Page 32 of Dreams of Falling
Margaret shrugged. “Fine by me,” she said as she tucked her hand possessively into the crook of Reggie’s arm.
He offered his other arm to Bitty, but she shook her head. “Before we get on the Ferris wheel, I’m going to get some cotton candy. I’m famished since we had to wait so long to leave the house. Would anybody else like to get some? Margaret, I know how much you love it.”
Margaret’s face blanched, most likely due to her stomach not being completely back to normal after the previous evening, despite Bitty’s efforts to stuff her full of bread that morning, hoping to soak it all up. “I’m not really hungry, so I’ll pass, but I know Ceecee would love some, wouldn’t you?”
Ceecee did love cotton candy, but also knew she’d be wearing it all over her face by the time she finished hers. It had never bothered her before, but she’d never tried to impress a boy, either. Her stomach rumbled, but she pressed her hand against it to make it stop. “I’m not hungry, either, but we’ll go with you—I’m sure Boyd and Reggie might like some.”
They headed over to the vendor, and while they were waiting in line, Boyd turned to her. “I’m guessing Ceecee is your nickname?”
She nodded, her stomach rumbling louder now that she could smell the spun sugar. “Yes, everyone except my mama and daddy call me Ceecee. Sessalee is my real name.”
“It suits you.” He smiled, his eyes crinkling and his cheeks creasing in a way she already found endearing. “Would you mind if I continued to call you by your full name?”
“Not at all. Especially if it means you’re speaking to me.” She blushed at her outrageous flirting, wondering what he must be thinking of her.
He threw back his head and laughed. “I like a woman who says what she thinks. My mother would like you. She’s never been one for those silly girls who only say what they think you want to hear.”
She smiled openly up at him. “I hope you’re not saying I remind you of your mother.”
He pretended to think. “That wouldn’t be a bad thing, but no, I’m not. Unless it’s okay if I call you both smart women.”
He handed money to the pimply teen behind the counter and received two gigantic cotton candies in return. “I know you said you didn’t want any, but I don’t think I could stand to hear your stomach grumbling without feeding you something. Besides, Bitty told me it’s your favorite.”
“Thank you,” she said, inhaling the sweet smell but unsure of where to bite it. She would die if she had dried cotton candy stuck to her nose and cheeks for the rest of the day.
As if he’d read her mind, he took a big bite out of his own, the pink confection clinging to the beard bristles on his chin. “There,” he said. “Now we’ll be even.” He handed her a napkin. “I’ll keep your face clean, and you can repay the favor.” He stood closer and said quietly, “But if you get some stuck to your lips, I have a much more interesting way to remove it.”
Looking into his eyes, she moistened her lips, then took a big bite out of her cotton candy and smiled up at him.
“Well, now, if that isn’t a challenge.” He leaned down and touched his lips softly to hers, his tongue flicking over her lips. Lifting his head, he closed his eyes. “I do think that’s the sweetest cotton candy I’ve ever had.”
She laughed as Bitty grabbed her arm and pulled her away. “Don’t make it too easy for him, Ceecee,” she said as she led them toward the Ferris wheel. They rode it three times, the last time Boyd riding with Bitty so she wouldn’t feel left out. Ceecee waited at the bottom, enjoying the smells of roasting hot dogs and popcorn, and the sounds of laughing children and excited young people shouting boasts to one another as they took their chances at Skee-Ball and water gun races.A row of benches had been set up along the boardwalk facing the rides where exhausted parents sat with small children and forgotten stuffed animals as the older children ran from activity to activity.
Ceecee allowed herself to daydream of her future self with her own children, visiting on a family vacation, eating cotton candy, and letting Boyd kiss the sticky candy from her lips. Someone grabbed her hand and pulled her down the boardwalk. “Come on!” Bitty shouted. “We’re going on the Comet!”
Ceecee looked back at Margaret to see what she thought about riding the roller coaster that they’d been told was nicknamed the “vomit Comet,” but Margaret was occupied staring up into Reggie’s eyes.
“Disgusting, isn’t it?” Boyd said as he caught up with her and took her arm.
“Absolutely,” Ceecee agreed. “Because I can see a whole quarter of an inch between them. If she really liked him, there wouldn’t be any space at all.”
Boyd chuckled and drew her against his side. “Like this?”
She nodded. “Exactly.”
They stayed at the boardwalk for the rest of the afternoon, riding all the rides, including the kiddie rides and bumper cars, and Boyd always making sure that he saved a ride to go on with Bitty. Margaret sat for a charcoal drawing that even Bitty admitted wasn’t half-bad. Margaret rolled it carefully and gave it to Reggie with a small kiss.
“We’ll have to hang this in the White House when we get there,” he said. “I’ll be sure to put it in a safe place until then.”
It was such a boastful thing to say, but coming from Reggie Madsen, it sounded nothing less than sincere and prophetic. And it made Margaret glow.
They stuffed themselves on hot dogs and popcorn, then went to the photo booth to have their pictures made behind cardboard cutouts of fat and skinny swimmers (Ceecee and Bitty), and behind the half-moon depicting Miss Myrtle Beach (Margaret). Ceecee’s favorite was the one of Boyd and Reggie at the Myrtle Beach jail, wearing matching expressions of blatantly false misery.
Afterward, as they sat at an outdoor table finishing their ice-cream cones, Ceecee slid her feet out of her sandals under the table. They were Margaret’s and too small, and she thought she’d have permanent scars from where the straps bit into her skin. She almost sighed out loud, hiding it instead in a bite of her ice cream.
Boyd turned his attention to Bitty as she sat back and lit a cigarette. “Sessalee tells me you’re going to school to study art. You must be excited.”
Bitty nodded, looking surprised but pleased to be the center of attention. To show him how she appreciated it, Ceecee squeezed Boyd’s hand where it sat on her armrest.
