Daphne Vs. Daddy

And I don’t know how to fix it.

24

Dominic

Tuesday night at Bemelmans’s Bar and here I am, back to looking for a random one-night stand. I thought when I started dating Daphne that I could leave all of this behind me, but I guess not. Not now that she’s left me.

I see a cute blonde over at the bar, and I walk over to flirt with her. I can do this, I can totally do this. There’s a part of me that is removed from the situation, and giving ongoing commentary the whole time we’re talking. Her laugh is too loud, her eyes are too small. She’s wearing an orange shirt and doesn’t she know that orange is an awful color? Daphne hates the color orange, and for good reason. This chic – dammit, I’ve already forgotten her name – looks like she’s wearing a caution sign on the side of the road.

Not flattering.

She’s laughing again and I can’t help comparing her in e

very way to Daphne, and coming up short.

“Listen, it’s been nice chatting with you,” I finally say in a lull in the conversation. Fuck. Still can’t remember her name. I think it started with a H. Or maybe it was a T. “I…uhh…I hate to do it but I have to head out. Have a great evening.” I place a twenty on the bar to keep her supplied with drinks for a bit – suckiest consolation prize ever but it’s the best I can do – and walk away, feeling her shocked gaze on my back as I quickly exit stage left. Yeah, it doesn’t make much sense for me to leave like that; I know that. I know that if I’d wanted, she totally would’ve been up for a night of wild sex back at my place.

But she wasn’t Daphne, and I’m starting to realize that this is a fatal flaw for everyone not named Daphne Williams.

I’m almost to the door when I hear, “Dominic Masters?” I turn and spot Kim, one of Daphne’s friends in high school, with some guy I don’t recognize. “Hi, I almost didn’t see you,” she says, putting her hand out to shake mine warmly. “Dominic, this is my boyfriend Cody. Cody, this is Daphne Williams’s stepfather. Well, ex-stepfather, I guess, since you two got a divorce when we were seniors in high school.”

“Definitely ex,” I say with a forced laugh, putting my hand out for Cody to shake. “Otherwise…”

“Otherwise, I think Mary would have a conniption fit over what you two have been doing these last few weeks,” Kim says with a laugh.

“Oh, you heard?” Out of the corner of my eye, I see neon-orange girl heading towards the door and I try to shuffle Kim and Cody off to the side to let her get past. This whole situation is awkward enough without adding another layer to it. She stalks past us, ignoring me as she goes.

Fair enough.

“Yeah, Daphne told me. It seemed like you two were pretty happy together, at least until Heather got involved.”

“Heather? What? Daphne doesn’t know Heather.” I’m staring at her in surprise. She just shrugs.

“I think Heather tracked her down or something. But Heather gave her this whole song and dance about how you’d lied to her about what you wanted out of your relationship, and how awful you’d been to her. That’s why Daphne was so upset on Sunday. Heather had been texting her bullshit for several days by that point. It wasn’t until after you two broke up that Daphne realized that Heather had been lying to her all along.”

I can feel the rage boiling in my veins but I can’t explode. I have to concentrate on how to get Daphne back. She’s all that matters. We can file a restraining order against Heather for Daphne too, but later.

Right now, I have to fight for Daphne.

25

Daphne

I glance around the table at my besties and realize what a difference a couple of weeks makes. I’d been so happy a couple of weeks ago, when I thought I had something special going with Dominic, and then…

I got stupid. I want to blame it on Heather, but I can’t. I’ve had the last couple of days to really think about what she said and why I believed her, and I’ve realized that it’s because a part of me didn’t believe someone like Dominic could really want me. I know that’s stupid; I’m a damn doctor, for fuck’s sakes. I’m smart, I’m pretty, and I’m pretty funny.

But Dominic had once loved my mom, too, and see how that turned out? I think my subconscious was worried that he’d get sick of Williams the Younger and drop me like a hot potato. Maybe if I broke up with him first, I could protect myself.

Which, let’s face it, makes no sense at all. My mom divorced him ‘cause she realized she loved pussy, not dicks. So yeah, my hang-ups really don't make much sense.

Awesome for me to realize this afterwards, of course. I sigh into my cosmo. I know I’m being pathetic, but I just can’t help myself.

“What’s going on?” Gisele asks sympathetically. Of course she can be sympathetic. She got her happily ever after with her rock star boyfriend. I’m the one who’s going to be single and loveless for the rest of my life…

Okay, I’m literally crying into my cosmo now. Is there a level of pathetic-ness that I hit before my friends quit hanging out with me in public? ‘Cause I may have just hit that.

“I was stuuupppiiidddddd,” I wail. “I thought he wouldn’t like me anymore and I thought he didn’t want to be seen with me in public and I believed an insane woman ‘cause I only look confident but I’m nooootttttttttt…”