Chapter Text
Daisy woke up on Saturday very excited about Nat’s upcoming party. But first she had to work. Melinda dropped her off at the kennel at eight o’clock after they did Tai Chi, and Phil made a good breakfast. Phil then picked her up after work, since Melinda was with Fitz and Jemma doing more wedding planning.
After work, Phil drove Daisy to the Woodfield Mall, where she picked up a gift she had ordered and bought a few more gifts as she shopped. Phil also did some shopping and afterward they got ice cream sundaes at an ice cream shop inside the mall.
Daisy dipped her spoon into the large glass bowl as Phil spoke to her.
“So are you all finished shopping now?”
“Yeah I think so. I have two packages coming to the house yet, but I am done.”
“I just need to get a gift exchange present yet. The teachers and other workers at the school do a gift exchange for the people who attend the school holiday party for employees. I need to stop at the bookstore before we leave.”
“Oh, you have a party to go to. Are they fun?”
“Yes. And this time I will have a date.”
Daisy grinned. “When is it?”
“It’s actually tonight.”
“Way to wait till the very last minute.”
“I know. I actually kind of forgot I had signed up to go.”
She laughed. “So where is it?”
“It’s downtown. We’ll drop you at Nat’s on the way.”
“Sounds good. I guess I can call when Nat’s party is over.”
“Melinda set a curfew, didn’t she?”
“Did she? I thought since this was a special event, I could stay till the others leave.”
“But Melinda didn’t say that did she? Specifically?”
Daisy shrugged as she shoved more ice cream in her mouth.
“Well, we can discuss it later. Before we drive you to Nat’s.”
They finished their ice cream and headed to the car. Daisy was quiet as she texted on her phone. Once they got home, Daisy took her shopping bags to her room and started to get ready for the party.
Melinda got home about twenty minutes later. She walked to the bedroom as she needed to get ready for the party that Phil had sprung on her just the night before. Apparently, he’d forgotten that he had purchased the tickets and said he had found them when he was cleaning out his briefcase. At first, she’d said no, she didn’t want to go, and then she had agreed after her had told her he had spent fifty dollars on each ticket, and they could just go for the food and leave early.
But now she had to find something to wear. She had heard the shower in the other bath shut off as she passed in the hallway and assumed it was Daisy getting ready for her party. She turned on the water and stepped into the shower, her mind racing about this party she’d agreed to. She didn’t know anyone except Jane and Don, Phil’s friends and even those two she did not know well. She also knew that everyone would be staring at her, being the former wife of Phil and the mother of his long-lost daughter. She wondered if there were still rumors floating around the teacher circles. Obviously there had to be.
She finished her shower and threw on a robe and started going through her closet. She heard a knock on her door and then a very loud sigh as someone plopped down on her bed. Turning she saw Daisy staring at her with solemn eyes.
“What?”
Daisy sighed dramatically again. She was dressed in black jeans and a very nice lavender colored sweater. “Can I borrow your black leather jacket?”
“Sure. It’s in the hall closet.”
“Thanks. “She sighed again.
“Okay, what’s wrong?”
“Dad thinks I need to be home by my regular curfew tonight.”
“Yes. I think so too.”
“But Mooooooooom..”
“Look Daisy. You are only fifteen. I think the curfews we have set are fine.”
“It’s for babies. I’m not a baby. I bet everyone else has at least a twelve-midnight curfew.”
“Do you even know that? Have you asked anyone? I know Robbie is allowed to be out until midnight with his junior license. But he is seventeen. What about your other friends?”
“Well Roy and Trip and Mike drive. And I think Ava does too. I’m sure they don’t have a eleven o’clock curfew. Why can’t you just let me stay until twelve tonight. It’s not like I’m out on the streets. I’ll be at Nat’s. Perfectly safe.”
“I don’t think so. You are getting to the party at five o’clock. You’ll have six hours to be with your friends. That’s plenty of time. We’ll pick you up at eleven instead of quarter to eleven. You’ll be with us then for the drive home.”
Daisy sat up. “You know, Robbie could take me home. We’ll leave at eleven- thirty so he can drop me off and still get home by twelve. That way you guys don’t have to worry about getting me and can stay out later if you want. I have a key to get in the house. I’m not a baby.”
“No Daisy.”
“We’ll pick you up at eleven.” Melinda waved her hand. “Nope. Don’t say a word. If you do – we will pick you up at ten-thirty instead.”
Daisy glared at her and stomped out of the room. Melinda heard the bedroom door slam.
