by Kallysten
Both of them breathing in harsh pants, they came apart and rolled onto their sides again, facing each other as they had earlier. Even with nothing more than candlelight to illuminate her, Sam could see Daisy’s face as though in plain daylight. Her cheeks were flushed with pleasure, her eyes shining. Her lips were plump, swollen from the kisses they had shared, and Sam couldn’t resist the need to touch them with a gentle fingertip. She pursed her lips and kissed his finger. They both smiled.
Neither of them said a word. They didn’t need to say anything. Everything that mattered had been shared already and reaffirmed with the joining of their bodies. All that was left was peace and joy.
* * * *
The Fourth of July could have been a twin to that New Year’s Eve a year and half earlier when everything had changed for Sam and Daisy. This time guests at the cottage were Daisy’s family rather than her friends: her parents, her siblings, their spouses, and their children. They had enjoyed a nice picnic dinner on the beach and were now returning to the cottage to watch the fireworks from the balcony.
“Let’s walk down the beach,” Sam proposed then, following his plan despite his sudden nervousness. “We can watch the fireworks from down here.”
“Sounds nice,” Daisy said with a smile.
“Auntie Daisy!” a child called behind them as they started to make their way along the shore. “I wanna come!”
Daisy and Sam both looked back, but to Sam’s relief the boy’s mother kept him from joining them. It was difficult enough to go through with this; the last thing Sam needed was a five-year-old as his audience.
“We’ll be back soon,” Daisy called out to him, and even from this distance the child’s pout was unmistakable.
They started to walk toward the bar of stones, the way they had on that first night. Their hands found each other like they always did, without the need for conscious thought. Sam was all too aware that his palm was a little damp, but he hoped Daisy wouldn’t notice.
“So, are you happy the final test is over?” Daisy asked after a little while, the smile all too obvious in her voice. “They didn’t manage to scare you yet, did they?”
Sam chuckled lightly and leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek. “It’d take a lot more to scare me off.”
He had met her family before. They had all been there at Helen’s wedding, although at the time he hadn’t been introduced to anyone other than Daisy. He had met them more formally since, as each couple in turn invited him and Daisy for lunch or dinner. He had realized he was being vetted by over-protective older brothers and parents, but he had never been as nervous as he was tonight. Daisy seemed to have picked up on it. She had merely misinterpreted why he was so jittery. He had thought she might remember, but sometimes it seemed that he recalled things that she didn’t from the visions they had shared, and sometimes the opposite was true.
They had almost reached the large rocks when the first red, white, and blue flower bloomed in the sky. They both froze at once, but while Daisy looked up, a smile already brightening her face, Sam only had eyes for her.
This was it. She was the one. He had waited for a long time to meet her, and finding her had filled him with a happiness he had never felt before in his life. He wanted to hold that happiness and nurture it until the end of his life. More than that, though, he wanted to make her as happy as she made him until the end of her life. He had known that it would come to this since the very first time he had kissed her—no, even before that—and he wasn’t even sure anymore why he had waited so long. He did know, however, that he couldn’t wait a minute more
“Daisy…”
Her fingers tightened over his. “Did you see that one? It was beautiful!”
“Not as beautiful as you.”
She flashed him a quick smile and looked at the sky again, but only for a second or two. Her face turned toward him again, her features now softer.
“Sam?” she said in a soft voice. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head as he slipped his fingers in his front shirt pocket. He had brushed his fingers against it all night, checking over and over that the ring was still there. He had almost regretted taking it out of the jewelry box, but Daisy would have undoubtedly noticed that. Now, he pulled the slim ring out and didn’t even look at it as he brought it to Daisy’s hand and began to slowly slip it on her finger.
“I love you,” he said, choking a little. “I love you so much sometimes I feel like I should make up a new word for it, because love isn’t enough. And nothing would make me happier than if you—”
He never got to finish. Just as he pushed the ring past the last knuckle, Daisy flung her arms around his neck and drew him close for a fiery kiss. He stumbled a little in the sand before finding his footing again and wrapping his arms tightly around her. He had to break the kiss after only a few seconds, needing to hear her say the word.
“Is that a yes?” he asked, grinning from ear to ear.
Daisy laughed, her face thrown up to the sky and the last of the fireworks above them. “Of course it’s a yes! What took you so long to ask?”
Sam didn’t answer, but he kissed her again.
A little while later, they started toward the cottage again, still hand in hand. Every few steps, Daisy’s hand rose toward the sky, taking Sam’s along with hers, and by the light of the moon and stars she looked at the ring gleaming on her finger. Every time she did, Sam drew her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers.
When they reached the balcony, all eyes turned to them. Daisy stilled and pressed against Sam’s side, while Sam cleared his throat, suddenly more nervous than he had been down on the beach.
“So…she said yes?” he offered as they all seemed to be waiting for an announcement from them. Her father must have told them he intended to propose.
