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To the Rescue
MRS. JONES PULLED AWAY first, holding Cassie out at arm’s length and studying her. “Is there anyone else you can think of that might be able to come? Someone you can call right now?”
Cassie remembered her conversation at lunch. “Maybe Andrea. She said she wasn't going to Mikaela’s party.”
“Call her. Right now. We’ll go get her.”
Cassie ran to her room and found her address book under the bed. She thumbed through it, landing on Andrea’s name and phone number. She exhaled, pleased with herself for at least collecting names and numbers when she’d moved in. She ran back to the kitchen. “I have her number here.”
Her mom stayed close by, offering moral support, while Cassie called.
“Hello?” a woman’s voice answered.
“Hi, is Andrea there?” Cassie asked, timid.
“Sure, hold on a moment.”
The voice changed, and Andrea said, “Hello?”
“Andrea, it’s Cassie. Do you want to come to my party?”
“Right now?”
“Yes. Riley didn’t come. She went to Mikaela’s party. It’s just me.” Tears filled her eyes again, choking her words.
“Let me ask my mom, okay?”
Cassie could hear Andrea’s end of the muffled conversation. “It’s her birthday party but no one showed up. She wants to know if I can come.”
“We’ll come get you!” Cassie shouted into the phone.
“She said they can come get me. Yeah? Really?” Andrea’s voice went back to normal. “My mom says I can go.”
“Yes!” Cassie hopped up and down with the phone. “Thank you, thank you, Andrea!”
“Come on,” Mrs. Jones said, grabbing her purse and the keys. “Let’s go get her.”
“Jim!” Mrs. Jones called down the hall. “Cassie and I are leaving for a minute. You and the kids can start on the pizza.”
Mr. Jones came out of the bedroom, a puzzled frown on his face. “I thought we were having a party.”
“Riley’s not coming.” Mrs. Jones’ words came out clipped and angry, and Cassie didn’t miss the look her parents exchanged. “But Cassie has another friend who can come, so we’re going to pick her up right now.”
Her dad looked at her, his eyes flicking over her face. She could only imagine that she had tears stains on her cheeks and swollen red eyes. “That’s good that she has another friend to turn to.”
Cassie’s mom nodded. “Into the car, Cassie. Everything’s going to be fine.”
She followed her mom outside. She was just shutting the front door when an unfamiliar four-door car pulled into the circle drive. Even as she watched, the passenger door opened, and Betsy popped out.
“Betsy!” Cassie cried. She’d completely forgotten that she’d invited the other girl.
“I’m here for your party!” Betsy said, running over and hugging Cassie.
Betsy’s mom got out of the car, shoving her hands into jacket pockets. “I wasn’t going to let her come because she doesn’t have a gift. But she was just moping all through dinner, so I said, ‘Well, maybe you can just take five dollars.’ I hope that’s okay. We didn’t have any way to call you.”
Cassie felt the tears burning her eyes again. “Riley didn’t come,” she said to Betsy. “We’re on our way to get Andrea. She said she can come.”
“Thank you so much,” Mrs. Jones said to Betsy’s mom. “You have no idea. . . .”
Her mom nodded. “Betsy, get your stuff! I’ll come get you in the morning.”
Cassie held on to Betsy’s arm, not willing to let her go. Suddenly she felt like laughing giddily. She wouldn’t celebrate her birthday alone.
*~*
ANDREA WAS READY WHEN they picked her up, her wavy reddish-brown hair bouncing around her shoulders as she called out to her mom. “They’re here!”
Her mom came to the door, and she and Mrs. Jones talked for a minute while Cassie helped Andrea into the car.
“You know Betsy, right?” she asked Andrea. “She’s in Ms. Wade’s class. Her mom just brought her over.”
“Hi. I’m Andrea.”
The two girls greeted each other, and Cassie sat between them, a big smile on her face. They might not be the two people she’d expected, but her party was far from ruined.
Andrea’s eyes widened when she saw the cake. “That’s amazing! Where did you have it done?”
“My mom did it,” Cassie said, as proud as could be. “She can decorate any cake.”
“It’s so beautiful!” Betsy cooed.
Everyone else had already eaten and was downstairs, but Mr. Jones gathered them back up for cake and ice-cream. No one mentioned Riley’s absence, so Cassie assumed they had been briefed.
After a movie, she, Betsy, Andrea, and Emily gathered in her room.
“I can’t believe Riley didn’t come,” Andrea said, finally broaching the topic.
“Where is she?” Emily asked. She sat on the floor, doing a puzzle.
Cassie shrugged. She didn’t want to talk about it.
“What’s this?” Andrea asked, picking up a small pink book.
“I think it’s for messages,” Cassie said. “Like autographs at the end of the school year, you know? It came with my address book, but I’ve never used it.” She must’ve pulled it out from under her bed when she was looking up Andrea’s number.
“That’s cool,” Andrea said. “Come here, Betsy.”
Cassie changed into her pajamas while the two girls looked through her autograph book. Then Andrea said, “Here, Cassie.”
She handed the book to Cassie with a page opened. Cassie read the words there.
We promise that we will always be Cassie’s friends, and will never choose someone else over her.
Friends forever,
Betsy and Andrea
Both girls had signed the little book.
Cassie smiled at them. “Thank you. Thank you so much for saving my birthday party.”
*~*
“SO YOU SEEM HAPPIER, Cassie,” Mrs. Talbot said at morning recess on Monday. “How did your weekend work out?”
Cassie sat on the sidewalk, digging through the clovers. She didn’t feel like swinging right now. Riley was on the swings, and the two girls hadn’t spoken all day. Cassie thought about the friends who had been there for her when her “real” friends hadn’t been. “Great. Everything actually went really well.”
“And your cat? How is she?”
“Doing great!” she said. “She actually only had one kitten in there. They did a C-section, but it turned out she just had a really big bladder. So they stitched her back together.”
“What?” Ms. Dawson burst into laughter. “They cut your cat open for no reason?”
“Yeah. Pretty much.”
“Ms. Wade,” Ms. Dawson said, wiping at her eyes. “You have to hear this story. Cassie, tell her what you told me.”
Cassie did, pleased to be the focus of positive attention.
The teachers were still laughing when they walked back into the building. “You’re quite the comedian, Cassie,” Ms. Dawson said. “Maybe you should go into the show business.”
“I heard Ms. King might put on a talent show,” Ms. Wade said. “You should sign up.”
A talent show! That would be amazing. Maybe a comedian act was right up her alley. She could hardly wait for Ms. King to make the announcement.
