‘I’m glad we’re dating, too,’ he said.
‘Such a sweet man,’ her mom cooed. ‘I have a really good feeling about you two. What’s your star sign, Elliot?’
‘Uh… my star sign?’
‘Yeah, you know, for example, Daisy is a Scorpio.’
‘I’m not sure…’
‘When’s your birthday? If you know the time and location of your birth, we can also get your moon and rising signs, that would really help…’ Her mother was already pulling out her phone to look at her horoscope app when Daisy practically hip-checked her out of the way.
‘Nope, not right now, Mom.’
‘Okay, just your birthday then.’ Her mother was relentless when it came to the zodiac.
‘September second.’
‘A Virgo!’ her mother crowed. ‘An earth sign. You two will get along great.’
‘Oh… uh…good?’ Elliot smiled at Daisy again like he’d accomplished something by being born in the correct month, which was total nonsense, but she had to admit it was pretty cute that he was pleased.
‘Okay, Mom, that’s enough for one day. Don’t you have to go pick up Dad from racket ball?’
‘That’s right! I nearly forgot.’ She pulled off her apron, looking forlornly at Elliot, just dying to dig more into his whole astrological chart. Luckily for Daisy, her parents had gone down to one car when her dad retired and now her mom had to take him to his weekly racket ball games. Thank God for her dad’s dedication to the sport.
‘We’ll have to talk more next time, Elliot,’ her mother said, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze.
‘Definitely. I’ll ask my mom for my birth time.’
‘Perfect!’ Her mother shot her a vindicated smile. Daisy just rolled her eyes. But man, if Elliot was her real boyfriend he was definitely nailing the ‘delight her mother’ portion of the relationship. David had never been a good sport about her mother’s astrology interests.
Plus, he had been a Gemini. A horrible match.
‘Sorry about that,’ Daisy said when her mom was out the door.
‘Sorry for what? She’s great.’
‘She can be a lot sometimes.’
Elliot shrugged. ‘I liked her.’
Daisy cocked her head, studying him, trying to make sense of a man that was so sweet. Surely, there was something wrong with him. She wondered what it was. What secret red flags was Elliot hiding?
Maybe he didn’t eat carbs? No, she’d seen him eat cookies.
Maybe he didn’t like animals? No, he loved dogs.
Maybe he left dirty dishes in the sink overnight? Oh, no, wait, that was her. Hmm…
He shifted a little on his feet. They were still standing in the middle of the flower shop, the late-day sun filtering in green through the leafy hanging plants in the window. Even this late in the day, Elliot looked like he’d just woken up: his hair a floppy mess on his head. Daisy had the sudden and strange urge to run her fingers through it.
‘What is it?’ he asked.
‘I just… you’re so agreeable.’
‘Um… thanks?’
‘I’m having a hard time figuring out why your wife left you.’
