Sophie's Heart (9 page)

R
ita was the only one in the kitchen when Sophie knocked softly on the door at 7:00 the next morning.

“Sophie,” she said with some surprise. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“Oh.” Sophie wasn’t sure what to say to this, so she mentioned the note.

“He said 7:00?” Rita questioned after she had heard her out.

“Yes.”

“He’s always gone by 6:00. I wonder what he was thinking.” Rita’s voice trailed off until she realized she’d left Sophie standing outside.

“Come on in,” she offered and stepped back. Sophie entered, and a moment later Tory came in the room.

“Oh, Sophie, I didn’t know you were here.”

Her words so echoed her sister’s that Sophie had to smile. It seemed that Mr. Riley had not communicated with his children at all.

“Would you like me to fix you breakfast?” Sophie asked. Tory looked to Rita for help.

“I guess we usually get our own.” Rita almost sounded apologetic.

“Maybe your lunches?”

“We make those, too,” Tory told her.

Sophie nodded. “I can do dinner, then. What time would you like?”

Rita thought for a moment. “I guess around 5:30 or 6:00.”

“Is that when you are home from school?”

“No, we get in about 3:30.”

“You do not want to eat then?”

“Well, not supper. Maybe just a snack. But we always get that, too.”

Sophie nodded and noticed how uncomfortable Tory looked. Smiling, Sophie tried to reassure her. She wasn’t feeling overconfident herself just then, but she hated to see that look on the little girl’s face. The smile drew Tory closer to where Sophie stood, just inside the door.

“We’ve been doing a lot of stuff for ourselves since our mom died.”

“Of course, Tory. It was unfair of me to ask. I will get start with the cleaning.”

“Did you eat breakfast, Sophie?” Rita asked when the older woman was halfway across the kitchen.

“Not yet.”

“Eat with us,” Tory invited.

“Yeah, Sophie,” Rita added. “Eat something first.” There was something about this woman that made Rita feel sorry for her. It would be awful to eat in front of her or send her away without food.

“All right,” Sophie agreed, and turned as the third Riley child finally joined them. “Good morning, Craig.”

“Hi,” he said simply and eyed her for a second. “Does our dad know you’re here?”

“Yes. He left me note and keys.”

“Well, he sure didn’t tell us.” With that sour note he turned his back and reached for a cereal bowl. He poured himself a huge portion and then sat down to systematically polish it off.

At Tory’s insistence, Sophie had a piece of toast and a small glass of orange juice. The toast the children made her was burned and the juice did not taste fresh, but Sophie ate it peacefully, telling herself that she would do better for these children at the evening meal.

When the meal was over, they left a huge mess to be cleaned up and, since they were running late, nearly bolted for the garage. Sophie walked out and saw them off. Rita was in the driver’s seat of a navy-blue Ford Aerostar, Craig was in the front passenger seat, and Tory sat in the very back, waving and smiling at Sophie as they moved down the street.

Sophie was in the kitchen when the Riley children arrived home from school, but it was not the kitchen they remembered. They came in the back door talking and arguing about something, but came to a silent halt when they saw the room. It had been almost a year since it had looked this way, and maybe not even quite this clean then. There were no dishes in the sink or on the counter. The floor looked so shiny that it appeared to be wet, and the aroma was wonderful. Sophie must have baked because the fragrance of something delicious lingered in the air.

“Hi, Sophie,” Tory spoke first. “The kitchen looks great.”

“Thank you, Tory. How was your day at school?”

“Fine. What’re you cooking?”

“I made biscuits for dinner and cookies for after school. I hope you like oatmeal.”

“Yeah, we do,” Rita told her. “Thanks, Sophie,” she said and took a cookie from the offered plate. “It looks like you worked hard today.”

Sophie smiled shyly and offered the plate to Craig. He made her as nervous as Mr. Riley did, and she could only hope that it didn’t show on her face.

“Oatmeal isn’t my favorite,” he said quietly, although the hungry way he eyed the plate belied the statement.

“Oh, all right, Craig. What is favorite?”

“Chocolate chip.”

“I will remember for another time. I am make beef roast and potatoes for 5:30. Is this good?”

“Sure.” Craig turned away irritably, not wanting to be asked such questions.

“Beef roast,” Tory mumbled around a cookie. “I love beef roast.”

Not long after that, when everyone had eaten a snack, they all wandered off. Sophie went back to work herself and didn’t see anyone until it was time for dinner.

At 9:00 that night, Alec came home to a quiet house. Hungry as he was, he ignored the good smells in the kitchen and headed for the stairs. Once again the lights were off in the apartment over the garage. He had to talk with Rita before she fell asleep. Thankfully, her light was still on and she was reading.

“Hi,” she said softly, set her book aside, and scooted back until she could sit up against the headboard. Alec settled himself at the foot of the bed with a sigh.

“I was supposed to meet with Sophie this morning and completely forgot until I was on the other side of Madison. Did you see her?”

“Yeah. She came to the kitchen door at 7:00. I told her you were gone.”

