Bonus Content
Kaia
“Hello, is this Kaia Rhodes?” A middle-aged sounding man started on the other end of the phone. It was a number I didn’t recognize, and I furrowed my brows in confusion.
“Yes, this is her. Can I ask who’s calling, please?”
“Hi, this is Ray from the Medical West Emergency Department. We’re calling about Charlie Rhodes.”
Instantly, my lunch from earlier threatened to make an appearance. Hearing someone say those words was never a good sign. I steadied myself and tried to take a breath. Everything was okay. I shouldn’t always expect the worst.
“My dad? What happened? Is he okay?”
I looked over to Drea who had just returned from the back of the store with her girlfriend, Blair. I gave them both a small smile and returned to the man on the phone.
“One of his neighbors called. They saw him falling outside in his yard. He had a heart attack—”
The rest of his words faded into a loud hum. I was waiting for him to tell me he was okay. That he was asking for me, but he hadn’t yet.
“A heart attack? Is he okay? When can I come see him?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
There was a long pause before the man on the other end spoke softly, almost sympathetically. “I’m sorry ma’am, he passed away.”
The phone dropped from my hand and crashed to the floor. All I could do was stand there blinking. I didn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it was true. Eventually, my brain started to catch up, and tears started pouring from my eyes.
I dropped to the floor and covered my face, hoping that once I got up, it would all be a nightmare.
As soon as I hit the ground, I felt a soft arm on my shoulder. I knew who it was before I opened my eyes. The way that touch warmed my entire body. The way it quieted down the noise going on in my head. The way she drew idle circles on my shoulder.
I opened my eyes to see a confused Daisy looking at me with her soft green eyes. Doodle, what’s going on? What happened?
It was moments like this, where I was thankful I didn’t have to speak. I didn’t think I would’ve been able to if I tried. My dad. He had another heart attack. He… he’s gone.
Her mouth opened and she wrapped me in her arms, forcing more tears out. She held me like that for the longest time, and I let her, feeling the love and comfort of my best friend wash over me.
My mind was running restless with thoughts of what to do next and how to proceed. I had to take care of funeral arrangements and his house and insurance and all kinds of other things I had no clue about.
Finally, after what felt like hours, I let Daisy help me stand up. There would be time for grieving later. I had work to do, and I couldn’t disappoint Drea.
I’m fine, I said, smiling at Daisy and clearing my throat. “Give me five minutes to clean up, and I’ll be good as new.”
Drea gave me a look and shook her head. “Don’t even think about it. You are clocking out and going home. I’ve got it handled—”
“We’ve got it handled, babe.” Blair interrupted with an elbow to Drea’s side.
“Right. We’ve got it handled, Kaia. Go home.” Her voice was stern. Authoritative. And even though we were partners, she was still older than me and I respected her. It was still hard sometimes, shifting from former employee to business partner.
Going home was the last thing I wanted to do. That was the last place I could be. How could I sleep in a house where my father took his last breaths? Where the only parent I had alive, left the house and never came back? “Home. I can’t go home. Oh my God, what am I going to do?!”
Daisy tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to her. You can come home with me, Kaia. We’ll get some stuff and you can stay with me for a while until you get things figured out.
Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.
You’re my best friend, doodle. You’re not imposing. She bopped me on the nose, making me smile softly. Even after two years of friendship, her touches never failed to send a flutter through me.
After a little more back and forth with my thoughts, I sighed. I didn’t see any other options. There was no way I could’ve stayed in that house tonight, or ever. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I didn’t have the energy to figure it out.
We said our goodbyes and I only shed a few more tears after Drea and Blair hugged me goodbye.
Blair told me if I needed someone to talk to, she was there when I was ready.
I appreciated the gesture and thanked her.
She had lost both of her parents and her grandmother, so she understood what it was like.
I knew I could talk to her before this, but it was nice to hear it again.
On the car ride home, I fidgeted with my dress and tried not to cry. I think at that point I was still in shock, so it was easier to keep the tears away. Besides, I had other things to focus on, like going home with Daisy.
