by Emma Easter
“Let me leave you two so you can get acquainted,” Edith said, smiling. She left the living room, and Sofia sat down on the sofa. She crossed her legs and looked up at him again. He sat on the couch and faced her. Not knowing what to say, he tapped his fingers on his knees, hoping she would speak first. But she did not.
The silence stretched between them, and he searched his mind for something to say. But for some reason he could not come up with anything. He shuffled his feet, hating the awkward silence, and then glanced at her. She did not seem in the least bit uncomfortable, but she also didn’t seem like she was about to start a conversation any time soon. He had to start one before she started to believe he was a boring, empty-headed person. If he did not find something to say, she might decide she did not want to go ahead and marry him. Even though he had paid the first installment so that he didn’t have to worry about whether she found him boring or not, she did not look like someone who needed the money. Who knew why she was doing this. Maybe it was because she was bored with her life. The worst thing that could happen then was he bored her further. He blinked in surprise when she spoke.
“So… Jude — that’s your name, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “And you are Sofia?”
For the first time since she’d come into the living room, she gave him a small smile. “Yes. This is awkward, isn’t it?”
He exhaled. “Yes. It’s more than awkward. It is kinda excruciating.”
Her smile widened, and then it melted away. She glanced at her long, manicured nails and pursed her lips.
He scolded himself for not being able to come up with something interesting to say. He wouldn’t exactly call himself the friendliest person, and quite a few people thought he was stand-offish. But they were people who didn’t know him well. He could be the life of the party when he was in the mood, but he was definitely the friendliest when he was with people he knew well. He was just meeting her for the first time, and the awkwardness of their situation made it even harder not to be anxious. But he had to get out of his head so she could get to know the real him, and he, her.
She looked up at him and said, “They want us to get to know each other so the marriage can seem real, but we both know this is nothing but a business arrangement. The earlier we get married and get this over with, the earlier we can both get what we want and get a divorce.” She narrowed her eyes as she stared at him. “I hope we are on the same page.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I hope you understand that this is strictly a business arrangement and nothing more. We’re not friends or even acquaintances, so we don’t have to pretend we are when we’re in private. We will do whatever we have to in order to convince the immigration officers that the marriage is real, but I don’t want either of us to forget that it isn’t.”
Jude bristled. Why was she speaking as if he had told her he wanted anything more than exactly what she’d stated? He said coldly, “Yes, I know this is a business arrangement. How could I forget? It has already cost me a couple thousand dollars.”
She shrugged, and he glared at her. She did not seem to even want to get acquainted with him, let alone get to know him enough to make the relationship believable. He was now certain that she did not care about the money and, therefore the success of this business arrangement. Why on earth she was doing this, then? If she did not care, why would she decide to go through the process?
But even if she didn’t care, he did. It was therefore left to him to try to make this work. He had a lot to lose even though she clearly did not. He injected a smile into his voice and said, “What’s your last name, Sofia? And where did you grow up?”
She pressed her lips tightly together and did not answer.
He sighed loudly. So, she was the kind of girl who treated people condescendingly. It was almost as though she didn’t want this to work out. He sighed again. Well, he did. And he would try his best to make it work. He had a lot to lose if he didn’t. He tried again, but this time he decided to remind her that she had a part to play in their arrangement. “Sofia, you know we need to get to know each other better in order to make this relationship believable to the immigration agents.”
She lifted her brows, shrugged, and still said nothing.
He groaned inwardly. This was a waste of time. He would have to tell Shaffar to find someone else; someone who cared enough about the money to try to make this work. Someone who did not look like they spent their days shopping and lounging around. But he knew it would not be a good idea. It had not been easy to find another girl who would agree to marry him in such a short notice after Maya had pulled out. They had found her by luck. If this did not work out, especially as time was not on his side, he would be in big trouble. He had to try to win her over no matter how offensive her attitude was. This had to work.
He looked at her again. She still looked disinterested. He desperately searched his mind for something to say that would capture her interest, but as hard as he tried, he could not come up with anything. He didn’t even know what would interest her.
The front door opened, and he groaned loudly. Shaffar and Flynn walked into the living room still talking in hushed tones and sat on the couch across from them. Any minute now, Shaffar would say it was time to leave, and he still hadn’t made any connection with Sofia.
What’s wrong with you today, Jude? Why couldn’t he come up with anything interesting to say?
Shaffar looked at him. “I hope you two have gotten to know each other some,” he said. “It’s time for us to leave, Jude.” He whispered in Jude’s ear, “It is all in your hands now. After today, you are on your own. You will have to sweep Sofia off her feet… or at least make her willing and ready to marry you in less than a month.” He grinned. “But I’m sure you will manage just fine.”
Jude said nothing, but his heart continued to race. This first meeting with Sofia had been a disaster.
Shaffar stood up and turned to Flynn. “We’ll talk later, my man.”
