The Winter of Candy Canes (A Sweet Seasons Novel) (6 page)

On the way home, Candace and her mom barely spoke. It was four thirty and they were both completely exhausted.

“Sell much?” Candace finally asked when they turned onto their block.

“Thousand dollars worth.”

“Cool.”

“Yeah. You know your summer job?”

“Yeah?”

“I don't know how you kept it up.”

It was a compliment. “Thanks.”

They walked into the house and collapsed on the living room couch. The Christmas tree stood in its usual corner, already strung with lights. Boxes of ornaments littered the living room furniture and floor.

Her dad strode in, looking like the cat that swallowed the canary. “Well, the tree's ready for you,” he said. “Lights are up outside the house too.”

Candace wanted nothing more than to sleep, but the lure of sparkling lights and the desire not to break tradition propelled her to her feet. She grabbed up the first box of ornaments she
could lay her hands on and headed to the tree with single-minded purpose.

“Of course, if you ladies would like some turkey sandwiches first, that could be arranged.”

Candace immediately put the box down and headed for the kitchen.

After consuming leftovers, they all ended up back in the living room. Her dad turned on the stereo, and soon all the standard Christmas music was playing. Her mom started putting on the colored balls, while Candace went after the box of specialty ornaments. Her collection of stained-glass Rudolphs went up first, as she had to find a red bulb to put behind each of their noses. Next she hung the road runner ornament that was the very first ornament her parents had let her choose when she was a kid.

While she and her mom decorated the tree, her dad continued to string lights inside around the mantel and the ceiling. Exhausted as they all were, they found more things to laugh about than usual.

“Honey, did I tell you? The owner of The Zone has nice things to say about Candace,” her mom said.

“Really? Well, you must be making quite an impression there to get his attention,” her dad said. “Good for you. I knew you'd shine at whatever you chose to do.”

“Seriously?” she asked, more than a little surprised.

“Of course. You're smart and talented. All you needed was a little challenge to bring out the best in you.”

“Thanks.”

“I like some of the friends you've made there too,” her mom said. “Josh and Sue are particularly nice.”

“I haven't met Sue, but Josh is a fine young man,” her dad said.

Candace noticed that neither of them mentioned Kurt. She thought about saying something, but she was still angry with him herself.

“Sue's a year older than Candace, and she works in janitorial normally. She's very sweet and helpful. She seems sad, though.”

“You know, I often think she looks a little sad, but I wasn't sure if that was my imagination,” Candace said.

“I don't think so. She seems like she's suffered some kind of loss.”

“I know she was planning on going away to college — Berkeley I think — but when I met her over the summer she said she was going to attend State because she needed to stay closer to home. Then a few weeks ago I saw her at the community college, and she told me she was there because it was cheaper than State.”

“From U.C. Berkeley to community college? That is a change,” her dad commented.

“So you really think there's something wrong?” Candace asked.

“It certainly sounds like it,” her dad said. “People don't usually make those kinds of big changes without a reason.”

“She has an air of tragedy about her,” her mom added. “Poor thing. It's like she's so eager to say hi to me.”

Candace remembered that Sue had said something about it being nice to talk with a mother. A sick feeling came over her. Was it possible that she had missed her friend's pain? Standing under the Christmas tree, she vowed that she would figure out what was wrong and do what she could to help. Sue was a great person and she deserved to be happy — especially at Christmas.

It was nearly midnight when they finished with the decorations. They turned off all the interior lights and enjoyed the Christmas lights for a few minutes before calling it a night.

Upstairs in her room, Candace saw that she had a message from Kurt. “Hey, Candace, I just wanted to call and apologize again for yesterday. It took a long time to fix his car, and I was in a bad mood afterward. I should have called but I didn't, and I'm sorry about that. Call me back and let me know everything's okay.”

She called him back and he answered, sounding like she had awakened him.

“Are we cool?” he asked.

“We're cool,” she said.

They said good night, and she got ready for bed. At least when Kurt upset her, he seemed to take responsibility for it. She would rather he had called her the night before, but at least he had called now. She climbed into bed and crushed Mr. Huggles, her stuffed bear, to her chest as she prayed.

Saturday morning when her alarm went off, Candace briefly considered tossing it across the room. She was at least somewhat gratified when she encountered her mom in the kitchen a few minutes later looking bleary-eyed herself.

“Morning,” Candace said.

Her mom grunted as she sipped her coffee. A few minutes later when they headed out to the car she finally spoke. “I'm really glad I'm not working tomorrow.”

Candace smiled grimly. “Lucky you.”

