Page 78 of Riverside Reverie

“Absolutely. You know you’re always welcome there,” Jasmine assured me. “We’ll head back to Sudbury Sunday morning, if that’s okay?”

“Yeah that’s fine, if you’re sure your family doesn’t mind me crashing Camellia’s birthday dinner.”

“They won’t mind. Camellia knows what Brinley’s been up to, and she’s already filled our mom in on it. Did you know Camellia finally ditched her? Camellia was so disgusted with what Brinley did to you, and how she’s been acting since. They’re no longer friends.”

A wave of guilt rose in me. “Now I feel bad, they’ve been friends forever—”

But Jasmine cut me off by shooting me a look. “I’m going to stop you right there. Camellia hasn’t agreed with a lot of Brinley’s behaviour over the years, this was her decision because their morals clearly don’t align.”

“Brinley will blame me for it, though.” I sighed.

“Who cares? Brinley blames you for everything. This is why you set boundaries, remember?”

“I know, you’re right.” I sighed. “I can’t believe my mom tried to sweep this under the rug, too.”

“I’m honestly not surprised. Your mom has always tried to live up to this perfect image of what a family should be, and it’s always been at your expense. Brinley’s too, in a way, not that I’m excusing any of her behaviours, but. Yeah. And your dad, how did he take it?”

“He’s confused. None of us really told him what happened. He knew something was going on and tried to get us to tell him, but Mom said we were just having difficulties ‘adjusting to living together again’ and I…imploded. I didn’t have it in me to tell him exactly what happened, I needed to get out of there.”

“You never implode. I’m sure he’ll get the truth out of your mom soon.”

“Not sure that’ll change anything, though,” I sighed again, glancing out the window. We were in the subdivision Jasmine’s parents lived in, less than a minute away from their house.

“It might. Your dad’s not a bad person, he’s consumed by work and has missed a lot of what’s gone on under his roof.” Jasmine was completely right about that, too. My best friend had the insight of knowing my whole family for years.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right about that, too,” I took a deep breath, trying to collect myself as Jasmine pulled into her parents’ driveway. The Kade’s lived in a beautiful six-bedroom custom-built estate home nestled on a 6.2-acre ravine lot.

I grabbed my overnight bag and my laptop bag, leaving the rest of my things in Jasmine’s car.

She led the way inside, pushing open the front door to the grand entrance. We toed off our shoes, tucking them into the front hall closet before peeking into the magnificent great room with twenty-one-foot ceilings where Jasmine’s parents were currently sitting, enjoying glasses of brandy in front of the gas fireplace.

“We’re back,” Jasmine said.

“Lux! It’s so wonderful to see you,” Mrs. Kade said, rising from her seat and setting her brandy glass down before sauntering over to give me a welcoming hug. “You’re looking radiant, dear.”

“Thank you,” I told her, knowing she was being generous. I looked like I’d been sobbing—because I had. “It’s good to see you again too. Thank you for letting me stay here this weekend.”

“It’s our absolute pleasure!” Mrs. Kade insisted with a sparkling smile.

Iris Kade was a lot like my mother—very put together and beautiful, always dressed to the nines. But despite how formal she was, maternal warmth poured from her very essence.

“You’re welcome here any time, Lux. I hope you know that,” Mr. Kade said from his chair by the fire.

“We would put you up in the guest room, but Jonathan’s parents are coming out for Camellia’s birthday dinner tomorrow.”

“That’s alright, she can bunk with me in my room,” Jasmine interjected. “We’re going to go get settled. Night Mom, night Dad!”

“Good night,” I murmured before following Jasmine up the stairs to the second storey, where the bedrooms were.

I’d always loved everything about this house, from the crown moulding and waffle ceilings to the bespoke cabinetry in the library, kitchens, and even the walk-in closets. Yes, Jasmine’s house had a library, and it was my favourite room in their entire house.

“It’s going to be a little crazy tomorrow, what with the birthday dinner, pretty much all our relatives are coming out and some of Dad’s friends and work colleagues,” Jasmine warned me, speaking over her shoulder. “But you’re used to Kade craziness,” she added with a grin.

Two doors opened, almost in sync with one another, revealing the similar faces of Jasmine’s two youngest sisters, Azalea and Violet. They were still in high school. Azalea would be going into grade eleven in the fall, and Violet would be entering grade ten.

“Lux! We haven’t seen you in forever!” Azalea exclaimed, tackling me with a hug. Violet wrapped her arms around me too, both girls so familiar with me from the amount of time I’d spent with Jasmine over the years, that they treated me like a part of their family.

“Hey girls, how has your summer been so far?”

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