Hazards on the Hardwood (Hazards and Hijinks) (16 page)

28

It was Sunday, two days after her great dinner with Nicholas. She had received a text from him Saturday telling her how much he enjoyed her company. “Will there be a repeat?” She thought as she tidied up her apartment. It had new clutter here and there…baby clutter: teething rings, pull toys, cozy fleece blankets and other infant regalia. “It’s fun seeing baby things around here.” She giggled at the remote possibility of having her own baby someday…far away “someday.”

She put some water on for coffee and then got out a clean pan. She warmed up Zoe’s bottle and searched the cabinets for something to eat. “Maybe some cereal or I could cook some eggs and all the trimmings.  I guess I’ll see what my guests would like this morning.”  Taffy seemed to be more at ease this morning.

Sophie came in the kitchen, wiping the sleep from her eyes. She had slept pretty well the last two or three days. It made all the difference in the world being in a place where she felt safe.

“May I help you with breakfast?” Sophie asked.

“No Sophie I’ve got it pretty well under control. I have cereal or I could fix some eggs. I found a bottle for Zoe in the fridge and that’s warming up for her.” Taffy said. “Guess Sasha, our sleeping beauty is still tucked away in her bed.”

“Yes I think I heard her snoring but I didn’t want to disturb her sleep. I’m up for some eggs and whatever you have to serve with it.  I’m famished!  I haven’t had much of an appetite lately…too nervous, I guess.”  Sophie had a distant look that Taffy picked up on right away.

“Sophie I had a strange thought…you haven’t heard anything from Willie or his gangster friends recently have you? Since you arrived here it seems like things have settled down considerably.” Just then, Sasha came in half asleep still but with a grin on her face.

“So did I miss anything? I felt I needed to get a little extra sleep and I am sorry I’m so late in getting up.” Sasha apologized.

“No problem, Sasha, I was just fixing breakfast and it will be ready for you soon. Hope you have room for eggs, toast and a cup of freshly brewed coffee.” Taffy said with a big smile on her face.

“Well someone’s in a great mood this morning. Did I miss something important…like maybe a phone call from a preacher man?” Sasha laughed.

“No I’m just grateful that we are all here safe and sound and no one’s bothered us.” Taffy said.

“Today might be a good day to get some cleaning and shopping done. I usually listen to a sermon on line however; I will probably do that later on. Is there something you two want to do outside?” Taffy asked her guests.

“Well a walk out in the brisk air might do for me; Just a quick jaunt around the block. The air is wonderfully electric. It will probably snow again later.” Sophie said with a slight tone of excitement in her voice.

“Sounds good to me,” Sasha joined in.

“Good I’ll watch the baby while you two take a short stroll. Just make sure you’re watchful. We know these guys could still be lurking about out there. I wouldn’t want something to happen to either one of you.” Taffy cared about her two friends and felt it important to protect them as much as she could while they stayed with her.

The two sisters put on some warm clothing and headed out of the apartment. They chatted quietly as they walked out of the entrance and into the sparsely populated street. Not too many people were out yet. It was nearing noontime by now and people were either sleeping in or at church. They passed a few hardy souls dressed in warm winter clothing but most of the time they were the only ones about. “There’s a Starbucks…want to stop in and get a treat?” Sasha asked her sister, knowing that for Sophie it definitely was a treat. Sophie had little money to spend on anything these days…only necessities.

“Oh Sasha that sounds wonderful! I haven’t had a Starbuck’s latte or anything like it in simply ages!” Sophie said getting more excited. They walked in the store and immediately were greeted with the fragrances and aromas of various coffee products and tasty muffins and treats.

“Oh my, this is just what I needed…hot coffee. Thanks so much Sasha.”

As they sipped their drinks and ate their snacks, they looked out the window. “Oh wow look there’s snow flurries out there! We better get back before we get caught in a heavy storm.” Sophie looked a little concerned.

