Pushing Up Daisies (24 page)

Daisy unbuttoned her coat and strutted down the hospital corridor feeling brand-new. The night she’d told Calvin off had brought new meaning to her life and had sparked a fire that hadn’t been lit since her teens. She was no longer the weak, needy woman-child she had once been; she was a woman with a mission. She’d get Jay back, and Ming Li was going to help whether she wanted to or not. According to Kenneth, Ming Li was the key to the case, the only living person who could speak for Jonathan.

Daisy paused outside Ming Li’s door.
Please, God, don’t let me have to snatch this mixed-up bitch out of the bed and beat her.
Then she walked in as if she owned the place.

Ming Li sat up and looked at her, then her eyes dropped. Guilt was written all over her face. Daisy had never wanted to hurt someone so badly.

“I’m glad you came,” Ming Li said.

“Uh-huh.” Daisy nodded skeptically and sat down. “Look, Ming Li, straight to the point. I need something from you, and after what you’ve done, I don’t see how you can refuse.”

“You want me to testify?”

Daisy nodded.

“Sure. I have no problem doing that.”

“Good. My lawyer will be in touch.” Daisy stood to leave.

“Daisy…wait.”

Daisy began to walk away.

“Daisy, if you don’t listen, then I won’t go to court.”

Daisy turned, glowering. “I know you’re not trying to hold anything over my head. You owe me. I don’t owe you.”

Ming Li’s eyes dropped to the floor again. “You’re right…in a way.” She grabbed a box from the bedside table, opened it, and began shuffling through it. “Here, read this.” She handed Daisy a letter.

It was the stationery that Daisy had had designed. “What—you want to rub it in?” She snatched the envelope out of Ming Li’s hand.

“Read it, and look at the postmark,” Ming Li urged.

Daisy held it to the light. It was postmarked just a month before Jasper died. She shot Ming Li a look, then opened it.

“Can you read it out loud?” Ming Li asked. “I want to be sure that you read it correctly.”

“So, now you know the real truth,” Ming Li said. “I wasn’t sleeping with your man. I do my thing, but not with my best friends’ men.”

Daisy shook her head, confused. “But—”

“There are no buts. I slept with Jasper on a very drunk night a long, long time ago. Back when my body wasn’t conditioned to alcohol.”

Daisy pointed at the paper. “It says here that you slept with him more than once.”

“I did. I slept with him twice. I thought he was cool. I even went out in public with him. You know I don’t do that. After I slept with him the second time, he instantly turned into an asshole. He wanted me to stay in the house, quit my job—
you
know.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? We were friends.”

“If I’d told you, if you’d known about me and him when you first met me, would you have been my friend?”

“No,” Daisy admitted. “I don’t mingle with exes.”

“Exactly. And I don’t mingle with women. But when Jasper brought you back into my shop that day to get your pedicure fixed, despite the fact that I couldn’t stand him, I genuinely liked you and Gigi. I’d never had many female friends, and we three hit it off. I didn’t want to risk losing you as a friend. That’s why I didn’t tell you. That’s why you conducted all of my business with Jasper.”

“If you didn’t care about him, why did you keep the letters?”

Ming Li laughed. “Because the bastard threatened to blackmail me a few times. He said if I didn’t give him what he wanted, he’d tell you that I went after him. I had to protect myself.”

Daisy didn’t know what to think. The letter in her hands backed up Ming Li’s story, but she was still hurt. “How did you OD?”

Ming Li smiled sadly. “Well, I guess some of us aren’t as strong as we pretend to be. I had my secrets, just like anybody else. I’ve been on Prozac and medication for my hyper disorder for years, and after a while, I guess, they didn’t mix too well with alcohol. I overdosed by mistake, but I needed to. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have realized that I’m an alcoholic—among other things.”

“What other things?”

“I’ll tell you more when they let me out of here.”

Daisy took off her coat and sat down. The tension in the air and in her bones withered away. She was glad that she’d decided to confront Ming Li. Otherwise, she would never have believed that she hadn’t betrayed her. They chatted for hours, about everything and nothing at all. It didn’t matter what they discussed, as long as they were talking.

“So, you’re really not going to celebrate Christmas?”

“There is no Christmas without Jay. Maybe New Year’s.”

Ming Li shook her head. “Count me out. The drinks will be too tempting.”

“There’ll always be next year. You’ll be stronger, and Jay will be back. I know he will.”

“S
omeone’s asking for you outside,” one of Daisy’s helpers informed her.

Daisy turned the sprayer off and laid it down on the marble planter. “Did you get a name?”

“No. He wouldn’t give one.”

Daisy sighed, took off her gardening gloves, and headed toward the bathroom. Whoever it was would have to wait until she’d washed her hands. She’d been working with pesticides all day and prayed that her unexpected visitor wouldn’t prove to be another one.
I work in almost twenty different locations. Whoever it is must’ve needed to see me pretty badly to track me down. This better be good.
All day, she’d had a positive feeling about Jay and their upcoming court date, and it irritated her that someone was disrupting her mood.

