Page 8 of Wood You Knot

“I doubt that.” Daphne frowned.

I gently pressed a finger to her nose. “Don’t doubt it; it’s true. Now get dressed, we’ve got a lot to do today.”

“Like what?”

“Well for starters, we’re going to go grocery shopping. We’ve got no food here except cold pizza,” I answered.

“I like cold pizza,” Daphne said smartly, following me as I walked through the living room and down the hall toward my bedroom to look for something to wear.

Nix and Parker had shown up before I’d even had a moment to change out of my pyjamas. I’d just pulled myself out of bed and was using the bathroom when the apartment buzzer went off.

I hadn’t even had time to brush my hair. And yet…Nix’s eyes had roamed over every inch of me as if I had been wearing something irresistible, and not just my baggy pyjama bottoms and an old band T-shirt.

In fact, he’d asked me out—or, at least, I think he had. He’d invited me to The Quarter Lounge.

Nix was probably just being polite, wanting to welcome me to town with an invitation to the bar everyone probably hung out at most weekends. Not that I would have been able to say yes.

When Daphne came out, Nix had seemed surprised by her existence. Of course, the last—and only—time I’d brought Daphne to town had been a quick visit over Christmas when she was an infant, and I hadn’t seen any of the Hutchinsons during our brief stay.

My clothes were in a bunch of garbage bags, and I dumped them out one by one on my bed and rooted through the pile until I found a sundress. It was a little wrinkled from being in the bag, but it’d have to do.

Daphne’s clothes were also in garbage bags. It was the easiest way we could fit everything into my car. I found a cute sundress for her too. While I applied a light layer of makeup, I had her write out a shopping list. Daphne loved making lists—a little trait she might have gotten from me.

With our shopping list in hand, we locked up the apartment and headed down to the car. I drove forty minutes out of town to the nearest Walmart, knowing I could get most of the things on our list there.

* * *

A few hours later, we returned, our arms loaded with bags from our shopping excursion and my bank account several hundred dollars emptier. Daphne’s mood had improved greatly as I let her pick out decorations for her new room and a brand-new outfit for her first day of school.

It took us several loads to get everything out of the car, including the forty-five-inch television I bought for the living room and the console table it would sit on. At 6 p.m., I was still attempting to put the console table together. It took me several tries, but eventually, I figured it out.

When the new TV was finally hooked up, we had our first official movie night in our new place. Daphne picked Inside Out, and as I snuggled my daughter on the couch in our new apartment, I couldn’t help but feel happier than I’d felt in months. Years, even.

But when Daphne was tucked in bed and sleeping soundly, I was left alone in the apartment with a host of emotions and feelings I knew I’d have to process sooner rather than later.

I hated my relationship mistakes had affected my daughter. I’d had to uproot her from a pretty good life in Guelph, but I knew I could build a better one for us here. One where I didn’t have to rely on a man for my happiness.

I’d always loved Hartwood Creek. Always felt the happiest while here. Not that I was unhappy elsewhere, but…something about this place had always felt more like a home to me than any of the homes I’d had. Even the one I’d tried making with Warren.

Things had been good, leading up to me accepting his proposal. That’s when the dynamic between us really changed. It was as if he expected that by me saying yes to his marriage proposal, I would start agreeing to all the things he wanted to do that I wasn’t so keen on—like quitting my job. He thought I’d do that the moment the ring was on my finger.

I wandered around the apartment with a glass of white wine, taking it all in. The apartment was looking more like us and less empty. Although we’d been here for just over twenty-four hours, it felt more like home than Warren’s place ever had.

From the masculine, contemporary furniture to the decor, it was Warren’s place. He hadn’t liked clutter—and Warren’s definition of clutter was different from mine. I loved hanging Daphne’s artwork up on the refrigerator, but he hadn’t liked magnets or artwork on it, considering it clutter. I’d had to showcase Daphne’s art on a wire in her bedroom.

Most of Daphne’s toys had been kept in her bedroom, while the rest of the place looked like a showroom for a lifestyle magazine. Daphne’s bedroom was large enough to accommodate all her toys and more, but now that I’d removed us both from that situation, I was beginning to realize how controlling and unhealthy it’d been.

Never again would I let a man tell me how to live or how to raise my daughter. Daphne and I had been fine on our own without Warren before, and I knew we’d be fine without him. Never again would I let my foolish heart try to appease something that wasn’t right for me, simply because it looked good on paper.

My phone rang, and I had to search around to find it. “Hello?” I asked a little breathlessly after scrambling around and finding it wedged between the arm of the couch and the cushion.

“Hey, girl! How’s the new place?” My friend Nellie’s voice was a welcome distraction to the previous silence.

“It’s really nice—exposed brick, beautiful high ceilings. I think we’ll be happy here,” I replied, making my way to the sofa to sit down. “Speaking of, when are you going to come visit?”

“Soon. I put in a request for some time off a couple weekends from now.” Sal, my former boss at the coffee shop, relied heavily on Nellie to run things. “When do you start at your new job?”

“Monday,” I replied, topping off my glass of wine. I put the bottle back in the refrigerator and headed over to the couch, curling up against the armrest.

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