“What is it?” she asks.
My hand starts to twitch at just the thought of saying the words that are about to come out of my mouth. Right now, I’d like to cut the stupid thing off, but I’m sure my right hand would take up the slack from missing the left. I place my left under my leg and prepare for her answer.
“What are you doing on your birthday?”
She tries to mask a pained look before she forces a smile. “Nothing. I don’t have any plans,” she says, shocking me. How can she not have any plans for her twenty-first birthday? She should be out celebrating and having dinner and cake with her family and friends.
“Your family doesn’t expect you anywhere?”
“My family is dead, Ethan.” I sit back, shocked by what she just said and wishing she could take it back.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her earnestly.
Daisy looks away, unable to maintain eye contact with me. I get up and move to her side, sliding in next to her. Something tells me I need to give her a hug, so I do. She only lets me hold her for a few seconds before she’s pulling away.
“You don’t need to be sorry. This week is a rough one for me and I didn’t expect you to ask about my birthday. I’m usually at a game. It’s just dumb luck that it’s an off day this year.”
“Its fate or kismet, or some of that other Shakespearean bullshit we learned about in school, because I wanted to ask if you’d go to a charity event with me.” I push her hair off her shoulder and leave my hand on her neck, letting my fingers play in her hair.
“I’ll go, but I’ll have to meet you there.”
“Why can’t I pick you up?”
Daisy shakes her head and I’m starting to put the pieces together.
“Hey,” I say, pulling her chin up. “I don’t care where you live. Material things don’t matter to me at all. I want to pick you up. Hell, I want to drive you home tonight and have been thinking about ways to find out where you live since we met.”
She doesn’t say anything, but rests her head on my shoulder. It’s an avoidance tactic, but she’s touching me so I’m happy.
“My parents died when I was three,” she mumbles. “It was a freak accident. The ice shanty they were in collapsed and as they were trying to get out, my mom slipped into the fishing hole. My dad thought he could save her. They both drowned. I’ve lived with my grandparents ever since, but my grandma died two years ago and my grandfather and I moved into a low income apartment.”
“Excuse me for being stupid, but how do you have season tickets to the Renegades?”
Daisy sits up and pushes her hair out of her face. “My grandfather gave up a luxury to have those.”
“A luxury?”
She nods, taking a sip of water. “Uh…” she shakes her head. “He’s in a wheelchair and we live on the third floor of an apartment building with an elevator that only works occasionally. After my grandma died, he sold his van to pay for the tickets. Said he refused to give up the seats his father worked so hard for.”
“He’s never at the games though.”
Daisy shakes her head. “We don’t have a car and I’m not strong enough to help him walk down the stairs. The Visiting Nurses come to the apartment to check on him and they’ll take him out occasionally, but it’s not like I can ask them to drive us to the game. They’ll take the cost of the tickets and count it as income. We won’t be able to afford them.”