’re half as tall as the ceiling!” Brynne said, a bit of an edge creeping into her timid voice.

  With a smirk aimed towards the top of her head, he went over to the last booth and sat down. He was already removing his coat and setting it down when he realized Brynne wasn’t at his side. His head shot up and he saw that she was still standing in the same place from before, practically frozen to the spot as she gaped at the diner. He snapped his fingers and waved to her and she finally looked over.

  “Brynne, over here!” he called, waving her over with a hand. He looked down and saw a small ladder bolted to the side of the booth with a pair of small folding chairs handing next to it. He took one as Brynne finally reached their seat. “You got a little spaced out there. You sure you’re okay?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “It’s not often I get a girl grabbing me like that.”

  “I’m sorry. That’s not very date-like, is it?” She bit her lower lip apologetically.

  “Not date-like?” he repeated before he shrugged. “Depends on the date, I guess,” he said sheepishly.

  Brynne blushed furiously, hoping that ignoring him would help her suggestive thoughts to dissipate. It didn’t work. She climbed the ladder in silence and set up the elf-sized folding chair on the bench. She sat down and looked across the large table.

  In turn, Carter finished taking off his coat and folded it next to him. Seated across from her, felt as if he was really seeing her for the first time. He noticed a thin teal turtleneck sweater underneath her tattered jacket. A glint of metal hung around her neck, a pendant. Carter wanted to say he liked the color of her sweater, but after taking a closer look, he could see the little holes and kept the comment to himself. Instead, he tilted his head and looked at Brynne closely before steepling his hands on the table.

  “This place is okay, isn’t it?” he asked, noticing how uncomfortable she looked.

  “I feel like they’re going to see I don’t belong here.”

  “I...” he trailed off and bit his lip, wondering if he should have complimented her sweater after all. “Why do you say that?”

  “People are staring,” she whispered, not even sure if that was true, but it certainly felt that way in her mind.

  “There are plenty of elves here too,” Carter said. He jutted his chin around the cramped establishment to make his point. There weren’t a lot of mixed pairs in the place, but there were a few. A young human girl with an older elf, and a younger man and a young blonde elf were leaning across the table and speaking in low voices with warm expressions. It made him feel less nervous and he turned his attention back to Brynne.

  “You need to relax,” he said. “No one’s staring at you. No one except me.” His eyes softened. “Relax and focus on me if that helps. If it doesn’t... uh...” He searched her eyes until she finally met his glance.

  “It helps a little,” she said in a breathy voice.

  It felt as though someone had struck a match to his cheeks. He had never spoken to a girl like this before, but it calmed Brynne so he did his best to play it cool. “Good,” he said with a shaky voice.

  To take some attention away from his rapidly reddening face, he reached across the table to pick up the one page menu and handed one to her. “Relax,” he reminded her as he lifted the menu to inspect his options. Brynne followed his lead, pulled up the menu and perused the options.

  Her mouth watered as she read through them: Spaghetti and parmesan crusted pork, wine-marinated pot roast, and even a traditional shepherd’s pie. It all sounded incredible… and expensive.

  She was so engrossed in the menu that she didn’t even hear the waiter come up until a big glass was set down next to her. Brynne jolted in surprise, nearly dropping her menu. The waiter faltered, pulling his hand away close to his body.

  “So sorry there, pretty girl. Just setting up.” With more caution, he set down a much smaller glass next to her and filled it up with water. “My name’s Alley and I’ll be your server today.”

  “Afternoon,” Carter said, barely glancing up from his menu.

  Brynne collected herself, trying to imitate Carter’s casual manner. “Hi, Alley. It’s nice—”

  “Any chance you know what you want to eat, little lady?” He pulled out a pad of paper and a stubby pencil. “Or can I get you a pop to start?”

  Brynne shook her head. “Do him first,” she said, pointing at Carter.

  The waiter beamed and nodded. “For you, sir?”

  Carter set down the menu. “I’ll have the seafood macaroni and cheese, please.”

  “Caesar or house salad?” Alley asked.

  “House.”

  “Dressing?”

  “Italian.”

  “Excellent choices,” Alley said before nodding hard and jotting down the order. He turned his attention to the elf. “And how about for you, pretty girl?”

  Brynne flushed. She wasn’t sure if she liked being called a girl, especially by someone who looked close to her age. “I don’t know.” She shot an embarrassed look over at Carter. “I don’t know what too many of these things are.”

  “Here,” Alley started before Carter had a chance to explain. He leaned in so far that she could have reached out and touched his chin. “We change the menu pretty often here to keep up with the locals.”

