by Giselle Fox
“Poor baby,” she cooed and kissed him again. Skip was loving all the attention.
“He has pretty bad arthritis in his hips, though. We’re not sure if he was beaten or hit by a car and never treated properly. He doesn’t have the stamina and speed of a healthy border collie.”
“Oh my God, but you run him three times a day!”
“I know, that’s as much for his mind as his body. He’ll only last five or six minutes at most before he’s done. I let him tell me when he’s had enough. We mostly just walk. It’s good for both of us.”
Candy stroked Skip’s fur. “It’s amazing how dogs can love again after being abused by someone they trust.”
“I know.”
“You two are perfect for each other,” she whispered.
“Yeah, he’s my guy,” I said and stroked the soft fur above his heart.
We all watched a swell of wind blast water against the window. “I really hope this truck works out,” I said.
Candy chuckled. “This brings a whole new meaning to the word rain.”
“Yes it does,” I sighed.
“So when do we get to see it?”
I turned to her and grinned. “You wanna come?”
“Yeah! We’re spending the weekend together, remember?”
“Oh, I remember. I just thought you and Skip might like to lie in bed while I did the dirty work.”
“No,” she smiled. “I’d like to keep you company. Besides, I know a lot about trucks.”
“Really?”
“No,” she laughed. “I know I like the black ones.”
“This one is black,” I said.
“Of course it’s black.”
“The guy said he’d text me some time before lunch. He may be in town, which would rock since otherwise, we’ll have to bus out to Langley.”
“Either way,” she said.
We cuddled for a while longer until I heard her tummy gurgle. “Are you hungry?”
She chuckled. “Yes.”
“Me too. Let me make you breakfast.”
“I have eggs upstairs,” she said. “I need some fresh clothes anyway.”
“I have bacon and some croissants in the freezer.”
“Perfect,” I said.
Candy’s clothes were still damp so she pulled on a pair of my sweatpants and a t-shirt. I pulled on another pair of sweats and walked her to the door.
“I’ll miss you,” I said and kissed her.
“I’ll be five minutes. Don’t shower, I want to have one with you.” I grinned at her and she back at me.
I opened the door. I watched her wiggle down the hall and then left the door open. I walked back to the window and laughed to myself about how tired and sore I was, but how absolutely amazing I felt anyway. I spotted my rowing machine and pulled it down. When Candy returned I’d already gone five intense minutes. She watched me from the kitchen as she unpacked her eggs and tomatoes from a little green shopping bag.
“Is that why you’re so strong?”
“It helps,” I said as I pulled steadily.
“It sounds beautiful.”
“It’s supposed to sound like the water against a hull. It’s relaxing, even though this isn’t.”
“I tried one of those once. It’s harder than it looks.”
“My stroke still needs work,” I said. “But… it’s getting better.”
“Can I put on some music?”
“Go for it.”
Candy went and scanned the shelves for something. I watched her flip through my albums, smile at some and look curiously at others. When she finally pulled the James Gang out of the rack, I grinned.
“I love Walk Away,” she said.
“You like the classics,” I said.
“I like good music, classic or otherwise.”
“Good answer.”
She smiled at me. “I know I have to be careful with a music buff like you.”
“You don’t have to be careful. I like some stuff I probably wouldn’t admit to most people.”
“You have a lot of disco,” she grinned.
“You noticed.”
“Shall we put on a little Thelma Houston after? You have it sitting beside your turntable.”
“Sure,” I laughed. “I like to keep that one handy.”
“Ahhhhhh, baby!” she sang and threw her hands up in the air like a disco queen.
“That was the first song I ever bought with my own money,” I said.
“No! This copy?”
“No, that one’s from a second-hand store. I wore out my 45 a long, long time ago.”
“Aww, that must have been so cute. Did you die your hair black when you were little too?”
“No,” I laughed. “My hair was brown back then.” I stopped rowing and wiped my face on my t-shirt. I met Candy by the record player and helped her with the album.
“What color is it now,” she asked.
“Completely gray,” I joked. Her eyes went wide.
“I’m totally kidding. I have some gray at my temples but it’s still brown.”
“Even I have some gray,” she said.
“You’re hair is dark too?”
“Well,” she grinned. “You’ve seen my pubes and my eyebrows, what do you think?”
I wrapped my arms around her waist. “Brown,” I said. “Chestnut, with blond highlights in the sun.”
“Yep. That’s about it.”
“But you prefer platinum and pink?”
“I like to play with it. I find it interesting how differently people treat me based on what color my hair is. This configuration has been the most interesting.”
“Really? How so?”
“People assume I’m a bubble-head and they usually guess that I’m a lot younger than I am. It’s fascinating.”
“It’s fascinating that you find it fascinating. I think it would piss me off.”
“Maybe that’s why your hair is always black,” she grinned.
“I guess so. I’d prefer people to assume I’m dark and dangerous.”
“Meanwhile you’re about as squishy as they come,” she said and kissed me.