His heart beat with desperation as he looked at Sofia. Say something to her Jude. Anything. He opened his mouth and said the first thing he could think of. “Will you go on a date with me this Friday, Sofia?” He groaned inwardly after he’d spoken. With how disinterested she had looked throughout their meeting, she probably had no interest continuing with this arrangement, let alone go on a date with him. She would probably say no.
She looked away briefly and then turned to him again. He was surprised when he saw tears in her eyes. He blinked, even more surprised when she said angrily, “Fine! I will go on a date with you.”
He stared at her for a brief moment. He did not know whether to be relieved or offended that she had so reluctantly agreed to go out with him. He finally smiled in relief. At least she did not totally loathe him. She had agreed to see him again. They could get to know each other better then, but he had to be better prepared. He could not act the same way he’d done today, not being able to think of anything interesting to say to her. Everything had to go right next time. He could not afford to mess it up.
He left the house with Shaffar, his mind focused on his future date with Sofia. It was in only two days. He already had an idea of where to take her. Somewhere he was sure she had not been in a long time. Somewhere he hoped she would enjoy and open up to him. But he could be wrong and she would hate his idea. If that happened, his journey to the altar might end as quickly as it had begun.
Chapter 7
Sofia brought out a plain black dress from Edith’s closet and tossed it on the bed. It was the outfit she was going to wear for her date with Jude. She sighed as Edith walked into the room, her eyes fixed on the dress, a frown on her face.
“Is that what you’re going to wear for your date?” Edith asked.
Sofia glared at her. “Yes! This is what I’m going to wear. What is wrong with it?”
“You need to put in some effort, Sofia,” Edith said.
“Why?” Sofia turned awa
y from her. “What’s the point of putting in any effort? It’s not as if it’s a real date. It’s all a sham.” She sat down on the bed and closed her eyes. This was what she had been reduced to. She was about to go on a date with some guy that she had to marry just so she could feed and house herself. She opened her eyes and glowered at Edith, who was staring at her as though she were a clueless child. She had no choice but to go on this date, but she did not have to like it.
Edith grabbed the black dress from the bed and shoved it back into the closet. Sofia protested, but Edith turned away from her and rifled through the closest, going through the clothes Sofia had. Most of her outfits were not in the closet as she could not fit them all into the tiny space. She still had another suitcase full of clothes, which was on the other side of the room. She had not unpacked the clothes in the suitcase as she’d needed none of them. She had not gone out since she’d moved in with Edith. She’d felt too mentally tired to venture out of the house. This date would be the first time she would actually do so.
Edith tossed a bright yellow fitted dress to her and grinned. “Wear this.”
“Nope!” Sofia tossed the dress aside. “I’m not wearing it. I don’t want to give that guy any ideas… like that I particularly care about the date. The earlier we both establish that this really is nothing more than a business deal, the better it will be for us. Besides, the dress reminds me way too much of George. I bought it when we were in Italy. As much as the date with Jude will not be real, I don’t want to be thinking about another man. We have to get to know each other sufficiently, so that won’t do.”
“Well, at least you’re getting your head in the game, Sofia. You need to get to know Jude well enough to recite the details of his life in your sleep if need be. You will need to know everything about him in preparation for your immigration interview. The earlier you start getting to know each other, the better.”
Sofia groaned. “Please Edith, I don’t want to be reminded that I am soon going to get married to a guy I don’t know, and then go through all that trouble of trying to get him a Green card, just so I can have some money to live on.”
Edith laughed. “You don’t want to be reminded about it, and yet you’re about to go on a date with Jude.” She sat down on the bed next to Sofia. “At least he is not an ogre. You have to admit that he’s very handsome.”
Sofia snorted. “Yes, he is handsome, but what does that matter? It would not make a difference to me if he was an ogre.”
“Ah ha! So you’re admitting that he is handsome.” Edith grinned. “Flynn did right by you.”
“Anyone with eyes can see that he is handsome. But it means nothing to me.” She stood up and grabbed the sundress from the bed. Shoving it back into the closet, she brought out the black dress again. “This is what I am wearing, Edith. And don’t try to talk me out of it.”
Edith huffed. “I’m just trying to help. This will be much easier if both of you found each other attractive.” She gave Sofia a mischievous wink. “Wait, you already find him attractive.”
“Did I say that?” Sofia glowered at Edith.
“You said he was handsome.”
“Because he is. But as you know, he is not my type at all. I like more seasoned men.”
“By seasoned, you mean older, married men.” Edith shook her head.
Sofia winced as her mind went to George. “Thank you for bringing George into this conversation!”
Edith frowned. “Well, you were the one who actually brought him into the conversation first.” She looked into Sofia’s eyes. “Don’t blow this, Sofia. For your sake and for Jude’s as well. You both have a lot to lose if you do.”
“You are talking as though I’m going to get a million dollars from this deal rather than just ten thousand dollars.”
“Ten thousand dollars is nothing to cough at. And at this particular point in time, it might as well be a million dollars.” She put her hand on Sofia’s shoulder and said softly, “There is a lot on the line. You remember that, don’t you?”
