Broken (30 page)

“That’s easy,” Mr. Palmer said. “I can think of many things, but I’ll simply say I’m grateful to be with my loving family on this important holiday.”

“Cassidy?”

Cassidy glanced at Zoe, and then at Max, before encompassing her parents. “I have many, many blessings for which I’m thankful, but if I had to choose only one, I’d say I’m most grateful for the love I’ve been fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of.” She stared at Max, and a silent message of love given and returned in equal measure passed between them.

“I am thankful that God saw fit to spare my daughter and granddaughter’s lives when others were not as fortunate,” Mrs. Palmer said, gazing on Cassidy and Zoe with such an expression of love Max had to look away.

Cassidy’s mother obviously loved her daughter very much. She just didn’t know how to show it in a manner to which Cassidy would be receptive. Mrs. Palmer reminded him of the Southern lady archetype—a woman who attempted, whenever possible, to rule her family with an iron fist encased in a velvet glove, certain she knew what was best for everyone.

His mother was the same way, only unlike Mr. Palmer, his father let his mother do whatever she wanted in order to keep peace in their marriage. He rarely remembered his father putting his foot down on any family issue. However, when it came to their business endeavors, his father’s word was law.

They held hands and bowed their hands as Mr. Palmer spoke the blessing. Then it was time to eat.  A food connoisseur, Max couldn’t help comparing the simple, traditional, Southern Thanksgiving fare on the table to the more elaborate, Italian dishes his family prepared. In the place of green bean casserole, his family served sautéed spinach. Cranberry Citrus Dressing took the place of cornbread dressing. The meal took hours, beginning with a serving of Bouillabaisse, followed by his Auntie Mona’s famous seafood bruschetta before the main course was served. The day wasn’t complete without his father’s special Tiramisu recipe.

Still, like any Italian whose family business centered food, Max enjoyed a good meal and this one was outstanding. He said so. “My hat’s off to the chefs. That was really delicious,” he said as he slumped in his chair, full almost to the point of being stuffed.

Cassidy beamed with pleasure.

“Max, I hope you saved room for dessert. I saw sweet potato pie and my favorite, apple cobbler, cooling in the kitchen,” Mr. Palmer said.

“I’m sure I can squeeze in a little extra,” Max said, mouth already watering. “Hear that Zoe? Momma made apple cobbler.”

Zoe grinned at him, her chubby cheeks full of food, a smear of sweet potato casserole on the tip of her nose.

“It’s a shame Phillip didn’t live to see her,” Mrs. Palmer mused. “Zoe’s such a beautiful child. Every day she looks a little more like her father.”

Mr. Palmer snorted. “Which damn sure wasn’t Phillip Brannon. Thank God.”

Cassidy sucked in a sharp breath and her eyes went wide as her gaze bounced between him, her mother, and father.

“What do you mean Phillip isn’t Zoe’s father? Of course he is.” Mrs. Palmer’s shrill voice echoes in the deathly silent room.

Panic seized Cassidy by the throat. All she could think of was escape. She jumped to her feet, bumping the table and causing the dishes to rattle. “I’ll just go bring in that dessert now.”

“Sandra, any fool could see Zoe is biracial,” his father-in-law said, sounding tired. “For God’s sake, the child has blue eyes. Use your head.”

Cassidy glanced at the child in question as she rounded the table. Zoe looked about inquisitively, her father’s blue eyes avid. Max’s gaze was focused on her, and in his eyes, she could see deep concern. He knew how much her father’s statement had rattled her.

Moving quickly, Cassidy was almost to the entryway when her mother’s question literally froze her feet to the floor, stopping her cold.

“Cassidy Ann Palmer, you were unfaithful to your husband? How could you?” Her mother’s outraged accusation brought back memories of childhood when Cassidy had been caught in some wrong. She flinched, her shoulders automatically hunching in on themselves.

But I’m no longer a child. I’m an adult and this is none of her business
. The reminder bolstered Cassidy’s courage and put steel in her spine. She straightened to her full height and turned to face her mother.

Before she could defend herself, Max materialized by her side. “I guarantee you, Mrs. Palmer, anything Cassidy did was a direct response to Phillip’s actions.”

