Savior In The Dark (8 page)

          He laughed and said, “Whatever you want to do. I have a lot of changes to make and I need a woman’s touch, because I am going to be teaching you how to teach self-defense karate for women, so they are not vulnerable like you were that night long ago. I can’t, and don’t want to see another woman being attack. These courses are going to be free for women only. So you still have to train with Peter or Dan to start learning the way of basic self-defensive. You already know some of the basics from what I’ve taught you. Do you remember? Well, I want us to have the women in this town trained for free, if they want to take lessons.” I told him how much I liked the idea. “We can use the money I’ve received from the companies that gave me draft checks.” 

       “Do you have a lawyer for that proposal you received?” I asked.

        “Not yet. I wanted to ask you to go with me. You are my partner after all.” 

         Shocked, I asked, “In what way partners? You have Peter and Dan. I thought they were your partners?” He told me they were offered some money to open their own studio and Peter was going to be Dan’s half partner. They like that stuff so they can get a name for themselves. They were eating it up.”

         Then he got up and walked toward his dresser. He went to get something, and he put it wherever he retrieved it from. I had a feeling I knew what it was. I was nervous as he came towards me. I was sitting down and I just pretended to look to the side out the window.

    Then I saw that he had sat next to me and in my mind it was strange to have him sitting next to me like that. “Since you are my partner,” he said. “You deserve this.” And he unopened his hands. In his hand, he held a key. In my mind, I was thinking, “What the heck?” He saw my face was expecting something else. So he went on and told me, “Sophia, this key has been locked away for so long, and I have waited for someone like you when I had lost my ideal love and my dream of being with someone for the rest of my life.” I looked at him with teary eyes, as he went on and then he said, “Will you accept my key to my heart?” He was waiting for an answer from me.

          I looked at him with warmth and love and told him, “Yes, I will Victor, I will.”

          “Well in that case,” he said, “in my other hand you will love better.” Confused for a moment, I then realized it was a wedding ring. I cried and laughed. “I was scared you were going to say no. Accepting the key to my heart is everything to me, my heart, my soul and my love. Will you marry me?” And this time, I hugged and kissed him passionately. He broke the kiss as he looked at me said, “I’m going to guess that is a YES?”

       “YES! YES! YES!” I cried. We just held each other for it seemed like hours, but it was just minutes.

Chapter 9
 
 
A New Beginnin
g
                           

                       
~~§§~~                           

        I was floating on a cloud all day. I was deeply in love with the man of my dreams. He also loved me back. Victor looked over at me and saw that I was awake. He told me, giggling, “You just thought it was the key, huh?” I looked the other way from him.

       “No, I wasn’t. I thought it was sweet that you would give me the key to your heart.” 

        He laughed, “Sophia, you can’t lie to me.” He asked me to look at him. I couldn’t. Then he was fully awake and came behind me and pinned me down to the bed, forcing me to look at him. I couldn’t take it any longer. He got me. I was laughing.

        I was giggling and laughed, “Okay I give, okay I did lie. Happy now?” He kissed me and told me to get dressed, as we had to be somewhere in an hour. He had me. I just couldn’t stand to be tickled and stared at like he was right.

       “Come on, we have an appointment,” he said. “I was wondering where we were off to. Victor had been somewhat secretive with me lately. We both left, and Victor was driving and pulled up to a nice building downtown. It had underground parking and a valet person came and got his keys and gave him a tag. I was very curious about what we were doing here. So we headed towards the elevators and he punched in the twelfth floor. I asked him what was going on. All he said was I would see.

             We finally reached the twelfth floor and it was a lawyer’s office. Then it hit me. He had to get a lawyer for the draft checks. I wondered if he had made a deal. He calmly went to the reception area and said, “I have an appointment with Mr. Jackson.” She looked at her log sheet and told Victor to have a seat, while she notified Mr. Jackson that he was here waiting. So we went to sit down. I looked around and saw that everything was so fancy. I felt so out of place. Within ten minutes of waiting, we were called in to Mr. Jackson’s office.

        The lawyer, Mr. Jackson, greeted us and led us to a conference room, where other people were waiting. I was wondering why we’re we in the wrong room. We were ordered to take our seats, and Victor held the chair for me and I sat down. Wondering why were there with these people, I soon found out. Mr. Jackson started talking, saying, “Welcome friends. I gathered you all here today because of news that affects everyone here, mostly Sophia St. John and everyone here who are part owners in stock of the company. I am going to read from a will. From the late, Samuel St. John. “Ms. Sophia St. John, are you confused?  Didn’t Victor fill you in?”

        “No, what is going on? I’m confused.”

        “Well, Ms. St. John…”

        “No call me Sophia.”
        “Okay Sophia, I gather you didn’t know your father well after your mother died? Am I correct?

           “Yes, he left me with my Aunt to raise me.”

            “Mr. Jackson,” I said boldly, “please just tell me what is going on.”

           “Okay Sophia, well, I am not sure if you were aware about your father’s condition?”

           “What do you mean condition? What are you talking about?

           Victor told me to hear him out. I looked at him and wondered if he knew about this all along. So he continued and told me, “Your father had some assets that were interest bearing accounts. And he passed away about a month ago. It took me a while to find you. When Victor won that fight, even though it was not known to the public, but was known to corporations such as my own, Victor was not aware of this, but that blank draft he received after, when he won the fight, there was a condition for that money to be released. Your father was a wealthy man, Sophia. He left a will, leaving you sole owner of his company. Your father was the President and owner of his company “New Fashion Magazine.”

