Forget-Me-Not Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Candy Candy and all characters belong to Keiko Nagita, character images to Yumiko Igarashi and anime to Toei Animation.

I’ve been quite busy lately as I enroll myself in training during my spare time in hopes to advance my career. Please bear with me because this is the shortest chapter in Forget-Me-Not yet. Thanks for your understanding! Before I present the chapter though, I’d like to thank Corinne Messeant for her contribution. She took a picture in her recent vacation, and let me quote her words:

“Bonjour Ms Puddle au détour d’un chemin en vacances dans le Perigord, j ai vu cette colline et je n’ai pas pu m empêcher de la prendre e photo et de vous la partager🥰 je viens de finir de lire pour la 2e fois le roman “Candy” c’est peut être pour cela que cette colline m a fait penser à la colline de Pony 😉 portez vous bien en attendant la suite de votre fanfiction.”

Merci beaucoup, Corinne!! 🥰

— Ms Puddle

Chapter 6

When Candy is walking briskly towards Mr. Cartwright’s ranch, even from a distance, she can see three men ambling in the opposite direction, two of them wearing dark suits. As she slows down to act more like a lady, the sun is breaking through the morning clouds. The hair of the man in the middle shines like glowing molten gold, and she suddenly recognizes him and the one with dark hair right beside him. When she halts her steps in astonishment, she perceives that the man with sandy blond hair is also flabbergasted to see her. He’s oblivious to the fact that this is already the second time Candy witnesses him being with Mr. Cartwright. That being said, she did not identify the old man standing to the left of Albert until now, mainly because she did not expect to see the landowner sauntering with Albert and Georges.

Why on earth are they here on Mr. Cartwright’s property?

Albert, being caught in the very act, blushes profusely, not really because he’s being discovered. Arguably, he won’t be displeased if Candy finds out sooner or later; it’s just that he prefers to stay anonymous. Hence, there are other reasons why warm blood rushes up to his cheeks, which Albert is only willing to admit to himself. He finds Candy’s innocent looks very endearing; not only that, he actually misses her very much, especially since he’s been thinking about her this morning, and talking to Mr. Cartwright about her has intensified his feelings of nostalgia. On top of that, her voluminous hair, though a bit unkempt, reminds him of the mornings when he had to drag her out of bed so that she would not be late for work. Nevertheless, his inner voice urges him to deal with something far more urgent. In case Candy asks him, should he tell her the truth why he is with Mr. Cartwright in his ranch?

For the time being, the landowner is seriously having doubts whether he can keep a secret for Mr. Ardlay anymore. The same applies to Georges too. He wonders if his young boss is prepared for this situation. Regardless, Georges will keep tight-lipped about the land purchase, unless the others leak out the news.

It looks like none of them, including Candy, is moving until Albert makes a gesture of greeting to the girl. Thus, she emerges from her trancelike state, taking her first steps towards the threesome, and Mr. Cartwright raises his voice to ask the girl coming towards them, “Candy, is something the matter?”

Only then Albert becomes aware that she might need something from Mr. Cartwright, but as she shakes her head, striding forward at a quicker pace, Albert is able to close their gap with a few long, decisive steps. Candy notes that he’s not wearing any coat today, but he looks gorgeous just the same, his hair and skin particularly sleek, and his striped tie in navy and silver perfectly matches his dark grey suit.

As the other men follow behind Albert, a cowboy appears out of the blue, his horse neighing. As soon as the cowboy spots Mr. Cartwright, the cowboy charges his horse towards the old man. The old man immediately speaks up, his face marked with consternation, “Candy, Mr. Ardlay and Mr. Villers, one of my cows is actually calving today… might be having difficulties now.”

When Albert looks highly concerned and Georges frowns in response, Mr. Cartwright turns to the girl in their midst, asking, “Is everything all right, Candy?”

When she nods with a reassuring smile, the old man responds, “Excuse me then.”

“No worries,” says Albert. The landowner mouths “good luck” to him, giving him a wink, before he heads towards the horse. The cowboy is about to dismount to help, but Albert marches forward and offers his hand. With support from both the cowboy and Albert, Mr. Cartwright is able to mount the horse in one agile movement. Then the landowner thanks the businessman and waves his free hand before the rider urges his horse forward.

