TANGLED PLANS

69

It's the day of homecoming.

Yesterday was the homecoming football game where Max and my brother played. I had watched the game, sitting on the bleachers with Max's number sprawled across my chest and his name on my back. It was almost a dream to be up in the stands wearing Max's jersey that he has me wear for the game. It seemed as if all my dreams of the past few years had come true.

Our school had won the game by a few points, and the excitement of it was immense as our school celebrated. The dance today will be buzzing with energy from the game as well.

Maria and Kielly had come over earlier today to help me prep for the dance. Kielly did my hair, putting it on their rollers afterward. Maria had helped me steam my dress to ensure that the baby yellow satin dress didn't have any wrinkles on it. The dress wasn't too fancy; the neckline was a v-line, and the dress fell down to my thigh.

It was a more simple dress than my last one, but I loved it all the same. It seemed more like me, and with the accessories and shoes, it would be very nice.

"Okay," I say to the girls at last when the clock reads two hours before the game. I grab their hands and give them a squeeze. "I'll see you guys at the dance in two hours."

"Okay," Keilly says, and Maria nods alongside her. Maria seemed to be nervous about going to the dance with a guy she had yet to go out with. I had set her up with the guy who was standing beside Max in my kitchen the other day. He seemed very nice to me, so I simply asked my boyfriend to ask him if he had a date. Max got back to me, saying that he didn't have a date, and so I asked Max to go tell him if he wanted to take my friend. Max came back, saying that yes, his friend didn't want it, and so now Maria has a date.

Was there a lot of going back and forth with my plan? Yes, but it had worked. Maria was going out on a date with a nice guy named Garret. That was good enough of a plan, then.

I get up early and rest on my bed for a while before getting ready. There is a knock on my door that catches my attention, and I look up to find my brother standing at my door. He had been out the whole day, so I hadn't seen him until now. "Brayden, hi!" I shout at him.

Brayden nods at my greeting and says, "So, Daisy, I have yet to talk to you."

I squinted, not knowing what he meant. I turn off my laptop and sit up straighter on my spot as Brayden heads into my room. He takes a seat on my vanity chair, and for a second he gets distracted. "Hey, this seat is quite nice."

"It was mom's," I say softly, and that prompts my brother to lick his lips and look away from me. The topic of our mom was still sore, but I knew that we were getting better at it. Brayden had found out that our dad was hanging out with women now, and he hadn't taken it well. I mean, I didn't either, but Brayden had refused to look Dad in the eye for a full day.

Dad and I gave Bradley space. We couldn't force him to be okay with something so sensitive. He came around the next day and simply told me to promise not to forget about Mom. Dad had broken down, saying that he would never, and he had clarified his point: never forget about his ultimate love.

My dad wasn't going to forget about Mom; he was just looking for new company. I didn't know what it was like to become a widow and live with it, so I never thought about what my dad must have been going through.

"That's nice," Brayden says at last as he turns to me. He then shakes his head and says, "So, I wanted to speak to you."

"About?" I ask him, moving a roller that was trying to take out my eye from my face. Brayden gives me a little smile and says, "Your thoughts."

"Oh," I say, getting off my spot and moving toward the edge of the bed. "Okay, what about?"

"Max is a really nice guy; I know that," Brayden starts. "But I'm just wondering if he is nice to you."