  His breath was hot on her neck and though she wanted to pull away, she tried to remember Carter’s words about relaxing and tried not to let it bother her.

  “Shepherd’s pie is ground lamb with vegetables and mashed potatoes overtop with melted cheese.” He leaned a little closer. “And the pork...”

  �
��Why don’t you get her the sampler?” Carter said. He tried to bite back his annoyance at the waiter and his proximity to Brynne. “Lemon chicken, spaghetti, shepherd’s pie and the parmesan pork.”

  Alley kept his attention on Brynne. “What size?”

  “Human sized.”

  The waiter looked up. “That’s a lot of food for a pretty girl.”

  “She can take the leftovers home,” Carter said. His hand clenched into a fist. “So I guess that’s it then. You might want to put the order in, right?” He narrowed his eyes at the waiter as Alley fixed him with a calm and easygoing grin.

  “I was just trying to help her out,” he said before standing up. He scribbled heavily on his pad before he leaned down again. “I’ll bring out some bread in a few minutes, pretty girl.” He gave her a quick smile, then turned to the kitchen.

  Carter watched him go with blazing eyes and clenched fists. He palmed his face then drug a hand through his hair to the back of his head. “And here I was the one telling you to relax. Apparently I need to tell myself that. Sorry for stepping in. I don’t know what came over me. Did I even order anything you wanted?”

  Brynne grinned behind perpetually chilled fingertips. “You ordered the entire lunch menu! Chances are I’m bound to like something on the plate.” She glanced over her shoulder, as if still feeling the residual tingle of the waiter’s hot breath, but when she turned back to Carter, her eyes were bright. “And they bring us bread for no reason here? That’s nice of them!”

  Carter arched a brow. He supposed to Brynne that everything was new. He longed to show her how much more the world had to offer than what she already knew. He wished he could see through her eyes, if only for a few hours. How big the world was. How new the world was. Within moments he was able to calm his anger about the hands-y waiter with the strange name.

  “I bet it won’t be as good as the bread we have the shop,” he said with a smile as a waitress came up to their table with a bread basket in hand. Carter quickly reached into the basket and pulled out a roll. “Yup. These don’t look like the ones my uncle makes.” He scrutinized it carefully before ripping it in half and slathering some butter inside as the steam hit his face. He was about to take a bite when he noticed Brynne watching him and he lowered his hand. “Oh. Uh, here.” He set down the other half of the buttered roll on her plate. “Give that a try and tell me if it’s better than the croissants at Sweet Mix,” he said with a challenging smile. He bit into his own roll and coughed.

  “What?” Brynne squeaked. “What’s wrong?”

  “Dang that’s good butter,” Carter choked out with a laugh. “Try it. They must churn it in the back or something.”

  There was no way she could finish the whole thing without spoiling her appetite, so Brynne picked a fluffy piece of the warm white bread and sank her teeth into it.

  “Mmm.” She melted, shutting her eyes in bliss. “It is good.” She pushed the roll back towards Carter. “Still not as good as your uncle’s though,” she said. “That place is the best.” She smacked her lips a few times, still savoring the fresh butter in her mouth before Carter coughed awkwardly, shifting in her seat.

  “What is it?” she asked, hoping that she hadn’t embarrassed him already.

  “Uh, Brynne. You’ve got…” He gestured to his nose. Brynne reached up to her own nose and gasped, suddenly realizing she had a big smear of butter across her cheeks and nose.

  “Oops. Gosh.” She snatched up a napkin and toweled her face free of the butter. “You’d be amazed how easy it is to get messy when you’re an elf.” She tried to laugh, but her eyes were suddenly worried.

  “You don’t have to be an elf to get messy,” Carter said before he flushed. He needed to make her feel more comfortable, not play the cool guy. “You know what I mean.” He dipped his face into his own roll for effect and got some glossy, melted butter on his lips and smiled widely. “See what I mean?”

  Brynne’s fearful look was replaced by surprise and she let out what might have been a giggle. “I see. I guess size doesn’t matter. You can get messy no matter what.” Her tight, hunched shoulders were beginning to loosen. She tilted her head as she watched Carter’s mouth.

  Carter’s... glossy... mouth.

  “So!” she squeaked loudly as she realized she was staring at his lips. “Uh... heh...”

  Carter quickly licked the butter away and fixed her with a questioning look.

  “You’re stammering,” he said with a grin as he finished off his roll.

  “I know. I don’t know what to talk to you about.” She laughed uncomfortably and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I wasn’t expecting you to take me out today.”

