Page 103 of Growing Into Love

“Ready?” I say to Cass.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she says. “Have you met Craig?”

I shake my head. She takes my hand and squeezes it.

We ring the bell and wait nervously. A Black man with wire-rimmed glasses wearing a checkered button down answers the door.

“Jaz,” he booms. He glares down at me, his eyes glinting, his mouth etched in a frown—he’s quite a bit taller than I am and the back of my neck starts to prickle. “So. You’re the man who knocked up my girlfriend.”

“I—but—used—” I stammer.

Craig’s face breaks into a wide grin and he slaps me on the shoulder. “I’m just fucking with you, mate. Sorry, Theresa says not everyone appreciates my humor.”

Cass chuckles. “I’m Cass,” she says. “And I, for one, do appreciate it.”

“Cheers, Cass,” Craig says shaking her hand. “Come on in, guys.”

“I like him,” Cass whispers as Craig leads us into the house.

Craig has always been this specter in my mind, a shadowy figure that took away the one thing I thought I wanted. I’m really pleased Cass has taken an instant liking to him. Anything that makes her more comfortable is okay by me.

We enter a sitting room painted pale yellow with copper accents. Bookshelves line the walls, crammed with books and papers and a few framed photographs. I notice the packing boxes right away.

“Moving?” I ask.

“Yeah,” Craig says, gesturing for us to sit down on the sofa. There are Liverpool coasters on the coffee table. “I got a job in Great Chumley, in fact. Theresa’s going to take a sabbatical from teaching. She put in her notice at the university already.”

Great Chumley is only a few towns away from Hart’s Crossing. I glance at Cass and she shrugs. Could be a good thing, them being closer to us. Makes all the custody stuff a bit easier.

“So, Craig,” Cass says. “On a scale of one to ten, how big of a dick punch was this news for you? I’d say mine was about an eleven.”

If I’d been drinking anything, I would have spit it out. Craig’s eyes pop and then he lets out a great belly laugh.

“I’d say I have you beat at a solid thirteen,” he says. “Though to be fair, I did think it was mine at first.”

He glances at me.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “For what it’s worth—I really did not intend this.”

“I know you didn’t, mate,” Craig says, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. “I know Theresa didn’t either.”

At that moment, Theresa appears with the tea tray. “Talking about me?” she asks, giving him a soft smile. She puts the tray down and exclaims, “Cass!”

I’ve never seen Cass look as shocked as when Theresa throws her arms around her.

“Erm, hi,” Cass says, awkwardly patting Theresa’s back.

“It’s so perfect that you guys are together,” Theresa says. “I was telling Craig, wasn’t I telling you how perfect it is, Craig?”

“You were indeed, love,” Craig says. “I haven’t stopped hearing about Oak Hill for two weeks.”

Cass flushes. “Oh,” she says. “Well. Um. Yeah. It’s a special place.”

“It’s the most incredible farm,” Theresa says. “And the Wright family is…I mean, talk about bonds. And roots. Like, how lucky is this baby to get to be part of that?”

Cass shifts a little on the couch, unsure of how to react to Theresa’s enthusiasm. “Right,” she says.

“Did Craig tell you about the move?” Theresa asks.

---