Obviously, Phil did as well, as a moment later, her stuck his head in her half-opened door. “Everything okay?”
“I guess. Daisy is having teen hormone growing pains. She wanted me to change her curfew to midnight.”
“And?”
“I said we’d allow her to stay at Nat’s until eleven o’clock when we will pick her up. She was annoyed I didn’t give in to her demand.”
“So why are you smiling.”
“Because that’s how a perfectly normal teenage acts, Phil. One who isn’t afraid to be mad at her mom or have her mom mad at her. Or her dad. I have a feeling that with such a strong-willed stubborn daughter, we will endure many such discussions, angst, and over emotional tirades.”
“Oh, joy.”
Daisy was still pouting and not speaking when they got in the car. Melinda tried to keep her face neutral but found a small smile escaping as Daisy pouted and sighed on the car ride. She had settled on a more casual look, taking a cue from Daisy and was wearing a pair of tan jeans, with her brown boots and brown leather jacket and a white long sleeve top. She glanced at Phil and smiled. He looked good in his dark blue jean, and white button-down shirt. He was also wearing his brown leather jacket.
Melinda snuck a look back at Daisy who was making it a point to ignore her. Melinda smiled. Daisy looked great in her borrowed jacket and Melinda couldn’t wait to give Daisy her own on Christmas. It really was the only way to reclaim her own black leather jacket which Daisy seemed to wear everywhere these days.
They pulled into a long driveway and came upon an older house. It was a was a two-story stone house, what one might typically call a farmhouse. There were already a few cars in the driveway and Phil maneuvered so he could park making sure he wouldn’t be parked in. Melinda got out as did Daisy. Phil stayed in his seat.
Melinda walked with Daisy to the door. Before she rang the bell, Daisy turned to Melinda, “you didn’t have to walk me to the door. I’m not a baby.”
“I told you, I want to meet Nat’s mother and make sure that an adult will be hone the entire night.”
Daisy shook her head and rang the bell. After just a few seconds, the door opened and Nat and a women stood there.
“Hey Daisy. Hi Mrs. C.”
“Hello Nat.” Melinda smiled warmly at her and then at the woman. “Hi, you must be Melina. We talked on the phone. I’m Melinda.”
“Good to put a face to the voice. You find the place okay?”
“We did. I just wanted to make sure an adult was home.”
“Yes, of course. I will be here all night. Yelena is already at her friend’s house for a sleepover. I am not going anywhere.”
“Yelena?”
“My sister. You remember I mentioned her before. Come on, Ava and Sara and Miles and Gwen are already here.”
“Bye Daisy. Have fun. We will pick you up at eleven.”
Daisy rolled her eyes and followed Nat into the house.
Melina nodded. “Good. I told Nat the party would end by eleven and everyone should leave then or shortly after.”
That stopped Daisy as she looked at Nat. “Wait. Everyone has to leave at eleven o’clock?”
“Yeah. Mom says I get to have later parties and a later curfew once I turn sixteen. It’s okay anyway. I have tonight off from dancing but have to do two shows tomorrow. Come on. Everyone’s in the family room Bye Mrs. C.” She grabbed Daisy’s arm and led her away.
Half an hour later, everyone had arrived at the party. Robbie, Daisy, Roy and Thea were playing Call of Duty. They finished up, with Roy and Thea winning the second game.
“I need more food. We can play again later.” Robbie spoke and got up. The other nodded and followed him to the tables laid out with all kinds of food. They filled their plates and sat down.
“Thea, where do you go to school?” Daisy started the conversation.
“Westview Academy.”
“She goes to school with my brother Gabe.” Robbie added.
“That’s a private school, isn’t it?” Daisy asked.
“Yeah. Gabe got a scholarship.”
“Did you get a scholarship too, Thea?”
“No.”
“Her parents are rich. They own Queen Consolidated.”
“They aren’t that rich. Besides, they retired, and my brother really runs the company now.”
“So why do you work at the tree farm holiday place?” Daisy asked.
“Cause I want to. And Roy works there so I get to see more of him. And it’s my own, you know?”
“Yeah actually I do.” Daisy smiled. “I certainly do.”
Nat wondered over to the two couples. “Hey guys, we are gonna play Trivial pursuit. Me, Clint, Ava and Sara. Wanna join us?”
“Sure. But only if we do teams. I’m only good at geography and sports.” Roy spoke up.
“Seriously? Can you be on my team. I suck at geography and sports. Daisy asked.
