Candy Flip

Chapter Two

The wafting heat of Salt Lake City, Utah hit Lucy as soon as she left the plane.  The sky was a beautiful clear blue and the sun shone bright, sending warm rays down on the breathtaking mountain landscape.  Lucy could tell that the towering mountains in the distance would be sugar coated with snow during the winters, but now that it was mid June the gleaming mountains were bare.

Lucy attentively made her way towards the Arrivals lounge whilst glancing around her warily at everything.  She had never travelled away from her mother or brother before so it was a whole new experience for her.

When it came to her reclaiming her baggage she panicked about having to propel two luggage carts towards the Exit door although thankfully, a friendly airport worker helped her through without her having to make a fool out of herself already.

"Lucy Skye Ferrera!" The shrieking voice made Lucy gasp in fright.

Standing behind the barrier of the Welcoming area was Aunt Stacey.  She had certainly aged a lot in seven years, but still being thirty eight was still a youthful woman with scarcely as many wrinkles as Lucy's mother.  Aunt Stacey's hair was still composed of golden ringlets framing her heart-shaped and heavily caked face.  It was definitely clear that her aunt wore a lot more makeup than Lucy's teenage self.  Perched on Aunt Stacey's cartoon-figured nose were a pair of bright blue cat eye specs encrusted with jewels.

"Aunt Stacey!" Lucy chirped.  She rolled one of her carts over the barrier to greet her Aunt whilst the aiport worker followed with the second.

"My sweet niece, you've grown so much!" Aunt Stacey beamed.

She was wearing a bright yellow camisole and a pair of neon pink shorts, paired with an exaggerated pair of black sequined platforms.

"Well, it's been seven years," Lucy said awkwardly.

"Seven years too long.  Come and give your Aunt a hug," Aunt Stacey reached forward, her claw-like manicured hands grasping Lucy into a tight hug.  Lucy noticed that she still reeked of hair spray.

As they both bustled out of the airport and into the blaring sun of Salt Lake City, Lucy drowned out the droning and everlasting questions that tumbled out of her Aunt's frantic mouth.  Salt Lake City was beautiful, with glistening skyscrapers towering into the sky, watching over the other small buildings.  There was greenery at every corner and the air smelled fresher than South Dakota.

"How was your flight, sweetie?  How's your brother Thomas?  What has my sister Isabelle been up to?  Is your mother still a kindergarten teacher?  How were your SATs?  Are you excited to be here?"

Lucy robotically answered her Aunt's questions, still mesmerized by the beauty of her new surroundings.

After piling her bags into her Aunt's Toyota Tundra, they climbed in and set off towards the highway and the hour long drive to Bakefield, Utah.  During the drive, Lucy had to suck it up and allow herself to get to know her strange Aunt.

 It became clear to Lucy throughout the sixty minute drive that Aunt Stacey's candy shop meant the world to her.  According to her, it was a cozy and bright shop filled with mouthwatering treats that induced a certain happiness in anybody that walked in.  Her chocolates and sweets were imported from European countries and she made sure that everything looked prim and proper in Mason jars along shelves and compartments.

"What's it called, again?" Lucy asked, biting her lip.

She was sure that her mother had told her what the candy shop was called in the past, but if she had, Lucy had forgotten entirely.

"Candy Flip," Aunt Stacey replied with a certain pride.

Lucy knitted her eyebrows together and turned away from her Aunt to avoid bursting out into laughter.  If Tom was there, he would certainly have taken a stab at that.  Lucy knew from her stereotypical group of friends back in South Dakota and mostly from the kids who had experimented with drugs that the expression "Candy Flip" was to ingest ecstasy or any other psychedelic drug.  For some reason, Lucy wasn't sure whether her Aunt knew that or not, although it wouldn't have come as a shock to her if she realized that after all this time her Aunt was a drugged up candy shop owner with a very colorful attitude.