Page 79 of Beaches, Bagels & Babes
Daisy knew she was not wrong; there was stillsomething between them. She dropped so many hints about her feelings, tried to force the truth out of Candace, but the woman pretended to be oblivious.
Then, when Daisy gave what she hoped wouldfinallyget her intentions across, Candace responded with more distance. She said that she was tired, but was that all it was? Had Daisy pushed her too hard?
It was difficult for Daisy to make sense of any of it. So, like always, she threw herself into work. With or without Candace, BagelBombs! was turning into the success Daisy’s parents wanted it to be. These last few weeks should have been a victory lap for her.
Even so, the news about Norman sent Daisy spiraling. Rio was away for a science coop, and Dotty was sweet but too batty herself to be helpful in stressful situations. As thoughts of guilt and traumatic memories clawed their way to the surface, Daisy needed a lifeline.
The one she reached for was Candace.
Forcing all that aside, Daisy told her, “I need you to take me to visit him.”
“What? But isn’t he at Mainside Hospital… Off-island?”
Candace whispered the last word like it was a curse. The concern in her gaze was too real.
Growling, Daisy shot back, “I know. But he doesn’t have any other family. I’m all he’s got, and he’s just been sitting there alone in that room, thinking no one cares. He came to visit me after my parents. He’sbeenthere for me this whole time. I need to do this.”
“Oh, Daisy…”
“Look, I don’t want to ask for help, but I don’t have a car. If you could… I mean, if it’s not too weird…”
With her eyes squeezed shut, her mind going a million miles a second, Daisy did not realize Candace got to her feet until she felt the woman in front of her. The hands that clasped hers were warm and already holding keys.
The truth of Daisy’s golf cart was that she did not do well in the confined space of cars. Windows up, doors shut and locked, she felt like a caged animal. The panic would grow and grow until she was ready to burst.
This time was no different.
The soft suede of Candace’s passenger seat filled Daisy’s fists as she held the sides in a death-grip. She tried to measure her breathing like she’d been taught, but each one came in faster. A raking ripple pulled down her spine as she listened to the tires scrape along the asphalt. She could sense Candace glance over at her from the driver’s seat, however, her vision stayed locked straight ahead.
Wonderwood’s main street passed by on either side, with the bridge on the horizon coming closer and closer.
“Daisy,” Candace asked, “do you want me to stop? I can pull over and we can—”
“No,” she forced out through gritted teeth. “Keep going.”
Reading Daisy’s mind, Candace rolled the windows down. It helped. The dual blast of cold AC air and hot August humidity shocked her senses. Even so, as their car joined the single-lane queue towards the bridge, she felt like invisible walls were closing in.
The gentle incline of the ascending road might as well have been a ninety degree angle. Any second, they would reach the point of no return. She was goingupupup; just a little more and she would fall back, straight down into the bay.Thoughts of her parents, horrific visions of their final moments, played on repeat in her mind’s eye.
Air came in, but Daisy could not hold it. Great, gulping gasps wracked her body. She clamped her eyes shut, unable to look any longer.
The car sped up. A series of horns made Daisy squeeze her eyes even tighter. Then, the car stopped.
Completely.
Not over the bridge, but at a pull-off right beforehand. It was a tiny beach, popular with crabbers like Marin and her fisher friends. With cars rushing past on the bridge overhead and some old, industrial buildings nearby, it was not the most picturesque spot. For Daisy, it was like making beautiful landfall during a torrential storm.
Relief warred with the adrenaline surging inside Daisy. She demanded, “What are you doing? I told you to keep going!”
“But you seemed–”
“I’m fine!”
“You and I have very different definitions of ‘fine.’ This isn’t a Band-Aid you can just tear off.”
Candace reached for Daisy’s hand over the center console. Daisy snatched it away.
“You’re not a fucking therapist.”
