She pulled open the door, and her mom, disheveled and wan, managed a half-smile before she hiccupped a sob back and barreled her way in to wrap her arms around Cassie.
“Oh, Cass. I had to come tell you in person; I didn’t want you driving yourself after you heard.”
Cassie stiffened and pulled away from her mother’s arms. “Tell me what?”
“Nobody has died,” she said. “It’s nothing that bad.”
“Mom, what are you talking about?”
“It’s about Bobby.”
“Bobby?” Cassie pictured her wrinkled ninety-two-year-old grandmother, long ago christened Bobby when a young Cassie had butchered the Ukrainian word for grandma, babusya, and refused to use the traditional nickname, baba.
“There’s been an accident.”
Cassie’s heart skipped a beat. Maybe two. She drew in a ragged breath and tried not to let panic overtake her, but the words were the same ones she’d heard last year, right before her world fell apart.
Cassie let her mother guide her into a chair at the table. Anna leaned over and kissed Birdie on the top of the head. “Hello, my darling.”
Birdie smiled silently up at her grandmother while sopping the yolk off her plate with her toast.
“It happened Friday, but I didn’t want to worry you until I knew more.” Anna sat next to Birdie.
Cassie counted the days back in her head. “Mom, that was two days ago! Bobby’s been hurt for two days and you couldn’t call?”
“Like I said, I needed to speak to you in person. When I found out she wasn’t in danger of dying, I decided it would be best for me to drive here and tell you. I couldn’t leave her side until today.”
“Tell me everything now,” Cassie ordered, her voice quaking.
Anna glanced at Birdie and rested a hand on her shoulder. “Birdie, Grammy and Mommy are going to talk. Do you want to go watch TV?”
Birdie picked up her plate and put it in the sink, then walked past the piles of mail and newspapers toward the living room. When the sound of cartoon music filled the air, Cassie turned back toward her mom expectantly.
“Last week, she went for one of her walks.” Anna said. “She went further than she normally does, and I don’t know if she got turned around or what, but a car struck her as she crossed a busy street.”
Cassie jolted upright. “She got hit by a car? Are you kidding me?”
Anna held up her hand. “She’s fine. She had a mild concussion and a few stitches. No broken bones. It’s amazing she walked away so unscathed.”
“Where is she now? Is she home yet?”
“No, and that’s why I’m here. She should be able to go home this afternoon, but she needs company. Just someone to be there and to help her with things.”
Cassie nodded. “Do you want her to come here? Stay with me?”
Anna looked around the kitchen with a skeptical expression. “I don’t think this would be the best place for her. Her doctors aren’t nearby; she’s not familiar with anything here. Look, what I’m thinking is that this is an opportunity for you to make a change. Leave this town, this house, these memories behind, and come back home.”
Cassie laughed, and the bitterness that echoed through the room surprised even her. “You think I can just leave my memories behind? You think I can close the doors here and it will be like Henry never existed?”
“No, honey, of course that’s not what I meant.” Anna cradled Cassie’s cheek. “You’ll never forget him. I thought maybe it was time for a fresh start, in a new place, where the memories aren’t so overwhelming. And since Bobby shouldn’t be on her own, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for you to go stay with her for a while. Just lock this place up and walk away.”
“Just walk away? From my life? My home?’ Cassie shrugged off her mother’s touch as the dull ache that always preceded a crying jag throbbed in her throat.
“Cassie, let’s be real.” Anna gripped Cassie’s hand and stared her down. Apparently, the niceties were over. “I want you to tell me truthfully that you’re happy here, right now. Tell me that you are making this a welcoming, safe home for Birdie. Tell me that you even have a life outside this mess!”
Cassie’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Her mom usually kept this beast-mode side of her personality wrapped under a layer of not-so-subtle suggestions and passive-aggressive jabs. This attack was definitely not her typical mode of action.