Page 25 of Beaches, Bagels & Babes

A pained grimace was plastered on Candace’s face, and she held her battered arm close. Even so, she shook her head. “I’m fine. Are you okay? You’ve been spacing out the whole drive.”

Daisy wanted to respond with a snappy retort. A flippant quip to dispel the sudden, very palpable tension. But Candace was not clueless. She could read the situation even if Daisy did not say it.

Another, smaller part of Daisy also whispered that Candace needed to know how this would affect business.

She might even be able to help and, damn her, Daisy wanted it.

She was relieved to finally have someone else to share the burden of figuring things out.

The realization hit her with more force than the break slam.

Before Daisy could say any of that, a car horn behind them blared.

“ Rude ,” Candace shouted back. To Daisy, she asked, “Want me to go ruin their day?”

Daisy started driving. “How? You’ll send ‘em to a dungeon, princess?”

“The pier does have a holding cell for roughhousers and drunks. It’s nice and moldy.”

“Yeah? You’re cute when you’re scary, you know that?”

Almost too quiet to hear, Candace countered, “I’m always cute.”

Daisy couldn’t argue.

At the house, Daisy parked in the driveway. Before she could start unloading the groceries, Candace stopped her.

“Can we sit for a minute?”

Daisy grumbled but made no motion to leave. It was a fucking gorgeous day. The kind where you could take a big beach towel, grab an umbrella, and sleep outside lulled by the sounds of the sea. Daisy wished she could have a carefree day like that. Instead, her head swam with worries.

Candace’s voice cut through.

“We can figure out where to source new product. I kept the receipts from today so I can compare prices and see if there’s anywhere I could save us some cash. There have to be distributors we can work with to buy in bulk, and this friend of Marin’s—if they’re right across the bay, we can—”

“I can’t!”

The declaration shot out like kettle steam. Once Daisy started, she couldn’t stop.

“None of the local distributors will work with me anymore. They’re all either connected to your uncle, or I’ve already run through my credit.

I do my bookkeeping, I make sure to pay Rio and Dotty on time…

ish. But the truth is, I’m a shit business owner.

I lose track of things. I make promises, forget, and disappoint people.

“I don’t have enough space in my head for the details I need to keep track of. Bagel Bombs! is falling apart, and it’s taking everything I have to keep it together. The only reason I’ve managed to keep things running this long is thanks to people like Marin, like you , taking pity on me.

“All that, and I still don’t have a life! No hobbies. No friends. The idea I’d ever have time for a girlfriend is a joke. Not that anyone would ever put up with me. I can’t even leave the island because of that damn bri—”

Daisy clamped her mouth shut. Her stomach churned, and a cold sweat began to trickle down her back. She did not want to talk about this. She never did because she was so ashamed of her weakness.

It was a bridge. At the height of the summer, thousands of people crossed it every day. Other than a boat trip across the bay, it was the only way on and off the island. And Daisy, mired in her unresolved trauma, had not crossed it since her parents’ deaths.

Every time she came close, even the thought could send her spiraling. Like now.

Again, Candace’s voice brought Daisy back.

“Turn towards me and close your eyes.”

“What? Why?”

“Humor me. Please, Daisy.”

Daisy was not sure why, maybe because she liked the desperate tone of the other woman’s voice, but she listened.

Seconds passed, yet it might as well have been an eternity to her keyed-up self.

She flinched as Candace’s hands grasped both of hers.

With deliberate care, Candace placed one set of their combined hands over Daisy’s heart and one overtop her belly. Then, she spoke.

“Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth. In. Out. Fill yourself completely and release it all back.”

“C’mon,” Daisy complained, eyes open. “I don’t have time for this.”

“You don’t have time for breathing?”

Daisy scoffed. She wriggled, but Candace held fast. Eventually, she gave in and shut her eyes once more.

From there, Candace guided Daisy through her first-ever breathing exercise.

It was silly. And a little weird. But with each breath, as she scraped the back of her throat and the bottom of her lungs with life-giving air, she found herself calming down.

Candace’s words were an anchor. Not one that dragged her down, but a guiding line back to the surface.

Reassuring.

Focused.

Kind.

