Page 37 of Lyrical

Daniel held up the bottle, looking it over. “Sorry, Aunt Perry. I don’t drink.”

She tilted her head. “At all?”

“Well, I will have water occasionally.” He smiled and Cassie clenched onto his arm, laughing like it was fucking hi-lar-i-ous.

“Bongwater?”

She had this blank look on her face, so I elbowed it off. “God, Perry, no. That was a joke.”

“Oh, good.” She took a slurp, not offering one to Cassie. “Because that shit’s disgusting.”

“I’ll just grab another bottle of water,” Daniel said. “What can I get you, Cassie?”

“Um, hard lemonade?”

Daniel looked at me. “Nope, don’t have that,” I said. But I did have a can of PBR that’d been in the bar fridge since we moved in.

“Then anything’s fine, Daniel. I’ll have whatever Jillian’s having.”Yeah, I bet you fucking will.

“Jillian likes beer,” Perry said, bending down behind the bar. It was like she was reading my mind when she pulled the can out of the small fridge. Then she slapped it down in front of her with a smile. “Here you go.”

“You still have that?” Daniel asked as Cassie was making a move to pop the tab.

I snatched the can away. “Ha-ha. Perry’s quite the jokester herself.” I narrowed my eyes at her, and she just shrugged. It was one thing to fantasize about what a sixteen-year-old-plus beer would do to someone’s insides, but I was not going to jail for the woman.

“You should probably get rid of that, Mom, before someone accidently drinks it.”

“Absolutely.” The house was built in the forties, so for all I knew the beer had been around since then. I didn’t even remember why I kept it besides thinking the can was interesting.

Daniel swung his legs over. “I’ll go get you something. Anyone else?”

Chase put up his hand. “No, just stay there. I need to run up anyway.”

Hmm… Chase left the room, and the two lovebirds ogled each other. This was so not a fucking friend situation. I needed some answers, but more importantly, I needed to speak to Daniel alone. I couldn’t wait until we had our time after the party.

Perry topped off her glass and leaned over the counter, staring directly at Cassie. She pulled back a little but kept that sugar-coated expression on her face while Perry’s was all-business. “We know you two lovebirds”—she keeps reading my frickin’ mind—“went to a year of high school together—how sweet, by the way—but you never mentioned how you just happened to meet up again. Or were you in contact this whole time?”

“Oh no,” Cassie said. “It’s the craziest thing.” She gazed at Daniel. “Go on, you tell it.” He opened his mouth. “After all these years….” She covered her mouth, then flicked her hand. “Oh sorry, no, you go ahead.”

“We,” they both said simultaneously, then busted out laughing. Cassie made a zipping motion across her lips.

“I won’t talk anymore. Promise,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes.

Jesus Christ.Just get on with it already.Perry was sticking her finger down her throat, but they were too busy making eyes at each other to notice. Cassie was not a stupid girl. Unfortunately. It would have been much easier if she was. No, she was just pretending to be a ditz, and why the hell my intelligent son was falling for it escaped all comprehension.

“Well,” Daniel said, pausing until she put her hand over her mouth. If she moved it up a little higher, she could silence herself permanently.

“Go on,” Perry said, “I’mdyinghere.”

“So, we haven’t seen or even talked to each other since school, and then….”

“Yeah, yeah!” Perry waved her hands around like one of those excited monkeys that freaked her out so badly. She was slathering it on just ateensybit too thick. “And then?”

“I suppose I have you to thank, Mom, for the next part. Or maybe Dad.”

“Or maybe fate,” Cassie said, her eyes widening before she clamped her mouth shut again.

“I’m not following,” I said.

---