Cas felt a migraine coming on, a dull anvil ache in their temples. They sipped their lukewarm
beer at 11 a.m. in the morning and winced as the syrupy liquid slid across their front teeth. They
gulped it down anyway.
“How are you dear?” Aunt Jenn emerged from the throng of party-goers, “John’s already got you a drink I see,” she raised her eyebrows. “I told him I’m waiting until we cut the cake. I don’t
need to be calling a cab because I can’t drive home. You didn’t drive here, did you?”
“I took an Uber.”
“Are you sure that’s safe? I’d take a cab.”
Can nodded noncommittally and took another sip. “You excited to be a grandmother?”
“Of course. Retirement was getting too quiet.”
Cas smiled. Their aunt spent most of her days taking care of her aging father, planning her
youngest’s wedding, and helping Theresa and John landscape their backyard.
“Auntie! Auntie!” A trio of small spiky kids ran in from outside, tracking sand and mud with
them. “Pick us up Auntie!’
“I’m a little too old for that, Gregory,” she said. “Why don’t you let Unc- why don’t you let Cas
pick you up?”
“No! We want you!”
The headache spiked. Cas’s grip tightened around the glass.
“Excuse me,” Cas managed a half-smile that they hoped was charming rather than grotesque and slipped away so find the bathroom. They sat down on the side of the bathtub and took a breath. Only a few more hours.
They had forgotten to ask Theresa where the Advil was, so they opened cabinets and rummaged
through a few drawers before finding the pharmaceutical section, uncharacteristically
disorganized (not alphabetized, for one, a few bottles knocked over, even a couple stray pills
flirting with dust bunnies. They’d have to clean it up before the baby arrived).
One bottle caught their eye because it was the same bottle that Ellen took out every morning and popped the lid like it was a champagne bottle. But this one was empty, and the date was over a year old.
Cas imagined the late-night arguments, whispered fiercely over a seafoam froth of lace napkins
and tablecloths and, later, frilly nightgowns and duvet covers.