As soon as she walked through the double doors, she ran into Marcus, who was standing with a blank expression on his face.

“Hey, Marcus.” She smiled.

Marcus half-smiled, half-smirked. “I need to talk to you.”

“Are you okay?” Daisy genuinely hoped so, even though she had urged Gigi to move on. But his absent look told her that he was still hurting.

“I’m straight.”

“Well, I don’t know if I can leave just yet.” She checked the time. “I’ve got about forty-five minutes.”

“Can’t you make an exception for an old friend? You don’t have a boss watching over you. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t very important.”

“Let me see…” She paused as if thinking it over carefully, then finally went on, “They should be able to finish up without me.” She called over her assistant, who told her that she’d be happy to finish up.

“I’m ready, Marcus. Where do you want to go?” she asked as they stepped outside.

“Central Park’s not far. It’s nice out.”

“Fine. The park it is. Should we walk or take a cab?”

Marcus walked out into the street and held up his arm. For a second, she thought about declining his invitation to talk. She’d never seen him so standoffish before, and it was beginning to make her nervous. When the cab pulled to the curb, he held the car door open for her, and she got in. She scooted over to make room for him and decided that his behavior was just a symptom of his painful breakup with Gigi.

“Aren’t you going to tell me what’s bothering you?” she asked as they rode.

He held up his hand to silence her. “When we get to the park. It’s private.”

As soon as they pulled up to the park, Daisy jumped out. She had started to feel as if she were suffocating in the cab, sitting next to Marcus, who’d consumed the cab’s space with labored breathing. An eerie feeling rushed through her. She was beginning to worry. She knew Marcus would never hurt her. Hoped he wouldn’t. He had no reason to—unless he knew that she had supported Gigi’s decision.

He grabbed her by the arm and led the way to an unoccupied bench. She was thankful that they weren’t too far away from other park goers.

“Have a seat,” he commanded.

Daisy sat, but not because he had told her to. She was tired.

“Marcus, what is it? What’s the matter?”

Marcus looked away and began to pace, his steps sounding more like a march than a walk. He finally turned, glaring at her. “You should know what my problem is.”

“Gigi?”

“Yep. That bitch of a friend of yours.”

Daisy had never heard him speak that way before. “Oh, Marcus. She just needs time, that’s all.”

“Bullshit, Daisy,” he spat. “You know that’s bullshit. All three of you bitches are just alike—”

“Whoa!” Daisy stood up, indignant. “Don’t disrespect me like that. I didn’t do a thing to you. I wasn’t the one sleeping with you—I didn’t hurt you, or leave you.”

“But you
would’ve
slept with me.”

“I would’ve what? I know you didn’t just say that I would’ve slept with you. You know that’s not true. Are you crazy?”

“Maybe so. But I know I could’ve. Why not? You were so quick to fuck Adonis after Jasper died. Any bitch that moves that fast is in heat.”

“I don’t like the way this is going, Marcus. I’m leaving.”

“No, you’re not. Not if you know what’s good for you.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“No. You’re not leaving because we need each other. I need to know something, and I have some information about Adonis that you need to hear. You see? We have a lot of needs.”

“Sorry, Marcus. The last time you told me something about Adonis, it wasn’t exactly true—”

“Was it exactly false?” he asked sarcastically.

As crazy as it sounded, she had to admit that what he’d told her had had some truth to it. Because of Marcus, she’d found out about Christy. But the game he was playing was dangerous.

“I don’t know, and I’m sure I don’t know anything that you need to know.”

Marcus sat down with a sigh. “What I need is simple. I’m willing to save you a bunch of heartache in exchange for peace of mind. Just tell me who Gigi’s been seeing.”

As far as Daisy knew, Gigi wasn’t involved with anyone. And if she was, Daisy wouldn’t tell him. “No one that I know of.”

Marcus shook his head. “Try again.”

“I’m telling you, no one. She hasn’t told me anything about anybody. And if she was seeing someone, she would’ve told me.”

Marcus stood and studied Daisy’s eyes. “As much as I don’t want to believe you, I have to. Take this for what it’s worth. Your so-called man has his other woman from L.A. visiting him.”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“You’re incredible.” Marcus laughed. “First, you were mad at me for not telling you about Jasper, and now you don’t want to believe me about Adonis. Trust me on this one. I know for a fact that Christy is here.”

Daisy froze. Marcus had to know what he was talking about. Otherwise, how would he know Christy’s name? He hadn’t when he’d first told her about Adonis’s engagement. She knew for certain that Gigi and Ming Li would never share that information with him. “Are you sure? How do you know?”

“I have my ways. I found you today, didn’t I? I also know that Gigi’s screwing someone. And I know where you live. Do you want me to tell you your address?”

Daisy shook her head. “That’s okay.”

“Why don’t you take a ride to Fourth Avenue and Twelfth Street tonight, say…around eight o’clock? A good game of pool will do you good.”

As irrational as Marcus was acting, Daisy had to believe him. Feelings of anger and foolishness rose up within her. “I just may do that, Marcus. Thanks…I guess.” She turned to walk away.

