The Art of Knowing [Completed]

4. • opportunities •

[to all awaiting for your big break, that one opportunity that will open all the doors you never thought could be reachable.]  

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Cassandra's airy and nervous laugh filled the diner soon after listening to the woman's words. Despite the fact that she found the statement quite humorous, the woman across from her stayed tight-lipped. Cassandra couldn't even begin to attempt comprehending the woman's sentence, much less take it seriously, but seeing the woman's despondency made her laughs diminish.

"I'm sorry," Cassandra muttered with an amused smile, "I'm 23 years old. There's no way I'm looking for marriage right now."

"No one looks for marriage, and I never said you would get married right now. In fact, I didn't marry my husband until about 4 years after meeting and dating him." The blonde seemed incredibly sure of her words, as if she were describing Cassandra's future in a way. "It's not so much about marrying anyone right now, just knowing who you'll marry."

Cassandra's eyes wandered uncomfortably around the diner, starting to think maybe all of this was a bad idea. "I'd like to think I can make my own decisions regarding that," she countered stubbornly, not really aware of how similar her behavior had been in comparison to the woman's behavior when she was her age.

"Everything alright here?" An older voice loomed over them as slight happiness in Cassandra's heart once she identified the voice to be Betsy's.

"Yes. Thank you, Bets. I was just about to leave," Cassandra stated with sudden haste, watching as the woman stood up as well.

"Wait-"

"What's your name?" Betsy interrupted her, giving Cassandra immediate certainty she was about to say something harsh by the tone of her voice.

"I'm Emilia. Pleasure to meet you," the blonde cooed, only to receive a less than welcoming glare from Betsy. In all fairness, Cassandra knew Emilia didn't deserve Betsy's wrath, regardless of what her visit had done to Cassandra's mind and heart.

"Well, I want to just inform you that Cassandra here is a very loyal customer, and we would appreciate it if she didn't have to worry about having her seat taken."

"Bets, it's okay," Cassandra interjected, seeing slight humor and confusion fill Emilia's eyes. The thought of having Betsy by her side was quite reassuring, even though the elder had no idea about the nature of the blonde woman's visit.

Betsy breathed deeply through her nose before staring at Cassandra. Their eyes exchanged a sort of unspoken conversation as she reassured the brazen waitress everything was alright. For anyone who wasn't involved in Cassandra's life, Betsy's sudden protective behavior seemed quite erratic, but for Cassandra, it was the familiar motherly protection she'd lost when she was only 8 years old. Furthermore, Betsy's behavior was more than understandable due to the sudden threat against the young girl she'd come to recognize as the granddaughter she never had.

"I'll be over there serving coffee. If you need anything, go ahead and yelp," Betsy muttered against Cassandra's ear. The elder's remark made her snicker, her vivacious persona was something Cassandra would never take for granted. "And we're writing your name on that booth," she added strictly with a devious smirk as she left.

"Grandmother?" Emilia guessed, only to have Cassandra cross her arms defensively.

"Pretty close to it, yes..." she admitted.