Page 46 of Beaches, Bagels & Babes

Daisy

B y the time Daisy and Candace arrived at the boardwalk, Tina was almost in tears. She was eighteen years old, one of the babies of Demi’s big family. This kind of crisis, and so many people cross with her, was a new experience.

Daisy did her best to hide that she was one of those people and instead focused on solving the problem. Thankfully, a simple internet search told her what she needed to do. Ten minutes after they arrived, the oven was fixed and filled with the first batch of back-orders.

It was funny; Daisy felt the familiar, nagging urge to stay and help.

There were customers, and customers meant she had to work.

But, as her gaze shifted between the line that Tina went back to handling, and Candace’s patiently waiting face, she knew to leave it.

Her life had been on hold long enough, and it was time to order up .

But, what now?

Daisy planned for a romantic picnic, not a maintenance call. She stood on the corner of the boardwalk and the off-ramp that led to Wonderwood’s streets, hands in her blazer pockets, debating.

Candace, it seemed, had her own idea. She hooked an arm through one of Daisy’s and tugged her forward. The look on the woman’s face, dimples high with her grin, was infectious. And, worrisome, once Daisy realized where they were headed.

“Hey, we’re getting a little close to enemy territory. Aren’t you afraid someone will see?”

“Afraid? No, silly, that’s the idea. I want them to see.”

Winking back at Daisy, Candace pulled her even closer. She added, “Plus, we’re on a date at the boardwalk. I think one of us is legally obligated to win the other a stuffed animal.”

“Is that right? Well, fine. Take me to whichever of these games is the least rigged and I’ll give it a go.”

According to Candace, all of the boardwalk carnival games were rigged in some way or another.

The balloons for dart toss were underfilled, making them difficult to pierce with dulled metal tips, and the milk jug rims were slicked so that the waxed softballs would roll right out.

A round of water guns would have gotten them a prize, but they conceded it to their younger opponent.

The kid’s face was worth it, and so was watching Candace’s smile giving it away.

Then, that let Candace have the chance to show off her crane machine skills. As they walked past the pier arcade, Daisy saw a stuffed Horace the Horseshoe Crab that she had to have. Candace zoned in on one, lined up her claw, and grabbed the plushie in one try.

“Yes,” she said while tossing back her shining tresses, “I am that good.”

“Show off. Bet you can’t beat me at DanceDanceRevolution .”

Candace could, in fact, beat her. Grumbling, Daisy blamed the song choice and its 2000s hyper-electronic fast-paced beat. Or, her flip-flops .

“Yeah, because pumps are sooooo easy to jump around in.”

She stuck her tongue out and, naturally, Daisy could not let that challenge go. They played three more rounds before giving the machine up to the bemused-looking gamers waiting in the wings. With breathless giggles, hand in hand, they scurried from the metal dance platform to their next mischief.

Zombie shooting games, air hockey, and skee ball heated up their impromptu competition. Daisy even managed to win a game by distracting Candace with a kiss on her neck while she lined up her shot. It was a dirty tactic, but Daisy was done holding back. She was having too much fun.

Unfortunately, it was getting late. The arcade and pier at large were starting to close.

As they exited outside, the door locked behind them.

It was a slow mass exodus with people filing out from the half-lit amusements.

Nearby, Daisy watched the last lingering lines file into their seats on the Mouse Kart.

In a wistful tone, Candace said, “I guess that’s it, then. We should—”

Daisy grabbed Candace’s hand and dragged her to the coaster.

“One more thing!”

There was no one else left queuing for the ride. Still, they were breathless as they ran up the zig-zagging metal ramp to the ride attendant.

“Wristband,” the teen asked with a bored wave towards the barcode scanner.

“I don’t have a wristband,” Candace told him with a smile, “but my uncle owns the park.”

Dead-eyed, the boy blinked at her.

“Uh, Mr. Perry owns Perry’s Pier.”

“Yes. I’m Candace Perry, and I also work here. Peter Perry is my uncle. Can we get through?”

Again, he blinked. It was unclear if he did not believe her, or did not understand.

“Does Candy Perry ring any bells? ”

“Uhhhh….”

Huffing, Candace tore her pier worker’s badge from her wallet and scanned the barcode. “There. She’s with me.”

“Actually,” Daisy corrected, “I have a ticket.”

