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“I can’t say I do,” Vera said. “It’s a common name for women in my generation, so I’m surprised I don’t. Parents today name their kids after fruits and vegetables, for goodness sake.”
The picture stuffed into Sophie’s sports bra would remain a mystery. She wished she could pull it out and take a closer look, but her mother was there. Had her father Bill had an affair? She couldn’t imagine that because he was so devoted to his wife. They were always telling each other how much they loved each other. Sophie had been with someone who had strayed, and her father had nothing in common with Roger.
“I should get home and see if Malcom needs help settling in. I know he’s twenty-six, but I don’t think I’ll ever stop mothering him. He lived away from home for eight years, but I still think of him as a little boy.”
“Wait until he gets married, and you have to give him up to another woman. I hear that’s very difficult for mothers of boys,” Vera said. “I imagine it will be extra hard as he’s an only child.”
“I’m not looking forward to that. His last serious girlfriend was Margeaux, and I think she went back to the West Coast for nursing school. She got some deal that nursing school would be paid for if she went into the Peace Corps afterward. She was nice, but I think they were too young to consider marriage.”
“I remember her as quite beautiful and smart, too. I also recall that you were jealous of her,” Vera said. “It wasn’t overt, so she probably didn’t notice, but I’m your mom. I pick up on those things.”
“I wasn’t jealous. I just didn’t want them to do anything rash before they’d finished their education. Malcolm’s smart, and he won’t consider putting a ring on a woman’s finger before he’s settled." Sophie may have been a little put off by Margeaux and in retrospect, she was a little jealous. She'd have to work on that when he brought home the next girl because she didn’t want to be a hated mother-in-law.
Sophie’s mother walked her to the door with Will nipping at her heels the whole way. She wasn’t crazy about the dog, but she was happy that her mother had a companion. They hugged goodbye and Vera pulled back.
“Do you have something in your bra?”
7
Sophie pulled into her driveway, and she looked at the photo she had laid on the passenger seat. It was her father, Bill Cast, and Lisa, the mystery woman. She had been shaken when the photo fell out of her bra when she’d hugged her mother. Thankfully, she snapped it up before Vera got a good look at it. She said it was something she picked up at the gym, and Sophie’s mother didn’t suspect a thing.
She turned on the light in her car and studied the photo carefully. Her father’s body was close to Lisa’s, and it didn’t look like they were at a work function. There was a middle-aged woman far in the background, but otherwise, they looked alone at the lake. Of course, a person was taking the picture as well.
There was a date digitally stamped on the back, and it was from four years ago. Sophie had no idea what she was looking at and didn’t think it mattered with her father dead. She hadn’t thought it possible, but it looked like her father cheated. Sophie wondered if her mother had any idea. She shoved it in the glove box to consider another day.
She expected to walk into the same mess that she left hours ago. That wasn’t the case at all. All the boxes were emptied and were lying flat against the wall. Sophie hadn’t noticed at first, but she realized that the moving truck was gone, too. It was dark and quiet.
Malcolm stepped out of his bedroom. “Welcome back.”
“Look what you’ve done,” Sophie said excitedly. “My house looks better than when you first came. I had no idea that you had become so tidy while in Boston.”
“I had help,” Malcolm said in a whisper.
“Why are we whispering, and who helped you?” Sophie asked.
“Margeaux got home from the Peace Corps today and surprised me. I told you she was there, didn’t I?”
“No, but you’re saying she’s here, now?” Sophie asked.
"Yeah, the poor thing is jet-lagged, and she helped clean the place as a way of saying thank you,” Malcolm said.
“Thank you for what?”
“For letting us stay here,” Malcolm responded.
“Step outside with me so we can stop whispering.” Malcolm followed her outside. “I had no idea you were staying here with Margeaux. Of course, she’s welcome, but a little notice would have been nice.”
“I didn’t know she was coming home so soon. I thought she had a couple of months left in Senegal. I told you that Cindy was impossible to live with and that she was saying who I could and couldn’t have in the house. I mentioned Margeaux staying with me for a couple of weeks and her answer was – No Way. I’m twenty-six, and I don't need to be micro-managed. I paid Dad rent, and I'll pay you, too.”
“Unbelievable!” Sophie said.
“I thought you would be cool. Margeaux and I will find friends to stay with tomorrow,” Malcolm said.
“No, no. I was saying it’s unbelievable that you had to pay rent to your father. That woman is calling the shots because the Roger Randolph I knew would never do such a thing. He was living rent-free at his grandmother’s house when I met him, and he knows how expensive New York rent is. I have a three-bedroom house so, of course, you can stay. I won’t charge rent if you clean up the way you did tonight.”
“You’re the best. I always knew I could count on you, and the comfort that has given me through the years is priceless. We have a small family, but it’s mighty,” Malcolm said.
“No pressure, but it’s up to you to have more than one child to break the family curse,” Sophie said. She looped her arms in his and they walked into the house.