Her mother drew herself up and spoke in her coldest voice. “This conversation is between me and my daughter and doesn’t concern you, Mr. Desalvo.”

Furious, Cassidy lashed out. “That’s where you’re wrong, Mom. As my husband and Zoe’s father, this matter concerns Max greatly.”

Her mother’s head bobbed as though she’d been struck. It was only when she felt Max’s supportive arm around her waist that Cassidy realized what she’d said. Shit, the cat was truly out of the bag now.

“You’re married?” was her mother’s horrified cry.

Her father merely arched a brow, but Cassidy noticed his intent gaze wasn’t directed toward her. It was on Max. “Asked her to marry you, hmm?”

She rounded on her husband. “You
told
Daddy?”

Max held up both hands. “I promise I didn’t say a word. I merely told him I’d proposed. Nothing more. I swear.”

“Cassidy, I can’t believe you’d do such a thing and not tell us. And as for you, young man, there’s no excuse for infidelity.” Her mother glared at both of them.

“That’s not what you said when you cheated on me,” her father said quietly.

“
Bernard
!” Her mother’s face paled and she clutched her chair, swaying visibly.

Unable to believe her ears, Cassidy stared at her mother. “You cheated on Daddy?”

Feeling adrift in a world that no longer made sense, she leaned weakly against Max, unable to unglue her eyes from her mother’s suddenly fragile looking features.

All Cassidy wanted was a calm, drama-free holiday to make up for the emotional trauma she’d put her parents through these last two years. How had it come to this?

Max tugged her closer and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “I’m here.”

 Her mother sighed and sank slowly onto the edge of her seat, like a balloon that’s lost its air.

“It was a long time ago, Cassidy,” her father began. “You were little. Hadn’t even begun school. I wanted to get us out of that too-small apartment and into our own home in a better neighborhood. To that end I was working all the hours they could throw at me at the plant. I had a goal in mind and nothing was going to stop me from achieving it. Until the day your mother announced she was leaving for another man and taking you with her. Without my family, what did the rest matter?” Her father shrugged his massive shoulders. “It took time and effort, but I managed to win your mother back.” The look he sent her mother was full of love. Cassidy blinked away tears at the naked emotion on her father’s face.

Her mother linked her fingers and placed them on the table in front of her. “I loved your father, but he was never there. I begin to question his feelings for me. We hadn’t married under the best circumstances. Then suddenly, there was someone else in the picture. It was easy to gravitate to the man who was giving me the attention I wanted and needed from Bernard but wasn’t receiving. It all started so innocently. I never meant to fall in love or betray my wedding vows. And once I had? Well, I had to make it right. So, I filed for divorce.”

Wrapped in Max’s arms, her back to his chest, Cassidy considered all she’d heard. “That’s why you sided with Phillip in the divorce?”

“I didn’t side with Phillip,” her mother immediately denied.

At Cassidy’s patent look of disbelief, her mother closed her eyelids briefly and pursed her lips. Her eyes, when she reopened them, were full of remorse. “I’m sorry I made you feel that way. No wonder you were so upset with me. Your father forgave me and we were able to work on our issues and enjoy twenty-four more wonderful years of marriage. You’re a lot like your father when you’re focused on a goal, and your career is such a demanding one, I supposed I sympathized with Phillip. Having been in his position, I understood how he felt.”

“Mom, I admit Phillip might have had justification for his first indiscretion. That’s why I agreed to marriage counseling. But there was no excuse for the second one. There was no way I could trust him after that,” Cassidy said firmly.

Her mother glanced at Zoe, who sat happily playing in her uneaten food. Then she directed her attention to Cassidy and Max. “What’s done is done, but Cassidy, you betrayed Phillip with his best friend?” Her mother wasn’t condemning her. She just appeared confused now.

Max’s deep voice vibrated through Cassidy’s body. “My friendship with Phillip ended the day I walked into that condo and saw the woman I planned to marry half naked, kneeling on the floor, with her lips wrapped around my
friend’s
dick. Pardon my frankness,” he added when her mother flinched.

“And you and my daughter?” her mother asked, recovering quickly from her shock. Although why she was surprised, Cassidy didn’t know. She’d told her mother this before, but maybe she hadn’t been graphic enough for her mother to get the full picture.

“We fell in love while supporting each other through our partner’s betrayals,” Max said simply.

