Live In Position (7 page)

I shook my head.

"Alright, well I am going to give you a penicillin shot and leave you with some cough medicine. You can use Motrin or Tylenol for the fever." I felt the pinch in my arm and then heard the bottles as he set them on the table next my bed. "If any other symptoms arise, please call me."

"Okay," I rasped. Dr. Bishop answered at the same time. Too tired to even care about Dr. Bishop, I rolled over to my side and fell back to sleep.

I woke up around two in the morning with my first coughing attack. After I couldn't take it any longer I rolled out of bed and got a drink of water from the bathroom. I returned to the bed and stopped in my tracks when I saw Dr. Bishop standing in my open doorway.

"I, uh...I just got a drink of water." I choked out and then started coughing horribly.

Ignoring him for the moment I crawled across my bed and grabbed the cough syrup. Not even taking the time to measure it out, I simply put the open bottle to my mouth and gulped. It was quickly followed with a large drink of water. That stuff tasted nasty. When I looked back to the door Dr. Bishop was gone. I breathed in relief and lie myself back down on the bed. The next morning I woke to Mrs. Baker bringing in hot tea and toast. I smiled.

"Thank you," I coughed.

"Of course" she smiled down at me and brushed hair off of my forehead.

"Sophia," Victoria ran in and jumped on the bed, crawling up to lay down with me.

"Hey you," I pulled her into a hug.

"You aren't dying are you?" she looked at me with concern.

"No." I laughed with a cough. "I feel like it, but I'm not I promise."

She smiled. "Nanny swear?"

"Nanny swear." I grinned and turned to Mrs. Baker. "Who is taking her to school?"

"I believe Dr. Bishop is dropping her off this morning and William is picking her up. Once she is home I will keep an eye on her." She smiled and rubbed my arm.

"You shouldn't have to –"

"Nonsense, you just get better." She scolded like a mother. "Come Victoria, we need to get you some breakfast." Victoria leaned up and kissed my cheek before following Mrs. Baker out of my room. I fell back to sleep.

The weekend I had been excited for turned into me staying in bed; however, the fact that Dr. Bishop was home all weekend was odd. Of course I didn't know what he did on my weekends off, but I didn't think he stayed home. Victoria on the other hand was not home at all. It was weird to be here without her.

I woke up late Saturday morning feeling a little better, but still awfully congested. I tried a hot shower to feel human again and it worked a little. After drying off and brushing my wet hair, I slipped into another pair of cotton shorts and t-shirt.

Deciding I didn't want another day in bed, I walked out to the living room of my suite and stopped when I saw Dr. Bishop sitting at the small table and chairs at the far side of the room. He had his laptop on the table and was talking on his cell phone.

Quietly I made my way to the couch and curled up with a throw pillow and blanket, grabbing the television remote. I turned on the TV and his attention turned to me. I heard him mumble something and then he set his phone on the table.

"Good morning."

I looked over to him and forced a smile.

"Morning." I turned back to the TV.

"Are you feeling okay?" He stood and walked toward me.

"Yes, much better. Thank you." I smiled at him. "You know, for the doctor and –"

"Couldn't have you running around sick," It was his normal cold tone.

"No, I guess not." I responded and turned back to the television.

He cleared his throat and I could see his posture stiffen.

"You were, ummm, talking in your sleep last night. Are you sure you are feeling alright?"

I put my face in my hands.

"Yes." I turned to look at him. "What did I say?"

He actually cracked half of a smile. I thought for a moment he might be having a stroke, before I realized that his smile was crooked.

"Something about ridiculous gift cards and step ford wives."

I laughed and shook my head.

"I'm fine. Thank you." Then I started coughing.

"That cough doesn't sound fine." He stepped forward.

I waved him off as I got up and walked toward the door of my room heading to the kitchen for juice.

