Cassie toyed with the meat strudel on her plate, she wasn't normally one to pass up Olita's cooking but something about the meal in front of her made her want to pass it up.
"Is everything okay, my love?" Olita spoke before she sipped from her glass of water.
Cassie nodded.
"Poor dear." Olita knew Cassie was lying, she had heard Cassie throw up .
"Did Michael tell you all about our trip?" Spoke Catherina, Michael's mother.
Cassie looked up at Catherina, Catherina was everything Toni wasn't. Catherina was a lawyer who knew how to handle herself around strange men, she knew how to present herself as powerful and well mannered, she knew how to be caring while brutal, she knew how to be in front of the facts rather than behind lies.
"Yeah, yesterday when Michael came over. He spoke about it a bit before my mum came home." Cassie toyed with the piece of strudel on her fork.
Catherina side eye glanced at her son.
David savoured his mouthful of strudel "As always mother, you've outdone yourself." David believed he would be stick thin if it wasn't for his mother's cooking. He wasn't an overly large man nor was he an overly thin man, he was shapely enough to show he enjoyed his food.
Cassie watched as David praised his mother's cooking with his groans of pleasure.
David was a doctor, a man who had rare moments to spend with his family. He would give anything to not be on call 24/7, when he was with his family he basked in the moments.
Michael was everything his parents didn't want him to be, Michael wasn't smart like his mother nor was he a workaholic like his father, instead he was just a kid who tried to find the balance of finding his own perfection amongst his parents perfection, which he struggled with.
Having Cassie by Michael's side made Michael feel like he had finally gotten his parents unspoken approval, the way they praised her while condemning her mother.
If David and Catherina had a daughter, they wished it was Cassie or at least the version of Cassie she presented to Mr and Mrs Alexandra.
Michael was midway to finishing his dinner as silence fall over the dinner table. Cassie had barely touched her's while David was just about done, and Catherina toyed with the last few bites as Olita studied the people around the kitchen table, her family.
Olita beamed as she watched Michael glance up at Cassie every so often, she watched as Cassie struggled to keep her gaze on her plate, she watched as David and Catherina shared unspoken thoughts with each other.
"David, Catherina. I think lovely Michael has some wonderful news to share."
Michael almost choked on his mouthful of food as he looked up at Olita "I do?"
Cassie lifted her gaze to Michael's face.
Olita nodded.
David and Catherina turned their attention to their son.
"What's my news?" Michael seemed confused.
"You and Cassie."
Cassie quickly shifted her gaze between David and Catherina, she quickly dropped her gaze to her barely touched plate.
Michael shifted his uncomfortable gaze to his plate.
"You and Cassie, what Michael?" Catherina's judgmental tone seeped through the silence.
"Hun." David started.
Catherina raised her index finger at her husband.
"Don't shush my son." Olita calmly spoke.
Catherina lowered her finger as she shifted her gaze to Olita.
"My grandson is now dating.." Olita began.
Cassie kept her gaze on her plate.
David and Catherina shifted their gaze to Cassie.
"The two of you!?" Catherina squealed with delight.
Michael groaned in embarrassment as Cassie stayed quiet, too afraid to lift her gaze.
"Catherina, hand it over." David reached out his hand.
"Oh no, not just yet."
Olita and Michael started at David and Catherina as they realised that David and Catherina had taken bets on the relationship between Cassie and Michael.
"You said.."
"No. Remember there's got to be a wedding."
Cassie felt herself sink into her chair with embarrassment.
"Oh man, if I knew it was going to be this embarrassing, we wouldn't have." Michael shifted his gaze to Cassie.
Cassie barely lifted her gaze from her plate.
"That explains why you've barely touched your plate?" Catherina asked.
"Oh no. Cassie didn't touch her plate because she's afraid to be sick again."
Confusion ran across David and Catherina's face.
"Don't worry, we haven't done anything." Cassie quickly lifted her gaze to David and Catherina's face "I was just sick before when Olita was cooking. I don't want to be sick again." Whatever had washed over Cassie before had certainly disappeared now.
Cassie was thankful that David and Catherina had quickly accepted her and Michael's newfound romantic relationship as the two young lovers tried to find their footing in love.