SPLITAPARTS: lessons in love ✔️

Memories - Part Two

Ann woke up at first light and tip toed quietly down the stairs to brew a pot of coffee first thing. As she sat at her kitchen table, she decided to take coffee at their picnic table instead, since the air outside was unseasonably warm, even though there was a constant breeze. She heard the call of her daughter's horse and looked toward the house and wondered if her daughter was awake. She went upstairs to her daughter's room and opened the door to let the dog out and found Cassie still sitting up in bed, fast asleep, with the pen still in her hand.She could tell that she was dreaming. Tiptoeing in, she withdrew the pen from her daughter's grip. She saw the letter off to the side and debated whether or not she would read it. Thinking better of it, she placed the letter and the pen on her desk, turned off the light and opened the window an inch for some fresh air. She left the room as quietly as the entered it.

She opened the door to let Paddy out and walked outside behind him to find the little green snake on the sidewalk that spanned between the house and the barn. "Go away," she said flatly in parseltongue. The tiny snake flicked its tongue in her direction, and then slithered into the grass. Theo soon joined her with his own cup and some toast.

Theo had just finished his toast when they heard Cassie's radio playing to the local pop station and their daughters voice ringing the rafters of their century-old Victorian home. "She certainly loves to sing!"

"Always has," Ann chuckled.

Cassie raised the window and maneuvered the screen up and stuck her head out the window. "Taking coffee on the terrace today, old chap," she asked in her worst faked English accent.

"Hey! Who the hell are you callin' old?"

"YOU!" She giggled and righted the screen again and lowered the window a bit.

Theo shrugged. "At least she's honest."

"To a fault," Ann said.

He called up to her, but her radio was so loud, he wasn't heard. Sighing heavily, Theo withdrew himself from the lawn chair and went into the house and up the stairs. He knocked on her door.

"What's the password?"

Theo looked hard at his daughter's closed door. "I've no idea," he said finally.

She opened the door and peeked around the edge. "Well, well, it's your lucky day! Venez, monsieur!"

"Merci, mademoiselle." He smiled at sat on the edge of the bed and patted the space beside him. "Listen, I have to get the new brakes on the bike today, because I didn't get them yesterday, but that shouldn't take too long. How about you get your morning chores done and then we'll work in the studio?"

She cocked her head to the side and raised her one eyebrow. "And do what?"

"Well, how's about I learn ya how to pound the skins all proper-like?"

Cassie's face lit up. "For real!"

"Yeah, for real. The only catch is that I'm on call and you know what that means?" He laughed when she wound her arms around his neck, nearly strangling him.

"Yeah, if you get a call, then you have to go into work."

"Mm hmm. You got that four-four down quick and the guys were pretty impressed with your sense of time-keeping. I was too, actually. So, get a move on. Your mother said that I gotta cut grass today too and I'd rather just get it done and over with."

"Why don't you let Prince take care of the grass for you?"

"Three words: your mother's roses."