Page 76 of Gin & Jewels

“I really liked them and their wives too.”

“When we get back, we’ll have dinner or something with them.”

“I’d like that.” Cassie smiled.

I pulled out two sandwiches that I’d made before driving Mom to the diner for her shift. “Which, speaking of, are you ready to go home?”

She bobbed her head. “I am, but I’m not sure what my home will look like when I get there.”

“What do you mean?”

She took a bite of the turkey sandwich I’d handed her. “Keith’s friends were already living there for free. They never cooked, cleaned, or paid any of the bills. I’ll be surprised if the power is still on.”

“I’m sure we can evict them.”

“How do I do that?”

I shrugged. “Not sure, but I can ask Seth.”

“What if they’ve destroyed it?”

“Like burned it down?” I took a bite of my own sandwich.

“Oh God,” she groaned. “I hope not.”

“Yeah, that would suck.”

“I mean, what if they put holes in the walls, broke all the appliances, or yeah, burned the place down?”

“We’ll deal with it. If something is broken, we can fix it.”

“I don’t have money to fix it.”

“I do.” I took a sip of water.

“I can’t take your money.”

“Fine. We’ll make it a loan.” I wasn’t going to argue with her about it. I had plenty of money saved, and if I had to replace an oven or something, I would. We ate some more of our sandwiches and the chips I brought. “Have you considered selling it?”

She thought for a moment. “I never thought about selling it because it’s Keith’s house too, but I have thought about getting my own place.”

“Just throwing this out there, but what if you sold it and bought your own place? That way, it could be a fresh start.”

She bobbed her head slightly. “Yeah, maybe. My mom loved the house, but if she saw it now, she’d probably have a heart attack.”

“I think she wouldn’t care about her house as long as you’re doing okay.”

Cassie looked over at me. “You think so?”

“I do. A house can be replaced. You can’t.”

“How do I go about selling it with Keith in jail? He’s on the deed too.”

“I’m not sure, but we can check with Seth.”

“Okay.” We ate some more of our lunch and looked out at the water. “And just so you know, I am doing okay.”

“I know you are.” I could see it in her smile more and more with each day that passed. We finished our lunches and lay back on the blanket, our arms behind our heads. It felt good just to relax and take in the fresh air. “Want to go swimming?”