Title: A Summer to Remember
Author: Poretto
Olivia Harvard (Pansy)
Ratings: PG
Genre: Gen
Category: Humor
Pairing(s): I'm not telling
Spoilers: None
Teaser: A
little surprise at the end
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. I simply borrowed them to have a little fun. I mean no harm to them and I'm not making any money out of this, so please try to resist the urge to sue me.
No animal was
harmed in the making of this fanfic. =) So enjoy...
This was definitely
turning out to be a boring day. It was summer and Benton was looking
forward to spend it with Innusiq. They'd been planning to do the 'otter
thing' for quite sometimes now, Benton just couldn't wait anymore. But
unfortunately, his friend was stuck doing chores in the village for the
day. Parents' orders! Absolutely positively not to be disobeyed.
For
a
second, he considered going to the Smithbauers', but he discarded the
idea knowing that the trip would be a waste of time. It's not because
he didn't felt like walking the two miles journey, but because he remembered
that Mark's mother wouldn't let the two of them meet, let alone, play
anyway. Well, not for another week. Or maybe two? Hmm, Benton made a
mental note to check his calendar later tonight. It's been a while since
the 'incident', but Benton was pretty sure his friend, Mark, was still
serving his sentence.
A wide grin formed
on his face when he recalled what Mark did to deserve such a punishment.
Well, it was his own fault and fortunately, Benton didn't have anything
to do with the 'incident', otherwise he would have suffered the same
fate. Being put into house arrest -- meaning grounded by parent or by
grandparent in Benton's case -- was definitely not the best way to spend
summer break.
Working with the
dogs was his next choice. He needed the practice anyway; otherwise Innusiq's
boast of taking home the Junior Dogsledding trophy would not be just
a boast anymore. Among the other ten-year-olds in the village, Benton
could've easily said he was the fastest one. He wasn't cocky or anything,
but his grandfather had been a very hard trainer for him, and it showed
in his considerably long hours of training since the first time Benton
arrived at his grandparents'. He's not complaining though, in fact, he
really enjoyed their time together. Benton's concerned lay mainly on
Innusiq. His Inuit friend had been known to leave him in dust -- ehmm,
of snow -- from time to time.
Just as soon as
he let out a loud whistle, a pack of dogs hurried over to where Benton
was. Wait, there's only five of
them, counted Benton. O, right,
grandfather must have taken some of them with him. Benton played
with the dogs for a while until something dawned on him. He looked around
and found what he thought was missing. The
puppy! Where is she?
" Silver!"
Benton shouted while taking his steps toward the barn. Maybe she's still
in there. Grandfather wouldn't take her on his duty. She was way too
much to handle.
Well, she's not
in here,
concluded Benton after looking to every corner of the barn. He stepped
outside and let out another whistle. "Silver!" Benton knew
that he shouldn't be too worried, because Silver did have this wandering
habit. She must have learned it from her daddy, the lead dog of the troops,
James.
Benton was about
to whistle one more time, when he saw the furry little puppy running
toward him. James, being a protective papa, was already on his way to
meet the puppy halfway and escorted her back to Benton. Silver had gotten
pretty close when Benton noticed that she was carrying something in her
mouth.
O, no, thought Benton,
not again! Silver was very
happy to meet Benton that she dropped her finding in front of his feet.
"O, no, Silver!" Benton let out a loud sigh, and bent down
to pick it up. It was a white shawl. "I hope this is not Mrs. Gardwood's,
" Benton said. He was already in enough trouble with her last month
when she pounced her 'til the old woman fell on the ground in the middle
of the village.
Benton observed
the shawl closely. Hmm, it looks
expensive. He took it to his nose and sniffed. It smelled so sweet
and refreshing that he concluded that it couldn't be Mrs. Gardwood's.
Benton remembered that the old woman had this distinct smell that's not
too pleasant. He looked down to Silver and said, "You want to tell
me where you got this?"
******
Well, isn't it nice, thought Candy
bitterly. Her last day of vacation and her brother and sister left her
out from the trip. Allen, the guide, was going to take the three of them
to a spot where they could watch sea otters and Candy was really looking
forward to it. Maybe they got tired waiting for her this morning and
decided to just leave. Her brother and sister could barely sit still
to wait for the school bus, let alone to get to an exciting adventure.
Watching sea otters would have fallen under 'adventure' for them, three
kids from Toronto.
