Heavenstone 01 - The Heavenstone Secrets

Semantha,” Mother said. “Enjoy them, and don’t dare worry yourself about me. It will all be fine, just fine.”
    “There’s a rally the last period of the day on Friday. The whole student body will be brought down to the gym, and the coach will speak, and the cheerleaders will cheer.”
    “How exciting,” Mother said. “Your father told me Cassie’s taking you to the game.”
    I nodded. Was it terribly selfish of me to mention the party now, considering what had happened? Once again, my open-book face spoke for me.
    “What is it, Semantha?” Mother asked. “Is something wrong at school?”
    “Oh, no. It’s nothing.”
    “It’s something,” she said.
    Daddy nodded.
    “It’s just that I was asked to go to an after-game party,” I said, trying to make it sound insignificant so neither she nor Daddy would think I was being self-centered.
    “Where is this party?”
    “At the home of a boy in our class, Eddie Morris. His father owns that big pharmacy.”
    “Oh, yes,” Daddy said. “He’s always in politics. Very respectable people.”
    “This boy I know, Kent Pearson, has asked me to go. He said his father would take us and take me home afterward, but it’s not important now.”
    No one spoke for a moment, but they bothsmiled at me. I looked toward the doorway, terrified that Cassie might have come back upstairs and overheard me.
    “Well, it sounds fine,” Mother said. “One thing is for sure. Of course it’s important. I don’t want anyone moping about and wringing her hands over me while she could be enjoying herself. That goes for both you and Cassie.”
    “I don’t have to go,” I said.
    “Of course you do,” Mother said. “If there’s any problem, your father can pick you up as well. I don’t want him thinking only of me,” she added, now giving him a look of chastisement.
    He laughed. “Okay, Semantha, it’s settled. Now, why don’t you do whatever you have to do before helping with dinner,” Daddy said.
    “Wipe that look of worry off your face, honey,” Mother told me. “Everything’s all right. Go on.”
    I leaned over to kiss her and then left them. I could feel the tugging emotions inside me, the battle between happiness and fear. It actually made me shiver a bit. I hurried to my room and tried to concentrate on my homework, but my eyes kept leaving the pages of my textbooks and looking with anticipation toward my bedroom doorway. Cassie never came, so I finally closed my books and went downstairs to help with dinner.
    She had already done quite a bit. She had prepared a pot roast and potatoes, begun to steam some vegetables, and had the ingredients for our salads neatly arranged on the center worktable in the kitchen. Before I could say anything or ask anything,she turned to me and snapped, “Set the table for the three of us. Put my setting in Mother’s place tonight.”
    “Mother’s place?”
    “Yes. I don’t want Daddy looking at her empty chair all through dinner and feeling terrible. It will hurt his appetite, and I’ve prepared this pot roast exactly as he likes it. Don’t just stand there gaping at me, Semantha. Get moving. It’s almost dinnertime, and we’ll eat on time, despite Mother.”
    I nodded and hurried to do what she asked. When I returned to the kitchen, I saw she had Mother’s tray all ready to go up to her room.
    “Should I take that up to Mother?”
    “No,” she said. “I will. Go dress for dinner.”
    “Dress?”
    “Put something much nicer on, Semantha. I am. Let’s do all we can to make Daddy happy tonight. He’s had a terrible day because of her.”
    She lifted the tray and started out.
    He’s had a terrible day because of her? I thought. What about Mother’s day? She was the one who had almost lost the baby, not Daddy.
    I kept it all bottled up and walked behind her to get dressed for dinner. Daddy met her in the hallway outside his and Mother’s bedroom.
    “Cassie, how wonderful!” he cried. She handed him the tray.
    “Your dinner will be ready on time, Daddy,” she said. “Semantha and I will get dressed and be down in fifteen minutes.”
    “Thank you, Cassie. You are a terrific guardian angel,” he said, and kissed her on the cheek.

    She stood there looking after him until he went into the bedroom. I saw her bring her hand to her cheek and pause as if some king or even the president of the United States had just kissed her.
    When she turned and saw that I had watched and heard everything, she pulled