Candace’s voice was a mesmerizing mantra. It made Daisy feel like she could face her problems. She might not overcome them today, not tomorrow, but they would not control her forever. As long as she kept breathing.

When Candace finished, she told Daisy to go at her own pace. To take in the sounds, smells, and energy around them. Then, release. Seconds trickled by as they sat in contented silence.

After a time, Daisy cracked an eye open to observe Candace.

She was a far cry from the woman who ended up bawling in front of her cafe.

Dressed in Daisy’s clothes, her hair let loose from its usual ponytail or bun, she looked like a different person.

But, also, one who Daisy had known most of her life.

It was funny. Their reunion seemed like a lifetime ago but, in reality, not even a month had passed. Candace washed back on Wonderwood’s shore, and showed no sign of leaving. Not when she kept twining herself with Daisy.

Metaphorically and literally.

Overtop Daisy’s own hands, she became keenly aware of Candace’s. The fingers that almost threaded with hers, hovering over the valleys between them; stiff, like divers at the edge of a pool. With each breath Daisy took, her chest and abdomen expanding, their skin brushed ever so slightly.

It would be easy to turn the tables, an internal, devilish voice told Daisy. To take control and move those hands where she really wanted them to be. They were so close, if she just…

As Candace murmured Daisy’s name, shivers shook her core.

“Daisy, it’s going to be okay.”

“I-I know.”

“Your heart is beating so fast. I understand what it’s like to feel overwhelmed. I got so used to shoving those feelings down, and it made me the worst version of myself. If there’s anything else I can do to help you feel better, I’ll—”

Daisy pulled back. Not roughly or in a panic, but with gentle ease.

“I’m okay. Really.”

Worry filled Candace’s gaze as she opened her eyes and searched Daisy’s face. Whatever she saw seemed good enough, thankfully. A smile curved the corners of her lips. If she knew the direction Daisy’s thoughts had actually turned, she gave no indication.

Needing to fill the air with something other than buzzing tension, Daisy asked, “Where did you learn how to do that?”

Candace’s hesitant smile bloomed, and it made Daisy feel uneasy all over. It was gorgeous; she was gorgeous. But who could inspire her to make that kind of expression?

“Do you remember Demi Panopoulos?”

Daisy fought her grimace into a flat line.

How could she forget Candace’s old right-hand minion?

She’d heard gossip that they were still friends.

In fact, Daisy often saw the woman floating around town in her hippie skirts.

She might have been the one person to show some humanity after Daisy was outed.

Even so, when they ran into one another, Daisy did her best to turn the other direction.

She supposed she would have to say hello, now.

“I remember her. She owns Downwood Dog Yoga here in Wonderwood, right?”

“Yep! She’s the best person I know, hands down. She taught me not to keep things bottled up and how to manage when I feel out of control. I don’t know where I’d be without her.”

“Touching.”

“Demi’s also a fabulous designer. She put together the mock-ups for Bagel Bombs!’ remodel.”

That was news to Daisy. Her first inclination was to be mad that she was left out of the loop again. However, as Candace pulled out her phone and showed a series of designs to Daisy, her irritation vanished.

It was perfect.

There were multiple variations, but each mock-up centered on maintaining the retro ’90s vibe of the hole-in-the-wall cafe, while updating the layout and materials.

Fresh neon lime and green accents; a multi-leveled countertop with more (and functional) plush swivel stools; new, shiny signs and displays.

Also, it was as weird-looking as it was functional.

With curves and odd shapes, the design was reminiscent of the kooky character that fast-food joints had before corporate investors took over and went with the least offensive designs possible.

Walking along the boardwalk, it would be impossible to miss in the best way.

Candace was a bubbling brook of excitement while Daisy soaked in the digital drawings.

“I wanted to wait for the right time to show you. Demi emailed them over while we were cooking earlier, and, to be clear, nothing is even close to final. This is some spitballing she humored me with. We’ll meet with her to talk about any ideas you have, and if this isn’t what you want, we’ll scrap— ”

“I want it,” Daisy heard herself say. Less intensely, she added, “There are a couple things I might change for practical reasons, or restaurant code. But I… My parents would have loved it.”

Softly, Candace told her, “I’m glad.”

A beat passed, and she continued. “We’re in this together, all the way.

Not but because I pity you, because I believe in you.

