Her mother hugged her. “Alright, baby girl. I’ll call you when I get in to let you know I made it.”
Tears welled in Daisy’s eyes as she squeezed her mother. She hated to see her leave.
Adonis smiled from the doorway. “Now I see why you don’t want to go, baby girl,” he teased.
Daisy frowned at him.
Ms. Christine turned and blew Daisy a kiss. “You’ll be fine. Pray.”
“Yes, pray,” Adonis urged her.
“I will, Ma. Adonis, make sure you lock the door behind you. I’m going to lie down.”
Daisy scrubbed the olive paint from her hands in the kitchen sink. She’d been working alone for two days, fixing up the apartment. She had just finished Jay’s room. Her back ached from all the reaching and squatting. She didn’t care what the advertisements said, the extendable, automatic-fill paint-brushes weren’t any easier to use. She glanced out the tiny kitchen window to see that snow had begun to fall. The first snowfall of the year always made her feel warm inside, and she began humming her own tune as she danced from the sink to the stove. Turning on the flame, she snapped her fingers and did a little dip. She removed the kettle and filled it with water. “Do you remember the twenty-first night of September?” she sang. “Love was changing the mind of pretenders, while chasing the clouds away.” She stopped, realizing how silly she must look, but then she remembered that she was by herself. This is one of the perks of living alone. Daisy began singing again.
Until the intercom buzzed.
She answered, but didn’t receive a response.
“Must’ve had the wrong apartment.” She went back to the kitchen.
The doorbell rang.
What the hell? Who got into the building without me buzzing them in? “Must be Adonis,” she said out loud, going back to the door. Ma must have taught him how to slip in.
“How’d you get in?” she asked as she opened the door.
Calvin Harris stood before her.
“Damn. How did you find me?”
Calvin smiled halfheartedly. “I’m a detective. It’s what I do for a living.”
“Well, detect this.” She swung the door closed, but Calvin stopped it with his foot.
“That’s very juvenile, Daisy.”
“And just popping up at someone’s house without being invited is…what? Being a respectable adult?” She sighed. “Just come in. I don’t need my neighbors in my business.” She walked into the kitchen to turn off the kettle, which had begun to whistle. Just when she was starting to have fun, the devil showed up. His horns must be in his pocket.
She bumped into him as she turned to leave the kitchen. “Damn. I invited you to come in, not get on top of me. Give me three feet.”
Daisy had no idea why he was there, but it couldn’t be good. Except for the few hot months that they’d shared in college, nothing had ever been pleasant between them. “Have a seat.” She gestured to the sofa and waited for Calvin to sit down. “Well?” she asked impatiently when he did.
“I came here to talk to you about Lalani.”
“Lani,” Daisy corrected. “She prefers to be called Lani.”
“Okay, Lani.”
The intercom buzzed.
No one calls first anymore? She went to answer it. “Who is it?”
“Mrs. Tompkins, the social worker from the hospital.”
Daisy buzzed her in, then hurried over to Calvin, worried. “Sorry, you have to go. Come back in an hour.”
“Not until we talk about Lani. I flew three thousand miles to have this conversation, and I’m not leaving until we do.”
“Please, Calvin. You don’t know what this—” The doorbell rang, interrupting her. “Shit! Okay, Calvin. You win. But please don’t say anything. Promise me that, and I’ll explain later. We’re related. Just go along with that.”
Daisy straightened her clothes and smoothed her hair. As much as she hated Mrs. Tompkins, she knew that she had to be on point. With all the energy she could summon, she plastered a fake smile on her face and opened the door.
“Come in, Mrs. Tompkins.”
Mrs. Tompkins nodded politely, stepped inside, and slowly looked around the apartment. “Hello, Daisy.”
“Ms. Parker,” Daisy corrected. If she couldn’t address Mrs. Tompkins by her first name, then neither could Mrs. Tompkins call her by hers. “How may I help you?”
“Do you mind if we sit and talk? It’s about Jay.”
