by Lorin Grace
“But she still said yes?”
“After she came up to the penthouse to check on me and I explained. I should have paid more attention to girls in school. I have no idea how to do this.”
Daniel nodded in the direction of his office. Colin followed him down the hall to one of the corner offices, where Daniel shut the door behind them. “Are you asking for advice?”
“Maybe?” Colin had no idea what might help relieve the stress building inside him.
“You two have been friends for a long time. Just hold on to that. Have you ever run out of things to talk about?”
“No. Not yet.”
“Then it probably won’t happen during your date, either. I know your mother drilled proper etiquette into you so much that Miss Manners herself would have a hard time finding something you don’t know. Fall back on that if all else fails.” Nick hung his suit coat in the closet.
Colin sat on the arm of one of the plush chairs. “I don’t know that etiquette can save me.”
“Sure it can. Offer your arm and ask a question. Trust me. That will give you a few more minutes to collect yourself.”
“Candace has an uncanny way of turning things back on me.”
“Ask about art. It works with Mandy every time.” Daniel smiled.
“You need time to think when you are around your wife?”
“Occasionally I am thinking about a business problem or too much about Mandy, and I need a moment.”
Colin wondered how someone could think about their wife too much, then realization hit him, and he hoped his neck wasn’t turning red.
Daniel smiled. His best friend had meant to bait him. “Any other pointers?”
Colin shook his head. No way was he going to ask Daniel about how one knew it was time to kiss. The chances that it would get repeated at an inopportune time were too high. “How do I get Bonnie to tell me where we are going?”
“You had Bonnie set up your date?”
“I didn’t know how to get tickets.”
Daniel whistled. “You are one brave soul. Fortunately for you, she likes Candace, and you were not a goof-up in college like I was, so you don’t have to worry. This time.”
“I thought about that. I am going to need to come up with my own dates.”
“I can help with that. Let me think of some, and I’ll text them to you.”
“Thanks.” I think. Daniel’s dating ideas could be as dangerous as having Bonnie arrange his dates. Which brought him back full circle to his problem—tomorrow night’s date.
eleven
Bonnie had come through with flying colors—seats at the sold-out Broadway tour show, quiet table for two in an upscale restaurant. The most surprising thing was they had reached intermission and Colin hadn’t pulled out a phone or tablet once. He also didn’t seem to be going through withdrawals. Of course, he had spent the entire first act using his fingers to explore her hand and wrist. Candace had no idea she had so many sensitive nerve endings in those places. She’d held a few guys hands before, but it was always about the goal of getting to the kiss or something that would get the guy slapped.
He traced the little scar on the back of her hand from one of the many IV lines that had been placed there. It wasn’t the only scar left from her cancer years, but it was the easiest to see. Yet few ever noticed. Colin noticed little things. Other than Mandy and Zoe, she didn’t feel like many people, even those she called friends, saw her under her crazy wigs and bright artist colors. Colin was coming dangerously close.
The music changed to a melancholy tune as the wise-old-man character sang a ballad. Something about him reminded her of Reverend Cavanagh. Would he be proud she’d started a ten-year plan? She would finish the carousel and convince Nick to use it to open an indoor theme park for children with cancer. Many rides would need to be relatively tame, like the merry-go-round, to accommodate those who might bruise easily from faster rides because of blood conditions. Rigorous sanitation standards would be the most difficult thing to maintain. The rides would need to be cleaned often. Not to mention the need to accommodate oxygen tanks and other medical equipment. The idea kept turning around in her head. Things like fair games that were possible to win, unlike a shooting gallery, could be modified so as to be accessible to wheelchair-reliant patients.
A tingling sensation in her arm brought her thoughts back to another thing in her new plan. A deep and meaningful relationship.
Colin’s fingers trailed up and down her arm, and a tiny sigh escaped her. If only the show could go on and on. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught him looking at her instead of at the stage, where one of the greatest performances of the decade was rapidly drawing to a close. She smiled at him, and he turned his attention back to the show. Candace used her other hand to trace a pattern on the back of his. Only as she started the second time through the pattern did she realize it resembled a Celtic love knot.
She paused. Meaningful relationship didn’t mean she needed to be in love, did it? It must be just leftover thoughts from so many of her friends getting married this year. One could have a deep relationship without falling in love—or maybe a man and woman couldn’t. Her thoughts ebbed and flowed with the song to the finale. Too bad real life couldn’t be solved with a song. If she kept going out with Colin, she was just setting him up to be hurt. Over the past year and a half, she’d gleaned that Colin may not have dated anyone in his life. At least not that Daniel knew of. She should just end it now.
But the little electrical sparks traveling up her arm and making their way to nudge her heart begged her not to. Did a meaningful relationship mean there would be pain?
As the theater started to clear, Colin stood and helped Candace with the light wrap she’d brought. There was something sad about her smile. Perhaps she found the end of the musical as moving as he had. Musical theater went on his list of activities to do again, preferably with Candace.
