The Butterfly and The Moth

2

"So, Dahlia..." Daisy's mom, Lucinda, trailed off as she opened the door in front of me.

She had worn the same smile, the one that Daisy had worn in the cafe earlier, ever since I stooped into her car. The smile was so foreign to me, I thought maybe that's why I kept noticing it.

Daisy and her mother, they smiled like it was the easiest thing in the world to do. Like that smile wasn't forced, or temporary... it just lived there freely.

Mostly, I wasn't surprised when I caught my first sight of Daisy's parents, though one thing stood out. Mostly, they were everything I was expecting.

Her father, Paul, wore a light blue dress shirt that looked like it had never housed a wrinkle. He had dark hair that was still full on his head and looked like it had never missed a weekly trim. He moved like a man of business, checking his watch and answering his phone periodically.

Lucinda reeked of money. I could practically smell it on her, and her designer clothes. She had blonde hair that I just knew needed three hundred dollar treatments every two weeks. She had nails that looked shiny, and wore diamonds that no one would ever doubt was real. Her face though, it was kind.

And, that's the part I wasn't expecting. Paul and Lucinda had smiled at me the entire ride to their house. They didn't say much, other than to ask how my flight was. Lucinda looked back at me and Daisy, who was sitting in the back seat beside me, every few minutes... yet she didn't speak. She just smiled.

My eyes were wide as I stared at my surroundings. They had already led me through the first floor of their house. Well, usually, I would never call it a house, anyway. Weeks ago, if I saw a house like this, I would roll my eyes until my pupils looked into the back of my head and snidely call it something house. Mansion, probably. 

Where the lucky, rich motherfuckers live, maybe.

Lucinda had kept a running dialogue as she led the way. Here's the kitchen, she had said as she pointed to a room so large and white that it looked like it belonged in a tour of the Kardashian's houses. Here's the family room, here's the living room, here's the entrance room...

How many fucking rooms did a family of three need?

Finally, Lucinda had led us outside, with me and Daisy trailing behind her. Though, Daisy and I had completely different mannerisms as we followed. She looked completely comfortable, as she watched my expressions instead of the rooms her mom would be pointing out.

I was simply trying to not let my face show how much I was mentally in complete awe, because I had not only never experienced wealth like this, but I had never expected to, either.

In the back yard where we were standing, there was a pool in the ground. Like, a real pool. For some reason, I couldn't stop glancing at it. The water was so clean, I could see the entire bottom of the pit. It seemed their backyard was designed around the huge pool, with fancy chairs and couches all placed perfectly around it.

I felt my face crease as I looked around it, imagining how much fun Daisy would have had during her summers here. She would have learnt how to swim here, with Lucinda and Paul in the pool together with her, splashing and taking videos to look back on when she was older.

Then, as she got aged, she would have brought her friends here to tan. Talking about boys as they lounged around the water, trying to make sure their tans were perfect. Maybe on her birthday, she would have even pool parties.

I could see Daisy's memories in my own head, though they were just imagined. Would those be the moments that Daisy saw before she died? Did she have an unlimited source of perfect seconds to chose from?