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Her sisters pulled imaginary zippers across their lips just as their mother approached from behind.
“Don’t tell Dad what?” her mom asked.
“If we tell you, you’ll tell Dad,” Daisy said.
“If it’s that you and Noah have had out-of-wedlock sexual relations, I already know.”
Daisy and her sisters laughed. “How?”
“I’m your mother. Stuff like that doesn’t get past me often. There’s a vibe in the air around you two.”
“Nana’s filling her purse with sugar packets,” Kate mumbled. “Better put the kibosh on that.” She excused herself to take care of their sticky-fingered grandma.
They talked until the emcee called for everyone to find their seats. Daisy and Noah sat at a table closer to the stage than where her family was. She nervously picked at the salad and chicken entree.
“You gonna finish that?” Noah asked after cleaning his plate. At her head shake, he raised an eyebrow.
She swapped plates with him and watched as he finished off her dinner. Dessert was another story. When they served the blueberry cheesecake, she dug in with gusto and, after finishing hers, looked at Noah.
“Fair’s fair,” she said, eyeing his half-eaten cake.
He smiled and handed her his plate. “True.”
Her award was near the end of the ceremony, so she had plenty of time to wallow in nerves. Finally, they called her category. The main, and really only, qualifier was that you’d started your career less than a year ago. Topics of interest varied. One gal had a bass fishing channel, and Cho made videos tutoring math. The rest were a mixture of makeup and hair tutorials, nutrition and exercise videos, and general fashion and lifestyle advice. Daisy’s brand was the only one focused on travel.
The emcee called out the finalists, and a picture of each flashed on the big screen.
“May I have the envelope please?” he said to his leggy helpers.
“And the winner for Female Rookie of the Year goes to…” He opened the envelope, then paused to create tension.
Daisy’s heart pounded like a jackhammer. Noah grabbed her hand under the table and gave her an encouraging look. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Daisy Parker.”
The table of Parkers erupted immediately, screaming like they were on fire. A lip-splitting smile spread across Daisy’s face, and the spotlight swung around to where she sat. She stood, gave a small wave, and made her way to the stage.
Two more Barbie doll helpers guided her to the stairs and escorted her to the podium. Not all the winners got to give speeches, but this was one of the biggest awards, so Daisy was allotted a minute.
Standing in the spotlight, she heard Nana yell, “That’s my girl.” Followed by more cheers from her family. All at once, emotion overwhelmed her. Amazed that they had come to surprise and support her. And comforted that they loved her, no matter what. She ditched her preplanned comments and went with simple.
“Thank you,” she said, wiping a single tear. “Thank you to all those who voted for me. Thanks to all the other nominees for pushing me to do my best. You guys are all so talented. Thanks to my sponsors for making this financially possible. And a big thank you to my crazy, loud, totally awesome family. I love you nut balls.” She blew a kiss, grabbed her award, and returned to her seat.
Noah wore a proud grin and was clapping furiously. He was the most handsome man she’d ever met. But more than that, he was sweet and honorable. They’d started as polar opposites. With only stubbornness and advanced vertical prowess in common, they’d somehow built a friendship. For Daisy, it was more, but they could talk about that later.
“Sorry I didn’t thank you,” she said.
“You barely know me. Why would you?” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Well, you did save my life.”
He shrugged. “Just doing my job. This is your moment. Enjoy it.”
After the ceremony, Daisy accepted congratulations from what seemed like everyone in the room. Her family waited in line to give hugs and say goodbye.
Daisy noticed the flowers from the centerpiece sticking out of Nana’s purse. Clearly, she hadn’t completely licked the “borrowing things that weren’t hers” problem. If it was harmless stuff, Daisy wouldn’t say anything. And flowers that would be dead tomorrow seemed benign enough. As long as she didn’t have the silverware in there as well.
“We’re headed out early in the morning, honey,” her mother said. “Have a good time tonight.”
