Epilogue
Daisy
A week went by, and I didn’t hear anything from Brick. Despite how much I missed him and how seeing him made that fire burn even hotter in me, it also let me relax a little and focus on things at the shelter. I got my second paycheck and started applying for apartments nearby. Even though I wanted my own place, it didn’t mean helping Nadia had to stop.
We got the new washer and dryer installed, but Nadia didn’t stop there. She was on fire. A handyman stopped by and fixed a few things around the shelter, and some constructions workers also showed up and built a beautiful patio. Landscapers added a privacy fence to the backyard and installed some beautiful gardens. I was floored by the transformation and by how fast it had been done.
“Are you doing all of this so I don’t move out?” I teased Nadia as we made dinner. “The backyard is like a sanctuary now!”
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Nadia smiled. “I’ve also hired a professional counselor to come by and speak to the women. I think she’s going to work directly with us in group therapy sessions and one-on-one.”
“What?” I was so surprised that I forgot about the grill and the sandwiches started to burn. “Crap!” Hastily, I turned them over on the grill. “Nadia, where did you get the money for all of that?”
“A wealthy patron has taken an interest in our little shelter. Imagine that. He asked me to write down a list of things that we needed and told me not to worry about the cost.”
“He?” I frowned. “Nadia, is this wealthy patron Brick Langston?”
“How did you know?” Her bright smile faltered when she saw my face. “Oh. Daisy, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I’ll cancel our dealings with him immediately.”
I never told Nadia his name. It wasn’t just because of the contract, but more that nothing good would come of it. Admitting that it was Brick would do nothing to ease my pain. “No. Don’t cancel it. He’s trying to do some good, and this shelter could use some it.”
Nadia turned down the heat for the soup and began to fill the bowls. I removed the bacon and grilled cheese sandwiches. “You’ve spoken to him, haven’t you?” she asked.
“He found me last week. Told me that he was sorry and that he loved me. I think that he was going to ask me to marry him.” Unable to help myself, I smiled. “It was good to see him again. I’ve missed him.”
“I know you have. Are you going back to him then?”
“I love Brick, but there are still some things that I need to work on. Things that we need to work on. Pretending that we didn’t have problems, pretending that he didn’t buy me isn’t going to fix those issues. He plans to woo me. I guess he’s starting with the shelter. It’s easy for him to give away money, though.”
“It’s not just money, darling. Mr. Langston spoke to Officer Jenkins and our other liaison officers to see if there was anything they thought we needed. He personally sat in on the therapist interviews. He was here yesterday to make sure the constructions workers did a good job.”
A frown tugged at my mouth. “I was at work yesterday.”
“I guess that maybe he didn’t want you to see what he was doing.” Nadia reached over and squeezed my hand. “From what you’ve told me, Brick has always treated women like objects and tools. Now, it looks like he’s trying to make amends for that.”
My heart skipped a beat. I thought that Brick might attempt to drown me in lavish presents, but this?
I didn’t even know what to do with this.
* * *
Another two weeks passed, and I still didn’t see Brick. Changes continued to be made at the shelter. Brick had hired a lawyer to take cases from the shelter pro-bono. Women didn’t have to worry about losing their children if they left their abusive husbands. Suzie even showed up. She wanted to help out with meals. She swore it wasn’t Brick’s idea. She just wanted to volunteer her time, but I knew that Brick would somehow compensate her for it. My head spun.
I moved into my new apartment. It was a small one-bedroom place a few miles from the shelter. An hour after moving my stuff in, an alarm company showed up to install a high-tech security system. It had everything but the guard dog.
There was also an apartment-warming basket waiting for me. It contained all the ingredients that I needed to make a breakfast pizza.
It was Brick. It was all Brick, but he never showed up.
I made my breakfast pizza for dinner and curled up on the couch to watch television. It was my first night living alone. I was proud of myself for taking this step, but my heart ached for Brick.
I knew that he didn’t have much experience dating women, but it usually involved making an appearance. How much longer was I going to have to wait?
* * *
“I should probably turn you in for the illegal activity happening before my eyes,” Nadia remarked as she sat down at the table in the shelter. “This shelter upholds the law.”
“I’m sorry, but it’s a celebration!” I poured three glasses of champagne. Suzie joined us and wrinkled her nose when she looked at the label on the bottle. “You’re going to have to forgive a little underage drinking.”
“Where did you even get this?” Suzie demanded. “The gas station?”
“Would you two quit raining on my parade? I paid my first month’s bills, got a cellphone, and put a hundred dollars into a savings account,” I said with pride. “So yes. The champagne is cheap, but the celebration is real!”
“I’ll drink to that,” Nadia laughed. They raised their glasses, toasted me, and lifted it to their lips.
Suzie immediately choked on it. “I haven’t drank anything this bad since I was a teenager,” she grumbled. “Might as well top me off. I’ve got to die of something.”
“For someone who used to be poor, you certainly are snobby,” Nadia said and sighed.
I just laughed. The two of them had been like this ever since they met. Listening to them bicker had been comforting to me. I topped Suzie off and reached for the crackers in the middle of the table. “It’s sad that this feels like the most accomplished thing that I’ve done in my entire life.”
“I don’t know,’ Suzie muttered. “I don’t know of any other woman who has walked away from Brick and then turned down his marriage proposal.”
“He said that he thought about bringing a diamond ring. That’s not a proposal,” I argued, and it wasn’t the first time. Suzie thought I’d lost my mind. The man that I loved wanted to marry me. Who would walk away from that? “Besides, I’m not defining any part of my life by a man anymore. This is my new independent self. Remember?”
