“Cassie, you outdid yourself,” he declared. She put the cake down at the center of the table and stood back, admiring it as if it were truly a work of art.
“I hope you like it, Daddy.”
“Like it? I love it,” he said.
She hurried to cut and serve him a piece and waited as he tasted it.
“It’s wonderful, Cassie. If I didn’t know better, I’d think your mother was in that kitchen.”
She looked at me, and her face blossomed into the brightest smile I could remember. “Thank you, Daddy,” she said.
“Semantha, cut yourself a piece,” Daddy said. “You don’t want to miss this.”
I had some, and it was as good as, if not better than, Mother’s cake. I couldn’t help but continue to be impressed with Cassie. She always managed to rise to an occasion, have a solution. Afterward, she hurried to the front door and stood there, making sure Daddy put on his scarf.
“It’s nippy tonight,” she told him.
He laughed and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll be back soon,” he said. “I can’t wait to tell your mother how well you’re taking care of us, Cassie. She’ll be very pleased.”
Cassie nodded, flashed a look of satisfaction my way, and watched Daddy leave. For a few moments, she just stood there at the door. This time, when she turned around, she looked quite different. She looked as if she had aged years. She pulled her shoulders back and glared at me.
“What are you doing standing there like that? Did you finish cleaning off the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher?”
“Yes.”
“Then go do your homework, and don’t spend any time on the phone gossiping.”
“I don’t gossip on the phone. Who would I talk to now, anyway?”
“Never mind what you do and don’t do, Semantha. Just go do what you should do. Go.”
Why was she behaving like that? I wondered, but I didn’t argue. I sh
rugged and went up to my room. I didn’t need her to tell me to do my homework. She knew that. Just for spite, I procrastinated, fiddling with my hair, thinking about makeup, and doing my nails. Finally, realizing I was only spiting myself, I started my schoolwork. I heard her come upstairs, but I didn’t hear her going to her room, so I went to the door and looked out. I saw her going into Mother and Daddy’s bedroom. Before I could call to her, she closed the door.
What was she doing now? I wondered. I stood there in my doorway, waiting and waiting. My curiosity aroused, I walked down the hallway to our parents’ bedroom. I stood for a moment listening. It sounded as if Cassie was talking. Was she on the phone? Was she talking to Daddy at the hospital? Had she gone in there to prevent me from hearing the conversation? I slowly reached for the doorknob, but my fingers trembled. She would hate my bursting in on her. Instead, I knocked. Her talking stopped. I knocked again.
“Cassie?”
She didn’t respond, but after a few moments, she pulled the door open.
“What now, Semantha?”
“I … why are you in here?”
“What are you doing, following me around the house?”
“No. I heard you come up, and I was waiting for you and saw you go in here.”
Looking past her, I saw that the bed was unmade. She caught my gaze and shook her head.
“If you must know every little thing, Semantha, I was in here fixing up the bedroom for Daddy. Obviously, having to take Mother to the doctor and then the hospital, he had no opportunity to get things organized. I’m about to make the bed now. Are you satisfied?”
“I just wondered. Is there anything I can do?”
“Yes, go back to your room, finish your homework, and prepare for bed. I’ll come in to say good night.”
“What?” What did she mean, she would come in to say good night?