47. Cassie
47
CASSIE
One year later
“ A little to the left. No, your other left, Cassie!” Matthew chuckled, as I tried to steady my phone against the mailbox.
I stuck my tongue out at Matthew, and then I snuck a peek inside the mailbox, looking for our first pieces of mail as the new tenants. It was only junk mail, addressed to “resident,” but it was a start.
“Come on, baby! The timer is going to run out,” Matthew warned, beaming with happiness.
I quickly jogged up the porch stairs and jumped in the photo right as the flash went off.
Our first photo as homeowners.
“The furniture should be delivered between ten and two,” I informed him as I went to collect my phone from across the lawn.
“Which means it won’t be delivered until four,” Matty remarked. Waiting for home furnishings was not for the faint of heart.
Once I had made my way back up the steps, I started shuffling through the boxes that were scattered all over our front porch. We didn’t have enough belongings to hire movers, so we’d loaded everything into Matthew’s new—well new to him—truck. Goodbye Range Rover, hello Ford Explorer.
After his car had been seized by the police, we hadn’t been in a rush to purchase another vehicle with the proceeds from the sale of his apartment. Who needed a car in the city after all? But now that we had moved back out to Jersey, transportation was a must. It didn’t matter to either of us that the car was more practical and cost-efficient than anything else. Neither one of us wanted to live an extravagant lifestyle.
Our home was a charming colonial which consisted of three bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms, a fenced-in yard, and an unfinished basement that Matthew said “he had plans for.”
Not long after Matthew had moved into Audrey and my apartment, we decided to start looking for a place of our own. Unfortunately, it proved to be not an easy task. We spent months looking for the perfect place, and everything was either out of our price range or needed a tremendous amount of work which would only cost us more money.
We were starting to give up hope when we found this one a little over two months ago. It didn’t take us long to decide to put an offer down. The owner had three other bids above asking when Matthew and I waltzed in the open house and met the owner, a little old lady, who had just lost her husband of forty years. Not being able to live on her own anymore, she was moving into an assisted housing development.
We got to talking, and Matty and I shared a bit of our story—how we found our way back to one another despite the odds against us—and the lady was moved to tears. She said she saw how in love we were, and we reminded her of how things had been with her late husband. She accepted our offer and wished us luck on our journey. Love was all that mattered in the end.
“Mrs. Wright, I can carry the packages inside,” Matthew admonished, walking up behind me and embracing me from behind while looking around the greenery our neighborhood offered. It was so nice to be out of the hustle and bustle of New York.
“Oh well, Mr. Wright, let me tell you that I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself,” I joked and turned in his arms, handing him a box.
We got married three months ago at the courthouse, and instead of me taking Matthew’s last name of Adams or him going back to his birth name, he decided to take mine. Adams wasn’t right for Matthew, let alone something I could see myself linked to. He wanted us to start off our marriage right. A fresh start, completely untainted by all the terrible things from our pasts.
I also legally changed my name from Cassandra to just Cassie. Cassandra only held bad memories. It was often used with disdain or disgust.
Cassie Wright. Matthew Wright. Mr. and Mrs. Wright. It suited us well.
We had kept things small, but all our friends were there including Charlie, so we still had quite a crowd with us. Afterward, Parker and Joy threw us a beautiful luncheon to celebrate. It was a low-key affair, nothing fancy or snooty. I wore a simple white dress and my hair in a braid which Audrey insisted on doing. Bridget bought me a Tiffany blue necklace for my something blue. And Charlotte gave me back my Velveteen Rabbit book that she’d found mixed in with her stuff when she was moving into Bridget and Holden’s place.
The day was absolutely perfect for us. Just friends, family, and love. We’d earned the chance to make nothing but happy memories for a change.
“Oh, by the way, Joy called. She's ordering us dinner and having it delivered. Parker insists on us trying this new pizza place on Main Street. It’s apparently the best in Jersey.” I snorted out a laugh, as if pizza places weren’t a dime a dozen in New Jersey or in the city for that matter. But I was just so thankful to have Joy and Parker as part of my makeshift family. They’d really stepped up in ways I never dreamed.
Once Parker was cleared of any wrongdoing, we spent more and more time getting to know each other better. They filled in as the stand-in parents we always needed. Parker was now taking a break from the business world. He and Joy were living off their savings until they came up with a better, healthier plan.
