"That's fine. I expected that. Did Rita tell you that when I'm not here you can all eat together here in the kitchen?"
"Yes. I am do this now."
"Good. I will be here tonight. What time do you put dinner on?"
"Rita say 5:30."
"That's fine."
"Mr. Riley, I am bake and cook for children, but I am need more..." She stumbled to a halt, and Alec gently said, "Ingredients?"
"Yes. This is the word. Ingredients for recipes."
"Rita has been doing the shopping, but I'd like you to take that over for her."
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"All right."
"Rita drives to school. She drops Craig and Tory off and then goes on to Edgewood. On the day you shop you could go with her, keep the van, do the grocery shopping, and then pick them up after school."
"Mr. Riley, I do not drive."
He hadn't really paused except to take a breath, but Sophie had to interrupt. She could see that she had surprised him.
"Well," he finally managed, "we'll have to come up with something else. I would still like you to do the shopping, so maybe Rita could drop you off. No, that's not going to work. Of course, if you did it together, you would get done faster. Let me talk to Rita about it and get back to you."
Sophie nodded and now asked something that had been on her mind.
"Do you wish me to wear uniform, Mr. Riley?"
For a moment Alec was completely nonplussed. Her question sharply reminded him of how different their backgrounds must be.
"No, Sophie," he finally managed. "That won't be necessary."
Again Sophie nodded and, with just a few more words, Alec excused himself. He grabbed a handful of cookies from the plate on the table and moved out of the kitchen through the family room and into his office. Then he came back.
"Good cookies, Sophie."
She smiled shyly at him, causing him to think about the difference she had made in the kitchen in such a short time. He closed the door to his office when he was inside and smiled. Sophie had cleaned this room as well. He would have to call Janet and thank her for sending Sophie their way.
When the kids came home from school, Sophie was at the table working on a grocery list. There was also a note for Rita from her father. While Craig and Tory were eating, Rita read her note.
Rita,
Sophie and I have talked over her doing the shopping, but she doesn't drive. Is there something you can work out? Maybe you could do your homework while
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she's in the store, or work together and be done in less time. Please talk it over with her and work it out. Let me know if I can help.
Dad
Rita looked up to see that Sophie was still working on a grocery list. She sat down at the table and thought for a moment. She didn't mind doing the shopping, but it would be nice to have some help.
"Dad says you're going to do the shopping."
"He wishes me to."
"And we need things, right?"
"Yes."
"I wouldn't mind taking you or going in with you, but right now I have some homework. I need the computer, so I can't do it in the van. I'll get it done as fast as I can and then take you. Will that be enough time for you to finish the list?"
"Yes, Rita, thank you. I will have it done."
"All right. I'll be back down in a little while."
Craig left the kitchen just after Rita, and only Tory was left with Sophie.
"What did you do today, Sophie?"
"I cleaned upstairs."
"Do you get tired of cleaning all day?"
"No. Do you get tired of school all day?"
"Yes."
The two grinned at each other.
"Crystal was out sick today. I hate it when she's not there."
"Do you sit near to each other?"
"No, we talk too much," Tory admitted with a smile.
"It was like that for me with Katya. We could talk all day."
"Katya. That's a weird name."
Sophie couldn't help but smile. "Not in Czechoslovakia."
I guess not. What is your last name, Sophie?"
"Velikonja."
"Vel-a-what?"
Sophie laughed. "We will just stay with Sophie, all right?"
"All right."
Tory reached for another cookie, but put it back down when the phone rang. She answered it and Sophie heard her
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say, "Oh,hi, Grandma I'm fine No, dad's not here. Rita and Craig
are here, and Sophie Sophie. She works for us now. She got
the bathroom real clean. She and Rita are going to Woodman's in a little while, and I'm going to go, too. If I don't, I'll have to stay with Craig and he's crabby.... What's that?... Oh, I don't know how we met her, but she's from Czechoslovakia!... No, she lives right here in the apartment over the garage and then comes. ... What?... Oh, all right. I'll tell Dad you called. 'Bye."
