Later that week Daisy left work early to help Grover at the party he was working. She arrived at the lovely white mansion along one of the more affluent areas of Massachusetts Avenue well before the party was due to start, but after Grover and the rest of his staff had arrived.
She donned an apron she found in the back of the catering truck and went in search of Grover to ask where she should help. He gave her a tired smile when he saw her.
“Thanks for coming. I’m going to need all the help I can get tonight. Two of my staff called out sick and I’m short-handed. Can you start by setting the tables?”
Daisy headed for the truck to take a look at the diagram for the table set-up and found the florist unloading centerpieces from her van. Together the two women put a centerpiece on each table, then the florist left and Daisy began setting the tables. She thought back to her own high school graduation party, which had been a few friends and family on her parents’ patio. And there was no time for a party when she had graduated from college and her postgraduate program—she had to start work right away. Times have changed, she thought. This party was going to make the society pages.
Like the other events where she had worked for Grover, this one kept Daisy running from the moment she arrived until long after the happy guests departed and the catering staff could begin putting away their supplies and cleaning up. She was walking back to the catering truck with an armload of serving utensils, ready to take a long swig of water and eat something, when she saw a man approach Tish, who was in the back of the truck, up to her elbows in soapy water.
“Hey,” he said when he saw Tish.
“Hi there,” she replied. She glanced at Daisy as she climbed into the van. “Daisy, this is my boyfriend Lewis. Lewis, meet Daisy. He came to help out so I could leave earlier.”
Daisy shook hands with Lewis after depositing her utensils in the hot water, then helped herself to a bottle of water from the fridge. She sat on the grass in front of the truck pondering what she had just learned.
Tish has a boyfriend? What about Grover? Does he know? Daisy wanted answers. She couldn’t bear the thought of Grover learning about Tish’s boyfriend here at an event, so when she had finished her water she went back into the truck. Lewis was nowhere to be found and Tish was alone.
“Tish, could I ask you a quick question?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“It’s about Lewis. I was just wondering if Grover knows about him.”
“Oh, yeah. They’ve met lots of times.”
“And does Grover know you and Lewis are dating?”
“Of course. What’s this all about?”
Daisy gave Tish a sheepish look. “I thought you and Grover were dating, that’s all. And since Grover is a friend of mine, I didn’t want to see him get hurt if he didn’t know about you and Lewis.”
Tish tilted her head back and laughed. “You thought Grover and I were dating? That’s funny. Whatever gave you that idea?”
“I don’t know, really. I guess when I saw you that night in the bakery I just assumed you were an item.”
“Gosh, no. We were going to be working on the books that night, so we were getting sandwiches. No point in working late if there’s no food.”
Daisy knew a flush had crept into her cheeks while Tish was talking. It’s amazing I didn’t break my leg jumping to conclusions, she thought with a grimace. Aloud she said, “I’m glad. I just didn’t want Grover to get hurt, that’s all.”
“I wouldn’t hurt Grover. He’s a nice guy, plus he signs my paychecks,” Tish answered with a wink.
Late that evening Grover dropped Daisy off at her apartment. “Everything all right?” he asked when she hadn’t spoken for most of the drive.
“Yeah, everything’s fine. Just tired,” she answered. She hoped Tish wouldn’t tell him about their conversation. She was embarrassed and didn’t want Grover to get the wrong idea. But what was the wrong idea? She suppressed a sigh. She needed some sleep. This wasn’t the time to be delving deep into her thoughts about Grover.
His next words took her by surprise. “I’m not busy tomorrow night. Want to meet for dinner?”
“Uh, sure. I’ll be home around six. Want to meet around seven?”
“Yup. Text me where you want to eat and I’ll meet you there.” He pulled up in front of her apartment building. “Thanks for helping out tonight. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“You’re welcome. Anytime,” she said with a smile.