“What are you good at?”
“Entertainment, literature and history.”
“Deal. Me and Daisy are gonna wipe the floor with you guys.”
“Ha. No way. “Robbie answered.
Everyone there decided to play so they made teams with three or four people. Daisy and Roy added Gwen to theirs once Daisy found out she was great at science. Robbie stuck with Nat and Clint. Ava and Sara included Thea and Miles on their team. Carol, and Trip and Mike and Deke. Everyone was at Nat’s party that was coming to Daisy’s party except for Clint’s girlfriend, Laura. Ava and Sara’s team won.
After the game, people once again broke into smaller groups. Daisy walked out onto the balcony with Nat and Sara and Ava.
“It’s nice night. Not too cold yet.” Ava observed.
“Yeah the calm before the storm. Or storms. Chicago in the winter is probably my least favorite thing about living here.” Nat said.
“If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you choose to live?”, asked Sara.
Nat grinned. “Probably New York. The dance and music opportunities are the best there. Or maybe Hollywood.”
“Well that makes sense for your future of course. But what about your ideal place to live, weather wise and for culture and social stuff. I’d pick Hawaii.” Ava said.
“That sounds interesting.” Sara spoke. “I think I’d want somewhere warm most of the year. So Hawaii would definitely work for me too. Maybe Florida. Or California.”
“Oh then I’d pick the Los Angeles area over New York. I am not fond of the winter and cold either.” Nat replied. “What about you, Daisy.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean I guess I’d like to stay close to where my family is. So anywhere they are.”
“Makes sense. You did just get them back. Perfectly understandable.” Nat nodded and smiled at her. “But if they would join you, where would you like to go?”
“I’m fine here. I like the snow, and the cold doesn’t...”
“Don’t you say it.” Ava stopped her.
“...bother me anyway.” Daisy grinned. They all laughed. “Which reminds me, my God mother and her kids are coming to visit after Christmas for a week. She and my mom want to do another Paintball excursion. I hope you guys can come.”
“Oh yeah. Count me in. The last one was a blast.” Nat exclaimed. I’m sure all of us who can will be there Dais.”
“I want to definitely be on your mom’s team.” Sara added then turned to Ava. “Her mom is super-duper competitive. She was in the Air Force and works for the FBI.”
“Yeah. She does like to win.” Daisy smiled. Then she remembered how she’d been acting toward her mom and frowned. The conversation moved to discussing the upcoming school break and what plans they all had. Daisy, feeling guilty, excused herself to go inside to use the bathroom and once there she texted Melinda.
‘Hey.’
She waited a moment and received a message back. ‘Hey.’
Daisy frowned again. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Still at the restaurant. Having dessert. Everything okay?’
‘Yeah. Look I didn’t mean to be so whiny. You just need to remember I’m not a baby anymore.’
‘I am well aware of that. Still doesn’t mean that we don’t have rules.’
‘I can take care of myself. I did it for most of my life.’
‘No actually Daisy you didn’t. You went thru bad things and I don’t want you to go thru anymore bad things. And you shouldn’t have to take care of yourself. And you don’t have to try to anymore.’
‘Okay. But it’s the weekend and I am responsible.’
“You are. But you still have a curfew.’
‘Okay. You’re not mad at me are you?’
“No I’m not mad at you.’
‘What are you doing after dessert?’ A movie?’
‘Maybe. We’ll pick you up at eleven o’clock. Go back to your friends Daisy. Have fun. Phil’s getting worried, he thinks something is wrong. See you in a few hours.’
‘Okay. Bye.’ Daisy went to put her phone in her pocket but instead sent another text. ‘I love you.’
‘I love you too.’
Daisy smiled and put her phone in her pocket and rejoined the group, now all inside clearing the furniture to the side.
“What’s going on?” she asked Ava.
“Dancing.”
The finished pushing the furniture aside and created an open space as Nat put music on. The song was upbeat and one of the popular songs everyone knew. Nat and Ava and Sara started dancing soon joined by Trip, and Clint and Miles and Gwen. Robbie made his way over to Daisy.
“You dance?”
“No like that. Not in front of people.”
“No? Why not?”
She shrugged. “I just never have before. Didn’t go to any parties or school dances you know.”
“Well. There’s always a first time, right? Come on.’ He took her hand and started pulling her toward the others.
She resisted. “I don’t want to Robbie.”
Melinda typed the message ‘I love you too’, and then put her phone back in her purse. Phil raised his eyebrow at her.