  “Why not?” Carter tried. He reached for another roll. “You’re a girl. I’m a guy. I was hungry and so were you. And this place welcomes all kinds.” He tilted his head right back at her. “You’re having a good time, aren’t you? You’re not mad that I ordered for you, are you? Because that guy…” he trailed off.

  Brynne shook her head. “No, I don’t mind. It was another surprise.”

  He raised an eyebrow across the table as Brynne suddenly realized who ‘that guy’ must be. The waiter.

  “I guess he was kind of loud, wasn’t he?”

  Carter’s eyebrow dropped and he shifted in his seat. “Oh uh... yeah,” he muttered. “He was loud. And he didn’t have a problem getting into your personal space.”

  “He was just trying to help, I think.” What she wanted to say was that she wished he had been the one to get so close.

  Carter looked sheepish. “You’re probably right,” he said. He frowned and looked away for a moment, trying to compose himself. He had called this a date. And it was to him. He still just couldn’t get a read on Brynne. Was she bored? Annoyed? Excited for a free meal? He didn’t know.

  “I’m not used to this,” he said suddenly.

  “Used to what?”

  “This,” he grumbled. “I mean, I’ve been on dates before, but I don’t think I’ve ever been jealous of a waiter.” He shook his head as though he couldn’t believe he admitted it out loud. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “S-sure.”

  “Does it bother you? Like being so close to people?”

  “People?”

  “Uh, you know. People. People like me.” She looked even more confused. “Not elves,” he tried. “Like that waiter, or me.”

  Brynne shifted uncomfortably, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “Let’s be honest, Carter. How many people like you want to come close to someone like me?”

  “That waiter for one,” Carter started to huff.

  She raised her eyes shyly, only for a moment. She looked at him for seconds at a time, like sipping at water. “Let me put it this way: when they do get close, it’s generally not for anything positive.”

  Carter sighed under his breath, barely audible as he cast his disappointed gaze towards the fogged up window.

  “You’re different.” Brynne said. Carter turned towards her with surprise. “You are. It didn’t feel wrong or scary when you were carrying me. It felt nice.” She twirled her hair ferociously now, shifting her gaze to her glass of water. “I liked it,” she said, barely audible.

  “You did?” Carter could hardly believe his ears at first. Her voice was so quiet that he wondered if he had possibly misheard her. He lowered his head a bit to find her eyes. “You liked it?”

  She nodded, still shifting nervously in her seat.

  “You liked it.” Carter wasn’t sure why, but he said it before he could stop himself. He flushed when Brynne looked at him. “Sorry. I didn’t think...” he trailed off. “C-cool, because I—”

  “Seafood macaroni and cheese and custom sampler,” a smooth voice interrupted.

  Carter stiffened in his seat as the same waiter from before dropped his large plate in front of him and turned towards Brynne and crouched down.

  “And for you,” he said. “I know he ordered a human sized platter but I had the
chef create a small starter for you. If you want more, flag me down and I’ll bring it out.”

  “Good,” Carter spoke up. “Thanks, Almond.”

  “Alley,” the waiter corrected him.

  “Alley, then. Thanks.”

  “No problem,” he said. “Always happy to help a pretty girl.” He winked before he turned away and headed back to the kitchen.

  Carter turned back to Brynne, half smirking, half frowning. “And you’re worried about people not wanting to get close to you?” His voice was dry. He didn’t know why he was jealous. It was a date, but it wasn’t like Brynne was his girlfriend.

  “I’m sure he’s being polite,” Brynne said awkwardly.

  “Maybe he just sees what I see,” Carter said before turning his attention to his food.

  Brynne’s eyes snapped upwards. She opened her mouth to speak, then shut it. Don’t push, she told herself. It was far too soon to go prying into what he was feeling about her. Just the same, excitement had begun to fight with her anxiety.

  “Mmm.” Brynne made an exaggerated noise of approval as she slid a bite from each dish into her mouth. “They’re fresh!” She had to fight against her eyes wanting to water. It would be stupid to get choked up over fresh food. Carter probably ate like this all the time. No rock-hard bread crusts or half-rotten cabbage for him. He got to eat what he wanted whenever he was hungry. What a life. “How’s yours?”

  “Pretty good.” He was calmer again. He didn’t know what had come over him. That waiter... ugh... that waiter. He was probably only doing his job, but it still bothered Carter that he leaned so close to her with him sitting right there. Brynne didn’t seem to understand the big deal so there was no reason to make it one.

  He chewed slowly so he could give her plenty of time to eat and not feel rushed.

  “I’ve always been a fan of seafood,” he tacked on in a low voice. “My parents are more of meat and potatoes type of people.” He rolled his eyes. “I always want to try new things. What’s the point of living if you don’t try something different once in a while?”