Willow Smoke (87 page)

“If
you’ll
help
me
remember,
I’ll
take’em
home
with
me.
The
least
I
can
do
for
the
partnership.”
Thelma cast her eyes about
the
cramped
space.
“It’s
hard
to
believe
that
this
is
headquarters
for
a
multi-million
dollar
franchise.”

Daisy
pushed
both
hands
through
her
hair.
“I
don’t
think of it that way. The owners
are
the
ones
with
the
millions.”

“Yes, but this is
offices for the management team.”

“Sure. I guess that’s
right.”

“Not
many
businesses
would
have
their
core
management
team
work
in
these
kinds
of
surroundings.”

“Maybe
management
loves
their
work
more
here.
Besides, my office is outdoors at
the
track, in the stable, and at my desk at
home
where
I
spend
a
lot
of
time
looking
at
potential
races.”

“Speaking
of
potential.”
Thelma
raised
her
eyebrows.
“How
goes
it
with
our
Nicholas
Underwood?
I
understand
the
two
of
you
are
a
hot
item
again.”

A
hot
item!
She
glanced
at
the
calendar
on the
wall
over
the
desk.
The
days
were
flying
by.
Her
life
had
become
almost
comfortable.
She’d
sent
Reggie
a
check
through
Maxine,
and
hadn’t
seen
either
one
since.
Her
nights
were
split
fairly
evenly
between
her
apartment
and
Nick’s
house.

A
hot
item.
You
could
say
that,
all
right.
Their
sex
life
had
never
been
hotter,
and
she
couldn’t
imagine
it
getting
hotter
still.
But
maybe.
She
gave
a
Thelma
a
shy
grin
and
was
too
aware
that
she
was
blushing.
“We’re
doing
fine,
Thelma.
We’re
doing
just
fine.”

“Harumph. Sounds like
more than that to me.”

Daisy
scowled.
“What
has
Nick
been
saying?”

“Now
don’t
get
your
back
up,
girl.
Nick
hasn’t
said much at all. It’s just how he
behaves.”

Chuckling,
Daisy
said,
“You
and
Mrs.
B.”

“What? I know Mrs. B.
Everybody does. What’s she got to do with this?”

“She
claims
to
know
what
a
person
is
feeling
by
the
way
they
walk.”

Thelma
placed
her
coffee
cup
back
on
the
desk
and
jutted
out
her
chin.
“And
you,
of
all
people,
question
that.
What
the
hell
were
you
doing
when
we
came
back
from the track to the barn if not
watching
how
Blue
walked?
The
way
she
walked
communicated
something
to
you.
Now
it
didn’t
do
much
for
me,
because
I
don’t
know
horses, but I know people. And Mrs. B. is right. If Nick gets any happier, we’ll
have
to
tie
a
rope
around
him
like
they
do
to
hot
air
balloons.”

Daisy
shook
her
head
and
leaned
back
in
the
swivel
chair.
“That
sounds
like
a
lot
of
hot
air
to
me.
Though
you
do
have
a
point
about
the
horse.”

“So
are
you
going
to
marry
the
man?”

Daisy
sat
up
straight.
There
was
no
easy
way
to
avoid
the
question.
She
wished
she
had
an
answer
that
would
satisfy
Thelma;
hell,
she
wished
she
had
an
answer
that’d satisfy her own curiosity. “Why
is
the
marriage
thing
so
important?”

Thelma steepled her
fingers. “It might
be
unusual
for
the
younger
generation,
but
traditionally
when
two
people
love
each
other
they
get
married
and,”
Thelma’s
voice
cracked,
“if
they’re
lucky,
they
have
some
kids.”

“I’m sorry, Thelma. You
and Tom
would
make such great
parents.”

“It’s
okay.
We’ve
adjusted,”
she
smiled
weakly,
“the
best
we
can.
But
we
were
talking
about
you,
girl.
What
about
you?
Don’t
you
want
children?”

Tilting
her
head
to
one
side,
she
paused and
then
responded,
“I
haven’t
really
thought
much
about
kids.
I
wouldn’t
want
my
children
to
grow
up
like
I
did.”

“No, of course not. No
mother would
want
that.
But
you
have
Nick
Underwood.
Your
children
wouldn’t
know
the
poverty
and
stench
that
you
knew.
They
would
be
raised
in
an
entirely
different
world.”

“And
that
bothers
me,
too,”
Daisy
confessed.
“I’ve
planned
and
worked
hard
all
these
years
to
improve
myself
and
to
have
a better
life, but I don’t want to forget
where
I came from. You know, there was
a
lot
of
good
back
there,
too.
People
did
the
best
they
could
with
what
little
they
had.
No
one
will
love
me
more
than
my
grandmother.
And,”
Daisy
pressed
her
forehead
between
thumb
and
index
finger,
“my
mother
loved
me.
Maybe
the
booze,
and
drugs,
and
guys
were
her
way
of
self-medicating
a
broken
heart.
But
I
know
she
loved
me.”

“I’m sure she did,
honey. I’m sure she did.
And
you’ll
never
totally
leave
that
world
behind
when
you
marry
Nick.
And
you
can
raise
your
children
in
ways
that
they
can appreciate the gifts that they
have
and
maybe
even
understand
their
roots.”

Thelma
scrunched
her
mouth
as
if
debating
with
herself.
“But
you
need
to
be
careful, girl. The further we get from
those
days
of
real
hardship,
the
more
likely
we
glamorize them. It’s kind of perverse, I
guess. We struggle so hard to make a
better
life.
We
succeed.
And
then
we
look
back
with
fond
memories.”
Thelma
shook
her
head.