“Well, you seem to know a lot more about me than most people have ever bothered to find out,” I said.
“Or maybe you just finally opened up.”
I sighed and looked out the window. “Christa always said I was an enigma. That she could never figure out what was going on in my head.”
“Really? I don’t find you hard to read at all.”
“Really?”
“You’re very open and honest. She just didn’t listen.”
“Hmm, it’s like you know her.”
“She did my hair.”
I stared at her. “Are you shitting me? Christa did your hair?”
“Yeah! She’s the best color tech in the city. And I wanted to meet the woman you used to sleep with. It was part vanity, part reconnaissance.”
“You really did hunt me down.”
“I told you I was serious about my bucket list.”
“You didn’t have to meet my ex to meet me.”
“No, but if I wanted to get extra points and seduce you, I had to find out what kind of woman you found attractive.”
“And what did you come up with?”
“You like short, curvy, strong-willed women that’ll boss you around.”
I laughed.
“Am I wrong?”
“No, you’re not wrong.”
“I was pretty happy since, you know, I’m short, curvy and very, very strong-willed.”
“This is too much,” I said. “No one has ever devised such an elaborate plan to infiltrate me.”
“I infiltrated you alright,” she grinned and winked.
“Saucy too,” I whispered.
“You have no idea,” she said and sighed. “But... all in good time.”
She kissed me and then walked into the kitchen. “Hungry,” she announced. “What can I do?”
I whipped us up some e
ggs and fried the bacon while Candy thawed and warmed the croissants. We topped our sandwiches with thinly sliced Irish cheddar and tomato and dug in. Skip sat patiently waiting for his piece of bacon until the very end. I’d made a concerted effort to reduce the amount of begging by always feeding him from his bowl. He watched us closely but kept a respectable distance until he knew our plates were empty.
“Good boy,” I said and gave him a chin scratch. After all that waiting, the bacon didn’t last half a second anyway.
We all sat on the couch and watched the rain again. Candy and I took turns playing DJ and I was impressed with her knowledge of music.
When it was finally time for some disco, all of us, even Skip, got up and danced. It was in a border collie’s nature to corral unruly animals, and that’s exactly what we were. He got so riled up that by the end, he was swinging his chew toy around like a dance partner, while Candy and I tried to disco dance together.
“That was so fun,” she said as we both went for another album. Then my phone buzzed.
“Hey, it’s the dude with the truck,” I said happily, “And he’s downtown!”
About an hour later we were in a cab and heading down to a bar to meet him.
“He’s watching the hockey game with some friends,” I said. “I bet he’s hoping he doesn’t have to drive home.”
We met him out in the parking lot. “Hey,” he said when he saw us walking toward him.
“This is so perfect,” I said. “I was hoping I didn’t have to grab a bus.”
“Yeah, the weather’s crap,” he said. “I’m Dave.”
“Rocky,” I said and shook his hand. “This is Candy.”
“Rocky and Candy,” he grinned. “Too cool. Here,” he handed me the keys.
“It looks great,” I said.
“It’s a great truck. I’ve got another kid on the way, though. Time to get a minivan.”
“Ah,” I said. “Well… they’re big.”
“Yep, that’s what I keep telling myself. There’s gotta be an upside.”
We all climbed into the truck. Dave sat in the back while Candy sat in the passenger seat. “What are you driving now?” he asked.
“A ‘78 BMW R100,” I said.
Candy turned around. “It has a sidecar. Her dog rides in it.”
Dave smacked the seat. “That’s where I’ve seen you. You’ve got the dog with the goggles. Priceless.”
“Yeah, he gets a lot of attention.”
“Okay, well this is really cool now. I wanted this truck to go to a good home.”
I drove around the downtown core a bit and then back onto the viaduct toward the pub we’d met him at. “I like it,” I said. “I looked over at Candy who had been quietly smiling the entire drive. “What do you think? Do you like it?”
“I think you’re going to have this truck for a very long time,” she said.
I turned to Dave. “I’ll take it.”
A half an hour later, with papers signed and a certified check handed over, Dave handed me the keys.
I took the long way home to give the car another test on the highway. “It’s a lot dryer,” I said to Candy.
She reached over and held my hand. “I have the perfect way to celebrate.”
“Oh yeah, what’s that?”
“I’m going to bake us a cake,”
“A cake? Like... a cake?”
“Yeah,” she grinned. “Like a birthday cake. I have all the stuff at my place. You and Skip can come up and see my apartment. You can play music while I bake. How does that sound?”
I looked over at her. She was smiling, but there was something else behind her eyes. Something a little bit... devious?
“Okay,” I said. “That sounds fun.”
I parked my shiny new truck in the underground and we got out. Candy looked back at it and shook her head and then walked on.
“What?” I asked.
“Oh, nothing. Just admiring.”
We rode the elevator together up to the fifth floor where I got off. “See you in a few,” I said. I wanted to get Skip and let him out for a pee before heading up to her place. She blew me a kiss as the elevator door closed.