We’d been friends for two years, and our bond had gotten stronger the more we learned about each other. She started coming into the store about four years ago, around the time local author, Francesca Sibcy, was scheduled to do a book signing at the store.
I had noticed Daisy from the second she walked into the store. Her bright stunning smile took my breath away. I was too scared to go up to her. Every time I welcomed her in the store, I got a bright smile, but no response.
When Drea told me she was deaf, and spoke sign language, it all started to make sense, and I was embarrassed. I was nervous to talk to her, but I was always that way around pretty women. But a beautiful femme? Forget about it.
Drea said she was really friendly and since I wouldn’t have to worry about stuttering or nothing coming out, I decided to be brave and go for it.
Hi, was the first thing I wanted to say to her. What came out was, your eyes are green. Very smooth, I know.
I had practiced what I was going to say the whole walk over to her, but as soon as she looked up at me and smiled, my brain had to rewire itself.
Green was my favorite color, and her eyes were the most gorgeous shade of forest green I’d ever seen.
They took me by surprise, and when she smiled, I couldn’t think.
She gave me a quizzical look, but her smile never faltered. They are. Thank you for noticing. Your eyes are brown. Like a hershey kiss. That made me blush and it took me a while to recover.
Well, I’m sorry to bother you, I just wanted to introduce myself. Drea, the owner, said she came over a while ago, and she told me you sign. My dad is deaf, so I grew up learning it. Not that you needed to know any of that. Anyway, my name is Kaia, like kayak without the K.
She nodded, her smile never leaving. Well Hi, Kayak without the K. An involuntary chuckle came out before I could stop it. I’m Daisy, like the flower. Yes, I met Drea. She was very sweet. How do you pronounce her name, though? Dream without the M?
I shook my head, my smile faltering a little. Drea was one of the sweetest people I knew. But for a while, she was more focused on other things, and sometimes that sweetness fell off her radar. But she was going through a rough breakup, so I understood… mostly.
It’s pronounced like drain without the N, and uh. It sounded ridiculous in my head, but I’d never been asked to sign a pronunciation of a name before.
She seemed to have understood, and just smiled again. I wished she would’ve stopped doing that so I could’ve focused. I’m glad I’m deaf, or I would’ve been embarrassed if I said it wrong out loud. Thank you, Kaia.
Seeing my name spelled out by her fingers was giving me confusing feelings, but I brushed them away. She was a stranger, and I had no idea if she even liked women.
Again, I’m sorry to bother you. I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m the manager, so if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to come find me.
I will. Thanks again. It was nice meeting you, and I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around. I waved goodbye and returned to the register, hoping I’d see her again.
In the two years since I first walked up to her, we had become inseparable. All around, she was the best person I knew. She was creative and smart and such a ball of sunshine all the time. But she never let people walk all over her or treat her differently because of her disability.
She was the strongest woman I knew, and she had helped me over the years become a stronger person just by knowing her. She taught me that while I can be a good person, what I want matters, too, and I shouldn’t let people take advantage of me.
As someone with a disability, she knew first hand how someone could underestimate you just by how you looked.
Because I was sweet and wanted to be helpful, some people, including my friends, thought they could take advantage of me, and I let them because I was too nice.
Since meeting Daisy, I’ve learned that I can stand my ground, and still be a good friend.
And I could admit, in a very platonic way, she was easy to look at. Very easy to look at. Okay, so she was the most perfect human to ever exist.
But none of that mattered. Of course we hung out all the time, almost daily. She was my best friend and I always wanted to spend time with her. I just hadn’t really ever spent the night with her.
Since my dad got sick right after we met, I didn’t like leaving him alone at night. I wanted to be there just in case something were to happen, so we never had sleepovers.
I didn’t know what to expect, but what I did know was that sleeping in the same house as Daisy wasn’t going to be easy.
Luckily, she had two bedrooms, and if I could just keep my thoughts to myself and get some sleep, I might survive the night. I just had to figure out my next move tomorrow. Then I’d be out of her house and everything would be just fine.
She turned off the engine, causing my thoughts to stop spiraling. This was it. I’d be fine. Probably.
I’ll just be a second. I smiled softly and got out of the car. I turned back around before I shut the door. Thank you.