I don’t take offense to it because she has no way of knowing. We don’t talk about Clover, so why would Daisy ever come up?
“No. Clover’s mom is named Daisy.”
She’s quiet. Too quiet, so I peel my eyes away from the tattoo to look at her. Is she uncomfortable with me talking about another woman? That wouldn’t make much sense, given she literally shared me with her friend earlier today.
I rest my arm on the edge of the tub. The tattoo for Daisy is still exposed to her, and I can see her glancing at it.
“Is that her birthdate under it?”
“No. It’s uhh…it’s the day she died.”
“Oh.”
If she wasn’t uncomfortable before, then she’s definitely uncomfortable now. But I wasn’t about to lie to her. If she ever looked at it closer, she’d realize that the year on the date is only a couple of years ago. She likely can’t see it that clearly from where she sits.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Clover never said…”
“It’s okay. I figured you didn’t know. Clover doesn’t really like talking about it too much.”
“Understandable.”
I put my hands back in the water and set them on her legs. “I don’t want you to feel bad for wanting to know more about me.”
She nods. “Can I ask a question?”
“Of course.”
“Were you guys ever married?”
“No. That’s why Clover has a different last name than I do. Daisy insisted she take hers instead of mine. I didn’t put up much of a fight. I think it’s kind of weird that children always take their dad’s name, especially when the moms tend to be the ones to stick around.”
“I never thought about you guys having different last names. That’s probably why I didn’t even think to make the connection between you two. And the different hair color.”
She seems to be getting more comfortablenow, but just to be safe, I pick up her leg, set it in front of me, and start rubbing her foot.
“Were you two together? Like living together or dating?”
“No. We lived separately, and our relationship was really complicated. We were sort of off and on for years. We were together when she got pregnant, but she didn’t want to be tied to me just because we had a baby together. I think it was more an act of rebellion rather than her actually not wanting to be with me. I know that sounds bad, but I truly believe that. She hated social norms.”
“I like her.” Blake smiles. “Were you always active in Clover’s life, or was it mostly after her mom died?”
“I’ve always spent a ton of time with Clover. Daisy and I had shared custody, and we co-parented really well together, so the three of us spent a lot of time as a family despite us not being together.”
“Clover’s very lucky.” She tenses immediately after she says that. “That was a dumb thing to say. Obviously, she’s not lucky that her mom died.”
“I know what you meant. She was super lucky to have parents who got along.”
She pulls her foot away from me and swaps it for the other one.
“Do you mind if I ask how she died?”
I shake my head. “She was in a car accident. A drunk driver hit her car.”
She sucks in a breath through her teeth. “Fuck. I’m sorry.”
“It was pretty awful.” Tears sting my eyes. I look up to the ceiling and blink to get rid of them before they can fall.
“I know.”