They arrived at the park, and her mom made a beeline for her booth. Candace took her time and admired all the Christmas decorations as she walked. Not only was the Holiday Zone decorated, but several of the rides had special seasonal overlays. The ride where players controlled the spin of their vehicle on a large disc-shaped surface had been completely transformed so it looked like they were riding in giant round Christmas ornaments. The tall slide had been themed to look
like a giant toboggan ride. Even the theater where Freddie McFly and the Swamp Swingers and Mr. Nine Lives, the Daredevil Cat, entertained daily had a holiday-themed show, which included Mr. Nine Lives on ice skates. It was exciting to be a part of it all, and she had a sneaking suspicion that Christmas would be her favorite time of year to work at The Zone.

Finally, she walked over and took her place with the candy canes and presents. She waved to Chrissy, who was already on her side of the exhibit with her basket of candy canes in hand. A minute later Christmas music started playing throughout the area. Candace didn't remember hearing it the day before. She wasn't sure if the noise from the kids blocked it out or if someone had forgotten to turn it on.

As if the music was his cue, Santa walked onto the stage and took his seat. The first kids hit the area, screaming as they came. Candace smiled. So far this was the best job she'd had at the park, and she couldn't figure out why on earth they were giving her hazard pay for it.

It only took a couple of minutes to realize that it was going to be a lot busier day than the one before. By the time the park had been open for an hour, the line to see Santa was a two-hour wait. After another hour it was even longer. An elf named Ann came to give her a morning break, and Candace hurried off field.

Ten minutes later she was back on field, heading back to the Holiday Zone. At the railroad tracks, she slowed by habit and turned to see where the train was.

It was quite a way down the track, but still she hesitated. Pete, also known as Crazy Train Guy, had a habit of trying to run over referees. Although they had kind of become friends, she couldn't trust that to save her.

“It's safe to cross.”

Candace looked and saw Josh standing on the other side of the tracks. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. He almost never tries to kill anyone during Christmas.”

Candace stepped forward, and, sure enough, the train didn't accelerate in her direction. She crossed to the other side.

“Good to know,” she said.

A few seconds later the train passed by. It, too, got a complete Christmas overlay and became the Train to Santa's Workshop. Pete sat inside the engine, a Santa hat cocked to one side of his head in a crazy fashion that for some reason made Candace think of a devil with only one horn. He smiled and waved at her, and, surprised, she waved back.

“See? He loves Christmas. At Christmas everyone loves trains.”

“Oh, so that's the secret. Cool.” She turned and got a really good look at Josh. At first glance, he looked like an elf dressed all in red and green. However, none of the elves wore lederhosen.

“So, what exactly is your job?” Candace asked, looking over Josh's outfit.

“I'm a cheermeister.”

He fell into step with her as she walked back to her position.

“Okay. That's a new one. What's a cheermeister? I hope it's not like a cheerleader, because I'm not sure you'd look good in the skirt.”

“I have great legs, thank you very much.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Seriously, cheermeister?”

“It's the best job in the park. I get to make sure everyone's having a good time.”

“And just how do you do that?”

“I look for problems, and I fix them. Kid drops an ice-cream cone on the ground, and I get him a new one. If players lose something in the park, I help them find or replace it. Occasionally, I get to give out cool gifts too, like complimentary dinners and free merchandise.”

“So, like me with the candy canes and presents, but on a park-wide scale?” Candace asked as they arrived back at her station and Ann surrendered the candy cane basket.

“Exactly. We work to bring cheer.”

“So how far ahead did you have to apply to be a cheermeister?”

“March.”

She threw a candy cane at his head. He caught it and grinned. “I'll put this to good use.”

“Cheermeister!” a little boy shrieked, running forward and wrapping his arms around Josh's legs.

“See? Everyone loves the cheermeister,” Josh said as he bent down and plucked a present from the stack behind Candace and handed it to the little boy.

“Hey! Those are my presents,” Candace protested.

Josh grinned. “Cheermeister. I trump. Well, I gotta go.”

He waved to all the kids in line, and they waved back.

Candace shook her head and turned to give the next child down the ramp a candy cane. The father, who looked tired, waved the candy cane away. Candace just kept smiling.

She turned and saw the next child go flying in Chrissy's direction, while a boy who was probably about eight sat down on Santa's lap and grabbed him by the beard, jerking on it repeatedly while rattling off his list of demands.

What a horrible child!
Candace thought, glancing over at the father who seemed indifferent to his son's behavior. Next to him stood another boy who looked just as determined to tell Santa what he wanted.

