"She's a block away." I told Sidney as I read Cassandra's text. I then returned it back to my pocket.

We were in a cozy restaurant five blocks away from school, and we were both waiting for Cassandra. The place wasn't fancy, so it was perfect. Cassandra was never a picky and choosy woman, and I found out last month that she liked simple things, so the place was perfect for her.

The original plan was to surprise Cassandra with a banner like what they did to my birthday, but everything backfired because Sidney and I overslept watching a movie. I think I left her room about five in the morning because we were so caught up watching the Harry Potter Series. Zoe went to a party and slept there so we kind of forgot to check the time.

We both woke up at twelve noon, so we didn't get the chance to make the banner. But we did order her favorite foods though.

The wall, roof, and tables of the restaurant  were all made of wood, so it gave the costumers the cozy and comfortable feeling, which I really liked. On each table, there was a bamboo vase with fresh red-orange lilies, and a quote taped in front of it. The table we sat on said, "Surround yourself with the things you love."

I looked at Sidney and smiled. 'I'm already surrounded with the things that I love.' I thought.

"Is dad with you?" I texted Cassandra. I waited one whole minute but she didn't reply. She was usually the one who would reply in less than a minute.

Sidney looked at me worriedly. "Calm down, Ed." She said, gripping my hand that was on the table. "Don't be nervous. She's your mother." She comforted.

I smiled at her, but it was barely a smile. "Thanks, Sid. But, I'm not nervous because of Cassandra. I'm nervous because my father could be with her."

"Oh." She faltered. Maybe embarrassed. "If he is, then I'll be here by your side the whole time." She smiled, and somehow that made my nervousness and fear fly away. If it ever did have wings.

I smiled back at her. "Thanks babe." I grinned.

She looked taken aback. "Wait... Did you just call me babe?" She asked in surprise, and I could almost take a picture of how cute and adorable she looked that moment. Her mouth was still open and her eyes still looked like she just saw a naked old man in front of her.

"Maybe." I teased.

Just then, the front door of the restaurant opened. Cassandra came in wearing a nice floral sun dress (If you're wondering how a guy like me knew what a sun dress was, well I bought Sidney one for her 18th birthday).

She looked around and I raised a hand so she could see us. She immediately smiled when she saw me and hurriedly went to our direction. I smiled. Not because she saw me, but because she was alone which meant that Dad didn't come with her.

"Dylan, Sidney!" She greeted as she finally arrived at our table. Sidney and I stood up to properly greet her. I hugged her, which lasted for ten seconds, then she kissed Sidney on the cheeks and eventually hugged her as well.

"You look very nice, Ms. Matthews." Sidney said to her. Oh yeah, Cassandra and Dad got married last year. I won't write the details because seeing Cassandra kiss my horrible father was the worst event I had ever seen.

Cassandra blushed. "Why, thank you, Sidney." She gushed. "But honey, I think you should call me Cassy instead." She said and Sidney nodded immediately.

"How about me?" I interrupted. "What should I call you."

She thought for a moment, but then sighed. "I cannot think of a name." She looked at me. "What do you want to call me, Dylan?"

What should I call her? Cassandra is too long. Cassy is already what Sidney will be calling her. Sandra sounds not like her. Cass sounds like the author of The Selection.

Then, I knew just the name. I smiled at her.

"Mom."

...

After three hours of lunch, because it was mostly talking, Cassandra, I mean mom, had to leave because she still had a meeting back home.

I enjoyed our lunch though. She told me everything that had happened in the two weeks that we were gone.

Our neighbor Pepe, who was once put in the city mental hospital, thought that our house was his, so he peed at our backyard. She said that it was a relief that no one was home, or else we'll be the ones in the mental hospital for what we would have seen.

Thinking about it made me shiver.

Then, there was this new bakeshop at our neighborhood which was owned by Ms. De Ville. She said that she moved just last week.

"Would you buy cakes? From Ms. De Ville?" I asked Sidney out of curiosity.

She made a thinking face for a moment. "Maybe. Uh, definitely." She finally answered.

"What if Ms. De Ville mixed your cake with poison?" I asked her again.

She thought for a moment again. "Well, then I'll die a happy kid."

Mom also told us that our school posted a picture of Sidney on the announcement board outside the campus (which was as big as a billboard), congratulating her for the success of her music.

It was almost four o'clock when we finally decided to end our little reunion. If my dad was there with us, he would've asked to go home an hour ago. He hated long conversations. And, he hated me.

What did Cassandra see in him anyway?

She hugged me tight. "Take care, Dylan." She said. She then kissed Sidney on the cheek and said Goodbye as well. She went inside her car, opened her window and waved at us for the last time.

Sidney and I decided to go to the mall after the lunch, because we had nothing else planned for the weekend.

Without parties, college is just like high school life, just less drama and more schoolwork. I still missed High School though, but College isn't pretty bad. I think I'm getting the hang of it, as long as Sidney will be here with me.

When we arrived at the mall, we headed to Sidney's favorite place. The Food Court. "We just came from lunch and now you want to go to the food court?" I smirked.

She rolled her eyes. "The last bite of food I had was like, two hours ago." She explained. "My stomach is already complaining."

"And you can't go two full hours without eating something." I laughed.

Sidney was about to reply to me, but then someone poked her on the back. "Umm, Sidney?" A guy in a blue sweater said. He was about our age. He was pale, tall and skinny. He was wearing some nerdy glasses and his face had freckles on them. Despite the freckles, he still looked attractive.

And please don't think I'm gay.

"Yes?" Sidney replied to him.

The guy looked embarrassed, and he bumped the shoulder of his friend because I guess he didn't know what to do. His friend was like his clone, just without the freckles and the glasses. I guessed that they were twins.

The guy with freckles cleared his throat. "I'm just a really big fan, and I really love your songs, and it would really be nice if you can give me an autograph." He said so fast and without stopping to take a breath.

Sidney smiled. "How can I not give an autograph to someone who said really three times?" She joked. She then took the pen and paper from the guy and signed on it.

The guy then looked at me. "Dylan, right?" He asked and I nodded. "You were so good at Freshman Day. You and Sidney really deserve to be together." He said.

"Thanks, man." I said.

The guy then left, and I leaned to Sidney ear. "You have a really really really supportive fan." I told her.

She rolled her eyes. "And I have a really really really annoying boy friend over here."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, really."

I laughed and hung her arms around her neck as we both bought the food she wanted to eat. I couldn't let my girl friend starve, could I?

...

We were walking by the mall fountain, and there weren't much people on the mall, when my phone suddenly rang. It was from an unknown number.

"Hello?" I said.

A woman with a high-pitched voice replied, "Are you Cassandra Matthews' relative?"

"Uh, yeah." I said, my heart pumping. Something didn't sound right with her tone. "I'm his son. What's wrong?"

"This is Wisconsin Hospital. It's about your mother."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Mother's Day!

Well, not for Cassandra.

Anyway, Happy Mother's Day to your mother. Appreciate them and their unending efforts. Tell your mom you love them. :)

I uploaded this today on purpose, because the chapter was mostly about Cassandra.

I'm really sorry for the cliffhanger and very short chapter. I hope you can forgive me. 😁 And my chapter titles are getting lamer every upload 😒

Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out what happens! Oh! And something unexpected and shocking will happen. *wink*

Don't worry. The next chapter will probably be tomorrow or the next day.

Z.