When the room was three-quarters empty, Andrew Hastings approached from the wings. “There is a great deal of paparazzi out front due to a particular singing sensation in the audience. If you come this way, we can use a rear exit.”
Colin tucked Candace’s hand into the crook of his arm like he did when escorting a dance partner to the floor, then followed Andrew out of the building. The other security guard followed them.
Once they were securely in the car, Colin resumed holding Candace’s hand. Sometime during the past forty-eight hours, he’d concluded that hand-holding was underestimated in every article he ever read. It was far more intimate than given credit for. He could die quite happily now.
“I had no idea the theater could be so exciting. I guess I shouldn’t have dodged my mother’s invitations all these years.” Now that his father had passed, he wished he had taken the time to get to know his parents better, but they didn’t understand him any more than they did his love for programming. Mother’s interest in his life had increased exponentially since Daniel’s wedding last year, the interest mostly manifested in not-so-cleverly-disguised attempts to set him up with her friends’ daughters. He wondered what his mother would think of Candace. They’d met, of course, at Daniel’s wedding and again at the New Year’s party. But both times, Candace had been dressed what his mother would call “appropriately,” meaning Candace’s hair wasn’t green, or pink, or orange.
Candace asked him a question. He had been so distracted with his own thoughts he had to ask her to repeat it.
“I asked what your favorite part was.”
Holding your hand. “The dancing at the beginning of the second part.”
“That was good. I want to try a couple of those moves.”
“Come dancing with me next weekend.”
“Where?”
“I am sure we can find something. If not, there is the ballroom out at the house. We can go
there. Mother won’t mind if she is there.” She would be delighted. All week he’d dodged her calls, knowing she was curious about the date. Janie must have blabbed.
“You have a ballroom?” She sat up straight and turned to him. “Why have you not told me this?”
“It never came up?” No way was he ready to take Candace out to the house if his mother was around. Mom would be contacting her calligrapher for the wedding invitations.
“In all the dancing we have done, it never came up?” Candace shook her head and sat back, leaning into his side. “We have been friends for a year and a half. What other secrets do you have?”
I’ve never kissed a woman, and I want to kiss you. “I don’t know. There is also a swimming pool with a removable structure so it is open year around. I just don’t think about things like that.”
The driver pulled into the underground parking lot and stopped in front of the elevator bay.
“Do you want to come up? I asked Sabrina to put ice cream on the order. And I was very specific about it being chocolate with fudge ribbons.” Colin held his breath, waiting for the answer.
“Sure. If your AI goofed, I have some of the good stuff at my apartment.” Candace entered the elevator with him.
He might have tried to kiss her then, but he knew the security camera would catch the moment, and no way would Hastings Security get an image of his first kiss.
This time he didn’t mind that the elevator was in express mode.
twelve
Sabrina got the ice cream order correct after only four tries. The AI earned her keep today. Candace scooped a bowl of cookies and cream for Colin and one of double chocolate fudge for herself while he got them both a glass of water. She set the ice cream on the table.
Colin picked up his bowl. “It is a clear night. Let’s go eat in the observatory.”
Candace followed him up a stairway and then a spiral staircase that reminded her of the one in Art House. Only, instead of a cramped loft, it led to a room with three-quarter walls and a glass roof. Music played softly from hidden speakers. Colin took a seat on the leather sofa. She sat next to him. The light from two buildings over shone through the south window.
“Sabrina, close the south binds up to point B on the roof.”
Within seconds the space between the panes was filled with a solid-looking substance blocking out the light.
“Those aren’t normal blinds, are they?” Candace winced at her obvious observation.
“It is an invention I have been working on, but it still has issues. It heats up too much in the summer sun, so I have a set of exterior metal blinds that cover the room when not in use. The glass offers UV protection—not that it is an issue at night.” Colin continued into the more technical aspects of the substance in the windows.
Candace ate her ice cream and nodded whenever she grasped a point.
Colin paused. “Sorry, I went a bit overboard there. I guess you didn’t need to know the chemical makeup of it, did you?”
“I like how passionate you get about your projects. I don’t need to understand everything to enjoy it.”
“Finished with your ice cream?” Colin held out his hand, and she passed him her bowl. He crossed the room and set them in a small dumbwaiter, then returned to her. “Now, for the show.”
The sofa began to recline until she was almost prone. With any other guy, Candace would wonder if she was being seduced.
“Sabrina, artificial light filters.” The electric glow that defined Chicago at night dimmed. Light from stars rarely seen in the city twinkled through the windows.
“Oh, wow. I never thought I would see the Big Dipper in the heart of the city.” Candace pointed northward.
“There is Mars. Tomorrow is the autumnal equinox. Fall will really be here.” Colin slid his head closer to hers and pointed. “That is Taurus.”
“Pumpkin-spice time can officially begin!” Candace refused to start fall a day early, even if the stores had.
