***
After a couple of hours, Cassie was called down for dinner. She put her precious radio back into the box it came in and gave out a sigh, then headed down to dinner.
Geri and Chris were kidding around, as they set the table.
“Oh, Cassie, did your family have poppers for New Year’s?”
Cassie’s face went blank. “Did you mean peppers?”
“No,” Geri laughed. “Poppers! You really don’t know what they are?”
“Hum, nope, don’t have a clue, sweetie.”
“Well, when it turns midnight, we pull the ends of our poppers. It’s fun and there’s a little prize inside.”
“Oh, yeah, that sounds like fun,” Cassie threw herself on the couch.
“Okay, what’s wrong, Cassie. You don’t seem very excited about the new year, Geri noted.”
“I’m sorry. I always get a little melancholy at the end of the year, but this year is especially hard, since my parents are gone.”
“We know, Cassie, and we hope you have a wonderful New Year this year. Just wait and see what the year will bring,” Geri said, sitting down next to Cassie.
Cassie smiled and hugged Geri, and then they decided to help with getting the table ready. Justin was carving the ham and they all sat down to eat, when the doorbell rang.
Chris looked up, thinking it might be Joshua, so he pushed his chair back and gave Cassie a glaring look, before stomping to the door.
“What’s wrong with him?” Cassie asked.
“Who knows and who really cares,” Geri answered, as she started buttering her dinner roll.
Justin got up and went after Chris.
“Hey, son, it’s not what you think. We really don’t need any attention tonight, so let me get the door.”
Chris stopped and let his dad walk past him.
“Just go back to the dining room, Chris, I’ll be right back.”
Chris shrugged his shoulders and walked back to the table. Justin didn’t get back for a while, but no one asked who had come to the door.