by Kitty Parker
"Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you bought him such an inappropriate Christmas give for an apartment," Dawn is practically snarling now.
Daisy's spine stiffens. "I'm sorry, Dawn, that I wasn't thinking of you when I bought my son a present for Christmas."
Dawn's spine stiffens as well. "Well, maybe I should just have a work with the building manager."
Daisy feels her stomach drop though she doesn't let Dawn know that. "If that's what you think you need to do, Dawn..."
The two women stare at one another – the only sound is Matty's laughter from inside the apartment – and the apartment door across the hall opens, Jack stepping out. He stops when he sees Dawn and Daisy standing there and he pauses.
"In the meantime, before I speak with him, I'll take the truck," Dawn says. "As collateral."
Daisy stares at the woman and crosses her arms over her chest. "You're not going to be taking my son's toy," she says in a low, clipped tone.
"Then have your son stop playing with his toy," Dawn says in a matching hard voice.
They both hear a heavy sigh and they turn to see Jack watching with his own frown.
"Dawn, why don't you jus' stop?" Jack says. "He's jus' a kid and it's Christmas."
"It was Christmas two days ago," Dawn snaps. "And I have a headache."
"Then you need to lay off the Schnapps," Jack tells her and Daisy has to purse her lips together from smiling.
Dawn's eyes narrow at him and she then spins her head back towards Daisy. "I will be talking to the building manager," she says one final time and then storms off down the stairs, leaving Daisy and Jack alone in the hall.
Daisy exhales a heavy breath. "Thank you for that."
Jack shrugs. "Everyone knows she's a bitch. Including Axel," he says.
Axel is their building manager and he has been nothing but absolutely nice to Daisy and Matty. When she told him about the radiator, he had someone here the very next morning to check it out for her and fix it. When she bakes, she often makes an extra one just for him and sets it aside. It's not as if she's trying to bribe the man into bribing him. She just likes the way he eats any cupcake she bakes. He eats it like it's the most delicious thing he's ever tasted and he's just amazing for her self-esteem.
Daisy nods but doesn't say anything.
"He's not gonna take a toy away from a lil' boy," Jack adds.
"Yeah…" She looks over her shoulder back into the apartment. "Maybe it was a pretty thoughtless gift to buy with us living in an apartment."
"You're a great mom," Jack says and he says it so softly, she thinks that maybe she had just imagined hearing it but when she looks at him, he's looking down to the floor shyly.
And there is that urge to kiss him on the cheek and as she never seems to be able to, she can't stop herself before she does just that. She walks up to him and pushing herself up on her toes, she kisses his cheek. And as the third kiss now that she has given him on the cheek, her lips linger the longest they have yet. And he goes still as he always does but she swears that he leans into her the slightest bit and when she finally pulls her lips away, he seems to instantly turn his head towards her. She almost gasps with how close their faces are. She swears just a fraction of a centimeter more and their noses will be touching.
Jack suddenly steps away from her and the abrupt space between them almost shocks her. He doesn't look at her again. His eyes go back to the floor. And without a word, he turns and heads down the stairs. He's obviously hurrying to get away from her but he looks as calm as he always does. He never reveals anything on the outside.
Daisy watches him practically run away from her and she tells herself that it's okay. It's just a crush. She doesn't need to know what it's like to kiss him. It's just a crush and it will pass soon enough.
…
She doesn't mean to bother him. It's the last thing she wants to do. But she's desperate and upset and so scared.
She holds Matty in her arms as he breathes labored against the side of her neck and his little body is so hot underneath his pajamas. She races across the hallway and knocks hurriedly on the door. She doesn't stop knocking and she finally hears shuffling from the other side. Jack looks groggy as he opens the door but the instant he sees Daisy standing there, he's instantly awake and alert.
"I'm too upset to drive," she tells him in a shaky voice. "Can you please drive me to the urgent care?"
