Sophie's Heart (18 page)

“Let’s go look at ‘em,” she said, her eyes telling Alec that they finally might be on the verge of agreeing on a gift.

Fifteen minutes later the saleslady was boxing up a beautiful navy wool dress coat. The styling was very simple and elegant and shouted “Rita” every time Alec looked at it. It also shouted “Vanessa,” but he worked at keeping his pain hidden.

“So how did I do?” Alec asked Tory as they left the store and started back down the mall. Hanging from his fingertips was a huge box, and Tory smiled before she answered.

“Great, Dad. Now we just need to get her something from Craig.”

“How about the candy?”

“Oh.” Tory had not thought of that. “That would be okay, but since we have to go back through Penney’s to get to the truck, there is one more thing I want you to see.”

The suddenly weary father gave a long, drawn-out sigh. “You’re going to be the death of my wallet, Tory Riley.”

“I know, Dad,” she agreed with him, “but what a way to go.”

Alec’s laughter could be heard several stores away.

“Hey, Rita.”

Both Rita and Tina turned away from the locker they shared to see Nicole Smith approaching.

“Shawn tells me that he asked you out and you turned him down.”

Rita didn’t answer, and the other girl’s face flushed with rage.

“What is it with you, Rita? Shawn’s the best-looking guy in your class. Just exactly what type of Prince Charming are you waiting for?”

“That is none of your business, Nicole,” Rita finally managed in a low voice.

“You’re a real snob, Rita. Shawn and Ashley have broken up, and now you’ve hurt him, too. I hope he never asks you out again.”

Nicole spun on her heel and walked away. Rita turned back and opened her locker, even though she had all her books. Hot tears stung her eyes, and she pressed her fingernails into her palm to keep from breaking down.

“Consider the source, Rita,” Tina told her. “Nicole’s never happy with anyone, and she’s so protective of her cousin that I wouldn’t wonder if they get married someday.”

Tina’s voice was so comical that Rita couldn’t help but smile. The girls turned away from the bank of lockers to go to class, and that’s when they spotted Shawn Smith. He was at Ashley’s locker, his face close to hers. If either of them moved, their lips would meet. The girls watched as Ashley smiled up into Shawn’s eyes and took his hand.

“He’s heartsick all right,” Tina commented. “I can see it from here.”

This time Rita really laughed.

“He must have asked you out to make Ashley jealous. Doesn’t it feel good to know you did the right thing, Rita?”

“Yes, and I’m not about to let their little soap opera ruin my birthday.” The girls walked to class, both making an effort to put the whole episode from their minds.

Sophie was expecting the kids in less than an hour when someone rang the front doorbell. This had happened occasionally for Sophie, but each time someone was peddling something and, when they heard her accent, they quickly moved on their way. They must have thought that she couldn’t understand them. In many ways it was easier to let them believe this, since Sophie was not at liberty to buy just anything for the family. This time she walked to the door wondering how long it would take for this one to run away.

“Gladys!” Sophie said with some surprise and swung the door open wide. “Come in. I am glad to see you.”

“Oh, Sophie,” Gladys spoke as she stepped across the threshold. “This is a beautiful home. I’ve never been in it before. It’s lovely.”

“I think it is very pretty too. Come in and sit down.”

Sophie didn’t feel right about using the living room for her own company, so she led the way back to the kitchen. The women took places at the kitchen table, and Sophie asked Gladys how she was doing.

“I’m doing fine, but my daughter is not.”

“Oh, no.”

“Yes. She called from Green Bay last night and the doctor has ordered bed rest until she’s past the first three months. Her husband’s family is over there, but she asked that I come and help with the boys.”

“Green Bay is here in Wisconsin?”

“Yes, over by Lake Michigan.”

“I am glad you are able to go. Can I do something for you?”

“No, Sophie, but thank you. I’ve hired a little neighbor girl to water my plants, and I think everything else will be all right. I’m not exactly sure how long I’ll be gone, but I wanted you to know that I wouldn’t be around on Sundays for a while.”

“Thank you for telling me. I will pray for you and your family.”

“Thank you, Sophie.”

“Do you have time for coffee?”

“No, I really don’t. I’ve got three hours on the road ahead of me, so I best head out.”

She walked back to the door, Sophie on her heels. Gladys stopped with her hand on the knob and turned to face Sophie.

“This house looks wonderful, my dear. The Rileys are very blessed to have you.”

Sophie smiled in genuine pleasure. “It is nice to have work noticed.”

“Yes, it is, isn’t it?”

