Not long after Daisy had moved into her Dupont Circle apartment in Washington, she joined a local oenophiles’ club for two reasons: first, she loved wine; and second, she thought it would be a great way to meet people. Indeed, she had met her two best friends in that group.
Grover Tavistock owned a catering business, DC Haute Cuisine, and business was very good for a startup company. Grover had been fortunate enough to cater a few parties that ended up in the society pages shortly after he opened for business; his services had been in high demand ever since.
A chemical engineer by training, Helena Davies worked at a Washington think tank which studied the effects of climate change brought on by the use of fossil fuels. She had more brains than common sense and wasn’t afraid to admit it.
Helena and Daisy had become fast friends when they were introduced at a tasting event held at a wine shop not far from Daisy’s office. Helena, tall with blonde hair, dark brown eyes, and a willowy figure, had a knack for being the center of attention. Daisy, though pretty in her own right, usually felt plain and rather ignored next to her friend, but that was okay with her. She didn’t want any romantic entanglements. Not after Dean. At least it allowed her to sit back and observe her surroundings and the people vying for Helena’s attention, which the anthropologist part of her enjoyed doing. And in the almost-year since they had been friends, Daisy had saved Helena from more than one would-be disastrous date by sharing her observations with her smitten friend.
There was the man Daisy dubbed the “picked-his-nose-before-he-shook-your-hand” guy, the “he-tried-to-pick-your-pocket” guy, the “I-saw-him-arguing-with-himself” guy, and countless others. Helena had always been grateful for Daisy’s keen sense of people’s personalities.
Helena and Grover had already been friends for years when they saw Daisy at an Italian Reds tasting event. Helena introduced Grover to Daisy and those two had also become good friends.
Not long after Daisy received the women’s history assignment from Mark John, she and Helena and Grover met for pizza one evening in Dupont Circle.
“I can’t believe you have the night off,” Daisy said to Grover as they sat down at a small table for three.
“I don’t have anything on the calendar tonight or tomorrow night,” he said, leaning back in his chair. He ordered a glass of Cabernet and perused the menu.
“I’m having the margherita pizza,” said Helena, closing her menu. “Trying to watch my figure.”
“You and everyone else are watching your figure,” Daisy said with a laugh. Grover rolled his eyes.
“What’s new at work?” Helena asked Daisy.
Daisy told her friends about her new assignment. “Tomorrow I’m heading over to the Library of Congress to start some research. I could do it online, but I love it over there and it’s been a while since I visited.”
“It’s been years since I was there,” Grover said. He proceeded to tell Daisy and Helena about a party he was catering later in the week.
“It’s a retirement party. Anyone care to help out?” he asked, his eyes twinkling. “Minimum wage, but you can take home the leftovers.”
“Sounds good to me,” Daisy said.
“Can’t. I’ve got a date,” Helena said.
“Who’s it with?” Daisy asked.
“His name is Bennett. This is our first date and we’re going to see a play. He’s a reporter I met at an event a few weeks ago.”
“Is he normal?” Daisy asked with a grin.
“He seems to be. If I have any questions about him I’ll give you a call,” Helena replied, winking.
“Anyway, back to my retirement party,” Grover said. “Daisy, can you get away from work a couple hours early on Thursday?”
“Sure. I’ll be working on research that day, so I can leave whenever I want to.”
“I’ll pick you up in the van at three at your place.”