The cowboy’s appearance has caused quite a commotion, so Candy is completely distracted. By the time Albert returns to her side, she’s forgotten about the question on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she hears Georges say, “Miss Candice, I believe Sir William wants to have a moment with you alone.”

Albert is not the least surprised that Georges is able to see through him. Then Georges turns to the heir, saying, “Sir William, I’ll be waiting in the car.”

“Thank you, Georges,” Albert utters with appreciation. “I won’t take long. No change of plan.”

After giving the young boss a nod of acknowledgement, Georges bids his goodbye to Candy and walks away. While Albert waits until Georges is out of earshot before speaking again, Candy raises her eyes and surreptitiously adores his features for just a second too long. When he catches her staring at him, she instantly lowers her gaze, her cheeks flushed like rose petals. As a result, not only her youthful complexion gives a bashful glow, it also has an additional touch of loveliness.

Albert reacts with a look of stupor, unknowingly fixing his eyes upon the girl, but within seconds his strict upbringing helps him to pull himself back together. He coughs to gather attention from her, and when she does, he asks, “Candy, have you got the invitation to the memo-“

Before he finishes his question, she responds with an exaggerating nod. When a dazzling smile spreads across his lips, she diverts her eyes to the ground again, unable to keep their eye contact. Her inexplicable diffidence bewilders him, and the memory of their previous interactions on the hill comes back to his head. The sun was setting back then, and she behaved like this too. Does anyone else think that Candy has changed? Or is it just me? Since when did she become so shy and awkward with people?

But he clears his throat and says in a matter-of-fact tone, “Georges and I are on a tight schedule today, Candy.”

She nods then looks up, and he asks sincerely, “But would you do me a favour?”

Despite being somewhat troubled by his formal tone, she manages to banter with him, “It depends.”

The mischievous grin on her face makes her even more adorable, but he averts his eyes and produces a letter from his pocket, saying, “I was going to mail this to you-“

She cuts him off impatiently, taking the letter from his hand, “What is it about?”

He shakes his head, feigning disapproval while clicking his tongue. “Be patient, Candy. You will know when you read my letter.”

As she pretends to pout and stares at somewhere far off, crossing her arms over her chest, he chuckles. Then he utters with a rueful frown, “I really have to go.”

When she responds by dropping her defensive posture, he asks, “But will I see you tomorrow?” At the same time she says, “I’ll give you my verbal reply tomorrow then.”

Because they spoke up simultaneously, neither could hear each other clearly, so she raises her eyes to his, her round eyes glittering questioningly. However, after they lock eyes for several seconds, a mutual understanding is established without a word. A slow smile works its way across his face and into his resplendent eyes, and the same happens to her. The next thing she knows, he leans forward and plants a peck on her forehead, which catches her off guard.

“See you soon, Candy.”

Lucky for her, Albert turns on his heel and hurries his way to join Georges. Otherwise, he would have noticed that her rosy cheeks have turned beet red. He smells different but amazing today, and his fragrance seems to have radiated from his neck. The last time he gave her a chaste kiss like this, which he said was an amulet, was after she had successfully escaped from Neal’s trap. Candy knew Albert meant to comfort her then, and indeed his amulet had miraculously helped her simmer down.

Little does she know that he was overwhelmed with profound feelings for her, which he couldn’t quite explain. He wants to blame it on his recent disturbing dreams, mixing his flashbacks of their times living together in a tiny apartment and his times in Kenya with Kim, but then he remembers he had a similar experience ten days ago when he was departing from the orphanage. Back then he was held back primarily because they got an audience.

So perhaps his dreams weren’t what had influenced him. Maybe his mind has been preoccupied by the fondest memories of Candy ever since Mr. Cartwright demanded an explanation of what had truly motivated Albert, so Albert was in the mood to show great affection towards Candy. He did refrain from pulling her into his arms and was able to give her a light, friendly kiss without touching her with his hands. Yet, he caught a whiff of her sweat mixed with soap, which seemed to be lingering in the air even after he pulled away. It did not bother him at all, but rather, he became even more nostalgic as the mental snapshots of them happily doing chores together resurfaced in his mind.

Only after Albert is gone that Candy realizes her question about Mr. Cartwright has totally slipped her mind. Oh well… I can always ask him later… possibly tomorrow?

The mere thought that she will see him again soon invigorates her, so she’s eager to carry out her original goal of coming to the ranch. She plans to read his letter after rescheduling the appointment for Miss Pony and Sister Lane.