Her hands were steady as she drew the single ride ticket she had gotten from Peter Perry. She’d held onto it all this time in a forgotten fold of her wallet; a token kept out of habit long past sense. Even so, in this moment, its presence and release felt so right.

Flatly, the teen said, “It’s five tickets.”

“Oh, for the love of—!”

Candace ushered Daisy past the teen, who did not make the barest attempt to stop them. His fly-trap mouth had not closed the entire exchange.

As they squeezed into the compact, two-person mouse vehicle, Daisy cast a nervous glance back.

“He’s not the one driving, right?”

“It’s automatic,” Candace assured her.

It was a tight fit in the little car, especially for two tall women. Both of their knees butted up against the front metal panel, and the lap bar jabbed down onto their middles. But, wiggling, Daisy found that there was no way she was going to fall out—that was a comfort.

With a clankclankclank, the gears started up, and the mouse jerked forward. In sync, Daisy and Candace’s hands linked atop the plush, cheese-themed foam that covered the lap bar.

Halfway up the first and highest incline, it dawned on Daisy how trapped she was. She couldn’t get out. Familiar anxieties mounted with each upward inch. Daisy sucked in one breath after another of the heavy air, buffeted by more wind the higher they went.

It was only as Candace urged her to open her eyes that she realized she’d pinched them shut.

“You need to see Wonderwood like this,” she yelled over the machinery sounds. “Trust me. I’ve got you!”

In a squint, Daisy managed to peek out and see what it looked like at the top. Her eyes popped.

Wonderwood was her home and her prison. She’d been stuck here all her life and explored every inch of the marshy land. But she’d never seen it from this view.

It was eerily gorgeous. Even as lights began to dim, they were beacons in the thick, late-night haze. The far-off clips of carnival music and bursts of laughter were distantly dreamy.

Everything looked so tiny, too. The people leaving the pier, going about their lives… the boardwalk, where she could glimpse Bagel Bombs!, and the city beyond… all of it was small. For the first time in her life, Daisy felt herself rising above it.

Then, the coaster dropped.

Their mouse dipped, zipped, and whipped along the rickety track at a snappy pace.

Screams and delighted laughter belted out of them both.

Since the ride was designed for younger children, it had nothing too death-defying like loops or corkscrews.

Even so, it made Daisy’s heart pound with excitement.

As their car pulled back into the ride queue, Candace took one look at Daisy’s face and knew she wanted to go around again. She sweet-talked the attendant into indulging them, and he did not seem to care either way.

Two runs later, they stumbled from the exit in a tangle of limbs and laughter.

The boardwalk was a ghost town, with even Bagel Bombs!

shuttered up by Tina. However, as they left the pier, the women did not return to Candace’s car.

Daisy led them to the beach, where they ambled along the vacant shore.

They walked and walked, beyond the boardwalk to the beach outside one of Wonderwood’s premier resorts.

Peter Perry would make a fair penny if he managed to build his muck-mansion right on the boards.

With access right from people’s rooms to his pier, he would have his market cornered.

Like a mini, mouldy Disney World by the shore.

But Daisy did not care about any of that. Peter Perry could have his money and Wonderwood. The idea that he might have pulled one over on her parents nagged at her. Yet, none of it mattered if she had Candace. Even if he used his lofty power to make them live in a box, they would be richer.

“So,” Daisy asked, continuing her train of thought aloud, “what do you think you’ll get up to now?

With no Bagel Bombs!, there’s no reason for you to be held hostage over at the pier anymore.

You could try to start fresh with a job around here.

Or, maybe you could go out on your own. There are a lot of other struggling small businesses out there who need a money-minded savior. ”

Scrunched up to Daisy’s side to ward against the chill, Candace shrugged.

“You know, I’m not sure.”

“Really? I thought you’d be planning your binder colors.”

“Maybe the stickers, at least. Some motivational sayings and that kind of stuff. Demi gifted me a bunch of yoga-themed ones a while back that are super cute.”

Candace’s easy tone turned thoughtful, and her grip on Daisy’s arm tightened.

“It’s funny. When I was stuck here, I planned for years how to get out.

I thought if I could just do that, I would be happy.

I wasn’t, though. Not at all. I planned my life around some vague idea of success, using my uncle’s warped notion of what ‘making it’ looked like to measure my own. No wonder I was so miserable.”