Page 54 of Cass

I walk in and see her wearing a dress. Her hair and makeup are perfect, as always. “Wow, Mom, you look beautiful.”

She kisses my cheek. “Thank you, sweetie. I have a date in a little bit.”

“Who’s the lucky guy? Anyone I know?”

She smiles. “No one you know. It’s yet another fix-up. I seem to be everyone’s project. He’ll be here soon, though. I’m sorry I don’t have more time for you. Do you need something?”

“I actually came by to see if you’d come with me to dinner at Dad and Darian’s tonight, but it sounds like you already have plans. Maybe another time?”

“I do have plans tonight.” She scrunches her nose. “Honestly, Trevor, I don’t love going there. I adore your father. I’m genuinely thrilled that he found his person. And I really do like Darian. She’s been nothing but nice to me. But sometimes the way they are puts me on edge.”

I give a knowing smile. I think it puts us all on edge.

She shakes her head and puts her hands up. “Don’t read into that. I don’t have any lingering feelings for him, but they’rereallyall over each other, and it’s even worse at their own house. Knowing he was never remotely like that with me is a little bit of a gut punch. I hope you understand. Obviously, I would never miss a life event for you boys or anything, but for a regular Sunday night dinner, I’m going to pass.”

“I understand. We all suffer through it. Her kids too. It’s kind of become a running joke among all of us.” I laugh. “Believe it or not, they actually do tone it down in front of you.”

She scrunches up her nose again. “That’s definitely hard to believe.”

I nod. “You’ll find your person too, Mom. He’s out there.”

She smirks. “Maybe tonight?” She winks at me.

“Whoever it is, he’ll be a very lucky guy. That much I know.”

“Thank you. You should have come to lunch today. I was with Hayden and Jess. They’re so adorable together. I think he’s in love with her.”

I laugh. “He’s definitely in love with her. That’s actually why I wanted you to come tonight. I’m seeing someone too. It’s pretty serious.”

She smiles. “That’s wonderful. Let’s make plans to get together. When can I meet her? I’m sure I’ll love her if you do.”

“You’ve already met her.” Mom gives me a puzzled look. “Remember Cassandra?”

“I don’t remember you dating any Cassandra.”

“Darian’s friend Cassandra. You met her at my graduation.”

I see the moment it registers. She’s all of a sudden typing on her phone. “Mom, what are you doing?”

“I just canceled my date. Let’s head to your father’s.”

* * *

We head straightto Dad’s house. Mom looks like she’s going to punch a hole in my car. We have barely spoken since I told her about Cassandra. This is not going well. Maybe Dad can help.

We walk into Dad and Darian’s. Dad is sitting in the living room. He looks up when we walk in. “Oh, hey, Melissa. I didn’t know you were coming tonight. I’ll add some more food to our order. I’ll get you the spring rolls you like so much.”

“Jackson, how in the world can you be thinking about food right now when our son is in the middle of a crisis?”

“What crisis?”

“His geriatric girlfriend.”

Dad takes a deep breath. “Oh. I understand why you’re upset. I was too. Let them explain their feelings. I think you’ll feel better about it. He’s a grown man. He can make his own decisions in life.”

Mom puts her hands on her hips. “Perhaps you need to get your head out of your new wife’s ass for a minute. There is no feeling better about this. Your wife is pimping out her friends to our sons. You need to do something about it.”

He stands up. “Melissa, you and I have a lot of history. We have three sons together. I have a tremendous amount of love and respect for you. But you will not walk into our house and disrespect my wife. Ever. This was as shocking to Darian as it was to the rest of us.”

---