I had people who called to check on me and to talk to about house stuff I was concerned about, and I had a handy “dad” who already spotted a leak in the upstairs bathroom. Lost in my reverie of gratitude for this change in my life, I let out a sigh of relief before I turned to look at my husband.
“It’ll be a while until the pizza’s here. Do you know what else we could do besides wait for the furniture?” Matthew asked, with a Cheshire Cat smile.
“What?” I said, quirking an eyebrow in his direction.
“Christen the place!” Matthew laughed, waggling his eyebrows up and down.
I giggled at his antics, a flush creeping up over my face as I remembered how we had said goodbye to our old apartment. As newlyweds, we were insatiable for each other. I was working on my pregnancy/baby fear, but I’d finally agreed to get rid of the condoms and just use the pill for birth control. I was not ready to take any other leaps besides that at the moment. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute was what our therapist suggested.
Marriage and a house were the right steps toward building a solid future with one another. We were still in therapy, consistently working through any bumps that came our way. Talk of babies in the future had come up, but we had agreed there was no rush—it didn’t mean we couldn’t have fun “practicing.” We also had the perfect fur baby in Rocky.
Besides, our time had been filled with other pursuits for strengthening this new life we were building together. Matthew had gone back to school to become certified as a guidance counselor. It was what he wanted to do from the start. Before his adopted parents had told him it wasn’t a good enough dream. Before he had lost sight of what mattered. Before everything.
Having his eyes opened to everything going on around him had helped him regain focus, to rediscover something he was passionate about. He wanted to help kids, kids like Charlie, like me, like himself. Matthew, of all people, knew how tough life could be. He knew how having just one person believe in you, to stand in your corner, could have a positive impact. Making a difference was important to him. He was focused on being that person for kids in need.
Everything else would wait for the right time. Much like our relationship. Right here, right now was all we could worry about. Time only ticked away.
Matthew followed me into the house. He looked around in awe. We were still in shock that we owned it.
“Not bad for two foster kids, right?” Matthew joked, patting my ass as I climbed the stairs.
“Not at all.” I chuckled, setting the box of art stuff in front of the guest bedroom door.
I had to get to work on some more pieces for an upcoming art show with Marcus. He wanted lots of new pieces fast.
Matthew took my hand in his, kissing my fingertips. “Did you ever think life would be like this?”
I looked into his green eyes that melted me every time. I nodded, suddenly feeling like an optimist. “Yes,” I whispered, pulling him down the hall and into our bedroom. I shook my hips a little bit, feeling his hardness press against me. I wiggled, causing a growl to erupt in Matthew’s chest. I stifled a laugh but rid myself of my top and started unbuttoning my jeans.
Next stop: the kitchen. We had a thing for kitchens.
Sonny's on 5th’s doors weren’t yet open for Sunday brunch, but Bridget had set up in the garden area for a luncheon reunion which was to double as Audrey’s surprise engagement luncheon. Since moving, we’d all gone our separate ways. Even though we had tried to keep in touch as much as possible, our friendships weren’t the same as they once were. We weren’t the same as we once were.
I pulled at the hem of my floral and cream dress. It felt too short and I was even more grateful I had drawn the line at wearing heels, opting for a pair of white tennis shoes instead. Bridget, being Bridget, insisted on me wearing a dress. She wasn’t even my boss anymore and she was still ordering me around
“Sit here,” I instructed Matty before taking off my white shawl and hanging in on the chair behind me.
“So how long have you been doing this?” Bridget interrogated from her spot at the table next to ours. “Give me one good reason why you deserve this?”
I looked on, captivated by the way the hands of the guy seated across from her shook slightly underneath the table and a bead of sweat ran down his forehead, as Bridget gave him her most intimidating glare.
Interviews often went this way. She’d put on her game face and scare them shitless. She embodied the expression: “if you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
“Mrs. McAlistar—errr–ma’am,” he stammered, wiping more sweat falling from his head. Her glare turned menacing as he called her ma’am. “I just want to take your daughter to prom.”
In this case, it wasn’t the kitchen the interviewees couldn’t handle but Bridget’s vetting process for Charlotte’s prospective dates. With her track record, who could blame Bridget for being hesitant, at best.
“Bee, his dad is a cop and this kid does community service for fun.” Holden spoke at last, finally being the voice of reason.
Bridget leaned back in her chair, eying him shrewdly.
Bridget and Holden were inching toward finalizing the adoption and working on a transition plan with Charlotte’s caseworker. I’d witnessed on several occasions how protective of Charlotte that Bridget was.