She’s fine. She still thinks she’s right about the curfew, but she’s calmed down and I think maybe some of her insecurities kicked in. She just needed some reassurance. She’s fifteen. She’s not going to always like or agree with our rules.”
“No I suppose not. But we are still going to enforce them.”
“Oh yeah. You about ready? The movie starts in a half hour.”
“Sure. Or we could skip the movie. The house is empty.” He looked at her and grinned.
“It won’t be soon. Soon we will have family over, and Daisy’s party and sleepover, and then Maria and her kids visit. So yeah, might as well take advantage of that right?” She smiled seductively at him. “We haven’t christened the house yet.”
He got up and reached for her hand. “Milady. We should remedy that oversight post haste.”
Daisy pulled her hand from Robbie’s. “I don’t want to dance Robbie. You can.”
“Okay. I don’t have to. We can go out onto the balcony and just talk if you want?”
“Yeah.” She moved to the patio window and opened it with Robbie following behind.
“It’s nice here, don’t you think? Peaceful.”
“Yeah. I hadn’t realized Nat lived in a farmhouse with this much land.”
“Well it’s about two acres. Used to be farmland till they subdivided it. “Why don’t we sit for a while. Unless you’re too cold?”
“Nah I’m good. It’s really abnormally warm for mid-December.”
“It is. But it is gone tomorrow. I saw a cold front is moving in with a chance of snow tomorrow night. Maybe we won’t have school on Monday.”
“Sorry Robbie. I never learned how to dance.”
“Hey it’s fine. You don’t have to have to explain to me. You don’t want to do something, just say so. Like you did. I was just caught off guard is all.”
“I guess it’s kind of vain huh? I don’t want to be laughed at.”
“Those guys in there? I doubt any of them would laugh at you. With you maybe but not at you.”
“Yeah, I guess. I don’t know. I had a fight with my mom earlier and I’m kind of tired and – I don’t know. This is my first real party I’ve been to.”
“It’s okay.” He smiled and took her hand to hold. “You know, I’ve been to lots of parties but this one is the best so far.”
She looked over at him.
He continued. “Because I’m with you. Even if you just want to sit here all night.”
She smiled. Then got up. “Well that would be dumb. I may not know how to dance but the video game is still set up and I know I can beat you at Call of Duty.” She continued to hold his hand as they went back inside.
A little while later, Melina came into the room and Nat announced they were having a scavenger hunt. Robbie and Daisy quickly formed a team with Carol. Each team was handed a list, a bag, and a flashlight. Melina went over the rules and parameters of the hunt.
Daisy read over the list as they walked back from the fence. Some of the items were normal outdoor things but Nat and Clint had also placed a bunch of household things around the property. Like weird things. They’d found nine of the fifteen items so far. Still on the list to find was a pack of fruit snacks, a peanut, a toy truck, a feather, a barbie doll, and a beanie baby.
“So weird right?” Daisy spoke. “A beanie baby, a barbie doll and a truck. Where would they hide those?”
“Hey at least we found the hot wheel and GI joe dude.” Robbie answered. “Good thing you tripped back there and landed right next to the GI Joe under a leaf.”
Daisy giggled.
Carol grinned. “Hey maybe you should trip again Daisy. We need to find that barbie doll.”
Daisy laughed. “You would think the soldier and barbie would be near each other though.”
They all looked at each other in the light as Carol shown the flashlight in their faces. Then they turned around and headed back to the place Daisy had tripped. It only took a few moments until they found a barbie at the base of a tree also covered in leaves only a foot away from where they found the GI Joe.
“Yes!” Daisy grinned. We have ten. And twenty minutes to go. Where would they hide a beanie baby?”
“Up a tree?” Robbie answered.
Indeed, that’s where they found a squirrel beanie baby. As they headed toward the house, Daisy decided to look under the porch and found several toy trucks in the dirt. She took one. Now they only needed three items.
“You would think it would be easy enough to find a feather somewhere out here in the country.”
“Or we could find one in the house.” Daisy answered Robbie.
“Is that in the rules?”
“Doesn’t say we can’t. I’ll go in a check; pretend I need to use the bathroom.”
“Yeah. Me and Carol will look for a peanut and fruit snacks.”
“Well they probably put the peanuts out so the real squirrels and stuff will find them in the morning. And they probably want the fruit snacks close to the house so they don’t have them laying around and can find them easy enough if not found. So check like under trees and around the house.” Daisy turned and headed inside on a feather finding mission.
