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“Well... I’m hoping you’ll stop making yourself scarce while Sophie is at school.”
“I think you can guess why I was doing that in the first place.”
Her smile turns coy. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Don’t you?”
“Maybe you should explain it to me in more detail.”
“Are you teasing me, Cassie?”
“I wouldnever,” she assures me, looking innocent for all of two seconds before she winks at me. “Unless you asked me to.”
I have to stifle a groan as I hear the bedroom door open down the hall, tensing when I hear Sophie’s little footsteps and quiet good morning as she shuffles into the kitchen. “I’m hungry,” she complains.
Cassie has none of the trepidation that I do. “There’s princess Sophie,” she gushes. “Do you feel ten today?”
Sophie makes a face. “Not really.”
“You look ten,” Cassie says seriously. “Did you get taller since yesterday?”
“What?” Sophie reaches to press her hand to the top of her head. “No, I didn’t.”
“I don’t know...” Cassie casts me a sly look. “We might have to let you drive us home.”
“I can’t drive!”
I laugh at the pair of them. “I’ll be doing the driving, thank you.”
“Oh, hold on,” Cassie says.
She turns from us both and heads toward her room, disappearing for a moment before she returns with something behind her back. She bends down to Sophie’s level, flashing a brilliant smile as she pulls out a small bouquet that consists of brightsunflowers and daisies and some light blue flower I don’t recognize. Sophie stares at it for a moment with an open mouth, taking several seconds to meet Cassie’s eyes and gingerly take the flowers.
“Happy birthday, Sophie,” Cassie says softly.
Sophie’s little lip quivers slightly, gently laying the bouquet on the counter before she collides with Cassie’s waist, wrapping her arms there for a hug. “Thank you,” she mumbles into Cassie’s shirt.
Cassie squeezes her tight before kissing her hair. “You’re welcome.”
I’m still not entirely sure what’s happening, but seeing the exchange between Cassie and Sophie is making my chest feel tight. Watching them, it almost feels like they’ve been in each other’s lives forever. How does Cassie make everything seem soeasy?
“Don’t cry,” Cassie fusses, her voice thick as she reaches to wipe under Sophie’s eyes. “You’ll make me cry. And I’m a super-ugly crier.”
This elicits a watery laugh from my daughter, and Cassie urges her to turn before pushing her toward the bedroom she came out of. “Go wipe your face. We’ll talk about breakfast when you get back.”
Sophie nods heavily before heading back down the hall. I wait until she’s out of sight before I open my mouth, still a little confused. “What was that about?”
“Oh.” Cassie looks sheepish now. “She told me the other day that her mom used to give her flowers on her birthday. I just thought...” She rubs her arm. “I had time this morning since I couldn’t sleep, so I googled and found a shop nearby.”
For a moment, I’m too stunned to say anything. Not just because I am reeling over the fact that I didn’t know this about Sophie and Rebecca’s relationship—Sophie has certainly never mentioned it—but also because Cassiedoesknow this aboutSophie and Rebecca’s relationship. And not only that, but apparently her first instinct upon learning it was to go out of her way to replicate it just for no other reason than to Sophie happy. I’m having a hard time even pinning down what the emotion is that I’m experiencing over this.
“Thank you,” I say thickly. “That was...” My heart is beating so loud. Can she hear it? “That was amazing of you.”
“It’s no big deal,” she mumbles, looking at her shoes.
I want to kiss her so badly, it actually hurts. “It really is,” I assure her. “Trust me.”
Cassie’s lips turn up in a shy smile, and I can do little more than sit at the counter, wrestling with the swirling emotions raging in my chest.
