Page 20
D aisy
A grey hue had overtaken the sky early that morning.
Daisy stared up as she walked alongside Tessa, her eyes stuck on a flock of geese that made their timely flight above them.
The previous night’s events with Ethan remained prominent in the back of her mind.
Every time she managed to day dream, to drift away from what she needed to do, Daisy found herself caught in an irreversible reverie, one that had entirely everything to do with the man next door.
“You’ve got that look on your face again,” Tessa teased.
Daisy shrugged, heat rising to the center of her cheeks. “There is hardly a look.”
“Let me guess,” she continued, reaching to pinch Daisy’s elbow playfully. “You’re thinking about what a great date you had with Ethan. Is that it?”
Smiling sheepishly, Daisy pushed her best friend's hands off from around her, the giggles already filling the morning air, when it was far too early for a laugh.
And as the laughter settled, Daisy remembered what it was they had planned for the dreary day.
If she had the option of reliving her date for all the hours of the day, Daisy would have rather done that instead of heading towards another one of her “enemies” businesses.
Ashford Groceries was the largest supermarket in Willowbrook.
That might make a mind believe it to be a wide store, or even one with multiple stories, filled to the brim with products.
But that wasn’t entirely the case. Willowbrook’s size allowed it to cater to a small population, which meant a handful of grocery stores were enough to feed all the mouths within.
Ashford Groceries had been around long before Fields’ Herbals , if that could be believed.
Sitting on the corner of the neighborhood and downtown, it was the perfect stop for families to make before heading home for the day.
Unfortunately for Daisy and Tessa, they were not seeking out some after work groceries.
“What on earth could you two be smiling about?” a familiar older woman’s voice asked incredulously.
As they carried on past Daisy’s house, they realized that a familiar face watched them from a shrouded porch, the tall bushes in front almost blocking them out entirely. Daisy glanced over, craning her neck to try and get a glimpse at them.
“Mrs. Witherford!”
Without waiting for Tessa, Daisy ran up the driveway and rushed around the Witherford residence’s porch, eager to see the old woman.
She hadn’t realized they’d come home from the hospital after her dramatic fall off the ladder.
As Daisy ran up to her, she whispered a mantra in the back of her head, desperate to make sure that the curse placed upon her did not truly harm an old woman like Mrs. Witherford.
“Now what’re you gawking at?” Old Lady Witherford snapped when Daisy whipped around the porch.
Old Lady Witherford looked quite small and frail in her wide wheelchair.
The sleek black chair seemed incredibly out of the ordinary on her front porch, where a few rocking chairs sat empty beside her.
The old woman’s leg had been wrapped with a thick cast and was raised slightly, her toes sticking out of the very tip.
She looked normal besides that, but Daisy couldn’t shake the growing feeling of dread within her stomach.
Perhaps it was the wheelchair that made Mrs. Witherford look extraordinarily smaller than she truly was.
Perhaps it was the cast itself, which probably weighed the same as the old lady, that made her seem sickly.
Even though Daisy couldn’t put her finger on it, there was one thing she was more than aware of.
Everything ailing Old Lady Witherford came from Daisy, and Daisy alone .
Daisy gulped. “That’s quite the cast, Mrs. Witherford.”
“The doctors said I broke my leg,” she explained with a dismissive wave.
“Blessed be,” Daisy whispered as she trekked closer.
Mrs. Witherford eyed her. “What’s got you looking so pale? I told you before, and I’ll tell you again,” she paused to waggle that familiar judgmental finger in the air, “all the time you spend in that shop drains the color from your face! Get some sun!”
Ignoring her, Daisy stepped closer as Tessa’s footsteps approached the base of the porch. “I made some fresh strawberry jam the other day,” Daisy said. “Why don’t I bring you some later, and if you need any help with anything I can -”
“The doctor didn’t say I was dying now, did he?”
Daisy blinked. “Well, I don’t know your doctor, but -”
“Then what’s all the fuss about? I am plenty fine, Daisy,” Mrs. Witherford snapped. “Until you can get me a ladder I don’t have to stand on, I don’t need no assistance!”
“What’s that about a ladder?”
Mrs. Witherford gestured over her shoulder towards the backyard. “You won’t find me standing on ladders anytime soon,” she mumbled, obviously displeased.