Not for the first time Cassidy admired Max’s turn of phrase. Must be something they teach in law school. Phillip, when he’d been alive, had the same gift.

Just then, Zoe snagged Cassidy’s attention by banging on the table with her spout cup. For the first time, Cassidy noted the mess her daughter had made. She’d poured some of her juice onto her plate, creating a soggy mess. Zoe beat her cup on the table again.

“Zoe, no. Stop that!” Cassidy chided, rushing to her daughter’s side.

The tension in the room immediately dropped as everyone shifted focus.

“I’ll take Zoe and get her washed up while you clean up this mess,” her mother said.

Cassidy lifted Zoe from the high chair, and holding her away from her clothes, past the toddler to her grandmother.

“I’ll take her chair outside and hose it off. Might be simpler,” Max muttered, surveying the damage. He handed Cassidy the dampened dish cloth he’d fetched from the kitchen.

“I’m thinking a pot of coffee would go nicely with dessert,” her father said and ambled off.

Gathering the dirty dishes, Cassidy carted them into the kitchen and laid them in the sink before returning for more. While she was at it, she removed the food and stored the leftovers in the refrigerator. By the time her mother returned with a spotless Zoe, garbed in a new, unsoiled outfit, Cassidy had reset the table with dessert plates and spoons, coffee cups and saucers, and both the pie and cobbler sat in a position of honor in the center.

“No more playing with your food,” Cassidy told Zoe sternly.

Her daughter smiled beatifically at her, an impish gleam in her eyes.

She groaned and narrowed her eyes warningly. “You may look like me, but you act like your father.”

“I heard that,” Max said, returning with the high chair.

“Pay her no mind, Zoe. Your mommy got into her share of mischief as a child,” Mrs. Palmer told her grandchild.

“I was an angel,” Cassidy disclaimed with a lofty lift of her chin.

“So are demons,” her father said dryly, entering the room.

“Daddy!” But she was laughing too much to put much force into her protest.

“I’m just saying,” her father said, grinning slightly.

Everyone resumed their original positions around the table. The desserts were passed around and everyone took what they wanted. Cassidy returned to the kitchen for the coffee and the half-gallon of vanilla ice cream for her father and Max to go on their cobbler. She was happily applying whipped topping to her sweet potato pie when her mother sadly asked, “Why weren’t we informed about the wedding?”

“I’m afraid that’s my fault, Mrs. Palmer,” Max said, gallantly taking the blame. “When I realized Zoe was my child, I rushed Cassidy to the altar as soon as I had her agreement. I didn’t want her to give her time to change her mind.”

“So you had a courthouse ceremony?” her mother asked, her disapproval evident.

“No. That’s what I expected, but Max surprised me with an actual wedding ceremony in a nearby park. It was simple but beautiful. We have pictures if you’d like to see them,” Cassidy offered. Now that her parents knew everything, she was eager to share. And, most importantly, she wanted her parents to think well of Max.

“I’d love to,” her mother said.

Cassidy rose quickly and went to retrieve their wedding album. Her mother flipped through the photos, making comments and observations. When she came to the last page, her mother said, “I don’t see a minister in any of these.”

“We didn’t have one,” Max answered.

Her mother glanced up. “If there was no minister, and a judge didn’t read you your vows, who performed the ceremony?”

Cassidy repressed a sigh, having known this would be an issue. “Mom, Max and I self-united.”

 Her mother scowled. “Is that legal?”

“Yes, and we have the marriage license to prove it,” Cassidy said.

“Pennsylvania is one of the three states that allow self-uniting marriages,” Max added.

Cassidy could tell their answer didn’t satisfy her mother. This was proven when her mother said, “I would prefer, if you two are going to marry, that it be official. I can understand you not wanting a big production, but no officiate at all?”

Cassidy looked at her father to see what his take on all this was. He, too, was frowning. “Daddy?”

“I know as a family we aren’t a part of any organized religion, but your nana was. She’d be disappointed that you didn’t at least have a minister to bless your union. Max, what does your family think of all this?” her father asked.

“They don’t know I’m married,” Max said and scooped up another bite of cobbler—his second helping.

“When do you plan on informing them?” her mother asked.

“I don’t. It’s none of their business.”