Pushing Up Daisies

by Jamise L. Dames

  Daisy nodded. “Yeah, I can imagine. They were so close. He doesn’t have any other friends?”

  “If he does, I don’t know anything about them. I’ve never heard him mention anyone.”

  Daisy picked up her cup. “But is that a bad thing, him wanting to be around you all the time? Because a long time ago, I would’ve given limbs to have Jasper want me so badly. I received the opposite.”

  Gigi held her head in her hands. “I know it sounds crazy, but it’s not. When I go left, he goes left. If I go to the bathroom, he knocks on the door, wanting to come in.”

  Daisy crinkled her nose. “Ill.”

  “Exactly. But on top of that, he’s jealous. I mean raging with jealousy. It’s ridiculous. When I’m freshening my lipstick to go to the store, he wants to know who I’m going to meet. Wants to know who I’m trying to look good for when I buy new makeup. And truth be told, I don’t even like to wear makeup.”

  “Then why do you wear it?”

  “Him! When we first started dating, we went to a wedding or the theater—somewhere that required me to get dolled up. He’d never seen me in makeup before, and he loved it. He literally kissed my feet all day. So I decided if it made him feel that good, that attracted to me, I’d wear it every day.”

  “Wow. I guess we’ve both made sacrifices to please men. But you know what I’ve learned? We have to make ourselves happy.”

  Gigi nodded. “Yes, we do.”

  Daisy got up and walked into the house.

  “Can you do me a favor and bring a blanket when you come back, please?”

  Daisy smiled. “I’ll do you a favor, but it won’t be the one you asked for, it’ll be one that you need.”

  “What?”

  “I’m going to throw your makeup away. As of today, we wear no more masks.”

  Gigi ran into the house and followed Daisy. They both laughed as they took turns making jump shots, throwing away the cosmetics. Giggling like schoolgirls, they fell over each other, slipping on loose face powder. They ignored the telephone when it rang. After all of Gigi’s cosmetics were in the trash, they hugged. The phone rang again.

  “It sure feels good, letting things go,” Gigi said as she went to answer it.

  “Yes, it does,” Daisy said, wiping the traces of color out of the sink. “I need a broom and a mop.”

  Gigi returned with the same sullen look on her face that she’d had before. “Bad news.”

  “What is it this time?”

  “Let’s go sit down.”

  “Tell me now. Whatever it is, I can handle it.”

  “That was my mom, calling to warn us that my aunt’s looking for you. Social Services tracked her down, and apparently she’s going to file for custody of Jay.”

  Daisy sank to the floor and covered her face with her hands. “Oh, God, I’m going to lose both my babies.”

  “Both of what babies?” Gigi asked, looking confused. “You mean one baby, right?”

  Daisy shook her head. “Two. A long time ago, I did a terrible thing. A really horrible thing.” She locked eyes with Gigi. “Do you remember when I took a year off from college junior year to help out my sister Brea during her pregnancy?”

  Gigi nodded. “When you went to Hawaii.”

  “Yes, Hawaii. That’s where her husband, Phillip, was stationed at the time. Well, that was a lie. I didn’t want to lie to you, but I had to. The truth is…” Tears started running down Daisy’s cheeks.

  Gigi patted her back. “It’s okay, Daisy.”

  “The truth is, I went away because I was pregnant, not Brea. I went to Hawaii because I didn’t want to shame my parents.”

  “What? Are you serious?”

  Daisy nodded.

  Gigi stood and wrapped her arms around Daisy. “I didn’t know. But what happened to the baby?”

  “Brea has my baby.”

  “Lani?”

  “Yes, Lalani is my daughter. That’s her real name. I gave her a Hawaiian name.”

  “How come you never told me, Daisy? As long as we’ve been friends…I always thought she was Brea’s. I’ve seen her a couple of times, when I went home to visit. How old is she now?”

  Daisy’s face was blank. “She’s eight. I never told you because, legally, she’s not mine. Never was.”

  “What do you mean, never was? You had her, right?”

  Daisy nodded. “Yes, I had her, but all the paperwork was under my sister’s name. Nowhere on the doctor’s medical records, or the hospital’s, does it state that Daisy Parker had a child. Every document says that a baby girl was born to Brea Parker-Adams.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. I filled out every form and signed Brea’s name.”

  “Why?”

  “I believed that my parents—no, everyone—thought that it’d be good for me. I was too young to have a baby. I wasn’t married. I was just about to finish college. You name it. I had every excuse but no reasons.”

  Gigi sighed. “Damn, Daisy.” She leaned on the windowsill. “Wow. So that’s why you wouldn’t have Jasper’s baby, hunh? Because of Lani?”

  “I couldn’t. How could I give birth to his child when I didn’t have my own? I mean, his child would’ve been mine too. You know what I mean.”

  Gigi cleared her throat. “I understand.”

  11

  Daisy 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 m
ost 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.

&nb
sp; 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.”

  Daisy crawled onto the bed like a cat and dropped her weight onto the floral sheets. The fluffy pillow folded around her face, kissing her cheeks, and the fan cooled her feet. She closed her eyes and started to drift off, but then Gigi walked into the room and nudged her.

  “Telephone.”

  “Who is it? Don’t tell me it’s that woman again,” Daisy muttered into the pillow.

  “Lani.”

  Daisy bolted up with wide eyes, fully alert as if she’d had one espresso too many. She held her breath as she put the phone to her ear. Her heart cha-cha’d rhythmically as if beating for the first time. It danced its way up to her throat, begging her to pour out her affections. But she didn’t know what to say. “Well, this is a surprise,” she finally managed.