Sophie's Heart (67 page)

One of the most entertaining events of the summer was the annual Fourth of July picnic in Mazomanie. It was wonderful to attend this year as Alec’s wife. Some of the folks from the church had been at the wedding, and the new Mrs. Riley was greeted warmly. It was a great day, but the best was yet to come. Sophie’s birthday was just ten days later, on July 15, and Alec had something special in mind.

It was Saturday, two days before her birthday, and Alec had been in a wild mood all day. It started with the end of Sophie’s shower that morning. There was a hook on the wall right outside the shower stall, and both husband and wife used it to hang their towels. On this day, when Sophie pulled back the curtain, a washcloth hung in place of her towel. When her laughter rang out, Alec’s head poked in the door, his eyes full of fun.

“What is it?” he asked innocently.

Sophie giggled. “Something has happened to my towel.”

Alec pointed to the washcloth. “Isn’t that it?”

“Oh, Alec, you are very much.”

She had the phrase wrong, but he didn’t correct her.

“I am very much,” he said as he grabbed her towel from its hiding place and handed it to her. “Very much in love with you.”

And that had been the start to a wonderful day. Lunch was eaten at Sophie’s favorite restaurant, and then the whole family went for a bike ride. She was tired that night, but it was a good kind of weary. Rita was not weary at all and was in the mood to talk, so Sophie was in her stepdaughter’s room for some time. When she emerged, she couldn’t locate Alec. He wasn’t upstairs and the downstairs was quiet and empty, too. It was already dark outside, so she didn’t bother to look in the backyard. She did a little cleaning up in the kitchen, turned the light out to go into the family room, and then she spotted him. He was in the backyard with a flashlight. No, that wasn’t it.

Sophie moved to the door and went out. None of the outside lights were on, and since the moon was little more than a sliver, it was rather dark. However, she just followed the glow.

“Oh, Alec,” Sophie gasped when she got close enough to see that he was holding a large jar full of fireflies. He must have caught dozens because it glowed all the time.

“Happy birthday, love.”

“Oh, Alec,” she said again and took the jar as he handed it to her. “I love it. They are so wonderful.”

Alec studied her face as best he could and waited tensely. Her eyes shot to his when she heard it—a tinkling sound in the bottom of the jar. Sophie held it up and looked closer. Alec heard her gasp.

“Oh, Alec, what have you done?”

“I thought it was more important to have the new bedroom set in May, but I always wanted you to have a diamond.”

“I want to hold it, but I do not want to let them go.”

Alec laughed. “I’m afraid you can’t have both.”

After just a moment’s indecision, she twisted the lid.

“Don’t turn it upside down,” Alec cautioned.

“Oh! I might have! You do it.” She shoved it into his hands and waited. Alec took the lid off and shook the jar a little. Some of the bugs flew out, but others still bumped into the glass.

“Cup your hands together,” he told her, and Sophie obeyed. With great care he tipped the jar over. Sophie felt it land in her hand, but still did not move. Alec placed the jar on the grass before he reached for Sophie’s hands.

“Do be careful, Alec. It is so dark.”

“Here,” he cupped his larger hands on the outside of hers, closing them over the ring. “Let’s walk up to the house.”

It was awkward, but no one noticed. Sophie was in a dream world, and Alec was triumphant over pulling off his surprise. Once at the back door, cement beneath them and not grass, Alec turned on the light and opened Sophie’s hands. He flicked away a remaining firefly and gently picked up the gold band with its beautiful little diamond. He reached for Sophie’s left hand and slid the ring as far as he could manage. Sophie pushed it over her knuckle and looked down to see it lying perfectly alongside her wedding band.

“Oh, Alec,” she breathed. “I never dreamed…”

They were attracting mosquitoes, so Alec hustled Sophie into the kitchen. Once inside he shut the door, leaned against it, and brought Sophie into his arms. She reached up and cupped his face.

“I am so pampered by you,” she told him. “My favorite person in the world treats me like a rare stone. Thank you, Alec.”

He gently kissed her.

“I also want you to know something else I’ve done for your birthday. I’ve started a special savings account for your grandmother, should she ever decide to move here or visit.”

“Oh, Alec, thank you. I can close my account and add that money to yours.”

“Sure. I’ll give you the passbook.”

“She was so pleased with the wedding pictures,” Sophie went on. “She said she cried when she saw me in my dress.”

“You were beautiful,” Alec told her and then tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. He studied his handiwork, and then looked at Sophie to find her staring at her diamond.

“Isn’t it pretty?”

“Yes,” but Alec was still watching her face.

They kissed again, and then Alec whispered something low and intimate in her ear. With an enthusiastic smile, Sophie pushed from his arms so Alec could lock up downstairs, and then went to await him in their room. It had been such a lovely day, and her birthday was still to come on Monday. One of the psalms rang in Sophie’s head as her husband joined her. It was Psalm 136, where all 26 verses reminded her that God’s lovingkindness is everlasting. His love was such a wonder to Sophie that she reveled in it. But she was also wise enough to ask God to remind her of this fact whenever life did not seem so right or when she was able to find little over which to be thankful.

Sophie cried all the way home from Indiana. Rita, happy as a lark, was settled in with a great roommate in a great school, but Sophie still cried.

“It’s all right, Sophie,” Alec tried to comfort his wife from behind the wheel.