A chorus of laughs greeted his words, punctuated by the pop of a champagne bottle being opened. Soon, glasses were being pressed into their hands while they were showered with congratulations.
“Of course she said yes,” Helen said as she came forward and hugged them both. “Was there any doubt?”
Daisy and Sam looked at each other and grinned before sharing a quick peck.
* * * *
A light breeze flowed through the gardens, and the ribbons attached to the chairs were fluttering gently, like the wings of large white butterflies. Sam stood by the altar, hands clasped in front of him and his best friend standing two feet behind him, and let his gaze sweep over the guests. His mother was already dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief, and his father patted her arm gently. Behind them, friends and family were murmuring quietly to each other as they all waited for the music to start, and the wedding to get on its way.
Sam wasn’t looking for anyone in particular, but he couldn’t help but feel a jolt every time he found yet another one of Daisy’s friends—his friends too, now—who had attended that New Year’s Eve party.
Alicia was there, seated with Ben, whom Sam had first met through a vision before meeting him in the flesh. Whenever he saw her, Sam couldn’t help but look at her wrist, and the bracelet behind which she hid her bite scars. He knew Daisy worried about Alicia, and so did he, even if he knew that eventually everything would be all right.
Two rows behind them, Rachel sat with Joan and Brad. Joan was still early in her pregnancy, but she was already glowing. Rachel had come alone, traveling back to town from across the country. She wasn’t wearing her choker yet. Jack sat a row behind them by himself. Lydia was on the other side of the aisle and closer to the front, sitting with Cathleen. Brett, Mike, and Peter were just behind them.
There were other people present with whom Sam had shared a vision, but at that moment, this handful of friends seemed most significant; after all, they had been there the night when Sam and Daisy had started to fall in love.
The first piano notes finally rose, and with them a
collective sigh from the audience. Guests shifted in their seats to look back. Helen, the matron of honor, came up the aisle with a bouquet of lilies in one hand, and her daughter’s fingers in the other. Samantha’s dress and the wreath of baby’s breath woven into her hair were just as white as the lilies. She had been walking for all of two weeks, and she tottered at her mother’s side, grinning widely and waving at the people sitting on either side of the aisle, so adorable that she drew quiet aww’s from everyone. Sam smiled down at her but soon looked back at Helen. Catching her eye, he mouthed a quiet, “Thank you” that she answered with a smile.
She and her husband had named their daughter after him, ostensibly because the vision he had offered Helen had guided her to Eric, but Sam was just as grateful to her. Had she not invited him to her wedding, he might never have met Daisy. Fate was a powerful force, but Sam had seen enough to realize that fate sometimes needed help, too.
When they reached the altar, Helen leaned down and picked up Samantha. She held her astride her hip, and Samantha clapped. At the same moment, the music changed, heralding the coming of the bride, and the audience stood to watch her.
Sam’s heart jumped to his throat, and the whole world ceased to exist. Only he and Daisy were left, only the two of them mattered, like on that beach when he had first taken her hands.
Her hair hung in loose curls around her face, held back by a circle of baby’s breath. She was wearing a flowing dress that moved lightly in the breeze, with embroidery along the bust line and down the sides. She was simply resplendent, and her eyes gleamed with a love Sam could only be proud to see directed at him.
As she came toward him and finally let go of her father’s arm to take Sam’s offered hand instead, Sam could only remember the many times when he had thought of giving up looking for the woman that would make him happy. It had seemed that he never would, and he had considered stopping his readings and keeping to himself. He was glad, oh, so very glad he hadn’t done so.
So, so glad he had finally found Daisy.
* * * *
They were still a block away, stopped at a red light, when Sam asked, “Close your eyes.”
Daisy threw him an amused look. “I’ve worked at this store for ten years,” she said. “Just because I’m the owner now doesn’t make it any different.”
As blasé as she tried to sound, he could hear the excitement in her voice. When her boss had first put the store on the market and Sam had suggested that they buy it, she had thought he was joking. Her incredulity had lingered even after they had signed the paperwork, and he wasn’t sure that it had dawned on her quite yet that from now on every decision regarding the store was up to her—up to them, technically, but he was happy to let her direct the show. Maybe the little surprise he had prepared for her would help her realize that it truly was her store.
“Humor me,” he asked with his best smile, and after a second, she closed her eyes.
The light turned green. Rather than continuing straight to the store, Sam took a left. Daisy shifted at his side, and when he glanced at her, he could see that she was frowning. She didn’t ask why he had turned, however. He took a right at the next intersection, then another right, and parked at the first free spot he found. The store was ahead of them across the street, and the new awning looked great: pale blue with navy letters spelling out the new name of the business.
“Can I open my eyes now?” Daisy asked with a long-suffering sigh.
“In a minute. Just wait.”
Sam hurried out of the car and came to the passenger side to open the door for Daisy. Telling her to keep her eyes closed, he helped her out of the car, linked their arms together, and led her down the street.
