Duke nods. "I asked him to make sure the drawers are slow-close. They're kinder on the fingers than what you used to have."
"Thank you for everything," I tell him when he's leaving. "I appreciate the way you care so much about your friends."
He gives me the same friendly hug he's been giving me for years. "I know sometimes this is all awkward, and certainly unconventional, but we're friends first, no matter what."
"Agreed," I say, squeezing him a little extra.
He leaves, that loud engine growling its way down my street. I make another cup of tea, swirling the rock candy, tasting the sweetness of the prickly pear, and think of the man who left it at my door.
Chapter 35
Daisy
I setmy alarm for thirty minutes before the sun rose.
I didn't linger in bed like I wanted to.
Still, I missed Penn.
It's been nearly two weeks of gift-giving, and I've yet to see him. I could text him, or call, or show up at his mom's house, or even the house where he's staying, but I don't want to. I want to see him on my doorstep, gift in hand. There's something about the gesture that's romantic, and calling or texting is too modern. Too impersonal.
It's safe to say I have thawed all the way, and I'm ready to see Penn. Talk to him. Find out who he is now. I'm ready to absorb everything that makes him who he is today.
Tearing into the package, I find a plastic keychain, the wordsFresh Outta Fuckswritten in hot pink on a white background.
To make you laugh.
Happy birthday.
It does. But it also makes me determined.
I have a foolproof idea, one that will not fail me.
After all, it's not the early bird who catches the worm, it's the one who hangs around from the night before.
Chapter 36
Daisy
Bundled in my wearable blanket,plus leggings and a long sleeve T-shirt, fuzzy socks, and slippers, I sit in my front porch chair, legs tucked up to my chest. The cool of the night air swirls around my face, a cold that feels colder because of the lack of humidity in the air.
My neighborhood is older, and quieter, a stretch of homes on a street without lights or sidewalks. I bought it four years ago when I came back to town after graduating from physical therapy school. The world outside my idyllic small town had taught me a few lessons, one of which was that there was no way I could return to living on the St. James farm. My parents would've welcomed me with open arms, but I knew that wasn't the right way for me. I think about that sometimes, how I would've had more time with my mother had I moved back in with them. It's a useless regret, but I wonder if it's played a role in this plan I've made with Duke.
It's an errant thought, one that makes me restless and uncomfortable, so I push it aside and hit 'play' on my phone. I'm listening to a podcast interview with an author who wrote a fiction book based on her marriage to a firefighter whodeveloped a drinking problem, and the roller coaster they went on because of it. She says a lot of things that make me think, but none so much as the moment she mentionstrue love.
A few weeks ago I would've said that notion was utter bullshit, but now I'm not so sure. Can the path to true love consist of broken roads? According to this woman,yes.
Huh. I've always thought of the path to true love as shiny and pristine, white marble lined with waxy yellow tulips.
It's nearing midnight, the full moon providing me with light, and I've been out here for an hour. It doesn't matter how much longer I need to sit out here, because I'm on a mission. Besides, I'm kind of loving the thrill of lying in wait. At any moment he could pull up, creep up my driveway, and here I am in the shadows, waiting to say some form ofboo. I'm actually not sure what I'm going to say when I see him, I figured I'd do it off-the-cuff so it's organic.
He's going to laugh, I know that. What else will he do? Maybe take me in his arms? Give me a bone-crushing hug as his real self? No morePeterbeing careful around me. He can be Penn now.
The night grows darker, a stretch of clouds blocking the moon, and a hearty yawn momentarily transfigures my face. Popping my AirPods out, I nestle them in their case and toss it on the seat beside me. I take the pillow I brought out here with me and prop it up behind my head, like I'm settling in for a long winter's nap.
I'll rest my eyes for a few minutes while I wait.
"Sunshine?"
