Chapter Ten: Lots to Do
Candace's eyes slowly fluttered open and she sluggishly registered that she wasn't alone. Her brain also registered that the one with her was a male. But, she didn't register that it was Stan.
Candace squeaked and pushed herself off of him, making them roll off the bed and tumble to the floor.
"Huh? Wha?"
Candace ducked under the bed and peeked over at Stan.
"I'm sooo sorry!" she apologized.
"Nah, that's okay. Hell, maybe we should sleep together more often. You woke me up better than my alarm clock does." Stan chuckled.
"Well, that and last night… I'm such a baby when it comes to storms," she continued apologizing.
"Nah, I thought it was cute. That, and your bra."
Candace slapped her forehead , sighing.
"Men…"
-.-.-.
"Alright. Where to first, ladies?" Sandy asked. They looked around the plaza.
"How 'bout we get our claws done?" Pashmina suggested.
"Sure," the others agreed. They walked into the salon.
They all decided on French tips. Penelope's were too short and little, so she could only get hers painted.
"Penny, when you're older and can take better care of your claws, I'll take you to get them done just like this, okay?"Pashmina tried negotiating. Penelope sniffled and wiped her eyes, cheerfully agreeing.
"Ookwee!" she nodded.
Bijou's were baby blue with neon blue tips, Pashmina's were light pink with mauve tips, Sandy's were white with silver tips, Penelope's were yellow with red and white polka dots, and Candace chose the same as Sandy so they'd match.
"Okay. Let's go shoe shopping next," Bijou said.
"Okay," Candace said.
"I hope I find something to match my dress," Pashmina chimed.
Bijou found nice heels to go with hers, as did Pashmina. Candace picked out Penelope the most darling white flowered Mary-Janes. Again, she and Sandy chose similar things.
"I'm hungry ookyoo…"
"I'm a bit hungry, too. How about we go to lunch now?" Pashmina said.
"Mmhm," Bijou and Sandy agreed. Candace's stomach growled, but she had more important things to do.
"You girls go ahead. Where should I meet you?"
"Candace, where are you going?" Sandy asked.
"I need to run some errands."
"Oh. Um… how 'bout the fountain?"
"Sure. Meet you there."
Penelope jumped up and down.
"Ookyoo! Ookyoo! Ookwee! Please?"
"Yes, Penelope dear. I'll let you throw a few pennies into the fountain later," Pashmina warmly said. The others giggled.
-.-.-.
As soon as the girls returned to the hotel at around five, Candace rushed them up to hers and Stan's room, knowing he wouldn't be back for another hour or so. He, Maxwell, and a few others went to get tuxedos and shoes. Only God knows how long THAT would take!
Once in the room, Candace fetched five long boxes from the closet. She gave one to each girl, keeping one marked with a C for herself. The girls gasped, immediately knowing what they were.
"The dresses!" they screamed in unison, shredding the boxes open and pulling out their dresses.
"Oh my gosh!"
"Yeah, I know! Look at Penny's!"
"Aww…"
"Look at this!"
"Oh, wow…"
"Sandy, it's beautiful."
"Mmhm."
"Thank you, Candace!" they all yelled their appreciation, stopping their chatter and looking at her.
"What does yours look like?" Bijou sweetly asked.
"Hopefully, not better than mine!" Sandy joked.
"C'mon, Candace! Open it… please?" Pashmina kindly coaxed.
Candace blushed from all the attention.
"Alright…" She slowly opened the box and daintily removed the tissue paper. Pulling it out, she revealed her dress. The girls' eyes widened in envy and admiration.
The dress was white and had a fat silver belt-like strip of material tied around the middle. There were silver lines along the sleeves, collar, and bottom. It came to just below her shins and was straight, but a little bell-shaped like Pashmina and Bijou's dresses.
Granted, it wasn't as beautiful as Sandy's, but it was still a sight to behold.
-.-.-.
Stan returned, as planned two hours later. He looked weary and a bit exhausted.
"How you women can do this so much is beyond me. I swear, they need to make shopping a sport!"
"Was it that bad?" Candace skeptically asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Well, no… kinda. Here, let me tell you about the day I had and then you can judge." She giggled.
"Go on."
"Well, first we went to the Big & Tall for Max, Boss, and Oxnard-"
"Wait! Are you calling my cousin, your best friend, fat?" Candace asked, pretending to be astonished and then laughed. Stan wasn't in the mood right now.
"No. Anyway, we go there and Ox finds out he's gone up two sizes, so he starts to bawl and all Hell breaks loose. Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, Boss' and Max's tuxedos get mixed up, so we had to start from scratch and find two new ones."
"What do you mean Boss' and Max's tuxedos got mixed up?"
"They made the groom's too tall and wide and made Boss' too thin and short. You know, like they got the orders switched." Candace tried to keep from laughing, picturing Maxwell and Boss in each others' suits.
"What else happened?"
"Well, then we went to the regular tailor. Me and some others find ours alright and we found the perfect one for Cappy. But, Cappy says he doesn't like to dress-up and demands he wears a tee-shirt and jeans. And the whole time, me and a few others were thinkin', 'Why couldn't Panda have come?'"
"Where is Panda?"
"He was in Max's room, fixin' a nightstand that got broken during the party." Candace rolled her eyes, chuckling. "I'm glad you think it's funny!" Stan said, pretend-mad.
"Sorry, sorry. So, what are we gonna do about the ring bear?"
"Panda went out and got the suit. He won't let Cappy know until tomorrow, of course."
"That's good. Anything else?"
"Nope. That's pretty much my day… Now, I really have a headache."
"Poor baby…" Candace teasingly cooed, sitting on his bed and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "Do you need a hug?"
"If you're giving them out…" Candace laughed, grabbing Stan in a friendly embrace.
"Let's hope tomorrow is better."
"It should be, you planned it."
"So… let me see your tux."
Stan pulled the dry-clean bagged suit from it's less important plastic bag. Candace clasped her hands together.
"You, my friend, will look absolutely handsome." Stan blushed a bit.
"Thanks, Candy… You're too sweet." Candace laughed. "No pun intended."
"G'night, Stan."
"Don't dream about me too much."
"Ha. Ha. " Candace sarcastically said.
"Aw… You know it's true, baby."
"Good night, Stanley," Candace said more firmly and turned out the lights.