"Where are you going?" His hand grabbed my arm and spun me around. The damn warmth hit my skin at his touch causing forbidden feelings in my body. I jerked my arm back as he pulled his hand away. "Sorry."

"Kitchen, juice," I coughed out and started walking again. At the top of the stairs I could feel his presence next to me.

"I can get it for you. Go back to your room." He pushed passed me and started down the stairs. He turned at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at me with his brow furrowed.

"Go back to your room. I don't need germs spread throughout the house." His tone was stern and scolding.

I was still trying to fight off the coughing when he returned with three glasses; water, orange juice, and grape juice.

"I wasn't sure which juice you preferred."

I grabbed the orange juice and drank greedily.

"Thank you." I breathed out when I was finally able to speak without hacking up a lung.

"You're welcome." He stood there looking at me for a long time and I caught myself fidgeting from his stare. Before I could say anything he turned around and grabbed his things from the table. "I'll be in my office if you need anything, and Mrs. Baker is around the house this afternoon."

"Okay, thanks again." I curled back up on the couch.

"My office is closest though." He mumbled as he walked out the door and shut it behind him.

I stared at the door for awhile before I finally turned to the TV movie that was playing. At some point I fell back to sleep.

Chapter Five

By Monday morning I was still sucking on cough drops and popping cold and sinus pills like an addict, but at least I was able to function. I was able to get Victoria up, dressed, fed, and to school. Once I dropped her off I headed to the grocery store and to the bank. I also decided to make a last minute shopping trip. Victoria's birthday was a couple of weeks away and I wanted to get her something without her seeing it.

When I arrived back to the house I unloaded the groceries with the help of Mrs. Baker. Once they were all put away I headed upstairs to put away the other items I had picked up; shampoo, soap, tampons, all those fun little necessities. I also wanted to wrap up Victoria's birthday present and get in a short nap.

I picked Victoria up on time and we were on the drive back to the house when I decided to bring up her birthday.

"Someone has a birthday coming up." I sang.

She had a small smile on her lips.

"Aren't you excited? You're going to be seven!" I was full of enthusiasm, but she seemed very reserved.

"Yes, I'm excited." I wasn't buying it.

"Why the gloom and doom face?"

"Gloom and doom?" She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah, you know sad face? What's going on?"

"Nothing," she shrugged, "My birthday isn't a big deal."

"You are way too young to say birthdays aren't a big deal. Why aren't you excited?"

She shrugged again.

I was determined to get her pumped up. I parked the car in the driveway and as she was getting out of the car I got an idea.

"What kind of party do you want to have?"

"Oh, Grandma always has a tea party on the Sunday after my birthday." She pulled her bag out.

"Oh. Your friends like that?" It sounded awfully stuffy to me.

"My friends aren't there. It's grandma, Aunt Allison, and Aunt Rissa."

We walked into the house and she dropped her bag on the floor before hopping up onto the stool at the bar. I pulled out the snack I had prepared for her and slid the plate in front of her.

"So, you don't have like a kid's birthday party or a sleepover?"

She shook her head no, since her mouth was full.

"Well…that sucks!" I slammed the palm of my hand to the counter. Her eyes widened at me. "Let's have a sleep over."

She swallowed quickly.

"You mean have girls over and we all sleep in my room?"

"Yep, we eat popcorn, watch movies, dance around and sing, and, heck, we can dress up too." I grabbed a carrot stick from her plate and took a bite out of it.

"Really?" I finally saw the excitement that was missing from her eyes earlier.

"Heck yeah!" I laughed. "I'll get some invitations tomorrow while you are at school and then you can pass them out Wednesday. Okay?"

She nodded enthusiastically as I began to form the party plan in my head. While she finished her snack and did her homework I made a list of things to get for the party.

Victoria took twenty five invitations to school and by the following weekend we had ten RSVPs. The week before her party there were four more RSVPs. Apparently getting a chance to have your child in attendance for a Bishop birthday party was "all the rage", at least this is what Ella and Amber told me.