“Ah I think we’ll be fine. The weather channel said there would be intermittent flurries but no blizzards or heavy snowstorms headed our way today.” Sasha said to calm Sophie a bit. “We’ll start back in a few minutes okay?”

“Yes, I’m sorry, I just worry about being stranded or caught out in the storm and not being able to reach Zoe.” Sophie said.

They finished and headed out the door. More people were walking outside now; rushing here and there. The streets seemed busier and taxis were bustling and honking on the roads.

“Sophie, I just had a thought. What would you do if Willie changed and tried to better himself? Would you ever consider taking him back?” Sasha asked her sister.

“Why on earth would you have a crazy thought like that? Willie won’t change anything. He’s happy gambling, being miserable and collecting friends in low places. He’ll never ever change…that’s for certain.” Sophie said emphatically.

“It was just a thought. God moves in mysterious ways and these kinds of things happen frequently. People reach the bottom and start looking upwards for their help. If he’s humble and his heart changes he might actually want to fix things with his family.” Sasha said with tenderness.

The sisters reached Taffy’s apartment and came in invigorated. “Hello! We’re back,” said Sasha.

Taffy was finishing up the leftover dishes and greeted them both with a big smile. “Zoe is down for a nap. She took her bottle and went right to sleep.”

“We really enjoyed our walk, we even stopped at Starbucks. It was good to visit with each other.” Sophie spoke quietly not wanting to wake up Zoe. She enjoyed her time with her sister and her sweet friend.

A phone was ringing somewhere in the apartment. “Whose phone is that? Mine is in my purse,” said Sasha.

“Well I think it’s mine,” said Taffy.

She found her purse and answered the call. “Hey Taffy it’s me Nicholas.”

“Nicholas it’s so good to hear from you. How are you this fine Sunday afternoon?”

I am good and I have some rather interesting news. It concerns Sophie’s ex, Willie. Is she around? If so, I would like to talk with her. I didn’t have a phone number for her. I hope I’m not disturbing your Sunday afternoon. It is very important that I talk to her.” He sounded like he had something very deep on his mind.

Taffy went and got Sophie. “It’s Nicholas. He says it’s important.”

“Hello this is Sophie.”

“Sophie I’m so very sorry to bother you but I thought you would like some important information about Willie. He is here staying in my church building. I found him in the church service this morning; tired and in need of a good meal and a bath. He is very sorry for all the trouble he’s caused and says he wants to talk to you. I thought it would be better if he waited for a while and asked him if I could contact you and let you know where he was and that he wasn’t going to go through with his plan of snatching up little Zoe. He wanted me to make that very clear.” Nicholas had said it…now he’d wait for Sophie’s response.

“I don’t exactly know what to say Nicholas. This comes as quite a shock to me. It will take some time to sink in. I must think on it before I talk with him. He’s hurt me badly in the past and I’m not sure I’m willing to let things like that just disappear as if they didn’t happen. A lot of bad things went on when I lived with him. I was concerned for both my life and Zoe’s. You can understand can’t you? This is not to be taken lightly. I will also consult my lawyer. There is the matter of the restraining order in case he comes too close to either of us. So you see it’s not as easy as just saying ‘yes’ I wish to talk with him. Please allow me some time for discussion with the others involved in this.” Sophie had said her say and she let Nicholas speak again.

“I understand everything and I am sympathetic to your situation. I will advise Willie that he must first prove himself by holding down a job, earning a living and cleaning up his otherwise shady lifestyle. It will take a great deal of time and I’m confident that he can do it with the Lord’s help of course. Just remember he came to me. I didn’t seek him out. He walked in the church needing not only a warm place to sit for a moment but to be spiritually fed. So we will leave it at that for now. Please feel free to contact me anytime. Taffy has my number. Thanks for hearing me out. God bless you all!”

Sophie sat in shock for a moment, not knowing exactly what to say to her sister and Taffy. This was not what she had expected to hear and yet…it was odd that she and Sasha had just had a similar conversation this morning.

“Truly God does work mysteriously.” She thought as she went to get Zoe out of her crib.

