Heavenstone 01 - The Heavenstone Secrets

last two weeks, but at every lunch we had out together, I finished everything I ordered, and she barely ate hers. I saw it put a soft smile on her face.
    “What?” I asked.
    “Nothing,” she said. “Well, maybe it’s just that I enjoy watching you eat. You have a healthy appetite.”
    “Maybe it’s not so healthy. I know I’ve gained weight, especially here,” I said, pressing my right palm against my breasts.
    “You’re maturing,” she said. “Boys will like you better. Don’t most young girls squeeze and push until they finally show cleavage? I see how they flaunt themselves, trying to be a magnet for the eyes of boys. They should simply wear signs on their forehead,
Notice me! Notice me!
Remember what I told you. In their heart of hearts, boys admire the girls who are self-confident enough not to have to go chasing after them. They look special.”
    “You’ve always been that way, Cassie.”
    “Of course.”
    “But you haven’t done much dating.”
    “My standards are too high for the boys at our school. Porter has been the first young man who interested me at all.”
    That gave me my opening.“Can I ask you why hedoesn’t come around, then, or why you haven’t seen him since that first date, Cassie? I know you’re still fond of him. I hear how well you speak of him with Daddy.”
    “That’s business,” she replied, bristling. “One thing has nothing to do with another. Porter happens to be a far better executive than the man running on only one cylinder who is currently the store manager.”
    I smiled. That was one of Daddy’s expressions, one of his ways of describing someone he thought wasn’t living up to his expectations or putting out what he should for the business, “running on one cylinder.”
    “Anyway, I’m not ready for such a relationship,” she continued. “I have things to accomplish yet, and I don’t want someone else’s mood swings and needs to complicate my life. I don’t want to make the necessary compromises just to please someone else.”
    She said all that in her usual sharp tone, so I quickly changed the subject and talked about the new book she had bought me two days ago. Since we hadn’t replaced Mrs. Underwood yet, she was still in charge of my reading and designed what she said was the proper foundation to prepare me for my formal schooling when that started again.
    “Don’t I have to have a certified tutor?”
    “Stop worrying about it. You’ll be fine. Believe me, you’ll do well now with your entrance exams and be better prepared than most of the rich kids who attend whatever school we choose.”
    “So, when are we going to visit the private schools, Cassie?”

    “Soon,” she said. “There’s no rush. They’re not going anywhere.”
    Neither was I, I thought, but I swallowed it back. Little did I know then, but there was a big reason I need not rush developing inside me.

Expecting
    T HREE DAYS LATER , I woke in the morning with a terrible wave of nausea and had to run to the bathroom to throw up. Cassie heard me and came quickly to see what was wrong.
    “I think I have food poisoning,” I said, and moaned, holding my stomach.
    “I heard there is a stomach virus going around. Make sure you drink a lot of liquids.”
    “Should I go see Dr. Moffet?”
    “Just because you threw up once? It’s probably one of those twenty-four-hour things. Take it easy today.” She put her hand on my forehead. “You have no fever. It looks like the stomach flu. Are you tired, too?”
    “Yes.”
    “And a little achy?”
    “Yes. Especially my lower back,” I said, pressing my hand to it and bending over like an old lady.
    “Go back to bed. I’ll bring up some tea and toast for you.”
    “You will?”
    I could never in a million years even imagineCassie serving me in my room. She had used to make fun of Mother for doing it when I was sick, and when she was sick, she had never let Mother bring her food or even give her the medicine. Whether she had fever or not, she would get up and go downstairs.
    “Of course, I will. Go on. Back to bed.”
    I did, and she brought up the tea and toast. My stomach calmed down, and I soon felt better enough to get up and dress. To my surprise, my appetite quickly returned, and I ate a big lunch with Cassie out on the patio facing our pool. Spring was, as Daddy might say, cut off at the knees this year, with summer galloping on its heels. The weathermen were talking about record-breaking summer temperatures