He doesn't even answer. He just hurries inside and returns a second later, he returns in a pair of jeans, his coat pulled over the tee-shirt he had been sleeping in, his shoes and his keys in his hands.
"I tried to bring his fever down myself but it just keeps getting higher and I didn't call an ambulance because… because I didn't know if it would get here fast enough and I'm a terrible mother," she begins crying.
"A'right. Come on." He takes Matty from her arms into his. "Don't need you fallin' down the stairs and hurtin' yourself."
It's all a blur to Daisy. Really, the only thing that really stands out to her is how calm Jack is the entire time. He gets them to urgent care quickly yet safely and he holds Matty again as Daisy, still a blubbering mess, tells the nurse at the front desk that her son has a high fever and he's burning up.
"Alright. I just need you to fill these out first," the nurse says, sliding a clipboard of papers across the desk towards her.
"What?" Daisy gasps, her tears stopping momentarily. She can't even remember Matty's middle name right now. "I can't-"
"Listen, lady," Jack steps up next to Daisy, his voice a growl. "The kid is burnin' up and he needs to see someone. Can she fill out these papers later?"
After that, a doctor comes to see them right away. Because of Matty's age and the high temperature, he gets hooked onto an IV to help with dehydration and then he begins running his tests. Daisy sits in the chair next to him and wipes hair back from his forehead. Jack's not in the room and she just thinks that maybe he has gone home. He has done more than enough already.
An hour later and Matty's fever is already coming down. The doctor has given him some antibiotics and has diagnosed him with an ear infection. Daisy had planned on calling her family but now that she knows that he will be alright – and is already getting better – she doesn't want to call them in the middle of the night and scare everyone.
The doctor tells her to go and get some rest or something to eat and Daisy kisses Matty's head and even though he's asleep, she promises him that she will be right back. She leaves the room and heads down the quiet hallway but she stops as she passes one of the sitting areas – filled with the vending machines, chair and sofas and televisions. And Jack.
Jack is lying on one of the couches, his feet kicked up on the arm, and he's watching television – an old Friends episode from the second season. Daisy loves Friends and has seen every episode at least twice.
He sees her and he quickly sits up, pointing the remote at the television and pressing mute. He stands up and wipes his hands on his jeans. "How's the kid doin'?" He asks.
Daisy just stares at him. He stayed. He actually stayed. He's been here the entire time.
He's staring at her, waiting for her to say something and tell him how Matty is, but she, once again, has forgotten everything in her mind. Instead, all she can do is walk towards him, her eyes never leaving him.
She doesn't stop or hesitate or tell herself that it's not just a crush.
She walks right up to him and pushing herself up on her toes, she circles her arms around his neck and kisses him right on the lips.
…
She's kissed him and he has absolutely no idea what to do about it. He doesn't even know what to think. Well, that's not true. He's thinking one thing but he can't completely bring himself to actually believe something like that about Daisy. So, he really does the only thing that makes sense to him.
He pretends she doesn't exist.
He pretends that he doesn't know that she tastes like chocolate and her lips are soft and he tel
ls himself that the only reason she kissed him is because he helped her with her kid. And with Dawn. And she kissed him because she probably thought she owed him something. He tells himself that she kissed him because she's looking for something from him that she's probably always looking for in a guy. But he's not daddy material and he doesn't want to be and deep down, he knows that Daisy's not asking him to be daddy to her kid but once it's in his mind, he can't get it out of there.
Pretending she doesn't exist is the best thing for him to do. He's been getting too close to both of them – Daisy and Matty – and he doesn't know why. They're nice and he likes them but being a part of their life just confuses him and he wants his boring life to stay that way.
And Daisy, thankfully, seems to get the hint because she doesn't bother him. She doesn't come knocking on his door for anything and when they see one another a couple of times in the grocery store, Daisy turns her head away from him as if she hasn't seen him at all.