Sophie had tried not to listen, but it was hard since she was right there at the table. She was not a nosy person, but when Tory came to get her books from the table, Sophie gently asked, "Is everything all right, Tory?"
"I think so. Grandma called, but then she was in a big hurry to get off. Maybe she had cookies in the oven."
"Maybe," Sophie agreed.
"I'm going to watch TV."
"All right."
Tory left, but Sophie did not go back to her list. There had been a change in the tone of the conversation after Tory had mentioned her name. Sophie wondered whose mother it was: Mr. Riley's or the late Mrs. Riley's. Either way, Sophie could not quite shake a sudden feeling of unease.
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Woodman's was the largest grocery store Sophie had ever seen. Sophie thought Rita might stay in the van, but she had been only too happy to go in with her, and Sophie found herself very thankful for this kindness. The produce department alone was enough to overwhelm her. Bins of potatoes lined one wall, and in the center was table after table of vegetables. There were even displays of fresh flowers along the end. She was also thankful that Tory stayed with her as she pushed the cart through the store.
Rita might not have been so willing to remain at Sophie's side if she had thought a little longer about being seen with the new housekeeper. The nearly 17-year-old would never have admitted it, but she was a little embarrassed over some of the looks Sophie was receiving. Her clothing was not strange, just foreign- looking. Her skirt was dark blue and her blouse was simple to the point of being ugly. She wore thick-soled, black lace-up shoes and white bobby socks. That, along with the exotic look of her eyes and thick hair that she wore in a very plain bun, caused Rita to struggle with her emotions.
However, she had seen such a look of vulnerability on the older woman's face as they had come into the produce section that she wouldn't have left her for anything. Tory was a big help. She chattered along in her "Tory" fashion, and Rita watched as Sophie relaxed after just a few aisles. She made a mental note never to bring Sophie grocery shopping on the weekend.
"Okay, let's see. What else do we need?" Rita did not take the list from Sophie's hand, even though she had offered it twice. Instead, she stood next to Sophie to read it.
"I think we have everything in this aisle. Oh, wait a minute. We need vegetable dip."
"I have that," Sophie said with pleasure, pointing into the basket.
Rita smiled at her in approval, and they moved on. By the time they finished and arrived home, Sophie felt completely
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worn out, and dinner was not even ready. It was closing in on 5:00, and she had told Mr. Riley dinner would be ready at 5:30.
With a speed born of desperation, Sophie threw the meal together. This was the first night Mr. Riley was scheduled to sit down with his family, and Sophie was certain that if the meal was not right, she would either lose her job or cast herself in a poor light.
She need not have worried. Alec didn't come in until just after 5:30 and, although simple, the meal was delicious and pl
entiful. It was no more or no less than Alec was coming to expect of his new housekeeper. Rita had told Sophie that the family wanted to eat in the kitchen, so Sophie prepared herself a plate and quietly left for her apartment as the family was sitting down to dinner. None of them noticed her departure. They were so wrapped up in having dinner together for the first time in ages that all they could concentrate on was each other.
"Grandma called today," Tory told her dad.
"My mom?" Alec wished to know.
"No, Grandma Frazier. I told her about Sophie. We didn't talk very long. I think she might have had cookies in the oven."
Had Tory been a little older, she might have noticed the sudden hesitation in Alec's movements as he buttered a roll. He certainly had no desire to keep Sophie a secret, but it wasn't the best news to hear that Tory had told Vanessa's mother about Sophie. He wouldn't have been at all surprised if he received a phone call later that night.
"I've been invited to spend the night at Rick's house tomorrow," Craig then announced.
"Will you go home with him from school?"
"Yeah."
"All right," Alec agreed. "Let Sophie know that you won't be here."
"Why?" Craig scowled at his father.