“One more thing. Tell Gigi that I love her new look, and that that cranberry-colored thong she was wearing the other night is sexy as hell.”

Daisy stared at him. “You haven’t been stalking her?”

“Wanna know why I believe that you really don’t know anything about Gigi’s new man? Because as beautiful and innocent as you are, as smart as you appear, you’re a lot dumber than you look. You’re blind in one eye and can’t see out the other.”

“No, Marcus. I beg to differ. Maybe once upon a time you would’ve been right, but not anymore. I see everything clearly now, including the fact that you don’t stand a chance of getting Gigi back. Blind or not,” she added with a laugh, “even I can see that she’s not in your future.” She walked away, hating that she had let herself stoop to his level.

Daisy sat on Ming Li’s stoop, waiting for her to arrive. She ran one hand through her disheveled hair and hung up her cell phone with the other. She’d been trying to contact Gigi, but had gotten no answer. She checked her incoming calls and saw that she’d missed two of Adonis’s. She had her reasons, she told herself, for deciding not to return them. Although she wasn’t sure if she should believe Marcus, she didn’t want to talk to Adonis right now. If Christy was in town, she was sure that he’d have some excuse, some made-up business appointment he had to attend. Her words to Marcus echoed in her head.
I see everything clearly now.
“Do I?” she muttered.

“Hey, why are you sitting out here?” Ming Li asked as she walked up. “You could’ve let yourself in. You know where the key is.”

“I just needed to sit outside for a while. I don’t feel as alone with my thoughts that way. The traffic helps.”

Ming Li unlocked the front door. “Come on in and tell me what’s going on.”

Daisy followed her inside, then sat down at the bar and put her head in her hands. She needed to talk to Gigi. She and Ming Li had gotten over their misunderstanding, but Daisy still had reservations about opening up to her. Their trust wasn’t the same, and neither was their friendship. She hated to be so standoffish with someone she’d once thought of as a sister. But sisters didn’t keep secrets like that.

“So, what is it?” Ming Li asked as she pulled up her stool and poured a glass of bottled water.

For the first time, Daisy noticed that all the alcohol had been removed from the once fully stocked bar. All the furniture she’d destroyed was gone as well.

“I…I don’t know—”

“You don’t know what? If you can tell me? If you can trust me?”

Daisy nodded.

“I guess that’s understandable. After what I kept to myself, I don’t know if I’d be able to, either.” Ming Li paused. “Maybe it would help if I told you my truth—the rest of the story.”

“Maybe.”

“Well, you know how I’m always so hard on men—on everyone? It’s been for a reason. I wasn’t born this way. In fact, I started therapy to try to cure it.”

“Therapy? I always thought you needed it, but I never imagined you’d actually go.”

“Ha!” Ming Li laughed. “See, that’s just it. I’ve never been as strong as I appeared to be. It was the cognac—bottled courage.” Her eyes misted. She brushed at them, but she couldn’t hold back the tears. Before Daisy knew it, Ming Li had broken down sobbing.

Daisy shifted uncomfortably. She’d never seen Ming Li in so much pain, never thought her capable of it.

“I started drinking when I was eight. Bet you didn’t know that, hunh? When I was little, my father used to beat my mother. He beat her like she was a child, and she never fought back. She never left him. I couldn’t understand it, and I promised myself that it would never happen to me. And I meant it. When they used to fight—no, when he used to pummel her—I’d go into the liquor cabinet and pour a drink. That’s what I used to see her do. I guess it was her way of coping. Eventually, it became mine.” Ming Li took a sip of water and looked away. “When he was done tormenting her, he used to take her into the bedroom and screw her. It wasn’t makeup sex, either. There was nothing intimate about it. There weren’t any
I’m sorry
s or
I love you
s—just sex. And I used to hear her beg him not to.”

“Ming Li, I’m so sorry,” Daisy murmured, rubbing her friend’s back.

“Me too. In fact, I was so sorry that I began to pity myself, and I eventually became depressed. I’ve been on Prozac for as long as I can remember, probably about as long as I fucked nearly every man I found some sort of interest in. I thought sex was the answer, that I could control them with what was in my head and between my legs.” Ming Li laughed bitterly. “I honestly thought that was true, because no matter how many times my dad jumped on my mom, right after they had sex he’d hum her a tune. He beat her outside of the bedroom, and she whipped him in it.”

“Wow!” was all Daisy could say. As long as they’d been friends, she’d never understood Ming Li the way she did now.

“So,” Ming Li went on, wiping her face with a napkin,

“enough boohooing. Tell me what’s up. Anything I can do?”

Daisy felt at ease now, after hearing Ming Li’s story, so she told her about her conversation with Marcus. They both agreed that they needed to find Gigi, but neither one knew where she was. They hadn’t heard from her in days. Ming Li suggested that maybe Marcus was right. Maybe Gigi was seeing someone else.

“The panty thing scares me,” Daisy said.

“He’s been stalking her. Maybe all of us. How else would he know where you lived?”

Daisy shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past him, not after the way he was behaving. It was like he was either on drugs or needed to be.”