Chapter Twenty-Three
DAISY AND AMELIA WERE SILENT the entire way back to their home.
It wasn’t an uncomfortable or even an angry silence, but a thoughtful stillness, one they both needed before any words were spoken.
Jameson had offered to accompany them home, mostly because he desperately wanted to make sure they were all right, but Daisy amiably refused, stating that she and Amelia needed to have a conversation without him present.
Jameson was more than understanding and sent them on their way with his driver, Barry.
While Daisy was grateful that Jameson had taken the majority of responsibility for being absent from Amelia’s life, she couldn’t let him take the blame for everything.
Amelia deserved honesty, and that’s exactly what Daisy was going to give her.
It was the longest walk up to their apartment as Daisy prepared her mind and her heart for that conversation.
She let Amelia go to her room and get ready for bed before she went in. She knocked twice and turned the doorknob. She found Amelia in bed with a copy of the magazine she’d been browsing through that morning. Daisy giggled when she found her staring intently at a page with Jameson on it.
“It’s so weird,” Amelia said, eyes still focused on the page.
“I know,” Daisy agreed, sitting on the edge of the bed. “But you can’t always believe these things. Sometimes they write stuff that isn’t true.”
“Then why do you and Auntie Anna read them?”
Daisy was stumped. Amelia made a very good point. “I don’t know. I guess I like the fashion.”
Amelia shrugged and threw the tabloid down onto her bed. The girls were quiet for a few moments before Amelia said, “I’m not mad or even sad—just confused… I guess.”
Daisy scooted closer and waited for her to keep going.
“Like… why now? Even if he was doing all those bad things and not ready to be my dad, why didn’t he just come over once a year or send me a card on my birthday?” she said, picking at a loose thread on her blanket. “I keep all my birthday cards.”
Daisy leaned back on the headboard with Amelia and wrapped an arm around her.
Time for the truth.
“It’s because he didn’t know you existed.”
Perplexed, Amelia looked up at her mother and started, “But he said—”
“I know what he said, baby,” Daisy interjected, “and while it’s true, he left out a couple of… important details.”
“Like what?”
Daisy gently stroked her hand through Amelia’s hair and thought about the best way to word this difficult topic. “Some mommies decide to have their babies, and some decide not to have them before they’re born.”
Amelia raised her eyebrows. “Like they take them out of their tummy?”
“Yes. Some mommies feel like they can’t handle having a baby—maybe they’re young, or scared, or feel hopeless, and they choose not to have it.”
Amelia slowly nodded, understanding, while Daisy willed her tears not to fall.
“And I let Jameson believe that I had you taken out of my tummy. I made him believe that you were not going to be born. So while he knew you had once existed, I never told him that I chose to keep you.”
Daisy penitently nodded once. “I’m so sorry, Amelia. I thought I was making the best decision for you. But now I see that maybe I should’ve told both of you about each other a long time ago. I’ll always regret making you grow up without a dad.”
Daisy whispered the last bit and sat with her head hung low. After a couple of seconds, Amelia’s hand gently landed on her mother’s cheek. Daisy looked into her blue orbs and grinned. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, Mommy. Thank you for telling me.”
Daisy exhaled. She’d made a choice at eighteen with the tools she had, and she’d been refining those tools ever since. “You’re welcome. I promise not to keep these kinds of things from you.”
“Okay,” Amelia said as she snuggled into Daisy’s chest. They both lay back into Amelia’s pillows and dozed off slowly into the night.
Daisy was awoken at 6 a.m. Her cell was beeping. She slowly moved a sleeping Amelia off her chest and stood from the bed. Looking down at her phone, she noticed a missed call from Matt and several missed texts from Jameson.
She felt the strangest emotion seeing the two names appear on her screen side by side: her past and her present.
She lingered on Matt’s missed call a beat longer than she meant to.
Matt.
Her fixture. The word fit him neatly, though she could never say it aloud.
He was the one who stocked the freezer with popsicles when Amelia had a sore throat, who fixed the crooked kitchen drawer without being asked, who left grocery lists on the fridge when she was out of something.
And then there was Jameson.
She was only just beginning to know him again. Once, he’d been her very heartbeat, the boy she trusted without reservation. He was also the reason she kept Matt at arm’s length, choosing to love him from a distance despite his steady presence in their lives.
With a sharp shake of her head, she pushed the thought aside and opened Jameson’s texts.
Jameson: Hey! Sorry it’s late. Just checking in. How is she?
