A Lie Unraveled (8 page)

“I’m going to put Sophia’s stuff in my car,” he said. “No point going through all this and giving it back to her right away. Otherwise all the hurt would be for nothing.”

“How do you know
I
would give it back?”

“Because saying yes to Sophia is your drug of choice. You need a twelve-step program.” It was an attempt at humor to lighten a difficult situation but it fell flat, neither of them were even smiling. It was hard for him too to hear his daughter crying like that but it was harder still to imagine her growing up with this attitude. She was nowhere near a teenager yet. Life was only going to get more difficult for all of them, including her, if they didn't get things under control now.

* * *

Destiny leaned against Sophia’s shut door until she could no longer stand it. “Soph, you okay?” she asked.

“Are you going to give me my stuff back?”

Destiny breathed deeply. “Justin has your stuff, honey.”

“Then go away, I don’t love you anymore.” A giant kick bounced off the door.

Destiny slid down the door and sat on the floor; that’s where she stayed for hours. When all had been silent for what seemed like half an hour, Destiny crept off to bed. Her phone on the bedside showed six missed calls. She turned it off.

* * *

After a fitful sleep, Destiny opened one eye; damn what a night. In the light of the day she felt a little better. It was Friday; if they could get past the last day of the week, then it would be the weekend. Two days off before they had to do it all again next week. When had life become so complicated?

She took a deep breath and did her best to put her adult face on before she opened the door. Wow, she had never seen Soph’s beautiful room look like such a mess. The shelf that held all the stuffed animals from when she was little, that were so precious to her, was empty. The animals had been thrown from one end of the room to the other. Her collection of teen magazines had been ripped to shreds and were laying amongst the tangled mess of bedding that
had
been on the bed. Sophia was still asleep, in a curled up ball on the bare mattress. Now or never, she had to wake her. “Soph,” she whispered, almost afraid of her daughter for the first time. Not frightened that she would hurt her, not physically anyway, frightened that she would reject her. “Sophia, you have to get up, honey, it’s time to get ready for school.”

Sophia’s eyes blinked open. She scanned the mess in her room but chose to not mention it. “I feel sick,” she said. “I think I have a fever.”

Destiny felt her daughter’s head. “You don’t feel hot, honey.”

“I slept all night without any covers,” she said. “I could have gotten pneumonia.”

“It was warm last night, Soph,” Destiny said. “Hop up and have a shower and see how you feel.”

“I know how I feel now, I feel sick.”

Destiny felt sick herself, not because she
was
sick, but because she had to do something that she really didn’t want to do. Unfortunately, it was time for her to be an adult. What she would have loved to do was climb back into her bed with Soph, watch movies and cuddle until they both felt better. It was very probable that Sophia was feeling very wary about going to school and facing the daddy who had been, in her mind so mean to her the night before. Destiny wasn’t feeling very happy about Justin either but she knew that what he did, he did for reasons that would only benefit their daughter. The best way to conquer a fear was to face it. She’s had to do that enough in her life, like when they moved back to this small town. Destiny sat down on the end of her daughter’s bed. “Can I be honest with you, Sophia?” she asked.

The little girl nodded. “You used to always be honest with me, at least I always thought you were.”

“I think that you’re scared to go to school and face Justin because of what happened here last night.”

“I don’t like him,” Sophia said. “He’s mean.”

“I don’t really think you think that. I don’t think you wanted him to hear you acting the way you were acting. I think you were mad at yourself because you didn’t say sorry to me when he told you to. You lost all your stuff because you were being stubborn.”

Tears filled Sophia’s eyes. “What can I to do now? I have nothing!”

“I don’t think you have
nothing
and I don’t think you’ll be without your stuff forever.”

“I don’t not love you anymore, Mom,” Sophia said miserably.

‘I know you love me,” Destiny said. “Go have a shower and then come downstairs.”

Reluctantly, Destiny picked up her phone and called Justin. “I think you need to come and resolve this with your daughter before she goes to school,” she said.

“Already on it,” he said. “We’re in the driveway.”

* * *

Destiny was about to go and see what was keeping Sophia when she saw her daughter peeking down from the top of the stairs. Interestingly, she had a clean and clear face, no trace of make-up of any description, not even lipstick. She beckoned her mom to come to the stop of the stairs. “Why are they here?” She whispered.

“They brought breakfast.” Destiny answered. “And your dad wants to talk to you.”

“What about?”

“Really, Sophia? I think he wants to clear the air before school. Come down and eat and talk. You’ll feel better.”

“I don’t need to have their breakfast; I could just have left over pizza.”

“So I see you’re still feeling sick then?” Destiny grinned. “They’ve brought hotcakes and sausage.”

“Syrup?” Sophia asked.

“And hash browns, they brought all your favorites.”

“Is he still mad at me?” Sophia asked nervously.

“I don’t think he was ever mad at you, Soph,” she said.

“That’s right, I wasn’t,” Justin said from the bottom of the stairs. “I was just making you accountable for your actions. It’s what fathers do. Come on, come and eat before it goes cold.”

Sophia followed her mom down the stairs and into the kitchen where Lily-Grace was perched on a kitchen stool. “Hi, Soph, we’re having pancakes,” she said excitedly. “Come sit next to me?”

“Sure, I like pancakes.” Sophia sat up next to Lily-Grace and started tentatively on her breakfast but was soon tucking in.

“So, last night,” Justin said.

Sophia stopped chewing.