Frustration showed
on her face as she walked away from the cabin. Her parents had already
left for to the village close by, leaving her and her siblings to their
grandparents' to attend. So, unless she wanted to spend the rest of the
day, letting her grandma played dress-up on her, Candy decided to go
for a walk. It wasn't easy for her to convince them that she'd be okay
to go by herself but she managed anyway. It's not that she didn't like
her newfound grandparents; it's just that they treated her as they would
treat a porcelain doll. It made her uncomfortable and almost nervous.
Candy realized that it must have been the fact that they've never seen
her before, but it's just a little too much for her.
Her walk hadn't
been too far yet when Candy encountered a dogsled track. It must be Allen's sled, thought Candy. She remembered hearing
the dogs when she was still inside this morning. A rush of jealousy crept
in her when she thought about how much fun her siblings were having without
her. An idea sneaked into her mind. Maybe
if I followed this track, I could catch up with them, she thought.
Or at least she would meet them on their way back.
This is all grandma's
fault,
she muttered under her breath as she set on her journey. She liked her
just fine, until this morning. The old woman had her put on this really
ridiculous outfit. It took her almost an hour just to have it on her
and it looked awful on her. She hated it. But grandma obviously thought
differently. Her eyes got all teary and she hugged her tightly. She told
her that she looked just like an angel. Candy didn't want to hurt her
feelings, so when she asked, Candy imitated the old woman's enthusiasm
and properly thanked her.
Well, it's not
really that bad,
she thought. The outfit just wasn't meant for her. It would've looked
better on her sister, but on her, it just made her feel awkward. Plus,
it made her missed her trip with Allen and her sibs. "I'm sorry,
Grandma," Candy said it lowly as she walked further away from the
cabin. "I'm sure you meant well."
The corner of
her eyes caught a subtle movement. She quickly looked around. Paying
attention to every single detail, she noticed something was moving behind
a tree not too far from her. She raised her hand to shield her eyes and
squinted them hard.
Oh, it's just
a wolf,
she thought. And when it finally dawned on her, she shrieked, "A
wolf?" She looked again to make sure. Well, it looks like a wolf and it's
coming toward me. It's coming toward ME! She started to back away a little bit. The animal quickened
its pace, closing the distance between them very fast.
Candy was just
about to run when the animal got close enough for her to see that it
was still in its young state. "It's still a puppy," she said
in relief. But she still quite alarmed though. The wolf pup was really
excited to meet her. It sniffed her for quite a bit and then started
to jump around her, letting out excited whimpers with each leap. Candy
smiled as she bent down to pet the little animal. It got even more riled
up now that Candy was showing her interest.
Maybe I can keep
it,
she thought, it would be a perfect
playmate for 'Duchess'. She thought about her dog that she had to
leave for this vacation. She was now rolling in the snow trying to stop
the pup from licking her face. A giggle left her mouth. She knew it'd
be a long stretch, but she decided that it'd be worth to ask her father's
permission to keep the pup. She stood up only to have the pup pounced
on her and made her fall on the snow. "Hey, play nice!" she
said to the pup. It gave her a look with its tilted head and whimpered
innocently.
"Sorry, boy,"
she said still sitting down. "I didn't mean to yell at you."
She took out her glove and ran her fingers on the pup's gray fur. The
pup started to jump around again, urging her to play. As she tried to
stand up, the pup snatched the shawl that was hanging around her neck
and ran away with it.
"Hey! Come
back!" She said as she began to chase it. The pup only stopped for
a few seconds to glance behind to her as if challenging her to keep up.
Candy was almost caught up with it when she stumbled and fell face first.
She looked up as she saw the pup disappeared behind one of the trees.
She immediately got up and only spent a few seconds to brush the snow
from her face before picking up her pace. She wasn't about to let the
pup run away with grandma's shawl. Although she didn't like it, she still
didn't want to see her grandma's face when she told her that 'a wolf
ate it'.
"Hey! Wait
up!" Candy cried out to an empty space.
******
He
stopped his step just a few yards from his dogs were. He had set out
on a trail to return the shawl that Silver brought home to its proper
owner. It was the right thing to do, of course. That's what his father
and grandparents had taught him since the first time he could remember
anything and he always tried hard to do as he was taught. Benton half
expected to find an angry old woman cursing at him when he finally reached
the end of his trail, but what stood in front of him was far from anything
that he could imagine.
The
little girl was quite alarmed at first when she saw a herd of wild dogs
coming toward her, but as soon as she recognized the mischievous puppy
that stole her shawl, she relaxed a bit. The dogs circled her curiously.