Let me handle inventory logistics. It doesn’t mean you won’t have a say in it, since you’ll need to tell me what we need.

But I’ll get us the best bang for our bucks, and make any field trips we need over the bridge.

What grumpy distributor could say no to me? ”

For emphasis, Candace winked and tossed her hair over her shoulder with a flippant wave. Daisy rolled her eyes, but she could not stop the smirk that cocked her mouth.

“Alright. But if you over-order on peanut butter, you’re eating it.”

Candace let loose a groan and held her stomach. “Glaaaaaadly. I’m starving. Do you know what kind of self-control it took for me to not eat the inventory earlier?”

“Your loss. I had a few while we were packing them up.”

“You didn’t tell me I could do that! Here I am, wasting away!”

Daisy laughed. Not at Candace, but with her, and it felt impossibly good.

Right.

Then, of course, she was reminded of how wrong it was.

“Well, you need to eat,” Daisy said with a mock-scoff.

She paused to pick her words and to get over the sudden thickness of her tongue.

“It’ll be dinner time once we wrap up this last round of bombs.

If you’ve got nothing better to do, we can order takeout.

Anything that isn’t bagel-related. There’s a decent Vietnamese place that opened up last year. It’ll be my treat, and—”

“I’m sorry,” Candace cut Daisy off. “I have a date.”

“A… date?”

Daisy’s mind whirled.

Candace .

Date .

Why was that such a wild concept? There were customers who ordered from Bagel Bombs!

specifically for a chance to flirt with the woman.

It was a wonder that Candace was not already locked down by the first person who caught her eye.

But she had never mentioned a potential girlfriend or anyone she was interested in.

The protective, possessive surge that Daisy felt shocked her. Still, she forced an air of indifferent cool.

“I get it, no biggie. Have fun.”

Looking horrified, Candace blurted out, “Not a date-date! I swear, Bagel Bombs! comes before any romance in my life right now. It’s my uncle. He set the stupid thing up, and I’m only going because I still owe him for bailing me out when I first got to Wonderwood.”

Daisy sneered.

“The same uncle who objectifies you, keeps you down, and wants to destroy my business? That uncle?”

“You know I can’t say no.” Candace wilted. She broke from Daisy’s gaze, saying, “He wants a favor with the old police chief, and going on a date with the man’s son will get it.”

With air quotes, Daisy jibed, “And then you’ll be ‘paid off’?”

Candace shrugged.

“Maybe. When he asks for something, it’s best not to turn him down. If he finds out I’m working with you—”

“That vulture owns the pier across the goddamn boardwalk. Of course he’s going to find out you’re working at Bagel Bombs!. Or are you ashamed of it?”

“What? That’s not true at all! I don’t want him to retaliate before we’re ready for it. The longer I can make him think it’s business as usual, the better.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Daisy jibed. She could feel the caustic venom seeping into her words, but she could not stop it. “Wouldn’t want to piss off Uncle Moneybags, right? Gotta make sure to play both sides, even if you don’t bat for that team. I wonder how far this date will be expecting you to go? ”

With none of her usual charm or cheer, Candace reiterated, “It’s dinner. Just dinner. And I don’t appreciate the implication otherwise. Let’s go. There’s nothing productive happening here, and we need to unload those groceries before we finish the rest of the bombs.”

In clipped, efficient movements, Candace started to fill her arms with grocery bags. Daisy all but yanked them back.

“I’ve got it from here.”

“Daisy, please… Don’t be like this.”

Scoffing, she shot back, “No, you go get ready for your date. I don’t think he’d appreciate you showing up in something so trashy .”

Throwing the insecurity back in Candace’s face, the words hit their intended mark. Too well, perhaps. The woman hugged her arms to her chest while a deep, scarlet flush radiated over her fair skin. Daisy hoped for anger, maybe even a little embarrassment, to shame Candace.

The raw hurt was surprising.

By the time Daisy opened her mouth to walk the comment back, it was too late. She went for a swipe and landed a gut punch. Who would stick around for more?

Candace made a clean pivot on her heels, pavement clacking beneath them as she beelined for her glittery monstrosity. She peeled out from the quiet suburban street and was gone in seconds.

It took Daisy half as much time to miss her.