Chapter 7: Dennis and Lizzie
She flew to New York. It wasn't right to waste the ticket money. And her luggage was already on the plane.
Her dad beamed at her as she stepped into view, dragging her suitcase behind her.
"So happy to see you!" he cried as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Hi, Dad. Listen, I can only stay the night. I have to fly home tomorrow."
Her father's face fell. "What are you talking about?"
"I've decided to keep my scholarship and go to Queen's."
"Is this about money? Casey, you're going to be earning plenty of money this year, and you know I'll pay for whatever you need."
"This isn't about money. I just…need to go home. This was a nice idea in theory, but I can't do it."
He caught her by the shoulders and looked at her curiously. "I know you're nervous, Sweetheart, but—"
She shook her head. "This has nothing to do with nerves. I want to go to university. I know where I belong, and it's at Queen's." She almost added "with Derek," but thought better of it. This wasn't about him, for once. She wondered briefly how he would take the news of her return.
Her father scratched his chin. "Good for you. I trust your judgment."
She raised her eyebrows. "Really? That's it? You're not going to try to convince me to stay?"
"You know I would love to have you living with me, and you'd make a wonderful actress, but you sound like your mind is made up. You've always been a level-headed girl. I trust you."
Casey breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Dad. I know I've made a mess, but I'm going to fix it."
He nodded. "I know you will. I'll buy your return ticket, you call Mr. Blue, and then we'll go get some dinner."
"You don't have to do that; I can pay for my ticket."
"Yeah, right. You're a university student now, remember? You need to save up for books and pencils." He winked.
Casey thanked him, and took out her cell phone. This was going to be a difficult call. She could only hope that Mr. Blue would be understanding.
VWDVWDVWD
He wasn't. But he couldn't do anything about it, because Casey hadn't signed the contract yet. He had told her she had a week to decide, and she was only a day past that deadline.
She knew it was unfair to leave him high and dry right before rehearsals, but he wouldn't have a problem replacing her. There were dozens of unemployed performers in New York.
Her dad took her out on the town, and the next morning, they had breakfast together before her flight. It had been nice to see him, and she could tell he was sad that she wouldn't be staying, but he did a good job of seeming upbeat.
She took a taxi home from the airport, and to her delight, the entire family was seated around the dinner table when she walked through the door.
Everyone turned to stare at her as she calmly set down her bags and took her place at the table, unable to keep the grin off of her face.
"I miss her so much I'm seeing her everywhere," Nora moaned. "Look, I can almost see her in her old seat."
"I see her, too," Marti piped up.
Edwin and Lizzie burst out laughing. "Welcome back, Case," Lizzie said through her giggles.
Casey glared at her. "You were trying to make me come home with that letter!" But then she quickly smiled, running over to hug her sister.
"You're really here?" Nora asked, smile spreading across her face. "I honestly thought I was hallucinating!"
Casey hugged her mother, and then everyone else in turn. Except Derek. He sat stone-faced, staring at his plate, and when she tried to put her arms around him from behind, he flinched. So she moved on to Edwin.
Of course, everyone wanted to know what had happened. Casey explained that she had called Queen's, they had agreed to re-admit her, and that she just didn't feel she had made the right choice by leaving. She explained about reading Lizzie's letter at the airport and her phone call to Mr. Blue. Her mother kissed her all over her face and kept her arm around her throughout dinner.
Casey had to admit, it felt nice. She was content. Home.
If only Derek would look at her, things would be perfect.
Casey volunteered to do the dishes, asking Lizzie to help her. Her mother kissed her one more time, and then left the girls alone in the kitchen.
They washed and dried in silence, sneaking smiles at each other every few seconds.
"Was it really because of my letter?" Lizzie finally asked.
"That was part of it. I know how important it is for all of us to feel like a real family, and I don't want to miss meeting our brother or sister along with everyone else. But I also don't want to give up Queen's, even just for a year. I'd miss out on too much."
"You took your textbooks on the plane," Lizzie giggled. "That's dedication."
Casey smiled. "I also wasn't sure I wanted to dance eight shows a week. That was a huge commitment to something I'd only done twice a week up until this summer."
Lizzie cocked her head and bit her lip. It was an expression Casey used often, and she felt a wave of emotion at how much she would have missed talking to her sister every day. They would have had opposite schedules – Lizzie at school in the morning and Casey dancing at night.
"Case, I don't think you should stop dancing. I was surprised when you gave it up this summer."
Casey nodded. "I thought about that, and I've decided to try out for the dance team at Queen's. I did extracurriculars in high school, and there's no reason why I can't do them at university."
"I think that makes perfect sense." Lizzie paused. "How about the elephant in the room?"
Casey pretended to look around. "What elephant?" she asked teasingly.
"You know what elephant. Dark hair. Brown eyes. Answers to the name 'Der-ek!'" Lizzie mimicked Casey's inflection perfectly.
Casey looked at the floor and shuffled her feet, trying to put her feelings into words that would make sense. "I think that's over. I'll always care about him, but I have to start thinking of him as my brother."
Lizzie frowned. "Do you want to know what he did when you left?"
"I don't know. Do I?"
"He didn't come out of his room for twenty-six straight hours. Ed and I timed him."
Casey bit her lip. "That doesn't mean anything."
"He didn't eat for that long. That might be a record for Derek."
Casey refused to get her hopes up. She and Derek were somehow going to move forward, get over each other. "So, he missed me. I missed him. But now we're going to Queen's together."
"I think you should go together together," Lizzie said playfully, nudging Casey.
"Liz!" Casey groaned. "How do you even know about that, anyway?"
Lizzie shrugged. "It's kinda obvious that you, you know, like each other. Everyone knows."
Casey paled. "I know that George and Mom know…"
"Yeah, well, count Edwin, Marti, Sam, and probably Emily on that list, too."
"How did this happen?" Casey groaned. Seriously, how did it happen? How did she go from perfectly happy a week ago to confused and sad tonight?
"You fell in love. Mom thinks it was inevitable, the way you guys always fight. You have unresolved—"
Casey held up a finger. "Do not say what I think you're about to say." She gazed at her sister. "You've really grown up a lot, haven't you?"
Lizzie shrugged. "I guess."
They continued to wash the dishes and when they were all finished, Casey leaned back against the island counter with a sigh. "I need to go talk to him, don't I?" This thing between them wasn't going to just go away, no matter how much they wanted it to.
"I think so, yeah," Lizzie agreed. She put a hand on Casey's shoulder for a moment before walking away, calling for Edwin. She's probably going to tell Ed everything that just happened, Casey realized. Come to think of it, those two had always done a lot of whispering that stopped when Casey walked by. Was she the only one who hadn't understood her feelings for Derek for so long?
She headed upstairs to find Derek.
