Hearthstone Entertainment
51 Cassie
DOUG, RHIANNON, CASSIE, AND I stood and watched as Betts and Doreen pushed their babies in strollers along the path at Green Lake. It was sweet. It was their childhood dream. Off to our left, Addison pushed Maddie on a swing in the playground.
“We’ll walk around the lake the other direction,” Doug said. “This place is a little chilly, but I can’t believe how green it is.”
“Betts says that’s because everything is covered with moss and mold,” I laughed. “I see a coffee shop up on the street over there. We’ll walk up and get drinks for everyone and meet you back here in half an hour.”
Cassie and I held hands as we walked toward the big sign that said ‘Starbucks’. Inside there was a line waiting, but at least it was warm.
“I was getting chilled out there,” Cassie said. “Thank you for bringing me inside.”
“Chilled? Is that what you call it when your lips turn blue?”
“Well, you could have warmed my lips more directly,” she laughed.
“Later on, I will warm all of you more directly,” I said. I got coffee and she got a latte. We sat to drink and get warm. “Cassie, what changed?”
“What do you mean?”
I sighed. “We became novia in June. I could see you struggling with the concept and really thought that one day you and I would be cónyuge like Doug and Doreen are. I thought that you would eventually consent to Mary becoming Josh’s second wife, but that no matter how much in love we were, there would always be that one line we wouldn’t cross. Josh really surprised Mary Christmas night, but you shocked me senseless. Something changed for you. I just want to understand.”
“My father,” Cassie said.
“He’s had some difficult times in the past few months. He’s a good man, Cassie.”
“He likes you, too. He didn’t want to like you. When… When I broke up with you that summer, he was disappointed that you weren’t going to church again. He liked that you memorized Bible verses. And I wouldn’t tell him why you weren’t going. I just said you didn’t like church.” She paused and looked at me a little chagrined. “Even back then, I let you take the blame.”
“Well, it was my fault. And you had to live with him.”
“How true. I took him for a horseback ride on Thanksgiving. I can’t believe that I can groom a horse and saddle her. Well, Carl helped tighten the cinches and adjust stirrups for Dad.” She fidgeted. Whatever it was, this was difficult for Cassie and I took her hand. She looked up into my eyes. “I told him everything. From going to the party and kissing in the closet to our breakup. I told him about our dates and the debate and how I felt about you. And I told him about Josh and how we fell in love, but that I’d always still love you. And I told him that I still wanted you, and that Josh was okay with it, and that we would have Mary, too. I even told him about how often I’d made love with other women. All the time I was telling him this, he rode beside me in silence. And then I asked for his blessing.”
“Oh, my. Cassie, your Dad… you know he left the church, don’t you?”
“I knew he left. He told us that last summer. But after I’d unburdened my heart, then he unloaded his. I found out so much about my father that day, Brian. I’ve always known he was a good man, but I didn’t know what that meant. He’s like you, Brian. In the last analysis, he does what’s right,” she said.
“What did he tell you when you asked for his blessing?” I asked.
“He asked me to wait until Christmas. He asked me to pray about it and to talk to Josh. He said he would pray about it, too, and talk to Mom. That really scared me. But he said that on Christmas we would talk and he would tell me what he thought. And I could tell him. Brian, he didn’t yell at me. He didn’t quote Bible verses. He didn’t preach or lecture me. All he said was that he only wanted my happiness. It was easy to slip away for a few minutes on Christmas Day. There was so much activity. We went out and petted the horses. We didn’t ride, but we stood out there under the shelter and fed them carrots and rubbed their muzzles. And I told him that Josh and I were agreed and I felt it was right. And he hugged me and cried and said, ‘You have my blessing, daughter. Live your life in love.’”
I scooted my chair around the tiny table we were sitting at and hugged Cassie. She leaned her head against me, the sniffles subsiding. I offered her my handkerchief.
“As soon as I told Josh, we ran off and made love. We made love knowing that the next time his penis was in my vagina, it would have been in another woman and another man would have been in me. And you know what? It wasn’t sad. If it had been, I wouldn’t have gone through it. It was… It was possibly the most joyful coupling we’d ever had. And we both knew it was right. That’s what changed, Brian.”
Our time in Seattle was fun. Addison took the four of us on a city tour while Grandparents took all the babies. Betts and Doreen used our hotel room. I found out later they had each sampled the other’s milk as well as other fluids. Doug and I were thinking we’d like to compare, too, but that opportunity never arose.
We flew home on Friday. Our greeting that night was pretty damned sexy. Sarah, of course, had gone back to Oberlin for her winter term the same day we went to Seattle. Nikki got first dibs Friday night. But she was not the only one who wanted to be reunited with her lover. Sandy flew past me when we all came into the house and, though I expected her to attack Doug, she was in Doreen’s arms first. When Hannah and Elaine came in from their taping session, after the all-clear was rung, both demanded some serious loving. They’d put a full ten episodes in the can this week. Without other shows being taped on the same days, they were considering upping their work load to three shows a day.
I refused to miss Whitney’s game against Wisconsin Friday night and watched her become the high scorer for the first time this season as she shot over the top of guards at the top of the key. There was no question in my mind that she was at the position where she belonged. We took away a 77-52 victory. When she got home, we both had just enough energy for a last round of loving before we went to sleep.
After forms Saturday morning, we all went back to bed and just cuddled and loved each other all morning. I felt like baking something special when I finally got up at noon. I made blueberry scones, apple turnovers, and cinnamon rolls. When I ran to the studio to get blueberries out of the freezer I found the triplets preparing a Chinese buffet for dinner. They smiled as I ran into the kitchen from the cold outside. I should have put more on than my shoes. It was freezing cold.
Danielle gave me a quick hug and “I missed you,” before she went right back to cutting and chopping. The other two just laughed at me and waved their cleavers. I grabbed the blueberries and ran out, promising to call them when there were pastries ready.
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