Annie took the daisy home. She sat down on Saturday afternoon with her water colours and painted a miniature of it so Rohan could use it as a bookmark or put it in his wallet. She planned to give it to him on Monday when he came in for lunch. That way he would know she had found it and that it meant something to her.

She was just finishing the picture when the phone rang. Downing her brush, she picked up the receiver. "Hello."

"Annie, honey, it's Mum."

Annie laughed and ran her hand through her hair. "You know I can tell it's you by the sound of your voice, Mum."

"Well, you never know one day I might have a cold and you won't," said her mother. They laughed together and talked about home, her father and brothers and what was going on with the farm. Then her mother changed the subject.

"So, what's been going on with you, Annie? Ready to come home yet?" Beverly Mitchell missed her daughter terribly. She hadn't and still didn't understand Annie's urge to move to the city.

"Well...," said Annie. "Works great and the people who come in are all very interesting." She paused. "In fact, I've met someone I think I like a lot."

"You mean a man?"

"Yes, Mum, a man." Annie sometimes wondered what orbit her mother travelled in. "He's very shy. I don't know him too well yet but I like him. He's a scientist."

"So, he wears a long white coat and thick bifocal glasses," Beverly mused, and then added, "Nothing like Lyle."

Annie ignored her mother's slip and focused on Rohan and his glasses. "I'm not sure about the coat. He does where glasses. They're not thick but they are bifocal and very ugly." She giggled and looked bemusedly up at her ceiling. "I plan to subtly encourage him to change them when the time is right."

"What does he look like? Tall, short. Give your mother a description."

A bubble of laughter rose in Annie's mouth. Typical Mum she'd want to know the length of his hair down to the last millimetre. "He's tall."

"How tall?"

"I don't know exactly. Just tall."

"Taller than Cal?"

"Yes, taller than Cal." Here we go. It'll be another fifteen minutes before she'd be finished with the height issue, Annie thought.

"Are you sure, Annie? Cal is six foot two."

"Mum... do we have to do this. He's tall alright. Really tall. I'm thinking maybe six, six because the pants he wears are always too short and you can see his socks."

"Oh, that is tall. How will you cope with it? You're only five three."

"You coped, Mum. You're five one and Dad is six two. Same, same and anyway I've just met him so don't go planning any wedding dates yet."

Her mother huffed so Annie laughed and said, "Don't tell me you don't because every time I meet someone you start going on about the latest styles of bridal paraphernalia."

"Annie... I do not!"

"Yes, you do." Annie heard her mother titter and said, "See you're laughing. You know I'm right."

"So, what's the big deal? Every mother likes to think her daughter's going to meet Mister Right one day." She paused. "What colour is his hair? Come on, don't hold back."

"Jeez you can be an old biddy." Annie laughed. "His hair is dark and he has the most amazing green eyes." She sighed unconsciously into the phone. "And thick long lashes."

"So, what month would you like to get married, Annie?"

"Mum...!"

Beverly laughed heartily, and then said, "Gotta go dear. Your father wants the phone."

Annie hung up the receiver, a big smile on her face. She lifted the daisy and thought, June. June was always a nice month. A little cool but never much rain at that time of the year back home. Tolga was a beautiful country town. Annie wondered if she could go back and live there.

Lyle was still there with Gina Pallia who was his wife. Annie had heard they were having a baby.

She knew her mother missed her. Could she go back on her own? No.

Married to Rohan? Yes.

She laughed. Damn her mother for putting that idea into her head. She lifted the daisy and smiled again. She'd have to wear high heels for the photos so Rohan didn't look like a complete giant next to her.

"Annie Mitchell! Stop talking crap!" She chuckled again, sat down, lifted her calligraphy pen and wrote Annie in the corner of her painting.

Annie's mum, huh? All those questions. 

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