“Zoe my precious little one, Mommy loves you so much!” Sophie rocked baby Zoe in her arms.

“Well we’re waiting,” Sasha said impatiently.

Sophie replied, “Nicholas said that Willie is staying at the church. There was an extra room upstairs and evidently Willie is going to be the church’s guest for an undetermined amount of time. He is going to do odd jobs around the building in exchange for room and board. Nicholas will be counseling him and helping him through some of the rough places that he’s in right now.”

Sasha asked, “Taffy you know Nicholas pretty well don’t you? I only really know him from the dance competitions. Is he a trustworthy man? I mean I realize he’s a preacher but just because he’s in the church doesn’t mean he’s genuine. There are plenty of wolves in sheep’s clothing as they say.”

“Yes, Nicholas is a good man with integrity and a strong sense of morals. I would trust him with just about any situation that came up. I’m getting to like him even more since we went out. We had a great time finding out about each other’s lives and our goals.”

Time would tell if Willie’s “conversion” and intentions for his little family were genuine. Sophie would have to wait and see. She wasn’t willing to let Willie just work his way back into her life without proof of the drastic changes that appeared to be taking place. How long that would take?  She had no clue. But she wasn’t going to be fooled again by a supposedly repentant ex-husband who had recently threatened kidnapping as a way to get back at her!

Sasha definitely had her guard up as well. She knew that Willie would have to show his true colors and she would wait and see what those turned out to be. “I will watch over and protect Sophie and Zoe at whatever cost. I won’t let that guy come in here and sweet talk her of his recent redemption without a sign that it’s the truth.” She was determined to scrutinize his so-called new faith. Plenty of people in desperate situations had spouted their religious change of heart and then fallen by the wayside and into their old ways once the pressure was off.

Skepticism wasn’t such a bad thing, at least in Willie’s case. Sasha sat on the floor and played with Zoe while Sophie went into the other room to think. This was very difficult for her; should she accept Willie’s new found conversion? For now, things would remain undecided. No change in the way Sophie looked at the situation. She would still look for a job so she could support Zoe. If Nicholas called and wanted to set up an appointment, she might go; or might not. She hadn’t made up her mind on that issue.

Nicholas called later in the afternoon wanting to schedule an appointment for Willie and Sophie to meet in the church office. “Sophie? It’s Nicholas. I would like to meet with you and Willie this afternoon, but separately. He will not be allowed in the office at the same time as you. I will have him come in after I talk with you and only if I have your permission to bring him in. Is that acceptable to you?” Nicholas spoke softly and compassionately to Sophie. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she answered, “Nicholas this is rather unsettling for me to handle right now. Willie has plotted to take Zoe away from me. I am not in a positive frame of mind where he’s concerned. At this time I will meet with you but not him!” She was emphatic.

“So I gather you will not meet with him at all?” Nicholas asked.

“That’s correct! I am filing for divorce. There is no way I’m going to believe anything good can come from him right now. Down the road maybe he could have supervised visits with Zoe. That’s up to my lawyers.”

“I will let him know only the part about you meeting with me, but that you prefer not to have a dialog with him at this time. Thank you Sophie. Is three o’clock okay for the meeting?”

“Yes Nicholas I will be at your church office at three p.m.” Sophie ended the call and gave a huge sigh. “What else could I do?” She asked herself.

That was that. No visit with Willie. Sasha would contact their lawyer and get the ball rolling now that Willie had an actual address where she could have the papers served. Sophie wouldn’t rule out visitation with supervision, but it would be a long time before she would trust him with a solitary visit. She also would ask the attorney for sole custody.

Nicholas thought, “Well I leave this in Your hands, Lord. Sophie’s hurt and doesn’t trust Willie. These two hearts need healing and You’re the only One that can change the direction of this hurting family.” He prayed and prepared for his busy day.   His appointment book held two counseling sessions before the three p.m. spot with Sophie. “What will this day bring?” He mused quietly.