Page 35 of Beaches, Bagels & Babes
“You said you were getting more beer.”
“I never said I was getting more. I said I was out.”
Daisy could not see Candace’s frown, but she could feel it.
“Are you leaving?”
Was that disappointment in her voice? Why did she follow Daisy?
“He’s an ass,” Candace blurted out when Daisy did not—could not—respond. “Dumb as a bunch of rocks. No, a single rock, and not even a cool one. Just a big, dumb boulder. I told him to get lost.”
“You didn’t have to do that. It wasn’t his fault he didn’t know.”
“Well, now he does, and he can go be stupid somewhere else. If you want to come back, no one will say a word.”
Daisy considered it. She was happy that Candace wanted her back. That she’d stood up for her. Still, she’d had enough and she said as much.
In a sugary sweet tone that made Daisy’s knees wobble, Candace pleaded, “But the fireworks are going to start soon.”
Somehow, Daisy managed to feign indifference. “I can see them from here.”
“I suppose that’s true. Alright, then. I’ll watch them here too.”
“What…?”
Candace huffed, but it was somehow a gentle sound. “I want to watch them from here now. Is that a problem?”
“N-no.”
Daisy sat at the foot of a dune that was at least triple her height, letting her back rest against the hard-packed sand, and Candace followed suit. An awkward silence settled between them while a million different thoughts flitted through Daisy’s racing mind.
What was this? Why did Candace want to stay with her? It was pity, right? That was what it had to be. But this didn’t feel like pity. There was something here, a charged current running between them. Like magnetism, if Daisy could just move even the slightest bit, she might—
“We could climb the dune to get a better view?”
Daisy’s daydream vanished. She automatically answered, “Can’t. It’s illegal.”
Silently, Daisy cursed her inner nature-nerd. However, she could not stop. In what could only be considered word-vomit, she explained the importance of sand dunes to the shore ecosystem, both for the creatures of the beach and for their function as a natural storm barrier for raised water levels. Thankfully, the interest in Candace’s response seemed genuine.
“Oh, wow! I had no idea how important they are. My unclecalls them wasted real estate, but he’s wrong about most things.”
“Really wrong. If a hurricane hit and these dunes weren’t here, Wonderwood would be in trouble. Er, sorry. I don’t mean to be boring.”
“It’s not! Boring, I mean. I’m sorry for being clueless. Very shoobie of me. You’ve lived here all your life, though. Right?”
“Yep. Wonderwood local here. I’m half sand, half bagel, all dork. And you’re not a shoobie. The Pier Princess is royalty around here.”
They both laughed. In Candace’s though, Daisy heard some discomfort.
“You don’t like that name,” Daisy thought aloud. “Or nicknames in general.”
“No. Not really, if I’m being honest. Growing up, my parents never called me anything other than my name. Now, people forget what it is half the time.”
Daisy didn’t know anything about Candace’s parents. She wanted to so badly, but she could not bring herself to ask. As if she felt the question regardless, Candace went on.
“My mom… she died when I was little. An aneurysm.”
“I’m sorry.”