Santa did his best to extricate his beard, and the elves rushed to help him. That was when it happened. The second boy sprang forward, swerving away from Santa, and headed straight toward Candace. She stepped back so that he could get by her, but he turned and plowed into her, knocking her backward. Her hair wreath went flying. She tottered, trying to regain her balance, and he swooped down and grabbed two
gold presents from her stack. She reached down to stop him, and that's when his brother hit her broadside.

She landed on her arm and knee, and pain seared through her leg as she struggled to get up. She heard something tearing. The older brother had also gotten his hands on two gold presents by the time Candace was able to reach for the panic button. Before she could push it, she saw security guards rushing toward them. She could see children in line struggling against their parents, and three of them finally broke away and ran toward her.

She craned her head around and saw that the elves had gotten Santa out of sight. As she looked back at the kids, she could hear Martha's warning about guarding the presents and smiling. She rolled over until the presents were wedged against her back. The hard edges dug into her.
They'll have to come through me to get to them
, she thought.

The father of the two monster children had joined them in running away. The first security guard reached her at the same time the three kids did, and the guard swooped, tucking a child under each arm, and ran with them back toward the line. The third child fell upon Candace, beating her with tiny fists and screaming, “Present!” at the top of his lungs. He stepped on her fingers, and one fist caught her on the cheek. Pain seared through her.

The second security guard grabbed him and headed over to assist his partner with crowd control. Candace pointed toward the fleeing father and children, and two more security guards took off after them.

The fifth security guard knelt down beside her. “It's okay, Candace, you can stop smiling,” he said.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“How bad are you hurt?” he asked.

She shook her head. All she knew was that there was pain everywhere.

“I need a stretcher for one of the candy cane elves,” he said, speaking into his radio.

A garbled reply came back.

“Yes, it's Candace,” he answered.

Of course it's Candace
, she thought as she laid her head down.
Who else would it be?
Not a season could go by that she didn't find herself in “the Hospital Zone.”

The stretcher arrived, complete with a paramedic, her mom, and Josh. “This is weird,” Candace said as she stared up at all of them.

Pain was knifing through her left knee, growing increasingly worse by the minute. The guard said something about the shock wearing off. He also kept her from looking at her leg, which was starting to freak her out.

“Oh my!” her mom burst out when she saw Candace.

Josh went completely pale. “Hey,” he said, his voice shaking. “I heard someone over here needed a cheermeister.”

Suddenly a wave of pain unlike anything she had ever experienced before washed over her, and all she could do was scream. It ended a few seconds later. “I'm sorry!” she gasped. “I couldn't help it.”

Another wave of pain came and she screamed again. It felt like fire was pouring through her body. The wave stopped, and she felt herself slump.

She saw Lisa appear behind the others. “Only Candy can scream that loud,” she was telling someone.

“Your knee is dislocated,” the paramedic explained. “You're going to continue to have waves of pain like that until it's put
back in. Normally, I'd wait until we had you in the nurse's station, but it's going to be a long, bumpy ride on this stretcher and —”

Candace screamed again as another wave hit her, and she couldn't hear what he said next. “I'm sorry,” she gasped again when it was over. “Can you fix it?”

“Yes. I've seen a couple of these before, but it's going to hurt.” He turned and addressed himself to the others, “You might want to look away.”

Josh knelt down next to her head and started stroking her hair. He looked like he was going to be sick.

“Don't throw up on me,” Candace warned.

“I won't,” he promised.

The paramedic and the guard moved her onto her back, and another wave of pain had her screaming for what seemed like forever.

“That famous Candy scream. People all over the park will know it's you,” Josh said.

Her left leg was bent, and she felt the guard grab her foot. “Pull her leg straight slowly,” the paramedic said.

When her leg was nearly straight, she felt the paramedic touch her kneecap and shove it back into place. The relief was instantaneous.

“Thank you!”

“It's going to be incredibly sore, and you'll have pain for a few days, but at least everything is where it should be,” the paramedic said.

He and the guard lifted her up and put her on the stretcher.

“The evil little boys took girl presents,” she said. Somehow that made it a little better. They weren't likely to like what they got.

“We'll find them,” the guard assured her.

“You two can come with us,” the paramedic said to her mom and Josh.

“What about your booth?” Candace asked.

“Sue's watching it for me,” her mom said.

Things started to get a little fuzzy, so Candace closed her eyes and let herself drift.

A few minutes later they arrived at the nurse's station, and the paramedics placed her on a bed. She opened her eyes and saw the kindly nurse who always seemed to be there.

“Hi,” Candace said.

“I heard there was an elf down, and somehow I just knew it had to be you,” the nurse said, shaking her head.