“Mom!” A shriek came from the kitchen of Sonny's on 5th. All you could hear was glass shattering all over the white tablecloth and floor.
This must have been a first—watching Bridget drop her wine glass and appear nervous? I never thought I’d see the day.
A pissed-off Charlotte came storming across the garden, holding a gift bag.
“I sent her to pick up Audrey and Henry’s engagement gift.” Bridget announced, sheepishly as she made her way to get a broom.
“Charlie, I had nothing to do with it,” Holden pleaded, raising his hands, begging for mercy.
Charlotte gave him a pointed look and then turned toward Bridget, who was making her way back to clean up her mess, both literally and figuratively. Charlie crossed her arms in an almost identical manner to how Bridget does when she scolds her staff. The scared shitless boy quickly excused him under the guise of needing to use the bathroom.
Bridget watched Charlie and pursed her lips in an effort to keep a straight face. “Char?” she responded, looking innocently at the girl who I know had stolen her heart.
Charlie huffed and glared at her.
“What?” Bridget gasped, incredulously at Charlotte’s attitude.
“Don’t ‘what’ me! You’re going to scare him away!” Charlotte whined, sitting next to Bridget at the table, slouching like she was already done with this conversation.
“Char, my love—” Bridget started, but she was quickly cut off by a hostile Charlie.
“Oh come on, don’t use your Char magic.” Charlie huffed again.
“Mom, I know what you were doing. Poor Jesse isn’t like Derek. He’s a decent guy. I’m making better choices. I’m surrounding myself with good people. You don’t need to worry, but I need you to trust me,” she pleaded, looking to Holden for support.
“She’s right, Bee. Charlie’s done incredible with all these new transitions. I mean, fuck, she has a 3.9 GPA. I don’t think I had more than a 3.0.”
Bridget smacked the back of his head for swearing in front of Charlotte. For the umpteenth time, of course.
Matthew and I couldn’t resist laughing at this comedy show before us, which earned us some pointed looks.
“I do trust you. It’s everyone else I don’t trust.” Bridget frowned, looking like she was going to cry.
Charlotte must’ve sensed Bridget’s discomfort because she leaned in to give the only mother she’d ever known a bear hug which resembled Holden’s. Sometimes it was easy to forget they weren’t blood related.
“Jesse!” Bridget called.
The scrawny boy poked his head out sheepishly, and he gave her a small wave. Bridget motioned for him to come back.
Slowly, Jesse creeped back to the table, sliding in next to Charlie, doing everything in his power to avoid Bridget’s scrutinizing gaze. I felt bad for the poor guy. I too had been on the receiving end of Bridget’s wrath and it was hell.
“Hey, Jessy boy! Want a job at a food truck? Old McAlistar’s Farm is booming. I think it might give this place a run for its money, if you know what I mean?” Holden boomed, laughing at his own banter.
Crack!
Some things never changed.
It didn’t take long for the couple of the hour to arrive. Audrey and Henry had just gotten engaged. I was thrilled that they were getting their own happily ever after. Audrey was the best friend I could’ve asked for in a period in my life when I so desperately needed someone in my corner. Henry had been nothing short of wonderful. I mean, he did save my husband’s life after all.
“Surprise!” We all shouted as the happy couple made their way into the dining room.
“You guys!” Audrey covered her mouth with her hands and started hugging everyone.
Henry handed flowers to Bridget and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He had been in on the surprise.
“Welcome to the family. I mean, the zoo,” Matthew joked, as he patted Henry on the back.
The irony of Matthew’s quip was Henry had bought a zoo. Well, maybe it wasn’t a zoo so much as an animal rescue league called Olivia’s Liberty Rescue. It was founded by Henry in lieu of an engagement ring to Audrey, who apparently was vehemently against fine jewelry. The more I thought about it, it made sense seeing as she was elbow deep in litter boxes on the daily, so who could blame her?
Audrey had parted ways with Sonny's to give her animals and all animals in need the time they so desperately deserved. She spent her days doing what she loved with who she loved. In his free time away from the hospital, Henry helped Audrey with more difficult rescues, being her rock in any storm.
“A toast,” Holden boasted standing from his seat. “Sorry, Matt, you’re not a good toastmaster. Our engagement party was proof of that.”
Matthew laughed and leaned over to kiss my cheek. “I got the girl, didn’t I?”