Facade of Love

Chapter 306 The Warmth of Ordinary Life
For someone stuck in a hospital room, the idea of getting out for a walk was something to really look forward to.
As for taking Charlie out to eat, I could not think of anywhere special off the top of my head, so I picked a place I liked to go on
any given day.
Charlie had insisted on ditching Inch and the bodyguard for the day inside the restaurant, so we snagged a table by the window.
The view was killer–Polaris River sliced right through Lake City, with people kayaking and the sidewalks bustling with life under
the bright lights.
As we browsed the menu, Charlie finally tore his eyes away from the scene and asked, “Do you like this?”
I nodded, watching the street vendors and the chill crowd wandering by. “It’s so lively,” I said.
He flashed a quick grin and agreed, “Yeah, it’s got that special buzz.”
Mid–conversation, Charlie’s attention drifted to a mom and her kid at the cotton candy stand below. The little guy, who was
maybe five or six, was totally spellbound by the rainbow of sugary fluff and glued to the spot.
“That stuff will glue your teeth together. We’ll have something way better at home,” the mom probably said, trying to pry her kid
away, thinking about the impending sugar rush.
The kid, however, was having none of it, his eyes glued to the cotton candy. He begged, “It won’t stick. Let’s just get one!”
The standoff was real: the kid wanted it bad, and mom was not budging. She tried to haul him off, yet the kid must have tapped
into some superhero strength and latched onto the vendor’s table.
With a loud crash, the table toppled over as expected.
The noise was a magnet for onlookers. The vendor flipped out, glaring at the mother–son pair who had been on the fence about
the cotton candy. “What is the big idea?” he barked.
Scared out of his wits, the little boy plopped down on the pavement and burst into tears.
His mom, too frazzled to soothe him, scrambled to apologize to the vendor.

The boss looked pretty ticked off. He said, “Look, I’m not trying to be hard on you. My cotton candy costs two bucks a stick, and I
can’t sell the ones you guys knocked to the floor now. Pay me what they cost, and since the syrup is no good either, give me
fifteen bucks, and we’ll be even.”
As the waiter started bringing out our food, Charlie and I both looked away from the drama and checked out the dishes on the
table. Before we could dig in, this ear–splitting yell came from downstairs, “Fifteen? Are you kidding me? Do you think you can
scam over a few sticks of cotton candy? Dream on, buddy.”
She did not even wait for the boss to respond. She just grabbed the kid sitting on the ground and stormed off.
The little guy was caught off guard, tripping and tumbling as he tried to keep up with her.
The boss stepped in front of her, now completely fed up, “Come on, lady, you’re not making any sense. I’m trying to be
reasonable here, but you’re not listening. Do I need to call the cops or what?”
“Go ahead, call them! I’m not scared. It was an accident, the kid just pulled it down, and I already said sorry. What is this stuff
even worth? It’s all junk food. I haven’t even reported you for selling bad food, which is me being nice. Now you want me to pay
up? As if!” She went off like a machine gun, then tried to bolt again.
The boss could not help but laugh, blocking her path, “Fine; report me. But you’ll wait here while I call the cops, and we’ll sort this
out at the station.”
He whipped out his phone, ready to dial.
As soon as she saw the phone, the woman plopped down on the ground and started wailing like her heart was being torn out,
accusing the boss of trying to rip her off.
It did not take long for a crowd of onlookers, who had been casually strolling by, to stop and gather around. With more and more
people showing up, Charlie and I could not see what was happening anymore.
The table was set with all sorts of delicious dishes, and I slid the window shut to keep the outside clamor at bay.
“Here, try this–it is super good,” I said, offering him a bite.
Charlie gave a
a nod, tasted it, and then asked me with curious eyes, “Is cotton candy any good?”

I paused, slightly surprised, and replied, “Yeah, it is pretty good. Some are sweet, others tangy. You’ve never tried it?”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
His lack of experience with cotton candy caught me off guard. “Where did you grow up?” I wondered aloud. It seemed like cotton
candy was a staple treat everywhere back home.
He did not really answer, just got quiet for a moment before admitting, “I’ve seen it but never had it.”
I frowned, getting the vibe that his folks must have been super strict about sweets when he was little. “My mom was the same
way, totally against it. But my dad would sneak it to me on the down low. But honestly, after a while, all that sugar during my
tooth–losing years left my teeth a wreck. In the end, they were black as night and just plain ugly.”