I Hope You’re Happy (revised)

There was once a girl, Daisy Philipp Carr. The girl with the soft, smooth skin, long curly brown hair, a smile, and not just any regular smile, the type of smile that would light up a dark room when there were no candles in sight. She was the girl. Every guy wanted her and how could I blame them? She was mine though, I knew everything about her, like her favorite type of dessert to the color she always painted her nails, creamy nude. I loved her.

Daisy and I were both born on December 21, 1990 on a cold winter’s night. I was born in my parents’ house, a small two bedroom apartment with no heat or light, since my parents couldn’t afford it. She was born in a nice warm hospital with doctors and nurses tending to her from the first second she was born. I met her during pre-school on our birthday, we both laughed and argued over whose birthday it really was and I will always remember her saying “Benjamin, you will have your birthday on December 22 and I will have mine on the 21^st.” I paused for a moment and with a smile I said “I will always celebrate it on December 22, I promise” and I meant it. From that day I would do anything for her.

Growing up Daisy was very popular. She was captain of the field hockey team and secretary of our class. I was none of those things. I spent my Saturday nights in my room. Daisy would always say “come on Benjy, you got to have a little more fun. You’re only young once.” But Daisy’s idea of fun was different from mine. She’d go out to the local frat houses, get trashed, not remember what guy was the last to touch her, and call me crying to pick her up. The stars were the only thing lighting up my house, as I grabbed the keys to my parents 1976, baby blue Honda Accord Hatchback and drove to her. I would do anything for her.

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December 22, the winter of my 17^th birthday. It was held at Daisy’s house. Her house was gorgeous, just like her, a garden of pretty flowers in shades of white and pink attractively bloomed with small decorative garden gnomes laughing at me in the front lawn. The inside was even better. It was no expensive mansion, but it had its elegance, with a Christmas tree blinking with every color, life-size snowman happily singing Frosty the Snowman, a rug that looks like it should be in a presidential suite, and the most elegant thing of all- Daisy. I’d been having my party at Daisy’s since the fourth grade, since neither of my parents could afford to offer me the materialistic things that her parents gave her. Her parents would order extra food just for my party, as if I was their son. Of course, my party was not nearly as grand as Daisy’s, but it was mine and that’s all I could ask for. My party only consisted of Daisy, a couple of my Magic the Gathering friends, and light Beethoven music in the background.

Seventeen is such a delightful number. It’s the only age between being an adult and being a teenager. You can get into R-rated movies, drive your friends around after dark, and legally donate blood. Imagine me, Benjamin Boyer, with a car driving Daisy around to all the R-rated movies and giving blood to save lives together. I was awoken by a loud noise yelling, “HELLO, EARTH TO BOYER! ARE YOU IN THERE,” I awoke to see Josh, my chubby, loud mouth, best friend with a bottle of water ready to pour on my head.

“Hey, I’m up! Get that bottle out of my face, is it my turn to lay down a card?”

“It’s been your turn since Daisy left.”

            Daisy. All this time dreaming and I forgot about my true dream girl. “She went upstairs to take a phone call, but that phone call was an hour ago,” my friends said. Being me, Benjamin Boyer, the sly detective and best friend, I decided to investigate the scene, so I got up, excused myself, and ran up the stairs to her room, only to regret my decision. December twenty-second, the coldest day.

I walked up the steps, knocked at her door, and opened it. My virgin eyes saw Daisy hooked around the local lowlife, scum, Cooper. They didn’t even notice I was in the doorway staring at them. They continued going at it. I slammed the door and ran out of the house, without saying a word. I ran.

Cooper was your average 19 year old if you think being nineteen and a junior is normal. He had long, shaggy black hair that needed to be groomed. He smelled like a skunk, nothing. He blasted songs with harsh lyrics and always had a new girl by his side. He was a whore-ible person.

I got home, my parents nowhere in sight. I opened the fridge: half eaten cucumber, spoiled milk, and my favorite last week’s takeout pizza. I put the pizza in the microwave and sat down on the couch to enjoy the darkness. I was interrupted by the loud engine coming outside my house and opened my door to see Daisy standing there, with the smell of a flirty, floral fragrance and her hand just about to knock at my door. Happy Birthday to me.

