I Want Candy (19 page)

“I have some cash on me. Don’t worry about it,” he said as he slid his sand-covered flip-flops back on. Candy nodded as Eric took her hand and led her out of the room back into the sweet, seductive island paradise.

HONEYMOON GUMBO

Cooked white rice – your sand

1 yellow bell pepper – your sun

1 red bell pepper – your heart

Add shrimp – her “pink” love

Add sausage – his “elongated” love (don’t chop, this isn’t a Bobbitt recipe)

Cook in large pot with boiling chicken broth, slowly…so slowly that you may not even notice the hot water you’re in.

* * *

CHAPTER 8

“This is really strange,” Candy said as she watched Eric finish putting his dress pants away in the large master closet of her bedroom. “I’ve been so accustomed to livin’ alone and not sharin’ my space, that to see men’s clothin’ in here is messin’ with my mind.” She laughed as Eric unpacked the final boxes from his home.

“I always kept a couple shirts over here, though, to break you in,” he teased. Candy smirked and rolled her eyes as she watched his meticulous ritual of folding his socks just so.

“Can you believe it has been a month? It seems like we’ve been married for years. I don’t mean that in a bad way!” Eric added quickly.

“To me, time’s going so slow. It seems like only a day or two.” Candy turned around and slid back under the covers as she waited for Eric to join her for freshly popped popcorn and a new DVD. He stood with his back straight, looking over a pair of burgundy boxers he had just purchased before folding them in half and placing them in his underwear drawer. In the darkness of their now shared bedroom, he made his way to the bed. He slid under the sheets and reached for his ice-cold bottled water while simultaneously dipping his free hand into the bright yellow bowl filled to the brim with buttery popcorn.

“Candy Cane, this is a chick flick,” he mumbled while chewing.

“Yes it is. It was my turn to choose. You got to pick last time, remember?” Candy said as she jabbed him playfully under the sheets with her foot. “You just may like it.”

“I doubt it. What is this shit, ‘The Joy Luck Club?’” Eric asked as he reached for more popcorn. Candy ignored him and took another sip of her diet green tea. As the beginning credits rolled, the phone rang. Eric quickly picked up the receiver.

“Saved by the bell!” he laughed before saying, “Hello? Hey. What? She did what?” Eric sat up. Candy immediately paused the movie and looked at her husband with concern as she touched his wrist.

“Man, that isn’t true! I know you know, but what’s everyone else gonna think?” Eric leaped out of bed angrily and stormed out with the phone in his hand. Candy immediately followed, listening as Eric raced down the winding staircase and paced back and forth angrily.

“When did you find out?” Eric asked eagerly. “No, she hasn’t contacted me because it’s all a lie. I can’t believe she’d stoop this low. I haven’t…” Eric suddenly stopped talking and looked up at Candy who was coming slowly down the stairs. Once she reached the bottom, their eyes met in the dimness of the living room. He was telling her something, something he didn’t have the courage to utter. Candy gripped the top of her nightgown, reading his eyes. She felt the sudden urge to cry, but wasn’t certain why.

“OK, Man, thanks for letting me know.” Eric slowly hung up and stood in the hallway, looking at Candy who was now standing ten feet away. Her long, pink nightgown swayed slightly as she shifted her weight nervously from foot to foot.

“What’s goin’ on?” Candy finally asked. Eric took a cavernous breath and turned away quickly before facing her again.

“I wanna first tell you what I’m about to tell you isn’t true. Please, sit down.” Eric pointed to Candy’s comfortable couch that had been the center of girlfriend pow-wows, family get-togethers, and her sleeping body surrounded by assorted take-out foods and neatly folded empty Ho-Ho wrappers. This couch had welcomed Eric back into her life, gave her a platform to self-soothe, and had heard conversations that would make a Playboy bunny blush. Candy slowly sat down, crossing her ankles and folding her hands in her lap. Eric sat close beside her, lowering his head and holding his forehead in his hands.

“Remember when you were at my mother’s house and Sanye approached you?” Eric asked, his voice cracking. Candy hesitated to respond. She now wished she had a magic wand to wish this entire conversation away before it even took place. “Yes,” she answered stiffly.

“Well, she told my sister, and it got back to my brother, that she’s pregnant…and that I’m the father. Candy, I swear, I haven’t been with her like
that
in forever. I can’t believe she’s doin’ this to me. She took our marriage really hard and tried to call me, but I never called her back. She’s lyin’, Baby. My brother said she’s gonna file child support papers and that I’ll need to take a DNA test from the county when the baby’s born.”

“How far along is she?” Candy asked, fighting back the tears that welled in her eyes.

Eric hesitated. “About nine months,” he said. “She’s almost due, but that doesn’t matter because it isn’t mine.”

Candy’s mind raced as she tried to recall if Sanye had a bulging stomach or not. She couldn’t remember. She just knew that Sanye was attractive, arrogant, and hostile.

“You and I were together,” Candy said in almost a whisper.

“Candy, I didn’t cheat! Sanye is lying. You have to believe me. This isn’t my baby. She wants me back and is…”

Candy stood up abruptly and clasped her shaking hands together.

“I knew something wasn’t right when she approached me, Eric. A woman just knows these things. She was tryin’ to tell me something and size me up at the same time.”

