“Thank you,” Cassie told him. He raised his eyebrows. “After Mother is home a while, we’ll invite you out to the Heavenstone mansion for dinner.”
“Don’t you two girls become disappointed and nervous about your mother if she doesn’t snap back as quickly as you would like. She is in a very—”
“We know, emotionally fragile state. I didn’t approve of their trying to have a baby this late in their marriage,” Cassie told him. “I was afraid something like this might happen, and it has.”
“Sometimes it’s not so pleasing to be right,” Uncle Perry countered, and Cassie was speechless a moment.
She regained her composure and suggested that Uncle Perry didn’t have to wait with us. “We’ll be fine. No need for you to waste any more time.”
“I’d like to talk with your father before I leave, and I don’t consider this a waste of my time,” he said curtly.
Cassie shrugged, found a magazine, and sat. I could almost hear Uncle Perry’s blood racing angrily through his veins. His face had reddened. He looked at the soda machine and asked me if I wanted a drink. I nodded and walked over to it with him.
“I can tell you this, Semantha,” he said, “and you don’t have to reply or react in any way. Your sister is worse than Aunt Agnes when it comes to people skills. If she ends up running the Heavenstone Corporation, it won’t last.”
He punched our drink choices, gave me mine, and sipped his by a window, far from Cassie, who was already absorbed in a magazine article and couldn’t have cared less. Ten minutes or so later, Daddy came out to join us. He told us the therapist had just arrived and was speaking with Mother.
“She’s taking it all too hard,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m really worried about her. She wanted this baby even more than I did.” He smiled at Uncle Perry. “She lives to please me.”
“She’ll be okay,” Uncle Perry told him. “Give it some time, Teddy.”
Daddy nodded and looked at us. “Okay, let’s go home, girls. Maybe I’ll take you out to dinner tonight.”
“Oh, no, Daddy. I’ve already defrosted three beautiful filet mignons for us. I have it all marinating so it will be just the way you like it.”
“When did you do that?”
“While Semantha was changing to come to the hospital,” she said, making it sound as if I did frivolous things while she did meaningful ones.
“See, Perry, I’m in good hands,” Daddy told him.
Uncle Perry nodded and looked at me when he replied. “She’s just like Aunt Agnes when Uncle Leo had his first stroke, remember? You’d have thought he had nothing more than a cold.”
“Yeah, but she held them all together,” Daddy said, smiling at Cassie.
I walked with Uncle Perry, who hugged me and whispered, “Take care of your mother when she comes home, and take care of yourself, Sam.”
He kissed me and got into his car. I joined Daddy and Cassie, who were already waiting in Daddy’s car. We were all quite silent for a while as we left the hospital. Then, to my surprise, Cassie didn’t talk about the gala; she talked about the lost Asa, the so-called forbidden topic.
“You were very brave in there today, Daddy,” she began. “I know how much you wanted this baby, how much it meant to you to have a son.”
“No, I—”
“Yes, it did, Daddy. I understand. Men might favor their daughters, but they live for their sons, and you’ve never had one and probably won’t.”
“Cassie, don’t talk like that!” I cried. It came out before I could stop it.
She looked back at me with those dagger eyes and then continued. “I want you to know, Semantha and I understand and will help you with Mother.”
“Oh, I know you will, honey.”
“Every time she looks at you, she will see the disappointment in your eyes if you’re not careful, Daddy.”
“I understand. We’ll work it all out,” he said, and patted her on her knee. “Don’t you worry yourself sick, now.”
“I just … we just don’t want you to be dragged down by all this.”
Daddy nodded. “Yes, we wanted a son,” he said, his voice cracking a little, “but we’re grateful we have you two. We’re already blessed. Don’t worry.”