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Gary’s pickup truck. He was an idiot, but his drinking binge might have produced a sudden flash of brilliance that allowed him to figure out she was staying with her parents. The rusty monstrosity was nowhere in sight.
    The day had been an exhausting obstacle course. She had worked at the book store for over two years. There was one thing she knew without a doubt about her boss. Mary was stubborn. The pestering and blackmail wouldn’t end until Daisy filled out the application. Knowing that didn’t make it any easier, though. She felt like a teenager trying to sneak into a club with a fake I.D. What if she somehow got in? Wouldn’t the other residents eventually bust her for being a fake artist?
    She trudged up the apartment building’s stairs. A sounds of a heated argument filtered through one of the apartment doors and careened down the hallway. As she got closer to her parents’ apartment, she realized it was them. Daisy stood outside the door and blatantly eavesdropped. They were arguing about how long she was going to stay. The heavy bags slipped off her shoulders and thumped onto the worn carpet, scattering books and balls of yarn everywhere. They wanted her gone as much as she wanted to leave. She continued to eavesdrop while she picked up the things from the grimy carpet. Maybe their marriage had deteriorated since she moved out seven years earlier, but she had never heard them argue so vehemently. Or maybe her presence had pushed them over the edge.
    The rest of the evening passed more quietly than usual. Her parents’ argument stopped as soon as she opened the door, after jiggling the key in the lock more than necessary to announce her presence, but the aftershocks continued. There were no conversations about cheap customers or weird blue plate specials. Just lots of silence and dirty looks. It was a relief when they both disappeared in the bedroom. Daisy collapsed onto the couch. She hadn’t realized she was torturing her parents as much as they and Bobby were tormenting her.
    Bobby and Tina skulked in earlier than usual. Daisy was positive her parents had no idea the woman they couldn’t stand was pretty much living with them. The couple was always either drunk or horny and both modes were annoying. That evening they offered a combo deal. The stench of cheap beer filled the room while Bobby stretched out in the recliner with Tina straddling him like a porn star. Daisy relocated to the bathroom. Even though the couple was drunk, she hoped they weren’t stupid enough to screw each other a few feet from their parents’ bedroom, especially that early in the evening. She sat on the edge of the tub for a few minutes. It was quiet in the other room, no mumbling and moaning, but she hadn’t heard any footsteps pass by the bathroom either. She slowly opened the door and peeked into the hallway. Bobby’s bedroom door wasn’t closed, so they hadn’t squirreled up in there. She tiptoed toward the living room and gasped. Tina was rummaging through Daisy’s purse. There already was a wad of Daisy’s precious money in her fist, but she was still looking for something else.
    Bobby jumped as Daisy rushed past him. She snatched the money out of Tina’s grasp with one hand and grabbed the purse with the other. Tina’s eyes bugged out like an insect’s as she backed toward Bobby. She really was stupid if she thought he could save her. Daisy stuffed the money back into her purse and pointed at the door. It was like they were trapped in some kind of surreal, silent movie. Despite the storm of emotions, they all instinctively knew that waking their parents would escalate the situation to nuclear meltdown status and everybody would suffer.
    Tina grabbed Bobby’s hand and dragged him to the door. “We need to get out of here,” she whispered.
    Scalding hot tears streamed down Daisy’s cheeks the moment the door shut behind them. She couldn’t handle it anymore. It was time to get some balls and take control of her