September 1st, 2017

It’s late, but I need to get this down before I forget anything. I had a great day, and it looks like Candace is in a good position. We had a lot of fun, and Sam is a wonderful cook, I’ll happily visit them again and look forward to it.

It’s just, I’m worried about Candace. Let me explain how the evening went, and then maybe I can explain my worry.

Sam picked me up after work at the museum as we planned. He got there early, and once I knew he was there I made sure to count down my till quickly so he wouldn’t have to wait. He walked me out to his truck, which was obviously a work truck. It had some heavy equipment in back for his smithing, even had a proper anvil.

As he was driving me to Candace’s, I asked how she was doing. He said she’s been acting pretty stir crazy. Her broken ankle prevents her from getting around, and with noone to contact, she doesn’t have any visitors. He’s been looking out for her, getting groceries and taking care of chores, but he can’t be there all the time and feels bad just leaving her all alone.

I asked about his folks, and what I overheard when I passed them in the hall. He said that his brother’s marriage to Candace had been sudden and unexpected. They hadn’t been dating long enough for Eli, his brother, to tell their parents, and then on a whim they eloped. They were going to honeymoon in Hawaii, that’s why they were aboard the plane. His parents were hurt that they didn’t know anything about this, with Sam as well since Sam knew what was going on. They were justifiably suspicious of Candace when I had overheard their conversation, but Sam said they had since warmed up to her and were now supportive of her.

I asked, since he said he knew her a bit before the crash, what he knew about her. He said she was a dancer, “not the exotic type mind,” but that she performed for small parties who were wealthy enough to afford her. He said that his brother had meet Candace at an officers party some politician had thrown. What he heard was that the party had treated her poorly, they were expecting the more exotic kind. So when she stormed out disgusted by their behavior, Eli had gone after her. He apologized for the other’s behavior and offered her a ride home. They hit it off hard and fast and next thing Sam knew they were married.

We weren’t able to talk longer, because by then we were already at her house in Crestmoor. It was a nice place, certainly nicer than my parents place. I helped Sam carry in the groceries, though he didn’t look like he needed the help at all, and he seemed genuinely surprised at me lending a hand.

The inside of Candace’s house was, I think the word is spartan. The living room had a TV and a chair, in which sat Candace who had appeared to have given up on the remote as it was lying on the floor near a dent in the wall behind the TV. She did brighten upon seeing us though.

While Sam settled into his role as cook, Candace gave me a tour of the place. She called it cramped, which took me off guard considering my parents place with the three of us was smaller. The master bedroom had a small dresser on top of which was mounted another TV. And while there were two other bedrooms, they both had their doors closed. When I asked about them, Candace said she didn’t really have any use for them anyway, they were just full of stuff. We looked in the one, it was dominated by a gun rack which of everything in the house seemed to have received the most loving care.

The dining room had a table, complete with four chairs. I helped Candace take one of the chairs, she was still getting around using the crutches. And then when I went to take another chair I found a cat lying on it. As I grabbed the chair to pull it out, it growled at me and startled me. I jumped back, and his paw reached up to hit the chair where I had been holding it. Scared the ever living crap out of me. Candace laughed, but Sam was there quick as can be shoing the cat into the bedroom. I’m pretty sure I heard him mutter “Damn Cat.”

Candace apologized for laughing, but she said I should have seen my face. I finally took my seat, and asked about the cat. Candace said he was her only companion here, but didn’t know if the cat had belonged to her late husband or not. She said he’s normally very sweet to her, but typically stays out of sight when Sam was around.

While she had been giving me a tour I got the feeling that the place was a bachelor pad. There were a number of pictures of some guy though, one with him standing among a group of guys all wearing fatigues. One had him standing with Sam, both younger, each holding a fish by a line. I asked about them, and Candace confirmed that the one was Eli.

Eli, by the photos, was a good looking guy. He was much more average than was Sam, in more ways than one. Having spent the drive over with Sam, I have to admit he had a rugged handsomeness about him. Seeing him in the picture with Eli, I could see that Sam was easily the better looking of the two, but Eli wasn’t without his own good looks. He wasn’t as big as Sam, or as tall, and his hair was more brown, more like their parents. Where Sam's skin was darker than mine, Eli had a healthy sun induced tan.