“I had to come see ‘the Hospital Zone,’” Candace said with a smile. “Can we have a ceremony renaming this place just like we did for the Party Zone over the summer?” she asked.

“Sure, why not.”

A minute later one of the other security guards came in with a bandage wrapped around his hand.

“And what happened to you?” the nurse asked.

“We got the family who attacked the candy cane elf, and one of the boys bit me. I just want you to check me for rabies.”

“You caught them?” Candace asked.

“Yes. They've been ejected from the park.”

“What about the presents?”

“They had already abandoned them. Luckily, we found them and gave them to a family with four little girls.”

Candace smiled.

“All right, you take that bed over there,” the nurse said, directing the guy with the bite. “Everyone else, into the waiting room while I assess the damage.”

Candace waved to Josh and her mom as they headed reluctantly out of the room.

The nurse took five minutes to clean and bandage the guard's hand before turning her attention to Candace. She gave her some pain killers. “Your tights are ruined,” she said, producing a pair of scissors and finishing the job of cutting them away. The nurse then gave her a thorough examination.

“Well, you've got a lot of cuts and bruises, especially on your shoulder. You're going to feel those for a while. And you're going to have a nasty bruise on your cheek. What happened there?”

“One of the other kids hit me, trying to snag a present.”

“Nasty business.”

“What about my knee?”

“You need your own doctor to check it out, maybe do a couple X-rays. It's likely he'll put you in physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the knee, just to make sure the kneecap doesn't try to slip back out. Other than that, you're going to have to keep it pretty immobile for the next few weeks.”

Candace blinked at her. “What do you mean by immobile?”

“I mean this,” the nurse said, bringing out a full leg brace and a pair of crutches.

“How am I supposed to work in that?” Candace asked.

“Oh, I think that's the least of your worries,” the nurse said.

“How am I supposed to go to Winter Formal in that?”

“Carefully. Now let me show you how to put it on. Then someone needs to take you home to get some rest.”

The brace went all the way from her ankle to her hip and prevented her from bending her knee at all. Once it was on, Candace struggled to swing her leg off the bed, stepping with her right foot first and then swinging her left leg after.

“How am I supposed to use the crutches if I can't bend my leg?” she asked.

“At first you'll shift your body so your left hip is higher in the air than your right one. Don't worry, though, you should be able to put weight on it Monday, after you see your doctor. Then you'll just use the crutches for balance and support.”

Candace felt her head start to spin, and she grabbed onto the bed for support.

“I gave you some pretty potent painkillers, and I'll send some more home with you. They'll likely make you sleepy and a
little dizzy.” She grabbed a wheelchair, and Candace collapsed into it gratefully, although she struggled just to do that without being able to bend her left leg.

The nurse wheeled her into the waiting room, and her mom and Josh rushed forward.

“She should see her doctor on Monday,” the nurse said to her mom. “He might want to set up some physical therapy for her knee. She'll need to wear the brace for the next couple of weeks, even while she's sleeping, to make sure the muscles around the kneecap can heal,” the nurse said. She handed Candace's mom a small bottle of pain killers. “She can have one of these every six hours … no more.” Next she handed Candace's mom the crutches.

“Well, let's get you home,” her mom said.

Josh grabbed the handles on the back of the wheelchair. “Lead the way,” he told her mom.

They exited the nurse's station, and Candace was shocked to find dozens of referees outside. When they saw her, they began to clap and cheer.

“What's going on?” Candace asked.

“It's already spreading around the park how you sacrificed your own body to save the presents,” Josh said.

“I'm not sure it happened exactly like that,” she said.

“Just wait, by tomorrow you'll have saved Santa Claus and Christmas,” he joked.

She had to laugh. “What am I? The center of all urban legends that surround The Zone?”

“It would seem so,” her mother said. “All morning referees have been asking me if I'm the mother of Candy who was trapped in the park with a psycho killer over the summer.”

Candace shook her head, but the action made her even dizzier.

“Wave to your fans,” Josh said.

She waved and smiled lopsidedly, and everyone cheered louder. Several fell in behind them and walked with them across the park.

“I feel like I'm in a parade,” her mom said.

“Welcome to The Zone, where anything can and will happen,” Candace said.

Everyone they passed — even players — cheered and waved at her, although Candace was sure none of them knew why. She just kept waving back with her good arm. Even through the pain medication, she could feel the throbbing in the shoulder that had hit the ground.