“I remember, and am proud of you, Daisy,” she said softly.
“Me too,” Nadia laughed. “All my girls are making me proud lately!”
Sarah and her sister had recently gotten a place of their own as well. They were celebrating one week in their new apartment together, and from what I could see, Officer Jenkins was acting a little too protective over Sarah, and she blushed a little too hard when he was around.
I was starting to like the idea of passionate romance and happy endings.
After we killed the bottle of champagne, I made arrangements with Nadia regarding my schedule for the next week at the shelter, and headed home. The night was chilly, but I didn’t mind it. The cool air was nice against my skin and the champagne kept me warm.
I thought about the strange events that had led me here. The shackles to my father that I labeled duty. The need for stability that led me to Ralph, and the weight that I attributed to care and respect. And finally, my love for Brick.
It started out messy, tawdry, and more than a little terrifying, but my love for him was real. It gave me the strength to do something better for myself.
Humming, I turned the corner to my apartment complex and headed up the stairs to the third floor. When I reached the last flight, my feet stopped.
“Hi, Daisy,” Brick said in a soft voice. He sat at the top of the stairs with a bouquet of flowers.
I wanted to throw myself in his arms. Pleasure washed over me, and I bit my lower lip. “How long have you been there?”
“An hour? Suzie told me when you were getting off work, and I’d tried to time it to surprise you when you got home, but you must have had plans. Not that I mind,” he added hastily. “You’re worth waiting for.”
He stood slowly and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I guess Suzie forgot to tell you that we were meeting at the shelter, with Nadia too, after work.”
“I should have known,” he grumbled. “Anyway, I won’t stay long. Just wanted to give you these.”
“You haven’t been around.”
“You were doing what you needed to do, and I didn’t want to interfere with that.”
“Interfere?” I raised an eyebrow. “I have a hard time believe that this crappy apartment comes with a high-tech alarm system.”
“I needed to know that you were safe. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep otherwise.”
Pulling out my keys, I walked by him and breathed in his scent. I wanted to melt into him. “I appreciate the flowers. It’s a sweet gesture, Brick. Do you want to come in?”
He hesitated, and I swallowed hard. What was wrong?
“Daisy, I want to… but there’s something I have to say and it’ll be impossible for me to focus in there. Just let me… just let me say it here.”
“Say what?” I whispered.
“I wanted to give you two months of space to really think about what you wanted, but couldn’t even make it longer than six weeks. I just don’t have that kind of control when it comes to you. I came here to ask you out on a date, but it’s too hard.”
My chest squeezed, and I tried not to cry. In trying to find my own independence, I’d lost him. “Brick.”
“I will, though. I’ll ask you out on a date, if that’s what you want. But Daisy…” He took a deep breathe before continuing. “I love you. More than life itself. This stupid transaction, this whole contract, it was nothing more than me being jealous that someone like Ralph had someone like you.”
I thought he didn’t even want to take me on a date anymore, but it wasn’t that. A simple date wasn’t enough for him…or me.
“I saw something in you,” he said. “I should have done all of this the right way.” Brick shook his head. “I should have found a way to let you come to me. Everything is fucked up because of me. But I fell in love with you, and there is nothing that can stop me from trying to make you happy.” Slowly, he got down on one knee and reached into his pocket.
“Brick, what are you doing?” With a hand pressed against my mouth, I walked the two steps towards him that separated us. “Someone is going to see you!”
“It doesn’t matter, Daisy. I don’t care who sees me or who knows. I don’t deserve you. I can be a cold bastard and have done things that you shouldn’t forgive—but if you can, and if you do, I’ll ask you out on a hundred dates.” He pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket. “Although, I’d rather ask you out while you’re wearing this.”
It was a beautiful solitaire emerald-cut diamond on a platinum band. Despite the horrible light outside my door, it sparkled as he held it out. “Marry me, Daisy. I will spend the rest of my life making you a happy woman, I swear.”
Tears sprang to my eyes. I couldn’t even begin to find the words to tell him what he meant to me. What he’d done for me. Instead, I just nodded. “Yes,” I whispered. “Yes, Brick. I love you.”
With a groan, he wrapped his arms around me and pressed his head to my abdomen. Happy to be touching him like this, I curled my fingers through his hair and held him against me as tears streamed down my face.
Finally, he looked up at me and stood. Without a word, he slipped the ring onto my finger, cupped his hands around my face, and kissed me. Slow and sweet. With a whimper, I melted into him. When I finally pulled back, a bubble of laughter escaped me. “Now will you come in?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” He stepped inside and slammed the door behind him. Without wasting a second, he lifted me. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he pushed my body up against the wall.
“So about that date,” I teased as he slipped his hand up my shirt to cup my breasts. Even through the fabric of my bra, I peaked under his touch.
“Whatever you want, baby. Tomorrow night. Dinner and a movie? Picnic under the stars? I’ll fly us to Paris if that’s what you want,” he promised, hooking his fingers into my bra and stroking my perky nipple. “God, I’ve missed you.”
Unable to help myself, I shifted against his erection. “I was thinking of an autumn timeline.”
“Autumn?” he mumbled, looking down and frowning at me. “You won’t go out with me until the fall?”
“No, I was talking wedding date, baby,” I laughed.
“You’re a minx,” he growled. “You can have your autumn, wedding. Whatever you want, baby. Whatever you want.”
I squealed as he whirled me around and walked me to the couch. We sank into the cushions, and I surrendered to my happily ever after.
THE END
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