Chapter 2
“Mom,” Casey began as she was able to get her mother in the kitchen alone for a moment.
“Yes sweetie?” she was mixing up the salad for dinner.
“Why didn’t you tell me he had a son?”
“I thought I had,” she frowned, “Paul just finished his sophomore year at Cal Poly, so this is the first time for me to meet him as well.”
Well when she put it like that it made a bit more sense Casey thought… he was a junior! Jeez, she was just about to begin her freshman year at Michigan State in the fall.
“Oh, well he seems nice,” she trailed, unsure of what else to say.
“Yes, he is a gentleman like his dad,” she giggled and went out to put the food on the table.
Casey grabbed a glass of water and drank it slowly while Paul walked in and stopped when he saw his soon to be step-sister. Did she know that their parents wanted to get married? Probably so, if not she would find out tonight when they made the announcement at dinner.
“So what college are you attending in the fall Casey?” Paul asked to get some kind of conversation going with the young girl.
She flipped her hazelnut hair back, “Michigan State, I want to do engineering.”
She must be really smart then; he mused and grabbed some napkins off the counter before going back to help set the table.
Casey followed Paul into the dining room as she saw her mom and Henry were already sitting down.
“Shall we eat?” her mother asked as they began to dig into the chicken and pasta.
It didn’t take long before Henry cleared his throat after a lighthearted conversation and said, “I don’t know if everyone knows why we decided to have dinner tonight.”
Casey looked at her mom, unaware of what was going on as her mom smiled back at Henry with pure love.
“Angela and I,” he brimmed with pride when taking her hand, “are going to get married.”
Casey’s jaw dropped slightly before she pulled it back up and held back her words. She should be happy for her mom, but how could she just move on from her father’s death like that so quickly?
“Congratulations,” Paul spoke gleefully while casting a glance at Casey. She seemed to be radiating a bunch of emotions at the moment and had no idea how to react.
“Thank you Paul,” Angela acknowledged him before looking at her daughter as well. “Casey?”
She said nothing before standing up and leaving the table abruptly. Angela sighed, she knew her daughter wasn’t going to take the news very well, but she didn’t know how else to prepare her. It had been four years since her husband had died and she was ready to move on with her life. Everything with Henry had just fallen into place when she met him.
“I’ll be right back,” she apologized and went up the stairs to go check on Casey.
“Honey,” she knocked on the door as Casey just sat on her bed, letting the tears fall.
“How could you mom!” she cried into the pillow as her mom sat down on the edge of her bed and rubbed her shoulder.
“Casey…” she started but wasn’t sure how to console her daughter. This whole process hadn’t been easy for her.
“Why are you replacing him?” she whispered.
“I’m not replacing him,” Angela gasped and made Casey look at her. “I will never love another man like your father… but I don’t want to grow old alone once you go off to college.”
“You could always move in with grandma,” Casey started softly.
“I could,” her mom acknowledged, “but you and I both know I can only stand my mom as much as you can stand me. Think of this marriage as… a lifetime commitment with a best friend?”
“That you love,” she huffed and tried to dry her eyes.
“Yes,” her mother said nothing else as she retreated downstairs and waited for Casey to follow. She just had to come around, for everyone’s sakes.
“Sorry,” she spoke to the men as they looked up and gave sympathetic looks.
“Would it be alright if I talked to her?” Paul spoke up, “I know she has only heard of me since today… but I probably understand her situation a little bit better.”
Angela nodded and watched as Paul retreated upstairs to check in on Casey.
Casey heard a knock on her door and said nothing as it opened and Paul stuck his head in.
“What do you want?” she asked without looking up at him.
“Just to talk?” he said innocently and walked in with his hands up slightly.
Casey scooted over for him to sit down on her bed as he took in her upset expression. He knew what it was like to lose a parent, and he knew that this was probably coming as a shock to her more than anything else.
“My mom died when I was about seven,” he sighed as Casey stared at him in disbelief. She wasn’t expecting him to say something like that.
“I thought you were going to yell at me,” she mumbled. “It’s not that I don’t like Henry… or even mind having a brother or anything,”
“You just don’t want your dad replaced,” Paul finished.
She nodded as he took her hand gently and pulled her into him as she stiffened for a moment.
“My dad remarried a few years after… but my stepmom died when I went to college. So it took a pretty bad toll on the both of us, until he met your mom.”
Casey murmured a small “I’m sorry,” as she waited for him to speak some more. This poor guy had it worse than she yet here she was pouting about nothing it almost seemed.
“You want to know how I get rid of my sadness when it comes to remembering them?” Paul spoke softly as he stroked her hair gently. She smelled of honey and cinnamon, a weird combination, but yet he was comforted by it.
“What?” she asked, enjoying the feeling of him playing with her hair. Her dad had done that so many times before in the past, it made her smile slightly.
“I get drunk off my ass,” he joked as she giggled slightly.
“It’s more fun than you think, and when its karaoke night at the bar… oh man does it get loud.”
“I wish I could go,” Casey sighed, “I’m not old enough yet.”
“We could do it here?” Paul teased, though slightly serious. He wanted her to think of him as an older brother who would protect her. He had been waiting for years to have a little sister to take care of and watch over, now he was getting his chance.
“How about your place? My mom doesn’t really keep alcohol around anymore.”
“Sure, we can go back to my dad’s while they continue talking and whatnot.”
Casey nodded and got up with Paul as they mumbled a quick goodbye and left in the SUV.