able to do statistical analysis in real time, calculate probabilities instantaneously. Other players had tried to get her banned a few times because they accused her of counting cards, but there was no way to prove it, so she slid by. There was no way they could prohibit her from playing just because she was too brilliant. That would be discrimination. “You wanna come?”
“I’d love to, but I’ve got to work.”
“Lame.” She kept eating.
“Count me in next time—no pun intended.”
She chuckled then turned quiet as she ate.
I ate too, enjoying the comfortable silence between us. We were only three years apart, so we’d always been close. She and Derek were ten years apart, so they didn’t click quite as well as we did. But we’d always been the three amigos.
“So…” She set down the uneaten half of her burger then went back to the fries.
“So?”
“Well, are we gonna talk about what happened or…?”
I sighed in annoyance. “You’re my favorite because you don’t make me talk about things I don’t want to talk about.”
“Well, a guy was shot in your building, and you saved his life. I mean, we should probably talk about that.”
“That’s not what happened. He accidentally shot himself.”
“Whatever,” she said. “A gunshot wound. It’s still pretty thrilling. Good thing you were there and not on a run or something.”
“Yeah.”
She continued to eat, staring me down.
I stared back. “What?”
“Okay, I’ve got a confession to make…”
“Oh no.”
“Dad asked me to talk to you—”
“Of course he did. How about you say you did, and we just not?”
She shook her head. “Come on, I don’t lie to Dad.”
“Uh-huh,” I said sarcastically, thinking about the boys she would sneak around with when we were young. “Because I remember a lot of shit you lied about—”
“Anymore.” She grabbed her beer and took a drink. “Dad has already talked to you and so has Derek, so I don’t realistically think there’s anything I can do to change your mind. But I want you to know that I think you’re wasting your potential working for Mom, and it’s such a disservice to the people who need your care. At the end of the day, people matter, and we need to do whatever we can to help others. That’s the philosophy of this family. I just wish you wouldn’t abandon your principles for some stupid bitch.”
“Daisy, come on.”
“I can say whatever I want about her. If I see her on the street, I’ll make her cry. I’d love the chance to tell her off.” She grabbed a curly fry and extended it by the ends, making it stretch out before it bounced back into place.
“It’s in the past.”
“Exactly. It’s in the past, and you’re still living in the past.”
I gave her a blank look, wishing this conversation would just go away.
She finally gave up. “Alright, I’m done.”
“Thank fucking god.”
We continued to eat our food, letting the tension slowly dissipate.
“So, I met this guy at my poker match. He lives in the city.”
“Yeah?”
“I took his money, and he still asked me out.”
“Maybe to learn how to beat you next time.”
She shrugged. “I can tell him all my tricks, and I’d still wipe the floor with him. And he’s super hot, so I couldn’t care less if he’s just using me.”
When Daisy first started telling me about her guys, it was a little weird, but then she reminded me I was being sexist because Derek and I shared every dirty little secret. And she was only three years younger than me, so she was a grown woman who had every right to have a personal life similar to mine. “Why do you keep going for guys like that?”
“Like what?” she asked, still eating.
“I don’t know…average.”
“Wow. Stuck-up much?”
“I didn’t mean it that way. You’ve never had a serious relationship before, and sometimes I wonder if it’s because you’re always going for the bad-boy type. Somebody like you needs more of a cerebral kind of guy. You’ll never be emotionally fulfilled if you’re going for these bartenders and poker players.”
“I don’t like the cerebral type.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “They’re stuffy. Super serious. Socially awkward. The list goes on and on.”
“I’m not any of those things. Neither are you.”
“Well, I’ve never met anyone like us. They’re all like Dad and Derek.”
“So, are you looking for something serious ever? I mean, you’re getting ever closer to thirty—”
“Oh my god.” She tilted her head back in an exaggerated outburst. “Please don’t worry about my eggs. They’re good, alright?” She looked at me again. “I’m surprised you