“Follow me,” Daisy said, turning toward the living room. She looked at her watch and reminded herself to keep doing so. If she thinks I have somewhere to go, maybe she’ll go back to the hole she crawled out of. Calvin too for that matter. Hell has to have noticed by now that its two biggest demons are missing.
“Mrs. Tompkins, this is—”
“Detective Harris.” Calvin rose from his seat to shake Mrs. Tompkins’s hand, then settled himself back down.
Stupid asshole. Now he’s going to have this nosy heifer acting even nosier, if that’s possible. “He’s my cousin, visiting from out of town,” Daisy added quickly.
Mrs. Tompkins sat down. “Well, Daisy, I’ll get right to the point. That is, if you don’t mind me speaking in front of your cousin.”
“Oh, no, Daisy doesn’t mind. We’re a close family,” Calvin interjected.
Daisy had to will herself not to roll her eyes and Calvin out of his seat.
“Daisy, I’m no longer handling your case. But I managed to find out quite a bit while I was working on it. And I came here to apologize.”
“For what?” Daisy asked, taken aback.
Calvin sat up straighter.
“Well, first off, I know that Jay isn’t your son. I also know that he’s not your late boyfriend’s biological child, either. And for you to fight for him the way you are is wonderful. I’ve talked to a lot of people about you and Jay: the schools, the basketball coach, the doctors—”
“Mrs. Tompkins, Jay is my son. I’ve raised him almost single-handedly since he was in diapers. That’s what everyone fails to realize; I didn’t have to give birth to him to love him. If anyone questions who his mother is, they should just ask him.”
“I did,” Mrs. Tompkins said, nodding, “and he told me everything. How you struggled to take care of him, to keep a roof over his head. How you spent almost all of your money on his sneakers—”
“He wouldn’t know all that. I’ve always protected him from knowing too much. Some problems are only for adults to know.”
Mrs. Tompkins laughed. “You know, Daisy, for being such a good mother, you’re forgetting something. Kids hear more than we know. I believe they learn more through eavesdropping than they do in the schools.”
Daisy decided Mrs. Tompkins wasn’t so bad, after all, and shared the whole pitiful story of her and Jasper with her. Daisy glanced at Calvin, who’d turned into a human sponge. He was sucking up the whole conversation. She had almost forgotten that he was in the room. She didn’t have the time to save face, or be too private. Calvin and the whole world could know her business for all she cared, just as long as she got Jay back.
Mrs. Tompkins stood. “May I see Jay’s room?”
“Sure. It’s right back there.” Daisy pointed at the direction. “But let me ask you a question first. I’m sure you’ve found out information about other cases before. What was it that made you come here to talk to me, other than what you’ve told me?”
“Off the record”—Mrs. Tompkins laughed sadly—“I grew up in foster care. I was taken away from my mother and never returned. My case was a joke. My foster parents were a nightmare, and I had no real reason to be in the system. My mother’s ex-boyfriend called and lied about her, said that she’d abused me. My mother had never laid a hand on me—ever. Long story short, they took me away, and she took her life when she couldn’t get me back. I’ve been in therapy for years. A wonderful, caring psychiatrist we both happen to know asked me about your case, and it turned out to be one that I’d covered. Thank Camille.” Mrs. T
ompkins walked to Jay’s room.
Daisy closed her eyes and tried to regain her composure. She knew how Mrs. Tompkins’s mother must have felt. She remembered Camille’s words: she didn’t want Jay sitting on the other side of a therapist’s desk in twenty years.
“One more thing,” Mrs. Tompkins said, returning to the living room. “About the stepfather…is there anyone you can get to testify?”
Daisy nodded. “My friend…someone I know was told the story. Jasper’s brother confided in her before he died. He was the one who was abused.”
“Good. It’ll help us in court.”
“Us?”
“Yes. Camille and I will go, if you want us to. The more support you have, the better. I’m sorry I judged you so harshly. If you need me, you have my card. I’ll let myself out.”
