Page 35 of Beaches, Bagels & Babes

Daisy

T he last time Daisy needed to dress up was Halloween two years earlier. Rio’s friend group threw a party, and Daisy ended up getting dragged along as their plus one.

The “costume” they provided was actually a very nice cosplay of a character from some survival horror video game.

Ada Wong, the semi-love interest of Rio’s costume character, was known as “the woman in the red dress.” Daisy rolled her eyes when she saw the satin-smooth, blazing crimson garment.

A qipao-wearing, zombie-killing femme fatale was a nerd fantasy, for sure.

However, she looked so good that she ended up keeping it.

Now, she was as grateful as she was mortified.

Walking around as a sexy secret agent at a nerdy party was one thing. At this kind of event? Daisy wanted to fling herself into the ocean. She’d forgone the costume’s gunbelt and grappling hook accessories, yet eyes followed her the moment she stepped through the doors.

Occasionally, conventions or craft fairs would set up in Wonderwood’s Music Pier.

The last time Daisy was inside the place was for Puffcon pastry convention—a fun afternoon filled with people doing their best Great British Bake Off recreations.

Dotty’s friend was running the ticket booth and had snagged them a pair.

Tonight, the vibe was markedly different. It felt, and looked, like a bougie vampire masquerade populated by members of the local golf club. Gaudy gold accessories and red velvet accents dominated the space.

Daisy spared no time locating one of several bars and got herself an Old Fashioned to sip. The pimply waiter tried to pawn off his quick-to-pour wine, but she recognized the label as a local dud.

Drink in hand, it did not take long for Daisy to find Candace.

She watched from afar as the woman chatted with Demi.

They were close. Closer than close, with a bond that made Daisy—and her increased desire to also be close to Candace—uneasy.

It was not (wholly) jealousy. Faced with someone who loved Candace, the pressure of understanding her own feelings nagged Daisy.

Feelings that were, at the moment, dominated by other thoughts.

It was hard to think objectively about Candace Perry when the woman looked like that.

The slacks that hugged her perfect ass… the boss-girl blazer…

Her tank top . When the dazzling woman left Demi for her uncle, she crossed the room right past Daisy without realizing it.

Lilac trailed in her wake.

Dazed, Daisy gravitated to Demi. The yogi eyed her like she was coming in half-way late to a class.

“Hello, Zee. Don’t you look nice.”

The word “nice” was a loaded one, but Daisy decided to take it as a compliment. She returned it, saying honestly, “That color suits you. ”

“Thank you.”

Daisy cringed at their mutual stiffness. She kicked back a sip of mulled, malty orange and tried to loosen up.

“This is one weird party, huh?”

“Have you ever been to one of these?”

“No,” Daisy answered. “Not exactly my scene. You?”

Demi let out a musical chuckle. “Every now and then. I believe in community engagement, but this is a bit much.”

“You mean bull?” Daisy commented with a snort, “Look at ‘em, just patting themselves on the backs for making money off people.”

“You’re a part of it, too. The whole cycle of owning a business, growing it, is a balance of give and take.

Although, yes. Most of the people in this room are on the ‘take’ side.

” As she played with the rim of her glass, Demi gave Daisy a measured survey.

“Candace tells me things are going well. That you’re having… fun.”

Daisy crossed her arms. In her periphery, she continued to observe Candace; she looked uncomfortable, speaking to a group of people who had an uncanny-valley, over-polished vibe. But, damn , Daisy could not stop herself from thinking again how beautiful the woman was.

She heard herself say, “What’s wrong with fun?”

“Nothing,” Demi admitted with an edge. “As long as it’s in the right spirit. Like I said, Candace—”

“Deserves better,” Daisy finished. Breaking her fixation to face Demi head-on, she added, “I know.”

“Do you? I love that woman with all my heart, and the thing I want most is for her to be happy.”

“Why don’t you date her, then?” Daisy regretted the question as soon as it came out. But she started digging and could not stop. “If you care about her so much, you make her happy.”

“I tried.”

Daisy had suspected it, and yet, the confirmation was no less of a gut-punch. Nodding, Demi took a satisfied sip of her wine. When she spoke again, her lips curved into a wistful smile.

“I was so happy when she agreed to go out with me. She wasn’t out-out, but I knew she had crushes… a crush… on a girl, so I thought I had a chance.”

