"Good morning," Cassandra greeted Blaine as he walked down the stairs. "Did you sleep well last night?"
"Fine, once I got those images of the wolfman out of my head." He laughed. "You didn't have any nightmares after watching those movies last night, did you?"
"Not at all. I thought they were kind of fun."
"So did I."
Cassandra smiled. So far things were going great. The night before was Blaine's first at the house. Originally, he had plans to go out with Reese, but since she had to work late, Cassandra got to spend the evening with Blaine, watching cheesy old horror movies on tv.
"Do you want some breakfast? I made plenty."
"Thanks," he said, sitting down at the table. "You don't have to cook for me, you know. It's nice enough that you're letting me stay here."
"I don't mind, really. I thought I'd make breakfast today, since it is your first day here."
"Well, thanks again," he said taking a bite. "It's really good."
"Do you have any plans for the day?" Cassandra asked.
"I'm going to head over to the campus, try to get some more resumes sent out, and see what I can find out on my research."
"What research?"
"I'm helping Reese find out who her birth parents are."
"Oh," Cassandra said flatly, immediately losing interest at the mention of Reese.
"Why doesn't she see me about it?" Serena asked as she walked through the room. "I'll do a reading and tell her anything about her past she needs to know."
"Thanks," Blaine replied slowly. He was skeptical, but trying to be polite. "I'll let her know. I should get going. Thanks for the breakfast."
"I'll see you tonight," Cassandra said cheerfully as he walked away.
Serena leaned closer to her daughter and whispered, "Don't hesitate, Cassandra."
Vanessa waited in the foyer for her mother to come downstairs. It had been awhile since she had been in this house. Just being here again, she felt the need to stand up straight and keep in line, like she had been instructed to do as a child. The place still felt as stifling to her as it had when she had lived here as a teenager.
"Dorothy."
Vanessa looked up at the sound of Evelyn's cool voice and turned to see her walking down the stairs. "Hello, Mother. How are you?"
"I am well," she answered and fell silent.
"I know it's been awhile since we've talked, but I wanted to let you know that I'm going to be in a play. Opening night is this weekend and I would love for you and Father to be there."
Evelyn's expression didn't change from her detached demeanor. "We will not be able to attend, Dorothy. Thank you for dropping by to keep me informed."
"Mother, it would mean a lot to me for you and Father to be there. The performance is being held at the Pheasant Run Country Club, so it's definitely respectable."
"With the way things have been going, I don't think that is a guarantee. But regardless, Dorothy, you know your father and I cannot support you in this. We have told you time and time again that we do not approve. Persistence is not going to change that," she said sternly. "Why must you always learn everything the hard way?"
"The play starts at 7:00 on Friday and Saturday night. I'll be there if you have a change of heart," Vanessa said as she turned and walked out the door.
She managed to hold her emotions in check until she made it outside, then she had to blink back the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes.
She pulled herself together, resolved not to let her parents' lack of support get the better of her. It was hard, but she had learned to accept that they were who they were and weren't going to change. Even so, a little part of her couldn't help wishing they would someday have a change of heart and accept her, instead of holding her mistakes against her.
She sighed as she walked away from the house and wondered why all of the relationships in her life had to be so difficult.
"Edward Wilton is here to see you," Amanda announced through the intercom.
Lawrence looked confused. The name sounded familiar, but it wasn't the name of anyone he had been expecting to meet with that day. "Thank you. Send him in."
Lawrence stood up to greet Edward as Amanda showed him into his office. "Hello. What can I do for you today?"
"I hope you don't my dropping in like this, but I was hoping we could talk about something if you have a few minutes."
"That's fine. What is this about?"
"I was at the real estate office this morning looking at property and I noticed you recently purchased some land near Autumn Lake."
"Yes, I did."
"That's a pretty area. I was thinking of building there myself. Before I make up my mind, I was wondering what you were going to do with the property. I'd hate to buy a piece of land there to live on and find out a skyscraper is going up next door."
"You don't have to worry about that. I was looking into the possibility of developing it into a resort or vacation destination.
"Have you considered turning it into a residential area? I'm sure if you promoted the idea of it being a high scale private housing area, you could get a lot of money for the land. I have some money saved back that I've been meaning to invest and honestly I like the idea of having a say in what my community is like and who my neighbors are."
Lawrence thought a moment. He kind of liked the idea as well. "I hadn't thought of that, but I will look into it and get back to you."
"I'll give you my number," Edward said, jotting down his contact information on a piece of paper and handing it to Lawrence. "I have a few things to check up on too before I make my final decision. Call me when you've looked into it and thanks for your time."
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