When that happens, Jack tells himself that Daisy pretending he doesn't exist to her, too, is just what he wants. He's a dick and she doesn't need someone like him in her life.
…
Her name is Carolina.
At least, he thinks her name is Carolina. The bar is too loud. The music is pounding and everyone around them is talking and shouting and everything is just too loud.
He does know though that when she kisses him, she tastes like vodka and absolutely nothing like chocolate and that's good enough for him.
…
He wakes up in the morning with a pounding headache and an arm tossed across his stomach and he instantly hates himself. He lays there for a moment, his eyes squeezed shut because the sun is pouring through the windows and it's temporarily blinding him. When he does open his eyes, he sees a head of blonde next to him and for a second, he thinks that somehow, Daisy's wound up in his bed with him and he's trying to remember how that happened. And then oddly, he wonders if he has any eggs in the refrigerator. He should try and make breakfast for her. But where's Matty?
The body shifts and then the head is lifted and he sees that it's not Daisy but rather, Carolina from the bar the night before and Jack wants to punch himself for feeling disappointed at that. As if Daisy would ever be in his bed.
"Good morning," Carolina gives him a tired smile and he grunts something back to her. Maybe it's a good morning response but he doesn't know and he doesn't even really care.
He's just relieved that his tee-shirt from the night before is still on. He's never liked sex. He doesn't like being that close to a person and he's only ever done it a handful of times in his life – always when he's too drunk to remember. This is the first time he's done it without Cletus there, heckling him on.
Even in his thick skull, pounding with a headache, he realizes that Carolina looks like Daisy. She's not as skinny or fragile looking as Daisy. She's definitely got the body of a woman. But her hair is long and blonde and her eyes are blue and her skin is pale and Jack wonders if he picked Carolina out in the bar the night before for those specific reasons. He doesn't know what the hell he's doing.
Carolina sits up, not at all seemed to be bothered with her being completely naked in his bed, and she stretches her arms over her head. He sits up, too, and finds his boxers, tugging them on and standing up. The room smells stale and he goes to the window to open it a bit to get some fresh air in here.
Carolina giggles as she stands up. "It's cold," she says as she comes to him, and sliding her arms around his waist, she stands on her toes and kisses him. She still doesn't taste like chocolate. "You wanna get some breakfast?"
He shakes his head. "I gotta get to work," he says and at least he's not telling a lie to her.
"Alright," she smiles, not seeming to be at all bothered by that. She slips away from him and begins to get herself dressed. "Do you want to meet up at the bar again tonight?" She asks.
And before Jack even knows what the hell he's doing, he finds himself nodding his head.
But maybe this is exactly what he needs to do. Pushing Daisy even further from his mind by spending time with a woman who's nothing like her. Carolina may look a little like her but Carolina moves in a completely different way than Daisy.
A person takes one look at Daisy and they knows she's shy and the sweetest person in the world and she's a hell of a mom who puts her son before everything and her family is out of some television show and she makes a living baking cupcakes for fuck's sake. She's as different from Jack as a person can be.
He met Carolina in a bar and she smelled like cigarettes and tasted like vodka and her shirt and jeans are too tight and she oozes with someone who has too much confidence in themselves. This girl is definitely not Daisy and Jack knows that that's what he needs.
And Daisy needs that, too. She needs a guy not Jack.
He would much rather be alone but he guesses if he has to spend his time with someone, Carolina's not that bad of a choice. She seems nice enough and she seems to like him for some reason. What's with all these girls liking him?
After they're both dressed and he's splashed some cold water on his face and rinsed his mouth out with some mouthwash, he ushers Carolina out of his apartment.
"What time to you get off work tonight?" Carolina asks as they start walking down the stairs. "I don't even know what you do."
The first floor front entrance glass door opens and Jack's not surprised to see Daisy walk through. He almost wants to smirk at his luck. She walks Matty to school every morning and she's getting back from that – just in time to see him leave his apartment with some woman. He doesn't know why it bothers him, having Daisy see this. Her seeing this should be perfect.
