I smirk as I lift up onto my tiptoes. “You were at work with me all day, even though it was your day off. Or have you forgotten that you’re technically my coworker?”
“How could I forget? You won’t let me fuck you in my office,” he complains.
“Luke! Seriously? We have more important matters at hand.” Valentina comes up from behind him and slaps him behind the head.
“Ouch. Stop eavesdropping on me and my girl.”
“Ugh, men.” She shakes her head, but when her eyes land on me, they shine with happiness. “Hey, Daisy. I’m sorry to spring this on you, but I didn’t want to say anything in case it didn’t pan out.”
“What are you talking about?” I chuckle awkwardly, looking at Luke’s anxious expression.
She takes my hand, and Luke places his warm one on my lower back, guiding me to the living room. “I think it’s better if I show you.”
I hear a low murmur of voices and halt when I see a group of strangers sitting on my couches, eyeing me nervously.
“Oh, we have guests,” I say lamely.
“Daisy girl, Val and I have some people we’d like you to meet.”
I plaster on a smile. “I see that. Um, hi I’m Daisy. Sorry I’m late. I didn’t know we were throwing a party.” I laugh timidly as one woman stands, eyes watering the closer she walks toward me.
I find myself inching backward, but Luke’s steady hand on my back keeps me in place as the woman with curly gray hair comes to a stop before me. She shakes her head, eyes raking over my face in awe. “Hi, Daisy. My name is Carla. And I—” Her voice wobbles before she clears it. “I was your mother’s best friend.”
Luke’s other hand is on my hip now. How he knew my knees were about to buckle is beyond me.
“You’re… what did you say?” My voice barely registers to my own ears.
“Hi, Daisy,” a dark-skinned man who looks to be in his fifties stands but stays by the couch as he speaks. “I’m Amaury, your mom’s cousin. We grew up together in Jarabacoa,” he says with a thick Dominican accent.
My head whips back and forth between the two strangers before a new voice pipes up.
“Daisy, yo soy Marlene. Yo era vecina de tus abuelos y mamá.”
She was neighbors with my mother and grandparents, I translate easily in my head.
“Hello, Daisy, I’m Monica,” a sharply dressed blond woman with an English accent says. “I studied and worked alongside Carmen in London.”
I look up at Luke’s watery gaze, one that must mirror my own. “Wh-what’s happening right now?” I whisper.
“My sister.” he answers shakily before clearing his throat. “She was able to track down Carla via a social media post memorializing the anniversary of your mother’s death. Once they got into contact with one another, Carla introduced Val to everyone who’s here today. These are only the ones I could convince to hop on a plane with twenty-four hours’ notice. Butthere are more family, friends, and loved ones out there. People who never forgot about you and Nick and are waiting for us to video call them whenever you’re ready. Many of them don’t have visas to travel to the U.S., but I can talk to an immigration attorney and get the process started on that or we can fly down there and visit whenever you want.” He turns me so I’m fully facing him, his soothing hands on my shoulders as a single tear slips down his cheek. “Your mother is here in this room with us, Daisy. In your heart, in the memories that are about to be shared. In your eyes and spirit. She’s here. Always has been and always will be. So what do you say? Are you ready to be reintroduced to her? Because from the little I heard while we were waiting for you, she sounds just as incredible as the woman I’ve fallen madly and deeply in love with.”
My head slumps against his chest as a sob breaks free.
It’s slowly sinking in what Valentina and Luke have done for me. It’s the most precious gift I’ve ever been given.
And in this moment, I feel her.
Luke was right. My mother is here with me tonight. And I can’t wait a second longer to learn about the woman I’ve been daydreaming about my entire life.
I turn, facing the crowd with tentative smiles on their faces.
The first woman, Carla, speaks up again. “I brought pictures. Would you like to sit down and look at them with me?” Her hand reaches out slowly, and I take it in mine immediately, gripping stronger than appropriate for a first-time meeting, but I don’t care.
Because if this woman was my mother’s best friend, then that means my mother held these hands. Shared secrets and jokes with this woman. Which makes her an endless pool of invaluable knowledge to me.
I nod and walk over to my couch, greeting everyone as I go.
I settle, and when Carla sits next to me, I gently tap the free seat next to me for my mother’s cousin, Amaury, to take. Luke gently squeezes my shoulders before quietly announcing that he and Valentina will be bringing out more drinks and snacks.
