"What's this?" she asked, trying to be heard over the excited screams of the women who were loudly admiring the truck.
"This..." Niles grinned as he ran his hand over the slick door of the truck. "Is mine."
Stunned, Daphne turned to him. "What?"
"Yes, isn't it the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?"
"I thought I was the most beautiful thing you've ever seen." Daphne said quietly.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
Daphne sighed, wondering why she was surprised that he hadn't heard her.
"Um... Niles... do you notice anything different about me?"
Self-consciously she glanced down at her small frame, now sixty pounds lighter and smoothed the imaginary wrinkles from the dress she'd bought especially for her homecoming... and for Niles.
Everyone told her that she looked gorgeous in the pale yellow dress accented with tiny blue flowers. Niles would surely call her a goddess; something that she could never aspire to in a thousand years.
A lump formed in her throat as she slowly began to realize what was happening. He hadn't noticed her at all.
"Niles..."
Before he could respond, he was interrupted by Joyce who insisted on checking out the passenger seat. When others followed, Niles smiled proudly at the sudden attention, and he happily showed off his newest acquisition.
"Niles, what about me?" Daphne asked her voice breaking.
When he didn't answer, the hot tears that were dangerously close to the surface unleashed and she ran into the building, sobbing.
Her pillow was wet with tears when the knock on the door came.
"Go away." She said, grasping tightly to the adorable teddy bear that Niles had brought her on his last visit.
"Daphne, it's Donna. Can I come in?"
With a sigh, Daphne crawled off of the bed and glanced into the mirror, cringing at her tear-streaked face and ruined makeup.
The knocking came again and Daphne reluctantly opened the door.
"Daphne, Niles is downstairs waiting for you."
"Well he and his bloody truck can just leave!" Daphne yelled.
"Daphne-."
"Tell him that I'm going to stay a little longer." She said more calmly.
"B-but you can't!" Brenda said. "You're only paid up through today."
"I'll make up the difference meself." Daphne said. "I have some money saved up."
It wasn't a lie; she did have money saved, but it was for Niles. A special opera was coming to Seattle at the end of the year and getting him tickets that he deemed as impossible to get was the perfect gift.
But now it didn't matter anyway.
"Daphne, this spa is very exclusive and there's no way you'd be able to afford-."
Stung by the reminder of her finances, Daphne angrily brushed away fresh tears that fell down her cheeks.
"Tell Niles to leave."
"But Daphne-."
"Just do it, Brenda! And tell him he's no longer welcome here."
Brenda sighed and closed the door, just as Daphne dissolved into tears once more.