“No, darling,” her mother said. “Absolutely not. You have your life. I want you to live it.”
Paige burst into tears. “Oh, God. I’m such a brat.”
“You’re not a brat. You’re a beautiful, sensitive girl whom I love more than anything in the world.” She grabbed Paige’s hands. “I’m not looking for a husband, darling. I’ve had the great love of my life. No one could ever replace your father; you know that. And if the thought of my dating makes you so unhappy, well, then, I won’t do it.”
“No,” Paige said. “That’s not what I want.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks and reached for her phone. “I don’t want you to be lonely. I want you to be happy.”
“What are you doing? Don’t you dare cancel your date.”
“I’m not canceling. I’m going to take your picture, and then we’re going to create a profile for you, give you a fake name…”
“What’s the matter with my real name?”
“Nobody uses their real name on these sites.”
“They don’t?”
Paige shook her head.
“What name doyouuse?”
Paige grimaced. “Promise you won’t laugh?” She waited for her mother’s nod. “It’s Wildflower.”
“Oh, that’s so pretty,” her mother said.
Paige felt surprisingly pleased by her mother’s approval. “So what name do you want to go by?”
Joan gently pried the phone from her daughter’s hands. “There’s plenty of time to do all this another day. Right now, you’re going to go wash away those tears, put on some fresh mascara and a bit of lipstick, maybe change your dress, and get ready for your date. Go on now. Get moving. That’s an order.” She grabbed the TV remote and clicked the sound back on, wandering aimlessly through the channels. “Oh, there’s that poor girl again,” she said as once again the picture of Tiffany Sleight’s smiling face filled the screen.
And then, with another click of the remote,poof,she was gone.