Daisy sank down next to Calvin on the sofa and covered her face. She didn’t want him to see her crying anymore. Although Mrs. Tompkins’s offer to testify had eased her anxiety, her foster-care story echoed in Daisy’s mind. In her gut, she knew Jay was unhappy. She could feel his pain. She knew it must confuse him to be treated badly; he’d never known ill treatment before. Unable to take the anguish, Daisy squeezed her eyes shut and tried to remind herself that everything seemed to be looking up. But her heart had begun to race. Not another attack.
“Please,” she begged aloud. Calvin reached out and held her. She pressed her face into his chest and sobbed.
“It’s okay,” he soothed.
“No, it’s not. They have my son.”
Calvin eased her off his chest and held her at arm’s length. Tears were in his eyes, and a crack was in his voice as he spoke. “Why didn’t you keep our daughter? If you love that little boy as much as you seem to, why would you deny me the opportunity to experience love like that? Why didn’t you at least allow me to know Lani? To love her?”
Daisy hung her head. For the first time, she realized how wrong she’d been in keeping Calvin and Lani apart. She’d thought about introducing them before, had even toyed with the idea of telling Calvin. But she’d been too selfish and self-centered to do the right thing. She’d handled Lani’s birth all wrong. While it should have been celebrated, it had been condemned, a closeted secret.
“Because I was stupid, so selfish and stupid. I’m sorry, Calvin,” she said.
He stood up. “Me too, Daisy. I’m sorry that I got to see the human side of you. My plans would be so much easier to execute if I hadn’t seen you cry. I apologize for what I’m about to do, but I have to. I have to be a father to my daughter.”
Daisy stared at Calvin. Anything that happened to Lani now would be Daisy’s fault. “Please don’t,” she begged, grabbing his arm. “Don’t try to take my baby away. They’ve already taken one. I can’t lose them both.”
Calvin yanked himself from her grasp, and his expression turned cold. “What makes you believe that you’re entitled to two children, and I’m not good enough for one? You don’t deserve Lani. That woman said that you struggled for Jay, but you couldn’t even struggle for your own child because you were too weak. Hell, I don’t care what that social worker thinks. You’re not the good mother she believes you are.”
Daisy jumped to her feet. “Fuck you, Calvin! Fuck you, and everyone like you. You don’t know me. Never did. And you think I’m weak? Why, because I gave our daughter up? News flash, Calvin: I was never weak. A weak woman wouldn’t have been able to do what I did. I did what I thought was best for Lani, and it hurt like hell. I’m so tired of people like you trying to dictate my life, trying to tell me who and what I am. You’re nothing but vampires—you suck the life out of people and leave them for dead.” Daisy shook her head. “Not anymore. Never again. I did the right thing. I wasn’t so sure before, but now I know. I won’t allow you or anyone else to make me question myself, or my choices. I’m not a child. I’m a woman who knows right from wrong.”
Calvin stood his ground. “Still, you haven’t been any more of a parent than I have. But the difference is that you had a choice. You had the option to be her mother, and you didn’t choose it.” He walked away and slammed the door on his way out.
Daisy’s heart pounded against her chest as if it were trying to escape, and her hands trembled. She counted slowly to three and tried to control her breathing. While the argument with Calvin had made her feel stronger, it had also given her reason to worry. Now, there was no question about whether he was going after Lani.
The sudden rise in her heart rate had signaled the need for medication. She didn’t want to take it, but knew that she needed it. She couldn’t shake the anxiety. Daisy grabbed the phone and dialed the one person who could help her without talking her to death. “Jesus,” she whispered when he didn’t answer.
The doorbell rang again.
“Please, let it be Adonis,” she whispered, her disdain for people who popped up unexpectedly without calling forgotten.
She looked through the peephole, and there he stood. She forced a smile and opened the door.
“I’m so glad to see you.” She squeezed him and began to relax.
“What a nice welcome. I thought you’d be upset with me.”
“What’s a couple of days?” She grabbed his hand, pulled him inside, and led him into her bedroom. “You smell so good.” She put her nose to his neck, inhaling his scent just as Jacob had hers.
“What’s wrong?” Adonis lifted her chin and searched her face, then put his hand on her chest. “Your heart’s beating very fast. Are you having a panic attack?”
“Anxiety.”