Victoria was so excited about her party that we had to go over every detail during every trip from school to the house or to one of her afternoon lessons.

"Ashley told me today she has already put together her best outfit and accessories for the fashion show. Laura and Jessica said they are ready too. What movies are we going to get? Am I getting a cake?"

I started laughing.

"Breath girl, breath!"

We giggled.

"What movies do you want? I can stop and get them if you don't already
own
them." I teased. "And, yes, you are getting a cake. I ordered it today; vanilla with whipped cream icing just like you wanted."

"YES!" She pumped her fist in the air. I laughed at her excitement.

The week concluded and it was Friday. Roberto had a hard time keeping Victoria focused on her Spanish lesson due to her extreme excitement about the party tomorrow. He eventually gave up and ended up listening to her talk about her party for the last thirty minutes of their lesson time.

"She is definitely excited about her birthday." He smiled at me as I walked him to the door.

I nodded with a smile.

"This is the first year out of the three I have been working with her, that she ever mentioned her birthday." He looked at me for a long moment, but I wasn't quite sure how to read his expression. After the long moment he spoke. "Well, good evening."

"Night," I closed the door and headed to the kitchen.

Victoria was sitting at the counter on a stool kicking her feet back and forth. "Look!" She held up a picture, it was of her, Miranda, and me standing side by side on Halloween.

"That's a good one." I smiled and went to check on the chicken.

"When did you get these?" She asked in a quizzical tone.

"I just picked them up today. They had been done for a few days, but I kept forgetting to stop and pick them up." I flipped the chicken and started mashing the potatoes. "Hey, go wash up for dinner please."

"Okay!" I heard her little feet hit the tile floor as she got down. "Oomph!' I heard her gasp out and turned to see if she was okay. "Sorry, daddy." Her tone was low and worried.

My eyes widened slightly when I saw she had run directly into Dr. Bishop as he entered the kitchen. I quickly looked at the clock. What was he doing here? Didn't he have a meeting with the seven hounds of hell or something?

"Its…please be careful." His tone was stale and low.

"Yes, sir," she mumbled and walked away. I heard the water turn on in the downstairs bathroom.

"I will be leaving this evening and will not be back until Sunday. My mother will be stopping to pick up Victoria late Sunday morning for her birthday party." I could feel my stare turn cold as he spoke. How could he leave for his daughter's birthday? Why didn't he participate in her life? Then he set down a tiny blue box on the counter. "This is her present from me. Could you please see –?"

Victoria came bounding back into the kitchen.

"Maybe you should give it to Victoria yourself." I
knew it came out short, but I couldn't help it. I turned back to the potatoes before I said anything else to get me fired.

"Give me what?" The stool squeaked as she climbed back onto it.

There was a long silence and I could feel his stare in the back of my head.

"Happy Birthday," He said monotone.

I heard Victoria gasp. "A present?" I turned to see her little face turn up to him adoringly.

"Oh, thank you daddy!" She threw her arms around his waist. I smiled and turned back around.

"You are, uh, welcome. Okay, let go…so you can open it." I swear for a moment the ice in his voice melted. I heard paper ripping and then Victoria giggled.

"It's beautiful! Sophia look," I turned around, still stirring the potatoes. "It's a mermaid!"

She smiled widely. In her hand was a silver, maybe platinum, necklace, with a mermaid pendent dangling from the chain.

"It will look beautiful on you." I smiled, happy for her, and turned back to work on the vegetables.

"Thank you so much daddy. Can you put it on me?"

"Umm…sure." His tone was cold again and I wanted to throw the spoon at his head. I was whisking the gravy when his voice filled the kitchen again. "What are these?"

"Those are the pictures from Halloween. Sophia just got them today." She was obviously ecstatic her father was holding a conversation with her for a change.

"Who is this?" He asked bitterly.

"That was Sophia's prince." Victoria giggled.

