Page 59 of Beaches, Bagels & Babes
Bagel Bombs’! renovation came in two parts: demolition and reconstruction. Stripping back the stubbornly stuck, crusted layers with a combination of power tools and raw elbow grease was a process. There were decades of grime in unreachable places, and even a picture frame (filled with a photo of Bagel Bombs’! opening day) that was rusted to the wall. Candace was glad they opted to close during the messiest parts, considering some of the horrors they unearthed.
Closing the cafe, however, put them in a tight spot. Their window to complete a very long checklist was nail-bitingly narrow. It would have taken Candace and Daisy ages to do bythemselves. Thankfully, they were far from alone.
Demi swept in like a benevolent tornado with a cadre of cousins borrowed from the family restaurant. Despite bickering the whole time, they did the bulk of the demolition in a single afternoon.
Ted Cando stopped by while he was on boardwalk bike patrol. He let Candace borrow a spare crowd-obscuring privacy fence, which allowed them to contain their construction chaos. It was kind of him, especially since Daisy was rude once she found out he had been Candace’s date.
Even Rio and Dotty insisted on lending a hand, despite Daisy’s best efforts to give them the days off. In return, all everyone asked for was a discount going forward.
Candace was so grateful, her heart was ready to burst—along with other parts. Every bit of her felt like jelly. The hammering, lifting, bending, painting, and myriad of manual labor they undertook in such a short period was more brutal physically than anything she had ever done. The harsh fluorescent glare from the industrial work lamps was making her head hurt, and she’d ruined multiple outfits.
But it was so,sovery worth it.
Tomorrow morning, they would unveil the new Bagel Bombs! to the world. Candace had been posting online like a pro influencer, trying to drum up interest with sneak peeks and teasers. Their growing “BagelBabe” fans were metaphorically eating it up. Now, Candace just had to get them to literally stuff their faces.
It was late by the time they finished the most important tasks on Candace’s checklist. Or very early, depending on how you looked at it. Dotty was long gone, and Rio got a ride with one of Demi’s cousins after some sparks flew between them during the whirlwind of activity. It was Demi, Daisy, and Candace left, with all three of them running on fumes.
“Can-can,” Demi said around a yawn, “don’t you think it’s about time to wrap up?”
“Almost,” Candace promised. Their new special of the daysign was refusing to cooperate. “Would you hand me that level?”
She did, quipping, “That sign couldn’t be any straighter if it were a Sears catalog.”
“Are they even still in business?”
“Barely, but you sure are. Look at this place! You’re going to have a line all the way to the other side of the boardwalk onto that rusting pier.”
Demi threw an arm around Candace’s shoulders (closer to her back because of their drastic height difference). She spun them in a pan-around of the work they’d done. When she saw Daisy hovering by the new, solid oak backroom sliding barn-style door, she grabbed her, too. They did not seem to get along overly well—more than once, Candace caught Demi looking at Daisy with unusual scrutiny. But, for her sake, they seemed to have a truce.
Demi told them, “Wonderwood isn’t gonna know what hit ‘em.” She gave another squeeze, then released. “I, meanwhile, need to hit the hay. I’m bushed.”
Candace was about to tell Demi how grateful she felt. She had been agonizing how to thank her friend for going above and beyond. Of all the people who had come in and out of her life, Demi was the one person she knew she could count on. Before she could get the words out, though, Daisy beat her to it.
Arms crossed, looking adorably embarrassed, Daisy thanked Demi.
“Look… Back in high school, I avoided you because we ran in different crowds.” Both women side-eyed Candace, who had the grace not to huff. “As an adult, I could be kind of a jerk, ignoring you around town. You’ve never been anything but nice to me, though, and now you’ve done this. I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m grateful. Thanks, Demi.”
“You’re welcome. Just remember, you’re on the hook for catering my studio’s holiday brunch. And no skimping! My yogis eat like horses.”
“Heard,” Daisy promised. “Get home safe.”
“I will. Well…” Demi trailed off. Her smile turned thoughtful as her eyes bounced between Daisy and Candace. “Don’t stay up too late, crazy kids. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
Demi went to leave through the back. She paused to grab her pouch of a purse and let out an exclamation. “I almost forgot! Leo and Rex found this when they were moving that tetanus-trap file cabinet out of the office. Here.”
It was an old, unlabeled VHS tape. Daisy inspected it with a puzzled expression.
“Thanks.”
They said another round of goodbyes, and Demi left. Candace wrapped up the last few things that needed doing—she knew Morning Candace would be grumpy if Night Candace left her any messes. Daisy, however, continued to study the unexpected find.
“Do you know what it is?”
“No,” Daisy told her. There was something in that no, though, that sounded like she might.
“We should watch it! That old TV in the back has a player. I’ll go get it!”
“I don’t know,” Daisy wavered while Candace lugged the portable relic on the shiny stainless steel prep countertop.