"Craig, do you really not understand why Sophie is here?"
"To clean the house."
Alec sighed to himself, but did not break eye contact. After a moment Craig's eyes dropped. "She's here to take care of us, too."
"That's right. I wish you wouldn't fight this, and I also wish I understood why you're so against it."
"I don't know. I just think we were doing fine before."
"Now you're lying to yourself," Alec said, not unkindly. "We haven't had a meal like this in six months. If I never have frozen
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pizza or frozen chicken again, it will be way too soon. And that's not even mentioning the house. Housework was never your mother's strong point, so I can honestly say it's never looked quite like this."
"How can you say that!" Craig burst out and came to his feet. Alec had not been watching Craig's face and was unprepared for this reaction. The words were true, but Alec regretted them for Craig's sake.
"Sit down, Craig."
"No! How can you sit there and say you prefer Sophie to Mom?"
"I didn't say that, Craig. Now sit down." He held his boy's eyes with his own until he was obeyed. "Listen to me, Craig." Alec's voice was kind. "I loved your mother and always will, but we can also be honest. If it had been me who had died, I would expect your mother to remember me the way I was and not walk around wearing rose-colored glasses."
"What do you mean?"
"It wouldn't mean that she thought any less of me by admitting that at times my memory is horrible, or that I'm completely out of it when there's a football game on or when I have the newspaper in my hand."
All three children smiled now because these things had long been a family joke, but there were also tears pooling in everyone's eyes, including Alec's. The pain from their mother's death was still so fresh.
"I would love to have your mother back," Alec whispered, "but that's not going to happen. So I'm trying to be thankful that your Aunt Janet sent Sophie to us. She's just been here a few days, and already I see improvements in every room in the house. Your sister has done a great job, but it was too much for her."
Alec could not go on then. He had fought getting someone in to help them for so long, and in the process had completely burdened his oldest daughter. Indeed, the battle was still so fresh that the smoke had not cleared. It was for this reason that Alec felt too emotional to speak.
The kids did not know how much he had dreaded Sophie's arrival after agreeing to hire her, or how surprised he had been that Tory had wanted her to stay in the first place. All doubts had been put to rest when he had come home that afternoon and heard Sophie tell him she was eating their food. Suddenly, he knew it was going to work. With someone this honest and this
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hardworking, it had to. The evidence was before him, and Sophie was proving to be worth her weight in gold.
Sophie, sitting alone at her kitchen table, would have enjoyed hearing Mr. Riley's thoughts. Not knowing if this was to be her permanent home was very unsettling. If she could have been certain she was going to stay, she would not have been so worried about one hastily prepared meal. And if she could have known this was going to be a permanent arrangement, she would have begun saving and shopping for secondhand furniture. She was never cold at night, but was often stiff in the morning. The memory of the cot made Sophie wish she had packed it up and sent it with the boxes. Thinking of the boxes made her long for her books; the only one she had with her was her Bible.
Iwanted to move from Chicago, Father. Please help me be pleased with this new place. I'm like one of your children in Egypt. First I complain about the work there, and then You move me and I complain about the living conditions. Help me to trust and not grumble.
Sophie rose then and washed the plate she had used. She didn't place it in her own cupboard, but laid it on the table to bring downstairs in the morning. She didn't know if she was expected to return to do dishes, but decided against it. They would probably be waiting for her in the morning.
***
"Craig, help Tory with the dishes," Alec spoke as soon as they rose from the table.
"Sophie will do 'em."
Alec turned to face his son. His tone was so matter-of-fact that Alec felt amazed. A little voice niggled in the back of his mind that he was not spending enough time with this boy. But just as swiftly as the thought came, Alec justified it with the reminder that winter was coming and business would be slower then.
"She's not here as a personal slave to you, Craig. Help Tory with the dishes."
"You just said she was here to help." Craig's voice was outraged. "And now I'm being put to work to do her jobs!"