=o=o=o=

Having finished all his tasks in the medical clinic, Albert began a slow saunter towards the cabin he had rented as his temporary lodging in Kenya and marveled at the magnificent scenery of the vast landscape. It was his favourite time of day when the afternoon was transitioning into the evening, the sun languidly sinking across the sky. Before long, something shiny caught his attention, and he saw a lady with lengthy blond tresses about two yards ahead of him. He sped up his pace to approach her, saying, “Hi, you’re Kimberly, right?”

When she turned around to face him, Poupe also recognized her, even though she looked much younger when not wearing her nurse uniform.

“Good memory,” she affirmed, a sweet smile gracing her lips. “Are you lost, Albert?” she teased him; he was the new guy with a pet skunk.

He laughed then answered, “No, but if I want to send a letter to London, is there something like a post office in this village?”

“Yes, there is,” Kimberly replied, reaching out to the skunk on Albert’s shoulder. Poupe jumped to her hands with no reluctance. “But it’s quite far away from the railway so I’m not sure how long it takes for them to deliver mail overseas.”

“Oh, is that right?” he responded, sounding thoughtful.

“Do you have your letter with you?” she asked, stroking Poupe’s fur. “I know Jag’s relatives work in the city.”

As always, she kindly offered her help, her hazel eyes sparkling and her skin luminous under the warm evening sun. He helplessly averted his eyes before he replied with a question, “You mean Jagdeep?”

“Yes, his relatives migrated from British India to construct the Uganda railway around a decade ago, Jag told me.”

“I see. In that case I can ask him myself. Thank you, Kimberly.”

“Don’t mention it. I didn’t really help.”

Then Albert whistled a tune. Poupe understood and leaped out of Kimberly’s hands back to his shoulder, and he said to her, “The main road forks here, so bye now. I’m heading this way.”

She later found out he lodged in a place not that far from hers. Since that day, they often ran into each other before or after work, and their friendship naturally grew. One early morning, she spotted him on her way to work, and she gave him a nudge as soon as she had caught up with him. He jumped with a start and complained after taking off his sunglasses, “Just when I thought I heard someone running towards me… So it was you?”

They burst out laughing. He must admit she looked attractive clad in an African sleeveless flowery dress and sandals. Soon after that, he thought out loud, “How old are you, Kim?”

She was taken aback, and she stopped in her tracks, asking him with a frown marring her features, “Did your mother ever teach you that it’s rude to ask a woman her age?”

Sadness flashed across his eyes, but he promptly concealed his emotions and apologized.

“Just kidding, Al!” she exclaimed. Then she questioned without hiding her concern, “What’s wrong? Are you offended?”

“Nothing,” he uttered with a chuckle, putting his sunglasses back on his face. She stared at him, unconvinced.

“Really,” he insisted, pasting on a smile. When she narrowed her eyes in a skeptical way, he tried to distract her by telling her about an orphan girl in London named Candice White, but Albert deliberately kept it a secret from Kim that Candy had been adopted.

“When I first saw you in the clinic, you actually reminded me of Candy.”

“No way!”

“Yes, it’s true. Anyway, I just started writing a letter to her. She’s taking a summer break from school, and I suppose she’s less than five years younger than you.”

“How do you know for sure?” she bantered, giggling.

He answered with a half-smile, “Based on my educated guess, you’re at least eighteen.”

She unexpectedly stopped walking, staring at him intently. As he looked at her with his eyebrows raised quizzically, she revealed, “I take that as a compliment, Al. I’m actually turning twenty this year.”

“Aha!” he uttered happily. Then they continued their jolly chats about his teenage friend in London. “I met Candy when she was but a child… near an orphanage called Pony’s Home.”

“Pony?” she echoed.

As he nodded, she asked, “A small horse?”

Then he explained it was the name of one of the persons in charge of the orphanage in the southern part of Michigan.

“Michigan? You were from Michigan too?”

He merely smiled at her; he neither confirmed nor denied his origin because he had indeed spent years in Lakewood as a boy.

In retrospect, telling Kim about Candy was Albert’s spontaneous attempt to steer the conversation away from himself. Interestingly, Kim had not forgotten about Candice White; since then, she had initiated the topic about Albert’s peculiar friendship with the orphan girl once in a while, always referring to her as Candice White. Albert willingly cooperated, answering her questions about Candy. Initially, he surmised Kim was intrigued to know about a girl who lightly resembled her; another possible reason was that he had written a letter to this girl but nobody else.

