My CEO 207

207 Finding a Way Forwardi

207 Finding a Way Forward (Winona)

The hospital cafeteria is a far cry from a trendy café, but the coffee is good and, actually, the breakfast offerings look okay too. I sit at a small table by a window waiting to see if Cass turns up. Cass needs to be the driving force behind how we go about saying goodbye to Mom.

Hopefully she's ready to see me. I don't blame her for being so angry and lashing out yesterday.

Cass should be here any minute if she's decided to come. I'll wait a little, of course. Jayden's with Ashlyn, talking to the doctors about the next steps for them all in regard to the baby.

I want to be with him, but Cass needs me too, and right now, I need to focus on her. Then I'll go talk to Jayden.

The door to the cafeteria swings open, and I see Cass walk in, her shoulders hunched, her face pale and drawn. I let out a sigh of relief, she's here.

I wave to her, and she spots me, hesitating for a moment before she makes her way to the table. She slides into the chair across from me, not meeting my eyes.

"Hey," I say softly.

"Hey," she mutters, staring down at the table.

I don't push her. Instead, I let the silence stretch between us, giving her the space to gather her thoughts. Finally, she looks up, her eyes red and swollen from crying.

"Cass, this is hard. I mean it's hard for me, but it is so much harder for you. I get that. I want to support you in what you want next for Mom. I don't want to try and make these decisions for you. But the hospital. needs to know what the next step is."

"I don't know what to do now," she admits, her voice small, fragile.."Mom's gone, and they... they just took her away. I don't know what happens next."

"Where have you been all night?"

"Just floating around

could have called me to

the awful things I said yesterday,

you can

you."

shimmer with

starvation but the food in here smells great." I give her a

about your options with

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a Way

decide,

nods. "Okay. I just don't know where

"With breakfast."

bacon, pancakes, syrup. I ask for those and Cass chooses some fruit salad, yogurt and muesli. We sit again and I eat about half. "Well, that does

with a little left over.

heart clenches at the raw pain in her voice. I reach across the table and take her hand

say, keeping my tone as gentle as possible. "The hospital needs to know where to release Mom's body. I know this is hard, it's the first

feel a pang of guilt for being so blunt. But there's no easy way to about this. "Once they have Mom there, you need to talk to them about how you'd like a service to go, or or cremation." even

Cass says,

her."

to help you figure it out. We all are," I reassure her. "You don't have to do it alone. You'll find a way to say goodbye to Mom, in a way that

her eyes again. She quickly wipes them away, but not before one escapes and

say, my own voice thick with emotion.

a while, both of us lost in our

say,

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