When the doorbell rang, Cassandra stood slowly from the couch. She was expecting company, but somehow she didn't think the person outside was who she was waiting for. When she opened the door, she discovered she was correct.
"Vanessa, what are you doing here?" Cassandra greeted her former stepmother with a hug.
"I was in the neighborhood and I decided to stop by and see how you were getting along." As she stepped inside she noticed the front room looked different. "You've redecorated. The place looks great, hun."
"Thanks, it was my mom's idea."
As Cassandra spoke, Serena emerged from around the corner.
"Hi, I'm Vanessa. You must be Cassie and Zara's mom." Vanessa stepped forward and extended her hand in greeting. "It's nice to finally meet you."
"Serena," she said. She warily took Vanessa's hand in a limp handshake, before taking a step back.
Vanessa smiled weakly. She was starting to get used to awkward social situations. "I was just telling Cassie I love what you've done with this room. I always hated how plain it was, but I never had the chance to redecorate."
Serena nodded slowly. "I should thank you for letting us live here. It is very generous of you."
"Think nothing of it, hun," Vanessa said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I'm glad that you and Cassie have a place to stay, besides I couldn't keep living here . . . there's too many memories."
The expression in Serena's eyes seemed to soften a bit. "I feel them too."
While Serena and Vanessa chatted, Cassie answered the door. Her guests had arrived.
"Hi Blaine . . . Reese." She hadn't specifically invited Reese, yet she wasn't surprised that she showed up. "I'm glad you could make it. Come in."
"Hi, what are you kids doing here?" Vanessa interrupted as she approached the group. She hadn't seen Reese and Blaine since she returned to town and settled her inheritance at Reese's law office.
"I invited them over for dinner. Why don't you stay too?" Cassandra asked.
"I'd love to, if you don't mind."
As Vanessa chatted with Reese and Blaine, Serena and Cassandra listened in on the conversation. Serena paid close attention to Blaine while Cassandra tried to gauge her mother's judgement of him.
When she heard someone on the front porch, Cassie jumped up from her seat. As she walked towards the door, Zara entered the room followed by James.
"Hey. I hope you don't mind that we're crashing your party," Zara said. "We were going to go out, but there isn't much going on tonight."
"Nothing that compares with the company of the lovely Cassandra."
At the sound of James' voice, Reese looked up. Remembering him from their run in at the coffee shop, she squinted at him and wondered what he was doing there.
Cassandra laughed. "How can I resist flattery like that? Come on in."
As James and Zara joined the party, Blaine struck up a conversation with Serena. "How have you been doing, Serena?"
"I've decided to start a home business, reading fortunes."
"Fortunes? That's interesting."
"Would you allow me to read yours?"
He shrugged. "Sure, why not."
"Give me your hand."
Cassandra, taking an interest in what was going on, took a seat behind her mother and watched closely while Serena examined Blaine's palm.
"Your heart line is very strong. I can see that you are faithful and devoted in relationships. And your life line . . .it breaks, but-" Serena stopped short. Suddenly she saw a flash of orange before her eyes and felt a wave of heat on her face. Her fingers felt like they were burning and she quickly dropped Blaine's hands. She blinked a few times before the brightness faded and the room seemed normal again. "but that could mean several things. Excuse me."
Cassandra followed her mother into the kitchen, where Serena was pouring a glass of water.
"Mom, what's wrong? What happened out there?"
Serena stared forward and ignored her daughter's questions. "Forget about him, Cassandra."
"What? Why? What did you see?"
Serena turned away. "I see a difficult and painful future for him and heartache for the woman who loves him."
"Tell me what you saw exactly," Cassie insisted.
Serena shook her head. "I don't want you to suffer. If you win him, your life won't be easy."
"Worse than what my life has been so far?"
Serena studied Cassandra carefully, weighing how much she should tell and how much her daughter could take.
"Is everything alright?" Blaine asked as he entered the kitchen. "You both ran out of the room so fast."
"Sometimes my mother gets a little overwhelmed."
Serena nodded. "I'm fine. Don't worry."
"What about you, Cassandra? Are you ok? You seem a little upset."
"Yeah, sure. I'm ok. Thanks for checking on us."
"No problem."
As Serena slipped out of the room, Cassandra took advantage of the time alone with Blaine. "So what's new? How is school going?"
Meanwhile, in the living room, Zara tried to get a conversation started again. "Weren't you at the Searing Indifference concert the other night?" she asked Reese.
"Briefly."
"Wasn't it awesome?"
James, who had been listening in on the conversation, laughed. "She wouldn't have liked it."
"Excuse me?" Reese spoke up. "What would you know about me?"
"Nothing . . .except I bet I can guess what kind of music you like. It's my one area of expertise." His grin was met with a skeptical look from Reese. "Here, let me prove it." He crossed to the piano and sat down to play.
James ran his fingers over the keyboard before playing an easy, mellow tune. Vanessa, recognizing the song, jumped in, adding the words to James' melody.
When the song was over, Zara applauded and James swivelled on the piano bench to face Reese.
"How did I do?"
"Not bad." Reese shrugged.
"I suppose I should take that as a compliment."
"You should. That sounded great," Zara spoke up. "Maybe you and Vanessa should record a song together."
"I'd love to." James smiled at Vanessa. "But I'm still caught up in a legal battle from my last partnership."
"Oh, right." Zara nodded.
Reese gasped. "Wait . . .are you James Spencer?"
"So you've heard of me?"
"Yes . . ." She didn't want to tell him that she was representing his former partner in the lawsuit. In fact, she wasn't comfortable being in the same room with him. "I should go see what's keeping Blaine," she stuttered and hurried out of the room.
"Are you going to have a graduation party?" Cassandra asked.
"I don't know. I haven't decided yet."
"You should. It would be fun to get all of your friends together before you all leave college-"
"Blaine," Reese interrupted as she walked into the kitchen. "I think I'm ready to go."
"Already?" Cassandra asked. "It's still early."
"I'm sorry. Thanks for inviting us, but I think I should go."
"Alright," Blaine agreed. "This was fun, Cassie. We'll have to do it again sometime. Bye." He waved to Cassie and Serena, who was entering the kitchen, as he and Reese walked out the other door.
Cassandra glared at Reese's back as they walked away. She couldn't believe she had done it again. Just as she and Blaine were having a good time together, Reese had to whine about going home and drag him away. The girl was really getting on her nerves.
"You really like him, don't you?" Serena asked quietly.
"Yes."
"Despite my warning?"
Cassandra hesitated. "It can't be all pain and unhappiness, can it?"
"No. You could be very happy together, for awhile, but something lies ahead for him that will bring sorrow for all around him," Serena warned. "Are you willing to take the bad with the good?" Cassandra nodded, too overcome to speak. "If you're sure, I'll help you."
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