Candy

By Janeen Robichaud

I’m Candice Knight, now 20 years old. Until I was seventeen, I’d never been loved by a man, including my father. My father was a workaholic. Being a traveling salesman, he didn’t have much time to spend with his family, that is probably why I have no sisters or brothers.
Shortly before I turned 15 years old, my dad confessed to my mother that he was having an affair with a woman in Virginia, where he traveled to often. My mother was willing for forgive him, don’t ask me how or why, but dad said it had been going on for years, ten to be exact. He said he couldn’t break it off with this other woman, he claimed he and my mother weren’t “compatible” anymore. I hated him for cheating on my mother and me, so I was glad when we found the note from him saying he was leaving to go be with Dolly.
Mom and I were always very close; we had to be, we were all we had. We used to go shopping together, trying on clothing for hours, mixing and matching things and acting silly. We’d go to the mall and get facials together. One time we even went to the beauty salon and got our hair done the exact same way. We’d sometimes buy matching clothes and pretend we were sisters, people actually believed we were. My mother was very young looking. Actually we did look and act more like sisters than mother and daughter.
After dad left, mom became very withdrawn and distraught. Mom and dad had been together for sixteen years; she was only fifteen when they started dating. Her parents didn’t approve of my father so they more or less disowned her. Mom’s parents said if she married him they didn’t want to hear from her again. Mother got pregnant with me a couple months after meeting dad so they married right before her sixteenth birthday.
My mother’s parents moved away to Florida without leaving a phone number or forwarding address. Mom tried to find them several times to try and patch things up but she was unsuccessful. Mom never seen or talked to them again.
My father’s parents were killed in an automobile accident when he was only ten years old; his neighbor, his mother’s best friend, raised him until he was seventeen when he met my mother.
After my parents divorce, mom sold the house and we moved to Melvin, New Jersey. I hated leaving my friends and the house I grew up in. The house we moved to in Melvin was much smaller. Melvin was like a whole different world. It was a small town and the people weren’t very friendly to outsiders. I just couldn’t seem to fit in with the other kids, they seemed so slow and carefree, and all they did for entertainment was hang out at the ball field and smoke pot and drink beer. I never did get into drugs and alcohol so I just didn’t fit in. The girls my age were always fighting about boys. The boys thought I was weird because I didn’t get high or drink. They all thought I was some sort of preppy.
I did have one friend, Jen. Jen was my best friend. We did everything together. We went shopping together, we went to the movies together, and we talked on the phone for hours when we weren’t together. We were like sisters. Jen was always there for me, through good times and bad. Everyday after school either I would go to Jen’s house or she’d come to mine and we’d listen to music, match movies, do our homework together, or talk about boys. We did each other’s makeup and hair and every weekend we had a sleepover.
One weekend Jen came over to spend the night. She was practically bubbling over; she had something on her mind and couldn’t wait to tell me. So as soon as she arrived at my house we ran up t my room and locked the door. We sat down on the bed and she proceeded to tell me about this guy at school who had a crush on me. His name is JD Cooper and he is the cutest, most popular boy at school. He usually only dated cheerleaders. JD Cooper was absolutely gorgeous; He had dark, wavy hair, deep brown eyes, and a muscular build – and the cutest, tightest buns I’ve ever seen.
Jen finally couldn’t wait any longer to tell me what she knew. “He’s planning on asking you to his prom.”
“What?! I can’t believe it. Me? Are you sure? Why would he ask me? He could have any girl at school.”
“Candy, calm down. He likes you. I overheard Michelle and Sandy in History class; they sounded so jealous. Oh, Candy, you’re so lucky. He is sooooo gorgeous.”
“I know, I can’t believe it.”
That night we stayed up until 4 o’clock in the morning talking about JD, the prom, what I would wear, how I would wear my hair, and so on, and so on. I fell asleep dreaming of a fairytale prom; the endless dancing and JD holding me tight in his arms, and then the first kiss.
Sure enough, on Monday, JD approached me right before the first bell rang – signaling for first period to begin. I was so nervous. When I saw him walking toward me my hands started shaking and getting all clammy and I thought my knees would buckle and I’d make a complete fool of myself. Fortunately, either he didn’t notice my nervousness or he overlooked it, but it didn’t show in his expression. He said he’s been admiring me from afar but never had the nerve to approach me. While he popped the question my knees were shaking so hard I thought he heard them actually knocking together. I pulled myself together and answered, “yes, I’d be honored”.

Prom day was finally here, it seemed to take forever. I was anxious and nervous at the same time. It took me four hours to get ready. My dress was pink chiffon, mom picked it out at a little shop downtown; the shop owner and mom were good friends, and understanding the financial situation we were in she gave mom a great deal on it. I had shoes dyed to the exact color of my dress. Mom let me borrow her pearl necklace and bracelet that daddy bought her for their tenth anniversary. My nails were polished to perfection and my hair was piled in a bun on my head with two long curls on either side.
The doorbell rang at 7:15 PM. I added the final touch, pink gloss lipstick. I stood back to take one final look in the mirror. When I was satisfied with my reflection, I bounced confidently down the stairs to the living room. JD stood with mom at he bottom of the staircase. When JD caught sight of me his eyes lit up and his lips parted slightly, “Candy, you look ravishing”.
After JD embarrassed me by lavishing me with compliments and mom took a trillion pictures, we were off to the prom. JD said his dad wanted to rent a limo, we’d have to be back by midnight. I was filled with such joy and happiness; nothing could spoil this night I thought.
As we entered the school gym where the prom took place, everyone turned and looked our way. Girls turned toward each other and commented to each other, some were whispering and giggling. I figured they were just jealous because JD didn’t ask them to the prom. Boys immediately started to approach me to ask me to dance, but JD wouldn’t hear of it. “She dances with only me tonight”. He turned to me and smiled. He had a beautiful smile, one that could charm a wild beast.
We danced together for hours. The theme was ‘Moonlight in Paradise’ and the gym was decorated so beautifully. The soft music and dim lights were mesmerizing. The slow dances were the most romantic; JD held me so close, our bodies swayed to the rhythm of the music. I was so nervous during the first few dances because I wasn’t very good. I felt like a clown with two left feet. But JD was so light on his feet and he lead so well that he covered up any errors I made. And as the night went on I loosened up and we had a terrific time.
After about 4 or 5 hours, JD said we were going to leave to go party. He told me to get in the car and he would be there shortly. He stood talking to his friends for a while than they went behind the school for several minutes before he came back to the car. After some laughing and high five’s from his friends he got into the car and we started off, away from the prom, following some other cars.
As we pulled out onto the road, a bunch of cars formed a caravan and drove down Reno Road. I assumed we were all going to the same place. I had heard there was a lake out here somewhere, although I’d never been out this way. I hadn’t asked JD where we were going because I like the idea of being surprised; I liked a take-charge kind of guy. But what came next was a surprise I never would have anticipated.
JD turned onto a dirt road while the other cars kept heading down Reno Road. “JD I thought we were all going to the same place. Where are we going?”
“Don’t worry about it. We’re going somewhere special. I have special plans for you and me…..PARTY!!!!” He shouted.
I couldn’t imagine what he was talking about, he knew I didn’t drink or smoke, so I couldn’t imagine what kind of partying he was talking about. But I soon found out...

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To learn more about "Candy" or the sequel, visit my web page at http://www.geocities.com/candyjaneen