Chapter 2
Chapter Two
DAISY
For the past few days, my mind had been on nothing but Kaia and helping her with the funeral. I still couldn’t believe her dad was really gone. I’d met him a few times, and he was always so upbeat and positive. He adored Kaia and I loved seeing them together.
I hated this for her. Kaia was the kindest person I knew, and she didn’t deserve any kind of suffering. She was strong, even though I kept telling her she didn’t need to be. She was stubborn that way, and I loved her for it.
She hid behind her strong exterior, but I would pass by her room at night and see her crying into the darkness, knees to her chest, body shaking.
I’d let her have her moment, but eventually my heart would ache too much, and I’d end up sitting next to her and holding her, letting her cry on my shoulder.
I’d always have a shoulder ready for her whenever she wanted it.
The funeral was in a few days, and everything was coming together. He’d requested to be cremated, so the funeral was just really a chance for everyone in his life to come together and say goodbye. I felt weird being there, but Kaia insisted she needed me, and who was I to tell her no?
I knew she’d be glad when it was all over. You couldn’t really start the grieving process until after you’d laid your loved one to rest.
I tried not to bring it up and to let her come to me about it, but if I didn’t interject, she’d never let me help her. I wanted to do anything I could to help take some things off her plate.
I couldn’t make the phone calls, but I could reach out to people on her behalf via social media about the funeral, and I could look up and email realtors about selling the house.
That was the one thing we didn’t talk about.
I didn’t want to ask her what she was planning on doing with the house until she was ready.
After lying in bed scrolling on my phone for almost an hour, I decided it was time to get the day started.
I needed breakfast, and I knew Duke needed to go out.
I planned to go on a walk with him later, and I wondered if Kaia would want to go.
It would be good for her to get out of the house and get some fresh air.
As I made my way to the living room, my steps faltered at what greeted me.
Kaia stood in the kitchen with a cup of tea, looking at something on her phone.
She was wearing a powder-blue spaghetti-strap top with matching shorts.
It was the first time I’d seen her in sleep clothes, and she looked…
different. Not a bad different—she looked good, just not how I was used to seeing her.
She looked up at me and smiled softly. Her smiles were always the brightest part of my day. I could get used to waking up to them every morning.
“Morning, sunny.” She had been calling me that since we met, and I still hadn’t asked her why. I supposed it didn’t really matter. It was what she wanted to call me, so that was what I responded to.
“Morning, doodle.” I returned her smile and walked over to her outstretched hand to take the mug from her with one hand. I brought up my empty hand to sign, “Thank you.”
I headed over to the table and sat down, waiting until she sat with me before I asked the question I knew she hated to get. “How are you doing?”
Judging by the face she made, she was most likely groaning. She hated when people asked her that, but as her best friend, it was my job to ask the tough questions. To get her to open up about things she didn’t want to talk about. At least sometimes.
“I’m fine. I still can’t believe it’s real.
I had just talked to him before I left for work, and everything was fine.
He asked if we could go out to dinner when I got off, and I was looking forward to it.
Now, I’ll never get the chance. He won’t be there to walk me down the aisle when I get married someday.
He—” She dropped her hands and started crying.
A few tears fell from my own eyes, and I quickly wiped them away before getting up to be by her side.
I rubbed my hand on her leg and her gaze snapped to mine. “Sorry,” I signed. I hadn’t meant to scare her. She looked down at my hand and I removed it, suddenly feeling like it wasn’t the right thing to do.
I wiped the tears from her eyes and melted at her sad expression. I would’ve done anything to take away her sadness. This wasn’t fair!
“Hey, why don’t we go take Duke for a walk? The fresh air will be good for all of us. What do you say? We can stop at the bookstore for some hot chocolate.”
I smiled at the tiny sparkle in her eyes. She loved their hot chocolate, and I knew she liked the barista. I couldn’t blame her. Not only was Rylee super sweet, but she was drop-dead gorgeous. Her wife was a very lucky woman. Still, the eye candy always brightened our day.
We finished our tea and talked a little more. I made sure not to bring up anything that would make her sad. The rest of the day was reserved for putting a smile on her face and getting to see her nose crinkle in happiness. It was my favorite thing to see.
