They took to the dance floor, and Daisy relished in the smell of her grandfather who always smelled faintly of wool and caramels—and fine cigars he shouldn’t smoke but always managed to sneak. At some point in the dance, he spoke to her very quietly. “I trust your judgment, Daisy. You are very wise for your years. I think you are especially wise in matters of the heart. But if I could offer you some advice, I would say this. I think this boy who isn’t here? I think he wouldn’t want you to be sad on this day on his account. What do you think?”
Daisy thought about it as her grandfather smiled and led her across the dance floor. “What I think is that he doesn’t really think about me at all.”
After a few seconds, her grandfather said, “Well, everyone here thinks about you and loves you. And I tell you something else. If God has made this boy especially for you and made you especially for him, he doesn’t stand a chance. One day, God willing, this boy will think of little else besides you. But it will be in God’s good time. Now you just wait and see.”
The Dixon brothers turned eighteen and made a big deal about registering for the draft. Christmas came and went, then New Year’s, and before anyone could sufficiently brace themselves, Saint Valentine’s Day arrived. The National Honor Society began publishing student rankings, and everyone felt confident Leah Wing would take the Valedictorian spot for the graduating class.
In a Georgia High School, the only thing that moves faster than the track team is the gossip. In no time at all, Daisy heard the news. Naturally, Ken Dixon asked Leah Wing if she would like to go to Prom with him and, just as naturally, Leah accepted.
After that, whenever possible, Daisy closely watched the two of them interact. Or rather, not really interact. They didn’t date. They didn’t even sit together at lunch most of the time. One day, she watched them pass each other in the hall without even giving one another a glance.
Daisy fantasized about taking Leah’s place and going to Prom with Ken. She figured he might not notice anyway, and it would save Leah the expense of buying a formal gown.
In fairness, Ken and his brothers had their sights set on only one thing, and that one thing was Auburn University in southern Alabama. Ken and Brad would let nothing get in the way of that goal. Jon, however, started getting a little bit of a reputation as a bad boy. He started wearing his hair differently, which made it easy for Daisy to tell him from Brad. As usual, she could spot Ken from a mile away just by the cut of his jib.
Meanwhile, her Freshman year, while Daisy mostly warmed the bench in an alternate slot, their Debate Team placed at sectionals and then won at regionals. They ended up in the top twenty-five at nationals held in none-other than Washington DC.
Daisy figured out that she loved debating for several reasons. First of all, she had to think and speak quickly. Secondly, she spent so much time and energy arguing with herself inside her own head, debating gave her a much-needed outlet that helped to still her troubled mind and spirit. Finally, debate grounded her in logic and allowed her to get some perspective about her emotions most of the time.
Most of the time.
At youth group, the Dixon brothers began to discuss their summer mission trip. This summer, they would spend nine weeks in Kenya digging wells and building housing in the slums, helping people get out of the cardboard shacks they lived in now. As soon as Daisy heard about this, she quietly began to petition to go on the mission trip with them. She did all of her research about passports and visas and vaccinations. She read the US State Department travel advisories. She allowed herself to fantasize about stolen moments with Ken while they worked side by side to fulfill God’s work.
Gradually, she came to realize that her parents could not afford to send her on the trip. The church could probably assist and offset some of the cost, but right or wrong, that would bring a measure of shame to her father that Daisy would never want handed out. So, she instantly informed her parents she had changed her mind about the entire thing, and everyone breathed a little easier.