“Anytime I try to forget, you’re always here to remind me,” Sofia snorted.
Edith smiled. “I don’t want to quarrel with you, Sofia. Not now. I need for you to be in a good mood so this deal will work out.”
Sofia folded her arms across her chest and stared at her. “Talking about this deal, how much is Flynn getting from it?”
“Don't worry about that, Sofia. He’ll get some money, but the most important thing is that he’s making connections that will bring in even more in the future.”
Sofia shook her head and sighed wearily. What had she gotten herself into? She was now aligned with criminals. When she’d met Edith in college, she would never have guessed that they would one day be here talking about her marrying some immigrant so he could get his Green card in exchange for cash. She stifled the intense worry that rose up in her heart and began to undress quickly. She slipped into the knee-length black dress and turned her back to Edith so her friend could help her with the zipper.
Edith finished, and Sofia turned to look at her. “Is this okay?” she asked Edith, and then shrugged before she got an answer. “Don’t bother answering. It doesn’t matter if it is okay or not. It will have to do either way.”
Edith chuckled. “You know it’s better than okay. You look great as always. Was it George who bought this dress, too?”
Sofia sighed as pain went through her.
“I’m sorry for bringing him into our conversation again.” Edith tilted her head. “You still miss him, don’t you?”
“Very much,” Sofia said.
“Even after all he has done to you. After everything he has taken away from you.”
“Yes, Edith. If he came back now and apologized, I would take him back immediately. I miss him that much.”
Edith didn’t say anything for almost a minute, and then she gave Sofia a sad smile. “You have to put him behind you, Sofia. Try to get to know Jude as much as possible and open up to him so he can also get to know everything about you. I know you can be extremely charming when you want to, but you’ve changed so much since you and George broke up. You need to bring back that exuberant girl I knew.”
“I don’t know if I can, Edith. I think George was the one who brought out that part of me.”
“That’s a lie, Sofia! You were like that before you met George. Remember, I’ve known you since college. You need to forget about George completely and focus on your future. You have a bright future in front of you.”
“Yes, a bright future married to stranger,” Sofia said sarcastically.
Edith burst out laughing, and Sofia frowned. “Please, Sofia, being married to a handsome guy like Jude cannot be that bad.”
“Handsome and poor! Let’s not forget that part.”
“Yeah, I know you’re used to the good things in life and a man taking care of you. But all that has ended. At least for now. You have to start taking care of yourself. Besides, I don’t know why you’re so worried. You will divorce Jude as soon as he gets his Green card.”
“You don’t know why I’m so worried?” Sofia narrowed her eyes. “How about the fact that all this is illegal and the government might come after me if it all goes wrong.”
“Sofia, let’s not think about that right now. Things will not go wrong if you know everything there is to know about your future husband. I feel as though Jude tried much harder to get to know you on your first meeting than you did. In fact, you didn’t seem to try at all. You have to open up to him so...”
“Yes, yes! I know. You’ve said all that before.”
“I mean it, Sofia. Give this a chance. Give Jude a chance.”
Sofia did not answer. She grabbed her purse from the bed, opened it, and bought out her phone. She scrolled through her messages and found the address of the restaurant she was supposed to meet Jude at for their date. They hadn’t even exchanged numbers when they met, so he’d had to send the message through Flynn.
“I think the restaurant I
am supposed to meet Jude at for our date isn’t far from your house,” she said to Edith. She read out the address and the name of the restaurant and then looked up in confusion when Edith started to laugh. “What is so funny?”
“It's not exactly a restaurant, sweetie. It’s a new fast-food place that just opened near here. I know you are used to only going to posh restaurants because of George, but welcome to my world.”
Sofia grunted. She looked down at her black dress. She was probably overdressed, even wearing this simple LBD. “And you wanted me to wear that yellow dress. That would have been too much.”
“Well, I didn’t know you were going to have your first date in a fast food place. But I should have.”
Sofia glared at her. “Just as I said… a poor husband.” She slipped her feet into a pair of ballet flats instead of the pumps she had planned to wear.
Edith smiled at her. “Aren’t you supposed to be heading out for your date now?”
She sighed. “I wish I didn’t have to go.”
She slung her purse on her shoulder and walked out of the room.
Chapter 8
Sofia chose to walk to the venue of the date since it was not far from Edith’s. She arrived about ten minutes later, and for a moment she stood in front of the brightly-colored, clearly new, fast food place. She tried to calm her anxiety by taking a few deep breaths.
You can go back and forget all about this, she told herself.
But then what? Flynn would insist that Edith throw her out of the house. She had no money and no job. As Edith had gleefully reminded her, she had nothing to her name.
She strolled into the fast food restaurant and looked around. Hopefully, Jude was here and she did not have to sit waiting for him. There was a crowd of people in the place, and it was quite noisy. She had not been in a fast food restaurant in years.