Part 33 (1/2)
Candi gasped in surprise and a speck of saliva went flying down her windpipe. She choked and wheezed, barely able to breathe.
Sarah started whacking her on the back, and Jonathan came over to see what was going on.
”What's wrong with her? Candi, are you okay?”
Candi looked up and saw Jonathan and Sarah both squatted down looking at her Jonathan with concern in his eyes, Sarah with a triumphant gleam in hers.
Candi waved him away, ”I'm fine ... I ... just inhaled some drool.”
Jonathan got a disgusted look on his face. ”What'd you do that for?”
”I didn't do it on purpose! I just inhaled really sharply and down it went. Go away, I'm fine.”
”Fine, I'm leaving.” He shook his head and muttered as he walked away, ”Girls.”
”Your turn,” said Sarah, smiling sweetly after Jonathan had left.
Candi rolled her eyes. What the heck. She'll find out eventually anyway. ”Alright, I'll tell you, but you have to swear to keep your big mouth shut about it. I don't want you to screw it up.” Candi looked from left to right, checking to see where Kevin and Jonathan were. Jonathan was back in the workshop area of the tree roots and Kevin was nowhere to be seen. Probably at the waterspout taking a shower.
Sarah mimicked zipping her lip and then throwing away the key. She forgot the locking the lock part, but Candi let it slide. She knew the chances of Sarah keeping it a secret were pretty slim anyway, but on this little island it didn't really matter. It's not like high school where it could make or break your social life.
”Kevin asked me to be his official girlfriend today.” Candi watched Sarah's face to judge her reaction.
Sarah didn't say anything, she just smiled.
”So? Aren't you going to say something?”
Sarah shrugged. ”There's not much to say. I knew it was something like that. So, did he seal the deal?” Sarah wiggled her eyebrows to emphasize the hidden meaning of her words.
Candi looked aghast, ”No, of course not! Like I would just have s.e.x with Kevin on a whim like that because he asked me to be his girlfriend?”
”Well, there's more than one way to seal the deal ... maybe a promise of future deal sealing, perhaps?”
Candi's face got hotter than it already was. ”We kissed.”
”Ah-ha! I knew it.” Sarah stood up and started dancing around the fire, chanting in a stage-whisper, ”Candi and Kevin, sittin' in a treehouse, k-i-s-s-i-n-g ... mouse ... ”
Candi couldn't help but laugh. ”I think your rhyme needs a little work.”
”Yeah, you're probably right.” Sarah sat back down next to Candi and stared into the flames. Without looking at Candi she continued, ”I'm happy for you, I really am. Honestly, I know we don't have a lot of options out here on The Peanut, but you guys make a good couple. If I could pick anyone in the world for my brother to be with, it would be you. Here or anywhere.”
Candi felt tears come to her eyes. That was the nicest thing Sarah had ever said to her. She leaned over quickly and enveloped Sarah in a bear hug.
”Whoa, Sugar Lump, ease up on the P-D-A,” said Sarah, trying to laugh off the seriousness of the situation.
”That's so sweet of you, Sarah. Thank you.” Candi sat back down and wiped her eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm herself.
”Were you crying? Man, you're a softy,” teased Sarah.
”Yeah, so? When the wicked witch of the west says she loves you it's a big deal, okay? Don't you cry at happy parts in movies?”
”Sure, I cry. I'm just not sure if I should be insulted at that second wicked witch reference or not.”
”Don't be. I know it's your way of expressing your affection, so I'm good with it.”
Sarah smiled. ”Don't tell anyone I cry at happy parts in movies or it will ruin my rep for being a hardcore b.i.t.c.h.”
Candi laughed. ”I think I know better than that.”
Sarah looked at her thoughtfully. ”Yeah, I know you do. Sisters keep secrets, though, you know that, right?”
Candi looked at her, all laughter gone from her eyes. ”Yes, I do.” She held out her hand. Sarah looked at it confused.
”Secret sister handshake time,” responded Candi to Sarah's questioning look.
”Oh, yeah, the dorky secret sister handshake. Let's see ... ” she reached out and the two of them tried to maneuver through a series of slaps, snaps and other things to come up with a secret handshake. It was pretty pitiful.
”Geez, you suck at this,” said Sarah.
”I'm pretty sure it takes two to suck at this,” responded Candi.
”Ok, obviously we need to work on it. I'm going to take a quick shower before dinner. I'll catch you later on this ... handshake stuff.”
”Okay, see you later. Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes.”
”K.”
Candi watched Sarah walk away. She was so happy right now, she couldn't keep from grinning ear to ear. She had a boyfriend and a big sister like she had always wished for; one who didn't take any s.h.i.+t and would have her back no matter what. This is so much better than trying to ingratiate myself by shopping in a gift shop for a bathing suit.
The memory of those first days with Sarah came rus.h.i.+ng back. Candi was amazed at how much things had changed. She couldn't decide if it was her perspective that had become so different or if was just the things in her perspective that had caused this evolution. She shrugged her shoulders; it was a philosophical question for another time she just remembered she had planned to try to make a coconut guava drink, and she needed a couple more coconuts.
Candi tracked Jonathan down and had him crack open six coconuts, saving the water that was in the nut. She used several of their bamboo cups and worked on mixing the coconut water with some of the guava slices. She used a bamboo stick with a small, round, conch-like sh.e.l.l tied to the end of it to mash the guava pulp into the coconut water. When she was finished, she took a taste, immediately spitting it out. Eww, that's pretty gross. She set the cup down next to the others on the shelves Kevin had built bamboo poles lined up next to each other between two tree roots and secured together, side-by-side. Maybe after they sit for a while they'll taste better. She went back to the fire and took the fish off, completely forgetting her experiment.
”Dinner time everyone!”
The others filtered back to the campsite to join her. Kevin immediately took the s.p.a.ce next to Candi.
”h.e.l.lo, girlfriend,” he said, winking at her.
Candi smiled and looked at the ground. Okay, so he isn't going to hide it. She looked up to find Sarah smiling at her. Jonathan was waiting for his piece of fish, having completely missed the import of the word 'girlfriend'. Candi sighed at his innocence. He would catch on eventually.
She pa.s.sed out portions of the steamed fish, coconut and guava to everyone. After they'd all had a taste, they agreed that the guava was a nice change. It was better than what they'd eaten every night since the fish started making up the main part of their dinner meal, and that was the goal consistent improvement.
”I think tomorrow I'd like to try smoking some fish,” said Candi.
”What do you need to do that?” asked Sarah.
”Well, some sort of chamber that will hold smoke inside for as long as possible. The fire would be at the bottom. There would need to be shelves up above the fire, high enough not to burn. And we'd need lots of both dry and damp wood, and things that smoke a lot when they burn.”
Jonathan and Kevin thought about it for a minute. Kevin was the first to speak. ”Can we use the tarp? Because if I build a bamboo chamber in a box or teepee shape, I could drape the tarp over it and that would keep the smoke in. Or we could use palm fronds probably.”