“We’ll see. She still has to build up a bit. That looks wonderful, Cassie. Thank you,” Daddy said when she placed his plate in front of him. She looked at me and shook her head, as if I had already done something wrong. Then she went to get her own breakfast.
“Does the doctor know yet what happened?” I asked quickly, hoping he would answer before Cassie had returned.
“Not exactly. I don’t want to have him put her through a series of tests to get to the exact causes, either,” he continued.
Cassie returned and took Mother’s seat again.
“Tests can wear you down, too,” Daddy added.
“What difference would it make now, anyway?” Cassie said. She had apparently overheard everything. “As long as she is no longer in any physical danger.”
“My sentiments exactly,” Daddy said, nodding. “Let’s just get her back on her feet as quickly as we can.”
Cassie had that self-satisfied look on her face again. Nothing pleased her as much as Daddy agreeing with something she said or suggested. I finished eating in silence while she and Daddy talked about the Lexington store.
Afterward, I did most of the cleanup, because Daddy wanted to show Cassie a new line of products he was considering for the stores before he went to work. She went with him to his den office. When I was finished, I got my things together for school. Daddy was already at the front door when I started down the stairs.
“See you guys later,” he called to me, and waved.
“Okay, Daddy. Have a good day,” I said.
Cassie came hurrying out of the kitchen. “You left the milk out,” she said.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Okay, then the container grew legs, arms, and hands, opened and closed the refrigerator door, and trotted up onto the counter. Let’s go.”
I followed her out to her car and got in. The moment she started the engine and drove off, she began her ranting.
“He has so much to do. You wouldn’t believe the list of things to cover just today. I mean, imagine having to have an entirely new staff of employees trained and ready. Each of our stores employs more than a hundred people in two shifts, you know. Imagine the payroll, the taxes, dealing with the personalities, and then reviewing new products, overseeing the orders, on and on and on.”
“You seem to know a lot about it, Cassie. Maybe you should think of becoming the CEO of the Heavenstone Corporation someday.”
She whipped her head around. “I told you. I don’t want to be a businesswoman. I’m not interested in all that, dealing with all those personalities. Mother really let him down this time,” she concluded, nodding.
“How can you say such a thing?”
“Christmas trees, Semantha, my not saying it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, does it? Besides, it’s only you and me talking. I would never say such a thing to Daddy, and you’d better not ever tell him I did.”
“Of course, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t want to hurt him and hurt Mother.”
She smirked and nodded at me. “I would have preferred your saying you would never betray me, Semantha. That would be the first thing coming to my mind if it concerned you.”
“I meant that, too.”
“Yes, I’m sure. Anyway, here’s the plan now. We’re not returning to the hospital.”
“What?”
“We’re not going to visit Mother there.”
“Why not?”
“You want her home, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.”
“Well, we don’t want her to get comfortable there, to think it’s all right for her to prolong her stay. This is part of that tough love I told you about the other day. She’ll see that if she doesn’t come home soon, she’ll continue disrupting our lives. It will stop her from feeling all this self-pity, wallowing in it. We won’t even call her.