Around the lump in her throat, Daisy asked, “What happened?”

“Well, I wasn’t her crush, for one. It was always ‘Demi, let's go get bagels,’ or ‘Demi, have you seen so-and-so around school lately? What's she like?’ ‘Demi, have you ever thought about cutting your hair short?’ It was so annoying, I ended things before we even kissed.”

Daisy reeled at the implication that was slowly dawning on her. Without ever knowing it, she had been the third point on a love triangle. She mumbled out, “That wasn’t cool of her.”

“No. It wasn’t. But we were dumb teenagers, so I forgave her. I could never stop loving her. It just changed. I’ve been with her through everything. E-ver-y-thing. You know, her uncle used to do daily inspections of her room? Her schedule, her internet search history… her periods .”

“She was a kid!” Daisy tamped down her anger as several nearby gala attendees looked up at her raised voice. Across the hall, Candace was gone. Demi shrugged, but it was more like a shiver.

“He’s sick. I don’t think he sees Candace as a person, just another thing for him to control.

When he can’t, he punishes her. Like after he found out about her crush on that other girl.

See, the man isn’t religious, but his image hinges on him appearing to be.

Candace being gay isn’t appealing to his circles. ”

“That fucking piece of shit. It’s her life!”

Looking up at Daisy, Demi said, “Until she was eighteen, legally, it was his. I think he misses that power over her. Being able to bend her to whatever he wanted. But he couldn’t break her. Do you… Maybe remember not seeing her in the summer of our junior to senior year?”

“I… yeah, I noticed.” To anyone else, Daisy might not have ad mitted it. “I always wondered.”

“Candace’s uncle sent her to a ‘leadership camp.’ For over a month, they drilled her on conservative values, etiquette, and being a subservient, traditional wife. It wasn’t a conversion camp, thank the Goddess, but I was so worried… You know what she asked me when she got home?”

Daisy shook her head. A resigned, happy smile curved Demi’s lips.

“She asked when we could go get bagels. Back then, I encouraged her to ask you to the beach party. I was so, so disappointed by what she did to you. But I understood. What about you, Daisy?”

“... Me?”

“You. Normally, I’d keep this kind of information to myself. You’re a part of it, though, so I feel like you deserve to have the whole picture. So, Ms Bagel, now that you know the real Candace Perry, what will you do?”

A surge of emotions crashed over Daisy. She wanted to find Candace and steal her away from these monstrous people. She wanted to forget the pain from their past and move on to their future. She wanted to—

The hall quieted as a mic tapping sounded from the stage. A man introduced Peter Perry, and then Perry himself took the mic.

“... Wonderwood, I’m thrilled to announce the expansion of my amazing fun pier, along with a very special partnership with my niece. It’s going to be a whole new boardwalk when we’re through with it!”

Daisy heard the words and filed them away under “what the fuck” for processing.

Her gaze shot from Candace to Peter Perry, watching his putridly self-satisfied grin as he dragged his niece to the dance floor.

Something clicked inside Daisy— this was what real hate felt like.

Handing her drink to Demi, she stalked after the pair.

The band was halfway through a rendition of Frank Sinatra’s My Way by the time Daisy caught up with Candace and her uncle.

It was a good thing they were in a public place because being within arm’s reach of the ugly excuse for a man made her blood boil.

In a viper-strike, Daisy latched a hand around Peter Perry’s suited arm.

“I’m cutting in.”

Roving Daisy’s body, the conman’s eyes shone with excitement. Rage roiled with disgust as she realized he did not recognize her and that he thought she was asking him to dance. He released his hold. Before he could blink, Daisy took Candace and swept her away.

But where…?

Daisy scanned the hall, looking for an exit that would not take her past Peter Perry or his circling cronies.

With one arm looped around Candace’s waist, the other raising their clasped hands high, Daisy spun them around an out-of-step conga line.

Candace’s panicked pleading reached her ears over the music.

“I swear, I didn’t know! Please, believe me. I don’t want anything to do with him or his—”

With a gentle squeeze, Daisy assured her, “Fuck him. I’m getting you out of here, princess. Left!”

They made a hard pivot to avoid dancing into Vinny Lamarka’s line of sight. In a far corner, Daisy caught sight of her favorite pimply bartender coming back inside from a service entrance. She led Candace through the pungent haze of a recently smoked joint, onto the music pier balcony.