“ Daisy! ” Tessa whispered from the first few steps. She waved her hand, mouthing the words let’s go repeatedly.
Turning back to Mrs. Witherford, Daisy searched for the words to say.
The guilt rested so easily within her, practically on the tip of her tongue, that she could hardly imagine walking away without taking the blame for the old woman’s fall.
Even if she didn’t claim the fault for the accident, the truth of the matter would lie in the forefront of Daisy’s mind.
Pressing her lips together, Daisy reached to give the old woman’s hand a quick squeeze before turning around on her heel.
The pair made their way back down Old Lady Witherford’s driveway, and onwards towards town.
A few mourning doves flew by, landing on the empty streets and waddling their way around in search of food.
Daisy kept her gaze focused forward, entirely aware of how Tessa watched her, waiting to hear some sort of reasoning as to why she went to speak to the old gossip.
But the silence seemed to be enough to convince Tessa not to ask, as Daisy was too involved in her racing mind to even think about explaining.
After a while, they reached their destination.
Ashford Groceries expelled amber lights from their sliding doors.
Though the rest of the town was quiet and rather dreary, the grocery store remained a bright fixture at the border of downtown Willowbrook, where Fields’ Herbals waited patiently for its doors to be opened to the public.
“Should I go in alone?” Tessa asked when they neared the front doors.
Daisy’s brow rose. “What for?” She smirked, nudging her shoulder against Tessa’s playfully. “Think I’m gonna fist-fight Drusilla in her own store?”
Tessa laughed. “Daisy, if I thought you’d do something like that, I would’ve sold tickets to a crowd before going in.” Her face grew serious. “You seem more affected than I thought in regards to all of this.”
“It’s hard not to be,” Daisy murmured.
Tessa sighed. “And I wouldn’t dare to argue that fact. But Drusilla Ashford…she’s something else in comparison to someone like Marigold.”
“Believe me,” Daisy replied, “I know.”
“So if you want me to go in alone, then I -”
Daisy reached to clasp down on Tessa’s hand. “The hate Drusilla houses for me is nothing more than consequences from her own actions. If she wishes to hold onto it still, that’s her prerogative, not mine.”
Tessa pressed her lips together. “It became your prerogative the moment she placed that curse on you.”
“Do you think she did it?”
“A woman scorned is capable of more than we might realize.”
Daisy, now filled with determination to be rid of the curse that managed to put Old Lady Witherford in a wheelchair, marched forward into Ashford Groceries .
That early in the morning, the store was incredibly quiet.
Ever since Daisy was in grade school, the entire Ashford family worked within the store.
Whether it be the mother or father, a daughter or a cousin, they spent their spare time in Ashford Groceries .
Daisy was in the same class as Drusilla every year, and yet they never grew close enough to be considered friends.
It was as if they were bound to be something else entirely, a path Daisy never chose but was placed upon after Drusilla’s irreversible actions in their last years of high school.
A teenage girl was near the front of the store, running a rag across the main counter.
Daisy stepped towards her. “Excuse me,” she politely began.
“Good morning,” the girl said in a sweet voice.
“I’m looking for -”
A familiar face whipped around one of the aisles, storming forward before standing directly behind the young girl.
Voluminous grey hair streaked with strands of pure white were pulled into a loose braid down Drusilla Ashford’s shoulder.
She was as stunning as she was in grade school, with deeply tanned skin and no need for the slightest tint of makeup.
Her natural beauty alone attracted countless opportunities to Drusilla’s hands, but it was the inevitable darkness within that drove them all away.
“What a surprise,” Drusilla drawled as her sharp gaze struck them. “Daisy Fields walks into my family store.”
Daisy pulled the best smile she could across her lips. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? The store looks -”
“ My daughter, Lorna,” Drusilla interjected, her hands gripping onto the young girl’s shoulders tightly, “excelled through school, and has just received a full-ride scholarship to the most prestigious -”
“ Mom, ” Lorna whined, an embarrassed pink hue sliding across her cheeks.
Drusilla continued, entirely unbothered. “The most prestigious school on this coast. Isn’t that marvellous , Daisy? My eldest girl, following in her mother’s footsteps.”
Daisy pressed her lips together, more than aware of where the conversation was heading. “Congratulations,” she managed to say before Drusilla began ranting again.