Candace Carrabus's Blog, page 4

V is for Velvet

It was the night of the day of the incident. Malcolm had been out of town on business when it happened. I was in the apartment, tired and wired. He called to check on my when he got home. “You okay down there? You’ve had quite a day.” I should not try to hold a […]

U is for Unflattering

Things had gotten ugly between Malcolm and JJ, who’d been around Winterlight a long time. His father had worked for Malcolm’s father. I was hoping I’d seen the last of him but he showed up where Malcolm, me, and Malcolm’s daughter, Nicky, were having breakfast after church and decided to poke the bear by coming […]

T is for Trapped

Trapped, terrified, tense, and tactic. Words you would usually associate with bad things, but in this case, not. There’d been the big incident followed by a few smaller ones, and the dreams, and I had been tense and jumpy, and not a little cranky. Malcolm had gone out to the field to work on something, […]

Today’s Ride: 20 Reasons I ALWAYS Wear a Scarf When Traveling

My daughter and I were sitting on a plane one time, delayed, waiting, bored. I had a scarf on as usual, and we got to talking about all the ways a scarf could come in handy while traveling. After I thought about it, I realized I would never set out on an adventure again without […]

S is for Safe/Not Safe

The day after the incident, Malcolm took me to the art museum for my birthday. We were having lunch when I said, “I prefer not to teach lessons. I’m not very good at it.” I must have had a neon sign on my forehead flashing “big fat lie.” I hate lying, really I do. But I […]

R is for Red Panties

As I mentioned yesterday, I made a huge mistake agreeing to meet JJ for dinner. But that was only the beginning.  I drank too much. Bad habit. Makes me make bad choices. The moon was full and following JJ down to the river sounded like a grand idea. Next thing I knew, we were standing in […]

Q is for Quarrel

I made the huge mistake of agreeing to meet JJ for dinner shortly after I arrived at Winterlight. He was good looking and … he was good looking. And I was feeling sorry for myself. I have no other explanation. It didn’t end well. The next day, there was an incident with Norman at Winterlight–what […]

P is for Pie

Clara and Hank are Malcolm’s neighbors. Wonderful neighbors and friends who have known him since he was a child and treated him like their own. When I started working for him, they embraced me as their own, too. Clara’s one of those amazing women who makes everything from scratch with ingredients she’s mostly sourced from her […]

O is for Odd

I’m always curious about other people’s families and their relationships since mine are so…odd. My parents left me to pursue their dream of international stardom in the world of competitive ballroom dancing. Guess I looked like excess baggage, and my aunt and uncle were willing to take me in. Aunt Trudy is my mother’s sister. […]

N is for Nicky

The first time I met Malcolm’s daughter, Nicky, a funny feeling welled up inside me, seeing them together, seeing them hugging and the long breath he let out as he held her. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Some combination of wistfulness and longing and attraction. “Look what I have!” she said. She […]