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Mom bounces her eyes between Cassie and me before slamming the door shut. “What the hell is this?”
“Considering what we just walked into,” I point out, “we don’t need your judgment or disapproval.”
“That has nothing to do with Barry and me.” She waves her hands about. “You and Cassie… You’re…”
“Dating,” Cassie says boldly, squeezing my hand. “And honestly, I’m tired of hiding it from you and my parents.”
She gives me a relaxed smile when our eyes meet.
“Well,” Mom rasps, luring back our focus. “I’m not sure how to react.”
“No offense, Aunt Helena, we’re eighteen,” Cassie says. “So you can’t force us to end it.”
“We’re in love,” I add. “We won’t break up. We won’t let anyone force us apart. Not even you, Mom.”
She blows a razor-sharp breath and rubs her forehead. “You have no idea how much you’ve complicated things.”
I scowl. “What do you mean?”
She looks at Cassie, then shakes her head. “Jeff won’t stand for it.”
Cassie sighs, voice low as she says, “I know.”
“I’ll let you be the one to tell your parents when they get here in two weeks.” Mom steadies on me afterward. “Reid, can we talk about what happened?”
I sniff. “Go ahead, Mom. Explain why you got upset with me for communicating with Barry, but you were at his place. How long has that been going on?”
“It only happened today,” she rushes to clarify, animating with her hands. “I went there to talk to him about you.”
“Sure,” I huff and look away.
“I just… I wanted Barry to understand how much he’s hurt you, and I offered to hire him at the company, which he refused. Said he found something steady. We got to talking. One thing led to another, and….” She catches her breath. “It was a mistake. He intends to repay every dollar and hopes you’ll give him another chance in time. I…” She clicks her tongue. “I told him I won’t stand in the way if that’s what you want.”
Replaying her words, I wander to the window and stare at the darkening water. “Barry’s made promises before. He always breaks them.”
“I said the same thing,” Mom mutters. “I told him it’s a matter of how much he turns his life around.”
I slant and tell her, “We’ll see.”
A quiet fog engulfs us until Mom breaks it with, “How long have you two been…involved?”
“By the third week of my visit,” Cassie answers softly.
Mom scoffs, tilts her head back, and closes her eyes. When she looks at us again, she says, “My brother is going to lose it.”