At last they rolled off field and were soon at her mom's car. After a brief discussion, her mom and Josh decided it would be better if she rode home in the backseat so that she could put her leg straight out. Her mom opened the back door on the driver's side, and Josh helped her stand up and swivel around until she could sit on the seat. She then used her good foot and arm to push and drag herself backward until her back was against the far door and her legs were stretched out. Her mom came around the other side and helped her fasten the seat belt.

They closed the doors, and Candace leaned her head back against the window and sighed. What a mess. She didn't know why this had happened to her.
God
,
I have no idea what you're saying with this
,
but it better not have anything to do with Winter Formal.

Josh and her mom were talking about something, but Candace was too tired to try and hear what it was. Finally her mom got in the car.

“You okay back there?”

“Yeah.”

“Let's get you home.”

Candace dozed off. She woke up when her mom parked in their driveway. She wondered how she was going to find the strength to get herself back out of the car without hurting her leg or her shoulder.

Her father came out, though, as soon as the car was parked. Apparently, her mom had called him sometime during the drive.

He opened the back door and said, “Put your good arm around my neck.”

She did, and he put an arm around her back and another under her legs and half dragged – half lifted her out of the car. Once she was free, she expected him to put her down, but instead he carried her into the house and set her on the couch.

A moment later her mom followed with the crutches, which she placed nearby before positioning pillows to make Candace comfortable. “Would you rather go to bed?” she asked.

Candace shook her head. “I'd like to watch some Christmas movies,” she said.

Neither of her parents seemed surprised. Her dad started the Albert Finney version of
A Christmas Carol
for her, and then her parents moved into the kitchen to talk. Candace struggled for a few minutes to stay awake but finally drifted off.

Pain woke her up just after four o'clock. After helping her manage a bathroom run, her mom gave her some stew and then let her take another pain killer. When the pain began to ease, Candace thought about going back to sleep, but she was more alert and feeling a little restless.

“Anyone want to play a game?” she asked.

The doorbell rang before either of her parents could answer. A moment later her mom announced, “Candace, you have visitors.”

Candace struggled and managed to sit up a little straighter as she turned to look. Sue and Becca waved as they came toward her.

“Hi! What are you two doing here?” Candace asked.

“Josh is organizing the visiting parties,” Sue said with a smile. “He's staggered it so we're all coming in shifts over the next day and a half.”

Candace smiled. “We just got off work,” Becca explained.

“I can only stay a little while,” Sue said.

“But I'm here until the next shift,” Becca grinned.

“You don't have to do this,” Candace protested.

“Yes we do. We're here to entertain the fallen hero,” Sue laughed.

“Can I offer you ladies some stew?” Candace's mom asked.

“Yes, please,” they chorused.

A minute later Sue and Becca were eating and trying to talk at the same time. “You keep this up, and they're going to erect some sort of statue to you,” Becca finally said.

“What, most injured referee in park history?”

“Nope, most heroic,” Sue said.

Candace rolled her eyes. “Please.”

“First psycho killers and now child mobs,” Becca replied.

They chatted for a few more minutes before Sue stood up. “I have to get home,” she said.

“Would you take some stew with you?” Candace's mom asked.

Sue hesitated for only a moment before nodding vigorously. “Everything went well at the booth, by the way. I sold fifteen hundred dollars worth of merchandise before your replacement showed up,” she said.

“Wow! I should have you work the booth every day.”

Sue took a disposable container filled with stew and then turned to Candace. “Feel better soon.”

“Thanks. I'll try,” Candace answered.

Once she had gone, Becca leaned forward conspiratorially. “Do you know a guy at your school named Brad Miller?”

“Yeah. He's in a couple of my classes. Why?”

“He asked me to go to your Winter Formal with him.”

“Wow, what did you say?”

“Yes.”

“What about Roger?” Candace asked.

Becca shrugged. “What about him? He's never asked me out.”

“He wants to,” Candace said.

“Wanting to and actually doing are two different things. So, do you know much about Brad?”

“He seems like a nice guy. How do you know him?”

“He worked in the Exploration Zone over the summer. He came by the Muffin Mansion earlier this week to ask me to the dance.”

“Well, that'll be fun. We'll see each other there.”

Becca looked at Candace's leg brace.

“I'm going with or without this thing,” Candace said.

“Good. I'm going to need a friend there in case he turns out to be a jerk.”

Becca left a couple hours later when Kurt showed up. “How are you doing?” he asked, wincing as he looked at her bruised cheek.

“Okay,” she said.

“Looks like once again you were in trouble and I wasn't there to rescue you,” he said, his face brooding.

“Don't worry about it. You're there for me lots of times. Besides, you can't follow me around the park. It's not your job,” she said, smiling in an attempt to get him to smile back.