“You have had her for almost 19 years. I have only just found her.” Sophie cried even harder after that. “She will not even be home for her birthday in September.”

There was no consoling her. Alec could see that she was trying to control herself, but the tears still came. Eventually, she exhausted herself and fell asleep for over an hour. She missed the worst of the Chicago traffic and that was something of a blessing, but she was still a bit teary the rest of the way home. The week to follow was not much better.

Sophie had bouts of weeping at the strangest times. She burst into tears over a TV commercial and cried buckets when she burnt a pan of cookies. Over a week had passed when Alec came home at supper time to find the kids working on dinner. It was so reminiscent of the way he had come home when Vanessa was killed that for a moment he couldn’t say anything.

“Where’s Sophie?” he finally managed.

“She wasn’t feeling well, so she went upstairs.” This came from Tory, who was looking very strained. Alec went and put a hand on her shoulder.

“I’ll go up,” Alec said. “And thanks, you guys, for pitching in.”

Alec opened the bedroom door quietly in case Sophie was asleep, but she was sitting on the bed, her back to him, her body shaking with sobs. Alec sat down and put his arm around her. Her face was a mess, swollen and red, and when she tried to speak he could barely understand her.

“I am sorry, Alec. I cannot stop this.”

“It’s all right, honey. Are you in pain?”

“No,” she stuttered through every word. “I just cannot help myself.”

“Is it about Rita?”

“No. God has given me peace with that, but the tears still come.”

Alec let her rest against him, and it did the trick because she quieted after a few more minutes. She took huge, gulping breaths, but for the moment the tears had abated. Alec wiped the damp hair from her cheeks and gave her a tissue.

“Sophie,” he now asked gently, “what time of the month is it?”

Sophie looked at him, her eyes growing huge before her face crumpled. She was off again. Alec had to laugh.

“Is it on its way, or already here?”

“On its way,” she howled, and Alec urged her to lie down, all the while chuckling silently. It was either that or cry with her.

She was somewhat calmer when he went down to eat, and Alec was able to assure the kids that she was going to be fine in a few days. Tory, who had grown up so much that year, offered to take her some food. The 12-year-old was right back down, however, telling her father that Sophie was asleep. Sophie slept through the night, and Alec would have thought nothing of this, until he came home the following week in the middle of the day and found Sophie sound asleep on the family room sofa. Sophie woke after some minutes to find Alec in a chair, simply watching her.

“Oh, Alec.” Sophie was very groggy. “I did not hear you.”

“Did you tell me that you fell asleep yesterday afternoon, too?”

“Yes,” Sophie told him, still without the energy to even sit up.

“I think you need to see a doctor.”

Sophie became alert then. Her eyes found his; he looked serious.

“You think I am sick?”

“No. I think you’re pregnant.”

She responded just as he knew she would. Eyes first on the ceiling and then back on him before her hand went to her abdomen. She didn’t speak for some minutes.

“My period never started.” She stated this as though just realizing it. Alec was well aware of the fact, but didn’t comment.

“I stopped dreaming for such things when I was still a teen,” she now told him. “And after saying good-bye to Rita, I was selfishly glad that I would never have to say good-bye to a child of my flesh, but now…Do you really think so, Alec?”

“Yes. You’re not ill like Vanessa was, but you have little appetite these days, and your tears and fatigue tell me something is going on.”

Again she lay still and looked at the ceiling.

“Are home pregnancy tests expensive?” she wished to know.

“I don’t know, but I can pick one up on the way home tonight.”

“I do not want Craig and Tory to know. At least not now.”

“That’s fine. I think the test is something you have to do first thing in the morning, so you could check tomorrow.”

Sophie nodded. “How do you feel about this, Alec?”

“I think I’ll be relieved. You haven’t been yourself lately.”

“And if I’m not expecting?”

Alec sighed.
Would You really ask me to give up another wife, Lord?
his heart asked, but in the same instant, he knew God would enable him.

“We’ll deal with that if and when the time comes.”

Those were the words that hung in Sophie’s mind for the remainder of the day and until she fell asleep that night. She rose early to do the test, and Alec stayed home with her. They stood in the master bathroom together and looked at the little red plus sign.

“A baby,” Sophie whispered, and then looked into her husband’s face. “I am going to have a baby, Alec. A little person with tiny fingers and ears. It is too wondrous.”

Tears clogged Alec’s throat as he watched her. Her joy was infectious. He thought he might still be in a state of shock over this news. After all, he was going to be 41 in three months, probably halfway to 42 by the time the baby was born.

“Are you all right, Alec?”

“Yes,” he told her honestly. The idea was growing more real to him with each passing minute. He wrapped his arms around Sophie and she asked, “What about Craig and Tory?”

“Let’s wait until after school today. Since this is Friday, it’ll give them the weekend to get used to the idea.”

“And Rita?”

“We’ll call her.”

Sophie studied his face. “You are sure you are all right?”

He kissed her. “I won’t tell you I’m not surprised, but I’m fine.”

“And what will the children say, Alec?”

Sophie looked so vulnerable that Alec silently begged God to let them be accepting.

“Don’t worry about it,” he spoke with assurance. “We’ll tell them tonight after supper, and everything will be fine.”

“A baby?” Tory stared at her father and stepmother. “You’re going to have a baby?” She now turned to Craig. “A baby, Craig. I never thought of that.” And upon that, she burst into tears.