[Cassel pauses for the barest second. "Manipulative" and "loving" are the first words that come to mind, but that's not how normal people describe their mothers, at least not in the same breath, so he covers. He's so used to pretending his family has normal dynamics that he doesn't even consider why he automatically twists things to sound positive, especially here.]

She's a force of nature. She's stubborn and she never hesitates to tell you her opinion on anything, and she loves us like crazy.

[Well, it's not a lie.]

What about you? What's your mom like?