Alec walked up to him, pinned him with his eyes, and spoke calmly. "You will do the dishes without another word or you can call Rick and tell him you can't make it tomorrow night."
Craig turned away with ill-concealed anger and began to clear the table. Alec stayed long enough to see that he wouldn't
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take his anger out on Tory and then went to help Rita with the computer as she'd asked. Again he felt compelled to do things differently, but didn't know exactly how. As he often thought, Alec surmised that there weren't enough hours in the day. Either that, or there wasn't enough of him to go around.
***
"I wish I could stay home with you today, Sophie."
It was Friday morning, and Tory was talking to Sophie at the breakfast table.
"Why is that, Tory?"
"We could watch 'The Price is Right.'"
"A show on TV?"
"Yeah, don't you have 'The Price is Right' in Czechoslovakia?"
"I do not think so. Maybe it was on during the day and I missed it."
"It's so fun. I always bid right with the person, and sometimes I'm pretty good. One time I won a car!"
Sophie smiled lovingly into the little girl's eyes, but didn't bother to mention that she did not have time for TV in the middle of the day. She silently continued eating her toast.
The morning had begun in a normal fashion, and Sophie was amazed that they had already settled into a routine. All in all it had been a good week. When the three trooped out the door for school, Sophie got out meat for supper and then began work on the house and laundry. As in the previous days, the time flew by. Sophie did not take time for lunch or to sit down at all, and before she knew it Rita and Tory were home from school. Craig had taken an overnight bag with him that morning, and Sophie had been relieved to see him go. He was not often very friendly, but this morning he'd been brusque to the point of rudeness. It was rather nice to have the girls come in alone.
"Did you watch 'The Price is Right'?" These were the first words out of Tory's mouth.
"No," Sophie had to tell her. "I forget."
"Oh, Sophie, one of these days you'll just have to see it and tell me who wins."
"All right. How about some apple slices and cheese?"
"You mean eat the cheese with the apples?"
Rita laughed at her sister's horrified expression. "It's good, Tory. Try some."
The little girl looked clearly skeptical, but ate some anyway.
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"How was your day, Rita?"
"All right," Rita said as she tucked some hair behind her ear and reached for the cheese. "I got a test back that I thought I'd aced and only got a B It was a real letdown."
Sophie nodded while her mind worked onaced.
"Were you busy today, Sophie?"
"Yes. Mostly with laundry. I was going to iron your blouses, but I could not find the ironing board."
"Oh, Sophie, it's right there in the laundry room."
Rita rose and Sophie followed.
"It's the type that folds out of the wall."
Rita flipped the catch on a long oak panel and pulled a full- sized ironing board from inside. Sophie had never seen such a gadget.
"It is so convenience."
It was the wrong word, but Rita agreed with her anyhow. They were on their way back to the kitchen table when the back door opened.
"Hello," a soft female voice said.
"Grandma!" Tory shouted and jumped up to hug her. Rita went forward to hug her also.
"Hi, Grandpa," Tory spoke again and embraced her maternal grandfather who had come in behind his wife.
"Grandma," Rita began after seeing her grandmother's pointed look at Sophie, "this is Sophie. Sophie this is my grandmother, Peg Frazier, and my grandfather, Jim Frazier."
"Hello," Sophie said softly and smiled at both of them. Jim returned the smile, but Peg's eyes were cold.
"How long have you worked here, Sophie?"
Her tone and eyes caused Sophie's palms to grow moist. "Just this week. Just days this week."
"Well," Peg spoke almost regally now, as she surveyed the kitchen with censoring eyes. "Things look clean enough, but I'm here now. You won't be needed for a while."
If Peg had taken time to look at her granddaughters, she might have stopped. But she barreled on without thought for anyone.
"I will see to Alec and my grandchildren." Her tone implied that Sophie couldn't possibly do a proper job. "You may be dismissed until further notice."