Pushing Up Daisies (30 page)

“I don’t know. You, I can deal with, but Calvin…I don’t trust him.”

“He said he’d sign away his rights if necessary, if he has any.”

Brea looked thoughtful. “Let me think about it. I have to talk to Phillip before I make any decisions. He
is
her father, don’t forget.”

Daisy sat on the sofa pummeling the control with her fingers and yelled as she made her first touchdown. Jay looked at her as if she were crazy, but she didn’t care. He’d been beating her for hours, at every video game he owned. He’d mastered all of them. She looked at her control and wondered whatever happened to Atari.
Now, that was a game.

“Come on, Mom. Press the button. You’re holding up progress.”

“What difference does it make? You’re winning anyway.”

Jay huffed, and she tapped the back of his head playfully.

Jay laughed. “See, you’re a sore loser.”

The telephone rang.

Thank God.
She set the control down. “Play the computer. I’m tired.”

“Tired of losing,” she heard Jay giggle as she went to answer.

“Hello?”

“Daisy?” It was Mr. Wiles.

“Hey, Mr. Wiles. How are you?”

“Good. Good. Listen, the reason I’m calling is that I nominated you for that apprenticeship-training program I told you about, and I wondered if you’d be interested.”

“I don’t know. You never said what kind of program it was, where it’s located, or when it starts,” she said, laughing.

Mr. Wiles laughed too. “Guess I didn’t tell you much. It says here that it starts in July. It lasts for a year or so, depending on which program you sign up for. There are three in total. Two you already know about: horticultural things and landscaping. I know they sound the same, but as you know, they’re not.”

“Yes, no need to preach to the choir,” Daisy joked.

“Amen. The other is designing golf courses. Oh…and you can take it in Florida or California.”

“I don’t know, Mr. Wiles…”

“It’ll pay you more than I do. Think about it. It’s a great opportunity, and I’d hate to see you miss out on it.”

“Okay, I’ll let you know.”

“By Friday. They want an answer by Friday.”

Daisy hung up the phone, went back into the living room, and asked Jay to turn off the game. The more she thought about the opportunity, the more it appealed to her.

“Jay, how would you like to live near Grandma, Grandpa, and Lani?”

Jay turned to her and smiled. “That’d be great. Why? Are we moving to L.A.?”

Daisy shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. We’ll see. I’ll let you know.” She patted him on the back, kissed his cheek, and went into her bedroom. She lay down to think and closed her eyes.
What should I do?

The next thing she knew, Jay was shaking her by the shoulder. “Hey, Mom. Adonis is here.”

Daisy sat up. “What? What time is it?” She looked at her clock on the nightstand.

“It’s almost seven. You’ve been asleep for over two hours.”

“Tell him I’ll be out in a second.”

“Okay,” Jay said. “He brought pizza. You want me to fix your plate?”

Daisy smiled.
This boy is too polite. He’s going to make some woman very happy one day.
“No, thank you, sweetie.” She followed him out of the room, but detoured into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.

Someone knocked on the door.

“You hungry?” Adonis asked.

“No. Jay already asked me.”

“Can I come in?”

She heard the doorknob turn.

“If I say no, are you planning on coming in anyway?” She yanked the door open.

Adonis tumbled inside. “What did you do that for?” He kissed her on the cheek.

“Because you turned the knob like you were so sure I’d say yes.”

He closed the door behind him, gently lifted her chin, and kissed her deeply. “You say yes to everything else.”

“You do too.”

“How can I say no to you? Last time I checked, I loved you.”

Now is as good of a time as any.
“Well, since you can’t say no, I guess you’ll be moving back to California with me and Jay.”

Adonis’s hands dropped. “What?”

“What’s the matter?”

“When did you decide to move back home?”

Daisy shrugged. “Just now, I guess.”

“Why?”

“Well, Mr. Wiles offered me a great opportunity to get into this training program to learn how to design golf courses. It’ll pay me more than my current salary.”

Adonis laughed. “Are you serious?”