The biggest one eyed her suspiciously while the others were busy sniffing
her. The puppy was just too happy to find her again; it started to leap
around joyfully. She reached down to stroke the pup gently. And as soon
as she did that the biggest one of them approached and licked her hand.
She smiled and hugged the big dog. The others followed its lead and started
to offer themselves to be petted by her.
Benton
stood dumpfoundly staring at her. He had never seen anyone as beautiful
as her. Well, he had only a few female friends from the village to compare,
but she looked like something or rather someone that only existed in
movies or books. She was wearing all white, from her fur hat to her fur-trimmed
boots. If it were not because of the dark curls that peeked under her
hat framing her face, she could easily be lost in the snow surrounding
her. He didn't move for a quite a while until finally the subject under
his watch looked up to realize his presence.
The
little girl let out a little gasp when she saw him standing just a few
yards from her. Benton saw the panic look in her face and decided to
say something.
"Hello.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. " Naturally, that's the
first thing that came into his mind.
She
still had this terrified look on her. She was clutching James tightly
and slowly inching her ways behind the big dog. Benton started to walk
toward her. Her fear made her moved backward a couple of steps. She only
stopped when she heard Benton's next word.
"Is
this yours?" He said while waving a white shawl to her. Benton saw that her face eased up.
Candy
looked at her shawl in the boy's hand and glanced down at the puppy.
She finally guessed who the boy was. Naturally, she was frightened a
first. She didn't even know it was human until he spoke to her. He was
wearing a lot of animal fur on him that at first glance, she thought
she'd just met a not-so-big Bigfoot or maybe a mountain gorilla, if such
things exist.
"Is
this yours?" Benton repeated himself when he didn't get any answer
yet. By now, he was already standing in front of her. The girl still
didn't give him any answer. She was just standing there meeting his gaze.
He looked down for a moment and decided to try again.
"CAN
- YOU - SPEAK - ?" Benton enunciated his every word just to make
sure.
A
faint
smile formed on the girl's face. There's a trace of amusement on her
voice when she finally spoke out. "Yes, that's mine."
Her
sweet voice rang in Benton's head. For a minute he just stared into her
big brown eyes, not saying a word.
"Can
I have it back now?" She decided to ask for the shawl since the
boy didn't make a move to offer it back to her.
"What?"
Benton woke up from his frozen state and followed the girl's gaze down
to his hand. "Oh, your shawl! Of course. Sorry." He handed
it back to her making an effort not to touch her. He was afraid that
maybe his touch would make her disappeared into thin air.
"I'm
sorry about Silver. She just picked up this habit of taking stuff from
people she knows. Especially the one the she's particularly fond of.
You should have seen our barn. You could find almost anything there.
There's boots, gloves, a few hats, and also a couple of books. Lately,
there are a few shawls, too. It's really funny, you know, if you think
about it. Because, you see, now all those people, who were fond of her
at first, didn't think kindly of her after that. I'm the one who have
to take everything out on regular basis and try to return them back to
their owners. Or sometimes I'd just put it on the lost and found in the
village, and --- I'd probably should stop talking right now, right?"
Benton saw the faint smile on the girl's face had been replaced by a
wide grin. Then she nodded, still smiling, confirming that he was, in
fact, rambling. He felt the need to apologize, so he did. "Sorry,
I got carried away."
Before
an awkward silence came between them, she decided to say something. "
So, I guess Silver is the puppy's name, right?" asked her, and just
at the end of the question she looked up to find Benton staring at her,
-- yet again.
"Huh?"
Aware that he had been caught staring, he quickly recovered. "Oh
yeah, that's her."
"Her?"
"Uh-huh.
I picked that name for her. Well, it's the obvious choice since she has
this silvery gray fur, " explained Benton. His gaze landed on her
again. This time, he was intensely trying to look behind her.
Noting
Benton's sudden interest, she quickly looked behind her. Seeing nothing
dangerous lurking there, she turned back to Benton and asked, "Is
there something wrong?"
"Something
wrong? No, nothing's wrong, " answered him quickly. Maybe a little
too quickly. "I was just-- uh -- looking at your back."
Obviously,
she was not buying his innocent look. She gave him this questioning look
that left him very uncomfortable. Avoiding her eyes, he tried to explain
himself. "It's really nothing. Really. It's silly -- hmm, I -- was
just checking for -- something." He was hoping that she would let
it dropped, but judging from her look now, he probably had a better chance
trying to outrun an avalanche.