“Have you taken your medicine?”
“I don’t want to. It makes me relax too much.”
“Wait here.” He sat her down on the bed and left. Daisy listened to his footsteps moving down the hardwood hallway. She knew that he’d do his best to persuade her to take the medicine. She loved that about him, that he cared about her well-being, not just her body. Warmth spread throughout her, and the back of her neck tingled. Anxiety and goose bumps at the same time. That’s a first.
Adonis returned and held out his hand. “Here. I cut it in fours. Take just a fourth first, and see if that helps.” He gave her a glass of water.
“I knew you’d do that.” Daisy laughed. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” He sat down beside her. “What happened to make you so upset?”
Daisy rested her head on his chest and told him the story. She began to cry when she related Mrs. Tompkins’s story. Adonis comforted her.
When her tears finally stopped, Adonis looked at his watch. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“To Jersey, to see Jay’s relatives. It’s not too late, and it won’t take us long to get there. We should’ve gone the day that you got the address. It seems to be the only way, and I’m tired of seeing you cry. You don’t have to do this alone, you know. I’ve sat back and watched you try to do it by yourself. But that’s what I’m here for…to help you.”
17
Adonis put the car in park. Silently, they appraised the neighborhood. Apartment buildings and houses that looked as if they should be condemned stood on one side of the street, housing projects on the other. Unfolding the paper with the address on it, Daisy breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that Jay’s relative didn’t live in the projects. She didn’t want to go there. Was afraid to. Still, she had a bad feeling in her gut. Debris littered the block, along with the loiterers and roughnecks she presumed were drug dealers.
“You ready?” Adonis asked.
“Are you kidding? No, I’m not.”
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid.” He laughed.
“Don’t tell me you’re not at least a little hesitant.”
“I’m from South Central L.A. These knuckleheads out here don’t intimidate me.”
“Billy Badass, hunh?”
“As long as I have Nina with me, I’m straight.”
“Nina?”
Adonis opened the glove compartment and pulle
d out a gun.
“A professional with a gun. I see.”
“How do you think I lived long enough to become a professional? You haven’t been out of L.A. that long, have you? Besides”—he tucked the gun in his pants—“it’s not a gun. It’s a chrome Desert Eagle, and I’m licensed.”
Daisy didn’t approve, but she had to admit that there was a good chance they’d need it. She reminded herself that her upbringing had been easier and more predictable than his. Her neighborhood had been safe, and his had been known for gang rivalry. She’d never walked in his shoes, and she didn’t have the right to judge him. She stole a glance at him and was thankful that he’d made it. He had beaten the odds. Adonis was definitely not a product of his environment, but had learned a thing or two from it.
Daisy got out of the car and softly closed the door. Although the street was busy, she felt as though she needed to sneak. She didn’t want to attract too much attention, as if her closing a car door would be the highlight of somebody’s day. She tucked her necklace into her shirt, stretched her hat over her earrings, and slipped off her rings and put them into her pocket. “This is crazy,” she mumbled, unable to recall the last time she’d had to be so cautious. She’d felt safer on the New York subways.
Adonis grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “It’s okay. I’m here.”
Daisy wrapped her arm tightly around his as they crossed the street. Tried to meld with him. Holding hands wasn’t enough. She needed to feel as close to him as possible.
Adonis’s face had gone blank and hard. She’d seen that look before, the look that made it perfectly clear he was not to be messed with. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She made a conscious effort to walk heel-toe, having once read that the highest percent of mugging victims walk on their toes. No way would she allow herself to look vulnerable. She couldn’t look as hard as Adonis, but she tried her best to imitate his confidence. Silently, she counted down the addresses until she came to the one she was searching for.
The building looked exactly the way she’d imagined it—ragged. Several of its windows were broken, and loose pieces of brick jutted out from a wall of lewd graffiti. The cement crumbled underfoot as she stepped onto the stoop. The intercom system was missing, and the front door was barely hanging on its hinges. “Yuck,” she said, and pulled her sleeve over her hand to keep from touching the handle.
Pushing Up Daisies Page 18