“That’s because she knew I was serious about you. I had brought you home, and she was threatened, Candy!” Eric stood up and turned Candy towards him. His eyes pleaded with her. “Baby, please! I need you to listen to me and support me right now. She’s a stranger to you, tryin’ to come between us. I’m in love with you. I married you, not her, and it’s drivin’ her crazy. That’s not my baby!”

Candy’s head dropped drowsily onto Eric’s firm chest. Soft tears flowed. They dripped onto his chest, then slowly down to his stomach.

“I know you’re upset,” Eric said calmly. “I am too. I know we’ll get through this because I didn’t do anything,” he assured as he rubbed Candy’s back. “I didn’t do anything, Baby.”

* * *

“Thank you for leading the meeting,” Mr. Justice said as he walked out of the conference room with Candy. He looked pensively at the handful of papers in his right hand, then looked back up.

“No problem, Mr. Justice,” Candy said as she flipped through a folder absentmindedly.

“Stacy was supposed to, but of course, she’s out sick again.” Mr. Justice rolled his eyes. “And it’s ‘Gabriel.’ Call me ‘Gabriel,’” he smiled as they approached Candy’s office.

Candy smiled. “I keep forgetting! I’m sorry,” she said as she walked inside and took her seat behind her desk.

“Candy, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” Mr. Justice said as he closed her office door behind them.

Candy smiled cautiously. “Um, sure. What is it?”

“You’re still performing job exceptionally well, so please don’t get me wrong when I say this, but you seem distracted. Is something bothering you?” He crossed his arms and stood assuredly in his dark-tan Armani suit. “I ask because you seem to be daydreaming frequently, which isn’t like you, and I’ve sent you emails that you don’t recall and haven’t answered. Something is surely wrong. This just isn’t like you.”

Candy twitched around nervously in her chair.

“It’s a private matter, but thank you for bringing it to my attention. I’ll make sure to be more professional. I’m sorry,” Candy said as she turned on her laptop. “I promise for our meeting this evening, you won’t even notice. I’ll get on the ball.”

“Wait, Candy, that isn’t my reason for bringing it up. I’m sure you have lots of friends you can confide in, and it may seem awkward for your boss to ask personal questions, but I care about my employees, and I like you. I hired you not only because of your obvious abilities, but because you’re smart and personable. I’m not gonna push the issue, but the door’s open if you ever need to talk. I’ll see you at the meeting this evening.” Mr. Justice smiled, nodded, and excused himself promptly from Candy’s office.

Candy sat silently at her desk contemplating what was just relayed to her. Today was especially hard since she knew that Sanye had delivered a 7 lb. 8 oz. baby boy the day before. She tried to resist the urge, but couldn’t help but ask Eric if the baby looked like him, which resulted in an explosive argument earlier that morning. She also knew that Eric was scheduled later in the week to do the DNA test. Trying to push the distressing thoughts out of her mind, Candy chugged down another lukewarm black coffee and devoured two king-sized, glazed donuts. She licked her fingertips as she finished off the crumbs of the thick, white icing. Her stomach churned. Reaching for a tissue to dab at her hands, she daydreamed, drifting into secure thoughts of her childhood when she would be at her mother’s hair salon.

 The odor of relaxers, jheri curls, and burning hot curling irons sealed her memories of familiar comfort. Laughing women with curly afros, gossip, and flirtations with the clean-shaven postman all made Candy smile modestly. The odd man that would come in selling cassette tapes of the S.O.S. Band and Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam was a regular. Not only would he sell cassettes, he was also a runner to pick up fish dinners smothered in onions and hot peppers. Cream sodas and hot sauce would arrive soon after in a crumply brown paper bag. Candy felt safe as she twirled around on the salon floor with her barefoot Barbie dolls, their hair plaited with sheen spray, and spaghetti-thin rainbow strands of yarn.

‘I wish I could just disappear for five minutes back there,’ Candy thought as her stomach cramped. She squinted and strained, fighting back the emotions that threatened to tell on her. She fought hard until the end of the day.

“Hi, Mr. Justice,” she said as she walked into her boss’s office and closed the door behind her. The building was quiet, as most people had gone for the day. “I have the information you requested,” Candy said with a plastered-on smile.

Gabriel looked at her and shook his head. “Now you’re trying too hard. Have a seat.” He took the report from her trembling hands and looked it over. She sat silently, allowing her eyes to fall on the small grandfather clock in the corner of the room. Each tick tock seemed to tease her, making her feel as if she were being timed.

“Very good, Ms. Benet – I mean, Mrs. Fields,” Gabriel said as he looked up at her. “As usual, you’ve given me exactly what I need. I’m going away to California for a couple of days and need to present this information to the Board. Look Candy,” Gabriel paused as he watched her suck her bottom lip. His eyes narrowed as the tip of her tongue glossed over the pink fullness, adding more sheen to her already pouty appearance. “Uh, I was saying that I won’t keep pushing the issue, but please remember that I have an open door policy.”

“Thank you, Mr. Justice – I mean, Gabriel. I may take you up on that one day, but today I just can’t bring myself to do it,” Candy explained.

“Very well,” Gabriel said as he noted the definite sadness in her eyes. “Well, no need to drag this out. You’re free to go.”