Rhi met me at the door. She was grinning from ear to ear.
“So?”
“So, I got a new truck,” I said.
“New truck, new girlfriend. You’re having a pretty good weekend,” she laughed.
“She’s amazing,” I said and leaned back against my door.
“What kind of amazing?”
“All the good kinds.”
“How’d you meet her?”
“She’s an art school grad. She came into the shop and wanted to do our workshop, said she’d been a fan of my work for a long time.”
“Sex good?”
I closed my eyes. “I can’t even tell you how good.”
Rhi laughed. “It looks good on you. Where is she now?”
“Upstairs. She’s subletting Ron and Linda’s place while they’re away. She’s going to bake me a cake to celebrate the new purchase.” I tossed my keys into the air and caught them happily.
“Look at you, mushy already.”
“No,” I said.
“Oh yes,” she teased.
“We’ve only been together for one day,” I said. “I’m not mushy.”
“Whatever you say. Hey, I’m giving serious thought to heading out to see Brenda.”
“In the truck?” I grinned.
“Yes. Just thought I’d let you know.”
“Want me to take care of the plants?”
“If you wouldn’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all. I have a key still.”
“Good. I’ll let you know before I go.”
Skip started to scratch at the door. “I should let this guy out for a wee.”
“Have a fun night,” she called and shut the door behind her.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Skip had never been up to the seventh floor nor had he ever been inside Ron and Linda’s apartment. But as soon as he pressed his nose to the crack under the door, he knew that’s where Candy lived.
“Who is it buddy?” I whispered to him. He woofed and hopped up and down on his hind legs.
“It’s open,” I heard Candy holler from somewhere inside, so I fluffed my hair and reached for the handle. She met us at the door with an adorable smile and warm kisses.
“Nice apron,” I said. She wore a knee-length pink and white frilled smock with cupcakes and ice cream cones printed all over it. Maraschino cherries were suggestively printed over her chest.
“Thanks,” she beamed and gave me another kiss. “I missed you. Come in.”
The kitchen already felt warm from the gas oven. On the counter were a few of the ingredients for her cake project including, some colored sprinkles and sparklers. I filled Skip’s water bowl and put it down on the front tile.
“Did you bring any of your own stuff or is this all Ron and Linda’s?”
“Other than my bed and my mix master, some books, some art supplies and my clothes, no,” she said. “They said I could use their bed but... I don’t know, I’m particular about my bed.”
“Me too,” I said. “I didn’t realize it until I bought a good one.”
“Exactly.”
I felt a little shy for some reason and Candy seemed so too. “Can I help you bake?”
“If you like,” she said and slid the recipe book over to me. “Gluten-free almond flour orange cake,” I read out loud. “Sounds delicious.”
“I don’t have a problem with gluten,” she said, “I just prefer almond flour over gut-bomb, white flour.”
“I don’t eat a lot of bread for the same reason,” I said.
“You see, the more we find out about each other, the more we have in common.”
“Okay, so direct me. What have you got in that bowl?” I pointed to a bowl that already had some ingredients in it.
“First, take off your sweater.” There was that devious look aga
in.
“What are you up to?”
She shrugged and tried to look serious. “Nothing, why?”
“Riiiight,” I said but I pulled my sweater over my head.
“Good, now take off your pants,” she giggled.
“Alright, here we go,” I laughed. I grabbed her apron straps and pulled her closer.
“I’m only kidding,” she said. “You can leave your pants on... for now.”
For now,” I repeated. “So, tell me about this cake. What’s the occasion?”
“The occasion is your new truck. Yay!”
“Yay,” I agreed.
“And it’s Saturday,” she continued.
“Also yay,” I agreed.
“And, I recently got to cross off one of the big things on my bucket list.”
“Meeting me.”
“Yes,” she said.
“And you get extra points because you didn’t just meet me, you had a sleep over.”
“I know,” she said proudly. She looked up at me and sighed. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I said. “Is there anything else we can knock off the list this weekend?”
“Oh well, we’ll see,” she said mischievously.
We got down to work on the cake after a little deliberation over who was going to mix what. I preferred the tactile nature of the hand blender over the brute strength of the mix master, but Candy insisted that it had to be done a certain way or it might not work out. I never liked to mess much with an exact science like baking so I followed the program.
When the cake was finally in the oven, Candy pulled out a small box of decoration supplies, an icing bag, more multi-colored sparkles including tiny dinosaurs of all types, colored feet, hearts, and rainbow colored bears.
“This is impressive,” I said.
She threw her hands in the air. “Welcome to Candy Land!” Her laugh came straight from the heart.
I sat back on one of the bar stools. “Tell me about Candy Land.”
“It is a magical place,” she said.
“Of course it is.”
“A place where all your deepest dreams and desires come true,” she continued.
“And how does that happen?”
She smiled. “Well, mostly because I’m tenacious and never give up. But I believe there’s a little fortune and luck involved too, enough that I actually believe the universe wants me to succeed.”
