Free Must Love Sandwiches by Janel Gradowski Page B

blonde hair and yanked off her wig. Her real hair poked out from the nylon skull cap like dark spikes. “Your daddy was the best thing that ever happened to me, but I screwed up. When he caught me with another man, that was the end. By the time I found out I was pregnant with you, he was long gone. I’ve never been able to find him, even though I’ve tried and tried. So I keep searching for a replacement. Someone who will treat me like he did, before I drove him away.” She grabbed Emma’s hand and squeezed. Her sharp, acrylic fingernails dug into Emma’s palm like razor blades. “Please promise me, when you find a man who loves you as much as you love him, hold on tight. Don’t let him slip away. I don’t want you to end up like me.”

 
     
     
     
    - Part 3 -
     
     
    Daisy knocked on the door. There were no sounds from inside the apartment. She knocked again and then inserted her key into the lock. Maybe Emma was out running errands or had her headphones on. It never hurt to check. That’s why they had exchanged keys. Why interrupt your friend’s work when you can just let yourself in and save them the bother?
    Daisy pushed the door open a few inches. “Hello. Anybody home?” Emma wasn’t at her workbench and the bathroom was unoccupied. The studio was silent. Could she have spent the night with Brad and not gotten home yet? Probably not. The new, chastity-quest version of Emma wouldn’t allow that no matter how awesome Brad was. “Hello?”
    There was a legal pad on the workbench. It’s yellow paper glowed in the morning sunshine. She’d just leave a note for Emma to call when she got home. Her phone was going to voicemail, so she must’ve forgotten to charge it again. All of her art supplies were organized by color and her apartment was spotless, but for some reason the queen of neat could never remember to put her cell phone on the charger. Daisy plucked an ink pen out of a fabric-covered tin can filled with colored pencils and markers. She began scribbling the message. A loud snort ripped through the room. She froze. Was that a growl? Had Emma adopted a dog last night for some reason? She spun around. A large lump shifted position under a pile of blankets on the bed. A shock of dark, curly hair peeked out from under the edge of the afghan. It could be a Cocker Spaniel, but was most likely Emma. If it was her, something was wrong. Emma never slept past 9 a.m. She was the super-annoying morning person who woke up before dawn whether she needed to or not.
    “Emma? Are you okay? Do you have another migraine?”
    “What? Daisy? Oh god, what time is it?” It was definitely Emma. She threw back the blankets and ground her fists into her eyes. “I have so much work to do. I shouldn’t still be in bed.”
    Daisy sat on the edge of the mattress and patted Emma’s leg. “Calm down. Technically, it’s still morning even though the sun is up. You’re not that late. I’ve only been awake for an hour or so.”
    “I’m so tired. I wish I could sleep all day,” Emma said as she curled back into a ball and shut her eyes. This was not normal behavior for her. What had happened last night?
    “Do you want me to leave? Or, better yet, I can make you some coffee and you can tell me about last night. If you’re this tired it must have been a very long night.”
    Emma groaned and pulled the blanket back up to her neck. “Coffee, please, if you don’t mind. I can’t stay in bed any longer.”
    “Okay, I’ll make some, but you have to tell me what happened last night to make you so tired this morning.” She hopped off the bed. “Inquiring minds are going insane with curiosity.”
    “No coffee, no talky,” Emma mumbled.
    “Fine.” At least Emma had one of those fast, single-serving coffee makers. Daisy banged open the cupboard door and selected the biggest mug from the mismatched collection. She filled the coffee maker with water, popped in a container of dark roast coffee and turned the machine on.