Bernice looked up from her book as Edward's car pulled into the driveway. She set the book aside and stood up to meet them at the door.
"Hi, Bernice. How are you?"
"Fine," she answered abruptly. "What's going on?"
"We're dropping off Alma's luggage and then we're going to go to my place." He glanced at Alma, before turning back to Bernice. "On the way over, we were talking about where we're going to live and we were wondering if it would be alright with you if I moved in here temporarily until our house is finished."
"No, it's not alright," Bernice replied firmly. "I'm not having a man living in my house."
"But we're married," Alma objected.
"That wasn't our agreement. I agreed to let you rent my upstairs room because you were a single woman. I don't want any men living here or any possible children."
"It won't be for that long. It's only temporary, a few months at the most."
Bernice shook her head. "Pack your things and go. I don't want you staying here another night." Before either of them could object, she retreated to her bedroom and locked the door behind her.
Ed turned to Alma and put his arm around her shoulder. "Let's go upstairs and get your things."
Cassandra pulled open the cabinet drawer and grabbed the vial of potion. She removed the cap and was about to drink it down when suddenly she got a very bad feeling. When the doorbell rang she lowered the bottle and stared at it a moment. This wasn't going to work. It was all wrong.
She walked into the living room to answer the door, not realizing she still had the bottle in her hand until she reached for the doorknob. She turned around, set the vial on the end table and answered the door, intending to get rid of whoever was there, quickly.
"James," she said, her voice still high and tense from the sudden adrenaline rush. "Hi, what are you doing here?"
"I just stopped by to give you this," he said handing her an album as he let himself into the house. "I wanted you to have one of the first copies of my album, since you've always been one of my most supportive fans and a great friend too."
"Oh," she said, her panic finally subsiding and everything seeming normal again. "It's finally out? That's great, James, thanks."
"Once we finally got the legal stuff straightened out, it didn't take long to finish."
"I'm glad. Well, thanks for stopping by to share this with me, James," she said, ushering him towards the door.
"Are you busy? I was hoping I could hang around awhile. We could listen to the album and you could tell me what you think. I'd really like to get your opinion."
"Maybe some other time. I'm not in the mood right now."
"Something wrong?"
Before Cassandra could urge James out, Reese and Blaine came down the steps carrying boxes. Reese nearly stopped in her tracks seeing James, but decided to ignore him and walk on.
"What's going on here?" James asked. "Is somebody moving?"
"I am," Blaine said. "I'm moving out."
"I didn't realize you lived here."
"Cassie was good enough to offer me a place to stay when I needed it, but it was only temporary."
As Blaine and Reese walked out to the car, James watched Cassie stand in the doorway watching them. "You're really into that guy aren't you?" Noticing her look of shock, he added. "Hey, you think you're the only one who's perceptive?"
Cassie backed out the door. "I'm going to see if they need any help."
No comments:
Post a Comment