Pushing Up Daisies (15 page)

D
aisy turned onto her street and saw a moving truck parked in front of the house. Men dressed in dingy blue coveralls were locking the back of the truck.
Movers,
she realized, cringing. Marcus’s car was parked behind it.

Ming Li sped by on a hot-pink Ducati motorcycle, blowing her horn. “Oh, Lord,” Daisy said out loud.
One day that girl’s going to hurt herself, or someone else.
Daisy laughed as the moving men almost broke their necks lusting after Ming Li in her tight, fuchsia leather motorcycle suit.

Daisy eased the SUV into a parking spot, trying not to hit one of Ming Li’s admirers. She sighed and got out. Marcus was the last person she wanted to see. She’d overheard him and Gigi arguing the night before, and she didn’t want to get involved.

As she slammed the door shut, she overheard the movers talking to Marcus. “Damn, man! What I wouldn’t give to be you. It’s like the international house of whew-wee, pumpkin pie around here. You know what I really wanted to say, don’t ya, boy? I swear, you got ’em all, hunh?” The man laughed.

Daisy rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. That’s what I’m talking about,” the mover with the big mouth said, then looked at Daisy and yelled, “You a vicious one, ain’t ya, gal? Well, hurt me, bay-bee.”

Daisy flipped the man the bird, walked into the house, slammed the door, and locked it.
Marcus can stay outside with the rest of those hoodlums,
she thought as she heard catcalls from outside.

Gigi and Ming Li were inside. Daisy’s eyes roamed the almost empty living room. It looked as though everything that Gigi owned was gone—packed away in a truck. Daisy leaned against the wall and slid down until her butt hit the hardwood floor.
Even the rugs are gone.
She crossed her ankles, pulled her knees to her chest, and rested her chin on them, remembering how she’d once had to pack away her whole life into boxes too. She felt bad for Gigi, who’d spent years decorating the house. They’d both shopped together for weeks, choosing the right layouts and color schemes for their homes, and it had taken them months to locate just the right accessories.
Funny, it only takes the better part of a day to remove it all.

“I see you made it,” Gigi said. “Where’s Jay?”

“He went to the after-school program, and he’s going to practice after that.”

“Sounds like he’s in for a long day.”

“Yes, he’ll be exhausted. Are you okay?”

Gigi smiled. “Girl, I haven’t been happier.”

“What I don’t understand is why he’s taking so much.”

“I told him to remove all his things, even the gifts he’d bought me over the years.”

Ming Li laughed. “Damn, then it seems he furnished most of the house!”

Gigi shook her head. “No, that was the only size truck he could get at the last minute. It’s too big.”

Daisy touched Gigi’s cheek. “How’d you get that bruise? Did he hit you?”

Gigi gave her a look of disbelief. “Trust me, nobody hits me. Not while I have a kitchen full of knives and a gun—”

“A gun?”

“Licensed, of course. Ming Li and I both have one. We used to go to the range while you were at home playing June Cleaver.”

“Well, for your information, even June Cleaver knows how to shoot. Remember when Jasper and I first met, how we used to go to the Poconos? Well, we also went to the range. I’d forgotten all about that. It’s funny what you remember at times.”

“Oh, yeah,” Gigi snapped. “You were in Junior ROTC in high school, right?”

Ming Li laughed. “We’d better be careful, or someone might mistake us for tomboys. We bet on fights, shoot guns, I ride motorcycles—”

“Don’t forget about pool. We haven’t shot a good game of pool in a long time,” Gigi interjected.

“Well,” Daisy spoke up, “how about later this week?”

“What’s the ante?”

Gigi shrugged. “Whatever.”

“You know I don’t have any money to gamble,” Daisy huffed. “True,” Ming Li agreed. “So if you win, you get the money. If you lose, you have to clean one of our houses.”

“Bet,” Daisy agreed, remembering that she was a better shot than both Ming Li and Gigi. “Oh, Gigi. You never said what happened to your face.”

“After you went to work this morning, Marcus was becoming too belligerent for me, so I politely did what any self-respecting woman would do.”

“You called the cops?”

Ming Li laughed. “No, backup. First she called me at work, but I didn’t make it in time. Then she called her trusty stepbrother.”

“Brother,
” Gigi corrected. “You know we’ve never considered one another to be step-anything.”

“Well, it’s a good thing Adonis made it here first, because I had my piece at the shop—and a full clip,” Ming Li said, nodding.

Daisy shook her head. “See? You’re too dangerous for me.”

“She’s kidding,” Gigi said.

Ming Li shrugged. “Alright. If you say so.”

Gigi waved off the comment. “Anyway, Adonis came over and was cool about it. His normal laid-back self, until Marcus kept calling me a bitch and said ‘fuck you’to him one too many times. You know they’ve never cared for each other, not since Marcus and Jasper became best friends.”

“They fought?” Daisy asked.

“No, but I thought they were going to. Like a fool, I jumped between them. And got knocked out of the way when Adonis yoked Marcus up by the collar and threw his ass outside.”

“And then he closed the door behind him as if nothing happened,” Ming Li giggled. “I don’t know how the hell he did it, because Marcus is bigger.”

“He seems to be,” Gigi said. “Marcus is fatter, Adonis is stronger—muscular.”

“Well, whatever,” Ming Li went on. “All I know is that I moved out of the way as fast as I could. I don’t break up fights, I bet on them.” She tapped Daisy on the shoulder. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“Come see,” Gigi said, taking Daisy by the hand. She led her to the room that Daisy slept in and pushed open the door. Beautiful daisies filled the room.