Blushing
brightly, he finally blurted out, "I was just making sure that there's
no -- stuff on your back."
"Stuff?
Like bugs?"
"Well,
that, too. -- And -- also, I wanted to see if you have wings or anything
like that." As he said that quickly, he peered up to see her face.
It had a nice shade of pink now that she found out what he was thinking.
It actually matched with his at that very moment.
It
took her a while before she said, "No, I don't have wings or anything
else on my back." She smiled ever so slightly and brushed her hair
out of her eyes. That simple event alone made Benton's heart beat a lot
faster. This is really weird,
thought Benton. He remembered Mark talking about girls and stuff, but
he never imagined it would feel like this.
"And I don't
have any tail either," added her in an amusement. "How about
you?"
"Me?
O, uh, I -- I -- I'm not -- I didn't mean -- " He was stammering
when he finally realized that she was only teasing him. " Okay,
I deserved that."
She
smilingly nodded. There's a little light that was dancing around on her
eyes, when she looked at him.
"Sorry,
I should've introduced myself. I'm Ben, " He said offering his hand
out.
She
received it and gave it a gentle squished. "You can call me Candy."
"Candy?
As in candy sweets?"
"Yeah,
it's sort of my family's petname for me."
"Ah,
I see." Benton nodded as he reluctantly released the glove-covered
hand. He was secretly wishing that she'd take off her gloves first before
taking his hand. He imagined it must feel nice to touch her, considering
now that he was sure that she wouldn't disappeared or fly away or something.
Putting that thought
aside, he decided to change the subject, "So what are you doing
here?"
"Well,
actually, I think I'm lost." She pointed at Silver and added, "I
was following her when she decided to outrun me and disappeared."
"Where
are you from?"
"Toronto.
Oh, uh -- you're probably asking about where I'm staying here, right?"
Candy realized her mistake and corrected her answer. "It's just
outside Inuvik. My grandparents have a cabin there."
"What
are their names? Maybe I know them."
Candy
gave him her grandparents' name. Benton thought for a moment and then
said, "They sound familiar, but I'm not sure. I do know there are
only a few cabins around here and the only one that I'm not too well
acquaintance with was just about three miles northwest from here. That
must be where you're staying."
"Which
way is that?" Candy looked around nervously. She knew that this
could be trouble for her. She had been gone for three hours and it would've
taken her another three hours to get to the cabin, IF she could find
it. Her grandparents were probably starting to look for her now.
"Well,
it's actually quite easy. If you just followed these trees, they would
lead you toward the village. But you don't want to go all the way into
the village. When you reached the top of the hill, you'd have to head
east and you'll find the first cabin there. Now, from there you'd want
to continue about two miles northeast, and -- you have absolutely no
idea what I'm talking about, right?" Benton stopped his explanation
when he saw the blank look that she was giving him. She nodded shyly.
"Why
don't I just walk you there?"
******
Ben
turned out to be quite charming. Candy observed the boy that walked besides
her. He's not too tall, kind of scrawny looking with dark hair peeking
just on top of his collar. He had the most unbelievable pair of eyes,
though. There were streaks of silver gray in his blue gaze. She liked
looking into them. His smile wasn't bad either. He did, occasionally,
stopped talking and smiled at her.
He introduced
her to the whole troops. The dogs -- Ben finally set her straight --
were walking with them. Well, more like running around chasing each other,
but more or less with the two of them. Silver wouldn't leave her side
though; she was probably trying to find an opportunity to snatch her
shawl again. Candy held it tight against her neck.
"Are you
cold?" Benton asked with concern when he saw it.
"No, no.
I'm fine." She answered to assure him. She saw an amused smile formed
on Ben's face. "What?"
The thought of
Candy being cold reminded him of something. Ben was grinning when he
answered her. "I just remember about my friend, Mark." And
then he told her about the 'incident' regarding Mark.
Apparently, Mark's
mother just received some new fashion magazines and Mark was looking
through them when he saw a picture of a lady walking her poodles. He
thought that they looked really cool and decided to try it on his father's
dogs. Fortunately, his mother caught him just as he finished shaving
-- or as Mark referred it, styling -- the first dog and put a stop to
it. Otherwise, Mark's mother would have to knit eight dog sweaters instead
of one to cover the freezing dog. That's why he's grounded.
They
were both laughing so hard by the time Ben finished his story. "That
poor dog, " said Candy in the middle of her laugh.
