‘Okay, got it. Bye, Elliot!’
‘Bye, Daisy.’
ChapterEighteen
‘Grandma June!’ Daisy yelled, bursting into her grandparents’ apartment at the senior living facility. Daisy was hoping she wasn’t at one of her daily activities. Between her bocce-ball league and her watercolor class, Grandma June had a packed schedule.
Luckily, both her grandparents were parked in their matching recliners watching the evening news when Daisy stumbled into their living room.
‘What on earth is going on?’ June asked, her eyes wide. Daisy’s grandpa Jim didn’t bother to take his eyes from the TV.
‘Your Aunt Daisy never had kids, right?’
Her grandmother frowned. ‘You come charging in here like it’s the end of the world to ask me about people that are long dead? Again?’
‘May they rest in peace,’ Jim muttered. ‘Someoneshould have peace.’
‘Yes! I just… really need to know if she had any children.’
‘I already told you she didn’t. That’s why I’m named Daisy.’
‘But like she probably didn’t have any secret babies, either… right?’
Her grandmother looked truly scandalized at that. ‘Secret babies? Daisy, what is going on with you?’
Daisy shrugged, trying and failing to pretend this wasn’t a matter of the utmost importance. ‘I’m just curious about our family history. That’s all.’
‘Sounds fishy to me,’ Jim said, his eyes still focused on the news.
‘You shouldn’t watch that,’ Daisy told him. ‘It’s bad for your mental health.’
Grandpa Jim scoffed. ‘My mental health’s just fine. You’re the one going on about secret babies.’
Daisy stuck her tongue out at him, but he didn’t see; his eyes were still on the screen. She turned back to her grandmother. ‘I just look so much like her, I’m wondering if somehow… she’s actually my… great-grandmother?’ Was that even right? Daisy was getting all these distant relationships confused.
‘Do you really think someone could keep a baby secret in this town?’ her grandmother asked with a laugh. ‘It was the same then as it is now. Probably even worse. If your Aunt Daisy had a baby, we all would have known about it and I’m telling you she didn’t.’
Daisy blew out a sigh. ‘This is amazing news!’ She leaned down and kissed her grandmother on the head before wandering into the kitchen. ‘Do you have any of those cookies I like? You know the ones in the blue tin?’
‘Of course I do. Top cabinet.’
‘Thank you!’ Daisy found her cookies and joined hergrandparents back in the living room. She sat at her grandma’s feet and let her run her fingers through her hair like she used to do when Daisy was a little girl. She picked her favorite butter cookie from the tin (the pretzel-shaped one with crystals of sugar coating the top) and munched on it happily. Who knew that finding out you’re not related to someone could be so exciting?
‘Feeling better now?’ Grandma June asked.
‘Much. Thank you.’
‘Are you going to explain why that was so important to you?’
‘It will just sound crazy if I do.’
‘Already does,’ Grandpa joked, and Daisy smacked him playfully on the knee.
‘I just needed to make sure I wasn’t getting myself into a situation that I shouldn’t be getting into and now I’m sure, so everything is fine.’
‘Not crazy at all.’ Grandpa leaned down to snag a cookie.
Her grandmother just hummed a little skeptical sound but didn’t comment. At least not on that.
