Sophie's Heart (46 page)

“Are you going back there?” Tory actually managed to keep the fear from her voice.

“No, Tory. Someday maybe, but not now.”

Sophie was still studying the beautiful picture of Prague, and so missed Tory’s look of utter relief.

“Don’t go, Tory,” Rita told her sister when she was ready to leave the table. “I want you to tell Dad what happened today.”

Tory scowled at her, but Rita only frowned back.

“You’re not my boss, Rita.”

“I don’t care. You’re still going to tell Dad or I will.”

“What’s going on?” Alec had heard enough.

Tory remained silently stubborn, her arms crossed over her chest. Rita sighed and began.

“Sophie wasn’t here when we got home today, and Tory threw a fit.”

“I did not!”

“Yes, she did, Dad. I mean, she totally lost it and made Sophie feel terrible. I tried to talk to her, Dad, but she wouldn’t listen. I mean, Sophie does have her own life, and Tory doesn’t need to go ballistic if Sophie doesn’t check in and tell us her every move.”

Craig had gone to a friend’s house and Sophie had needed the van to do some shopping, so Alec knew why Rita felt free to speak.

“Is that the way it was, Tory?”

Tory frowned at Rita. “I just thought she was gone.”

“I hope that never happens,” Rita cut back in, “but Sophie is entitled to her own life.”

“All right, Rita,” Alec spoke quietly. “I understand what you’ve said.”

Rita knew that was her cue to exit and did so without comment. She would have started on the dishes, but with her father and sister in the kitchen, she went to see what was on TV.

“You don’t think you overreacted, Tory?” Alec asked as soon as they were alone.

“Not like Rita said.”

“All right. Suppose you tell me what you think happened.”

Tory didn’t answer or even look at her father, and Alec knew Rita’s account had been correct.

“Come here, Tory.”

Alec waited until Tory was in his lap before he continued.

“Rita is right about Sophie having her own life. I don’t want her to go away any more than you do, but we can’t expect her to be here constantly. You know, she works very hard and deserves some time off.

“I know the thought of her going away upsets you, but we have to trust God for this. If Sophie should ever leave, then God would send someone else to care for us.”

“But I don’t want anyone else.”

I don’t either
, Alec said to himself, but where Sophie was concerned, he had only recently surrendered his whole heart to God. Now he must help his daughter do the same.

“God would understand our tears, Tory, if Sophie left and we cried, just like He did with Mom. But we must believe that He will never leave us and that
He’s
the One who’s really important.”

“I still don’t want her to go.”

“Well, it doesn’t look like she is. I mean, we don’t really need to worry about that right now. But you shouldn’t get so upset if she isn’t here.”

“All right.”

“And if the time ever comes that Sophie doesn’t work here anymore, then you’ve got to trust God that He’ll still care for us.”

Tory looked devastated by the thought, and Alec sighed. How could he make her see that if it wasn’t for God they would never make it at all? Was she too young, or just too stubborn? Or was this about being hurt all over again when a person you love very much goes out of your life forever?

They talked for about ten more minutes, and Alec knew from Tory’s words that she would need time. He would continue to speak with her about this subject in the days and weeks to come, but it looked like she needed his prayers more than anything else.

Thirty-Nine

S
chool was out at the end of May. The Riley children were ecstatic to be free for the summer. With immediate plans to go to the lake the first week in June, Sophie could hardly keep them on the ground. Their lake trip was an annual trek to Lake DuBay with the Fraziers, and they enjoyed it every summer. Sophie would not be going, but it was sure to be fun anyhow.

Their grandparents always rented a cabin and stayed for two weeks. They would rent the cabin next door for the second week, and Alec and the kids would join them. They had been doing this ever since Rita was a baby. It never occurred to any of the kids not to go, but Alec would have given much to stay home. Not only was this his busy time of year, but the thought of not seeing Sophie, however casually, for an entire week was almost depressing. He was in his office the night before they were scheduled to leave, his thoughts snowballing in his head.

You’re like some teenager with a crush
, Alec berated himself, but it did no good. He was in love with his housekeeper, and naturally desired to be with her whenever possible. Some days he barely saw her, but that was better than being 120 miles away. Had the outing been with his parents, he would have asked Sophie to join them without a moment’s hesitation. But with Peg Frazier as hostess, it was impossible.

They would be leaving after Alec was done working on Friday, June 1, and he had already asked Sophie to pack a meal. It looked to Alec like he would need to make a quick trip home and back in the middle of the week, but the family would stay until Saturday the ninth. It was always a great way to start the summer season. This year, with Sophie here, Alec would not worry about the kids being alone for the remainder of the summer. It was the nature of his business for summer to be the most hectic time for him. Last year, even if he’d wanted to, he couldn’t have been home much. This year he wanted to be at home more, but work was already pouring in.

