The Secret Life of Daydreams (25 page)

“I still have to cook dinner for Mother and then help her to bed. Could you come back in one hour?”

Josh smiled. “Of course. Do you have any preferences?”

“Just surprise me.”

One hour later, when Josh returned with a full Chinese dinner for two, Sofia cleared the coffee table in front of the sofa and they sat on the rug. After blessing the food, they opened the containers and filled their plates with the assorted dishes.

Sofia crossed her legs. “I so needed this little reprieve. Thank you so much.”

Josh used the chopsticks with ease. “You’re welcome.” He took a drink. “How did your day go?”

“Well, I’m out of a job.”

Josh put his chopsticks down on the plate and raised his eyebrow. “You’re out of a job? How can that be? You just started.”

“Not the job at the café. That one is secure. At least for now.” She picked at the noodles on her plate. “It’s my teaching job I’m talking about.”

“Your teaching job? What do you mean?”

“Hang on.” Sofia got up and retrieved her phone from the kitchen.

She found the link to the news about the Ministry of Education and passed the phone to Josh. After a few minutes of reading, he returned the phone back to Sofia, his forehead wrinkled in obvious confusion.

“Can they really do this?”

Sofia shrugged. “It’s the Ministry of Education. Their word is law. If they decide to cut five thousand jobs for whatever reason or under whatever excuse, they can. Of course, the teacher unions will protest, but in the end it won’t make much difference, and the students are the ones to suffer during the strikes when school starts in September.”

Josh sat in silence for a minute. “So there’s nothing you can do to protect your position at your school?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Will you get your job back?”

“Not the one I have right now. They say they’ll start phasing in all the teachers laid off in one to two school years, but the longer you’re out of the hiring pool, the harder it is to get back in.”

Josh regarded her with an expression of concern. “What are you going to do?”

“For starters, I’m going to see if they can give me a full-time position at the café. If that doesn’t work, I’ll have to search for something else.” Sofia pointed at the containers. “Let’s eat while it’s warm. We can talk about my career redirection afterwards.”

For a few minutes, they ate and talked about work, his and hers. Sofia’s favorite noodles had bits of seaweed and bamboo shoots, along with other vegetables, and she enjoyed her meal. She especially enjoyed the company. For now, she didn’t want to think about the changes that would soon take place in her life. Tomorrow would come in time. She tried to distract Josh from the topic and told him stories about the customers at work, but that cute wrinkle between his eyes took a while to soften.

After they cleared the table and carried the empty containers and trash to the kitchen, Sofia told Josh to sit back down.

“I have a surprise dessert.” She walked back to the living-room carrying two ice-cream bowls and spoons. She handed one to Josh and then sat down next to him.

“Chocolate mousse!” He smiled and buried the spoon into the creamy center.

“It’s not totally from scratch. I didn’t have time for that. But I had a quick mix and added extra melted dark chocolate and whipped egg whites.”

Josh closed his eyes and licked the spoon, then his lips. “This is heaven.”

She watched him, deriving great pleasure from the look of enjoyment in his face. At that moment, she wished she hadn’t asked Josh not to kiss her. A chocolate-flavored kiss—it would be so good.

When Josh was done, he put down his empty bowl. Then he reached for Sofia’s and set it next to it. “I’m going to honor your wishes and not kiss you, but I want it to go on record how much I’d like to right now.”

Sofia’s cheeks heated and she covered them with her hands. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to stare at you.”

He tugged at her hand and they stood from the floor to sit on the couch, next to each other. “You can stare at my mouth all you want. Just know that one of these days we’ll have to revisit your request.” He winked at her.

Yes, she would like that very much as well. There must be a solution, because a lack of kissing wasn’t working too well either.

He raised his arm and Sofia cuddled up next to him, and when he brought her closer to his side, she tipped her head in his direction and sighed. The corners of Josh’s mouth turned up and he kissed her on the forehead.

After a few minutes, their breathing synced. Sofia relaxed to the rhythm of his heartbeat and let go of her worries, not wanting anything else to intrude on the memory of this moment but the sweetness of it. So her life was turning upside down and soon enough she’d have to deal with that, but for now she could pretend that everything was all right in her world.

On top of the coffee table, her cell phone buzzed with an incoming message.

Josh gave her hand a squeeze. “Sofia. Your phone.” He half-rose and reached for it.

Sofia straightened and took the phone when Josh handed it to her. “Just a message from someone else at school.” It could wait. She set it down.

Her hair was a mess from laying on Josh’s side. She slid off the elastic and redid the ponytail while he watched, not saying anything.

“Look, we forgot the fortune cookies.” Josh reached for them, sitting on the table top.

Sofia broke her cookie and read the thin paper. “A thrilling time is in your immediate future.”

“And mine says ‘Something you lost will soon turn up.’”

She looked at the strips of paper in their hands. “I’m thinking they’d make more sense the other way around. You’re the one with the thrilling adventures and I’d love to get back what I lost.”

Josh chuckled. “Maybe. But the first law of fortune cookies says you need to keep the one you got.”

“Really? The laws of fortune cookies?”

Josh grinned and pulled out his wallet from his back pocket. “And just to prove to you that I’m serious about my fortune, I’m placing it in my wallet for safekeeping.” With a smug smile, he folded the strip in half and slipped it behind a card.

“Okay, and I’ll pin mine to the cork board in the kitchen.” Sofia walked to the kitchen, with Josh right behind her. The cork board was a mess but she found an unused pin and pushed the thin strip right up top where it couldn’t get lost.” She turned around to face Josh and shook her hands in a gesture of self-satisfaction. “Now we wait for the fortunes to come true.”