Jameson: I know you wanted some time with her, but I’d love to come over this weekend and spend some time together. Now that she knows, I really want to get to know her… as a parent.
The last text had been the one to wake her up:
Jameson: Me again. I’m assuming you must be still sleeping. Sorry to bother. Headed into the studio. I’ll catch up with you later.
Daisy grinned and made her way into the living room. She sat down on the couch and responded to Jameson’s text.
Daisy: Call me when you’re free and we can figure something out.
She waited a few seconds for her phone to light up with his call, but when it didn’t, she decided to call Matt back instead.
It only took two rings for him to pick up.
“Morning, Daisy,” he rasped into the phone.
“Morning,” she said back.
“It’s a little early for you. Those birds still keeping you up?”
Daisy pouted her bottom lip. “No, they left the nest right after I returned Kevin. They didn’t even have the courtesy of saying goodbye.”
“Those damn birds.”
They softly chuckled through the phone. “Hey! My flight is about to board. I’ll text you when I land. What do you say I take my girls out for dinner tonight?”
Daisy slyly grinned and immediately said, “That would be nice. What time?”
“Does five thirty work?”
“Five thirty is great. Amelia will be excited to see you.”
“The feeling is mutual,” he said, hesitating a moment before asking, “And what about her mother?”
Daisy laughed. “Her mother is excited as well. We have a lot to tell you.”
“Hopefully all good stuff.”
Daisy was about to respond but was cut off by Matt saying, “Hey, I really have to go. Talk to you soon.”
“Okay, bye.”
Daisy pulled the phone from her ear and made the trek to her bedroom. There, she wrapped herself in her comforter, closed her eyes, and slowly drifted back to sleep.
When Daisy woke up for the second time that morning, it was not due to her phone but to peals of laughter coming from the living room. She was surprised to find her clock reading half past ten. She had slept almost four hours uninterrupted.
She dragged herself out to the living room and found Amelia literally on the floor rolling with laughter while Jameson sat next to her, rolling himself.
Daisy turned her eyes to the television, the source of their amusement, and watched.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she mumbled under her breath. “You actually have my kid watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
“It’s a classic. I had to initiate her properly.”
Daisy rolled her eyes and sprawled out on the empty couch. “Next time initiate her with a PG-rated movie.”
Jameson’s head quickly whirled to her. His eyes were wide with remorse. “Sorry, I suppose I should’ve asked.”
Daisy lifted her eyebrow and was about to say, “Damn straight,” when Amelia piped in, “She lets me watch everything, so don’t feel bad.”
“That’s not true.”
Amelia tested her. “What about Mean Girls, or Notting Hill, or The Breakfast Club?”
Jameson joked, “Whoa, that’s rated R.”
“It was on TV,” Daisy defended. “Okay, I’m pretty lenient with movies.”
“Or what about—”
Daisy interrupted. “Okay, enough. We don’t want Jameson thinking I’m that bad of a parent.”
Jameson lifted the side of his mouth and whispered, “I would never think that.”
She smirked back and propped her head up. “So what are you doing here? I told you to call me later.”
“I did call you later. Amelia picked up and said I should come over. So I did.”
Daisy eyed her oblivious daughter, whose eyes were glued to the TV.
“That child,” Daisy mumbled. “Well, since you’re here, can I offer you any coffee or tea?”
“I’m good. Though I wouldn’t mind picking up food from that Thai place down the street in a bit.”
“It’s so good. Isn’t it, Mom?”
“It is good,” Daisy answered cautiously, “but it’s also very crowded on Saturday afternoons.”
“So? Nin always gives us a table.”
“That’s true but…” Daisy pursed her lips and looked at Jameson.
“What your mum is trying to say is that people will recognize me and it will be very distracting.”
“So? That’s so cool! Will there be paparazzi like in the movies?”
Jameson grimaced. “Sadly, yes, and sadly, it isn’t as cool as the movies make it seem. It can be annoying and intrusive. And since we are just starting to get to know each other, I think your mum and I don’t want loads of people knowing about you yet.”
Amelia’s eyes turned downcast. “But why? Are you… ashamed?”
Jameson was next to her in a flash. “Of course not. I will never be ashamed of you. I’m just very protective of you”—then he turned his gaze to Daisy—“and your mum and I don’t want anybody to start harassing you or interfering with your privacy simply because you are my child.”
Amelia contemplated his words for a moment, then said, “I guess that makes sense.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Sure. I won’t even tell my friends at school, but…” Amelia paused.
“But what?” Daisy asked.