Page 138 of As the Rain Falls
“Here.” He tries to slip me twenty bucks as he slides out of the car.“For gas.”
I refuse, of course.
Ialwaysrefuse.
“There’s no need to, Tony.” I push the money away from me. “My tank is almost full.”
Tony frowns. “But you keep driving me around.”
“It’s fine,” I insist. “You were running errands with me all afternoon.”
He hesitates, but I shake my head, making it clear that I want to hear no arguments.
“No, no money for me.”
“Alright, you win this time.” Antony rests a hand on the door handle. “Are you going to Robert’s fundraising party on Friday?”
“Sure.” I give him a thumbs-up, even though I actually completely forgot about it. There’s probably an invite buried somewhere in my mailbox, collecting dust. I’ll look for it later when I get home.
“Good.” He grins, opening the door. “Guess I’ll see you there.”
I give him another thumbs-up before driving off.
KISSING IS BETTER THAN THEORETICALLY SPEAKING
Cassandra
NOVEMBER, 2016
I invite Kayla overafter school with the intention of getting ready for the fundraiser together. It’s my way of making up for leaving so soon the last time we hung out. She agrees right away,but first, we stop by her house to grab a few things. Her oldest sister, Olivia, is in charge of driving us back to Port des Ondes.
The Saint-Louis family is wealthy, but they don’t exactly like to flaunt it. Their house, one of the few still standing in the city center, is a simple three-bedroom home just a few streets away from the mall. Kayla’s mother, Manon, bought it with the alimony from her first failed marriage.
She’s the smartest woman I know, raised in a family where being a doctor is not an accomplishment in itself. Really, a few of Kayla’s cousins are interning together at the hospital. Manon took a different path. Still prestigious, but different.
Instead of pursuing medicine, Kayla’s mother became a highly successful business lawyer, proving that ambition doesn’t have to look just one way. Marrying Jo, a man who never finished high school, would’ve been seen as a downgrade, I guess. That is, if Manon hadn’t been so rebellious against her parents from the very beginning.
And besides, Kayla’s father is a force to be reckoned with himself. He’s influential, deeply involved within the local indigenous community, and a self-made businessman, having launched his own natural cosmetics brand a couple of years back. They’re my definition of a power couple. Growing up, I wanted a marriage just like theirs so badly. Sometimes, I still do.
“Do you want to eat something while we’re here?” Kayla asks, already pulling a dish from the oven. “Mom made lasagna.”
I nod. “Oh, I love your mom’s lasagna!”
“It’s vegetarian,” she warns me, cutting me a piece. “With roasted vegetables and ricotta.”
“Sounds pretty good to me.” I grab a fork, but before I can take a bite, someone presses a kiss to the top of my head, making me jump. “Mrs. Saint-Louis!”
“Why so jumpy?” she laughs openly, pulling me into a warm hug before pinching my cheeks. Her perfume surrounds me,fresh notes of peppermint and citrus, as if she just stepped out of the shower. “My dear, you never come around anymore.”
Kayla slides my plate over, grinning brightly when her mom motions to my pink cheeks. “Yes Mom, she blushes easily.”
“So easily. It’s amazing!” Manon moves to the fridge, grabbing some orange juice and pouring two glasses for Kayla and me. “Cassandra looks like a littlecoccinelle.”
“What does it mean?” I ask.
My French just isn’t the best.
“A ladybug.” Manon pinches my nose. “You were the cutest baby in the world, with your red cheeks and your pink bows. Absolutely adorable!”
