Did she even want to?
Chapter Eighteen
Sophie’s indecision nagged her the rest of the week. In a town as small as Zutphen, she’d probably run into him. So she didn’t call him, but she kept her eyes open for him — at the roller rink, at the grocery store, wherever there were tall, blond guys. Which, in this town, was everywhere.
Getting ready for Wednesday night church, her unease flared up again. Nate’s parents attended Zutphen church, and if Nate was staying with them, he’d probably be there. She began her rehearsal with the kids by closing the door firmly, as if closing him out of her thoughts. For some reason, the children behaved, and they seemed to know what they were doing. The twins, now that various family members took turns sitting with them, settled down and participated in the rehearsal. She’d almost forgotten about Nate until she was on her way out of the church.
Nate’s parents followed her.
“Hello there, Sophie. How have you been?” Lila Vosman asked.
“I’m fine, thank you. How are you?”
“We’re just wonderful, now that Nate is back. He told me he saw you at the mall a few days ago.”
“Yes, that was quite a surprise. I didn’t know he was coming back.”
“We didn’t either, until he showed up at our door.” She leaned toward Sophie as if sharing a secret. “I think he missed you.”
Sophie chose to ignore that comment. “Did Nate come tonight?”
“No, he had to work. He works every night except Sunday and Tuesday. He’ll be in church on Sunday morning.”
Great, I have another four days to decide whether or not to call him.
~~~~
On Sunday morning, Sophie sat with her sister’s family in the front pew. That wasn’t their usual place to sit, but today little Abigail would be baptized. Just before the organ prelude ended, the Vosman family slipped into the pew behind them. Nate entered the pew behind his mother, casting a nod her way before sitting down. Though Pastor Sikkema delivered his usual rousing sermon, Sophie barely heard it at all. Most of her energy was taken up resisting the urge to turn and look at Nate. She tried to block out all thoughts of him, but questions kept running through her mind. Was he visiting his parents, or had he moved back? Was he here to stay? What had happened to his acting career? She’d caught a glimpse of him in a commercial or two. And his first few letters to her had been full of casting calls and callbacks and promises of success. He’d even hinted at a few writing jobs for her. But then suddenly the letters and emails had stopped. She’d assumed he’d found someone else.
She gave herself a mental shake. She was here in church to listen and learn, not to dwell on her own thoughts. But it was no use. She woke up once when Joanie, Dave, and Joey rose for the baptism. Sophie stayed seated, though Joanie gave her a stare and crooked her head toward the front. Sophie shook her head. No, she wasn’t really a part of the family. She watched, smiled, and clapped when Pastor Sikkema took the baby up and down the center aisle to introduce her to the congregation. Each time she witnessed one of these, her heart ached a little for the children she’d hoped to have by now.
Before she knew it, the congregation was standing for the final hymn. And then the organist began playing the postlude and everyone turned to leave. She made to follow Dave and Joanie.
“Sophie,” a soft baritone voice called from behind her. His hand touched her shoulder.
She schooled her expression to one of polite interest before turning around. “Hi, Nate. What a surprise. Are you visiting your folks for the holiday?” The pitch of her voice seemed a bit high, but otherwise she was proud of the way she held it together.
Nate grimaced. “I guess you could say that. I’m here for an extended visit.”
“You must be between projects. Say, I’d love to chat, but I’ve got to get to the choir room for Sunday School.”
“All right. But, Sophie, we need to talk. Can I call you?”
She hesitated. “Sure. The number’s the same.” She scooted off before either of them could say more. If she stayed, she’d probably turn into a blubbering mess, demanding to know why he’d stopped writing and calling.
Why he’d stopped caring.
~~~~
On the other side of the aisle, Mitch watched the tall, lanky guy who’d stopped Sophie. Who was he? She didn’t seem all that excited to see him. He’d been sitting with Herb and Lila Vosman. Was he one of the Vosman boys, or was he a guest? Herbert Vosman was the town’s barber — he cut hair for the men at the Gentleman’s Cut, while his wife Lila worked on the local women next door in the Ladies’ Clip. He’d heard Herb talk about his son the actor in California and had seen pictures of him on the wall. This kid looked like the handsome young man in the eight-by-ten glossies. He’d be about Sophie’s age.
Why was he worried about the men who may or may not be part of Sophie’s life? She’d grown up there, and she already knew everyone. Work, that’s what he needed. Maybe editing his photos would distract him from this obsession with Sophie and whatever man she happened to talk to. He took Angie to Sunday School and went home. But before he booted his computer, he set a timer so that he wouldn’t be late picking her up. Melinda might be off his back, but he had no intention of leaving his daughter unattended.
Thanksgiving had gone much better than he’d expected. It had been great having his family around, especially after the confrontation with Melinda. And thanks to his kind-hearted daughter, he’d kept his relationship with his father-in-law. But even with all those people in his house, he hadn’t been able to help missing Sophie. She would have fit right in with his family. Much better than Sarah had. He’d always attributed Sarah’s unease at the Carson family gatherings to shyness. But deep inside he’d known she really couldn’t identify with their working class concerns, their casual dress, and their simple hearty menus.