The women embraced and the door was opened. Sophie moved onto the front porch to see her off, but Gladys stopped halfway down the path.

“Sophie, did you tell me that you don’t drive, or that you don’t drive because you don’t have a car?”

“I don’t drive.”

Gladys nodded. “I’m driving my husband’s car these days, but mine is still in the garage. If you do learn to drive, let me know. If I still have my Ford, I’d be willing to sell it to you.”

“Thank you, Gladys.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Have a good trip.”

They waved and Sophie watched her drive away. She stood for a moment on the porch and thought about Gladys’ offer, the smell of the newly cut lawn assailing her senses. With a determined move Sophie went back into the house to the kitchen. She opened the huge Madison phone directory that always sat on the counter and turned to the Yellow Pages. It took some looking, but then she found them: two full pages of driver-training courses.

Taking up much of the page, one ad in particular jumped out at Sophie. It read:

IT’S EASY!
We Train Anyone—Adults or Teens!
Seven Days a Week and Evenings!
Dual-Control Cars!
Use Our Cars for Your Road Test!

With a shaking hand, Sophie lifted the phone and dialed the number. She was able to dial the number without adding a one, so she knew it was not long distance. Her nerves did nothing for her grasp of the language, but the kind woman patiently answered all her questions. She learned that she would pay by the hour, and the time needed would be determined by how well she did. The woman told Sophie that an instructor would actually come to the home of interested adults and take them out on the road.

Payment was expected at the end of each lesson. Although the hourly fee was high, it was lower than another ad that required hundreds of dollars up front. Sophie was not certain what a dual-control car was, but she did understand that they would even allow her to take her driving test in one of their vehicles. When she hung up, her heart was pounding.

“I want to do this, Lord. I want to learn to drive.” There was no one in the house to hear her, so Sophie talked out loud to her heavenly Father in Czech as she absentmindedly moved about the kitchen. “I know I could. I didn’t need to drive at home, but I knew how. And there would be so many things I could do for the Rileys if I could drive. And Gladys’ car—she has offered it to me. Well, maybe that’s too much. Her things are pretty nice and they look expensive. I don’t know how costly it would be, but at least Rita could stay home from Woodman’s.

“Of course, Madison is pretty busy, but I would get used to that. And then if I didn’t have to wait until after school to shop, I know it wouldn’t be as crowded. Actually,” Sophie had yet another thought, “Mr. Riley has already said that I’m to use their van, so I wouldn’t even need Gladys’ car. I just know I should get my license.”

Sophie stopped talking then. She had not been moving for several minutes, and if someone had come in they’d have found her standing in the middle of the room, the dishcloth grasped in her hands, and her head tilted upward as she prayed.

“I will make the first step, Father,” she now whispered. “The woman said they have an opening on Tuesday morning. I’ll ask Mr. Riley if I can have Tuesday mornings off and see what he says.”

Sophie called the driving company back and scheduled an appointment for the following Tuesday. She was careful to find out about the cancellation policy and was told they needed 24 hours’ notice or she would be expected to pay half the fee. Sophie prepared her heart to talk to Mr. Riley sometime before Friday.

Fifteen

T
he next morning Sophie took time to fill out a grocery list of her own. She didn’t think they would be going shopping until next week, but she wanted to be prepared just in case. Mr. Riley had given her a generous check last week, but she had been too upset over Craig to remember to get anything when they had shopped Monday. She didn’t feel right about using anything of the Rileys that she didn’t have to, so laundry soap was added to the list of her other personal items.

She had just written hand soap on the list, when she thought of Rita. She had come down that morning wearing the most beautiful navy winter coat Sophie had ever seen, and on her head was perched an adorable matching beret. She had looked wonderful.

“They’re from my dad,” Rita had told her, the young woman’s eyes sparkling with happiness. “He and Tory shopped yesterday when I was at school. I can’t believe he did that. They’ll be great this winter!”

Sophie was a little amazed herself and wondered at the same time if Mr. Riley understood how much this meant to his daughter who stood on the threshold of womanhood. She prayed that his eyes would be opened if they were not already and went back to her list.

Craig and Tory came home from school with catalogs and order forms to sell chocolate. Craig’s look was a bit guarded, but he sat at the kitchen table with Sophie and said, “We’re putting the money toward computer equipment. We have one upstairs, but a lot of kids don’t, and this is their chance to learn.”

“What a good plan,” Sophie told him and paged through the large brochure. “It all looks so good, but I have not made cash from my check, so I do not know if I can order.”