Page 54 of Beaches, Bagels & Babes
Candace cocked her head. Once more, she caught the woman behind them fixated on their table. Almost imperceptibly, Ted threw a backward glance as if he were aware of her.
“Do you know that woman?”
“What? Who?”
Ted made a show of looking around, but Candace was not buying it. And was that blush on his cheeks?
“The one behind you,” Candace clarified. She met the woman’s now impossible to miss stare head on. “She’s been staring at us the entire—”
The woman sprang to her feet, her face a mask of nervousness. She started to make a break for the exit, but Ted caught her.
“Maddie, wait!”
The woman, Maddie, did stop. As she and Ted locked eyes, his hand drifted from her forearm to her hand.
It was hard to misinterpretthat.
“You’re together.”
Casting a shy, but undeniably proud smile, Ted corrected her. “Engaged, actually. As you can guess from this date, mydear dad doesn’t approve.”
Without missing a beat, Candace insisted that Maddie join their dinner. If they were going to be forced to play this game for their families, they would make them regret it.
Candace flagged down their waiter, saying, “Let’s turn these wine glasses into bottles and unpack some issues.”
Against all odds, Candace’s date turned out to be a pleasant affair. She did not even mind that she became the third wheel for a loving, committed couple. Maddie was understandably on guard. Yet, once she realized that Candace was not after her fiance, she eased up enough to talk about herself.
Maddie was lovely.
Tall and refined, she wore a long, yellow spaghetti-strap maxi dress that showcased her toned frame and looked stunning against her dark skin. As a physical therapist and personal trainer, bodily health was a strong passion of hers. She not only attended Demi’s yoga studio, but taught spin classes once in a blue moon.
With a bashful, weighted expression, Maddie said, “Demi’s a saint for putting up with me. I wasn’t my best self back in high school when we dated. It took me a while to sort out who I was.”
Hearing that snapped everything into place for Candace. While she had not recognized Maddie, Ted said they attended Holy Mother Prep together. They talked about shared memories, mutual acquaintances, and Maddie even mentioned sitting next to Candace in a class or two. But the cast of people who matched that description, and had alsodated her best friend, held only one possible solution.
Back then, Maddie had gone by a different name.
It was difficult to not feel furious. Not at Maddie and Ted, of course, but at the position his father put them in. Her transition was why he did not approve of them getting married. Why he joked about Candace ‘setting Ted straight.’ She did not know the specifics of why Ted and Maddie needed to go along with his father’s charade. If it was anything like her own complicated familial relationship, she could empathize.
Someday, Candace hoped Ted could be the change he planned.
The rest of the dinner went by like it was the most normal situation in the world. Just a sweet couple and their loveless lesbian friend. After the day she had, Candace needed the chance to let loose and the pair were happy to join. They paid the impressively sizable bill they managed to wrack up, left their waiter a ridiculous tip, and parted with the promise to go out again soon.
Candace was glad she did not have far to drive back to her room at the Comfort Clam. With a belly full of carby goodness and feeling a pleasant buzz from the wine, she was ready to pass out.
The figure she saw looming by her car woke her right back up.
It was nearly 11pm. They had been one of the last tables in the restaurant, meaning that the few remaining cars were of workers closing up for the night. There was no one else around.
The parking lot was not too well-lit, but headbeams from passing traffic gave her the occasional glimpse. Had Candace not recognized the man, she might have turned tail and run. As it was, taking in the sight of her uncle’s fixer, she slowed her approach. If he was keeping tabs on her, it could not mean anything good.
Vinny Lamarka cast Candace a lazy grin once she got within conversational distance. “Candy, Candy, Candy… This car of yours sure makes it easy to spot you around town. Did you have a nice date?”
“It was. Ted Cando and his fiancée are good together.”
The man gave her a regretful shake of his head.
“Your uncle is going to be disappointed. He would have preferred you two hit it off. It would look a lot better for him if you—”
