My forever Mate

Chapter 3

Cassie took Leah’s little hands and started walking back towards their home. It was so painful to look at the big house, that was once home, knowing that their parents were no longer waiting for them inside. Without the warmth of their love it felt so cold…. so empty. The comfort of dads arms… the sweet fragrance of their mom, it was all gone. 

Cassie hurried inside with Leah and hung their jackets in the closet, then she gave Leah a cookie with some warm milk and set her up in the playroom with her dolls and other toys. She wandered through each room… each corner and decided that maybe it was time for a new beginning…. maybe she should seriously think about what Jackie had said yesterday….. it was time for her to find out exactly what she wanted their future to look like. 

Finally, her tour completed, she settled outside the playroom, with a diary and a pen, so she could stay close to Leah while working on a list of everything that needed to be done, to give them a new future…. their new beginning.

Cassie listed all the pros and cons of living in this house and realized that there is nothing holding them here anymore. Leah was young enough to adjust in a new place, in fact, she honestly believed that it would be better for both of them to get a fresh start. 

The more she thought about it, the more this idea grew on her….. maybe they could move to a smaller town…. a more kid friendly place, where the sense of community was strong and Leah would have more freedom, unlike the city where it was always busy and congested and no one had time for each other. 

As she was preparing dinner, she decided to discuss this idea with Leah and find out what she thought of this idea before making any firm plans. It was a plus that she was making Leah’s favourite alphabeti spaghetti for dinner. While mom’s secret recipe for sauce was simmering on the stove, she made some grilled cheese toasts for lunch and heated up some soup with it. 

After lunch she sat down with Leah and asked her, “how would you feel about moving to a different house in a brand new place with new people around us?”

Leah looked at Cassie with teary eyes and asked, “you not leb  (leave) Leah lke (like) mom and dad…. Huh….. Cassie? Peas (please) Leah be gd (good), pomis (promise).”

Cassie’s heart broke listening to Leah’s pleas and her insecurity…. she was too choked to speak without her voice breaking so she waited for a minute to gather herself and said, “of course I am not going to leave you sweetheart. Where would I go without you.” 

Once assured, Leah was quick to give her consent for the move and said, “Leah hapy (happy) wth (with) Cassie”. 

Next morning, Cassie got them both ready and arrived at Mrs McKnight’s office with minutes to spare. Her office was very big and tastefully decorated. Cassie had researched her agency last night and found thousands of positive reviews about her. No matter how safe she had felt with her the other day, when it came to Leah, she would never take any risks. Jackie came out to greet them personally, as soon as the receptionist announced their presence. Leah got very excited to see her and rushed over to hug her legs and raised her arms to be picked up. 

Jackie picked Leah up and bear hugged her. They greeted each other like the closest of friends meeting after several years. It was very heart warming to see Leah so happy and excited to meet someone new. Jackie introduced them to her assistant Nicole and asked her to bring some refreshments for them, in her office. 

One of the corners in her office was set up as a play area, when Jackie saw Cassie looking that way she said, “for my grand kids when they come to visit me. They love to play around.”

After having coffee, milk and cookies for Leah, Cassie settled Leah in the play area and sat down on the couch to talk with Jackie. 

“I hope you are feeling a bit light, after finally letting go…. finally venting out” asked Jackie.

“Yes, I am feeling so much better Jackie after sharing all my troubles with you. I wanted to get your opinion on the plans that I have made.” said Cassie.

Jackie listened very carefully as Cassie shared her plans and even gave some helpful suggestions. She then opened her phone and showed her some pictures of a beautiful place that looked like paradise.  

“Is this place for real?” asked Cassie not believing her eyes. 

Jackie smiled and said, “yes dear, this is Wolf-Creek.” (a make belief place for this story)

Cassie did not know why but just hearing the name of this place had her heart filled with longing, something inside of her wanted to know everything about this place and she wanted to call it home. 

“Where is this place”, Cassie asked, still a bit dazed.  

“It’s located about 50 miles west of Boston”, Jackie said, amused at her reaction.  

“so you like it, I assume?”

“Yes, we will move there”, Cassie said with determination……..