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“Because the first time I saw Forrest after his snowboarding trip, he told me about you,” Vivian revealed. “I’ve never seen my brother so torn up about a woman before. I didn’t realize he decided to listen to me, reach out to you, and tell you the truth about how he felt about you.”
There was a brief moment of silence before Daisy responded. “Your brother?”
“Yes, I’m Vivian,” my sister confirmed as she started moving toward us with her eyes on me. “I can’t believe he didn’t mention me to you.”
When Vivian came to a stop a few inches in front of us, I noticed the tension had eased in Daisy’s body.
She quickly shared, “Forrest did tell me about his sister, but I don’t think he ever told me your name. Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry. I was beginning to think the worst.”
Vivian’s eyes gave Daisy a once-over. “Yeah, I can see why. I’m sorry for just dropping by unannounced like this, but I was worried about him. My parents just informed me he wasn’t going to be coming to dinner this weekend, and I knew he was having a hard time coping without you, so I thought I’d try to come over and talk some sense into him.”
In the next instant, two sets of curious eyes looked expectantly at me.
“Why are you keeping Daisy hidden from us?” Vivian asked.
“Do you not want me to meet your family, Forrest?” Daisy questioned me.
I held my hands up in surrender. “There’s no need to be upset, ladies. I want nothing more than the people I love most in the world to meet each other, but things have been a little hectic, and I didn’t want to just spring this on Daisy.”
“Well, did you even ask Daisy about joining you for dinner at Mom and Dad’s?” Vivian asked me.
I didn’t get the chance to respond, because Daisy declared, “It’s because of my situation, isn’t it?”
Her voice sounded so small and hurt.
“Not at all. Or, well, not in the way you’re thinking,” I insisted.
“What situation? Wait, what happened to your neck? Are you okay?” Vivian was starting to panic, and the last thing I wanted was to have her feeling all sorts of horrible flashbacks to a terrible time in her own life.
Daisy nodded. “I was attacked by a man in my hometown that is in some serious trouble for a murder that I unknowingly got involved in. He attacked me as a means to warn me about my upcoming testimony. Either I do what he wants, or I won’t be so lucky next time. And though my life was spared, now they don’t know where he is.”
Vivian gasped, her eyes coming to mine and filling with tears. “You were going to keep her away because of me.”
I sighed. “I didn’t want either of you to have to go through this. I didn’t want Daisy to feel compelled to share what she’s dealing with, and I didn’t want you to have to be reminded of what you went through.”
“Oh, no. Did something bad happen to you, Vivian?”
Vivian and I brought our attention to Daisy, and when my sister could only manage to nod her head, I explained, “Vivian had some trouble a few years ago with an ex-boyfriend who thought he could intimidate her using his fists.”
“Oh my God. Are you okay?”
My sister glanced up at me and smiled before she returned her attention to Daisy. “I am now, thanks to Forrest.”
Silence fell over the room as two of the most important women in my life stood there, allowing it all to sink in.
Not knowing what they were thinking and wanting to ease the tension, I declared, “Breakfast. Why don’t we go out into the kitchen, so I can make everyone breakfast?”
“Oh, no. I should go,” Vivian said. “I didn’t mean to intrude on your morning.”
“Nonsense,” Daisy said, stepping forward and linking her arm through Vivian’s. “We’d love to have you join us this morning.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
As the girls walked away, leaving me standing there to watch them, I felt something swell in my chest. Just like that, Daisy welcomed Vivian for breakfast. And my sister had not a clue what Daisy got when they shared the horrid details of their respective situations while I made the both of them breakfast.
Maybe this morning hadn’t gone exactly like I had planned, but Vivian’s visit seemed to help lift Daisy’s spirits this morning, and for that, I was grateful.
