AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What stupid parcel?” Daisy said.
“It’s from my dad,” Eleanor said. “I haven’t talked to the guy in two years, and out of the blue, he mails me a box.”
“What was in it?” Daisy said.
“I don’t know. I got the notice that I had a parcel at the post office almost six days ago. I kept forgetting to pick it up. I finally remembered today, and now… now I wish I hadn’t. I wish they’d sent it right back to him. Anyway, it’s in the trunk of my car. I’m not in the right headspace to deal with whatever my emotionally distant father sent me. I’ll look at it in a day or two.”
“Are you close to your mom?” Daisy said.
“I was. She died two years ago.”
“I’m so sorry,” Daisy said. She reached for Eleanor’s hand again, and Eleanor stared at the ring on Daisy’s finger.
“Hold the phone… is that an engagement ring?”
The brightness of Daisy’s smile could have powered the entire pub. “It is.”
“You and Cooper are engaged?”
“We are. He asked me to marry him on Saturday.”
“Holy shit,” Eleanor said. “That’s fast. You’ve known him, what? A few months?”
Daisy cleared her throat, and Eleanor said. “Shit. Sorry. There’s that lack of tact again. What I meant to say is – congratulations.”
Daisy laughed and admired the diamond in the dim light over their booth. “Thank you, Eleanor. I know it’s quick, but Cooper is my mate. I love him and can’t imagine being without him.”
“And he can’t be without you, or he’ll go insane,” Eleanor said.
Daisy nodded, and Eleanor said, “It’s so weird that if a shifter thinks you’re his mate, he’ll go insane if you don’t feel the same way.”
“It is kind of weird, but luckily, I love Cooper,” Daisy said.
Their food arrived, and Eleanor unfolded her napkin and placed it in her lap. “I’m happy for you, Daisy. Do you know when the wedding will be?”
“We haven’t made any decisions yet,” Daisy said. “Can I ask why you don’t talk to your dad?”
Eleanor ate some of her rice. “He and my mom divorced when I was eleven. I went to his apartment every other weekend for the next few years, but there was no real point to it. All my dad cares about, all he’s ever cared about is his job and his work.”
“What does he do for a living?” Daisy said.
“He’s a biochemist,” Eleanor said. “The guy is brilliant, a serious genius, but he has the emotional capacity of a fish. I don’t know why my mom ever married him. He barely acknowledged her existence or mine even when we all lived in the same house.”
“I’m sorry,” Daisy said.
Eleanor shrugged. “I’m over it. I had a phase in my teenage years where I tried everything I knew to get him to pay attention to me. I even got myself arrested, but it was pointless. His first love is science, and it’ll always be that way. When Mom was alive, she made me check in with him at least once a month. I’d send a text or email him, but after she died, we just stopped communicating. He came to Mom’s funeral, we had an awkward dinner the next night, and I haven’t talked to him since.”
“That’s terrible,” Daisy said.
“Nope, that’s just my dad. He doesn’t care about me and never has,” Eleanor said. “I’ve made my peace with it.”
“Have you?”
“Yes. It took some therapy, but I can’t make the guy love me, right? Just because we share DNA doesn’t mean he’s required to be a dad.”
“So, then why are you upset about the parcel?”
Eleanor opened her mouth, stared at Daisy, and then closed her mouth. “I don’t know. I just… it’s been two years since I’ve talked to him, six months since I’ve even thought of him, and now out of the blue, he mails me a parcel. On top of everything that happened with Wes, it’s … maybe a little too much?”
