“Don’t you want to eat more of your breakfast, Mother?” I asked, going to the tray. “You hardly touched your eggs and didn’t eat much toast.”
“No. I ate what I could this morning.”
“But you haven’t eaten enough to get you through the time we’re gone,” I stressed.
“I’ll bring her a sandwich wrapped in wax paper and something to drink,” Cassie said, looking at me and sounding as if she was trying to make me feel better rather than Mother.
Mother said nothing. She reached out for me, and I took her hand. “You must do what you can to make your father happy, Semantha. He’s had a great disappointment. I’m sure he’ll be proud to have the two of you at his side today. Don’t think about me. Think about him,” she said. “Promise?”
I pressed my lips together to keep myself from sobbing. My heart ached. All I could do was nod.
Cassie moved quickly to my side.“I’ll make sure she does, Mother. You just eat what I bring you and rest. We’ll head back the moment the festivities end.”
“Thank you, Cassie. I have always been proud of how strong you are and how dependable.”
Cassie simply stared at her. I saw a struggle going on in her face, and for a moment, I thought, She’s going to tell the truth, she’s going to say something warm and loving, but she pulled back her shoulders and looked at me instead.
“I’ll go get Mother’s lunch prepared,” she said, taking Mother’s tray. “You get those flyers I prepared with Daddy and bring them out to the car.”
What flyers? I thought, and then realized she was making it up to get Mother to believe I was going. I didn’t say anything. I leaned down, kissed Mother on her cheek, and turned away, comforted to know I would soon be back up there and taking care of her. Maybe we would have a good talk without Cassie around to interrupt.
“Enjoy the day,” Mother called to us. I started to turn back, but Cassie nudged me to keep walking, and I did.
“I’ll get the sandwich made quickly. You wait in the living room,” she ordered.
“She’s not eating, Cassie. She looks worse to me.”
“We’ll call the doctor. Just concentrate on what we have to do today,” she insisted.
I went to the living room and sat on the sofa to wait. About twenty minutes later, she came in. I thought she suddenly looked very agitated. She began to pace, as she often did when she was giving me some lecture or instruction.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her.
She shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong. Now, you listen carefully. You’ll only make things worse for Mother and yourself if you don’t do exactly what I’m telling you to do.”
She looked at her watch.
“It’s a little after nine. Don’t dare go up there until two. By then, it will be too late for her to make a stink about your not going to the gala. If you go up earlier, she’ll be very upset and try to get Daddy on the phone or something, and that will cause great problems for him right in the middle of everything. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Cassie, but what if she calls out or something?”
“She won’t. She thinks no one’s here. Don’t imagine anything, either, Semantha. You’re making me very nervous. Are you going to do this right or not? If I have to take you with me, Daddy will be very upset thinking no one’s here with her.”
“I’m doing it,” I said. “I’ll do what you say.”
“All right. You can call me on my cell phone, but be sure you call from down here, so she can’t hear you if you call before two, okay?”
“Yes.”
“And make sure you’re as quiet as a ghost. If she hears you moving about or talking to someone or watching television, she’ll get frightened. Here’s the program Daddy and I designed for the gala,” she said, handing me a copy. “We should keep to the schedule, so you can imagine what’s happening by looking at the clock. Just sit and read it quietly. Understand?”
“I understand, Cassie.”
“Good. Good. We’re going to be all right. Everything is going to be all right, even better,” she added.
“Better? How could it be better if Mother doesn’t improve?” I asked, but she didn’t reply. Her mind had already taken her to the gala.
“Wish us luck,” she said instead, and left. When the front door closed, the house seemed to grow ominously quiet. I looked up at the family portraits and imagined an expression of concern on al