Chapter 16

A few days after my funeral. Yeah I know it’s weird for me too. I was walking through town. I had just been to another job interview. I was seriously regretting telling Kevin that I couldn’t work for him. Maybe I’d tell him that when I met up with him and April in half an hour. I found my way to a restaurant. I was debating on if I should go inside and order something. It had been one of the places that had turned me down for a job. But the food was still very good.

I had finally decided to head to where I was going to meet Kevin and April instead when I heard an all too familiar voice, “Daisy, how are you these days?”

I wondered why I had to have run into him but with a smile, I said, “I’m finally getting used to life after school. I’m doing well. How are you, Mr. Wiley?”

“No need to call me that. You can call me David. Or Wiley, whichever you’d prefer,” he laughed as he requested that.

I nodded, “What brings you back to town? Is Ted with you?” I looked for the little boy.

David Sr. shook his head no, “I came down here to look for a new home.” He then laughed, “Don’t worry it’s not for me. I buy homes, fix them up and sell them for affordable prices to people who normally wouldn’t be able to buy them. Or I also do rent to own kind of thing. So if the people decide they want to move before they buy they can. Or just rent out the houses. Jeez, I’m just going on and on. Just something I do when nervous.”

“I didn’t think you got nervous. At least that’s what my Mom told me,” I sarcastically said.

“Ha. I get nervous just like any normal human. This time though I have a good reason. I um. I wanted to apologize for how I acted and what I said the last time we met. I never should have said that or even suggest that you and I ... you know,” he was saying before he just got nervous enough to stop talking.

So I finished for him, “That we have sex? Even though we could be father and daughter.” I almost said, father and son. Sometimes I do think of my former life and refer to myself as I had when I was David Jr.

David Sr. looked around and said, “Yeah. That was a mistake. It disrespected Kathryn’s memory and you. I’m sorry.” I was in shock. He then asked, “Can we grab a bite? I’d like to talk about your Mom. She and I lost track sometime before you were born. I’d like to hear about her.”

Was this even the same man I had talked to before? Did he secretly have a twin brother that I didn’t know about? A look-alike maybe.

“I’m sorry but I’m going to be eating out with some friends in about half an hour. But we can talk,” I told him. It wasn’t a complete lie. They had talked about getting a bite to eat and asked me to join them. I told them I might if I didn’t get too hungry before then.

We ended up going into the restaurant and he ordered a burger, fries, and a milkshake. As he bit into a fry he said, “Mmm this is one good fry. I hardly get to eat this kind of stuff. I get one cheat day per month. Anyway, we agreed to talk about your mom. What did she do for a living? Did she end up going back to school like she always wanted?”

“It’s still painful for me to talk about my Mom,” I told him. I had been getting even more new memories in the past couple of days. “She worked at a bakery and she was going to school to become a graphic designer.” One terrible memory caused me to stop talking and start crying for a couple seconds. After getting myself under control I continued, “She was on her way home from school when she ... died. Doctors said it was...”

“It’s okay you don’t need to say anything more about that. We came here to talk about good memories,” he said in a soothing tone.

I was beginning to wonder if I had been wrong to judge him. Then a cute waitress walked by and I caught him checking her out. He excused himself and then I saw him flirting with her. She clearly was uncomfortable.

I decided to check out what was going on and I heard the waitress say, “I’ll tell you this for the last time I’m not interested. I’m a lesbian man.”

It was then that I recognized the waitress without thinking I said, “Tucker?”

She looked confused at first then pleased when she saw me, “Daisy can you please tell this old pervert that he’s barking up the wrong tree, trying to ask me out?”

I started to push David Sr. towards the exit, “Come on old man I don’t think her girlfriend will like you hitting on her.”

After it was clear that he wasn’t going to fight me I looked back and Tucker mouthed, “Thank you.”

“That’s got to be a bunch of bs. A girl that hot couldn’t possibly be a lesbian. Bi maybe but not a lesbian. And how do you know her anyway?” he asked.

“Jeez, I must be really stupid. I thought I had been wrong about you. You’re just a sleazy womanizer. Can’t you think with your brain and not with what’s between your legs?” I complained.

He thought for a moment, “Mostly no. Usually not when I’m working or with family. Usually.”

“Disgusting. I hope that we aren’t related.” I said with gritted teeth.

He spent the next few minutes trying to talk me into giving him another chance. I had just about had enough of him when we saw Tucker walking out of the restaurant.

“Hey, it’s the cute waitress. You off shift?” David Sr. asked.

The look on Tucker’s face was of terror so I said something I was sure I was going to regret, “Fine. If you leave her alone I’ll have sex with you.”

His attention was now on me, “Are you serious? I can see in your eyes. Just like your mother, you are serious. When?”

I swallowed hard, “Will tomorrow work? We can meet at the hotel on Goode Street. I really can’t cancel on my friends.”

“It’s a date then. I’ll see you there. And don’t expect to get much sleep that night,” he said before walking away.

“Are you okay Daisy? I couldn’t hear what you two were talking about but I could see you weren’t happy. Do you know that man?” Tucker asked.

I felt as if a panic attack were about to hit me when I felt her caring touch on my shoulder. I looked her in the eyes and said, “He was just an old family friend. If I never saw him again that would be heaven.”

As I made my way to meet up with Kevin and April I contemplated all the ways I could back out of my agreement to have sex with that man I did not wish to say or think the name of. But then I had a feeling if I didn’t pick the right way things could get ugly. He could go after Tucker again.

“What’s wrong Daisy?” April asked.

“What? What makes you think anything’s wrong?” I think that’s what I asked anyway.

“For starters, you barely commented about my hair. I dyed it again. What do you think of this blonde color?” April questioned me. I took a good look at her hair. It actually did look good. But it wasn’t blonde. It was still the color it had been the day we graduated. “See you had to check. You’re not being very observant today. Usually, you’re checking out all the hot guys that walk by. Now you’re hardly giving them a second glance.”

“April no need to pressure her. Maybe she doesn’t feel comfortable sharing every detail of her life,” Kevin scolded April.

“I ran into David Sr. today,” was all I said. I was very thankful that they didn’t try to get more from me than that. But part of me wished they had.

I sat thinking about what April had said. I had actually noticed the boys and I knew that they were cute. A couple of them had even tried flirting with me while Kevin was washing his hands. One of them walked away and I’m pretty sure he had accused me of being a lesbian. I didn’t care at that moment what he thought of me.

“So where’s your car?” April asked.

“It’s in the shop. I ran over David Sr,” I said as I pictured it in my mind. That really shocked me. It was the first time I had actually thought of anything like that. But then in my imagination, the car turned out to be a balloon or something. So maybe it wasn’t that bad I had imagined that.