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“I don’t think we need to talk about any of the elephants, actually.” Judy replied.
“See, that’s what got us into trouble in the first place.”
Cassie wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or the fact that she caught the mischief in her sister’s eye, but a giggle slipped out as she took another sip of wine. A droplet escaped her mouth and slid down her chin, doing nothing to stifle her laughter.
“Can’t we just enjoy one dinner together before it all goes to hell?” Judy asked.
An uncomfortable hush fell over the table before Laura broke the silence again. “We’re gonna have to talk about it eventually.”
“And who says everything will go to hell?” Cassie added. The wine had lit a fire in her belly. “I’m not here to ruin anything. I’m here to fix it.”
“I know that.” Judy’s tone had cooled, but she still wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone at the table. “Doesn’t mean it won’t.”
“What I think your mother means to say,” Walter added, looking directly at Cassie, “is that there’s a lot to talk about. And maybe it would be easier when we’ve had a little more time and a little less wine.”
He had a point, but Cassie didn’t want to admit that. “I’m not the only one who has something to apologize for.”
Judy’s head snapped up at that. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You didn’t tell us you were sick—”
“I’m not sick.”
“—Laura had to find out secondhand.” Cassie paused. “And I had to find out thirdhand.”
“There’s no such thing as thirdhand.” Judy punctuated her sentence with the stab of her fork. “You know Walter, I really wish you hadn’t told them.”
“They have a right to know.”
“No, they don’t.” Judy slammed her silverware back down on the table. The glasses shook. “You broke your promise to me, Walter. You betrayed my trust.”
“I know that, and I apologize. But, Judy—”
She held up her hand. “I’m still mad at you.”
“Don’t you think that’s kind of hypocritical?” The words left Cassie’s mouth before she could stop them. “You’re still mad at me for pushing you away after my attack, and here you are doing the same thing to us.”
“If I’m a hypocrite, then so are you.”
“How do you figure?”
Judy threw up her hands. “If you’re so offended by my behavior, maybe you should look at your own.”
Cassie washed down her anger with more wine, but all it did was make the fire burn brighter. “So, what? You’re punishing me because I almost died and didn’t want to talk about it?”
Judy looked like Cassie had slapped her across the face. “I’m not punishing you, Cassie. I didn’t want you to worry about me. Didn’t want anyone to worry about me. I wanted this surgery to be over with, and then we’d go on being normal.”
Laura snorted. “This family is far from normal.”
Cassie shot her a look before turning back to her mom. “And when were you going to tell us? After the surgery? What if something went wrong? What if we never got to say goodbye?”
“Nothing is going to go wrong. It’s going to be fine.”
“Then we should have no reason to worry.”
Walter lay a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Judy, she has a point.”
Judy’s laugh sounded unhinged. “I thought you said this wasn’t an intervention.”