Yes, he’d learned his lesson. Stick to your own kind, his grandmother had told him. He’d thought then she was being narrow-minded, but if he’d listened to her, things might have turned out different. Of course, then he wouldn’t have Angie. And he couldn’t regret having her, no matter what.
Sophie came from working stock, like him. She’d grown up in this small town, and had values like those he’d been raised with, and like he wanted to pass on to Angie. But she didn’t want to stay. Or had her plans changed? She hadn’t mentioned moving lately. And she hadn’t shied away when he’d hugged her at the mall.
Was there a chance for them?
Chapter Nineteen
The morning sun woke Sophie long before her phone alarm was due to go off. Rolling over and putting her blanket over her head failed to help her get back to sleep, so she finally sat up and reached for her to-do list.
It had been a week since she’d helped Angie shop for a dress at the mall. A week since she’d felt those yearnings for a family of her own as she sat in the food court. A week since she’d felt the warmth of Mitch’s hug.
But unless he started giving stronger signals that he wanted to develop a relationship, she needed to get her writing career going. So she listed her tasks for the day, including follow-up letters to several agents she’d contacted.
Once that was done, she went downstairs to the kitchen. Joey sat by himself at the kitchen table, devouring a bowl of cereal.
“Morning, Joey.”
“Morning.”
“Where’s your mom?”
The boy shrugged. “Probably sleeping.”
Dave entered the kitchen, shrugging his suit jacket on. “Morning, Sophie. Hey, Sport.”
Joey grunted a response, still shoveling cereal in his mouth.
“I just got a text alert. You don’t have school today. We had a monster storm last night and the outlying roads are drifted over so the school buses can’t get through. Lucky kid, you don’t have to go anywhere.” He flinched when Joey screeched and bounded into the family room to watch morning cartoons. Turning to Sophie he asked, “Did you have plans to go anywhere today?”
Sophie shook her head.
“Great. I mean, would you mind…”
“I’ll keep an eye on Joey. That’s one of the reasons I’m here.”
Dave sighed. “I know, but I hate to presume. I know you’re trying to get your script writing out there too. Joey’s a good kid, but I feel better knowing there’s someone here with him, especially with Joanie so tired. Little Abbie still isn’t sleeping through the night.”
“No problem, Dave. We’ll have a great time.”
“Super. Well, I’d better get going if the roads around here are bad enough for schools to be closed. I’ll grab a muffin from the student center if I get there early enough. Thanks again, Sophie.”
The blast of cold air drifting in when Dave opened the door to the garage slapped Sophie awake nearly as effectively as a sip of coffee. Which, she remembered, she still needed to pour for herself. She shuffled over to the coffeepot, grabbed a mug from a hook, and poured.
Since Joey was occupied with cartoons in the family room, she decided to get started on her work. Perhaps she could find some more places to send samples of her writing. She brought her laptop downstairs and booted up. First order of business was email. There was the usual mass of advertising, which she quickly deleted. There was a message from someone whose name she didn’t recognize. Was it spam? Her finger hovered over the delete key.
Curiosity finally got the better of her. She opened the message and her jaw dropped as she read.
Hello, Sophia Gardner. I have read your script for Endless Summer and am very impressed with your writing style. I believe you have a clear talent for scriptwriting and would like to represent you. I have established contacts here in the film business and can promise you this script will be seen and read by top producers. I will do the legwork for you and follow up on any calls of interest for a very modest percentage of your earnings. All I ask is a $2000 administration fee to get your paperwork set up. Payments can be made online…
Sophie skimmed through the rest of the message. Finally, an agent had read and was interested in her work! She wanted to screech and jump for joy. An agent! She imagined herself at her next party. “My agent says…” Says what? Chuckling, she tried again. “Let me discuss this with my agent.” Not bad. She focused on the plant in the corner. “I talked to my agent yesterday…”
“Aunt Sophie, who are you talking to?”
Joey stood at the archway to the den. “I came to get something to drink and I heard you talking about your agent. I thought maybe you were on the phone, but your phone is on the table. Is somebody here?”
“Uh, no. Sorry. I was just — uh — trying out some lines in a script I’m writing.”
“Oh. Cool.” He went back to his cartoons.
Pulled back to the present, she refocused on her laptop. She had more emails to sift through and her to-do list in her pocket, but she decided to share her good news first. She emailed her closest friends, and posted it on her social networking sites. “GREAT NEWS! I HAVE AN AGENT!” Almost immediately, messages of encouragement and congratulations streamed in.
She couldn’t contain her excitement.
Her cell phone rang. Thinking it was one of her friends, she snatched it up without checking to see who it was. “Good morning!”
“Hi. You’re awfully cheerful this morning.”
“Oh hi, Mitch. I guess sound excited because I just got some great news. An agent in Los Angeles likes the script I sent him and wants to represent me!”
“That’s — that’s great, Sophie. So are you going to sign with him?”
“I suppose so. He says I need to send him some information and some money, and—”
“He’s asking for money from you? Why?”
“It’s for the administration fee.”
