* * *
Five days later, on the morning of the Beltane festival, Daisy had decided to get back on track with this fake relationship.Fakebeing the key word.
Yes, The Orgasm Incident had been fun, but Daisy had a heart to protect and business to save. She didn’t have time for fooling around.
With that decided, she was spending the morning loading up Logan’s truck with her table and tent and several hundred flower crowns. She was heading back out to the truck with a cooler filled with crowns, when she nearly ran straight into her grandmother.
‘Hey, Grandma. What are you doing here?’ she asked, handing the cooler off to Logan.
‘I have something for you.’ Her grandmother had a cardboard box in her arms. She walked into the shop with Daisy right behind her. She unceremoniously dropped the box onto the counter, brushing the dust off her hands.
‘What is it?’
‘Some things I thought you might be interested in since you keep asking about dead relatives all the time.’
‘Grandma, it was like twice.’
‘Still, thought you might want them.’
Daisy peered into the box. It was filled with old notebooks and photos and shop ledgers, the pages yellowed and worn.
‘Wow, this is actually amazing.’
Grandma June shrugged like she wasn’t interested in looking at the past and couldn’t quite understand why Daisy wanted to.
‘I hope it’s useful.’
‘Where did you find all of this?’ Daisy asked, riffling through the pictures. Some were newer, glossy and in color. She found a few of herself as a baby, her parents on their wedding day. Others were old and brittle and in black and white, with names and dates scrawled on the backs.Arthur 1943, Emilie 1956, John and Lyddie 1933. Decades passed through her fingertips.
‘Remember when we had the shop renovated a few years back?’
Daisy looked up from her digging. ‘When I was five?’
Grandma chuckled. ‘I guess it was more than a few years! I had to clean out the back apartment, and I found a bunch of my parents’ old things. Some of it felt worth keeping. Or I just felt guilty throwing it all away. I’ve added to it over the years. Anyway, I’m sure my father’s sister, Daisy, whom you’re so interested in, makes an appearance in some of those old photos.’
Daisy gave her grandmother a big hug. ‘Thank you! I’m sure it will be useful.’
Grandma June patted her back. ‘You’re an odd duck, Daisy-girl. But I love you.’
‘Love you, too. Can’t wait until I have time to go through all this.’ Great-Aunt Daisy was never far from her mind as she worked in the shop, probably standing in the exact spot her aunt had. Did her aunt like working in theshop, did she take pleasure in arranging flowers into something new and beautiful like Daisy did? Did she like going home smelling like roses and lavender?
What did that Daisy think about as the sun moved throughout the day, throwing different colors through the stained glass and onto the wood floor? What didshewant with her life?
‘So, are you all set for the festival today?’ Grandma asked, looking around the shop at the mess of supplies that still needed to be loaded into the truck.
‘Yep.’
‘And Elliot will be escorting you?’
‘Escortingme? What year is it, Grandma?’ Daisy asked with a laugh.
‘Don’t be fresh.’
‘Sorry. Yes, he will.’
Her grandma nodded in approval. ‘I think seeing you two together at Beltane will do some major damage control for your image. I overheard several people at the diner this morning comment on how happy and in love you two seem.’
Happy and in love.
