Chapter 138
The food was like nothing Vivian had ever tasted before. Soups, salads, entrées, appetizers, main course, dessert… everything blended together after a while, until she wasn’t sure what order things had come in, only that she’d consumed far too much by the time the last dish was cleared away.
Laurent ended up with the little girl named Trudy on his lap, helping her eat while her brother, Corey, sat next to them and tried to help. It turned into a real mess between the three of them.
After the meal, everyone split into smaller groups, venturing to different rooms to chat or play games. Vivian ended up sitting on a large couch between Sunny and Gran Gran, while others came and went. It had been fun, at first, listening to the quavering voice of her maternal grandmother. She spoke about having all her children later in life, and the stigma it had attracted at the time, to complaining about how utterly impossible technology was to figure out. It eventually turned into reminiscing about Annie, telling stories of her younger years and such.
Vivian didn’t enjoy the latter part as much, preferring not to think about her mother, as it brought only fear and sadness to mind; and those lifeless, blue eyes. Not that she was about to say any of that out loud. She might have found the courage to tell her father and brothers some of the story — and by some, she really meant next to nothing, only how it ended — but there was no possible way she’d be baring her heart to these people, no matter how kind they’d been that day.
Getting up from the couch and leaving felt rude, especially when Vivian figured their reminiscing wasn’t done with ill intent. Taking out her phone, she sent a quick message for help to the family group chat. Not two minutes later, Laurent arrived and wasted no time in saying, “Vivian, can I borrow you for a second?”
“Go on then, dear,” Gran Gran told her with a wave of her hand. “Come back once you’re done, so we can talk some more.”
“Okay,” Vivian nodded as she got to her feet and tried not to hurry out of the room. “Thanks,” she whispered to Laurent as they left together.
“That bad?” He asked, falling into step with her as they walked down the hall.
“No, not bad. Just… a bit much. Felt too rude to just get up and leave.”
“We can try and find the dog again, if you want? Or are you ready to head home?”
“I’m still good with staying,” she assured him with a shake of her head. “The conversation was a bit much, not the people. If I could sit in a corner and not be bothered it’d be perfect.”
Laurent let out a snort. “That’s not happening.”
“I figured,” Vivian sighed.
“There you are!”
Vivian looked up to see one of the many people she’d met that day looking directly at her with an expression of relief. “Yes…? What’s up?”
“There’s someone at the door for you, Vivian.”
“Who is it, Aunt Laura?” Laurent inquired.
“Someone named Cassidy Everett?”
Vivian frowned. Cassidy was her case worker, the one in charge of which family she was placed with, or removed from, and had no reason to be here of all places — especially on a holiday. How had she even known where to find her? “Oh. Okay. Thank you, Aunt Laura. I’ll be there in a second.”
When she glanced at Laurent, she found him watching her with narrowed eyes. “Why is she here?”
“No idea,” she shrugged. “We have a video call every week, so it’s not like she has no idea what’s going on.”
“…you told her about everything?”
“Well, no, not everything,” Vivian corrected. “But, like, how I’m acclimating, and what movie I went to see with Gabriel, or how the family dinner went.”
“I’m gonna let Dad know about this… It feels weird.”
“Okay, well, I’m going to go see what she wants.”
“You should wait for Dad,” he told her as he reached out and grabbed her shoulder, letting it go after half a second when she tensed from the sudden contact. “Sorry.”
“There’s probably a hundred people in the house right now,” Vivian sighed, giving him a sideways look. “I doubt she’d try anything but, even if she wanted to, I doubt it would be somewhere with this many witnesses.”
Laurent hesitated, and Vivian took the opportunity to walk away, giving her brother a small wave. “I’ll be at the front door, so it’s not like you won’t know where I am.”
In front of her brother, Vivian acted nonchalant but, inside, worry was beginning to churn in her gut. There was no reason for Cassidy to be there. The only time a case worker made home visits was when they checked on one of their kids, and this wasn’t even the right home. Her weekly updates had always been positive, so why would her case worker suddenly show up?
The moment Cassidy laid eyes on Vivian she smiled and said, “Vivian, there you are. I was worried it’d take forever for someone to find you in this place.”
“Hi, Cassidy,” Vivian replied in greeting, stopping a few feet from the bespectacled woman. “Why are you here?”
“I actually need to talk to you for a minute. Would you be able to step outside with me? Just so we can have some privacy.”
Vivian tilted her head a little to one side, wondering why they’d need to step outside to find some privacy. Sure, there were far too many people currently in the mansion, but it was still a mansion. Besides, it wouldn’t be difficult to simply ask everyone to clear out a room, or find one that’s already empty, so they could talk in private. “Let’s find a room we can use,” she offered, after taking a minute to debate her options. “There are more rooms than people, so it shouldn’t be that hard. There’s also tons of food, if you’re hungry.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just… step outside? I don’t want to intrude.”
“Ms Everett,” Samuel’s voice called out before he came to a stop next to his daughter. “What a pleasant surprise. Are they making you work on a holiday?”
“No, nothing like that,” the woman assured him with a sheepish smile. “I know we talk every week, Vivian, but I realized I haven’t actually seen you in person in, wow, two months now? Time flies, doesn’t it?”
Vivian couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something off about her case worker. Why was she here if she wasn’t working? What could be so important that she would show up on a holiday? Turning to look up at her father, Vivian said, “She says she needs to talk to me for a minute, in private. Are there any empty rooms we could use?”
“It’d really just be easier to step outside,” Cassidy interjected. “I honestly don’t want to intrude, and plan to leave right after we finish.”
Samuel looked from his daughter to Cassidy, and frowned. “Why are you so adamant on having her step outside, Ms Everett? What is this really about?”