One evening after they began seeing each other, they were holding hands, meandering through the winding country road while admiring the sunset. Then Kim mentioned Candice White again, which was absurd to some extent, so Albert was upset and asked Kim directly, “Are you suspecting anything?”

As Kim lowered her head and kept her silence, Albert said with emphasis, pulling her into his arms, “Listen, Kim. I do care about Candy, but she’s only a friend.”

When Kim quietly nestled her head against his shoulder, he lifted up her chin gently so that he could see her face. He then asked, “You don’t believe me, do you?”

Her facial expression betrayed her. Troubled by the insecurities in her eyes, his heart constricted. Her instinct must have sensed that he had reservations about their relationship; truth be told, he still could not be utterly honest with her, especially about his real identity. However, at this moment, he let his emotions get the better of him and succumbed to his desires. He dipped his head and sealed her luscious lips with a tender kiss. She gasped but instantly responded to him with love, encouraging him by circling her arms tightly around his waist. As much as he found her desirable, he broke off their first kiss not long after that, partly because he didn’t want to scare her and partly because he had mixed feelings. On one hand, he was truly delighted to advance their relationship, but on the other hand, his conscience bothered him even more. Yet, she couldn’t have looked more alluring, her flushed face beaming with joy.

From that day on, Kim finally stopped asking him about Candice White. At any rate, Albert had not anticipated that the names “Candice White” and “Pony’s Home” would become the clues for Kim to reconnect with him one day. Time flies, and now Candy is nineteen herself.

“Sir, are you looking for me?”

A man’s voice jerks Albert back to the present, abruptly ending his recollection of how he got to befriend Kim before he fell for her.

When Jagdeep returns from his leisure walk in the late afternoon, he’s startled to see a blond-haired gentleman standing right outside the mountain lodge, apparently lost in deep thought. Jagdeep does not think he knows the visitor, but who else can be visiting him? Nonetheless, Jagdeep would rather not hazard a guess.

At the sight of Jagdeep, the pensive expression on the visitor’s face is replaced with a grinning one.

“There you are, Jagdeep!”

His voice did match Albert’s, and Jagdeep’s jaw drops. Kimberly only told him that Albert no longer kept his hair past his shoulders, but Jagdeep is unaware of Albert’s natural hair colour.

“Al… Albert?”

Albert reacts by animatedly opening his arms wide. Without hesitance, Jagdeep accepts Albert’s welcoming gesture by giving his old friend a bear hug. After all, they were close friends while working in the same medical clinic. Even after Albert moved to a different place to work, Jagdeep continued to keep in touch with him, visiting each other from time to time.

“So, how are you?” Albert asks as they let go of each other.

Jagdeep relates the improvements of his sleeping patterns to his friend and thanks Albert for his generosity from the bottom of his heart. Jagdeep is about two inches shorter, and he used to have an athletic build like Albert, but Albert can feel that his friend has lost a significant amount of weight. Yet, Jagdeep does not look that sick anymore, so relief unleashes within Albert. He encourages Jagdeep to keep up his daily exercise, rain or shine.

So Jagdeep thanks Albert again for providing the temporary shelter, and that is when Albert casually inquires, “So where’s Kim? Isn’t she with you?”

To his dismay, Jagdeep whirls around and takes a step backward, avoiding his blue eyes. Albert, filled with apprehension, asks without delay, “What’s the matter?”

But Jagdeep looks down without a reply, and Albert’s worried frown deepens, unable to tolerate the suspense any longer. He places a heavy hand on Jagdeep’s shoulder and demands, “Is Kim in trouble or what? Tell me!”

Not only the tone of his voice, but also the weight of his hand reflect the angst Albert is feeling right now. Jagdeep then spins sideways and casts him a fleeting glance before he finally speaks up, “I hope… I mean I think she’s fine. She’s not here but she’ll be back.”

Albert does not have the slightest idea that Kim has packed her belongings and left the morning after she came. Since Jagdeep sounds far from anxious, Albert presumes Kim is coming back anytime soon, so he eases up a little and removes his hand from Jagdeep. A strained smile then erases the creases between his brows.

“I’m terribly sorry for my outburst, Jagdeep. She’s your fiancée after all.”