Where had the weeks gone between Easter and summer? While on the beach one night, Alec had prayed after a solitary run in the surf that very soon God would open a door for him and Sophie. He had known a peace that God would eventually do so, but it seemed that God’s timing was not Alec’s, and he was being asked to wait yet again.

If someone had asked Alec to predict how things would be by the end of May, he would have said that he and Sophie would be dating. With true conviction he would have pronounced that by now he would be free to make her feel like the woman she was. But he wasn’t any closer to either of these goals than he had been in April.

In fact, a few weeks after they arrived home from Florida, Sophie had had a date with Brad Marshall. The timing certainly had been the Lord’s since Alec had been forced to surrender himself and Sophie to the Lord as he hadn’t truly done before. It wasn’t many days later that he was able to tell Tory what he had learned: God had to be his everything. No, he did not want Sophie to leave, but if God was at his side, he knew he could handle even that.

“Mr. Riley,” Sophie’s voice broke into his thoughts. He had actually forgotten she was here playing a game with Tory, who was not happy over leaving her behind.

“Come on in, Sophie.”

“No, I am go home now, but I wanted to ask if you need extra jobs while you are gone.”

“You mean, do I want extra cleaning done?”

Sophie nodded.

Alec shrugged. “You would know better than anyone, Sophie. It certainly would be easier with us gone, but right at the moment I can’t think of anything. I’ll tell you what: If I do think of something, I’ll leave you a note in the kitchen.”

“All right. Have nice time.”

“Thank you, Sophie.” He was tempted to tell her he would be down midweek, but decided against it.

They said good-bye, and Sophie climbed the stairs to her apartment. Alec sat for some minutes after that. He prayed that his feelings would change if she was not the woman for him. He knew God was capable of anything, and with that he let it rest.

“However,” Alec spoke to his empty office, “capable as God is, He’s not going to pack your suitcase.”

With that little pep talk, Alec took himself upstairs to prepare for the trip and turn in for the night.

Sophie missed the Rileys by lunchtime the next day. In fact, she had never been so happy to see the mail which brought a letter from her grandmother and gave her some contact with the outside world.

My Darling Sophie,

I start each letter with “I miss you,” and fear that this will grow repetitious, but it is so true. The Czech Republic seems lonely without you. I have done some work in your room, if ever you visit. I hope you will be pleased.

Our spring has turned into a fiercely hot summer, and already I feel boiled. I am not complaining, mind you. It is so much easier than snow. But I must run my fan all day and night. Everyone has windows open, and at night I hear babies cry. As a baby you cried in the heat, too.

Have the Rileys left for their vacation now? Will you miss them or will you get lots of work done? I’m sure you will say yes to both. Maybe you will have some time for yourself. Sometimes in your letters, I fear that this family is swallowing you. I wonder if I would see you on the street if I would know you. Or have you become so American, or so much a Riley, that I would walk past you without recognition? I know this will make you laugh because I’m being so silly, but there is some truth to my words. You have grown away from me, Sophie, and this was well and good. But as your babushka, I will always want my little dark-haired girl, even the one who cried in the heat.

There were tears in Sophie’s eyes even as she chuckled. She had changed, certainly, but she believed it was for the good. It was a temptation to pull forth pencil and paper and write to her grandmother immediately.
You could see me
, the letter would say.
Just come to America
. Sophie knew she would not write such a thing, but it was tempting. Maybe she should return for a visit; Tory had even asked if she would be going back. Sophie wondered now if she shouldn’t plan on it. Obviously, her grandmother was not coming here. Sophie went back to the letter.

I would love to see your hair. I saw a woman on the street the other day who looked like you described, but she was a blond, so it was too hard to picture.

Picture! The word jumped off the page at Sophie as she realized she had never sent any pictures home. She didn’t have a camera, but it would be so simple to borrow one. Gladys had one, and so did Brad Marshall. Sophie finished the letter with a new resolve. She would give Gladys a call right now and see if she could set it up. When Rita returned, Sophie would ask the teen to take a few photos of her. Some of her apartment would also be nice, and maybe even one of the Riley family. She knew her grandmother prayed for them daily, and for this reason it would be nice to have a picture.

Sophie stood from where she had plopped down on the front porch step and sorted through the rest of the mail. No one else ever wrote to her, but she always checked. She was in the kitchen and almost through the stack when she saw that this time she was wrong. There was another letter for her, sent c/o Alec Riley, but with no return address. Sophie had not planned to work that day, so she put the mail in a pile on the counter and headed out of the kitchen. She was at her own kitchen table when she opened the envelope. What she read took some of the sunshine out of her day.