Page 33 of Pushing Daisy
Her family was not one to come to these venues when she was young, as it would be seen as too common for them. She’d never heard of this place before, but she can see the appeal. The fall harvest is a wonderful time within both human and supernatural communities as it signals a period of bounty and connection as people prepare for the winter ahead. The hayride on the itinerary this morning seemed like an interesting choice, but it makes sense. They’ll have to ask about what’s happening in the area when their event is taking place, but looking around, she thinks this would be a great place to have their attendees come to as a little extension of their event.
As she approaches Daisy, Barker, and Stanley, she looks down and notices her shoelace has come untied. She stops a short distance away from them and bends down to tie it. As she does, she overhears the end of their conversation.
“I would love a chance to take you out some time,” Barker says. “And Stanley here would be happy to see you again too.” His hand finds the top of Stanley’s head, ruffling his fur. The dog looks up at Barker adoringly.
“I… I…” Daisy stammers. Sloan looks up and sees her fiddling with the sleeve of her sweater. “That would be nice.”
‘That would be nice’? Really?
Barker pulls his phone from his back pocket and hands it to Daisy. “Here, put your number in my phone. I’ll text you, and we can make a plan.” Daisy takes his phone and appears to enter her number before handing it back to him. “Great to meet you, Daisy,” Barker says before patting Stanley on the head again and walking away with an extra pep in his step.
Sloan stands, feeling her body flood with magic. She gives it a shake, and it clears. Daisy isn’t yours, she reminds herself. She’s allowed to date other people. She doesn’t even know you’re interested. Or might be interested. She doesn’t trust you anyway.
“Good to go?” Daisy asks as Sloan approaches.
“Yep,” she replies sharply.
Daisy’s eyes catch hers as she quirks an eyebrow. The oceans of blue watch her curiously and intently. Like they know Sloan’s jealous. Like they know Sloan thinks it shouldn’t be Barker asking Daisy out, but her. She can’t know, though. Can she?
“You sure?”
“Yep. We need to be back at the hotel for lunch, so let’s go find the bus,” Sloan replies, her words clipped as she tries to avoid further conversation.
“Okay. Whatever you say,” Daisy replies, looking slightly bewildered.
Arriving back at The Dandelion, Daisy and Sloan are greeted by Flo, who guides them to the restaurant for their planned lunch.
“Welcome back. We hope you enjoyed the experience at Dee-lightful Farms this morning. It is one of our favorite locations for an adventure on a nice fall day.”
“Yes, it was lovely,” Sloan responds. “Thank you.”
Flo pulls out the chair for Sloan, then picks up the folded cloth napkin on the table and lays it across Sloan’s lap for her. She moves over to Daisy and repeats the process. Once seated, she stands between them at the side of the table. Flo lists off the menu options, but all Sloan can think about is Barker and how he was smiling after he got Daisy’s number. Her mind wanders to what they may do on their date and if they would end up sleeping together. She tries to remind herself that her and Daisy aren’t a couple, but all she wants to do is go back to that Dee-Lightful Farm and show him how delightful she can be.
When her attention comes back to the table, Daisy is staring at Flo, eyes wide with surprise. Sloan apparently should have been paying more attention to Flo, and from the looks of it, whatever Flo listed off may have been too much for Daisy. Daisy quickly collects herself and orders herself water and a white wine. Thinking she needs a glass of wine herself, Sloan does the same.
“That was a lot,” Daisy says, looking around the table. “I guess they don’t do menus, and it’s whatever the options are that she listed off.”
“It would appear so,” Sloan replies. “Can you remind me what the options were?” she asks, trying to stop the heat rising up her neck. She was always a model student, and her job is about paying close attention to detail, so missing a simple detail like what she could choose to eat is embarrassing.
Daisy laughs playfully and repeats the options for her. “I wonder what the alternative would be if someone were vegetarian or vegan?”
“Guess they have to find some dandelions in the field to eat. Hey, do you think that’s why they called it The Dandelion? Because you have to eat dandelions if you don’t like what they serve?” Sloan asks. It’s a dumb joke, barely even a joke, really, but it still earns her a slight smile from Daisy, making her heart skip in delight.
“Perhaps,” Daisy replies before lifting the collar of her sweater and covering her mouth, failing to hide a fuller smile with it as she leans back in her chair. The action causes a blossom of warmth to form in Sloan’s chest. These little, genuine smiles are hard to come by, and Sloan is proud to have earned one, especially given how the day started with their little argument in the street. “So, what were you thinking of getting?”
Leaning forward and resting her forearms on the table, Sloan answers, “I was thinking of the wedge salad and scallops. What about you?”
“I think I’ll do the soup and the braised short rib.”
“I love soup in the fall.”
Daisy’s eyes meet hers, warm and comforting. “You should get it then. We’ve been in the chill for a bit. I know I could use some warming up.”
I could warm you up. Sloan’s eyes flash wide briefly, but she recovers before Daisy notices. Where did that come from? she asks herself. Like you don’t know.
“Here are your drinks, ladies. Have you decided on your meal selections?” Flo asks as she deposits their orders on the table.
“Yes,” Daisy responds. She relays her choices and then motions to Sloan for her turn. Sloan follows Daisy’s suggestion and opts for the soup rather than the salad. Once Flo has left, Sloan folds her hands into her lap while crossing one leg over the other under the table and turns her body toward Daisy. “So, tell me about these plans you have so far for this community event.”
