Birdie stopped on the sidewalk and waved again.
“Who are you waving at?” Cassie asked as she jogged over.
“Hey, Cassie,” Nick called out. Dressed in running shorts and a sleeveless shirt, and dripping with sweat, he looked like he’d just run a 5k.
“Oh, hi, Nick.” Cassie tried not to stare at his thick, muscled arms and ended up staring at the sky. “What are you doing here?”
Nick looked up too. “Just out for a run. What are you looking at?”
“Nothing.” Cassie’s face flushed. “I thought I saw a bird.”
“Me, too!” Nick gave Birdie’s arm a gentle squeeze. “My favorite bird.”
Birdie giggled in delight.
“Nick!” Bobby slowly made her way over to them. “I’m glad we ran into you. I wanted to invite you to dinner tonight. We’re making borscht.”
“We are?” Cassie said at the same time Nick said: “I’d love to! Borscht is my favorite.”
“Good, come by around six.”
“I wouldn’t miss it! I’ll see you guys then.” He threw out a wave and jogged off.
“Why did you do that?” Cassie asked as they walked home, Birdie skipping ahead in front of them.
“Do what?” Bobby asked.
“You know what! Ask him to dinner. And since when are we making borscht?”
“I always make borscht. It’s good,” Bobby said.
“I know it’s good. But do we even have what we need for it?”
“Of course. I may be old, but I’m not crazy.” She wagged a crooked finger at Cassie. “You can tell your mother that, too. I put beef shanks on the stove to simmer this morning. Didn’t you see? And Anna bought the beets and cabbage when she went to the store for me yesterday. She’s coming, too.”
Cassie sighed. “Fine, but next time you decide to throw a dinner party, a little warning would be appreciated.”
“I didn’t know your mother and a neighbor coming over would bother you so much.”
“It doesn’t bother me.” Cassie hesitated. “It’s just different.”
“Different because it makes you feel happy? And you haven’t been happy in so long?”
Birdie stopped to smell a forsythia bush in their neighbors’ front yard.
Cassie ignored Bobby. “Birdie, you can’t run into people’s yards.”
Birdie shot Cassie a pouty look and ran ahead to Bobby’s yard to investigate her flowers.
“So?” Bobby asked.
“So what?”
“So, you didn’t answer my question. Does he make you feel happy?”
“Who?” Cassie feigned innocence. “Nick? I hardly know him.”
“Mm hmm. But even though you try to hide it, I see how you are whenever he’s around. I haven’t seen you like that since…”
“Don’t!” Cassie held up her hand. “Don’t even compare. I don’t feel anything for him, and there is no way he’s remotely like Henry.”
“Nobody is comparing,” Bobby said gently. “All I said is you seem happy. Henry doesn’t have to be the last man to make you happy. And you have a favor to ask of Nick, yes? Here’s your chance.”
Cassie shook her head as they went in the front door. How could Bobby bring up Henry’s name so easily in comparison to Nick? Even if she did find him attractive, he was no Henry.
The admission gave her pause. She found him attractive. That was the plain truth. She found him attractive, and it scared the hell out of her. But noticing someone was good looking wasn’t a crime, right? It was perfectly normal. Human nature. He was a neighbor, and she’d have to deal with him a lot more if he was going to translate, but she could handle it.
Live your life. Be happy. Henry’s words echoed in her mind. She rubbed her hands over her face. She had only been a widow for fifteen months. How could she be attracted to someone already? What kind of unfaithful monster was she?”
As they entered the house, Bobby walked over to her holy icons corner and carefully lowered herself to her knees.
“Do you do that every day?” Cassie refrained from commenting on how impressed she was that Bobby could still maneuver her body like that, as she didn’t think the older woman would appreciate it.
“I’ve come back to it,” Bobby said. “I had a long dry spell, but now, it gives me comfort.”
Cassie plucked at a loose string on the back of the couch as Bobby lit a votive candle in a red glass holder. “You know, I tried it. I asked Henry to come to me, and he did. Kind of. In a dream. Mom thinks I’m being ridiculous.”