Plan B (Best Laid Plans #2)(19)

"It was very low-key," I interject, happy to stop Daisy before she spins a story involving a billboard or a circus monkey.

"Just the two of us," Daisy agrees while popping a bite of French toast into her mouth. She hums in delight over her food and I remember she did the same while eating a hot dog at Fenway. She took a giant bite with a happy little hum, her face tilted up towards the sun as she chewed. Then she turned and smiled at me before grabbing my beer for a sip. I'd never been more comfortable with a total stranger in my life. I'm not sure if I've ever been more comfortable with anyone than I was with her that day.

"Just the two of us," I second, snapping back to the present. "Just a quiet weekend at home. My place," I clarify since they know she lives out of state. "Daisy was able to visit for a couple of days. We got ice cream," I improvise, watching her fork a dollop of whipped cream into her mouth.

"Yes!" Daisy's eyes light up and she turns enthusiastically to Kerrigan and Gigi. "At Bassett's! It's my favorite."

Bassett's. God, that's over at Reading Terminal if memory serves. I can't even remember the last time I was over there but apparently Daisy is familiar with it.

"Right." I nod. "So we made dinner at home. And then I proposed over ice cream. That's it," I say with finality, hoping we can be done with this. "How are your classes going, Kerrigan? You'll let me know if you need any extra help?"

Kerrigan and Gigi look slightly underwhelmed. No one looks interested in my change of subject.

"He's telling it wrong," Daisy says, nose scrunched up and looking as if this is a real story that I've bungled the details on. "First of all, we bought three pints of ice cream for dessert because Bassett's is the best and I couldn't decide what flavor I wanted, so Kyle said to get them all." She turns her attention to Kerrigan and Gigi with a big smile as if ice cream is something to be impressed about. "Then he made dinner. Pasta with all these fresh herbs we bought at the market and meatballs browned to perfection. So good!"

She beams.

I stare.

Kerrigan and Gigi urge her on.

"So we finish dinner, and then he sets four pints of ice cream on the countertop and I sorta panicked, you know? Because we only ordered three pints of ice cream so I was worried maybe we'd left with someone else's order and I was going to be stuck with lemon sorbet or butter pecan when what I wanted was mint chocolate chip or chocolate chip cookie dough or peanut butter swirl." She pauses. "Or possibly birthday cake, or the salted caramel pretzel. Or maybe the dark chocolate chip. But most definitely not sorbet."

Kerrigan and Gigi nod, enraptured with Daisy's version of events.

"So I was like, ‘Kyle! Did we get the wrong order?’" She's waving her hands next to her face in some apparent reenactment of her distress and this time I can't help but laugh out loud. She gets very animated when she's upset, and now she's doing crazy hands as she recounts an upset that never even happened. I think it's so ingrained in her she doesn't even know she's doing it.

Gigi shoots me a look and tells me to hush.

"So then Kyle says, ‘I'm sure we got the right order, darling. Why don't you open them all to check?’"

Gigi nods. She's got a packet of sugar in her hand that she tore open three minutes ago to pour into her coffee, but forgot about because she's so beguiled by this ridiculous farce of a story.

"So I open the first container. Mint chocolate chip. Thank goodness. Then I open the next two containers. It's the peanut butter swirl and the chocolate-chip cookie dough. Whew." Daisy exhales in a visible sign of relief and makes a little gesture with her hand, like she's wiping the sweat off her forehead for having dodged the wrong ice cream order bullet.

"Meanwhile Kyle is sliding a spoon across the counter like nothing is happening. And I'm still confused about this fourth container. Like was there a buy-three-get-one-free deal? Because if there was I'd have liked to pick out the flavor, you know? So I pick up the fourth container and it feels different. The weight is off a little bit, but it's cold. So I'm thinking maybe it is sorbet, which is disappointing but okay since I've got the other three.”

"And the ring was inside the container?" Kerrigan asks, eyes wide.

"Yup." Daisy nods. "I opened the container and there's a ring box sitting on top of a container halfway filled with sugar that he'd put in the freezer so the container would feel cold and heavy. Then when I looked up he was down on one knee."

"Awww," Kerrigan and Gigi coo in unison.

Jesus Christ.

"He took my hand and he said 'Daisy, meeting you was the best thing that's ever happened to me. I've never met anyone like you before.'"

Well, that's the truth.

"'You're sweeter than ice cream.”

Oh, come on. Daisy visibly winces after she says it but Kerrigan and Gigi are so into this story they don't even catch it. Daisy shakes it off and continues.

"He said, 'Daisy, you are the love of my life. Would you do me the honor of marrying me?'"

I think Gigi has a tear in her eye.

"I said yes, of course. I wore the ring for the rest of the night with a Band-Aid taped over the band to keep it from sliding off my finger."