“I’m sorry, Benjy. I came all the way over here to say-”

“Don’t be sorry,” I said. “The fact that you came all the way over here just proves to me-” I was interrupted by the sound of that harsh engine and a horn honking. The street lights were dim, but I could make out which car it was coming from, a bright, obnoxious car, with an even more obnoxious driver yelling, “Hurry up babe, were going to be late for the party,” Daisy turned around and yelled “Just one minute, Cooper.”

“I guess you have somewhere to be,” I said. “Just leave.”

“Okay, if you insist.” Daisy said with a smile. “I’ll call tonight?”

 “Don’t. I’d rather not talk to an alcoholic stoner all night.”

“What’s that supposed to mean Benjy? Why are you acting so hostile? You’re seventeen not seventy.” I backed up and slammed the door.

Daisy stopped calling me. Daisy stopped coming over. Daisy stopped being the girl and instead became a stranger. She wasn’t the friendly kind of stranger you smile and say hi to when passing. She was the type of stranger to look the other way when you passed by or give you a dirty look when you told her good morning. She moved out of state during our junior year, without her parents. I never asked why, maybe she just wanted to get away from Cooper and maybe me.

I thought going to school without Daisy would be difficult, but it wasn’t. I didn’t need her help to get into all my AP courses for the year and I surely didn’t need her help to get into my dream school, The University of Maine, with a full-paid scholarship majoring in Biochemistry.

Gym class, the most dreaded class of the day. The only thing that keeps me going is knowing I only have two more months of this demonic torture. “Good Morning class, today we will be enrolling a new student in our class, her name is Daisy.” Daisy came in, she was still beautiful, but she wasn’t the same when I last saw her. Her smile was darker, her hair was cut short, and her face exposed acne that was not there before. I never was one to insult a woman on how she looked, but Daisy clung to her stomach and awkwardly sat down on the bleachers. I did not even look at her. I turned my back and engaged in a game of dodgeball.

Daisy hung out with the outcasts. The students who started their day with a bowl of grass and ended it with a mixture of drugs, or “party enhancers” as they liked to call it. The rumor going around was that Daisy was going to have a child.

Daisy never looked at me, she always had her head down buried underneath her sweatshirt. Maybe it was that she didn’t recognize me. I grew a couple inches, could afford nicer clothes, and grew a bread. I was handsome! I wanted to talk to her. I was determined to talk to her. I had a plan to talk to her.

One day after school as she was sitting there waiting for her group to show up, I pulled up beside her and told her to get in. Without any hesitation, she jumped in without a simple “hello.” I didn’t really expect it. I waited a minute to see if she would jump out, but she didn’t, so I drove.

We drove to the first place we met, Mouse Church Pre-school. I stopped in the grassy field where we used to always sit down and look at funny pictures in books. The engine was off and the only sound we heard was a group of children sitting on a park bench, the reminded me of Daisy and I. We stood quiet for what seemed like a day, until I heard the click of the locked door and jumped. Daisy was trying to leave, without saying a word to me. If you don’t want to talk then I will, I thought. “Do you remember this place?” She nodded her head. “I wish I could go back to these times, don’t you?” She didn’t look at me, just zipped up her jacket and stared straight across the field. I wondered what she was thinking, but I knew she wouldn’t tell me. I backed up my truck and proceeded back to school, stopping at every vacant lot to see if Daisy would say anything, she didn’t.

I pulled up to the school parking lot and said, “Now what?” Her voice was weak and all that came out in response was partial sentences that made no sense. She grabbed the door handle and ran, too fast to be seen. This was my sign. I didn’t chase after her, all my life I chased after her.

            On my birthday, December 22, I stood looking out my window and saw a familiar face strolling around a child. She looked at me and it was like I have seen her before. I feel a hand reach up behind me and a laugh, “what are you looking at?” says Rebekah, my girlfriend. “Nothing,” I say and proceed away from the window. I hope you’re happy now, Daisy.