          I was surprised. “Say this is a joke? I have heard of that Magazine and it is very popular. How, wait. Hang on…..” I was so overwhelmed that whatever came out of my mouth didn’t come out right. Then it hit me my father had come to the diner to talk to me and I didn’t want anything to do with him. He had been out of my life since my mother’s death.

      I’m sorry I thought you knew about his condition. He had cancer. I was his lawyer. Victor called me the other day to find out about the draft check, if it was real. Well everyone you see here, they are interested in buying the Magazine Company from you. They wanted to come in person to give you offers. Your father left a condition, if you ever decided to sell, you would get the money and still have a stake in the company. So you will be a wealthy woman.

            “Do I still get the money if I decide to keep the company going?” I asked. 

            “Yes, it is stated in the will that you will still keep the money after he relinquished control to you and could keep the company if you decided to. But Mr. Jackson’s face looked down and he then passed towards me a paper with numbers on it and said. “This paper shows who everyone is who is interested in buying your father’s company.” 

         “Can I look this over with another lawyer before I make any decision?” I asked.

         Mr. Jackson turned and said sure, but we will need an answer by tomorrow. I hope you understand. This company is running without a head and the ones who are running it are not doing so great. If I were you, he tells me out of earshot from others. Take the highest offered on the list.”

         “Okay, let me talk this over with my fiancé,” I replied. “I will get back to you tomorrow.” I looked at Victor. He looked at me with a sad face. The information that I just received was not expected. Now she knew why he was at the diner when they kicked him out. As did Victor. We both left to go home.

            I couldn’t find the words to say what I was thinking about what I had been told. My father was trying to tell me. Why didn’t he tell me way before this? Having to find out like this is not the way I or anyone would want to find out. I didn’t see his name in the paper at all. I didn’t know where he was living. But it is something to think about.

        The next day, I couldn’t sleep and I stayed up all night talking to Victor about what I should do. Coming to find out the draft check would have come either way, didn’t calm me. But Victor was counting on that money and another check that wasn’t so large from winnings. I found out that Victor took a bet on himself. And of course he got a nice pay out, since he was an unknown in the undercards. Now people wanted him to fight in other fights. He had turned them down. He even gave them back the belt, saying he had just wanted just that one fight. But still he was getting offers regardless.

      When I woke up, I had made up my mind what to do. I told him I was going to keep the money and the business. The money would go towards the studio for the kids, and for Peter and Dan to run another studio for more kids. I wanted to revamp the magazine to a Karate Magazine. He asked me how I was going to do that. I told him it would be easy, as the staff there liked the idea and we could feature the kids from your studio, getting them attention as well as the studio. Pretty soon you will have to open more studios. Then Victor made the call for me, and I stepped outside for fresh air. I was thinking,
Why I didn’t make the call?
Then it was done. We had the money and the business. We hired some professional to help revamp the magazine from fashion to a karate magazine. Then we got to work on it. 

   A month went by. I was officially Mrs. Sophia Vons, and I woke up and Victor right there by my side has my breakfast waiting for me. “Good morning Mrs. Vons”. Then I looked at him and said your mother is here? Laughing, he told me to be good or he would spank me otherwise. I told him to try it as I could take him on. Then right at that moment, I got up, but I ran into the bathroom and started throwing up. And I knew then I was pregnant. He came in and asked if I was okay.  With  a worry look on his face.

         “Well, in about eight months or so, I will be."   He did not get it at first, and then it hit him. “OMG are you, are you telling me you are pregnant? I tell him do you think I am joking. But I was crying which confused him. I told him the news of it confirms what I long ago feared, but was now ready to accept. I told him I was about seven weeks along. And he wondered how and when I had gone to the doctor. I told him it was when he was busy with the kids in the new studio. And then I asked him if he was happy. He grinned and smiled and picked me up and put me down fast. Oh sorry, don’t want to harm you. I told him it was okay, that the baby would be fine. My next appointment, you can go with me so you can hear the baby’s heartbeat. Then he was on the phone telling Peter, Dan and his father. We were all happy.

      Everything was like a fairy tale. I now had a wonderful gorgeous husband who adored me and now more so than ever. I was carrying his child in my womb. I had something of my father’s that he left me. In his office when I entered, I didn’t know what to expect. But inside the desk was a letter addressed to me personally which was handwritten. I carefully opened it and read its contents which said:

    
My Dear Sophie,

    I wish I was here to tell you I am so proud of you, of how you have grown into a beautiful woman. I am so, so sorry I could not claim back the lost years. If I could, I would have done things differently. I loved your mother and keeping you, reminded me so much of her. I was already angry about losing her. But I made the worst mistake by having your aunt take care of you instead of me. I made a go of this “Fashion Magazine” and whatever you decide to do with it is up to you. You are a part of me, so I hope you will forgive me and never forget me. Your boyfriend Victor, honey is a good man and if you two were to get married in the future, you will have my blessing. I am sorry I am telling you this in a letter. As your mother had saved me, I lost her so in me I lost everything, including you. I see that now. I will watch over you always, if you have children, I will watch over them as well. Don’t make the same mistakes I did. I always loved you. If you decided to keep the company, I would know because you are reading this letter. Please forgive me and remember I never stopped loving you.

           You made me proud and will always be my little girl, Sophia. I will miss you, but I will see you again one day with your mother.

                                            Love Always,

                                            Your Dad, always.  I love you so much.             

         
Right at that moment, Victor came inside the office and could see I had found it. And I looked at him, he told me he saw it there but left it for me to read. Right there, I knew I had mad
e
th
e
right decision and I knew what I was running from. I was running awayfrom my Father’s lov
e.
I was a fool not to give him a chance. But now I knew. I would have a baby soon and Victor was tickled pink about it. Now we were off to shop for baby stuff.