Who is Candy from The Cider House Rules and what is their importance?

Candy is Wally's girlfriend. She goes to St. Cloud's to have an abortion, which is how she and Wally meet Homer. Homer falls in love with Candy the moment he meets her, and while Wally is away at war, Candy becomes Homer's lover and once again becomes pregnant, so they go to live and work at St. Cloud's when Candy starts showing so that nobody will know. After Candy gives birth to their son, they tell people that they adopted the baby from St. Cloud's. When their son is 16, Candy and Homer tell everyone the truth—that he is their biological son.