“And the hottest,” Jamie yelled from the kitchen.
“And the hottest, according to my wife,” Tommy laughed. “Who you got Keegan?” He asked, looking my way. “I have fifty on the Pats, you on my side or what?”
“Hate to break it to you, Tommy, but I think the Colts have this one in the bag,” I said, pointing to the screen. I’d known Tommy since they moved next door six years ago and he’s always been cool towards me, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to bet against Daisy’s dad. I needed to be on his good side. “It’s forty seven to twenty,” I added.
David slapped me on the shoulder. “I’m glad a smart man is driving my girl to school.” If I had a dad, I would want him to be like that. Someone I could sit around and place bets with while we watched sports together.
David held out his hand when the game ended. “Time to pay up.”
Tommy pulled out his wallet and stuffed a fifty dollar bill in his hand. “Everytime.”
“Dinner is ready,” Janis announced, walking into the room, with her hands full. “I don’t care if the game is over or not.”
“Games over, honey, and we are fifty bucks richer,” David answered.
Jamie appeared behind Janis. “I told you to quit betting against him, babe. Seven years and you haven’t won once.”
“Daddy stinks at bets,” Sophia giggled, running into the room and hugging her dad’s legs.
“Hey now, you’re supposed to be on daddy’s side,” Tommy chuckled, grabbing his daughter and pulling her into his arms.
She gave him a hug. “It’s okay, I still love you.”
Everyone cleared the room and headed into the dining room where a long table was covered with bowls of food.
“Okay, this is amazing,” I said, pointing towards the sweet potato on my plate.
“Made from scratch,” Janis answered, smiling.
“My mom is seriously one of the best cooks,” Daisy said, proudly. “Unfortunately, that trait wasn’t passed down to me.”
“You’ll catch on, eventually,” Janis said. “Speaking of cooking, I asked Tessa to come with us, because I know how much she enjoys helping on Thanksgiving, but she never returned my phone call. Have you talked to her?”
“Eh, not really,” Daisy answered, stirring her fork in circles in her mashed potatoes. Clearly, the topic made her uncomfortable.
Her mom frowned. “You should. She could really use a friend at the moment.”
Daisy kept her eyes on her plate. “I will.”
“I understand it’s hard for you,” David cut in. “But that young lady needs support. I had to book her dad in for DUI last week. Breaks my heart, seeing their family fall apart like that.”
“What?” Daisy asked, her eyes wide. “Darryl got arrested for drinking and driving?”
David nodded. “That family, they are spiraling out of control. Tessa has been skipping school and her mom quit her job at the pharmacy. Your mother tried to go over there to fix the situation, but they wouldn’t even allow her inside their house. They’re mad I didn’t let him off the hook. Forty years of friendship and they don’t want anything to do with us, now.”
“They’ll come around,” Jamie said, cutting in. “You have been friends too long to let something like that tear you guys apart. They’ll realize you had to do your job.”
My attention moved back and forth to the people talking around the table, curious about the conversation. Daisy had never mentioned anyone named Tessa before. Actually, she hadn’t mentioned anything about her life in Indiana. Where she came frm was all one big mystery.
“Please try to talk to her Daisy. I don’t want to see her go down the wrong path because she doesn’t have the right support system,” Janis said, taking a sip of wine.
“I will,” Daisy answered, failing to look anyone in the eye. I could tell she was uncomfortable. He dad opened his mouth, most likely to continue the conversation, but I stopped him.
“How are you doing with your photography?” I asked, suddenly, throwing out the first thought that came to my mind. My hand swept underneath the table and grabbed her hand into mine to give it a small squeeze. Her gaze drifted up, locking eyes with mine and she smiled.
“It’s going fine,” she said, squeezing my hand one more time before letting go.
“ADMIT IT, this was way better than eating some cheap Chinese food and sitting at home,” Daisy said, pointing a spoon my way. I focused in one the spoon, scooping up a glob of whip cream and pie before popping it into her mouth.
She was right, but I refused to admit it. “Your family is nice,” I commented, completely off topic.
A snort escaped her. "Nice, that they are. Overbearing and intrusive, also yes."