Daisy headed for the hall closet. She was looking for a down jacket. The one she had remembered that Nat had worn to Paintball. She grinned as she found the light brown jacket and pulled out a feather that was protruding from a seam. She started to run quickly back down the hallway to go outside when she nearly collided with Melina.
Melina saw the feather in her hand and laughed. “Damn that’s smart. And sneaky.”
“I get that from my mom,” Daisy yelled back, as she kept running down the hall.
Their team didn’t find the fruit snacks or peanut, but they had found thirteen of their fifteen items and tied for first with Mike, Deke and Trip. Everyone was hungry again after running around outside, so more food was set out and they ate and talked.
After eating and hanging out for a while, Ava mentioned maybe they could play charades. They all agreed, and teams were once again formed. For Charades Daisy teamed up with Nat. They were sitting and watching some of the others play.
“Good grief I’m bad at Charades.” Daisy exclaimed.
“Yup. You are.” Nat readily agreed.
Daisy laughed. “Hey you could be a little more supportive being on my team and all.”
Nat laughed. “Sorry, I just tell it as it is.”
“Yeah. You know who is probably good at charades? My parents. I bet they won all the time. They have this weird communication thing going on.”
Ava had joined them. “How is it weird?”
“They look at each other and like carry on a full conversation without saying words. Like their eyes and expressions and stuff. I swear they talk about me a lot that way. Which is not the gross part. The gross part is all the eye sex they have. Like totally gross.”
“They sound like they are love.”
“Yeah. Totally. Good thing they finally admitted it too. The tension was almost unbearable.”
“Wait. Your parents just admitted they love each other recently? Your parents?” Thea asked.
“Oh, it’s a long story. Wait. Didn’t Roy tell you the story.”
Roy upon hearing his name walked over and sat down. “I heard someone mention my name.”
“Yeah I asked Thea if you had told her my story.”
“No, not really. I figured it’s yours to tell, not mine.”
Daisy smiled at him. “Thanks. You’re a good friend. But yeah at this point I know the whole school knows, so what’s a few more people.” She turned to Thea. “In fact, I have never told anyone about all of what happened. So if you want the full story of how my parents lost me and each other, and then how we found each other – gather round.”
Everyone moved closer to Daisy and became quiet. She continued, “it all started the day I decided to use my – uh – my wonderful computer hacking skills to make a little money so I could flee to California. It was just fate that I hacked into my birth dad’s bank account.”
Melinda snuggled close to Phil. “This is nice.”
“Yeah.” He smiled at her. They were in her bed, both still naked and both quietly comfortable just to spend time together.
“What time is it?”
“He moved his arm, trying not to disengage himself from his position to check his phone. “Ten-fifteen.”
She moved to lay her head on his chest. ‘We have maybe fifteen more minutes.”
“We do.” He moved his hand to slowly stroke her hair now splayed across his chest. “You are so beautiful.”
She grinned as she moved her hand to softly caress his neck.
After Daisy finished her story, which held the entire room’s rapt attention, Deke and Mike set up the Karaoke equipment they had brought. First up was Deke who performed the song ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’.
Everyone cheered and clapped after he finished.
Trip spoke, “and who is going to top that?” He paused and then grinned. “Oh wait – I will.” He got set up and Mike started the song. Everyone was laughing as Trip danced terribly while singing decently to Britney Spears ‘Oops!..I did it again’. Daisy was laughing so hard, her sides hurt.
After he finished, Ava and Sara jumped up. “Oh it’s so on,” Sara yelled. She and Ava looked through the list of songs and then picked one. Mike grinned.
They got set and soon the first chords of Dancing Queen were heard. Sara and Ava played it up and did a fantastic job. Most of the others got up and danced along. Even Daisy found herself swaying along to the beat.
After ‘the dancing queens’ finished, Mike picked a song and grabbed Deke’s hand. Soon they were belting out ‘It’s Raining Men’ and Daisy had trouble catching her breath from laughing so hard at their antics.
After Mike and Deke’s performance, even Clint, Miles and Roy got in on the action, singing Hakuna Matata. After that Gwen and Thea picked another Disney song, ‘I’ll Make a Man Out of You”, both belting it out and both pretty bad at singing. Which gave Daisy the courage to walk up to them as they finished, pointing out a song for Mike, and stood holding the microphone. She laughed at the faces and grumbles of everyone as the first notes played and started singing on cue,
“The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation
And it looks like I'm the queen.
