Then the perfect solution hit her out of the blue. Yes, that was the answer to their problem. Loving Maynard was difficult, but that was going to change, and now she knew exactly how to make that happen.
"Daisy."
She spun around and saw her mother standing there, tugging on the handkerchief in her hand.
"Is something wrong?" Daisy asked.
"Nee, nee," Mamm said a little too quickly. "Nothing's wrong. With me, anyway. Why don't we sit down."
Daisy silently complied and sat next to her on the sofa. While she waited for her mother to speak, Mamm kept fiddling with her handkerchief, finally shoving the balled-up fabric into the pocket of her apron. "How did things geh with you and Maynard tonight?"
"Gut." They could have gone better, though. And they would the next time she saw him.
"You didn't say that with much enthusiasm."
Oops. She gave Mamm a bright smile, and it wasn't too forced. "Sorry. I just have some things on my mind."
Her mother's expression turned wary. "What things?"
Daisy took a deep breath and blurted the truth, even though she was sure her mother already knew it. "I love Maynard."
"Oh dear," Mamm mumbled.
Or maybe her mother didn't know how she felt about him. First Maynard, now Mamm. Daisy hadn't realized she'd kept her feelings so locked up. She thought she was an open book.
Mamm's smile looked strained. "How do you know?"
"I've always known." Her smile widened. "And now I know something else."
"What's that?"
"I need to tell him how I feel."
Her mother reached for her pocket, then clenched her hands together on her lap. "What if he doesn't return your feelings?"
"I'm sure he will."
"Then you two have been dating all along?" 'Mamm' looked confused. "I thought... hoped you were just friends."
"We are."
"Then it's possible he doesn't love you."
She wasn't going to let a small detail derail her. "How would he know if we've never talked about it?"
"Oh, Daisy, you're not thinking this through."
"I'll geh see him after work tomorrow and we'll have the talk."
"Tomorrow?" 'Mamm' said weakly.
"Once I tell him how I feel, God will do the rest." She beamed.
"Don't you think you're being presumptuous?"
She thought she heard panic in her mother's tone, but she had to be imagining it. Her parents had always been supportive of her and Maynard. Well, maybe supportive wasn't the precise word, but they never said no when she told them he was coming over for supper or commented when he drove her home.
But Daisy was too excited to pay complete attention to her mother's words.
All she could think about was surprising Maynard after work and having "the talk" with him. Then they would officially be a couple.
"What's the hurry?" Mamm held up her palms. "I'm sure your conversation can wait a little while. A few days... months. A year or two, even."
She let out a long-suffering sigh. "Mamm, I've been patient. I also think I've been too much of a friend to Maynard and not enough of a girlfriend."
"But—"
She popped up from the couch, excited that she would finally get what she'd yearned for—Maynard's love. And kisses. Don't forget the kisses.
"Daisy—"
"Gute nacht, Mamm!" She danced to the stairs and floated up to her room.
Her whole life was about to change, and she couldn't wait.
* * *