“I’m not going to talk about that now but you and I need to have a long talk. So, I was thinking, as it’s Saturday tomorrow, if it’s okay with Mommy, we might do a little swap.”

“What kind of swap?”

“Well, I would like to spend the day with you, to talk and get to know each other. On the other hand, your sister has never in her whole life had a pedicure. I thought your mommy might like to spend the day with Lils.”

“You’ve never had a pedicure?” Sophia asked.

Destiny was more than happy to take Lily-Grace for a pedicure and do anything else with her that she would like. How would Sophia react, that was the question? “Would you like that, Lily?” she asked.

Lily-Grace nodded with enthusiasm. “I would love to have a pedicure.”

“It’s great! You can get glitter or a French tip, you can even get stickers.” Sophia said.

“So you don’t mind spending the day with your father?”

“No, I don’t mind,” Sophia said.

Destiny smiled. Her daughter’s lips weren’t giving much away, but her eyes were shining. Maybe this was the medicine she needed to heal whatever was hurting her. “Looks like we have a plan.”

* * *

“Am I forgiven?” Justin asked. He’d made sure the girls were safely in the car and doubled back to talk to Destiny.

“For what?” Destiny smiled. She planned to ignore the fact that she hadn’t acknowledged his many missed calls for the night before.

“Don’t play dumb. You were angry at me last night I could tell. I’m not blind.”

“I struggled with last night. You have to understand I love Sophia more than anything and it isn’t easy for me to see her suffer.”

“I know what you mean, it wasn’t easy for me to see either of you suffer.” He kissed her and then shrugged. “Things will get better, wait and see.”

“I hope so.”

* * *

After an uneventful day at school and night at home to reflect, both Destiny and Sophia were up early on Saturday, eager to start the day. Much to Destiny’s amusement, Sophia seemed a little nervous and eager to please Justin. It was certainly a turnaround from the other night. “I think either would look nice,” Destiny said.

“I won’t wear makeup because Justin said it ruins your skin for when you're older.”

“Did he just?” she asked. “When did he say that?”

“Yesterday at school, he said it. He said I looked even prettier without it.”

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it and very true I think. You have a very pretty face.” Apparently Justin had plenty to say at school yesterday; no wonder he didn’t drop in for lunch.

“But he said it’s what on the inside that counts the most.”

“That it does,” Destiny smiled. “If you don’t get dressed though, he’s going to have to take you out in your pajamas. How embarrassing would that be?”

“Pretty embarrassing,” Sophia babbled happily. “Where are you going to take Lils besides to get a pedicure?”

“Oh, uh,” Destiny was taken aback and over the moon with the natural slip of the pet name. Did this mean that Sophia was also ready to embrace her sister? “I don’t know, what do you think she’d like to do?”

“Do you know that Lils has never ever been to build-a-bear either?” Sophia asked. It was obvious that she found the concept inconceivable.

“Really, well then maybe that’s what she’d like to do.”

“I think she would,” Sophia said.

* * *

“Soph, I thought we’d go to a book store first. I want you to show me what kind of books you like to read,” Justin said.

“Do they have magazines?”

“Well, not all magazines are bad but I was thinking of an actual book. What do you like to read in a magazine?” Justin asked.

“I don’t really read them,” Sophia said. “I like to look at the fashion and I love it when you get a free lip gloss or bracelet or something. Those issues are the best.”

“Okay, I can see that. What I don’t think you get about a book is, it can carry you away,” Justin tried to explain. “Well, not literally carry you away but take you to the place you’re reading.”

“Okay, I think,” Sophia said. “Books are kind of for school though. It’s like when you come home, you don’t want to still be at school.”

“What if I could help you find a book that you thought you would watch if it was a show or movie on television?”

“I don’t know; I guess I could try it.”

“Good girl, I’m impressed. Now tell me what you think you’d like to find in a story; princess, normal or rich girl?” he asked.

“Normal,” she answered.

“Okay, would you like to read; books that your mom might have read, books that your grandmother might have read or books that are from this century?” So he may have been setting her up a little but he had a pretty good idea what would hold her interest, he
was
a teacher after all. The key was to make her think that it was totally her idea.

“Well, that one’s easy, books from this century.”

“Good, good, now we’re getting somewhere,” he said with a smile. She smiled back which was encouraging.

“Would you like to read something that is magical, scary or funny?” Justin asked.

“I’d definitely like a funny book. Life’s tragic enough sometimes isn’t it?”

“Oh definitely,” he said, this time forcing himself not to smile. “It’s all too much to think about sometimes isn’t it?”

“Now you’re making fun of me,” she said.

“Nah, I’m just joking. We’re having fun aren't we?”

“Yeah we are,” Sophia agreed.

“Okay, here we are in the bookstore.” Justin was excited to be the one to introduce his daughter to the world of books. By nine, so many of her likes and dislikes had already been developed and he’d missed them all. Now was his chance to share a first. “I have an idea about something I think you’d like. Let’s go to the kids’ section.”

“How do you know where you want to go exactly?”

“It’s all in alphabetical order so it’s easy to find the author you’re looking for,” he explained.

“Has Lils read this book yet?”

“No, not yet; this book is a bit too old and maybe hard for Lils. I thought this book or actually series of books, is more to your mindset.”

“Thanks,” she said, obviously over the moon with the compliment.

He handed her the first book in the series
Dear Dumb Diary
. “I think this will give you a laugh,” he said.

“It looks okay,” she said. “May I look inside?”

“Of course you may. Why don’t you take it over there and sit down and give it a try?”

“Okay,” she said, planting herself on a seat.