Page 34 of Beaches, Bagels & Babes
Daisy wondered what it was like. She loved this town, she really did. But she hated not having a choice.
“So,” one girl, Amanda, asked, “are you going to work for your uncle once you get your degree? Bet it’s a nice gig. Must be nice to be the Pier Princess.”
Candace scoffed. “As if. I don’t ever want to set foot on that pier again.”
“Boo!” Demi hooted, “You’re just afraid I’ll beat you at air hockey.”
“It’s not fair! Your reaction time isn’t human!”
“True. I’m the abomination produced by endless male cousins. At least I only heckle when I beat you. They write ‘loser’ on my forehead.”
One of the girls’ boyfriends asked, “Didn’t the pier just open a new roller coaster?”
Candace nodded. Because she was close, Daisy also caught her eyeroll. “There was some building code issue, but I hear your mom at the permit office greased things along.”
The kid missed the obvious disdain in Candace’s tone as he high-fived with the other thrill seekers beside him. Talk of particular rides prompted the group to share their favorite pier activities, from the teacups to the new ghost bayou attraction. Even Candace admitted to loving the carnival games, and she readily shared the tricks to beating them.
Daisy was lost in her thoughts, thinking how cute Candace’s button-nosed profile was, when she felt all eyes turn to her. “Um…”
Across their group’s baby bonfire, Demi looked comfortable under her boyfriend’s arm. She clarified, “Everyone else said their favorite thing about the pier. Don’t hold out on us!”
Make something up!
Daisy tried, but her mind went blank. She could not think of a single ride. When a painfully long time had passed, she managed to admit, “I don’t know what my favorite ride is. I’ve never been.”
The groups’ incredulity seared Daisy hotter than the flames in front of her. She took a swig of her drink even though it was long empty.
“Never…?” Candace’s small voice was equal parts wondrous and pity-filled. “But you’rerightacross the boardwalk.”
All Daisy could do was shrug.
“Wow,” one of the boys quipped, “your parents must not love you.”
A metaphorical lead balloon socked Daisy right in the gut. The rest of the group exchanged wide-eyed shock, apart from the oblivious boy who’d spoken.
“What?” He asked, and one of his friends leaned in to explain.
“Bro… the people from that freak bridge accident. That’s their kid.”
“Oh—shit, yo… Sorry. That’s messed up.”
Daisy could not look at him. She could not look at the others as they echoed his sympathy in mumbled discomfort. She knew that she had to do something, say the words from thegrief-script she’d found herself forced to repeat over and over. She felt trapped, suffocated despite the crisp May evening air. Without realizing it, she got to her feet.
“Um,” she droned out. “I’m out of beer.”
Pivoting, Daisy all but bolted from the group—from the party entirely. She earned more than a few dirty looks as she barreled through the crowd. Mumbled sorries were the best she could do.
It was only as she made it to the dune line, almost back to the streets and her solitude, that Daisy realized she was being followed. Hearing the sound of sand shuffling behind her, she whirled.
The other person came to an abrupt stop. So abruptly that they crashed into Daisy because of how close they’d been.
They were in a darkened corridor between the beach bonfires and the street lights of Wonderwood’s civilization. It might have been impossible to tell her pursuer’s identity. Even so, the airy gasp she let loose as Daisy steadied her, the scent of lilac and, most tellingly, the way Daisy’s heart started hammering at their skin contact, gave Candace away.
“Are you alright?”
Daisy tried to play it cool. She released Candace and stepped back.
“You’re the one who nearly face-planted a dune. I’m good.”
