Cadence was suddenly aware of just how badly she needed to use the restroom. She also wanted to take a quick shower before going downstairs to let her parents know she was still alive. Hurrying to the adjoining bathroom and turning the water on, she thought back to the time she had walked out of the shower only to find Aaron standing in her room, and she secretly hoped that might happen again this time, though she didn't think it likely. Chances were that, if he was back, he would have let her know. And she was pretty sure he had a hunt that night.
After her shower, she dried her hair as much as she could with the towel, wrapped another around herself, and opened the door to her empty room. "Drat," she mumbled under her breath. She got dressed in some of the clothes that she had brought with her in her luggage. The rest of her clothes had all been moved to her new apartment at LIGHTS last month. Opening her bedroom door, she distinctly smelled the aroma of her mother's meatloaf and realized she was starving.
Familiar voices greeted her on the stairs, and she recognized that her father was talking to Elliott. She didn't hear her mother, so she assumed she was in the kitchen. Reaching the bottom of the stairwell, she caught her dad's attention. "Well, hello there, Cadence!" her father, Eli, called from where he sat in his comfy recliner. "We were wondering if you were ever going to wake up."
"Hi, Dad," she said stopping at the end of the couch, across from him. "Hey, Elliott. What are you doing here?"
"Oh, your dad and I were just reminiscing about old times. Fast cars, talented NBA basketball players, good music, that sort of thing. How are you feeling, kid?" he asked.
Cadence hadn't considered the point that Elliott and her dad were about the same age. The fact that Elliott looked just a few years older than her was rather confusing. "I'm fine. I'm definitely not tired."
"That's good," he replied, not at all surprised.
"Does that mean I won't be able to sleep tonight?" she asked, hoping that this long nap wouldn't throw her off completely.
"No, it shouldn't affect that at all," Elliott assured her. "You may actually sleep better."
"Good," Cadence said, taking a deep sigh of relief. "Is Mom in the kitchen?"
"Yes," her dad replied. "Making her famous meatloaf."
"Where's Cass?" Cadence asked, realizing she didn't hear her sister upstairs or down.
"She's at a birthday party," Eli replied. "She didn't want to go because she wanted to see you, but it was something she had been looking forward to for several weeks, so we thought she should probably stick with the plan."
Cadence nodded. "I'm glad she went. It's really hard to talk to her and not tell her about. . . everything." Cassidy didn't know her sister was a Vampire Hunter and knew nothing at all about LIGHTS. She would find out eventually. She'd have to decide if she wanted to Transform or not. But, for now, her parents had decided not to tell her.
"I thought I heard you out here," Cadence's mother, Liz, said, coming in from the kitchen. "How are you, darling?" she asked, giving her oldest daughter a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"I'm fine," Cadence confirmed. "I was just coming in to see if I could help."
"Oh, no, honey, I'm fine. It's just about done. Why don't you have a seat?" Liz gestured toward the couch, and Cadence sat down next to Elliott, her mother perching on the armrest. "Did they tell you about the memorial service?" she asked in a hushed tone.
Considering the phrasing of the questions, Cadence decided to answer, "No, they didn't mention it." It wasn't a lie. Though Christian had said something about it, her dad and Elliott hadn't said a thing.
"Well, it's going to be tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 in the auditorium at the high school," Liz explained.
"The high school?" Cadence asked, a bit surprised. There were some nicer venues in town; certainly some of the churches would have seemed a bit more appropriate.
Liz nodded her head. "Yes. His parents want to do a short memorial service and then take his ashes out to the baseball diamond and sprinkle some of them on the pitcher’s mound. Isn't that sweet?"
Cadence pondered the notion for a moment. Jack had certainly loved baseball. Though it seemed a bit odd, it did make sense. "Yes, I guess so," she replied. "Do you mean the cafeteria or the gym?" she asked. The high school didn't actually have an auditorium per se.
"The cafeteria, I guess. That larger room with the stage, where you had the plays and such," her mother attempted to explain.
"Right, that's the cafeteria," Cadence confirmed. That would be the exact same location where Jack had asked her on their first date. It would also be the location where the homecoming dance had been held, where Jack had first kissed her. Now, it sort of seemed fitting that it would be the location where she told him goodbye.
"His parents had a request, honey," Cadence's dad said, softly.
The sound of her father's voice brought her back to the living room. "What's that?" she asked, giving him her attention.
Eli glanced at his wife, hoping she would be the one to tell their daughter what the Cooks had asked. Liz shook her head no, indicating that she did not want to do it, but Eli remained speechless. Cadence looked at her mother, then back at her father, checked with Elliott, who was looking down at his lap, trying to stay out of the conversation, before finally returning to her mother and asking, "What? Somebody just tell me."
Finally, Liz hesitantly said, "Well, honey, they wanted to know if you would say a few words at the memorial. Just share a few memories, you know, the things you will miss about Jack."
Cadence's eyes widened in horror. "Oh, no," she began. "I can't do that. There's no way that I could ever. . . in front of all of those people. I just. . . I don't think so."
Her parents exchanged glances again. It was her father's turn. Leaning forward to the edge of his chair, he said, "Cadence, we all know it won't be easy for you. But, when Steve called and asked us about it, well, he said it would mean so much to Alice. After all, you knew Jack better than anyone else. It doesn't have to be a long speech, just a few words. You can read it."
"You knew about this already didn't you?" Cadence asked Elliott, who seemed to be stifling a snicker, despite the seriousness of the situation.
"No?" he said in a questioning tone, obviously lying. "Look, kid, just tell them yes, and I'll help you. It'll be fine. You can do it. I'll be the voice in your ear--or in your eye, rather."
"Are you sure?" she asked, still thinking there was no way she could possibly do what they were asking.
"Would I steer you wrong?" he asked sarcastically, knowing, of course, that she had some very recent evidence to prove that he would.
"Ha! Yes!" she replied, emphatically, thinking of Barbarosa.
"Are you discussing this?" Eli asked, finally realizing that his daughter's pause was more than thoughtfulness.
"Yes," Cadence admitted. "Okay, fine, I'll do it." She knew this would be a huge challenge for her, but if it meant that much to Alice and Steve, then she would try. It meant a lot to her that Elliott was willing to help as well.
"Oh good, dear. Thank you! I'll let Alice know," Liz said, a reassuring smile on her face as she patted her daughter's shoulder and stood. "I'll have to use the telephone, however. I don't have one of those eye thingamajigs," she muttered as she walked back toward the kitchen.
Cadence couldn't help but laugh at her mother, God love her. "I can't believe I just agreed to that," she said aloud, looking from Elliott to her father.
"It was the right thing to do," her father remarked, thoughtfully. "And since they already printed up the pamphlets while you were asleep, I don't think you had much of a choice."
Cadence just nodded her head, slowly. "Awesome," she said quietly. She caught Elliott's, eye and he shrugged at her, as if to say he agreed with her assessment that it was all a bit of ridiculousness.