“Ooh…they’re beautiful! Who did this?”

Gigi giggled. “Wait, there’s more.” She pulled an envelope from her pocket. “Here.”

Daisy took the envelope and pulled the accompanying card out of it. She smiled at the familiar verse embossed on the front from 1 Corinthians: “And now these three remain: Faith, Hope, and Love.”
I need all of these.
As she opened the card and read, her smile faded. It was from Adonis. She shook her head in disbelief, dropped it on the floor, and walked away.

“Daisy, sometimes I don’t understand you.”

“Well, Gigi, I don’t expect you to. How can you understand me, or what I’m going through, if you haven’t been in my position before? Marcus didn’t cheat on you.”

“Daisy, Adonis is only trying to be nice. He’s sorry for not telling you about Christy.”

“Yes, Ming Li, Adonis
is
sorry. Sorry that I found out. If I hadn’t, he wouldn’t have told me. And you don’t know everything that happened, how I felt, or how much I gave. So please don’t assume.”

“Oh, what happened? He fucked you? See, that’s the problem. You should’ve fucked him—”

Gigi elbowed Ming Li.

“I’m not talking about fuck as in ‘fuck him over.’ Nothing like that, Gigi. He’s cool with me, and he’s your brother. All men don’t necessarily have to be treated like dogs, just ninety-nine percent of them. My point is that you, Daisy, should’ve been the one to initiate the sex—did it for yourself, then you wouldn’t feel so bad.”

Daisy plopped down on the sofa. “Look at you two. What is this, Judge Daisy Day? You expect me to just forgive him because he said he was sorry and sent me flowers?”

“No, but you haven’t heard his side. How do you know Marcus wasn’t lying?”

“You know, Gigi’s right. Marcus didn’t want to see you with anyone but Jasper, definitely not with someone Jasper didn’t like. Face it, Daisy. This man wants you despite your problems. And quite frankly, you’ve got too many issues—”

“Everybody has issues.”

“Not like yours,” Ming Li pointed out. “I know you’ve been hurt and angry, and you’ve grieved. But you’ve got to stop thinking that everybody’s out to get you.”

“She’s right, Daisy. You’re mad.”

Daisy rolled her eyes. “Wouldn’t you be mad?”

“Yes, I can’t say that I wouldn’t be. But I wouldn’t have just walked away. I’d have to know if what Marcus said was fiction or fact. With the wall you’ve built around you, Adonis was screwed from the beginning.”

“I don’t want his flowers.”

“Honey, you’d better take what you can get. Don’t let your pride get in the way. You’re just scared. He didn’t have to do a thing for you. Be grateful that he thinks enough of you to apologize for something that may not even be true. He never said he was engaged, he said he was sorry that you were hurting. Did you read the card? He cares about you and Jay,” Ming Li pointed out.

“Read it. It’s beautiful.” Gigi held the card out.

“No, I don’t want to read it.” Daisy stared straight ahead. She needed time. She needed to heal and forgive herself first, for all that she’d allowed herself to become victim to, before she could forgive anyone else. She ran her fingers through her hair, sighing.
I shouldn’t have gotten involved with him. It was too soon.

“No?”

“It’s nice. I believe he’s sorry—he already said enough with flowers. But the only one I need to forgive right now is me.” Daisy sat up.

“Forgive yourself for what?”

“Nothing!” Ming Li interjected. “Daisy, don’t feel sorry for yourself. And get over Jasper. He’s dead and gone. Okay, he was wrong. He cheated. He lied. He did a lot of things he shouldn’t have. But, damn, stop it! It wasn’t your fault that you loved him as much as you did.”

“Okay, I get your point. But I’m not talking about Jasper. Gigi, you know what we talked about—Hawaii, remember? Let me just deal with this the best way I can.” Daisy grabbed her keys from the end table.

Gigi grabbed her and held on. “Look, I’m sorry you’re going through this. You’ve had a hell of a time these past few months. And you’re right…I don’t understand, because I’ve never been where you’re at. Nobody should be where you are. But I know you’ll be fine. You’re strong, you’re smart, you’re beautiful, and you’re worth loving. Remember that. That heart of yours would be a gift to anyone.”

“And don’t forget to demand a gift for yourself,” Ming Li added.

Daisy’s cell phone rang just as she was stepping into the bath. She looked at the caller ID, then powered off the phone.
Let her
leave a message.
Mrs. Tompkins, the hospital social worker, was calling again. Daisy had no idea why she kept bothering her, especially at nine in the morning. For days, she’d been leaving message after message, all vague, asking Daisy to return her call. She’d even phoned Gigi’s house a couple of times. God only knew how she’d gotten Gigi’s unlisted number.
I’ll return her call later,
Daisy decided as she sank into the warm, captivating bubbles. She closed her eyes, and the whole hectic week disappeared for a second. She’d worked overtime on a few new projects, and Mr. Wiles, being the man that he was, had told her to take the day off. She supposed he could see how tired she was. But she was thankful because he’d been commending her all along, and he’d called her “the best flower person” he’d ever hired. A cool wind swept into the room, interrupting her peace.

“Telephone, Daisy,” Gigi said.

Not Mrs. Tompkins again.
“Tell her I’ll call her back.”

Gigi smiled. “Talk about women’s intuition. It sure is that heifer on the phone. I’ll get rid of her. Relax. You look tired.”

“I am. Can you wake me at three so I can pick up Jay? I’m tired enough to sleep through the alarm.”

Gigi laughed. “I did this morning. I was supposed to be at work at eight and didn’t wake up until seven thirty. Good thing I had sick days left.”