Daisy beckoned to Cora Sue. “Cora Sue will take your order and serve you. I’ll call Rowan before I forget.”
Minutes later in her office, she brought up Rowan Vaughn’s contact information for his cell phone and tapped on his name. He answered on the second ring.
“Daisy? Have you learned anything about the investigation?”
“No, Rowan, I’m sorry. That’s not why I’m calling. I’m calling about the sponsorships for the play and the theater.”
“Oh, those,” he said with some disdain. “Tamlyn’s taking care of them. I really can’t be bothered with that now.”
“I understand how you’re feeling, Rowan, but you do want to make the theater an ongoing success in Willow Creek, don’t you?”
He seemed distracted for a moment, but then he sighed. “Yes, of course I do. I’ve sunk enough money into it.”
Daisy really hadn’t expected this half-hearted response from him. “For it to be a success, you really need to include the whole community. One of my customers suggested you have different levels of sponsorship. The lowest level can’t be five hundred dollars. It’s just too much even if tickets included four plays a year. A working person in Willow Creek just doesn’t have that kind of money to put out.”
“What would you suggest? Twenty-five-dollar sponsorships?” Rowan scoffed.
“As a matter of fact, yes. Sure, you can try to encourage big donations, court wealthier donors who would like to see their names in the program. But think how many residents you might draw in for twenty-five dollars. They might even buy a few tickets and suggest their friends come with them. You have to make this a community venture for it to succeed.”
Rowan was a businessman and he should know this. But he didn’t seem to. Maybe a developer who bought and sold properties was only interested in the big picture, not the small one.
It seemed to take a long time for Rowan to think about it. Then he said, “The Lancaster TV station was going to cover the opening. In fact, they’re interviewing me about it tomorrow. I could mention levels of sponsorship and see how it flies. If Tamlyn would get a lot of response, then we could go with it permanently.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Russ Windom is the one who thought about it and approached me. So if you see him, you might want to thank him. I’ll tell him you’re going to put his plan into effect.”
“That’s fine.”
Daisy could hear the fatigue in Rowan’s voice. “I know this seems like a bother and this production might not even be something you want to continue with, but if you consider it as a memorial to Margaret, it might mean a lot more.”
Suddenly a woman’s voice came from somewhere nearby. Was that Glenda?
“I know you’re right, Daisy, and I’ll put your plan in action. But I need to go now.”
“Of course.”
As Rowan ended the call, Daisy thought about Glenda being there with him. Just where was “there”?
Chapter Thirteen
Since Daisy intended to take care of her grandson whenever she could, she’d assembled a sleep and play crib in her bedroom for him. The following day, he was sleeping on his back while a colorful mobile with cats and dogs and bunnies hung above him. Since he’d fallen asleep, Daisy found she couldn’t stay still.
Vi was at her doctor’s appointment. Daisy had wanted to go with her. Foster had wanted to go with her. But Vi had insisted she was going alone. She didn’t want anyone to persuade her to do something she didn’t want to do. This would be a discussion for her and her doctor.
Daisy had an app on her phone that connected her to the nanny cam and monitor that watched over Sammy in the bedroom. After taking one last look at him, brushing her fingers over his arms, which were kept warm in a mint-green terry onesie, she took the bottle that he’d finished to the kitchen. At least feeding him with a supplemental bottle was going well.
After putting together a chicken and rice casserole for supper, Daisy was headed back to her bedroom when she spied someone passing outside the living room window. She realized Vi was back. She didn’t know what to hope for. She just wanted her older daughter happy again, filled with the joy a new baby could bring.
When Vi came in, she looked as if she’d been crying. Her eyes were red and swollen and her nose was red too. Daisy didn’t hesitate to put her arms around her, hugging Vi’s down jacket until she felt Vi underneath. She held on until Vi began to move away.
Daisy was quick to assure her, “Sammy’s asleep.”
Vi unzipped her jacket, looking for a moment as if she were lost.
Daisy took her arm and tugged her over to the sofa. She didn’t push or cajole. She waited until Vi took off her jacket and then began to talk.
“I was so confused, Mom. For a while, I wished you or Foster had been with me for the appointment. But then I realized I had to do what’s best for Sammy, no matter how I feel about it.”
“That’s a decision you’re going to have to make often as he grows.”
“I imagine so. Dr. Geisler suggested an antidepressant she thinks will help me. There are several to try. She believes I’ve given Sammy a good start with breastfeeding, but now I’ll have to stop. The medicine could contaminate my breast milk. She says she thinks it will take two or three weeks for the antidepressant to kick in. In the meantime, she gave me the name of a counselor she wants me to see, and she wants me to continue to go to the mommy group. She insists I have to talk about my feelings in a safe place in order to work through them. She gave me samples of the drug but she sent a prescription in to the pharmacy too. I’m hoping Foster
