Suddenly, she looked as if she had lost her renewed energy, and she put her hand out to brace herself on the counter.
“Mother, are you all right?” I asked.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“No, you’re not. I can finish here, Mother,” Cas
sie said, throwing her books down onto the table. “You just go back upstairs and rest. Go on. Do it!” She was so gruff that Mother recoiled. Cassie smiled quickly. “Daddy will be relieved to know you didn’t overdo it, and this way, you can enjoy dinner with us later.” She sounded as if she were talking to a child.
“Maybe you’re right,” Mother said.
She described what she had done and what was left to do. Cassie whipped the apron off the closet door and practically charged at the food.
Mother smiled at me. “I’ll go up with you, Semantha. You can tell me all about tonight, the game, the party.”
I took her arm, and we left the kitchen.
“Your sister is such a workhorse. She’s a wonder. I’m so lucky to have a daughter like her. And like you,” she added quickly. “Two beautiful young women. As your uncle Perry says, the infamous Heavenstone sisters, although I wouldn’t say infamous. I’d say fabulous.”
She leaned over to kiss my cheek, and we walked up the stairs together to her room. All the while, I was boiling with the thought that I should tell her about the conversation I’d had with Cassie about boys and sex. Something inside me told me she should be made aware of it all, but something else, something stronger, warned me of how Cassie would react once she found out. To her, it would be a betrayal of the special relationship she believed we had. She had talked so much about trust and how we kept things between us, kept them even from our parents. It would be devastating to her if I told Mother about it all now. Maybe later, I thought. Maybe I would tell her after it was all over.
I helped her get back into bed.
“This is good. I should rest. Your sister is such a realist. She always makes me look past the dreams and the fluff to see the truth. Maybe she’ll become a doctor. She’s not afraid to tell anyone what she believes. That’s the self-confidence I described. She’s a strength in this family, Semantha. You should rely on her as much as you can.”
“I rely on you, too, Mother.”
“Of course, but sisters have a special bond. I always wished I had had a sister. You can confide in each other and share so much. Especially about boys,” she added, smiling.
I was about to say, But Cassie has never had a boyfriend. The first words were forming. I would tell her everything now—but before I could speak, she closed her eyes.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll just take a little rest before dinner. Go on and do what you have to. I know you want to prepare for the game and the party. I’m fine,” she said. She looked as if she fell asleep instantly. I stood there a moment, and then I left, closing the door softly behind me.
I ended up choosing one of the outfits Uncle Perry had designed last year. It was a silver metallic minidress with a pair of ankle-length black leggings and black platform shoes. Cassie hated the outfit, but even Daddy said I looked terrific in it, and he usually didn’t go overboard when it came to giving Uncle Perry’s designs compliments. I had had little opportunity to wear it before this.
Because of the time factor, I had to wear it down to dinner. There was no time to prepare and change afterward. Fortunately, Daddy saw me before Cassie did. He lavished compliments on me immediately. When I looked at Cassie, I could see she was full of disapproval, but Daddy’s comments blocked any criticism she could express. When Mother came down, she, too, expressed delight with my appearance.
“You look so grown-up, honey,” she said.
Cassie was as quiet at dinner as I had ever seen her. As soon as we were finished eating, she practically leaped up to declare that we had to leave immediately to get me to the game before it began and get herself back to clean up. Daddy once again suggested that Cassie go, too. He even said he would handle the dinner cleanup, but Cassie again refused and expressed her disinterest.
“I have more important things to do, Daddy,” she said. No one dared ask what was more important.
As soon as we got into the car, Cassie let me know her opinion of my outfit. “You might as well wear a sign around your neck,” she said, “a sign that says ‘I’m looking for trouble.’”
“Why? Mother thought it was nice, and Daddy loved it.”
“Of course, Daddy loved it. He’s a man, too.”
“What do you mean, Cassie? He’s my father, our father.”
She looked at me and shook her head. “A man is always a man first, whether he is a father, a brother, or an uncle. Don’t think I’m oblivious to the way Daddy looks at me, too,” she added.
I felt a cold, electric sizzle around my heart. What was she saying? The way he looks at her too? She glanced at me and saw the look on my face and certainly, as always, read my thoughts and feelings.
“Don’t look so worried. It’s all only natural. Remember what I told you about willpower? Well, it certainly applies to men as well as to women, Semantha. A father, brother, or uncle has to depend on it as well, and most of them are usually successful. Of course, most of them don’t have attractive and competent, mature daughters, sisters, and nieces to tempt them.”
We pulled into the school parking lot. It was jammed with cars. She stopped near the entrance. I opened the door slowly, still confused by all that she had just said.