I unintentionally snorted out loud. It was silent for awhile.

"I'm going to finish packing." And with a sudden abruptness, Dr. Bishop left the kitchen. We didn't see him again.

The next day I dropped Victoria off at Karate class and went to pick up the birthday cake and other things for the party. When we returned home we started to set up for the party.

We decorated the kitchen with pink and silver decorations. Set the cake out on the large kitchen table no one used. Mrs. Baker helped me remove the chairs and table from the large dining room, so I could surprise Victoria with a rented platform that looked like a runway. It was only about four inches off of the ground, but Mrs. Baker and I decorated the far wall with pink and silver in an attempt to make it look like a runway. I even thought to rent mirrors like they have a ballet studio so they could all see themselves on the one wall.

Around three in the afternoon the guests started to arrive. Each was given a tiara and a feather boa when they walked in the door. Their things were taken to Victoria's room and we all congregated in the kitchen.

Once our confirmed sixteen girls had arrived, the party began. We ate the many appetizers I had ordered, sang happy birthday and ate cake. Then it came time for the fashion show, so I herded them all upstairs. Everyone started changing into their
fashion show
outfit.

"Sophia, where is yours?" Victoria looked at my curiously.

"I, uh, actually I didn't plan on wearing one." I laughed. "I'm going to be the photographer." I held up the camera I was going to use.

"Come on girls! We have to find Sophia an outfit!" Victoria ran out of her room. I followed them into my room.

"What are you doing?" I yelled after them. When I walked into my room, there were five of them in my closet and six of them sitting on my bed. The remaining girls were still in Victoria's room getting dressed.

"This is perfect." Victoria's voice was a little muffled from being in the back of my closet.

"That's pretty." Jessica chimed in. "Put it on!" Laura jumped up and down.

Victoria handed me the one good dress I
owned. It is my
date
dress
. A dark blue halter dress that stopped just above my knee. Having an empire waist and the skirt pleated out around, it was almost like a dark blue version of the famous Marilyn Monroe dress that she wears and it gets blown up around her. I loved this dress.

"I don't think I should risk messing up this dress. It's my really good dress." I whined.

"Come on", "Please", "You can be careful". I finally gave in to all of their pleas and put the dress on.

Next it was time for hair and make-up. Victoria and Laura worked on my hair, Jessica and Tabitha did my makeup. Once they were finished, Becky and Samantha showed up with 'accessories'. They decided I needed a white feather boa, a super long strand of white pearls, and they picked out some silver heels I had in the back of my closet. I laughed at myself when I looked in the mirror, but got a hold of myself quickly.

"Great job ladies. I look hot!" I did a pose, one hand on my jutted out hip and the other hand at the back of my head as I made a big pucker face. They all started laughing. "Okay! Time for the runway! Follow me." I led them all down the stairs to the dining room, which was now converted into our fashion show venue.

"When did you get this?" Victoria squealed in delight.

"This is so cool!" Another girl yelled with excitement. Internally I was feeling smug and patting myself on the back.

"Everyone line up." They did as instructed. I turned on some music and then started sending them up on the runway one at a time. Standing at the end of the runway I took pictures of them as they walked; making sure to shout things like a photographer. "Work it", "That's it", "Hold it", "Smile", "give me serious", "give me fun", "smile with your eyes Becca", etc. God, I watch a little too much 'Next Top Model'.

Everyone took their turn, including me. Some walked down multiple times. We laughed, sang, danced, and everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the runway. After turning off the music I sent them upstairs to change and wash up. Still in my 'fashion outfit' I headed to the kitchen to make popcorn and get drinks.

When I arrived upstairs with the large bowls and the drinks, half of the girls were cleaned up and changed. I could hear the others still in the bathroom. I got to work setting up the movie. We were starting with 'Enchanted', then 'The Princess Bride', and going through a list of movies Victoria requested, though I was pretty sure they wouldn't make it past the second one.