Benton
watched as she continued to laugh. Her sweet laughter filled his head,
while he was drowning in the small light that was dancing in her eyes.
A pair of silver-blue eyes meets a pair of brown eyes. Candy wasn't laughing
anymore.
She
looked away first. The pink shade streaked her cheeks once again. "Is
it still far?"
"No,
it's probably about one mile, more or less." Benton jerked his head
forward, motioning for her to follow him. She nodded and took her place
beside him. They continued their journey with more stories from Benton.
The
cabin was finally within her sight. She recognized it right away. She
turned around to Ben, "That's the cabin. That's my grandparents'
cabin."
"Yeah,
" Ben forced a smile. He was glad that Candy's home, but he just
hated the fact that they were going to part. He really liked her company.
She was different from anybody that he knew.
Candy
recognized the stiffness in his voice and she knew what he was thinking.
She wasn't sure which she liked better, him or his stories, but she felt
kind of sad now that they had to say goodbye.
"Listen,
Ben. Why don't you stay and have dinner with us? I'm sure my parents
and grandparents won't mind. " Candy decided to make an attempt
to prolong their time together.
"I
would love to, but I can't. It's getting late, I have to head back home
before my grandmother got worried. " Answered Ben. "In fact,
if you don't mind, this is as far as I go. It's going to get dark quickly
and I don't want to get caught in it. "
"Oh.
" A wave of disappointment showed in her face.
"Hm,
-- You know, if you don't mind -- maybe I can come over tomorrow,-- that
is -- if it's okay with you." Asked Benton carefully.
Her
eyes
flickered as she looked down to the ground. Benton almost couldn't hear
her when she said, "I'm going home tomorrow."
Home? Did she say home? Benton's
head was busy trying to figure out what she meant. Where
did she say she's from again? Toronto?
"So I guess this is goodbye
then." She finally said it first.
"Yeah,
I guess so." Benton gulped as if he was swallowing something hard.
"Yeah."
Benton
gulped again before he said, "Well, goodbye then."
"Goodbye."
He
turned around and started to walk back. His dogs were already ahead by
a few yards.
"Ben!"
Candy cried out as she went after him. Benton stopped his steps and turned
around. She stood just within an arm length in front of him and she was
looking closely at him as she said, "I forgot to thank you."
"For
what?"
"For
helping me find my way back."
Benton
shook his head, "It's was nothing. You don't have to thank me."
"No,
I really should. And,.. I want you to know that I really enjoyed talking
to you." She said shyly. "You're really nice and I won't forget
you. "
Benton
was still staring at her big brown eyes when she closed the gap between
them and planted a kiss on his left cheek. She whispered "Thank
you" in his ears and as she left his face, she pressed his lips
lightly against her own. With that, she turned around and ran toward
the cabin.
Benton
was sure that he stopped breathing for a few minutes. And for the next
few minutes, he just stood there watching her back. She was already quite
far when he finally found his breath and whispered, "You're welcome."
When he walked
home that night, it felt as if he was walking on air. It really didn't
matter that he got home really late, or that he had to listen to his
grandmother's lecture. Or that he still had to do his chores around the
house before going to bed. And it still didn't matter that he woke up
late the next morning making his plan to do 'the otter thing' with Innusiq
postponed for, yet, another day. It really didn't matter, for Benton
just got his first kiss.
*****
Candy's
father ran toward her as soon as he heard her voice. He was almost going
crazy when he thought that his youngest daughter was missing. The only
reason he stayed put was because his father-in-law convinced him that
it was better for him to be here just in case Candy got home. Sure enough
he was right.
"Daddy!"
She hugged her father.
"I'm
glad you're okay, baby. You had us all worried, you know." He said
as he planted a kiss on her forehead.
"I'm
sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to. I'm really sorry I got you worried. I
was just trying to find Allen, and then I got lost and then....."
"That's
okay, baby. That's okay." He said as he led her toward the cabin.
Candy's
mother rushed out from the cabin and took her in her embrace.
"Baby,
my baby," She was crying when she put the little girl's head on
her shoulder as she carried her inside. "Margaret Candace Thatcher,
don't you ever scared us like that again, " whispered her as she
walked into the cabin with her husband's arm around her.
"I'm
so sorry, Mommy, " said Candy as she tightened her embrace. A rush
of guilt crept in her. She knew how worried her parents were about her,
but she couldn't help feeling grateful for getting lost. It was because
of it, that she got a chance to steal her first kiss.
- The End -