“But you love me. So, give it to me, Double D.”
“That sounds particularly naughty.”
“Daisy…”
“Tell you what?”
“Don’t play coy. There’s clearly something on your mind. You barely spoke at dinner, and you’ve been on edge all night.”
“Maybe I didn’t speak because I couldn’t get a word in, and maybe I’m on edge because my fanatical best friend eats all my food and asks my mother graphic sex questions right in front of me.”
“Oh, they weren’t graphic.”
“Anything involving sex and parents is graphic to a child.”
“Okay, sorry. But seriously, cut the shit and tell me. My brain isn’t in the right frame to play games. My almost-ex has taken the cake on that.”
Daisy slipped into her nightshirt and fell onto the bed beside her. She wanted to tell Anna, in fact, she needed to, but she didn’t want to give it breath. If no one knew, it could remain lifeless, like it never happened. But Daisy knew she could never hide it from Anna. She was a sister, part of Daisy’s very being. What Daisy felt, Anna felt.
Staring at the ceiling, she blurted, “I saw him.”
Anna sat up, glaring. One expression: anger.
While Daisy had forgiven the past, her best friend had not. She hated him for what he had done, for the way a boy who claimed to love Daisy more than life itself could be so cruel.
“Like, in passing?”
“He came into the gallery on Friday.”
“Holy hell.”
“Yeah. Very unexpected.”
“Did you speak?”
“Briefly. I was in shock. He was there with some woman, probably his girlfriend.”
“The nerve. Then what?”
“We spoke. I ran. He came back a few days later, begged to talk. I said no. He begged again. I caved. We met today for a bit, and then I told him to have a nice life. End of.”
“Okay, okay. My mind is blown. I need more detail.”
So Daisy divulged. She told her everything, from the initial conversation in the gallery to the semi-heated talk at Betty’s. By the end, Anna was speechless, an abnormality.
“So you made no mention of—”
“No! Of course not, which is why I’m not telling anyone other than you. My mother would see this as some divine opportunity to tell him about her. So please don’t say a word.”
“You know I would never.”
“I know.”
“What was he like? All Hollywood now, I presume.”
“Actually, he seemed pretty low-key. I guess rehab and therapy will do that to a person.”
“Huh. Maybe that’s what I should do when this divorce is finally over. God knows I could use a little help.”
