Page 110 of A Doctor for Daisy

“You said you wanted prime rib and that is what I got,” he said to his sister.

“You two are welcome to come to the house after here,” Daisy said.

She was thrilled when Theo said his sisters were going to be at his mother’s too. She knew she had to meet Marion James-Ellsworth at some point. Might as well get it over with now.

It was only ninety minutes or so from Theo’s in Mystic so they were coming for a few hours and going back home. Andrew, Erica and Harmony were going to Theo’s for dinner tomorrow. Andrew was going to Theo’s today and would be there later when they returned.

“We are going to,” Erica said. “When Harmony found out Dad was going to be there today she decided she wanted a nice Christmas Eve as a family. But Mom doesn’t know and we aren’t letting on.”

“Great,” Theo said. “I’ve got to lie?”

“No,” Erica said. If she found it funny they were taking their time in the massive entryway of the Greenwich mansion Theo grew up in, she didn’t say a word.

She was too busy trying to pop her eyeballs back in her sockets.

Theo had told her that his mother got the house in the divorce, but she didn’t think it’d be anything like this.

It wasn’t as big as the McGill estate that Poppy lived in, but she hadn’t expected that either.

This was the type of neighborhood she’d see on TV as a kid for shows based in California where all the rich children did what they wanted.

“Mom knows we are going to your house tomorrow,” Harmony said, rushing in. Harmony reached in and hugged Daisy. “So good to see you again. Don’t hold today against my brother. We like you and we’ll help you through.”

Daisy laughed. It couldn’t be that bad in her mind.

“I won’t.”

“Mom doesn’t know Dad is going to be there and she doesn’t know we are going tonight. Just change the topic if it comes up,” Erica said. “It always works.”

They hung their jackets up and moved down the hallway to the back of the house. The big sweeping staircase in the front made her think of women coming down in wedding dresses or girls in gowns. Not prom dresses...but ball gowns.

The floors were marble in the front, she was positive. And they were shined enough to reflect like a mirror.

The back was hardwood now. Rich dark hardwood. She found it funny considering that Theo said his mother had everything white and black in the house and noticed that right away.

The kitchen caught her view to the side and it was almost glaring with the same white marble floors as the foyer. The cabinets and counters, even the walls seemed to be white.

They’d passed a dining room that had a black and white area rug over the hardwood floor, the table had been white, the walls too, but there was black and white artwork hanging on the walls.

Good lord, she almost felt as if she was in a forties movie and was glad she had black pants on, but her red sweater with the holly scarf from this year's Holly Bloom Foundation products made her a beacon in this room.

Not that everyone else was wearing white and black only, but they didn’t have bright red Christmas cheer on either.

“Mom,” Theo said. “Come out and meet Daisy.”

Marion walked out of the kitchen. She was surprised the woman was cooking when it seemed as if she had to have staff to clean this place and do everything else for her.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Marion said, coming forward. She wasn’t smiling. It even looked as if her lips were pursed and she had to force those words out of her mouth in a big fat lie. “I want to say I’ve heard so much about you, but it’s been very little. I hadn’t even known Theo was dating someone until recently.”

“And so it starts,” Harmony said, smiling.

“Hush now,” Marion said. “I expect you to have manners as I taught you. Why don’t you go to the kitchen and get the hors d'oeuvres I was arranging.”

Harmony grinned and got up to walk away. Daisy moved forward and shook Marion’s hand. It was cold and limp and she hated when women shook like that.

“I’m glad to meet you,” she said. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Your home is beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Marion said. “My children hate it. It made them stay clean. Maybe if they listened more or took after me, I wouldn’t have had to remind them all the time to wipe their feet and not touch anything.”

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