The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I've tried
Don't let them in, don't let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know
Well, now they know
Let it go, let it go
Can't hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don't care what they're going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway”
She laughed and was about to quit when she looked around to see no one was laughing anymore, and everyone was just staring at her. The music for the next verse started but instead of singing, she spoke, “what? Why are you all so quiet?”
“Geez Daisy, because that was fantastic. You can really sing.” Clint answered first.
“Wow!” Robbie added.
“Yeah that was amazing.” Trip nodded in appreciation at her.
“I didn’t know you could sing like that, Daisy. You sounded as good as the original singer.” Roy also spoke up.
Nat walked over to her sensing Daisy’s discomfort at all the unexpected praise. “Yeah you did good, but the song still sucks.” Then she sighed loudly. “Like seriously just no.”
“So you’re saying I should let it go?” Daisy panned with a straight face.
Nat’s grin morphed into laughter as she high-fived Daisy and all the others started laughed as well.
A few minutes later, everyone started gathering their things, and getting ready to leave. It was nearly eleven o’clock. People hugged each other, said heir goodbyes and headed to their cars or rides.
Daisy kissed Robbie and watched as he left, then she was alone with Clint, Nat and Melina. About two minutes later she got a text from Melinda stating there were outside, turned to hug Nat and said her goodbyes, and made her way to Melinda’s SUV. Seeing that the front passenger seat was empty, she got in and greeted Melinda.
“Hi. Where’s Dad?”
“Home.”
“I thought you guys were picking me up right after you went to the movies. Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. We stayed at the restaurant too long to make the movie start time, so we just went home. No need for both of us to drive to pick you up.”
“Right. You missed the movie because you were late. If you say so.”
“Would you rather I tell you that we couldn’t keep our hands to ourselves and went home to a nice quiet house all to ourselves to do whatever we wanted wherever we wanted?” Melinda smiled sweetly at her.
Daisy slowly shook her head. “No, no I don’t.”
Okay then.” Melinda laughed as she pulled out of the driveway. “how was the party?”
Daisy stared at her hands in her lap. “Good.” She then looked over at Melinda and sighed. “Look I’m sorry. I was being a brat earlier. I was just – I was mad.”
“Okay. That’s okay. You are allowed to be mad at me. Even to disagree with me. You are allowed to ask about rules. But I will still make them and expect you to follow them, even when you’re mad about them, or think they are dumb, or think you know more than I do.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“And you’re really not angry? About how I behaved.”
“Not angry Daisy. I’m just not going to be a pushover or change the rules because you get mad. I need for you to understand that.”
“Okay.”
“You can always talk to me about the rules. About our expectations for you. But you should not expect we will accommodate your opinion on the matter either. But I promise you that we will listen.”
Daisy nodded. “Fair enough.” Then she turned to smile at Melinda. “My first ever real teen party was a blast.” She proceeded to tell Melinda everything they had done.
Daisy spoke to Phil for a few minutes before heading the bathroom to wash up and get ready for bed. She was tired. It had been a long day, getting up early to work, fighting with her mom and the party had zapped all of her energy. She went to her room and crawled into bed hoping to fall right to sleep. But her mind kept racing. She heard someone walk in the hall and then heard her mom’s door shut. It didn’t sound like two people. But she wasn’t positive. After all, Melinda did tell her that she and Phil would be sharing the bedroom soon all the time. And she knew they were in there earlier tonight. Which she did not want to think about at all. Yuck. They were her parents. She continued to toss and turn, her mind refusing to shut down.
Her mom did say if she needed her that she could still stay with her. Even if nothing was really wrong. And nothing was wrong. She was fine. She’d had a grand time at the party, she loved her job, her grades were improving, she had friends, a real and true family and a boyfriend. Her life was near perfect. So why was she so scared. “I thought I put those stupid insecurities behind me,” she said out loud. “And singing. I wasn’t going to sing, but then I did and everyone was kind of weirded out.” Well no actually she was the one weirded out at the compliments.
She liked to sing. Even when she was at fosters, she loved music class because it was something the teachers said she did well. There was even that foster home that took her to church a couple times a week, and they sang a lot. She was only around ten, but never minded the singing, or the drawing and art stuff they did. She had even lived at a few places that had pianos and had played around on them – repeating music she’d heard and able to play some easier songs. Music lessons were never in the cards for her though, not would she have dared to ask for them.