Daisy frowned. “Yes. And do you know how much people get paid to design golf courses?”

Adonis shook his head, a sober expression on his face. “No,” he said, and then his tone became emphatic. “I thought we had something, that we were together.”

“Adonis, I don’t see what the big deal is. Your job has you moving from place to place. You were going to have to go back to L.A. soon anyway.”

“But why are you concerned with the training program? You don’t need the money. You don’t ever have to work again if you invest it right.”

Daisy held up a finger. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. I may be set financially, but I do have to work. Besides, I have to set an example for Jay. I don’t want him to grow up thinking he doesn’t need to work because his dad left him a lot of money. That’s not how the real world works. Furthermore, I don’t want him to wind up with some lazy woman because he saw me sitting home all day.”

Adonis looked crestfallen. “You’re right. You have a point. I’ll have to think about it, though. When does the training program start?”

“July.”

“Give me some time.”

“Take all the time you need, Adonis. I love you, and I would love nothing more than for us to be together. But you must understand something: I once sacrificed my identity and what I wanted in life for love, and I lost myself in the process. It cost me too much, and I won’t do it again. I was dead, and I resurrected myself. If I stay here because you want me to, I’ll have done all that for nothing. If I throw all my hard work out the window, I might as well be pushing up daisies.”

Summer, a year later

D
aisy lay back on the beach lounger and adjusted her visor. She closed her eyes and relished the warmth of the California sunshine. She smiled and nodded her head to the music blaring from the radio.

“Hey, Mom, look!” Jay hollered.

Daisy sat up and pushed her sunglasses down on her nose. She smiled and waved at Jay to let him know that she was watching.

“All right, baby!” she cheered as he putted successfully.

“Look at me too, Momma Daisy!” Lani called as she planted her feet firmly apart on the course and took up her stance.

Daisy giggled. She loved the name that Lani had been calling her ever since she’d been christened as her godmother. “I’m watching you too, baby.” Then, when Lani’s attempt to hit the golf ball was unsuccessful, Daisy added, “Good try.”

“Looks like we have us two future PGA competitors,” Adonis said as he watched the kids.

“Maybe so.” Daisy rubbed his leg. “Did Gigi call the house?”

“Yes. She left a message and said she’d be here in a couple of weeks. I guess she had no trouble transferring her job.”

“That’s good. She and Ming Li will be moving here around the same time.”

“So, Ming Li’s salon out here is doing pretty well, then?”

Daisy nodded. “You know she’s always had a head for business. She knows what she’s doing. Plus, she has a fiancé to help her out. I still can’t believe it.”

Adonis laughed. “Lucian Anto-something, right?”

“Antonopoulos.”

“Looks like the single life is overrated.”

“Yeah, Gigi’s getting married in the fall. Can you believe that she and Thomas hit it off so quickly? And poor, deranged Marcus. He thought she had a man all along. She had Marcus out there acting like a fool. I heard that he’s okay now. Camille’s his therapist.”

Adonis chuckled. “Gigi and Ming Li will probably need to see a therapist next. For a while, I thought you needed to consult one. Remember how stressed you were?” Adonis paused and gazed into her eyes. “Would you do it all over again?”

“Yes,” she answered honestly, admiring her wedding band. “Planning a wedding is stressful, but it’s worth it. Everyone thinks that marriage changes things, and they’re right. It makes everything better.”

Adonis tackled her playfully and kissed her. “I make everything better.”

“We
make everything better.”

“I agree,” he whispered in her ear. “How do you think Jay’ll feel about me adopting him?”

Daisy’s eyes misted. “I guess we’ll have to ask him and see.”

A golf ball flew past their heads, followed by a chunk of grass.

“They’re going to tear up your course.”

“Well, someone has to break it in. Might as well be the loves of my life, after all the hard work I’ve put into it.”

Adonis propped himself up on his elbow and handed her a bottled water. “So do I get to break in something too? I
am
one of the loves of your life.”

“It depends.”

“On?”

“Whether or not you win the bet on the fight tonight.”