Blue Sky Days Read Free Page B

the hardwood floors that matched the maple bed, and when my eyes came to the desk in the corner, I realized Daisy had thought of everything as I saw a vase of white calla lilies and framed pictures of Daisy and me when I was a little girl. The final aspect of perfection about the room was the French doors that led out onto a small balcony. I could see the river in the distance, sparkling in the late afternoon sun.
    The powerful urge to cry that I had felt when I first arrived washed over me once again, but this time I couldn’t hold it back. I burst into tears and threw myself into Daisy’s arms.
    “Honey, what’s wrong?” she cried in alarm. “You don’t like it?” She held me close and rubbed my back in slow, soothing circles.
    “I love it,” I said between sobs. “It’s beautiful.”
    Daisy stood back and took my hands, her eyes full of laughter, but her face carefully controlled. “Then what’s the problem?”
    “I can’t believe you did all this for me ,” I said, sniffling. I was beginning to feel foolish; I couldn’t even remember the last time I had cried, and this was when I decided to start?
    Daisy laughed out loud this time, a sound as musical as her voice. “I did all this for you because I love you. I want you to feel at home here. I thought a pretty room of your own that you could enjoy and spend time in would be a nice change from your little box of a room at home.” She laughed again as she brushed my tears away with her fingers and kissed me on the cheek.
    I pulled her back and hugged her tightly. “It’s wonderful, Daisy,” I said, my words muffled slightly by her hair. “Thank you.”
    “It’s my pleasure,” she said, giving me a squeeze. “It was something new for me to do—an art project of a different sort.” She pulled back and moved her shoulders in a shrug that suggested it was no big deal, but her shining eyes told me she was pleased I liked it so much.
    “Not just ‘thank you’ for the room. Thank you for everything. For letting me stay here as long as I need…for being so understanding…”
    Daisy waved her hand in dismissal, and I could have sworn her cheeks began to colour. “Like I said, sweetie, it’s my pleasure. It gets a little lonely here sometimes, and I’m just so thrilled I finally get to share the place with someone I love. I know we’re going to have a spectacular summer and it’ll be like old times before we know it, with us being the best of friends. Don’t worry about a thing.”
    She kissed me on the cheek again, and as she pulled back I thought I saw a tear glimmering in her eye.   She smiled broadly at me though, and said, “How ‘bout you get settled in—unpack, take a nap, enjoy the view, whatever you want. I’m going to go work on some of my paintings, then get dinner started. If you need me, you know where to find me.” She whirled around and headed for the door, leaving her sweet, earthy scent lingering in the air.
    Alone in my new room, I looked around, taking it all in again. Now instead of the unexplainable urge to cry, I felt like laughing. I ran and jumped onto my bed, burying myself in the lush pillows. When I sat up to catch my breath, I flipped onto my back and surveyed my surroundings, sighing happily. “I’m home.”
     

CHAPTER 2
     
    The next day I did something I hadn’t done since the summers and weekends of my childhood: I slept in. When I rolled over in my exquisitely soft and cozy bed, smelling the sweet scent of flowers carried in on the breeze from my open window, I wanted to stay there forever.
    Every time I woke up, I would roll over and tell myself just a few more minutes , and fall back to sleep. When I finally managed to drag myself out of bed at ten o’clock, I paused at the top of the stairs and heard music coming from Daisy’s side of the house. Following the sound, I found her in her creative room.
    A U2 song was blasting from the stereo system—I recognized the band because they were one of