2019 Birthday Story Scavenger Hunt, 2

​Welcome to birthday week! We're celebrating my birthday all week long with a short story I wrote just for the occasion, as well as a chance for you to win some ice cream. Want more information or to see the list of scavenger hunt clues you're looking for? Check it out here. If you missed yesterday's part of the story, it's here (you'll want to read it first).

​Who on earth was knocking on the door at this time of day? Weren’t all the people who knew her at work right now? Cassandra slid down a little further in the sudsy tub and hoped that if she pretended she didn’t hear the banging, whoever it was would go away.
The noise stopped and she breathed a sigh of relief. Then, her phone dinged with a message.
“Cassandra. We’re at your front door. Let us in.”
Why was her mother here? Now? She groaned and typed out a quick “Coming.”
Holding her fuzzy robe as tightly as she could around her body, her hair twisted up in a towel, she peeked through the peephole. Sure enough, her mother glanced at her watch on the other side and then made an angry gesture as she said something to her father. Cassandra slid the locks open and cracked the door.
“Cassandra, I know you took the day off, but I expected you to at least be dressed by now.” Her mother breezed past, motioning to her state of dishabille as she headed toward the kitchen.
“I was being lazy this morning and decided to take advantage of having the apartment to myself and enjoy a bubble bath. I wasn’t expecting company.” Cassandra grinned as her father pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.
“We brought you your favorite lunch.” He held up a bag from which the heady aroma of shrimp scampi wafted. “Couldn’t let our firstborn girl have a birthday without a little celebration.”
Was Cassandra the only one in the world who didn’t think it was impossible to let someone celebrate her own way? “I’ll go change and then we can eat.”
“This kitchen is never in order. How are we supposed to eat if there aren’t any plates in the cabinet?” Her mother’s voice carried down the hall along with the bangs of cabinet doors being shut with more force than necessary.
“I think they might be over there.” Her father never sounded as put upon as her mom.
Cassandra pulled on yoga pants and a pink tunic length top, twisted her brown curls up into a messy bun, and decided it was good enough. Her parents had seen her in worse. For example, the robe she had greeted them in.
And since everyone seemed to be conspiring against her lazy day, she didn’t see the need to put herself out there any more than possible. She checked that her bookmark hadn’t slipped out when she tossed the novel on her bed. Running her fingers lovingly over the cover, she sighed at the interruption that would more than likely take several hours away from her reading time, and went to face the parents.
It couldn’t be any worse than being left to clean up the breakfast dishes this morning. Or the threat her roommates had left her with of a party later this evening. She slid into her chair at the table, pretending she didn’t see her mother’s disapproving once-over of her outfit.
“This looks great, Dad.” She spooned a helping onto the plate in front of her and readily accepted a breadstick from him.
“Only the best for my birthday girl.”
“Now that you’re in your thirties ...” Her mother waved a paper napkin and then spread it in her lap as if it were the finest linen.
Maybe breakfast dishes weren’t so bad. Cassandra quickly stuffed a bite in her mouth to delay having to answer whatever question was about to come out of her mother’s mouth.