Before I realized it, I pointed out that Sam and Eli looked quite different, not just from each other, but from their parents as well. Sam explained that was because he and his brother were both adopted. Candace seemed curious about that as well, and she asked her own questions. As I listened to them talk, it seemed they were finally getting to know each other for the first time. Candace was curious if he knew much about himself from before he was adopted, no doubt because it almost mirrored her present experience. Sam though deflected those questions, he seemed unwilling to talk about it.

I stepped in and changed the subject, asking Candace if being home here brought back any memories. She admitted that it hadn’t, which I had to guess was because this was Eli’s place, which raised the question, where was her’s? Candace seemed confused at first, and I had to explain that if she had only recently married Eli, she must have lived somewhere else before. The question was, where?

Candace agreed that it made sense and we both asked Sam if he knew anything. He said he didn’t, but bringing it up I had given him an idea. He wouldn’t be able to look into it tonight, but with the weekend upon us he would have the time to look.

At some point in the conversation, Sam had finished cooking and joined us at the table. He had made a dish of salmon and scallops in a garlic white sauce topped with cheddar cheese. It was fantastic, and I didn’t even miss the linguini I would usually expect with such a meal. Candace was especially thrilled with the dish, she said she loved it and it seemed like our praise made Sam’s night.

Sam had asked about my job at the museum, which isn’t particularly interesting. But since we were on the subject I asked Sam about being a blacksmith. He said he found peace in the forge, the rhythmic hammering of the metal, and being able to create things with his own hands was unequalled in his experience. He said he mostly did basic stuff for local equestrians. Being wealthy enough to own a horse or two usually meant they could afford to be a little eccentric in how their horses were shod. Sam said he didn’t just do horseshoes though. As often as not people were commissioning him to do trim for their gates and fences, or their barns, and now their homes. Once Sam got into the hang of doing those he started doing more artistic type pieces and managed to sell a couple that he was really proud of. Doing arms and armor was a new thing for the renaissance crowd, he hadn’t ever thought of applying his trade that way, but once he looked into it he found it really fascinating. Now he’s working on a suit of armor all his own, when he has the chance to work on it.

Having both shared our professions as they may be (mine just a job really) Candace then asked about Eli, what he did. Sam seemed to hesitate, but he said that Eli had been a soldier and had worked into becoming an officer for the Army. He said Eli had been injured a few years ago, and that it had placed Eli behind a desk since. Sam seemed to feel guilty about that, and it took some coaxing, but Sam and Eli had enlisted together. While Eli found himself drawn to a permanent position within the Army, Sam had taken an honorable discharge after he’d served his term. I think Sam blames himself for not being there when Eli had been injured.

We eventually finished up, and as it was getting late I needed to get home. But it was neat spending time with Candace and Sam, learning about them and getting to know them. I promised to visit again, which would depend on my schedule, and now that I knew where she lived I could probably find a bus route there so Sam didn’t have to come get me all the time. Sam seemed relieved by that.

So now I’m at home, and it gives me a moment to reflect on my worries about Candace. Watching them interact, I got the feeling that there were two different relationships going on. Candace is of course still learning her place in the world, trying to remember who she was and at the same time developing who she now is. Sam is her brother-in-law, but she seems to treat him more like a servant. Once he and I started talking she happily welcomed him into the conversation, but up until then she practically ignored him.

But like I said, it was like there was a whole other relationship going on, and that was Sam’s relationship to Candace. I didn’t get the feeling that she was his sister-in-law, in fact he seemed to look at her as though she were something more than that. He treats her formally, almost reinforcing that she is his sister-in-law, but his formality seems to go overboard. Especially with the way he looks at her, he’s fond of her. To be clear it’s not that he desires her, which tends to reinforce the sister-in-law relationship. But he does seem to want to impress her. I said earlier that our praise of his food made his night, but I think it was more her praise of his food.

I don’t know, maybe I’m just over thinking it. I am tired after all. I hope Sam is able to find something this weekend. I think it’s clear that that house is Eli’s, and not her’s. She seemed very out of place there. Which wasn’t helped by her clothes, I’m not sure what she was wearing but it didn’t seem to fit at all. She seemed comfortable enough, but it all seemed a size too big. With any luck, something will be found that maybe helps to explain this situation.