Daisy pauses at the bottom of the stairs as she sees Jack coming down them with Carolina. She looks for a moment as if she doesn't entirely understand what she's seeing but she's not a stupid girl and seeing Jack with a woman so early in the morning can really mean only one thing. He took this girl back to his apartment the night before and slept with her.
Daisy kisses him and he's ignored her ever since and he goes and finds someone else to kiss.
He's such a dick. He really is and he's now wondering what Daisy thinks. Probably nothing good about herself. She's probably thinking that she disgusts him or something stupid like girls tend to think about themselves. Course, he's done nothing to show her otherwise.
And then Carolina's arm slides through his, pulling on it and hugging it to her chest, and Daisy quickly looks down, lowering her eyes to the floor and she steps to the side so they can pass before she hurries up the stairs. Carolina is still chattering about something – he has no idea what – and Jack turns his head, watching Daisy disappear upstairs.
…
He can't get her off his mind for most of his day – which is nothing new because ever since he's really met her for the first time, she's been on his mind.
He doesn't get why she likes him. Of all the guys in this world, he's the one she likes and he thinks of Cletus and what he's said about single moms. He tells himself that that's the only reason Daisy likes him. She just needs him for her son – to help her with pain in the ass neighbors and drive her to the doctor's.
Why the hell else would she ever like a guy like him?
He keeps his head down and works quietly for the day as he always does, ignoring Martinez and the other guys cracking jokes and laughing as they do every other day.
"Hey, man," Martinez comes up and slaps him on the shoulder. "Wanna grab some lunch?"
Jack nods and wipes his hand on a red bandanna he keeps in his back pocket and he follows Martinez out the back door to where the employees park. Martinez drives them to one of the burger places in town and they get a booth in the back corner. It's one of those places made up to look like it's from the fifties with a jukebox and vinyl seats and Buddy Holly music playing. They're both quiet as they look over the menus.
"Hey, guys, what can I get you?" Their waitress smiles at them as she holds her pencil and or
dering pad in her hand.
They both order the cheeseburger baskets with Cokes and the waitress goes off to put their order in with the kitchen and leave them alone for the time being.
"Everything alright with you?" Martinez then asks, relaxing in the vinyl booth and stretching his arm across the top of it.
Jack's leaning back, too, but he's looking out the window as if he sees something completely fascinating out there. "Yeah," he says and gives his head a single nod.
"Don't really believe you," Martinez replies. "You're quiet today."
"'m always quiet," Jack reminds him, still not looking away from the window.
For a second, he thinks he sees Daisy. He sees a blond-haired woman walking into the stationary store across the street but her body is the wrong shape and Daisy's winter coat is red – not green like that woman is wearing. He can't believe he knows what color Daisy's coat is because even though he's always been highly observant, he shouldn't know that.
"It's a girl, isn't it?" Martinez asks, a slow grinning spreading across his face.
Jack doesn't answer and busies himself with getting the paper wrapper away from the straw once their Cokes arrive.
"Yeah," Martinez nods. "It's always a girl. What's her name?"
Jack pretends he doesn't hear him. There's no way he's going to tell Martinez anything. He might be his boss and a nice guy but that doesn't mean Martinez has to know anything about what's going on in Jack's life. Hell, even Jack doesn't know what's going on in his life. This is the longest he's ever stayed in for any period of time and he's wondering where Cletus is and when he gets back, if they'll be moving on again.
Maybe he should tell Martinez that instead of what the man wants to talk about.
"First time I met Theresa, I was such a dick to her," Martinez says, smiling, shaking his head at himself. "I was lucky she ever gave me the time of day after that."
And Jack doesn't want to but he can't help himself. He lifts his head and looks at the man sitting across the table from him. Despite how he may act, everyone at the garage knows that Martinez is married and pretty damn devoted to his wife.