Alec rubbed the back of his neck. Rita could see that he was tired.

“Did she stay or go back up to her place?”

“Oh, she stayed,” Rita said. “Didn’t you come through the kitchen?”

“I did, but the light was off.”

“She cleaned, Dad,” Rita told him seriously. “She tore into the kitchen, the dining room, and the family room and even made a great dinner. She wrapped the leftovers and put them in the fridge for you.”

“Okay. How did you all get along with her?”

“Fine. I don’t think she knows what to do with Craig because he’s so angry all the time, but I can tell that Tory is starting to adore her. There was just one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“She set us up in the dining room, and then ate by herself in the kitchen.”

Alec looked surprised at this, and then reminded himself that Sophie was not an American. It was impossible to tell the background from which she’d come.

“I’d like her to eat with you guys when I’m not here. Would you feel comfortable telling her that tomorrow?”

“I can do that. You won’t be here?”

“No. I’m headed in five different directions tomorrow, so you won’t see me until late. Are you really sure things are going well with Sophie?” He had to ask one more time.

“Yeah, they are. She asked me a lot of questions, and I told her the best I could.”

“I’ll meet with her this week, but for tomorrow you’ll have to go it on your own.”

“Okay.”

Alec stood and came near. Bending low, he kissed his oldest daughter, who returned his embrace, and then moved from the room. Rita could tell by the way he turned in the hall that he was also going to check on Craig and Tory. He had always worked long hours, but since their mother died it was worse. Rita wondered if he would find anyone else awake. She hoped that he would, but her biggest wish was that someday they would feel like a family again.

Alec was as good as his word. The next day, Wednesday, he was not around at all. He was out just as early on Thursday, but he was home after lunch to do some work in his office. He came through the kitchen with no thought of his housekeeper and moved to the stairs. He heard her humming before he actually reached his bedroom door, so discovering her in there was not quite as abrupt as it might have been.

“Oh, Mr. Riley,” Sophie spoke from where she was dusting one of the large dressers in the room. “I am just done here.” With that she grabbed the vacuum and furniture polish and moved to the door. Alec stepped aside to let her pass.

He found himself struggling with the fact that she’d been in here at all. He was on the verge of stepping back into the hall and telling her to skip his room from now on, when he noticed the cleanliness. He walked in and shook his head. He’d forgotten how fresh-smelling a clean house could be.

There wasn’t a particle of dust anywhere, and the carpet looked almost new. Alec moved to the bathroom and just stared. He hadn’t really cleaned it in months, and now it was so shiny that the light bounced off every surface. His bedroom and bath were large rooms, too; cleaning them must have taken her hours.

Ten minutes later, Alec was back downstairs. This time he found Sophie in the kitchen, working over a muffin pan.

“May I talk to you, Sophie?”

“Yes, Mr. Riley.” She moved immediately to join him at the kitchen table. He stood while she took a chair and then sat at the other end.

“The house looks good, Sophie. Thank you. I’m sorry I haven’t been around. Is everything all right?”

“Yes, it is well. I must tell you, Mr. Riley. I eat your food and use your wash machine and dryer.”

It took a moment for Alec to catch on as to why she felt a need to tell him this, but he finally nodded.

“That’s fine. I expected that. Did Rita tell you that when I’m not here you can all eat together here in the kitchen?”

“Yes. I am do this now.”

“Good. I will be here tonight. What time do you put dinner on?”

“Rita say 5:30.”

“That’s fine.”

“Mr. Riley, I am bake and cook for children, but I am need more…” She stumbled to a halt, and Alec gently said, “Ingredients?”

“Yes. This is the word. Ingredients for recipes.”

“Rita has been doing the shopping, but I’d like you to take that over for her.”

“All right.”

“Rita drives to school. She drops Craig and Tory off and then goes on to Edgewood. On the day you shop you could go with her, keep the van, do the grocery shopping, and then pick them up after school.”

“Mr. Riley, I do not drive.”

He hadn’t really paused except to take a breath, but Sophie had to interrupt. She could see that she had surprised him.

“Well,” he finally managed, “we’ll have to come up with something else. I would still like you to do the shopping, so maybe Rita could drop you off. No, that’s not going to work. Of course, if you did it together, you would get done faster. Let me talk to Rita about it and get back to you.”

Sophie nodded and now asked something that had been on her mind.

“Do you wish me to wear uniform, Mr. Riley?”

For a moment Alec was completely nonplussed. Her question sharply reminded him of how different their backgrounds must be.

“No, Sophie,” he finally managed. “That won’t be necessary.”

Again Sophie nodded and, with just a few more words, Alec excused himself. He grabbed a handful of cookies from the plate on the table and moved out of the kitchen through the family room and into his office. Then he came back.

“Good cookies, Sophie.”

She smiled shyly at him, causing him to think about the difference she had made in the kitchen in such a short time. He closed the door to his office when he was inside and smiled. Sophie had cleaned this room as well. He would have to call Janet and thank her for sending Sophie their way.