Page 10 of Beaches, Bagels & Babes

Candace

T he steady, whirring hum from the Comfort Clam’s decades-old air conditioner unit droned on through the night.

It might have kept Candace up if she were not already wide awake, staring at the popcorn ceiling.

After the humiliating meeting with her uncle and his cronies, Candace spent all the rest of that day and night working on her proposal to save Bagel Bombs! .

It was not just to spite her uncle. The more she researched and found online about enthusiasm for the Wonderwood institution, the more she truly believed in Bagel Bombs!

’s marketability. Franchising, food trucks, frozen supermarket meals…

if they played their cards right, the potential was limitless.

That is, Candace knew, if Bagel Bombs’! owner wanted them to be a ‘they.’

Daisy DeMarco did not trust Candace. She had every reason not to.

If she took Candace’s proposal and used it herself, she’d be justified.

Even so, Candace wanted to help. Needed to, really, but that was aside from the point.

Whether or not Daisy trusted Candace, she hoped the woman could see that she was willing to give it her all.

This time, she would not run away.

For a while, Candace texted back and forth with Demi. Even before yoga teaching came into her best friend’s life, she had always been a calm, exceptionally kind person. Demi was balanced, which often led to her giving great advice. Candace explained her plan, much to the woman’s surprise.

Demi: WOW

Bagel Bombs??

Like, Daisy DeMarco-you’ve-had-a-massive-crush-on her-forever-BB???

Candace: I do NOT. We hooked up once and never talked again.

Anyway, I don’t think she remembers that part

Demi: Yeah.

Sure she doesn’t lol

Did YOU forget?

Anyway, what about your uncle?

I thought you were getting ready to sell your soul to him

Candace: It turns out I don’t have one 3

New plan!

Demi: Like catching up with a certain bread-beauty….?

Candace: NO.

Get your head out of the gutter.

If Daisy accepts my proposal, we’re going to have to work together. We’ll be partners.

Demi: Uh-huh.

Partners ;)

But seriously. Are you sure this is a good idea?

When that last text came through, Candace tossed her phone onto the vacant pillow beside her. She was too exhausted to defend herself. Demi would be going to bed soon, most likely. She had an early vinyasa class to teach. Meanwhile, Candace had no idea what her next day would hold.

It probably was a bad idea. It was impulsive, risky, and, worst of all, sentimental . Business decisions made on feelings were the first step towards bankruptcy—that was what her uncle said.

Even so, when Candace’s phone buzzed sometime later at 1:57 AM with a text from an unknown number, she felt an electric jolt.

— I’m gonna need you to prove it

Candace swiped the phone up so fast that she ripped the charger from the wall along with it. Before she could type up a response, the three-dot typing indicator popped up. She waited, heart hammering like a bongo in her chest.

— If Candace Perry says she can mop, I’m gonna need to see it to believe it

Right away, Candace texted back.

Candace: Prepare to be amazed.

Candace waited an impossibly long time as the dots sputtered in and out with Daisy’s apparent deliberation. It was only after the text sent that she realized the woman might not have expected her to be awake. The dots continued their dance, so Candace sent what she hoped would be an icebreaker.

Candace: I’ve heard the best way to mop is mixing bleach with whatever you find under the sink Works every time!

When Daisy did not reply right away, Candace furiously clarified .

Candace: Just kidding. I don’t really think combining toxic chemicals is a good idea.

Daisy: I dunno. The floors at BB are a crime, so we might need to commit one to get them clean.

Candace sank back against her lumpy pillow, sighing with relief. A word stuck out to her.

Candace: Oh? ‘We?’

It took an eternity for Daisy to text back. Five minutes, actually. But that might as well have been an eternity in texting time.

Daisy: Bagel Bombs!. Dawn.

Candace waited, but it seemed the conversation was over. She ‘thumb-upped’ the text and forced herself not to press for further details. They would come soon enough. A quick check of her weather app showed that dawn was a few precious hours away.

Candace shut her eyes and attempted to calm her heart. She was not sure when, or why, it had started thundering in her chest. She only knew that the thought of seeing Daisy DeMarco, working with her in that tiny stall over the next several months, made it kick up even faster.

The metallic, gunpowder tang from the fireworks filled Candace’s nostrils. It burned, along with the eyes that watched them. So many eyes, filled with judgment, ridicule, and worse. She had to do something, say anything, to make it stop.

She could feel Daisy’s eyes on her, too. Their warm, rich amber with flecks of gold that calmed her like a summer afternoon.

But it was not summer. For now, Candace was still Candy. If she ever wanted to be anyone else, she had to pretend. The lie left her tongue like black ink, spilling out to mark their future paths…

When Candace left Wonderwood behind, packing away the bad memories and traumas with practiced compartmentalization, it included Daisy.

She rationalized what happened between them as high school drama and minimized her actions.

Even now, she could not fully acknowledge the gravity of what she had done.

But, deep down, Candace knew that it was monstrous.

Reckoning with this was not why Candace had come to Wonderwood. But, it might be what she needed. Could Candace find her path for the future while also making up for past mistakes? She had to try.

It was selfish. Vain. But Candace worried over whether or not Daisy hated her. Maybe, even if she did, saving Bagel Bombs! would be enough to change her mind.