“You should go, but don’t come home pregnant.”
“What?”
“You heard me, Semantha. Keep your legs crossed, and if I hear you were doing any drinking or any drugs, I’ll turn you in to the police myself.”
“I don’t do that,” I said.
“Like you’ve had so many opportunities to demonstrate your self-control. Remember, you are very vulnerable. Boys can tell. Be alert. Make sure no one slips anything into anything you drink, and if your boyfriend gets too aggressive, get out and call me. I’ll come get you. Okay?”
I didn’t answer.
“Okay?”
“Okay, Cassie, but you make me feel like I’m going into a war and not on a date.”
“Believe me, it’s a war,” she said.
During the day in school, Bobbi, Susie, and I decided to pressure the boys to take us for pizza before the movie. When I told Cassie that I wouldn’t be there for dinner, she did not have the reaction I was anticipating. She actually looked pleased.
“But I can still help set the table and —”
“No. It will be only Daddy and me. Uncle Perry isn’t making his duty call until tomorrow, thank heavens,” she said.
“I don’t think it’s a duty call for him, Cassie. He really likes Mother.”
“I’m not saying he doesn’t or didn’t, but no one would enjoy seeing someone in the condition she is in right now, least of all a dandy like Uncle Perry. He gets hysterical if a pimple breaks out on his face.”
“He doesn’t get pimples anymore.”
“Never mind. Just mind what I tell you,” she said, and walked off.
Despite the things Cassie had said, I could barely contain the excitement of going on a real date now, which meant no adults driving us to and from the mall, because Eddie had a car and a license. He had an SUV that would hold all six of us. I was the last one to be picked up and ran out to the car as soon as I saw them coming up the driveway. Aside from Kent, none of them had been this close to the Heavenstone house. Their awe at the sight of it and our grounds embarrassed me. I had been so happy finally to be thought of as one of them, and with only one look at my home, that “aura of royalty,” as Cassie referred to it, instantly returned.
“You could put all of our houses into your house, Semantha,” Susie said.
“How many servants do you have?” Bobbi asked.
“None.”
“None? Not even a maid?” Eddie asked.
“No. Cassie and I and my mother do all the work. My mother likes it that way. She’s a great cook, and Cassie’s a great cook too, so we don’t need a cook.”
“Lucky you,” Bobbi said, and I could feel the underlying resentment of the Heavenstone family slowly returning.
“We inherited the house,” I told them, hoping that would make it sound more acceptable.
“My father inherited my grandfather’s debts,” Noel quipped.
“How is your mother?” Kent asked.
“She’s getting better, thank you.”
“I would like to see the inside of your house someday,” Susie said. They all agreed.
“As soon as my mother’s well enough, I’ll invite you all to dinner.”
“To dinner?” Eddie asked.