Blaine slowly opened the front door and stepped into the house on Monday morning. His family was in the dining room having breakfast, but they looked up when they heard the door open. The children jumped out of their seats and ran over to greet him with hugs.
“Dad! You’re home!”
He smiled at them and hugged them back. He looked up at Cassie lingering by the table. She looked like she wanted to run over and embrace him too, but one look from him made her hold back.
The kids were clamoring with questions and he answered with apologies and excuses about needing to work.
Finally, he took a step back. “Why don’t you finish breakfast while I take a shower, then I’ll drive you to school,” he suggested. As the kids went back to the table, he started upstairs.
Cassie waited a moment and then followed.
He was getting undressed in the bathroom when he noticed her standing in the doorway. She looked like she wanted to speak, but he didn’t give her the chance.
“I’m just here for the kids. I’m not ready to forgive you yet.”
Cassie latched on to the word, ‘yet.’ “But you will be?”
He didn’t answer. Instead he turned on the shower and let the sound of the water drown out their conversation.
Cassie stormed away from the bathroom door and into the bedroom as her temper started to rise. She wanted to rail at him. How could he be mad at her? She wasn’t the one that had been lying all this time. She had only lied for a little while. It was her mother and Reese who had known the truth all along and kept it from everyone. Yet, somehow, he had found it easy to be able to forgive Reese for sixteen years of lies and act like nothing had happened, but he was taking all of his anger out on her.
She wanted so badly to storm into that bathroom and give him a piece of her mind, but she couldn’t. She felt a cold shiver pass through her, dulling her rage. She stood too much to lose. If she said the wrong thing now, she risked losing him forever.
Losing him forever. She felt those words like a knife through her chest as she sank down onto the bedroom sofa. She knew then, with complete certainty, that she was going to lose him forever, no matter what she did. It was already too late.
She sat in a stupor, breathing heavily, listening to the sounds of the water running in the shower and once it stopped with a squeak of the faucet handle, the sound of the electric razor. They were everyday sounds, his usual morning routine, but she felt as if she were hearing them for the last time.
When he walked out of the bathroom, draped in just a towel, he didn’t look at her. He crossed over to the dresser and changed into a fresh set of clothes.
“I’m taking the kids to school now,” was all he said as he walked toward the stairs.
Cassie jumped up. “Are you coming back afterwards?”
He didn’t answer, so she pressed after him.
“Come back. Come home tonight,” she insisted, grabbing at his shirt sleeve. “I’ll leave if you want me too, but you need to be home tonight.”
He paused, then touched her arm gently, before continuing down the stairs. “Brooke, Doug, time to go!”
* * * * *
Natalie was the first of her friends to arrive at the cafeteria at lunch time. She sat down at their usual lunch table and took advantage of the quiet moment to let her mind wander.
She’d had a difficult time concentrating on her schoolwork today. Her mind was fixed on the snippets of conversation she’d overheard between her mother and Simon as she was getting ready for school.
“It’s so sad. He’s been sleeping in his office,” her mother said, in a hushed voice. “He thinks Cassie betrayed him.”
“How so?” Simon asked.
The next bit was muffled, but Natalie was sure she’d heard her name and strained to listen.
“He’s just expecting too much of everyone in this situation.”
She wondered what she had to do with the situation. The last thing she wanted to be was a source of strife for anyone, especially for her father and his family.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed Jeremy approach the table until she heard him set his lunch tray on the table across from her. When she looked up at the sound, he was smiling at her. She really wished he wouldn’t.
“You look like you were miles away. Not that I blame you,” he said as he nodded towards the room behind him. The unpleasant smells of cafeteria lunch wafted through the air and the noise level was starting to rise as the room filled with chatting students.
“Yeah,” she muttered as she picked at her food, but she didn’t feel like eating.
She had been trying to avoid Jeremy ever since she knew Maura liked him and even more so now that they were dating. There was nothing wrong with simply talking with a friend’s boyfriend, but sometimes the way Jeremy talked to her felt too much like flirting. Maybe she was reading too much into it, but she wasn’t interested in being flirty with a friend’s love interest.
Jeremy looked as if he were going to say something, but changed his mind. Instead he stared at his tray of food, wishing things weren’t so awkward.
When Julian walked over and asked, “Mind if I sit here?” they both answered simultaneously with an overeager, “Yes.”
“Why aren’t you sitting at your usual table?” Jeremy asked.
Julian glanced behind him to look back at the table he usually shared with Elden, Sara, and Melanie. They were all looking at him. Sara was whispering something to Melanie, while Melanie and Elden were both giving him the evil eye. Elden had called out to him when he walked past, but he had ignored him. They hadn’t spoken since the Halloween party.
“I needed a change,” he said simply.
Jeremy nodded.
The silence that had fallen over the table was interrupted by the arrival of Maura, Vince, and Judith. Maura snagged the empty seat next to Jeremy and scooted close to him while Vince and Judith sat in the empty seats next to Natalie.
Maura linked her arm around Jeremy’s and greeted him cheerfully. “Hey, I haven’t seen you all day.”
He mumbled a vague reply.
“We’ll have to make plans to meet during the day. What's your class schedule?”
Jeremy looked up at his sister, his eyes pleading for help, but she just shrugged. There was nothing she could do. He had made this mess and it was up to him to figure out how to get out of it.
"Uh, I don't know if I'm much of a planned meet up kind of guy," he answered hesitantly.
Oblivious, Maura kept chattering on, until Natalie couldn’t take it anymore. She rose from her seat.
Maura stopped mid-sentence. “Where are you going?”
“I’m not hungry,” Natalie replied with a shrug. “I think I’m going to go to the library to study. I’ll see you later.”
Jeremy watched her go with longing in his eyes. He wished he could offer to go with her. He’d lost his appetite as well.
Vince watched her as well. “Is she okay?” he asked the others at the table.
“I think I know what’s wrong,” Maura said, as she released Jeremy’s arm and scooted away from him just slightly. “It must be hard for her, being single and surrounded by couples. We should set her up with someone. Do either of you know anybody?” she asked looking back and forth between Jeremy and her brother. Both guys looked uncomfortable with the question and shook their heads. When she noticed Julian seated on the other side of Jeremy her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak, but Judith quickly cut her off.
“Don’t even think about it,” she said firmly. “If Natalie wants a boyfriend, and I don’t think she’s ever indicated that she does, she’ll find one. She doesn’t need our help. If she does, she’ll ask for it.”
“Okay, fine,” Maura gave in, but she couldn’t help turning around to scope out the cafeteria, just in case.
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