A brief pause. “Administration fee? Listen, Sophie. Before you send him anything, would you do me a huge favor?”
“What kind of favor?”
“Wait until I contact some friends of mine in LA. There are a lot of agents who are dishonest, and you don’t want to get stuck in contracts with them. I know some people who can check him out. Give me the guy’s name and I’ll find out for you, okay?”
“Uh, sure.” She read the name and contact information from the email.
“Got it. Okay, now the reason I called was to ask if there’s any way you could come over for a little while. I got some last minute Christmas orders I need to work on today and planned to do it while Angie was in school, but with the school closed, she’s home. She’s fine on her own, but when I’m working I tend to lose track of the time and I’d feel a lot better if there was someone else here with her—”
“I’d be happy to watch her, but I need to stay here with Joey.”
“Joey will be fine right here with me.” Joanie entered the kitchen, cradling the baby on her shoulder as she made her way to the coffeepot. “I’m not bedridden anymore, now that Abbie’s here. If Mitch needs your help, go ahead.”
“Okay, thanks.” Picking up the receiver, she continued her conversation with Mitch. “Joanie’s up now, so I can come over. Give me some time to get dressed and I’ll ski over as soon as it gets light.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you whenever you get here.”
An hour later, she glided across the new snow, breathing in the cold, crisp air. By the time she got to Mitch’s, she’d worked up a sweat. Mitch met her at his back door with a cup of hot coffee.
“Thanks again for coming.”
“No problem. It’s actually quite nice outside — but then I didn’t have to plow through the drifts to get here.”
Angie bounded in. “Hi, Sophie. What are we going to do today?”
Sophie opened her backpack. “I was going to polish my nails today. Do you want to join me?”
Mitch winced at Angie’s shriek of delight. “I’ll leave you ladies to it, then. Let me know if you need anything, otherwise I’ll be working.” He went into his office and closed the door.
Sophie and Angie spent a busy morning beautifying their fingers and toes and fixing Angie’s hair. At noon, Sophie prepared toasted cheese sandwiches and soup she found in the pantry. Mitch still hadn’t surfaced from his office, so she put everything away.
After lunch, Angie decided to watch some cartoons, so Sophie took out her smart phone and checked her email. She opened and read again the message from the agent, Jonas Mack. Reading the words gave her a warm feeling of pride. But then she thought about Mitch’s warning. Was it possible the agent was a fraud? The message looked so formal, so official. There was a link to a website, and she checked it out. The man had his own agency. He boasted a success rate of 98 percent. He listed several well-known television shows that he’d sold scripts to. How could she go wrong?
“Is that the guy’s website?” Mitch asked from behind her.
She jumped. “I didn’t hear you come out of your office!”
“I’m at a good stopping point. So that’s the guy, huh?” He pointed at a photo of a distinguished looking man, well-dressed, and seated at his desk.
“I guess so. Sounds like he’s been pretty successful.”
“Anyone can say that. But asking for money up front makes me suspicious. There are a lot of sharks out there just waiting to take advantage of people.”
“You’re sounding a lot like my dad. He doesn’t trust anybody.”
“He’s probably smart. If you haven’t come in contact with people like that it’s hard to imagine it happening to you.”
“Well, I know how to take care of myself, in spite of the fact that I’m the baby of the family.”
“I’m sure you do. I just don’t want to see you throw a lot of time, let alone money, on someone who’s going to do you more harm than good. I don’t know how much time you’ve spent away from Zutphen, but there are a lot of shady people out there.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you saying I’m a naive country girl?”
“I’m not saying that at all. I’m just saying I spent
ten years working in Chicago, which isn’t as big as Los Angeles, and it seemed like it was much easier to find a dishonest businessman than an honest one.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I think I can handle figuring out who’s one of the Good Guys.” Especially if you’re not going to offer me a reason to stay, her stubborn self added. “If Jonas Mack isn’t honest, then I’ll just have to keep looking until I find someone who is.”
She felt sick with frustration. That morning she’d been so excited at getting an offer from a Hollywood agent, and then Mitch had been the one to cast a dark cloud on her euphoria. Part of her wanted to rip into him for not being supportive. The other part of her wanted him to plead with her to ignore the offer and stay there with him. But he wasn’t doing either, and she wasn’t sure how to take it.
She only knew she couldn’t stay there.
“If you’ve got enough work done for now, I need to go.” She tossed her things back into her backpack and put on her coat, ignoring Mitch’s protests. A moment later, she was on her skis and gliding back to her sister’s home. She needed to get away before she embarrassed herself by declaring her undying love or something melodramatic like that. Maybe she could put it in her next script.
Chapter Twenty
The next morning she was still in a sour mood. She knew she was being unreasonable, but she couldn’t help it. Mitch could have said something like, “Good for you!” or, “Congratulations.”
Or maybe, “I’ve got a better offer for you.”
Her cell phone chirped and she set down her coffee mug to answer it.
“Hey, Sophie. I’m glad I caught you at home. Mom says you’ve been really busy.”
Nate. She’d almost forgotten about him. How ironic. For months after he left, he was all she thought about. And now she was surprised to hear from him.
The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection Page 11