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Laura shot Cassie a look that screamed I told you so, to which Cassie rolled her eyes. She smiled back at her father. “Thanks. It’s nice to be here.”
Laura finished pulling off her shoes and stood up. “Where’s Mom?”
“Upstairs.” He leaned his head back and projected his voice. “Hey, Judy?”
A muffled voice answered from upstairs.
“We have guests.”
There was rustling, and the sound of her mother’s footsteps made Cassie’s palms sweat. As a kid, her father was the disciplinarian, but he was fair and just. He never yelled, and somehow that made everything worse. As an adult, Cassie could see how even-tempered he was. That made seeing him again after all these years much easier.
Her mom, on the other hand, had a bit of that Irish temper. She was a kind, giving woman, but also passionate. Cassie had seen her mom take a teacher down a peg or two in one breath and invite them over for dinner in the next. She and Cassie had gotten into a few shouting matches when she was a teenager, but her mom could never stay mad for long. And neither cou
ld Cassie, especially when there was food on the table or ice cream in the freezer.
“Hey, Dad?” Laura whispered.
“Yeah?”
“I told Cassie.”
Their father frowned. “Told her wha—” His eyes got wide. “I thought you weren’t going to say anything.”
“She has a right to know Mom’s sick.”
“I agree.” He leaned forward. “But your mother is still going to kill me.”
Cassie’s mouth went dry. “Time to say your goodbyes, then.”
Cassie’s eyes met her mother’s the moment she entered the room. A little gasp escaped Judy’s mouth, and Cassie saw confusion, excitement and apprehension cross her face in quick succession.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hi.” She looked from Laura to her husband and back to Cassie, like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “It’s nice to see you.”
“It’s nice to see you, too.” Cassie stepped forward and hugged her mom, breathing in the scent of cherry blossoms and hairspray. Judy Quinn looked exactly the same as she had ten years ago, short and round, with bright red hair, deep green eyes and a smattering of freckles across her nose.
“Hope you don’t mind us dropping in on you,” Cassie continued.
Judy hugged Laura and then turned to her husband. “Did you know about this?”
“Not at all. It seems like they conspired against us.”
“Oh?” Judy turned to Laura. She couldn’t quite look Cassie in the eye. “What’s the occasion?”
“No occasion.” Laura led the group into the kitchen and started rummaging through the refrigerator. “We just thought it was a good time to catch up.”
Judy’s face turned red, and she smacked her husband’s arm. “You told them, didn’t you?”
He had the wherewithal to look abashed. “Technically, I only told Laura. Then Laura told Cassie.”
“Thanks for throwing me under the bus, Dad.”
“Hey, if I’m going down, I’m taking you with me.”
Judy threw her hands up and walked over to the cabinet with the wine glasses. She pulled two down as Laura retrieved a bottle from the fridge. As an afterthought, she grabbed one more for Cassie.
“I didn’t want you to worry,” she said.
