here up to speed. He comes highly recommended.”
“I’m sure he does.”
“You and your baby will be safe on my watch, Mrs. Steel.”
“Please, call me Daphne.”
“Whatever you prefer,” he said. “I’ll try not to intrude on your day-to-day activities any more than I have to.”
“I understand.”
“Thank you for being so understanding about this, Daphne,” Brad said. “I just want you and little Joe safe.”
“I understand,” I echoed myself. “Will you be staying for dinner, Mr…?”
“Danes. Call me Cliff, Mrs. Steel. Er…Daphne.”
I nodded.
“Cliff will eat in the kitchen with Belinda,” Brad said.
I nodded again numbly.
I hated feeling numb. Numbness made me feel colorless, like those pale-green blooms in Mazie’s greenhouse. One day I’d have to remember to ask her why they were her favorite.
“I’ll let you know when Patty and Ennis get here.” I left the office, closing the door behind me.
I returned to the family room to check on Joe. He was sleeping soundly. Mom and Mazie came bustling in from their trip to the greenhouse.
“Hey, honey.” Mom kissed my cheek. “I’m going to take a quick shower before dinner. Mazie and I did some transplanting, and I’m filthy.”
“Take your time,” I said. “Ennis and Patty are going to be late.”
Mazie was in the kitchen chatting with Belinda. Now, while I had it on my mind, I’d ask her about the pale-green tulips.
“Hi there, Daphne,” Mazie said. “How’s the baby?”
“He’s good. He’s sleeping.”
“Good. I’ll go take a look at him.”
I smiled. Or tried to, anyway. Smiling was difficult after last night’s events. “I want to ask you something first.”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Why are those pale-green tulips your favorite?”
She lifted her brow. “That’s an interesting question.”
“Brad told me, and I just wondered, because to me they seem so…sad.”
“I suppose they do seem a little sad next to the brighter colors. Brad told me the yellow are your favorites.”
“Yeah. They remind me of the sun.”
“So they do.”
“The pale-green ones remind me of the moon, which reminds me of…” I stopped. I’d been about to say darkness. Did Mazie even know about my junior year?
“They’re called green spirit. Maybe it’s the name I like.” She smiled wistfully. “But I like the color as well. I don’t see sadness when I look at them. I see something that reminds me that the darkness has its own beauty.”
I dropped my mouth into an O. Her words spoke to me, offered me something about the flower—and myself—that I’d never considered before.
“When you embrace darkness,” she continued, “and learn not to fear it, you can begin to see it in a different way. After all, only the most beautiful stars shine in the dark.” She laughed. “Am I making any sense at all?”
“Actually, yes,” I said. “I never thought of it that way.”
“Most people don’t. Most people fear the darkness. But the darkness has a lot to teach us. I should know.”
Was that an invitation to ask what she meant? Belinda stood at the counter, ripping lettuce for our salad.
“Don’t fear it, Daphne,” Mazie said. “It’s part of you. It’s part of everyone. Now, I need to clean up before your friends arrive.” She left the kitchen.
Part of me.
My junior year was part of me, part of my history. Had Brad told Mazie about it?
I’d never forget what Mazie had said. I vowed then to learn from everything in my life, find the stars among the darkness, the roses among the thorns.
But I still liked the yellow tulips best.
Chapter Forty-Five
Brad
After Cliff got settled in his room, I returned to my office.
I hadn’t had a chance to look through my father’s file about me.
On top was my birth certificate. Of course I’d seen it before, and of course my father would have a copy of my birth certificate. Not a huge deal. So why was this file so fat?
I pushed the birth certificate aside. Copies of my report cards from grade school through college, except for the last semester that I’d just completed. Dad had died before then.
After those, my medical records. I was healthy as a horse and up-to-date on all my vaccinations. Okay. What was the purpose of this file?
I moved the medical records out of the way and—
The Future Lawmakers Club.
One page. A simple list of all the members and the names of their parents. That was it.
Okay. Strange.
Next page: See separate files for more information.
My heart sped up a little…but only a little. I wasn’t overly surprised that my father had kept files on the Future Lawmakers.
The rest of the file on me consisted of