“How did the court case go with Maureen?” Amiee asked, as she continued to stir the pot.

“Really well.” Cassie had gotten the phone call shortly before she left the salon. Lonny had been sentenced to a one-year prison term with a $5,000 fine. He wouldn’t be bothering Maureen for a long time. “Maureen and her children are safe.”

Amiee studied her mother. “That’s good! Right?”

“Very good.” Cassie set her feet on the coffee table and leaned her head back to momentarily close her eyes. She didn’t dare let herself drift to sleep, although it was a tempting thought. After dinner she’d visit Maureen and then help Amiee with her homework. “How was school today?”

“Okay, I guess.”

“Anything important happen?”

Amiee shrugged. “Not really. Claudia posted an ugly picture of Bailey on Facebook and then Bailey got mad and they wanted me to take sides. But I didn’t and then Bailey put a snarky comment about Claudia on Twitter that went all over school and then Mr. Sampson got involved and called both mothers to the school.” She paused and released a drawn-out sigh. “Do you want to hear more?”

“Not really.”

“I don’t blame you. The whole thing was cool.”

“Cool?”

“Bogus. Cool can mean a lot of things now, Mom, more than just … cool.”

“Right. It’s hard to keep up with it all,” Cassie said, doing her best not to smile, as her daughter was completely serious.

“I like Claudia, but Bailey is my BAE.”

“Your what?”

“My BAE. My best friend. Before Anyone Else. Get it?”

“Oh.” It was getting more difficult to keep up with her daughter.

Amiee brought down two mismatched plates from the cupboard and set them on the table and then carried over the pot with tuna casserole and placed it in the middle. “You ready to eat?”

“Ready and able.” Cassie’s half-a-banana lunch had long since left her starving. She moved from the couch to the table and noticed that the tuna casserole resembled a thick soup more than a casserole. From the time she was young, Cassie hadn’t been fond of canned tuna fish, but she didn’t have the heart to mention it to Amiee, who couldn’t get enough of it. Her daughter’s all-time favorite food, however, was KFC. Cassie swore her daughter would eat an entire bucket of chicken by herself if given the opportunity.

They sat across from each other, and after a brief prayer, Cassie dished up her plate. “This looks good.”

“Mom, you don’t need to say that. The sauce is runny and I overcooked the noodles. It looks awful, but at least I tried.”

“Honey, I came home to a cooked dinner; I’m not going to complain. Besides, while it might not look like much, it tastes great.” A slight exaggeration, but one that was warranted.

Amiee tried to hide how pleased she was. “So,” she said, looking across the table at her mother, “how was work?”

“Good.”

“Sorry, Mom, you can’t answer with one word—remember the rule. It’s got to be more than good or okay. We need to communicate. Isn’t that the word you used?”

“Right.”

Amiee wagged her index finger like a pendulum. “No one-word answers, Mom.”

“Okay, give me a minute to think. I was late for my appointment to cut Mrs. Belcher’s hair, but she didn’t mind. Oh, and I got a letter from my sister.” Was it a mistake to mention it, especially in light of the unfriendly tone?

Right away Amiee’s eyes brightened. “Which one?”

“Karen.”

“The one who lives in Spokane?”

Cassie nodded. Her daughter had a fascination with the aunts, uncles, and cousins she’d never met. Karen lived not far from the very home where they’d all been raised, and Nichole lived in Portland, Oregon.

“What did she say?” Amiee asked excitedly.

Cassie was sorry she’d mentioned the letter now. Her daughter wouldn’t understand the family dynamics with Cassie and her two sisters. Furthermore, it would be much too difficult to explain. “Not much,” she murmured, hoping to avoid details.

“Is she coming to visit, because she can sleep in my room and I can meet my cousins and they can sleep on the couch and I’ll sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag and we can watch movies and pop popcorn and stay up all night and talk and get to know each other. Cousins do that, you know. Bailey has a cousin who lives in Gig Harbor and she spends a lot of weekends with her. They’re BFFs. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a cousin who’s your BFF?” All this came out in one giant breath.

“Your BAE?” Cassie teased.

“That would be so cool,” Amiee said, sighing.

How Cassie wished life were that simple. Unwilling to disillusion her daughter, she made up an excuse why it was impossible for the families to get together. “Unfortunately,” Cassie said, “my sister Karen has an important job with a title company and she can’t take time off work, so she probably won’t be visiting Seattle anytime soon.”

“Oh.” Amiee’s shoulders sagged with disappointment. “What did her letter say?”

It could be a mistake to mention this, but Cassie did anyway. “She basically said she had something for me, but she didn’t say what and she said I should call her since she lost my phone number.”

“Did you?”

“Not yet.”

“Mom,” Amiee cried in a high-pitched half-moan. “What are you waiting for? Call your sister!”

“I will.” Cassie needed to think about this before she placed the call. It was those difficult family dynamics again. It didn’t help that Karen had made it perfectly clear that as far as she was concerned, Cassie had burned her bridges with the family.

“Call her, Mom.” Amiee insisted. “Why would you even hesitate? This is your sister. Do it.”

“But Karen’s probably just getting home from work and busy with dinner. Her daughter is only ten and is likely not as helpful in the kitchen as you,” she said, grinning.

“Can we visit her?” Amiee asked next.

This was a tricky question, too, and Cassie had to be careful how she answered. “Not for a while, I’m afraid. Our car, old and run-down as it is, would never make it to Spokane.”

Amiee was instantly unsettled. “I hate that car,” she cried. “It’s so old it should be in a museum. We could probably sell it for lots of money as an antique.”

“It gets me to and from work, so I’m not complaining.” Although, with more than 250,000 miles on it, how much longer her Honda would last was a major concern. Cassie was convinced heavenly intervention was the only reason the car continued to run.

“Call your sister, Mom. Please.” Amiee folded her hands as if she was in church and praying. “It’s not right that I’ve never even met my cousins.”

“Okay, okay.” Deep down, Cassie wanted to speak to her sister, but she was afraid. Until now, Karen had made it clear she’d prefer it if Cassie kept her distance. The letter she’d received hadn’t been written out of love. She wasn’t entirely sure what had prompted her sister to write it, but Cassie had the feeling she’d find out soon enough.

Even now, all these years later, Cassie remembered fighting with Karen. They had the same argument often. Her mother had told Karen to cook dinner so that Cassie could practice the piano. Then later, after Nichole had set and cleared the table, their father had asked Karen to wash dishes while Cassie played for him. He claimed listening to Cassie play helped him to relax.

That night Karen and Cassie had gotten into a huge fight.

“You’re spoiled rotten.” Karen had hurled the words at her like a World Series pitch right through the strike zone.

“I’m not,” Cassie had insisted.

“Are too. And don’t think I’ll help you study for that math test, either. If you’re so smart you’ll figure it out yourself. Or else run to Daddy for help. You’re his favorite, anyway.”

“I’m not, either,” Cassie insisted, but deep down she knew it was true. Their father had even promised her the cameo, which was a family heirloom, handed down from their grandmother to their father.