Clearing the dinner plates was definitely a two-person job considering there had been very little eating going on. Cadence had noticed Cassidy hadn't taken a single bite of the baked chicken their mother had prepared. She was surprised her sister had even made it down the stairs.
Liz was rinsing and Cadence was putting the dishes in the dishwasher--their usual arrangement. Cadence knew her mother liked to take advantage of these opportunities to find out information, so as she slipped the dishes into the rack, she waited patiently to see what her mother would ask this time.
It took a bit longer than usual, but eventually, Liz began to pry. "You and Aaron seem to be getting along well," she said as nonchalantly as she could.
Cadence didn't look up from the dishwasher. "We are," she confirmed. "I think we've gotten it figured out this time."
"That's good," Liz offered, though her tone seemed to suggest otherwise. She handed her oldest daughter a glass and moved on to the silverware. "You know, Elliott mentioned some doctor in Colorado or some place?"
Glancing at her mother out of the corner of her eye, Cadence took the glass and put it in the top rack before answering. "It was Nevada, but that didn't work out, Mom."
"Why not?" Liz asked as she handed Cadence a handful of forks to put in the dishwasher.
"Because... I'm in love with Aaron, Mom. I have been pretty much since the first day I met him." She took the last of the utensils, put them in the proper place, and closed the dishwasher.
Liz dried her hands on a tea towel. "Well, honey, if you're happy, I'm happy for you. I just want you to be careful, that's all. He's broken your heart a couple of times before."
"It's different this time, Mom," Cadence replied, turning the machine on and leaning back against it. "Everything changed when Elliott died. And then the things that happened in Ireland.... I can't really explain everything to you, Mom, but I think he was just having a really hard time figuring out exactly how he felt about me, considering he's known me my whole life."
Liz seemed to consider her daughter's words. "I can see why that might be confusing," she agreed. She began to straighten up the containers and other items on the counter and Cadence could plainly see that she was stalling. Finally, she asked the burning question. "What happened in Ireland?"
Cadence hesitated, not wanting to disclose any private information. But this was her mother, and she rarely kept secrets from her. "There was a misunderstanding," she began, "between Aaron and Christian. I really can't go into detail, but let's just say I almost lost him, too. In fact, I think I did, for a while. Even since he got shot protecting me against Holland, I've known I wouldn't be able to make it in a world without him, Mom. But this was so far beyond that.... He died. And then he came back to life. I can't explain it, but it happened. There's no way that I am ever going to let anything come between us again."
Liz listened intently, a confused expression on her face. "How could he have died, honey? He's a Guardian."
"I really can't explain it, Mom. But it happened. And I think--no, I know--he's done trying to distance himself from me now. He wants to be with me just as much as I want to be with him."
Liz turned and leaned against the counter, folding her arms. The questions seemed to be spinning around in her brain, but she didn't ask them. After a while, she finally said, "Well, I certainly hope it all works out for you, darling. You deserve to be happy, especially after everything you've been through recently."
"Thanks, Mom," Cadence said, giving her mother a hug.
"Now, are you two staying here or in a hotel?" Liz asked, giving her daughter another tight squeeze before letting her go.
Cadence looked up at her, but hesitated before she answered, trying to choose her words carefully. "Oh, uhm, a hotel," she replied.
"We have a guest room," her mother bated her.
"I know, Mom, but..." Cadence began.
"Oh, Cadence," Liz laughed. "I'm just giving you a hard time. I'm not an old ninny. I understand."
Cadence breathed a sigh of relief, hoping the conversation was over.
As Liz led her into the living room where Eli and Aaron were talking, she added, "I guess the pink comforter on the bed in your bedroom was okay for Jack, but this is a different story, huh?"
Cadence's face turned bright red, and she looked at her mother in horror. "What?" she asked, frozen in place as her mother turned to look at her, a twinkle of mischief in her eye.
"It's hard to slip one by this mama," she replied, patting Cadence on the back.
"You knew?" Cadence asked as they continued to walk into the living room.
"Yes, of course I did," Liz replied. "Your father was in denial though. So don't worry about that." She gave Cadence a little wink as they entered the room to see her dad embracing Aaron, something Cadence thought was extremely odd. Upon recognition that they were no longer alone, Eli stepped back, and Cadence was sure she saw a tear in his eye.
"Everything okay?" she asked, eyeing her father both sympathetically and suspiciously.
"Oh, yes," he replied dismissively, sitting back in his chair. "Just talking about... guy stuff."
Aaron just nodded along, and when Cadence shot him a sterner questioning look, he shrugged.
She didn't buy it, but she had no idea what they could have been discussing. She thought, perhaps, it had something to do with Elliott or the memorial, and she didn't really want to think about it just then, so she let it go. "Are you ready?" she asked, not bothering to sit back down, afraid she might not get up again.
"Sure," Aaron replied. After a quick reminder of when they would be leaving the next day to return to Kansas City and Elliott's memorial, Cadence and Aaron made their way out to the car. Cadence wanted to tell her sister goodbye, but she hadn't seen her since dinner, and she was afraid she was asleep. She left, asking her mom to tell Cass she said goodnight should she make a reappearance.
In the car on the way to the hotel, Cadence asked, "What was up with my dad?"
"What do you mean?" Aaron asked, focusing on the road and attempting to sound nonchalant.
"He was hugging you--and crying," she explained pointedly
"I didn't notice the crying," he replied. "I think you may have imagined that part. But he was hugging me. We were just talking about stuff... some of the stuff that's happened recently. He said he's really going to miss having Elliott around. Obviously, I agree. We talked about your grandparents a little bit. He asked me how things were going between us, and I told him I thought they were going really well, you know, that sort of thing."
Cadence nodded along. She wasn't sure what to think--the word "stuff" wasn't generally in her boyfriend's vocabulary, so she was sure he wasn't telling her everything. But she was certainly used to knowing less than everything.
"Have you heard from Hannah?" she asked as they approached the hotel parking lot.
"Yes," he replied, seemingly relieved to have a new topic to discuss. "She says everything is ready to go for tomorrow. She has both of us scheduled to say a few words." He stopped and glanced in her direction. Cadence took a deep breath, but nodded. As horrific as the thought of such a thing was to her, of course she would speak at Elliott's memorial. How could she refuse?
"She also mentioned that she was able to track down Amanda Keen," he said, squeezing her hand quickly before releasing her to pull into a parking spot.
"What?" Cadence asked, shock and delight temporarily pushing the terror of public speaking out of her mind.
"Yep," he continued. "She said she only talked to her for a few seconds, but she did confirm that she had known Elliott. She told Ms. Keen that he had passed away and about the memorial. She said she thanked her for the information and hung up."
The car was stopped now, but Cadence made no move to get out, just sat contemplating the information. It wasn't what she had hoped for, but at least she had been found. And at least she knew. He was patiently waiting for some sort of acknowledgement, a look of concern on his handsome face, and when she finally gave him her full attention, she couldn't help but think about how lucky she was that they were finally together. Without speaking, she leaned over and kissed him sweetly on the lips.
Once she released him, he asked, "What was that for?" with a serene, yet confused look on his face.
"I'm just so happy we are finally together," she replied, holding back a threatening tear. "Not everyone gets the chance, you know?"
He nodded and smiled at her again. "I'll get your door," he said quietly, and she sat back, content, waiting for him to open it for her, wondering what might have happened if Elliott had, had the opportunity to share his life with Amanda.