As Albert rakes his hair with his fingers to mask his embarrassment, Jagdeep opens his mouth for a long moment before words come out, “How much time do you have for me, Albert?”

The businessman checks his watch, saying, “Regrettably, I have less than an hour left.”

Then Albert explains that he is as busy as a worker bee, but he has specifically allocated an hour time slot for his friends from Kenya. It was bad timing unfortunately. When Albert reached the mountain lodge, the helper answered the door and said the male guest had gone for a walk.

“I’m supposed to attend a formal dinner with my relatives after this, so I need to go back to the villa to freshen up.”

The dinner is hosted by his aunt, who is scheduled to arrive with Archie’s parents in half an hour, approximately.

“Fair enough. Then let me show you something. Follow me.”

=o=o=o=

“Candy, please open your mouth slightly,” says Annie. When Candy obeys her like a little girl, Annie explains, “By doing this your eyes will relax, so this gives me more time between your blinks.”

Candy is sitting down on a chair in Miss Pony’s office, already dressed up, but Annie insists that her friend can use some cosmetics. “With gloomy weather like today, you’ll look too pale in dark clothes.”

Candy understands what Annie means; both Annie and Patty appear very stylish and overall more mature than usual, comparable to those Gothic beauties. Understandably, Patty has been very quiet and reserved ever since she stepped into the orphanage. While Annie focuses on applying makeup, Patty is busy taming and weaving Candy’s curly hair into a loose braid over her left shoulder.

Needless to say, Miss Pony and Sister Lane are thrilled to see Annie again, who has grown to be a graceful and charming lady. Also, they are more than pleased to meet Patricia and Annie’s boyfriend, Archibald, who urges the teachers to call him Archie. He’s such a handsome, gentle and chivalrous gentleman, not unlike his young uncle. In fact, Archie’s soft, shoulder-length hair reminds Miss Pony of another good-looking young man. Miss Pony has forgotten his name now but remembers he was Candy’s friend in London; he wanted to visit the place where Candy had spent her childhood, especially the hill she had fondly talked about repeatedly. That was the only time Miss Pony and Sister Lane had seen him, and Candy had not mentioned this friend from London ever again.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen area, when Archie is patiently waiting for the ladies to get ready, the teachers are unable to stop talking, like how they discovered Annie on the same day Candy arrived and how the girls grew up together like twins until the Brightons adopted Annie, and so on. Of course, Archie knows all these already, but he keeps smiling and nodding, sipping his cup of coffee while listening to Miss Pony and Sister Lane reminiscing. His manners are pleasing, and the teachers could not be happier for Annie.

When someone opens the office door at last, Archie quickly stands up, and he hears a scurry of footsteps. More than a handful of orphans, mostly girls and two young boys, are very curious to see what Candy is like wearing a fancy dress with a pair of polished leather shoes with heels.

The kids then gaze in awe at the three women in black, and Archie can hardly believe his eyes. Where is the tomboy, the one who is skilled in lassoing or climbing trees? It’s not like he’s never seen her well-dressed or with a chic hairdo, but even though Candy is a bit self-conscious, she looks absolutely stunning. The next thought that pops up in his head is his uncle’s foreseeable reaction. Feeling slightly amused, Archie has no more doubt that he’s truly over Candy. He then levels his eyes on the ladies and says to them after planting a light kiss on Annie’s cheek, “What an honour it is to escort three beautiful ladies today! Shall we get going now?”

So Candy turns to say goodbye to her teachers. Her voice jolts them out of their daze, and one swallows hard while the other blinks, bidding their goodbyes. The truth is, they perceive for the first time in their lives that their beloved child has matured and can appear like a real genteel lady, so proper and elegant. With tears welling in their eyes, they tell her there is no need to rush home in the evening. Candy replies with an understanding nod, secretly wrapping her fingers around her prince’s badge in her purse as though it would give her the strength she needs. She can’t wait to see Albert to tell him she’s read his letter but at the same time she dreads meeting with Great Aunt Elroy.

(to be continued…)

=o=o=o=

Writer’s note:

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you like it, despite its length. As always, if you find any mistakes or typos in this chapter, please kindly let me know. I truly appreciate your time. Many thanks to Amy Giz 🥰💞 for making GIFs out of some of my fanarts, and I’m showing two here. If you want to view the rest of them, please go to Facebook and find them using these hashtags: anohito, mspuddle, candyxalbert, albertycandy.