We got dressed and I put Duke’s leash around his neck. I was still hungry, so I suggested we get breakfast at the cafe. Kaia had no qualms about that idea, as I knew she wouldn’t.
On our walk, Duke seemed to want to stop at almost every corner, to sniff around and release the smallest amount of pee, but I didn’t mind. It gave me more time with Kaia, and I’d always want that.
I kept “accidentally” bumping into her and she scowled at me, but her smile gave her away every time.
“Do you need help walking today? Did you spike your tea with something this morning?”
I smiled. I always enjoyed teasing her. Her pouts were the cutest. “No, I didn’t spike my tea, but I might need help. Can you carry me?”
Her chest shook with laughter, and I internally patted myself on the back. That was the first time she’d laughed in days.
“You’re hilarious. Come on, we’re almost there. Think you can make it?”
I pretended to think seriously about it. “I don’t know. I’ll try.” She rolled her eyes, and we kept walking toward the bookstore.
When we walked in, I grabbed her wrist to get her attention. The bookstore was packed, and I knew exactly what she was thinking.
“What’s wrong?”
I gave her a look. “Don’t even think about it.”
She frowned. “Think about what?”
“I know you, Kaia. You’re off today. Let Drea and the girls handle it. You do not need to feel guilty about having a day off. Look, the Bennetts are here, too. They’ve got everything handled.”
She looked around the store again, and her shoulders fell. “I know. You’re right. How did you know that’s what I was thinking?”
I shook my head. “I’m offended you would even ask that. You think I don’t know you after all this time? Let’s get our breakfast and hot chocolate, yeah?”
Her smile brightened at the mention of hot chocolate, and she nodded, putting a little more pep in her step.
I ordered two of my favorite turkey Danishes and a white hot chocolate with their cookie syrup. Kaia ordered the same hot chocolate and an egg sandwich.
“Come on, Rylee. You have to let us pay. You do this every time we come in. How do you expect to make any money if you keep giving stuff away for free?” Kaia signed and spoke at the same time, and I always appreciated that she did that.
Even if the conversation didn’t include me, she always made a point to involve me.
I didn’t know what Rylee’s response was, but her face looked serious, and Kaia just said thank you and dragged me to our seats.
“What did she say?”
She smiled. “She pretended to threaten me. That if I didn’t take the damn free food with a smile, she’d tell Drea I needed another two weeks off. I wouldn’t survive being off for that long, and she knows it. She also…” Her face took on the most adorable shade of red.
“What is it?” I asked, eager for the story to continue.
She blew out a breath and straightened up, like she was preparing herself for something. “She also said that if I didn’t take it, she was going to convince you to kidnap me and tie me up in your room for two weeks so I couldn’t come back to work.”
I didn’t know why that made her blush, but seeing her getting all flustered and using the words tie me up and my room had my own face heating up.
The images I was creating in my head were not good ones to have in public.
I shook it off and tilted my head toward the store, thankful for the distraction.
“Here comes Fallon and Mackenzie. Are you in the mood for company?”
She turned her head and looked back with a smile. “For them? Always.”
“Want me to leave you guys alone? I can browse the bookstore.” I started to stand up, but she stopped me with a hand on my wrist.
“No. Sit down. I want you here.” I did as she wanted, sitting back in my chair in time for Fallon to approach the table with a smile and her wife’s hand on her lower back.
“Hey.” Fallon waved. We exchanged waves and hugs, and Fallon started talking to Kaia.
I didn’t know what she was saying, but seeing Kaia’s response, I assumed she’d asked how she was doing.
I was proud of her for wanting to leave the house and interacting with her friends.
I wouldn’t have blamed her if she wanted to stay inside the house for weeks without seeing or talking to anyone.
They talked a little more, and when they left, Kaia repeated the conversation.
They came over to say hello and see how we were doing.
They asked when Kaia was going back to work and mentioned they wanted us all to go out together sometime.
She apologized for not signing the whole time, and I informed her it was totally fine.
“We should go out with them. I think it would be good for all of us to spend more time together, and you know I love them. They are the sweetest.”
“I don’t think I’m up for going out anytime soon, but maybe in a few months or so?”
I nodded, and we finished our food without any more conversation. It was a struggle, but I dragged her out of the store without checking in on things. Drea signed, “Thank you” as I stopped Kaia from heading over there, and I smiled before the door shut behind us.