“Just as long as you don’t eat that pumpkin-spice cereal.”
She turned to him. “They have cereal?”
“Don’t get too excited. It might be good if it were oatmeal based, but the stuff Janie bought for me tastes pretty bad. I have most of the box left if you want to try some, but I did warn you.” His face relaxed as it did when he moved to topics that were not computer or invention related.
“My favorites are the donuts and pumpkin-blueberry muffins. I usually make a batch or two to share with my roommates so I don’t eat them all.”
“I can eat a few.”
“I’ll bring some up, then. I can take some to my coworkers. Maybe that will help them not think I am so odd.”
“Odd? Why would they think that? How is work going?”
“My end is easy, but I work alone at this point. I may bring an intern in next semester. Everyone else is working on the restoration. Some of the paint on the carousel has lead in it, and some of the colors have pigments that are now banned or considered unsafe, like uranium yellow and Scheele’s green.”
“Whoa, someone made paint out of uranium? Wouldn’t that be radioactive?” Colin rolled over and propped his head on his arm.
“It was a popular color for centuries. Women who were helping in the World War II war effort would roll the tips of their brushes in their mouths, and many got cancer. All of what they have found here is registering at very low levels on a Geiger counter, so low it’s well below EPA standards. However, since children will be using this, there is a yellow bench a master carpenter is rebuilding from scratch. In places where the yellow can be removed, it is being replaced with a safer, slightly less-vibrant color.”
“So what about the green?”
“The emerald-green color contains arsenic and is everywhere on the carousel. The color was trendy until about 1900. It was in clothing, wallpaper, and on children’s toys. People died from it. The restoration specialists have to take all kinds of precautions to remove the old paint. Some of those cleaning and removing old paint are protected in what looks like hazmat suits.” Candace didn’t envy them. She’d donned one of the outfits to inspect and photograph a couple of the horses.
Colin made a face. “That can’t be fun. Are you wearing one?”
“Right now I am working on the center tower, where an operator would sit, and the central pole is located in the tower. The paint is badly faded, so I am recreating the original murals on a canvas-type material so the reconstructed tower can be wrapped. There is some debate about how to redo the center tower, as part of it was badly damaged. The only thing anyone agrees on is that it won’t be run by an operator sitting inside. Another thing I am glad not to have to deal with.”
“Do you like the job?”
“It is different. Much of it is like paint by number since I am repainting what someone already created. In some ways it is strangely satisfying. I feel like the old artist is smiling down on me for carrying on his or her legacy. I have found a few initials that make me think there were several painters.” Candace lay back and contemplated the stars. She had always believed in a heaven, but other than her aunt’s incessant genealogy stories, she’d never deeply contemplated the lives or stories of people who’d lived before. She pictured someone sitting on a stool with the unpainted animal, trying to decide if lavender was too odd a color for the mane.
Next to her, Colin rolled onto his back. He held her hand again, his fingers exploring her wrist and sending wonderful chills up her arm. Cells that had gone her entire life without being noticed now made their presence known. They lay in silence until a plane crossed the sky, its red lights interrupting the view.
Candace blinked, realizing how close to falling asleep she was. “I think I should get to my place.” She searched for a button or lever to return the sofa to a sitting position.
“It is on my side.” The seat began to rise. Halfway up it stopped. She turned to find Colin only inches away, studying her. He leaned over and quickly pressed his lips to hers, then leaped back.
“That was terrible, wasn’t it?”
What had he done? It certainly wasn’t what he’d planned or visualized. The kiss was more like the one between the kids he had seen on a viral video where the little girl had started to cry. Only Candace wasn’t crying.
The need to apologize filled him. “I’m sorry. I know I can do better.”
She blinked a couple times before sitting up. Colin pushed the button to bring the sofa into a full sitting position. “I studied so much and watched all these moves. Can I—”
Candace placed two fingers on his lips. “A kiss isn’t something you can analyze. It is something you feel.” She moved her hand over his heart. “Close your eyes and try to clear your brain.”
He closed his eyes, but his mind was racing. What did I do wrong? What should I do now? Try again? Move to a different city?
“Breathe in through your nose and out through pursed lips.” Her fingers rubbed gently across his forehead. “Concentrate on breathing.”
Like that was possible with her fingers running across his brow and him knowing he had just delivered the worst kiss in the history of mankind.
Her fingers then trailed down his cheek and along his jaw. One traced his lower lip. “Keep breathing. In. Out.”
She was so close her breath brushed his cheek. Her fingers ran back over his brow and into his hair. In, out. In, out. Concentrating on his breathing, he let the sensation her fingers were causing wash over him. Then something brushed his lips. A millisecond had passed before he realized Candace was kissing him. Without thinking, he responded, learning and apologizing for his earlier ineptitude at the same time.
She pulled back and placed her forehead against his. “Next time, don’t think about it so much.”