Josh’s smile slipped a little, as if her words carried a more solemn meaning than the one she’d intended. “If only it happened that way.”

What would she do if she could choose her fortune?

He glanced at the kitchen clock. “Look at the time. I better go before I overextend my welcome.”

As if that were possible.

In the foyer, she turned the lock slowly as the sounds echoed in the silence of the night. Josh rested a hand on her shoulder and brushed the customary kiss on her forehead. “Can I see you tomorrow?”

Her small hesitation was a mood killer. Sofia wanted to see Josh every day but her rational side balked at the habit-forming capacity behind that decision. Why did it have to be so complicated between them?

“Can you at least call me and let me know about this ministry business?” Josh asked when she didn’t say anything.

She brought her eyes up to him and mustered a small smile. “Yes, of course.”

His concern for her touched her heart.

* * *

Josh checked the total for the fundraiser one more time. A little over fifty thousand dollars raised in three days. Not bad at all. In euros, and with the cost of living in Portugal, the amount would stretch quite nicely for a struggling family.

After some comments accusing him of planning to the keep the funds to himself, Josh had called his accountant in Utah and involved him in the process. Transparency was a must and he didn’t want to be the only one responsible for the fundraiser, even if he’d been the one to start it.

He went to a local bank with the family and they opened an account with the help of a social worker. In a few days, the amount would be transferred and they could start using it for their needs. And with that his job was done, but the realization of the project’s scope was more satisfying to him, as well as the small role he’d played in it. The goodness of people and their donations was the most important element and he’d been pleasantly surprised by it. There was kindness left in the world after all.

This afternoon Josh was working for the last time at the Solaris mansion. He’d already taken the interior shots and most of the daytime exterior ones. With a few more days of design work, he’d be ready to wrap up the job and deliver it.

His cell phone pinged and Josh grabbed it. Maybe it was Sofia.

Guess what? Interview for me and Margarida with the stake president tonight.

Paulo. Josh stared at the message for a moment, then replied.
Parabéns, Bispo Lopes.

It could be something else.

You know it won’t be.

Yeah, I do know that. Poor Margarida has no clue.

Well, then, go give your wife a heads up.

Our lives are about to change,
Paulo replied.

Yeah, but you’ll do great. I know you will.

Thanks, man.

Boa sorte.

Josh’s lips quirked upwards. His old mission companion Elder Lopes was to be the new bishop in Braga, and Josh was genuinely happy for him. It would be a lot of work, but it was a position that came with service opportunities and a sure guarantee of spiritual growth. And Paulo would do just fine.

He stopped at the thought. He couldn’t even remember the last time such ideas had crossed his mind and he grappled with the notion for a moment.

Early the next morning, the phone rang. Half asleep, Josh reached for it and answered.

“’Ello?”

“Hey, Josh, sorry to be calling so early.” It was Paulo.

“No, you’re fine. I had to get up anyway.” Josh rubbed a hand through his eyes. “What’s going on?”

“The new bishopric is being sustained on Sunday during sacrament meeting.”

“Well, that was fast.” Josh stifled a yawn.

“Okay, here’s the deal.” He paused. “I’d like you to be there.”

Josh sat up in bed, now fully awake. “Say that again.”

Paulo chuckled nervously. “I’d like you to be in sacrament meeting when I’m sustained as the new bishop.”

Josh closed his eyes and rubbed his right temple.

“Josh?”

“Sure thing, man. I’ll be there.” What else could he say? Paulo was his best friend.

“I was hoping you’d say that. It’s at nine in the morning and you know the place.”

“I’ll be there,” he repeated.

After they hung up, Josh got out of bed and pulled the rolling blinds up. He opened the door to the balcony and stood at the threshold in his underwear. The air bore the chill of night and his skin broke out in gooseflesh. To the east a tinge of pink streaked the gray sky with a promise of a bright, warm day. If he hurried, maybe he could capture the sunrise over the city and make use of his being up so early.

At least some of Paulo’s dream had come true. He would be sustained on Sunday, but Josh would never be one of his counselors.

As he drove toward the north-eastern part of town, the memories of his former life clamored inside him. The last thing he wanted was to remember the years that had led him to the deliberate decision to walk away from the church and his way of life.

He parked by the curb and grabbed the backpack with his equipment. This was the highest neighborhood within the city, and the overlook point loomed high above the street, as if standing guard. For a few moments, Josh focused on climbing the stairways that wound around the outside of the oval building and culminated at the open top. A Catholic statue stood in the middle and a low metal railing enclosed the area. Josh set his backpack against the base of the statue and fit his camera with the wide lens. Once the camera was attached to the tripod, he waited for the sun to peek over the eastern hills.

The stillness of the place and the peace afforded by the early hour forced him to own up to the truth he’d been avoiding for years. He had never planned for failure. And in a church culture where family was everything, he had found himself adrift after the divorce and without the courage to rectify his own mistakes.

But in the end, it was not because of what others thought of him, but what he thought of himself in relation to God. And instead of pushing himself through the rough times, Josh had justified his departure as the only fitting way of dealing with a failed marriage and his own role in its demise.

As the first sun rays peeked over the eastern knolls, Josh put a stop to his thoughts. He bent over the camera and composed the shot through the viewfinder. Within a few seconds, the sunlight burst and spilt over the edge of the tree line, and his finger stayed on the shutter release, recording the glory of the sunrise he’d anticipated.