Daisy: No need. I’m ready to do this… when are you free?
Jameson: Anytime.
Daisy: I’m sure your schedule is extremely busy. Just let me know.
Jameson: Seriously. Anytime, I’ll make it work.
Daisy typed fast before she lost her nerve.
Daisy: Saturday at 9:30. The park by my house.
Jameson: AM or PM?
Daisy rolled her eyes and he immediately followed up his previous text.
Jameson: Kidding. 9:30 AM. Will you send me the address?
Daisy:Yes.
Jameson: Okay, see you then.
Daisy: I don’t think we should tell her that you’re her father yet. We should ease her into it. Let her get to know you first before we drop the bomb.
He didn’t respond for a minute, which made her even more anxious.
Jameson: Whatever you think is best, darlin’.
Daisy halted her fingers over her phone and read the last word again. One word, and nine years collapsed in on her. She shut the conversation down after that.
No soft spots. Not anymore.
As Daisy braided her daughter’s hair, only ten minutes before they were due to arrive at the park, her worry began to really set in.
This was actually happening.
“Why are we going to the park so early?”
Amelia rubbed her hands over her tired eyes.
“It’s not that early, sweetie.”
“Can we go to the aquarium instead?”
Oh, how Daisy wished they could. Hide among tanks of fish, surrounded by noise and distractions. But she knew better. Being seen with Jameson in a crowded public space was not in their best interest, especially given the sensitivity of the meeting.
“Maybe when Matt gets back.”
“Matty!” Amelia perked up. “He’ll be home tomorrow.”
Daisy nodded and quietly asked, “Have you talked to him?”
Amelia shrugged. “Yeah, a little.”
She halted a beat before she went on, “Does he sound good?”
She gave her mother a weird look. “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him yourself?”
Daisy forced a smile through the mirror, embarrassed at herself. It was a pathetic move, asking her eight-year-old how her boyfriend was doing. But she hadn’t spoken to Matt since last weekend, not after everything she had confessed, and curiosity gnawed at her.