She had asked her fake mom, well Jiaying, a few times if she could take music lessons, she wanted to try guitar – but she always said no. Her pseudo parents had never encouraged her music talents. After, a few years in the foster system, she really just gave up even thinking about it. She did sing in the shower and around places she lived on her own when no one was around and knew she could sing okay. She could carry a tune and imitate a lot of the popular singers. Her attempt tonight to just be funny with the Frozen song, had brought on a whole new set of emotions, regrets and what ifs.
So those thoughts, along with her regret with the pettiness and anger she had shown Melinda, as well as replaying pieces of the party in her mind, would not let her fall asleep. She really wanted to run to her mom and be reassured but debated how childish that would make her since earlier she was demanding to not be treated like a baby. She sighed. And what if Phil was actually in there with her? That could prove to be embarrassing although she figured that if they were truly doing anything, Melinda would look the door. Even though her mom teased her, she highly doubted that she wanted her kid to see anything that intimate. However, she made a note to herself to always knock on her mom’s door from now on, just in case.
And she really was okay with her mom and dad’s new turn in their relationship. She was happy for them. She had wanted them to hook up after watching them pine for each other. But she also loved how close she could be with her mom. How safe and secure she always felt cuddled into her, and how much better she always slept.
The need for that comfort and security was overriding her trepidation. After another few moments. She threw off her covers and got out of bed and ran across the hall. She knocked lightly on the door. Leia had followed and sat next to her wagging her tail. Daisy waited and was about to run back across to her room when the door opened, and she almost fell into the doorway. A disheveled looking Phil stood there in his pajamas and bathrobe.
Daisy’s eyes widened comically, as Leia’s tail thumped loudly against the floor. “Oh, um, sorry.”
She backed away and was about to turn to go to her room, when Melinda called out, “Daisy, come on in.”
“Go on. It’s okay.” Phil gave her a reassuring smile. I’m just going to grab a water.” He headed down the hall and Daisy stood there watching.
“Come on in here, kiddo.” Melinda called to her.
“I- I didn’t – I didn’t know Phil was with you. I- I’m...”
“Daisy. We were just falling asleep. It’s fine. Come in here. What’s up?” Melinda sat up and patted the bed next to her.
Daisy didn’t move. “I – I can’t fall asleep.”
“So come over here and talk to me.”
“I don’t want to be a bother. I’ll just go back to bed.”
“Daisy. Come over here.” It wasn’t exactly a command, but her tone offered no room for argument.
Daisy shuffled over to her and sat down. Melinda reached over and laced her hand over Daisy’s,
“Did you have nightmare?”
Daisy shook her head. “Just can’t fall asleep.”
“You went to bed over an hour ago. Haven’t slept at all?”
Daisy shrugged. “Nah. My mind won’t shut down.”
“Well, do you want to talk about why that is?”
“I don’t know why. I am tired. I had a busy day.”
“Probably still wound up from the party.”
“Yeah.”
“You want to stay here with me?”
“I think Dad might not want that.”
“He’s fine. Let me just text him. He can go downstairs.”
“You don’t have to do that. I can go back to my own room. And my own bed. Maybe just let me sit here a little longer?” Daisy tried to keep the wavering out of her voice and tried not to think about how much she wanted to crawl under the covers of Melinda’s bed and burrow into her mom’s side while her mom held till she fell asleep.
Melinda picked up her phone and sent a brief message to Phil, despite Daisy’s weak objection. She then put her arm around Daisy and pulled her in for a hug. She felt Daisy stiffen briefly and then practically melt into her as she started crying. She held onto her and let her cry, offering tender words of encouragement and comfort.
Daisy pulled away after a good cry lasting a few minutes. She sniffled and looked down at the floor. “I don’t even know why I’m crying.”
Melinda grabbed a few tissues and handed them to her. “It’s okay. Sometimes our emotions don’t always make sense, but they sure can be overpowering.”
“That was my first party. First teen party. First real party. That’s kind of pathetic, huh?”
Melinda stayed silent and just rubbed Daisy’s arm, knowing she had more to say.
“I missed out on so much. It’s not fair.”
“No it’s not.” Melinda said softly.
“I hate them so much.” Daisy clenched her fists. “They stole my life. They stole my life from me. They stole me from my parents, my grandparents, and they didn’t even love me. Jiaying didn’t even care about me when I started getting older. I hate them. If they weren’t dead, I’d kill them.”
The anguished look on Daisy’s face made Melinda’s heart hurt. “Daisy. Come on. Please take a breath. A deep breath. With me. Come on.”
“I’m not gonna have a panic attack.”
