Page 60 of Let It Be Me
“It smells really good in here, Cassie.” I say when I untangle Riley’s arms from around me and walk over to her.
She kisses me on the cheek. “Thank you, sweetheart. Are you ready to get your hands dirty?”
“Yes. Put me to work,” I tell her. I pull my hair back andhead to the sink to wash my hands. Riley kisses her on the cheek and pats me on the butt before joining his dad on the couch to watch football.
We get to work on rolling out the pie crust for the chocolate chess pie along with mixing up dough for chocolate chip cookies. Those will sit in the fridge until they’re ready to be baked. Cassie then shows me how to make Riley’s favorite macaroni and cheese dish.
“It’s a lot of steps,” I confess.
She looks over at me, stirring the roux. “It is. But after a while this can be done in under two hours and without a recipe.”
I look over at her with a deer-in-the-headlights look. “No recipe?” I squeak out.
Cassie’s smile is that of familiarity. “I promise it can be done. When I made my first dish with Dean’s mom, I felt like I was under a microscope. Even with her very watchful eye, I still felt like the noodles were overcooked or the sauce was too salty or there wasn’t enough cheese.”
“So what happened?”
“Oh, that all still happened. But I practiced, unbeknownst to Dean. And that next Thanksgiving, I wow’ed him, his Mom, and the rest of his family.”
“Do you both come from big families?” I ask because I’m curious about Riley’s parents.
“Dean does. He has three sisters and two brothers. He’s firmly in the middle of the bunch. Me on the other hand, I grew up with a half-sister that I lost contact with after our Dad passed away.”
“I’m so sorry,” I say and try not to come off as pity.
“Thank you, sweetheart. What about you?”
“I’m an only child. Which is a blessing and a curse I suppose.”
She motions that the roux is done and to add the noodles to start the process of assembling everything. “Go on.”
“My parents were great when I was in high school and college. It was after college that I realized they expected me to do things the way they wanted. Get a degree, but don’t plan to use it as your husband will be the one to take care of you. Stay with this guy even though he steps out on you.” I get to mixing the noodles and sauce. We top the dish with the leftover cheese and pop it in the oven.
“Okay. Everything looks like it’s about done.”
“Really?”
“Mm hmm. Now what we do is grab a glass of wine and head out to the fire pit to talk more.”
I wring my hands in front of me. “Okay.”
Cassie pours us each a hefty glass of wine and leads the way to the backyard. “Riley, keep an eye on the food.”
He looks over from the TV. “You got it Momma.” His brow furrows at the two of us and his baby blue eyes meet mine with a silent question. I nod him off and follow her outside. Cassie presses the button for the fire pit and two minutes later the fire has warmed our chilled bodies up.
“Has Riley told you what I do for work?”
I take a sip of wine and then shake my head. “I can’t say he has.”
“I work as a part-time sex therapist,” Cassie states.
I choke on the wine that’s still traveling down my throat.
Cassie’s laugh is of amusement to my shock. “Riley acts the same way. You both are adults so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that part of growing up is realizing that sex is not something to be embarrassed over.”
“Definitely not embarrassed. Is this where you tell me to be careful?”
“I have a feeling I don’t need to tell you that,” she surveys me the way only a caring mother should. “Tell me more about the relationship with your parents.”