“Just a few more steps,” he assured her. “The sidewalk is smooth all the way. That’s it, there you go.”
He stopped right on the edge of the sidewalk. Sam suddenly felt as nervous as he had been the night he proposed. It was a strange feeling given that he already knew that she would love it.
“Go ahead,” he murmured close to her ear. “Open your eyes.”
He was watching her when she did. Her eyes widened in surprise, and her mouth fell open on a silent “Oh.”
“Like it?” Sam asked quietly.
In response, Daisy turned to him, embraced him, and smashed her mouth against his.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, laughing, when she pulled back.
She looked at the awning again, and her lips mouthed the name of the store.
“How did you know?” she asked. “I’ve wanted to have my own store and call it that for years, but I never told…”
Her voice trailed off, and she looked at him, an amused smile flitting across her lips. “Oh. Of course. You’ve seen it.”
Sam shrugged, grinning. “Secrets of the trade.”
He slipped an arm around her waist and drew her close as he looked at the store again. “Gifts from Destiny” was a great name.
* * * *
The screen was small, and the images on it too blurry for Sam to make much sense of them. He continued to squint at the shifting shades of gray, looking for something vaguely familiar to recognize.
“Here we go,” the doctor said, pointing at the screen, her finger tracing a rounded shape. “This is the head, here. Can you see it?”
Daisy’s fingers tightened over Sam’s and she exclaimed, “Yes! I see it!”
It took Sam a few seconds more before his mind finally found a pattern in the ultrasound image.
“Yeah,” he said quietly, choking up a little.
Nodding, the doctor proceeded to make some observations aloud. Sam didn’t really hear the individual words, and only processed the meaning of what she was saying. The baby was fine, developing as expected. She shifted her hold on the ultrasound transducer and showed them a different view.
“Have you decided if you want to know the sex?”
Sam looked at Daisy just as she turned to him, an eyebrow raised. He knew what she thought, but he had been going back and forth over the question. Part of him couldn’t wait to know, but another part understood Daisy’s point quite well.
“We’ll keep it a surprise,” he said, leaning down to press his lips to Daisy’s cheek. “One shouldn’t know too much about what’s to come.”
Daisy laughed.
* * * *
Sam’s words echoed through Daisy’s mind and drew her back to the present. She pulled her hand out of Sam’s.
One shouldn’t know too much.
He had said that.
And she was sure he had meant it. Every word. Sam Woods, who had made it his calling to show people their future, would some day believe there was such a thing as waiting for the future to become the present.
And before that…
She blinked, chasing away the image of a beaming, scruffy, and yet still attractive Sam until she could focus on the real Sam again, the one who was staring right back at her, his eyes wide and shocked. But that image had been real, too. Not here and now, but some day. In the future. And he knew it, too, she realized with a jolt.
“Oh, wow,” Sam breathed, at the same time as Daisy said, “You saw it?”
She could see confusion swirling in his eyes. He frowned briefly, then nodded.
“Well, yes,” he said slowly. “You know that’s how it works. I see everything I show people.” He shook his head and continued to stare at her as though he had never truly seen her before. “But it’s never been this way before,” he continued. “I mean, it’s always just one moment. Always in the future. Not…not flashes like this. And some of them already happened.”
“You’re right,” Daisy said, wondering whether she ought to explain or see if he would figure it out for himself. “It never did happen like this before.”
Sam scrubbed a hand through his hair. “And it’s always been with a kiss,�
�� he said as though he hadn’t heard her. “Never with just a touch. I wonder if it’s…”
His voice trailed off, and Daisy could tell the exact moment when he understood—or remembered. His eyes widened, and he looked down at her hand for a second. His mouth fell open, and he gaped at her, his hand frozen in his hair for a few seconds then slowly dropping back to his side.
“Daisy?” His voice shook when he said her name, and she couldn’t help but remember how it had also shaken when they had first made love. Or how it would when they did.
He continued to stare at her, his eyes growing wider still. She winced at what was to come.
“You did this,” he whispered, sounding in awe. “You’re like me!”
She shook her head in strong denial. “No, I’m not, I’m really not. This is totally different from what you do.”
“It’s the exact same thing!” Sam protested. “You show people their future, like I do.”
“No I don’t.”
He looked completely unconvinced, and she couldn’t really blame him. After all, she was denying what he had just experienced. She would have to explain, wouldn’t she?
“No one has ever seen it before,” she said before he could object again. “And it’s never been so clear… I mean…”
She took a deep breath and tried to collect her thoughts before she continued. She had never imagined she would need to put this into words for anyone. She had never dared hope anyone might believe her if she tried.
“Usually,” she started again slowly, “I get images. Impressions. Just enough to know if it’s important that I stay in someone’s life, if we’re going to be good friends or not, if I can help them, and if they can help me. But no one has ever seen what I saw.”