“Okay. But please breathe with me. Okay?”
Daisy nodded and allowed her to go through breathing techniques with her, following along as Melinda led her, knowing she was on the brink of spiraling even while she claimed she wasn’t. After a few minutes, Daisy felt herself calming down.
“They stole my name too.”
“They did.”
“Skye. I was supposed to be Skye Qiaolian May Coulson. Not Daisy Johnson.”
“You were.”
“I’m still her. I’m still her, aren’t I?”
“You are.”
“I like the story of how you guys named me. I like that a lot.”
“I’m glad.”
“That’s who I am. I’m not Daisy Johnson. I’m Skye Coulson. Those people weren’t anything to me. They stole me from you and Dad. I was supposed to be Skye. Your Skye.”
Melinda’s heart was breaking and all she could do was nod and squeeze Daisy’s hand, afraid to give away her own anguish and make Daisy feel even worse.
“I missed out on so much.” Daisy paused and then looked at Melinda curiously, completely changing the subject. “I can sing. Like I guess pretty good, according to everyone. Do I get that from you? Are you musical? You did play the flute in school. You can sing, right?”
“I sing Elton John songs okay.”
At least that brought a small smile to Daisy’s face. “I always liked singing. Music class in school. Singing in church. I always wanted to play the guitar, Or piano. Does Dad play anything?”
Melinda blinked at her a few times, trying for her mind not to go to inappropriate places, knowing this was no time for innuendo. She was not quick enough to respond however, and Daisy groaned and made a disgusted face.
“No sex comments!”
“I wasn’t going to...”
Daisy folded her arms and glared at her.
“Okay. I was thinking about it. But I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to. I heard what you were thinking.”
“You heard what?”
“Oh some silly words you wanted to say. Like something inappropriate for your kid to hear.”
“But I didn’t. You can’t hold my thoughts against me.”
“Sure I can. Cause I can tell what you think now. Like you and Dad do with that eye stuff. You were going to say something about Dad playing you or something equally disturbing.”
Melinda smiled. At least Daisy was back to sassing her. “No Phil doesn’t play any musical instruments. I don’t think he ever did. But he can sing in the shower okay.”
“I just – I don’t know. I guess I want to know all those details. Stuff that I would know if I had grown up with you guys. Normal and natural. And you guys would know everything about me too. We missed out on that. And it sucks.”
“It does.”
“And I know there’s nothing we can do about it now. And I know we can figure all that stuff out now together. And we are together now and that’s really great and we are doing all this stuff, but I missed 14 years. We missed 14 years. And I’m really mad about it right now. And just knowing you and Dad were out there – well it sucks.”
“I know.”
Daisy looked over at her. “Aren’t you going to give a pep talk on how we need to move on and how we should be glad we are together now?”
“Nah. It’s okay to get mad Dais. And to vent. And cry and even scream if you want. I feel that way sometimes too.”
“But you handle it better.”
“No. I just go and hit things. Well, I hit the punching bag. Sometimes I go to the gym and spar with someone.”
Daisy grinned. “So you beat people up.”
“Only if they let me.” Melinda’s face broke into a smile.
Daisy moved closer and put her head on her shoulder. “We missed a lot.”
Melinda nodded. “We did.”
“Maybe I could take guitar lessons sometime.”
“Sure. Or piano. You could play all the amazing Elton John songs.”
“Yeah.” Daisy laughed. “Apparently I could sing them too.”
“You think that karaoke set up Mike has would have Elton John songs on it?”
“I’m sure.” Daisy smiled. “And now you absolutely have to sing one at my party.”
“Me?”
“Yes.” She nodded emphatically. “No getting out of it. It’s my first ever party.”
Melinda shook her head. “So you need me to embarrass myself?”
“That’s what parents are supposed to do right?”
“I suppose. We can teach you to dance tomorrow if you like. Phil and I both had to take a dance elective course when we were in the Air Force. For covert missions.”
“How to dance properly. Like all the steps and stuff. I’d like that.” She moved to lay across the bed, as Melinda pulled the covers up over them both, and switched off the light. Daisy curled into her mom and as her mom her arm around her, she mumbled. “I love you.”
“I love you back Dais.”
Daisy mumbled again “I like the name Skye a lot. Maybe I should be Skye again.”
Melinda froze waiting for her to say more, but soon heard the quiet and steady breathing indicating Daisy had fallen fast asleep. She smiled as she focused on the face of her daughter and watched her until she fell asleep as well.