“You’re right. I don’t. But I do know all she ever wanted for you and your sister was for you to be happy. I was there when Cassidy called her and told her about Hayden. Your mom was shocked and that was understandable. But not once did she judge or disapprove or even say anything bad about him.”
“She loved him.”
“Of course she did. He treated your sister like she was a princess and he made her happy. Your mom saw that, and in the end, that’s all she wanted. And Kellie, that’s all she wants for you too. You know that, don’t you?”
“This is different though.”
“How? How is this different?”
I was beyond frustrated. Trying to get through to Kellie was like banging my head against a brick wall. I don’t know if she believed the bullshit she was spouting or if she was just too scared to consider she might’ve gotten it wrong.
Turns out, I wasn’t the only one frustrated. Kellie tossed the half empty water bottle across the yard before standing up and stomping her foot like a three-year-old who didn’t get her own way. From where I was sitting, that’s exactly what she resembled right now.
“How isn’t this different, Skye? You think you know everything, but you don’t. Mom has enough to deal with with Dad’s bullshit and losing Cassidy, she doesn’t need me dumping my problems on her too.”
“Your problems? Your problems? I’m sorry, Kellie, but Cassandra’s not a problem. She’s her granddaughter. Her first granddaughter. Her only granddaughter. And from what I know of your mother, she’d want to know. She’d want to be here. She’d want to help you. To make sure you’re okay. But also to meet Cassie. Don’t make this harder on yourself than it needs to be , because you’re too damn stubborn to tell her what’s going on.”
Tears were streaming down Kellie’s face. It probably hadn't been my smartest idea, yelling at an overly hormonal new mom, but Kellie was bugging me. She was so disconnected from reality, the only way I could get through to her was with a slap up the side of the head. Metaphorically speaking of course.
Leaving her sitting there sobbing, I ducked inside, grabbing the tissue box and her phone before walking back out and handing them to her. “Kellie, call your mom. Talk to her. Tell her what’s been going on and tell her about Cassandra. Don’t let your fear deprive your mom and probably more importantly, don’t let Cassie grow up without the chance to know her.”
Blowing her nose loudly, Kellie looked up at me with sad, tear-filled eyes. “But what... what if she hates me?” Kellie asked, giving voice to her biggest fear.
“She won’t.”
“You don’t know that!” she protested with a sniffle.
“Yeah, I do.”
“How?”
“Because if Cassandra was in your shoes and she called you, what would you do?” I tossed out casually making it sound like there was no question at all.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll call her.”
Squatting down in front of her, I took my hands in hers. “You’re doing the right thing. It mightn’t be the easy thing, but it’s the right thing,” I confirmed, offering her a small smile.
Kellie picked up her phone. “No time like the present right?”
“Why not? But before you do… there’s probably something you should know…”
I told her about me asking Hayden to look into her father and see if he could help get to the bottom of the mess. At first she was cranky. I'd shared her personal life problems with someone and even when I assured her that it was only Hayden—who was practically family and doing it because he cared—only then did she start to soften.
When Kellie asked me if I was sure I didn’t run to Hayden as an excuse, I felt like I’d been called out. In my head I was doing the right thing, but in my heart, maybe she had a point.
Sighing heavily, Kellie focused on the phone again.
“I’m going to duck out and grab some food. Give you some space. Is there anything you want?”
Running away might make me look like chickenshit, but I had a call I needed to make. One I didn’t want anyone overhearing. Especially Kellie.
“I’m good, thanks. I’ll just call Mom and hope she doesn’t disown me.”
“She won't. Besides, if she disowns you, she won’t get to meet her granddaughter and I’m pretty sure no matter how mad she is at you, Cassandra is going to be your get out of jail free card.”
